Effects of different dietary oils on egg quality and reproductive performance in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss.

The study was conducted to evaluate effects of different dietary oils on egg quality and reproductive performance in rainbow trout. Broodfish (≈ 870 g) were fed four iso-nitrogenous and iso-lipidic diets differing in lipid sources: fish oil (FO), linseed oil (LO) and sesame oil (SO) as well as a commercial trout diet (CD) for about 5 months prior to spawning. Growth performance did not differ among the trout in the treatment groups. Mean diameter, volume and weight of eggs did not differ among the dietary treatments. Absolute fecundity, relative fecundity and gonadosomatic index were not affected by dietary treatment. A sub-set of eggs from females fed the experimental diets were fertilized to assess the reproductive performance of broodfish. When diets were fed, devoid of fish oil, fertilization rates were 89.2 ±â€¯5.8 and 92.1 ±â€¯4.9 %, eyeing rates were 87.3 ±â€¯5.3 and 84.1 ±â€¯4.4 % and hatching rates were 81.2 ±â€¯4.3 and 78.3 ±â€¯3.4 % in LO and SO fed fish, respectively. Fatty acid content of the eggs from broodstocks with a different nutritional history was affected by the dietary lipid sources. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), arachidonic acid (ARA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentrations in females fed vegetable oil based diets were greater than the dietary concentrations. Overall, results from the present study indicate there can be inclusion of LO or SO as dietary lipid sources without compromising egg quality and reproductive performance. Furthermore, there is efficient bioconversion of 18C fatty acids to 20-22 C fatty acids in rainbow trout.

Antibacterial effectiveness of calcium hydroxide alone or in combination with Ibuprofen and Ciprofloxacin in teeth with asymptomatic apical periodontitis: a randomized controlled clinical study.

AIM: To evaluate the antimicrobial effectiveness of Ca(OH)2 paste combined with Ibuprofen or Ciprofloxacin in infected root canals of teeth with asymptomatic apical periodontitis. METHODOLOGY: Forty-five patients were randomly divided into three groups using a web programme according to the medication selected: Ca(OH)2 : 1 g Ca(OH)2 powder with 1 mL propylene glycol, Ca(OH)2  + Ibuprofen: 50 mg of Ibuprofen was added into 950 mg Ca(OH)2 powder and mixed with 1 mL propylene glycol, Ca(OH)2  + Ciprofloxacin: 50 mg of Ciprofloxacin was added into 950 mg Ca(OH)2 powder and mixed with 1 mL propylene glycol. Root canal bacteriological samples were collected before root canal treatment (S1) and after chemo-mechanical procedures (S2). After root canal preparation, the intracanal medicaments were placed into the root canals to a level approximately 1 mm short of the working length using K-files and access cavities were filled temporarily. The participants were scheduled for a second visit 7 days later when the medication was removed mechanically, and after irrigation of the root canals, the final samples (S3) were collected. Samples were subjected to quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to evaluate the numbers of total bacteria, Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus species. For intragroup analysis, a Friedman test was used to compare reduction of counts of total bacteria, Streptococci and E. faecalis amongst the three samples (S1, S2 and S3). The chi-square test was used to compare the number of root canals positive for bacteria in S1, S2 and S3 amongst the groups. RESULTS: Intragroup analysis revealed a significant reduction in the number of intracanal bacterial cells from S1 to S2 and from S2 to S3 in all medication groups (P < 0.01). Although there was no significant difference amongst the groups when comparing quantitative S1 or S2 data, there were significantly lower bacterial counts in the Ca(OH)2  + Ciprofloxacin group (0.49 × 102 ) than the pure Ca(OH)2 (1.25 × 102 ) and Ca(OH)2  + Ibuprofen groups (0.76 × 102 ) at S3. The percentage reduction from S1 to S3 and from S2 to S3 was significantly greater in the Ca(OH)2 + Ciprofloxacin than the pure Ca(OH)2 and Ca(OH)2 + Ibuprofen groups (P < 0.05). In the Ca(OH)2  + Ciprofloxacin group, there were significantly fewer positive cases (8/15) than the pure Ca(OH)2 (13/15) and Ca(OH)2  + Ibuprofen (13/15) groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The addition of Ciprofloxacin to Ca(OH)2 provided further antibacterial effectiveness when used as an intracanal medicament in vivo during root canal treatment.

Extended surgical safety margins and ulceration are associated with an improved prognosis in pleomorphic dermal sarcomas.

BACKGROUND: Pleomorphic dermal sarcomas (PDS) are frequent UV-induced sarcomas of the skin of intermediate grade malignant potential. Despite the fact that PDS have a noteworthy potential to recur (up to 28%) as well as to metastasize (up to 20%), there are no specific clinical guidelines with respect to follow-up these patients. Moreover, little is known about clinical, histological or molecular prognostic factors in PDS. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to identify risk factors to predict relapse in a large multicentre sample cohort of PDS which could aid to optimize personalized treatment recommendations regarding surgical safety margins and adjuvant radiotherapy. METHODS: Patients with a diagnosis of PDS were selected from nine European institutions based on the histopathologic criteria described by Fletcher. Clinicopathologic and follow-up data were collected and statistically analysed calculating univariate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals by use of the Cox proportional-hazards model and a significance level of P < 0.05. Patients with an incomplete excision of the tumour were excluded. RESULTS: Univariate Cox regression analysis of possible prognostic factors for progression-free survival (PFS) performed in 92 patients revealed that an excision margin of <2 cm is significantly associated with relapse of PDS [hazard ratio 4.478 (95% CI 1.536-13.055), P = 0.006]. Ulceration of the tumour was associated with a significantly better prognosis [0.396 (0.174-0.904), P = 0.028] whereas adjuvant radiotherapy did not reach statistical significance to improve prognosis in patients with PDS [0.775 (0.231-2.593), P = 0.679]. Gender, age, immunosuppression, intratumoural necrosis, tumour location, vertical thickness or horizontal diameter did not significantly influence PFS in PDS. CONCLUSION: We identified surgical safety margins of <2 cm and absence of ulceration as risk factors for relapse in patients with PDS. These findings may be implemented into both the primary treatment as well as the further monitoring of patients with PDS.

Hepatitis C and autoimmunity: a therapeutic challenge.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes not only acute and chronic liver disease, but also extrahepatic symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of a patient who developed simultaneously subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus and a small CD20+ B-cell clone because of chronic HCV infection and relapse after standard of care therapy (pegylated interferon plus ribavirin). Treatment with rituximab, a chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, was successful.

[Free gracilis muscle flap with plantar intermediate thickness skin graft: case report, review of anatomy and functional reconstruction of the palm]. / M. gracilis Lappenplastik mit plantarem Spalthauttransplantat - Fallbericht und Literaturübersicht zur speziellen Anatomie der Hohlhand und ihrer funktionellen Rekonstruktion.

BACKGROUND: Skin and soft-tissue architecture of the palm are unique. Coverage of extensive soft-tissue defects restoring the functional capacity of the palm remains a challenging task. Anatomic restoration with skin from another area is hardly possible. In manual labourers, reconstruction of mechanical soft-tissue stability is required in addition to sensation, range of motion and grip strength. Sensate fasciocutaneous flaps bear disadvantages of tissue mobility, shifting and bulkiness. Published criteria for defect-related flap selection are sparse. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Defect analysis (anatomy, units of tactile gnosis, individual parameters) provides information to weigh needs for sensation or tissue stability, influencing selection of most appropriate procedures. We distinguished 4 units: hypothenar (H), thenar (T) and central palm (Z). (Z) consists of a central palmar unit (c') and the distal palm (d'). Individual parameters (age, profession, dominant hand, psychosocial aspects) were also considered. Units (T) and (H), regions of secondary touch, demand protective sensation by applying sensate fasciocutaneous flaps. In labourers tactile gnosis in (Z) is of less, tissue stability of greater value. An extensive palmar defect (9×13 cm, affecting unit (Z), partially affecting units (T) and (H), of the dominant hand) with combined vessel, nerve, tendon injuries (male labourer, 21 years) was covered after defect analysis with a free gracilis muscle flap and a glabrous intermediate (0.5 mm) thickness skin graft from the instep region. RESULTS: 29 months postoperatively anatomic conditions of palmar soft tissue (Vancouver scar scale: 1), high mechanical soft-tissue stability including normal hand function were evident. Semmes Weinstein testing showed positive pressure sensation. Professional reintegration after 5 months was possible. CONCLUSION: Defect coverage of the palm must not consist of merely providing sensate vascularised tissue. The most appropriate procedure can be derived from careful defect analysis focusing on the affection of units of tactile gnosis to achieve near to anatomic reconstruction. In labourers, patient- and defect-related demands need close correlation with the value of the selected flaps regarding the sensation and mechanical stability to be expected. In selected cases (mechanical irritation, affection of unit (Z), younger age) by combining microvascular muscle flaps with plantar intermediate thickness skin grafts promising functional results with early professional reintegration can be achieved by reconstructing like with like.

Detection of spirochaetal microorganisms by focus floating microscopy in necrobiosis lipoidica in patients from central Europe.

AIMS: Necrobiosis lipoidica (NL) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with unknown aetiology. The aim was to determine the presence of spirochaetal microorganisms in NL. METHODS AND RESULTS: Focus-floating microscopy (FFM) is a modified immunohistochemical technique that was developed to detect borrelial spirochaetes within tissue sections. It has proven to be more sensitive for the detection of spirochaetes than polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Fifty-six cases of NL as well as 44 negative and 33 positive controls were investigated for the presence of Borrelia within tissue specimens. Using FFM, Borrelia could be detected in 42 cases (75.0%) and were seen significantly more often in histologically active inflammatory-rich (38/41, 92.7%) than in inflammatory-poor (4/15, 26.7%) cases of NL (P < 0.001). Seven cases investigated with a Borrelia-specific PCR (23s-RNA) remained negative. In contrast, FFM was positive in 30 of 33 (90.9%) positive controls of acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans and 15 of the positive controls (45.5%) were also positive with PCR, whereas no negative controls revealed any microorganisms. CONCLUSIONS: Detection of spirochaetes in NL points to a specific involvement of B. burgdorferi or other similar strains in the development of or trigger for this disease.

Metallothionein - overexpression as a highly significant prognostic factor in melanoma: a prospective study on 1270 patients.

Metallothioneins (MT) are ubiquitous, intracellular small proteins with high affinity for heavy metal ions. In the last decades, it was shown that MT overexpression in a variety of cancers is associated with resistance to anticancer drugs and is combined with a poor prognosis. In this prospective study, we examined the role of MT overexpression in melanoma patients as a prognostic factor for progression and survival. Between 1993 and 2004, 3386 patients with primary cutaneous melanoma were investigated by using a monoclonal antibody against MT on routinely fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. In all, 1270 patients could be followed up for further statistical analysis (Fisher's exact test, Mantel-Haenszel chi2 test, Kaplan-Meier curves). The MT data of disease-free interval and overall survival were compared univariately and multivariately in Cox regression analysis. Immunohistochemical overexpression of MT in tumour cells of patients with primary melanoma (310 of 1270; 24.4%) was associated with a higher risk for progression (117 of 167; 70.1%) and reduced survival (80 of 110; 72.7%) of the disease (P<0.0001). Similarly, Kaplan-Meier curves gave highly significant disadvantages for the MT-positive group. Univariate analysis (relative risk 7.4; 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.2-10.2; P<0.0001 for progression; relative risk 7.1; 95% CI 4.7-10.9; P<0.0001 for survival), as well as multivariate analysis with other prognostic markers resulted in MT overexpression as a highly significant and independent factor for prognosis in primary melanoma.

Retinal thickness analysis in subjects with different refractive conditions.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study is to evaluate a measure of retinal thinning at the posterior pole in eyes with increasing axial myopia. METHODS: 129 eyes of 79 healthy persons with different refractive conditions were examined using a commercially available prototype of retinal thickness analyzer. RESULTS: Increasing myopia has been found to be accompanied by bulbus elongation, and calculation of the values obtained with the instrument revealed a significant decrease in retinal thickness at the posterior pole in eyes with increasing axial myopia, i.e. 4.8 microm/spherical equivalent in the foveolar region and 6.6 microm/spherical equivalent in the other areas of the posterior pole. CONCLUSION: Our data show retinal thinning at the posterior pole in myopic eyes based for the very first time on in vivo measurements. Furthermore, our findings might influence measurement data for other purposes, if the degree of myopia is not taken into account.