127 research outputs found
Quadriceps tendon reconstruction using a fascia lata included in a reverse‐flow anterolateral thigh flap
No full textQuadriceps tendon re-rupture after surgical repair is an overall estimated 2% complication. We report a case of reconstruction in a large tendon and soft tissue defect using a reverse-flow anterolateral thigh (ALT) perforator flap including fascia lata in a 75-year-old man presented with septic necrosis of a reconstructed quadriceps tendon. A reverse-flow ALT flap was transferred to the knee defect; the fascia lata was sutured to the residual tendon. Post-operative flap congestion and infection were successfully treated with debridement and conservative treatment. One year after surgery, the patient was able to fully and actively extend the knee, with an acceptable aesthetic appearance. The reverse-flow anterolateral thigh flap including fascia lata may be a good option for coverage of soft-tissue defects around the knee and contemporary quadriceps tendon reconstruction, particularly in case of septic tendon necrosis, where the use of non-vascularised tissues is contraindicated
Gastrin promotes human colon cancer cell growth via cyclooxygenase-2 induction and downstream activation of prostaglandin EP4 receptors
No full textThe present study investigates the effects of gastrin-17 on human colon cancer HT-29 cells to examine whether gastrin receptor (CCK-2), cyclooxygenase (COX-1, COX-2) isoforms and prostaglandin receptor pathways interact to control cell growth. Reverse transcription (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis demonstrated that HT-29 cells are endowed with the naive expression of CCK-2 receptor (short splice variant), COX-1, COX-2 and prostaglandin EP(4) receptor, but not gastrin. Gastrin-17 significantly promoted cell growth and DNA synthesis. Both these stimulating effects were abolished by L-365,260 or GV150013 (CCK-2 receptor antagonists), but were unaffected by SC-560 (COX-1 inhibitor). L-745,337 (COX-2 inhibitor) or AH-23848B (EP(4) receptor antagonist) partly reversed gastrin-17-induced cell growth, while they fully antagonized the enhancing action on DNA synthesis. HT-29 cells responded to gastrin-17 with a significant increase in prostaglandin E(2) release. This enhancing effect was completely counteracted by L-365,260, GV150013 or L-745,337, while it was insensitive to cell incubation with SC-560. Exposure of HT-29 cells to gastrin-17 was followed by an increased phosphorylation of both extracellular regulated kinases (ERK-1/ERK-2) and Akt. Moreover, gastrin-17 enhanced the transcriptional activity of COX-2 gene promoter and stimulated COX-2 expression. These latter effects were antagonized by L-365,260 or GV150013, and could be blocked also by PD98059 (inhibitor of ERK-1/ERK-2 phosphorylation) or wortmannin (inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase). Analogously, gastrin-17-induced prostaglandin E(2) release was prevented by PD98059 or wortmannin. The present results suggest that (a) in human colon cancer cells endowed with CCK-2 receptors, gastrin-17 is able to enhance the transcriptional activity of COX-2 gene through the activation of ERK-1/ERK-2- and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt-dependent pathways; (b) these stimulant actions lead to downstream increments of COX-2 expression, followed by prostaglandin E(2) production and EP(4) receptor activation; (c) the recruitment of COX-2/prostaglandin pathways contributes to the growth-promoting actions exerted by gastrin-17
Scrotal dartos-fascio-myo-cutaneous flaps for penis elongation after catastrophic iatrogenic skin shaft sub-amputation: A case of recovery using an extremely adaptable flap
No full textAbstractIntroductionGenitalia are linked to self-esteem and male sexual identity, especially among young men, who sometimes require a surgical procedure to acquire more confidence. Among the surgical procedures requested for aesthetical purposes, circumcision is one of the most popular. Although it can be considered to be a simple surgical practice, it may cause severe complications such as penile skin necrosis.Presentation of caseWe report a case of a catastrophic situation after a circumcision performed on a 27-year-old HIV positive man resulted in a drastic reduction in the length of the penile shaft due to extensive skin loss; this was subsequently restored using dartos-fascio-myo-cutaneous flaps. Primary healing occurred in 10days. No infection, dehiscence or flap ischemia were reported. Donor site morbidity was minimal. An adequate aesthetical appearance and satisfactory functional results were obtained.Discussion and conclusionVarious techniques are available for penile skin covering, such as skin grafts or cutaneous flaps. The skin of the scrotum seems to be the most suitable tissue to be used to reconstruct the skin covering of the shaft as it is the most similar. Dartos-fascio-myo-cutaneous flap is a single stage procedure that is easy and safe to perform. It can provide satisfactory cosmetic and functional results, offering a large amount of tissue, with minimal donor site morbidity
Ditocopheryl Sulfides and Disulfides: Synthesis and Antioxidant Profile
No full textSymmetrical ditocopheryl disulfides (Toc)2S2 and symmetrical and unsymmetrical ditocopheryl sulfides (Toc)2S were simply prepared under remarkably mild conditions with complete control of the regiochemistry by using δ-, γ-, and β-tocopheryl-N-thiophthalimides (Toc-NSPht) as common starting materials. The roles of sulfur atom(s), H-bond and aryl ring substitution pattern on the antioxidant profile of these new compounds, which were assembled by linking together two tocopheryl units, are also discussed
Late Miocene shortening of the Northern Apennines back-arc
No full textThe inner Northern Apennines (western Tuscany and Tyrrhenian basin) is characterized by a relatively thin continental crust (similar to 20-25 km), high heat flow (>100 mW m(-2)), and the presence of relevant tectonic elision of stratigraphic sequences, a setting known as Serie Ridotta. These features are normally ascribed to an extensional deformation that affected the back-arc area above the subducting Adria plate since the Early-Middle Miocene (similar to 16 Ma). However, various geophysical studies image the continental crust to be currently affected by W-dipping thrust faults (and associated basement uplifts) that have not been obliterated by this claimed long-lasting extensional process. These observations raise the question whether the thrusts are older or younger than the continental extension. To address this question we have reprocessed and interpreted the deep seismic reflection profile CROP03/c that crosses the onshore hinterland sector, and investigated the structural setting of some of the Late Miocene-Pliocene hinterland basins (Cinigiano-Baccinello, Siena-Radicofani, Tafone, Albegna and Radicondoli basins) that are situated at the front or in-between the basement uplifts. The analysis of field structures and commercial seismic profiles has allowed the recognition that both substratum and basins' infill have been intensely shortened. These findings and the architecture of the basins suggest that the latter developed under a contractional regime, which would have started around 8.5 Ma with the onset of the continental sedimentation. This compressive stress state followed an earlier phase of continental extension that presumably started at similar to 16 Ma (with the blocking of the Corsica-Sardinia rotation), and thinned both the continental crust and sedimentary cover producing most of the Serie Ridotta. The main phases of basin shortening are bracketed between 7.5 and 3.5 Ma, and thus overlap with the increase in the exhumation rate of the metamorphic cores at similar to 6-4 Ma determined through thermochronological data. We therefore propose a correlation between the basin deformation and the activity of the nearby basement thrusts, which would have thus shortened a previously thinned continental crust. This chronology of deformation may suggest a geodynamic model in which the back-arc and hinterland sector of the Northern Apennines was recompressed during Late Miocene-Early Pliocene times. This evolution may be explained through different speculative scenarios involving a blockage of the subduction process, which may vary between end members of complete slab detachment and stalled subduction
Identification of GDNF Gene Sequence Variations in Patients with Medullary Sponge Kidney Disease
No full textAbstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Medullary sponge kidney (MSK) is a rare nephropathy characterized by cystic anomalies of precalyceal ducts, nephrocalcinosis, renal stones, and tubule dysfunctions. Its association with various malformations and cases of familial aggregation supports the conviction that genetic factors are involved, but no genetic studies have been conducted to date. It is hypothesized that MSK is due to a disruption at the "ureteric bud/metanephric blastema" interface caused by critical developmental genes functioning abnormally.
DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS:
Fifty-five apparently sporadic MSK patients were analyzed by direct DNA sequencing of all exons and exon-intron boundaries of glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) gene and rearranged during transfection (RET) gene, which have a leading role in renal development.
RESULTS:
Two novel variants were found in heterozygosity in the MSK case population: GDNF{ENST00000344622}:c.-45G>C and c.-27+18G>A in a putative binding domain for paired-box 2 transcription factor. As a whole, eight patients showed these variations: four patients carried the c.[-45G>C; -27+18G>A] complex allele, and the others had the c.-27+18G>A alone. A case-control study revealed that these two alleles were significantly associated with MSK. Five of the eight cases were found to be familial, and the allele variants cosegregated with the disease in a seemingly dominant pattern of inheritance. Patients revealed no mutations in the RET gene.
CONCLUSIONS:
This is the first report identifying GDNF gene sequence variations in patients with MSK and suggesting a role for this gene in the pathogenesis of some cases of the disease
La struttura del "Neoautoctono" (Miocene sup-Pleistocene inf) della bassa val di Cecina, in Toscana (f° 294 cecina)
No full textL'area in studio si sviluppa per oltre 25. kmq in sinistra del F.Cecina (Toscana sud-occidentale) tra
i borghi di Casale M.mo (PI) e Bibbona (LI). Si tratta di un territorio di basse colline esposte a
occidente organizzate in due sistemi subparalleli, di direzione N-S, di cui l'anteriore, che
fronteggia la costa, costituito da dolci rilievi argillosi intensamente coltivati e il posteriore,alle
spalle, da rilievi più aspri rivestiti da fittissima macchia mediterranea. Le suggestioni
paesaggistiche sono inversamente proporzionali alla qualità delle esposizioni geologiche che,
come in tutta la Toscana sud-occidentale è negativamente condizionata dalla bassissima densità
degli affioramenti, per di pìù di estensione molto ridotta.· ·
L'assenza di esposizioni panoramiche obbliga, per la costruzione della carta geologica, a rilevanti
operazioni di interpolazione il cui grado di soggettività può essere ridotto vincolando il
rilevamento geologico ai dati analitici rilevabili a scala mesoscopica e/o microscopica. Nel caso in
studio, per la posizione molto elevata del livello strutturale, l'analisi alla mesoscala interessa da
un lato la· geometria delle superfici di stratificazione e dall'altro la deformazione, a carattere
fragile dominante (faglie). A monte di queste procedure di analisi strettamente integrate al
rilevamento geologico, si pone la scelta, che giudichiamo irrinunciabile, di ubicare e delimitare in
carta i singoli affioramenti.
Il livello strutturale in studio è costituito da un substrato di unità alloctone polideformate a
dominante argillosa derivanti, almeno parzialmente, da un dominio a crosta oceanica (Liguridi) e
da una copertura discordante (Neoautoctono Auctt) prevalentemente clastica del Tortoniano sup.Pleistocene
inf. In contrapposizione ai modelli dominanti, che ammettono nell'alto Neogene, sul
margine tirreni co, una tettonica estensionale, dal nostro studio emerge l'esistenza di un thrust
system, a vergenza orientale, che deforma la Formazione Fluvio-lacustre (Tortoniano sup.Messiniano
inf), confinato tra due superfici di scollamento (interfaccia Liguridi-Neoautoctono e
base dei Gessi messiniani) costituito da faglie inverse a geometria sigmoide di direzione da N 140
a N 20 immergenti a S e SW. L'interpretazione del thrust system, che presenta geometria a
hinterland dipping duplex, è guidata dal riconoscimento di zone di taglio rilevate alla mesoscala a
carico dei conglomerati della Fm. Fluvio -lacustre e da ripetute anomalie stratigrafiche interne
alla formazione stessa. Particolare importanza riveste la ripetizione di serie del Botro delle
Calcinaie sottolineata da una "~uola" di materiali liguri alla base della successione conglomeratica
m10cemca sovrascorsa.
Alla strutturazione del thrust system si sovrappone una seconda fase compressiva a carattere
plicativo con pieghe submeridiane, vergenti ad ovest, che deformano solidalmente le superfici
sedimentarie (stratificazione) e le faglie inverse (link thrust?) del thrust system stesso .
La terza fase tettonica, a carattere fragile, è espressa da un sistema di faglie subverticali, di
direzione intorno a N 11 O, per il quale è ammissibile un movimento trascorrente destro; per la
faglia principale del sistema (Faglia di Casale M.mo) è stata riconosciuta, anche a scala
mesoscopica, un'attività da faglia normale, probabilmente pleistocenica, successiva al movimento
trascorrente.
Sul piano stratigrafico gli elementi di maggiore interesse sono rappresentati dalla risoluzione in
membri e litofacies della Fm. Fluvio-lacustre che ha evidenziato le anomalie stratigrafiche
interpretate come duplicazioni tettoni.che del thrust system
Establishment of Cancer Stem Cell Cultures from Human Conventional Osteosarcoma
No full textThe current improvements in therapy against osteosarcoma (OS) have prolonged the lives of cancer patients, but the survival rate of five years remains poor when metastasis has occurred. The Cancer Stem Cell (CSC) theory holds that there is a subset of tumor cells within the tumor that have stem-like characteristics, including the capacity to maintain the tumor and to resist multidrug chemotherapy. Therefore, a better understanding of OS biology and pathogenesis is needed in order to advance the development of targeted therapies to eradicate this particular subset and to reduce morbidity and mortality among patients. Isolating CSCs, establishing cell cultures of CSCs, and studying their biology are important steps to improving our understanding of OS biology and pathogenesis. The establishment of human-derived OS-CSCs from biopsies of OS has been made possible using several methods, including the capacity to create 3-dimensional stem cell cultures under nonadherent conditions. Under these conditions, CSCs are able to create spherical floating colonies formed by daughter stem cells; these colonies are termed "cellular spheres". Here, we describe a method to establish CSC cultures from primary cell cultures of conventional OS obtained from OS biopsies. We clearly describe the several passages required to isolate and characterize CSCs
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