Splenomesenteric vein: formally recognising a clinically relevant section of the portal venous drainage system

Background and aims: The objective of this study was to identify and examine a common vein in the portal system that is not consistently named, and when named, to assess whether fundamental concepts were applied in the process of naming. Essentially, the portal venous system drains 3 regions of the gastrointestinal system into 3 major veins (superior mesenteric — SMV, splenic — SV, and inferior mesenteric — IMV) ultimately forming the portal vein (PV). TheSMV is formed from midgut veins generally representing the right side of the abdomen. The IMV is formed from hindgut veins generally representing the left side of the lower abdomen and pelvis, classically draining into the SV. The SV is formed from the foregut veins and generally accepts the IMV. The SV then joins the superior mesenteric vein to become the PV.Materials and methods: Sixty cadavers were dissected to observe the frequency of this morphology. Current anatomy and atlas texts were reviewed to identify the morphology and nomenclature.Results: Observations from this study identified a vein being formed from the convergence of the SV and IMV the author named “splenomesenteric vein”, which joins the superior mesenteric to form the PV.Conclusions: These findings suggest re-evaluating the morphology and nomenclature of this structure because of the pathology and clinical relevance of this area

Unusual formation and sub-omohyoid course of external jugular vein.

Variations in the origin and termination of external jugular vein are common and are reported in the past. However, variations in the course of external jugular vein are uncommon. During routine dissection classes for medical undergraduates, we came across the unusual formation and course of right external jugular vein and absence of common facial vein, in an approximately 60-year-old male cadaver of Indian origin. External jugular vein was formed by the continuation of undivided trunk of retromandibular vein. Following its formation, it passed vertically superficial to sternocleidomastoid muscle to the lower part of occipital triangle. In the occipital triangle it pierced the investing layer of deep cervical fascia and passed deep to the inferior belly of omohyoid muscle and coursed through the subclavian triangle. Then, it terminated at the junction of subclavian vein with internal jugular vein. Facial vein joined with submental vein and finally drained into internal jugular vein. Further, the posterior auricular vein and anterior jugular veins were absent. Knowledge about the variations of the retromandibular vein, common facial vein and external jugular vein observed in this study, may be important for the surgeons, to prevent inadvertent injury and excessive bleeding during diagnostic and therapeutic procedures

Intercondylar Distances of the Human Temporomandibular Joints

In a sample which included subjects of the Croatian population we made measurements of intercondylar distances between the temporomandibular joints in radiographs. A total of 101 subjects of both sexes ranging in age from 20 to 80 years, mostly residents in Zagreb, were evaluated. We measured the intercondylar distances from the condyle centers in the postero-anterior cranial radiographs which had previously been examined and traced on acetate paper. The measuring points were digitized prior to measurements. A special system of coordinates was devised for each radiograph. The results of our measurements were assessed by ANOVA analysis. The intercondylar distance between the two temporomandibular joints was within the range of 110 and 145 mm, with the mean of 126 mm. In men the intercondylar distance was within the range of 116 and 145 mm, with the mean of 130.2 mm. In women the distance ranged from 110 to 138 mm, with the mean of 123.5 mm. There was a significant difference between the two sexes. From a review of the literature, it is apparent that the results of our measurements do not support the results of similar studies assessed by a number of researchers in other countries. The intercondylar distance in the Croatian sample was 5.25% larger than the maximal values of the same parameters in other populations suggesting larger craniofacial skeletons. The development of this radiographic assessment method should improve evaluation of subjects seeking treatment

Controversies in the Management of Borderline Resectable Proximal Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma with Vascular Involvement

Synchronous major vessel resection during pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for borderline resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma remains controversial. In the 1970s, regional pancreatectomy advocated by Fortner was associated with unacceptably high morbidity and mortality rates, with no impact on long-term survival. With the establishment of a multidisciplinary approach, improvements in preoperative staging techniques, surgical expertise, and perioperative care reduced mortality rates and improved 5-year-survival rates are now achieved following resection in high-volume centres. Perioperative morbidity and mortality following PD with portal vein resection are comparable to standard PD, with reported 5-year-survival rates of up to 17%. Segmental resection and reconstruction of the common hepatic artery/proper hepatic artery (CHA/PHA) can be performed to achieve an R0 resection in selected patients with limited involvement of the CHA/PHA at the origin of the gastroduodenal artery (GDA). PD with concomitant major vessel resection for borderline resectable tumours should be performed when a margin-negative resection is anticipated at high-volume centres with expertise in complex pancreatic surgery. Where an incomplete (R1 or R2) resection is likely neoadjuvant treatment with systemic chemotherapy followed by chemoradiation as part of a clinical trial should be offered to all patients

Molecular characterization of Pvr9 that confers a hypersensitive response to Pepper mottle virus (a potyvirus) in Nicotiana benthamiana

AbstractThere are some R genes against potyviruses which were mapped in pepper. However, none of them has been characterized at the molecular level. In this study, we characterized Pvr9 which is an Rpi-blb2 ortholog from pepper and confers a hypersensitive response to Pepper mottle virus (PepMoV) in a transient expression system in Nicotiana benthamiana. This gene putatively encoded for 1298 amino acids and is located on pepper chromosome 6. PepMoV NIb was the elicitor of the Pvr9-mediated hypersensitive response. NIb from several other potyviruses also elicited the hypersensitive response. Inoculation of pepper with PepMoV resulted in a minor increase in Pvr9 transcription in the resistant cultivar CM334 and a slight down-regulation in the susceptible cultivar Floral Gem. The 5′ upstream region of Pvr9 from cultivar CM334 had higher transcription activity than the region from cultivar Floral Gem. The cultivars CM334 and Floral Gem had non-functional Pvr9 homologs with loss-of-function mutations

Formal Methods for Automated Diagnosis of Autosub 6000

This is a progress report on applying formal methods in the context of building an automated diagnosis and recovery system for Autosub 6000, an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). The diagnosis task involves building abstract models of the control system of the AUV. The diagnosis engine is based on Livingstone 2, a model-based diagnoser originally built for aerospace applications. Large parts of the diagnosis model can be built without concrete knowledge about each mission, but actual mission scripts and configuration parameters that carry important information for diagnosis are changed for every mission. Thus we use formal methods for generating the mission control part of the diagnosis model automatically from the mission script and perform a number of invariant checks to validate the configuration. After the diagnosis model is augmented with the generated mission control component model, it needs to be validated using verification techniques

Model checking multi-agent systems

A multi-agent system (MAS) is usually understood as a system composed of interacting autonomous agents. In this sense, MAS have been employed successfully as a modelling paradigm in a number of scenarios, especially in Computer Science. However, the process of modelling complex and heterogeneous systems is intrinsically prone to errors: for this reason, computer scientists are typically concerned with the issue of verifying that a system actually behaves as it is supposed to, especially when a system is complex. Techniques have been developed to perform this task: testing is the most common technique, but in many circumstances a formal proof of correctness is needed. Techniques for formal verification include theorem proving and model checking. Model checking techniques, in particular, have been successfully employed in the formal verification of distributed systems, including hardware components, communication protocols, security protocols. In contrast to traditional distributed systems, formal verification techniques for MAS are still in their infancy, due to the more complex nature of agents, their autonomy, and the richer language used in the specification of properties. This thesis aims at making a contribution in the formal verification of properties of MAS via model checking. In particular, the following points are addressed: • Theoretical results about model checking methodologies for MAS, obtained by extending traditional methodologies based on Ordered Binary Decision Diagrams (OBDDS) for temporal logics to multi-modal logics for time, knowledge, correct behaviour, and strategies of agents. Complexity results for model checking these logics (and their symbolic representations). • Development of a software tool (MCMAS) that permits the specification and verification of MAS described in the formalism of interpreted systems. • Examples of application of MCMAS to various MAS scenarios (communication, anonymity, games, hardware diagnosability), including experimental results, and comparison with other tools available