Methylene Blue and Proflavine as Intraarterial Marker for Functional Perforazome—Comparative Study

Methylene blue (MB) is both a dye and a medicine known and used for a long time including as lymphatic tracer in melanoma and breast cancer for revealing sentinel lymph nodes. Proflavine (PRO) is an acriflavine dye, used as bacteriostatic disinfectant against many gram-positive bacteria that was also successfully applied to evaluate morphopathological changes in tissues. This study was performed on a group of twenty-eight Wistar rats and had as its main objective the in vivo evaluation of the use of MB and PRO as perforator tracers. The two dyes proved to be effective functional perforasome tracers with medium inflammatory infiltrate in the skin of the island perforator flap which heals perfectly at 14 days with complete absence of the inflammatory reaction. At the same injected amount, PRO seems to determine a greater inflammatory reaction compared with MB, but in smaller concentration, the inflammatory response is absent in the case of PRO. In conclusion, both substances tested within this in vivo study are good functional perforasome tracers, but PRO has the advantage of the absence of inflammatory reaction when using lower concentrations, while preserving unalerted its efficiency as tracer

The effects of optimizing blood inflow in the pedicle on perforator flap survival: A pilot study in a rat model.

BACKGROUND Perforator flaps have led to a revolution in reconstructive surgery by reducing donor site morbidity. However, many surgeons have witnessed partial flap necrosis. Experimental methods to increase inflow have relied on adding a separate pedicle to the flap. The aim of our study was to experimentally determine whether increasing blood flow in the perforator pedicle itself could benefit flap survival. METHODS In 30 male Lewis rats, an extended posterior thigh perforator flap was elevated and the pedicle was dissected to its origin from the femoral vessels. The rats were assigned to three groups: control (group I), acute inflow (group II) and arterial preconditioning (group III) depending on the timing of ligation of the femoral artery distal to the site of pedicle emergence. Digital planimetry was performed on postoperative day (POD) 7 and all flaps were monitored using laser Doppler flowmetry perioperatively and postoperatively in three regions (P1-proximal flap, P2-middle of the flap, P3-distal flap). RESULTS Digital planimetry showed the highest area of survival in group II (78.12%±8.38%), followed by groups III and I. The laser Doppler results showed statistically significant higher values in group II on POD 7 for P2 and P3. At P3, only group II recorded an increase in the flow on POD 7 in comparison to POD 1. CONCLUSIONS Optimization of arterial inflow, regardless if performed acutely or as preconditioning, led to increased flap survival in a rat perforator flap model

Recent archaeological researches in the Vârghiș Gorges karst area (Eastern Carpathians, Romania). A synthesis of the 2014–2020 campaigns

The Vârghiș Gorges karst system (Perșani Mountains, Eastern Carpathians) constituted a point of interest for speleologists, paleontologists and archaeologists since the second half of the 19th century. Their efforts succeeded in highlighting the notable archaeological potential of the area, although the actual research results were not always thoroughly reported. Since 2014, our team reunited specialists from 10 different institutions and various fields of research and initiated archaeological excavations, coupled with achaeozoological, sedimentological and chronometric investigations, in several caves within the Vârghiș Gorges. As the paper below will show, although the results obtained so far are definitively informative, further investigation are clearly needed, in order to accurately clarify aspects pertaining to the intricate cultural and chronological framework.Sistemul carstic din Cheile Vârghișului (Munții Perșani, Carpații Orientali) a reprezentat un punct de interes pentru speologi, paleontologi și arheologi încă din a doua jumătate a secolului XIX. Demersurile acestora au evidențiat remarcabilul potențial arheologic al zonei, chiar dacă rezultatele investigațiilor propriu-zise nu au fost întotdeauna prezentate exhaustiv. Începând cu anul 2014, am alcătuit o echipă de specialiști din zece instituții de cercetare și variate domenii de specialitate și am inițiat săpături arheologice, însoțite de cercetări arheozoologice, sedimentologice și cronometrice, în câteva peșteri din Cheile Vârghișului. Așa cum reiese din observațiile prezentate, deși rezultatele obținute până în prezent oferă informații noi, cercetări viitoare sunt necesare pentru o mai bună înțelegere a complexității cadrului cronologic și cultural.Cosac Marian, Murătoreanu George, Veres Daniel, Niţă Loredana, Schmidt Cristoph, Hambach Ulrich, Radu Alexandru, Cuculici Roxana, Buzea Dan Lucian, Ștefan Dan, Mărgărit Monica, Vasile Ştefan, Dumitraşcu Valentin, Roşu Mariana, Petculescu Alexandru, Sava Tiberiu, Georgescu Valentin, Șerbănescu Gabriel, Geambașu Ionel. Recent archaeological researches in the Vârghiș Gorges karst area (Eastern Carpathians, Romania). A synthesis of the 2014–2020 campaigns. In: Materiale şi cercetãri arheologice (Serie nouã), H-S 2021. pp. 325-350