Swordfish bill injury involving abdomen and vertebral column: case report and review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Penetrating injuries of the abdomen and spinal canal that involve organic material of animal origin are extremely rare and derive from domestic and wild animal attacks or fish attacks.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>In this case report we present the unique, as far as the literature is concerned, unprovoked woman's injury to the abdomen by a swordfish. There are only four cases of swordfish attacks on humans in the literature - one resulted to thoracic trauma, two to head trauma and one to knee trauma, one of which was fatal - none of which were unprovoked. Three victims were professional or amateur fishermen whereas in the last reported case the victim was a bather as in our case. Our case is the only case where organic debris of animal's origin remained in the spinal canal after penetrating trauma.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although much has been written about the management of penetrating abdominal and spinal cord trauma, controversy remains about the optimal management. Moreover, there is little experience in the management of patients with such spinal injuries, due to the fact that such cases are extremely rare. In this report we focus on the patient's treatment with regard to abdominal and spinal trauma and present a review of the literature.</p

Study of EGFR and Notch pathway inhibition and their interaction in non-small cell lung cancer

The present PhD thesis aimed to study the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Notch pathway inhibition as well as their interaction in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).As far as the investigation of the concomitant inhibition of these two pathways is concerned, in vitro experiments were performed in two NSCLC cell lines, H23 and H661, that differ in their metastatic aggressiveness as well as in their N1ICD (Notch-1 intracellular domain), EGFR and HER2 protein levels. The irreversible ErbB family blocker afatinib and the γ-secretase inhibitor DAPT were used. The results indicated that collective cell migration, cell-cell junctions and expression of proteolytic molecules in highly metastatic H661 NSCLC cells were more potently inhibited by the concomitant blockade of Notch and EGFR signaling than the respective monotherapies thus illustrating the potential benefit of a combination therapy. Regarding the study of the precise role of Notch-1 in NSCLC as well as its correlation with EGFR protein, Notch-1 knockdown by small interfering RNA (siRNA) was conducted in NSCLC H23 and H661 cells. The results unveil that Notch-1 controls NSCLC cells’ ability to migrate and invade. In addition, Notch-1 is suggested as a critical effector in the stabilization of EGFR protein.Το αντικείμενο της παρούσας διατριβής ήταν η μελέτη της αναστολής των σηματοδοτικών μονοπατιών του υποδοχέα του επιδερμικού αυξητικού παράγοντα (EGFR) και του Notch καθώς και της αλληλεπίδρασής τους στον μη-μικροκυτταρικό καρκίνο του πνεύμονα (ΜΜΚΠ).Στα πλαίσια της μελέτης της διπλής στόχευσης των δύο αυτών μονοπατιών, πραγματοποιήθηκαν in vitro πειράματα σε δύο κυτταρικές σειρές ΜΜΚΠ, Η23 και Η661, που διαφέρουν μεταξύ τους ως προς την μεταστατική ικανότητα καθώς και ως προς τα N1ICD (ενδοκυττάριο τμήμα του Notch-1 υποδοχέα), EGFR και HER2 πρωτεϊνικά επίπεδα. Χρησιμοποιήθηκαν ο μη αντιστρεπτός αναστολέας των υποδοχέων της ErbB οικογένειας, αφατινίμπη και ο αναστολέας γ-σεκρετάσης, DAPT. Τα αποτελέσματα της διατριβής παρέχουν ενδείξεις ότι η συλλογική κυτταρική μετανάστευση και η έκφραση πρωτεολυτικών μορίων αναστέλλονται καλύτερα ενώ οι δια-κυτταρικές συνδέσεις ενισχύονται σε μεγαλύτερο βαθμό, στα πιο μεταστατικά Η661 κύτταρα, από την ταυτόχρονη αναστολή των EGFR και Notch μονοπατιών σε σύγκριση με τις αντίστοιχες μονοθεραπείες, φανερώνοντας το πιθανό όφελος μιας συνδυαστικής θεραπείας στην αντιμετώπιση του ΜΜΚΠ. Στα πλαίσια της μελέτης του ιδιαίτερου ρόλου του Notch-1 στον ΜΜΚΠ και της συσχέτισής του με την πρωτεΐνη του EGFR, εφαρμόστηκε γονιδιακή αποσιώπηση του Notch-1 με τη χρήση της τεχνολογίας της RNA παρεμβολής (small interfering RNA-siRNA) στα Η23 και Η661 κύτταρα. Τα αποτελέσματα της διατριβής φανερώνουν ότι το Notch-1 ελέγχει την μεταναστευτική και διηθητική ικανότητα των κυττάρων ΜΜΚΠ. Επιπλέον, προτείνεται ότι το Notch-1 πιθανά λειτουργεί ως ένας κρίσιμος τελεστής στη σταθεροποίηση της πρωτεΐνης του EGFR

Utilization of Industrial Ferronickel Slags as Recycled Concrete Aggregates

The scope of this study focuses on the use of two different types of industrial byproducts such as slags (FeNi and Electric Arc Furnace slag) combined with natural sand as concrete aggregates as well as the evaluation of their suitability on the final physicomechanical behavior of the produced concrete specimens. For this reason, twelve concrete specimens were prepared using variable concentrations of these slags which were compared to concrete specimens made by natural rocks as aggregates (limestones). The mineralogical, petrographic, chemical and morphological characteristics of these raw materials were related to the physicomechanical characteristics of the produced concrete specimens. Those concrete specimens containing aggregates of higher amount of Electric Arc Furnace slags seems to present better mechanical strength both in 7 and in 28 days of curing regarding the other mixtures and regarding the specimens made by natural rocks as aggregates (limestones). This is due to the mineralogical, textural and morphological characteristics of the tested slags, which lead to a better bonding between them and the cement paste making them at the same time a promising alternative in the production of green concrete for construction applications. The compact texture of slags is responsible for the stronger bonding with the aggregates in relation to the unevenly distributed porosity of the natural aggregates. Wüstite presents negative effect on the final mechanical strength of concrete specimens which is documented both by the microscope images and by the three-dimensional study of the produced concretes

Additional file 3: Figure S2. of Epidermal growth factor receptor status and Notch inhibition in non-small cell lung cancer cells

Representative plots for cell cycle analysis in H23, A549, H661 and HCC827 cells as described in “Materials and Methods” section. Control: untreated cells, DAPT: cells treated with DAPT. The G0/G1, S and G2/M phases are indicated with blue, red and green colour, respectively. (PDF 113 kb

Additional file 2: Figure S1. of Epidermal growth factor receptor status and Notch inhibition in non-small cell lung cancer cells

Representative plots for apoptosis and necrosis detection in H23, A549, H661 and HCC827 cells as described in “Materials and Methods” section. Control: untreated cells and DAPT: cells treated with DAPT. Four populations are distinguished: the viable (An-/PI-) [region 3], the early apoptotic (An+/PI-) [region 4], the late apoptotic (An+/PI+) [region 2] and the necrotic (An-/PI+) [region 1] cells. (PDF 399 kb