Hemangiopericytoma in the Small Intestine: A Case Report

Hemangiopericytoma is a rare tumor, mostly composed of pericytes of ramified appearance that are normally found all along the venules and capillaries. An 18-year-old female was admitted on March 17, 1997 to the Department of Infectious Diseases for fever, chills and failure to thrive. Physical examination revealed a palpable tumorous mass in the iliac region on the right. The patient was transferred to the Department of Surgery. Vaginal examination and echotomography of the abdomen and pelvis minor were performed and revealed the presence of an irregular, inhomogeneous tumorous formation of 8 cm in diameter in the pelvis minor, differentially diagnostic right ovary, i.e. acute adnexitis or perityphlitic tumor. After that, small intestine resection, tumor excision in toto, and appendectomy were performed on April 16, 1997. Pathohistological diagnosis was hemangiopericytoma and chronic appendicitis. The biological behavior of this tumor is difficult to predict on the basis of clinical and morphological parameters. In our patient, local tumor excision was not followed by adjuvant therapy. After ten years, the patient is well, healthy and a mother of two healthy children

Oxidación y caracterización fisicoquímica de almidón de sagú “Marantha Arundinacea” para la elaboración de bioplástico

Excessive use of petroleum-based materials such as fuels, lubricants, dyes, solvents, asphalt, textile fibers and plastics has generated over time a serious environmental problem, due to long periods of degradation of these materials. That is why today’s research focuses on plastics because they have little life, these wastes end up being deposited in landfills, oceans, lakes and other water sources causing pollution of this vital resource for life, all this, kills animal species and ecosystem´s destabilization. Science has proposed solutions such as recycling, the use of materials made of paper, and the development of biodegradable materials, one of those is sagu starch which is an alternative of raw material for the production of biodegradable plastics. This research was aiming to develop a bioplastic using oxidized sago starch. In this study, we performed a physicochemical characterization of native starch, oxidized starch, and bioplastic made from starch. The analyzes performed were: percentage of carbonyl and carboxil groups, transparent gels. It was also applied a scanning electron microscopy where an irregular appearance of the starch granules size was observed. In addition, EDS microscopy allowed us to observe the simple chemistry of the granules, where the oxidized starches have a higher percentage of oxygen than native starch. In the analysis of X ray diffraction, it was observed the patterns of diffraction and the semicrystalline character of the starch. The FT-IR spectrum shows the characteristics of native and oxidized starches bands. On the other hand, the solubility tests and transparency show an advantage of bioplastic made with oxidized starch.Keywords: Starch, Sagu, Oxidized starch, Bioplastics.El uso excesivo de materiales derivados del petróleo como: combustibles, lubricantes, colorantes, disolventes, asfaltos, fibras textiles y plásticos ha generado a través del tiempo un grave problema ambiental, debido, a los largos periodos de degradación de estos materiales. Es por esto que hoy en día la investigación se centra en los plásticos ya que poseen poca vida útil, estos residuos terminan depositándose en rellenos sanitarios, océanos, lagos y demás fuentes hídricas generando la contaminación de este recurso vital para la vida, todo esto, provoca la muerte de especies animales y la desestabilización del ecosistema. La ciencia ha planteado soluciones tales como: reciclar, uso de papel y el desarrollo de materiales biodegradables siendo el almidón de sagú una alternativa como materia prima para la elaboración de este tipo de materiales. Esta investigación fue orientada a la elaboración de bioplástico utilizando como base almidón de sagú oxidado. Los estudios consisten en una caracterización fisicoquímica al almidón nativo, almidón oxidado y al bioplástico elaborado a base de almidón. Los análisis realizados fueron: porcentaje de grupos carbonilo y de grupos carboxilo, transparencia de los geles, microscopia electrónica de barrido donde se observó la apariencia irregular y los tamaños de los gránulos de almidón, además, el microscopio con EDS permitió observar las composiciones químicas simples de los gránulos, donde, los almidones oxidados tienen mayor porcentaje de oxigeno que el almidón nativo. En los análisis de difracción de rayos X se observa los patrones de difracción y el carácter semicristalino del almidón. El espectro de FT-IR muestra las bandas propias de los almidones nativos y oxidados. Por otra parte, las pruebas de solubilidad, transparencia muestran una ventaja del bioplástico elaborado con almidón oxidado.Palabras clave: Almidón, sagú, Almidón oxidado, Bioplástico

Oxidación y caracterización fisicoquímica de almidón de sagú “Marantha Arundinacea” para la elaboración de bioplástico

El uso excesivo de materiales derivados del petróleo como: combustibles, lubricantes, colorantes, disolventes, asfaltos, fibras textiles y plásticos ha generado a través del tiempo un grave problema ambiental, debido, a los largos periodos de degradación de estos materiales. Es por esto que hoy en día la investigación se centra en los plásticos ya que poseen poca vida útil, estos residuos terminan depositándose en rellenos sanitarios, océanos, lagos y demás fuentes hídricas generando la contaminación de este recurso vital para la vida, todo esto, provoca la muerte de especies animales y la desestabilización del ecosistema. La ciencia ha planteado soluciones tales como: reciclar, uso de papel y el desarrollo de materiales biodegradables siendo el almidón de sagú una alternativa como materia prima para la elaboración de este tipo de materiales. Esta investigación fue orientada a la elaboración de bioplástico utilizando como base almidón de sagú oxidado. Los estudios consisten en una caracterización fisicoquímica al almidón nativo, almidón oxidado y al bioplástico elaborado a base de almidón. Los análisis realizados fueron: porcentaje de grupos carbonilo y de grupos carboxilo, transparencia de los geles, microscopia electrónica de barrido donde se observó la apariencia irregular y los tamaños de los gránulos de almidón, además, el microscopio con EDS permitió observar las composiciones químicas simples de los gránulos, donde, los almidones oxidados tienen mayor porcentaje de oxigeno que el almidón nativo. En los análisis de difracción de rayos X se observa los patrones de difracción y el carácter semicristalino del almidón. El espectro de FT-IR muestra las bandas propias de los almidones nativos y oxidados. Por otra parte, las pruebas de solubilidad, transparencia muestran una ventaja del bioplástico elaborado con almidón oxidado

Detecting Latin-Based Medical Terminology in Croatian Texts

No matter what the main language of texts in the medical domain is, there is always an evidence of the usage of Latin-derived words and formative elements in terminology development. Generally speaking, this usage presents language-specific morpho-semantic behaviors in forming both technical-scientific and common-usage words. Nevertheless, this usage of Latin in Croatian medical texts does not seem consistent due to the fact that diferent mechanisms of word formation may be applied to the same term. In our pursuit to map all the diferent occurrences of the same concept to only one, we propose a model designed within NooJ and based on dictionaries and morphological grammars. Starting from the manual detection of nouns and their variations, we recognize some word formation mechanisms and develop grammars suitable to recognize Latinisms and Croatinized Latin medical terminology

Antiretroviral activity of 5-azacytidine during treatment of a HTLV-1 positive myelodysplastic syndrome with autoimmune manifestations

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are often accompanied by autoimmune phenomena. The underlying mechanisms for these associations remain uncertain, although T cell activation seems to be important. Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1) has been detected in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes, mostly in regions of the world which are endemic for the virus, and where association of HTLV-1 with rheumatological manifestation is not rare. We present here the case of a 58 year old man who presented with cytopenias, leukocytoclastic vasculitis of the skin and glomerulopathy, and was diagnosed as MDS (refractory anemia with excess blasts - RAEB 1). The patient also tested positive for HTLV-1 by PCR. After 8 monthly cycles of 5-azacytidine he achieved a complete hematologic remission. Following treatment, a second PCR for HTLV-1 was carried out and found to be negative. This is the first report in the literature of a HTLV-1-positive MDS with severe autoimmune manifestations, which was treated with the hypomethylating factor 5-azacitidine, achieving cytogenetic remission with concomitant resolution of the autoimmune manifestations, as well as HTLV-1-PCR negativity. HTLV-1-PCR negativity may be due to either immune mediated clearance of the virus, or a potential antiretroviral effect of 5-azacytidine. 5-azacytidine is known for its antiretroviral effects, although there is no proof of its activity against HTLV-1 infection in vivo

Residual substantia nigra neuromelanin in Parkinson's disease is cross-linked to alpha-synuclein

The pigmentation of substantia nigra pars compacta dopaminergic neurons is due to the presence of neuromelanin, an irregular macromolecular pigment belonging to the family of melanins. Depletion of neuromelanin in Parkinson's disease is typically indicated by loss of brown color in this area. Unlike that from controls, the pigment extracted from substantia nigra of parkinsonian patients seems to be mainly composed by highly cross-linked, protease-resistant proteic material and the neuromelanin macromolecule appears to be a minor presence. In the present paper we describe the isolation by SDS-PAGE of this proteic component after cleavage of the melanin backbone under solubilizing conditions. A single band is observed, which has been identified as \u3b1-synuclein by western blotting. As expected, the same process performed on a control specimen did not show occurrence of any major proteic component. Nevertheless, extraction from a 91 years old control with Lewy bodies displayed minor \u3b1-synuclein immunoreactive aggregates, whereas inclusion of free \u3b1-synuclein was not observed at all. Results reported here support the view that \u3b1-synuclein accumulates within substantia nigra neurons and is entrapped in pigment granules during neuromelanin biosynthesis, i.e. before the melanin depletion characteristic of Parkinson's disease starts

Oxidación y caracterización fisicoquímica de almidón de sagú “Marantha Arundinacea” para la elaboración de bioplástico

Excessive use of petroleum-based materials such as fuels, lubricants, dyes, solvents, asphalt, textile fibers and plastics has generated over time a serious environmental problem, due to long periods of degradation of these materials. That is why today’s research focuses on plastics because they have little life, these wastes end up being deposited in landfills, oceans, lakes and other water sources causing pollution of this vital resource for life, all this, kills animal species and ecosystem´s destabilization. Science has proposed solutions such as recycling, the use of materials made of paper, and the development of biodegradable materials, one of those is sagu starch which is an alternative of raw material for the production of biodegradable plastics. This research was aiming to develop a bioplastic using oxidized sago starch. In this study, we performed a physicochemical characterization of native starch, oxidized starch, and bioplastic made from starch. The analyzes performed were: percentage of carbonyl and carboxil groups, transparent gels. It was also applied a scanning electron microscopy where an irregular appearance of the starch granules size was observed. In addition, EDS microscopy allowed us to observe the simple chemistry of the granules, where the oxidized starches have a higher percentage of oxygen than native starch. In the analysis of X ray diffraction, it was observed the patterns of diffraction and the semicrystalline character of the starch. The FT-IR spectrum shows the characteristics of native and oxidized starches bands. On the other hand, the solubility tests and transparency show an advantage of bioplastic made with oxidized starchEl uso excesivo de materiales derivados del petróleo como: combustibles, lubricantes, colorantes, disolventes, asfaltos, fibras textiles y plásticos ha generado a través del tiempo un grave problema ambiental, debido, a los largos periodos de degradación de estos materiales. Es por esto que hoy en día la investigación se centra en los plásticos ya que poseen poca vida útil, estos residuos terminan depositándose en rellenos sanitarios, océanos, lagos y demás fuentes hídricas generando la contaminación de este recurso vital para la vida, todo esto, provoca la muerte de especies animales y la desestabilización del ecosistema. La ciencia ha planteado soluciones tales como: reciclar, uso de papel y el desarrollo de materiales biodegradables siendo el almidón de sagú una alternativa como materia prima para la elaboración de este tipo de materiales. Esta investigación fue orientada a la elaboración de bioplástico utilizando como base almidón de sagú oxidado. Los estudios consisten en una caracterización fisicoquímica al almidón nativo, almidón oxidado y al bioplástico elaborado a base de almidón. Los análisis realizados fueron: porcentaje de grupos carbonilo y de grupos carboxilo, transparencia de los geles, microscopia electrónica de barrido donde se observó la apariencia irregular y los tamaños de los gránulos de almidón, además, el microscopio con EDS permitió observar las composiciones químicas simples de los gránulos, donde, los almidones oxidados tienen mayor porcentaje de oxigeno que el almidón nativo. En los análisis de difracción de rayos X se observa los patrones de difracción y el carácter semicristalino del almidón. El espectro de FT-IR muestra las bandas propias de los almidones nativos y oxidados. Por otra parte, las pruebas de solubilidad, transparencia muestran una ventaja del bioplástico elaborado con almidón oxidad