A study on facial artery and its submental and perioral branches

The main arterial supply of the facial skin envelope is the facial artery which serves as a main pedicle for a number of facial flaps. The knowledge of anatomy of facial artery is essential in raising viable facial flaps and devising new flaps.Therapeutic radiological interventions like embolization of tumour feeding vessel in case of tumours of face need a thorough knowledge of the vascular pattern of face. The anatomy of the facial artery was studied in 50 adult head and neck specimens at the Institute of Anatomy, Madras Medical College. Facial artery in 15 adult carotid angiograms from the Barnard Institute of Radiology, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital were also studied. Facial artery arose separately from the external carotid artery in 82 % of specimens and 93.33 % of angiograms. Common linguo facial trunk was present in 18 % of specimens and 6.66 % of angiogram. The branching pattern of facial artery in face was classified based on the study done by Loukas et al. 70 % of specimens belonged to type A pattern, 24 % of specimens belonged to type B pattern and 6 % of specimens belonged to type C pattern. In 28 % of specimens, premasseteric branch was present. In 12 % of specimens, buccal branch was present. The average length of submental artery was 7.44 cm. The mean distance of origin of submental artery from the origin of facial artery was 3.36 cm and from the angle of mandible was 2.88cm. Infra labial artery was present in 58% of cadaveric specimens and 53.33 % of angiograms. The average length of Inferior labial artery was 2.48 cm and superior labial artery was 6.04 cm. Inferior labial arteryarose from facial artery below the level of oral commissure in 72 %.Superior labial artery arose from facial artery above the level of oral commissure in 94 %. The knowledge of facial artery anatomy is essential for better planning of reconstructive procedures, raising viable flaps and devising new flaps. It also helps the radiologists in better interpretation of radiological images andsurgeons for avoiding complications during surgeries

Effect of Organics and Inorganics on Yield Parameters in Bell Pepper under Open Condition

Investigations were carried out to study the effect of organics on yield and fruit quality parameters in bell pepper grown under open condition. Split plot design, with three replications, was adopted taking two bell pepper varieties, viz., California Wonder and Gangavati Local (as main-plot treatments) and nutrient source (as sub-plot treatments). Variety California Wonder performed better with respect to yield parameters compared to the Local variety. Application of 100% recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) through a combination of 50% FYM and 50% poultry manure (O5) as basal dose recorded significantly higher fruit yield (16.33 t/ha) and yield components over other treatments. Among interactions, O5 (FYM (50%) + poultry manure (50%) recorded significantly higher fruit yield (18.47 t/ha), followed by 18.31 t/ha with organic application in O1 (FYM (50%) + Vermicompost (50%) in California Wonder variety

Effect of Organic Cultivation of Capsicum annuum L. on Soil Microbial Properties under Open-Field and Shade-House Conditions

Two bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) varieties, viz., California Wonder and Gangavati Local, were raised under nine completely organic nutrient sources, along with recommended package of practices, and, under completely inorganic nutrient sources. Irrespective of the variety and growing environment, there was substantial increase in total bacterial count (22.97% and 24.98%), population of fungi (20.23% and 20.23%), actinomycetes (36.89% and 36.83%) and mycorrhiza (44.63% and 29.40%) in open-field and shade-house conditions, respectively, in all the nutrient combinations where organic sources were used, compared to the inorganic treatment. All organic nutrient sources used were found to be similar in their effect on soil microbes

Comparative effect of different sugars instigating non-enzymatic browning and Maillard reaction products in guava fruit leather

Browning is a major quality deterioration process affecting both visual colour and nutritional value of guava leather. The aim of the study was to determine the role of different sugars viz., sucrose, fructose, glucose and sorbitol in non-enzymatic browning and antioxidant activity of guava fruit leather. The total free amino acids, ascorbic acid and antioxidant activities were at significantly lower levels in glucose and fructose treated guava leather, while the sorbitol added samples had all of above parameters at the highest level; while a reverse trend was observed in browning index and non-enzymatic browning. Among the browning intermediate products, Hydroxymethylfurfural was present at higher concentration (12.80-32.32 ng/g) than furfural (0.29-0.95 ng/g) in guava leather samples. Among the treatments, hydroxymethylfurfural was found lowest in sorbitol (12.8 ng/g) and highest in fructose (32.3 ng/g). In brief, this paper describes a novel effort in bringing the in-vitro studies related to sugars and total free amino acids, influencing the biochemical and nutritional attributes which are responsible for browning in guava fruit leather

Vascular regrowth following photodynamic therapy in the chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) induces damage to the endothelium, which can lead to increased vascular permeability and, under intensive PDT conditions, even to platelet aggregation, vasoconstriction, and blood flow stasis. Eventually, ischemia, hypoxia, and inflammation can occur, resulting in angiogenesis. We studied the sequence of the vascular events after Visudyne®-PDT in the chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) at day 11 of development. Using epi-fluorescence microscopy, we monitored the regrowth of capillaries in the PDT treated area. Immediately after irradiation, the treatment resulted in blood flow arrest. And 24 h post PDT, sprouting of new blood vessels was observed at the edge of the PDT zone. Neovessels looping out from the edge of the PDT zone gave rise to specialized endothelial tip structures guiding the vessels towards the center of the treated area. At 48 h almost all of the treated area was repopulated with functional but morphologically altered vasculature. These observations also showed reperfusion of some of the vessels that had been closed by the PDT treatment. CAM samples were immunohistochemically stained for Ki-67 showing proliferation of endothelial cells in the PDT area. Also, several markers of immature and angiogenic blood vessels, such as αVβ3-integrin, vimentin and galectin-1, were found to be enhanced in the PDT area, while the endothelial maturation marker intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 was found to be suppressed. These results demonstrate that the new vascular bed is formed by both neo-angiogenesis and reperfusion of existing vessels. Both the quantitative real-time RT–PCR profile and the response to pharmacological treatment with Avastin®, an inhibitor of angiogenesis, suggest that angiogenesis occurs after PDT. The observed molecular profiling results and the kinetics of gene regulation may enable optimizing combination therapies involving PDT for treatment of cancer and other diseases

Giant breast tumors: Surgical management of phyllodes tumors, potential for reconstructive surgery and a review of literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Phyllodes tumors are biphasic fibroepithelial neoplasms of the breast. While the surgical management of these relatively uncommon tumors has been addressed in the literature, few reports have commented on the surgical approach to tumors greater than ten centimeters in diameter – the giant phyllodes tumor.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report two cases of giant breast tumors and discuss the techniques utilized for pre-operative diagnosis, tumor removal, and breast reconstruction. A review of the literature on the surgical management of phyllodes tumors was performed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Management of the giant phyllodes tumor presents the surgeon with unique challenges. The majority of these tumors can be managed by simple mastectomy. Axillary lymph node metastasis is rare, and dissection should be limited to patients with pathologic evidence of tumor in the lymph nodes.</p

Transcriptional recapitulation and subversion of embryonic colon development by mouse colon tumor models and human colon cancer

Colon tumors from four independent mouse models and 100 human colorectal cancers all exhibited striking recapitulation of embryonic colon gene expression from embryonic days 13.5-18.5

Gut microbiota composition correlates with diet and health in the elderly

Alterations in intestinal microbiota composition are associated with several chronic conditions, including obesity and inflammatory diseases. The microbiota of older people displays greater inter-individual variation than that of younger adults. Here we show that the faecal microbiota composition from 178 elderly subjects formed groups, correlating with residence location in the community, day-hospital, rehabilitation or in long-term residential care. However, clustering of subjects by diet separated them by the same residence location and microbiota groupings. The separation of microbiota composition significantly correlated with measures of frailty, co-morbidity, nutritional status, markers of inflammation and with metabolites in faecal water. The individual microbiota of people in long-stay care was significantly less diverse than that of community dwellers. Loss of community-associated microbiota correlated with increased frailty. Collectively, the data support a relationship between diet, microbiota and health status, and indicate a role for diet-driven microbiota alterations in varying rates of health decline upon ageing

Transcriptional recapitulation and subversion of embryonic colon development by mouse colon tumor models and human colon cancer

Abstract Background The expression of carcino-embryonic antigen by colorectal cancer is an example of oncogenic activation of embryonic gene expression. Hypothesizing that oncogenesis-recapitulating-ontogenesis may represent a broad programmatic commitment, we compared gene expression patterns of human colorectal cancers (CRCs) and mouse colon tumor models to those of mouse colon development embryonic days 13.5-18.5. Results We report here that 39 colon tumors from four independent mouse models and 100 human CRCs encompassing all clinical stages shared a striking recapitulation of embryonic colon gene expression. Compared to normal adult colon, all mouse and human tumors over-expressed a large cluster of genes highly enriched for functional association to the control of cell cycle progression, proliferation, and migration, including those encoding MYC, AKT2, PLK1 and SPARC. Mouse tumors positive for nuclear β-catenin shifted the shared embryonic pattern to that of early development. Human and mouse tumors differed from normal embryonic colon by their loss of expression modules enriched for tumor suppressors (EDNRB, HSPE, KIT and LSP1). Human CRC adenocarcinomas lost an additional suppressor module (IGFBP4, MAP4K1, PDGFRA, STAB1 and WNT4). Many human tumor samples also gained expression of a coordinately regulated module associated with advanced malignancy (ABCC1, FOXO3A, LIF, PIK3R1, PRNP, TNC, TIMP3 and VEGF). Conclusion Cross-species, developmental, and multi-model gene expression patterning comparisons provide an integrated and versatile framework for definition of transcriptional programs associated with oncogenesis. This approach also provides a general method for identifying pattern-specific biomarkers and therapeutic targets. This delineation and categorization of developmental and non-developmental activator and suppressor gene modules can thus facilitate the formulation of sophisticated hypotheses to evaluate potential synergistic effects of targeting within- and between-modules for next-generation combinatorial therapeutics and improved mouse models