Informaticarecht en informatietechnologie:een noodzakelijke combinatie

Informaticarecht en infor­matietechnologie: een noodzakelijke combinati

Biodiversity Management in Chickpea

This chapter focuses on the management of biodiversity in chickpea. The morphological diversity; germplasm collections and enhancement; core and minicore collections and their use for diversity studies and new breeding goals; and the conservation and documentation of chickpea genetic resources are describe

Treatment of Canine Osseous Tumors with Photodynamic Therapy: A Pilot Study

Photodynamic therapy uses nonthermal coherent light delivered via fiber optic cable to locally activate a photosensitive chemotherapeutic agent that ablates tumor tissue. Owing to the limitations of light penetration, it is unknown whether photodynamic therapy can treat large osseous tumors. We determined whether photodynamic therapy can induce necrosis in large osseous tumors, and if so, to quantify the volume of treated tissue. In a pilot study we treated seven dogs with spontaneous osteosarcomas of the distal radius. Tumors were imaged with MRI before and 48 hours after treatment, and the volumes of hypointense regions were compared. The treated limbs were amputated immediately after imaging at 48 hours and sectioned corresponding to the MR axial images. We identified tumor necrosis histologically; the regions of necrosis corresponded anatomically to hypointense tissue on MRI. The mean volume of necrotic tissue seen on MRI after photodynamic therapy was 21,305 mm3 compared with a pretreatment volume of 6108 mm3. These pilot data suggest photodynamic therapy penetrates relatively large canine osseous tumors and may be a useful adjunct for treatment of bone tumors

Clinical and functional outcomes of the saddle prosthesis

BACKGROUND:The implantation of a saddle prosthesis after resection of a pelvic tumor has been proposed as a simple method of reconstruction that provides good stability and reduces the surgical time, thus limits the onset of intraoperative complications. There are no studies in the literature of patients evaluated using gait analysis after being implanted with a saddle prosthesis. The present study is a retrospective case review aimed at illustrating long-term clinical and functional findings in tumor patients reconstructed with a saddle prosthesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS:A series of 15 patients who received pelvic reconstruction with a saddle prosthesis were retrospectively reviewed in terms of clinical, radiographic, and functional evaluations. Two patients were additionally assessed by gait analysis. RESULTS:Long-term functional follow-up was achieved in only 6 patients, and ranged from 97 to 167 months. Function was found to be rather impaired, as a mean of only 57 % of normal activity was restored. Gait analysis demonstrated that the implant had poor biomechanics, as characterized by very limited hip motion. CONCLUSIONS: Though the saddle prosthesis was proposed as advance in tumor-related pelvic surgery, the present study indicates that it yields unsatisfactory clinical and functional results due to both clinical complications and the poor biomechanics of the device. The use of a saddle prosthesis in tumor surgery did not provide satisfactory results in long-term follow-up. It is no longer implanted at our institute, and is currently considered a "salvage technique.

Guidelines for histopathological specimen examination and diagnostic reporting of primary bone tumours

This review is intended to provide histopathologists with guidelines for clinical assessment, specimen handling and diagnostic reporting of benign and malignant primary bone tumours. Information from radiology, surgical, oncology and other clinical colleagues involved in the diagnosis and treatment of primary bone tumours should be properly assessed before undertaking a structured approach to specimen handling and histological reporting. This ensures that the information needed for planning appropriate treatment of these complex tumours is provided. Consistency in diagnostic evaluation with respect to both terminology and report content facilitates liaison at multidisciplinary bone tumour meetings and collaboration between cancer units and networks, as well as providing a common database for audit of the clinical, radiological and pathological aspects of bone tumours

The Healing Process of Intracorporeally and In Situ Devitalized Distal Femur by Microwave in a Dog Model and Its Mechanical Properties In Vitro

Background: Limb-salvage surgery has been well recognized as a standard treatment and alternative to amputation for patients with malignant bone tumors. Various limb-sparing techniques have been developed including tumor prosthesis, allograft, autograft and graft-prosthesis composite. However, each of these methods has short- and long-term disadvantages such as nonunion, mechanical failures and poor limb function. The technique of intracorporeal devitalization of tumor-bearing bone segment in situ by microwave-induced hyperthermia after separating it from surrounding normal tissues with a safe margin is a promising limb-salvage method, which may avoid some shortcomings encountered by the above-mentioned conventional techniques. The purpose of this study is to assess the healing process and revitalization potential of the devitalized bone segment by this method in a dog model. In addition, the immediate effect of microwave on the biomechanical properties of bone tissue was also explored in an in vitro experiment. Methods: We applied the microwave-induced hyperthermia to devitalize the distal femurs of dogs in situ. Using a monopole microwave antenna, we could produce a necrotic bone of nearly 20 mm in length in distal femur. Radiography, bone scintigraphy, microangiography, histology and functional evaluation were performed at 2 weeks and 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months postoperatively to assess the healing process. In a biomechanical study, two kinds of bone specimens, 3 and 6 cm in length, were used for compression and three-point bending test respectively immediately after extracorporeall