Inflammatory myofibroblastic pseudotumour of the liver in association with gall stones - a rare case report and brief review

Inflammatory myofibroblastic pseudotumours of the liver are rare tumour-like lesions that can mimic malignant liver neoplasms. The symptoms and radiological findings of this rare tumour can pose diagnostic difficulties. We describe a 69-year-old gentleman who was admitted to our department with symptoms suggestive of acute cholecystitis. Ultrasonography and computed tomography of the liver raised the possibility of metastatic liver disease. A core biopsy of the liver was performed to confirm the diagnosis of liver metastasis. Unexpectedly it showed no evidence of malignancy but instead revealed an inflammatory myofibroblastic pseudotumour of the liver. This case report highlights the diagnostic dilemma that arose due to the similarity of appearances between the two pathological entities on imaging and this stresses the need for accurate histological diagnosis so as to avoid unnecessary surgical intervention. To the best of our knowledge, only a minority of cases are reported in the literature associating a hepatic inflammatory myofibroblastic pseudotumour with gall stones

Theoretical Investigation of Active Sites at the Corners of MgCl2 Crystallites in Supported Ziegler-Natta Catalysts

We present a theoretical study on possible models of catalytic active species corresponding to Ti-chloride species adsorbed at the corners of MgCl2 crystallites. First we focused our efforts on the interaction between prototypes of three industrially relevant Lewis bases used as internal donors (1,3-diethers, alkoxysilanes and succinates) and MgCl2 units at the corner of a MgCl2 crystallite. Our calculations show that the energetic cost to extract MgCl2 units at the corner of (104) edged MgCl2 crystallites is not prohibitive, and that Lewis bases added during catalyst preparation make this process easier. After removal of one MgCl2 unit, a short (110) stretch joining the (104) edges is formed. Adsorption of TiCl4 on the generated vacancy originates a Ti-active species. In the second part of this manuscript, we report on the stereo- and regioselective behavior of this model of active species in the absence as well as in the presence of the three Lewis bases indicated above. Surface reconstruction due to the additional adsorption of an extra MgCl2 layer is also considered. We show that, according to experimental data, Lewis bases coordinated in the proximity of the active Ti center confer a remarkable stereoselectivity. Moreover, surface reconstruction as well as donor coordination would improve regioselectivity by disfavoring secondary propene insertion. While still models of possible active species, our results indicate that defects, corners and surface reconstruction should be considered as possible anchoring sites for the catalytically active Ti-species