Laparoscopic technique as a method of choice in the treatment of non-parasitic splenic cysts

Introduction/Objective Splenic cysts are a rare clinical entity. In their origin, they may be parasitic or non-parasitic. They are classified as either primary (true) or secondary cysts (pseudocysts), depending on the presence or absence of an epithelial lining of the lumen. Methods Using a retrospective case study, we included 29 patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery due to splenic cysts. The patients were treated within the 2007-2017 period at the Clinic for Digestive Surgery, the Clinical Center of Serbia. We analyzed pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative characteristics of laparoscopic technique in treating non-parasitic splenic cysts. Results The group of 29 patients treated with laparoscopic technique surgery due to the previously diagnosed splenic cyst, consisted of 12 (41.4%) men and 17 (58.6%) women. The average age of patients undergoing surgery was 38.86 ± 10.4 years (22-62). Based on the histopathological findings, there were eight epithelial cysts and 21 pseudocysts of the spleen. The maximal diameter of the splenic cyst, measured pre-operatively, was 10.09 ± 2.51 cm on average. The average operative time was 35 minutes, and the intra-operative bleeding amount was 11.48 ± 3.78 ml. None of the intra-operative complications, injury to the spleen or other organs of the abdomen, conversions to open surgery or reintervention were recorded. Conclusion Laparoscopic fenestration with excision of the part of the spleen cyst wall (marsupialization) represents an effective and definitive treatment for this disease. It is an alternative to splenectomy, along with other well-known benefits ensured by the spleen preservation. Low probability of occurrence of intra-operative and post-operative complications, as well as minimal trauma of tissue, results in a shorter postoperative stay, rapid recovery, and better quality of life. © 2019, Serbia Medical Society. All rights reserved

Aggressive intraabdominal fibromatosis

Background. Intraabdominal or mesenteric fibromatosis is a rare benign nonmetastatic neoplasm that appears as a sporadic lesion or in patients with familiar polyposis. Its evolution is unpredictable. About 10% of the cases show a very aggressive growth. Case report. We presented a 22-year-old woman in whom an aggressive intraabdominal fibromatosis had appeared during the first pregnancy as a well circumscribed ovoid tumor, involving the terminal ileum, the caecum, the ascending colon, the right kidney, the ureter, and the right common iliac artery. The tumor was excised with right colectomy, nephroureterectomy and resection of the involved artery using arterial reconstruction with graft interposition. Two years after the surgery the patient developed an inoperable tumor recurrence with a fatal outcome. Conclusion. In spite of a successful surgical excision during the original surgery intraabdominal or mesenteric fibromatosis might have an aggressive evolution leading to an inoperable tumor recurrency and a fatal outcome

Potato growing and consumption in Croatia and Slovenia

Cilj ovog rada je ispitati proizvodnju, konzumaciju i potrošnju krumpira u Hrvatskoj i u Sloveniji. U anketnom ispitivanju je sudjelovalo 79 slučajnih ispitanika u Hrvatskoj i 70 slučajnih ispitanika u Sloveniji. Konzumacija krumpira prisutna je u cijelom svijetu tako da su i naše ankete potvrdile njegovu čestu primjenu u Hrvatskoj i Sloveniji. Krumpir iziskuje puno tehnoloških operacija i mehanizacije što uvjetuje njegovu tržišnu cijenu. Istraživanje je dokazalo da tržišna cijena značajno utječe na potrošnju krumpira, kako u Hrvatskoj tako i u Sloveniji. Slovenci više prakticiraju vlastitu proizvodnju, dok Hrvati u nešto većem postotku kupuju krumpir. Po pripremi krumpira za konzumaciju nema velikih razlika između ispitanika iz Hrvatske i ispitanika iz Slovenije.The purpose of this project was to examin the production, consummation and consumption of potatoes in Croatia and Slovenia. Survey was conducted on 79 random subjects in Croatia and 70 radnom subjects in Slovenia. The use of potatoes is present worldwide therefore some of our questionnaire confirmed its frequent use in Croatia and in Slovenia. Potato requires a lot of technological operations and mechanization equipment and that is the condition which determines the market price. Research has proven that the market price significantly affects on consumption of potatoes both in Croatia and in Slovenia. Slovenians are practising their own production while Croats in a higher percentage are buying potates. The ways of preparing for consummation are not significantly different between the subject from Croatia and subjects from Slovenia

Drying mushrooms

Uzgoj gljiva zahtijeva primjenu nove tehnike i tehnologije, te stalno ulaganje u proizvodni sustav. Tijekom proizvodnog ciklusa nastaju gubici i značajni troškovi u sustavu distribucije. U radu su prikazane mogućnosti industrijskog sušenja šampinjona i bukovače u različitim oblicima. Kako bi se zadržala kvaliteta i minimalizirali troškovi sušenja nužno je proces sušenja optimalizirati. To se postiže primjenom različitih temperatura i brzina zraka za sušenje.Growing mushrooms requires new techniques and technologies and constant investment in production system. During the production cycle significant costs are during distribution. All things considered, the most important factors for good production appear to be experience plus cost reduction, especially in the drying process. Optimization of drying process implies application of different temperatures and velocity of the drying air. The paper presents the possibilities of industrial drying champignons and oyster mushrooms in a variety of forms

Environmental cadmium exposure and pancreatic cancer: Evidence from case control, animal and in vitro studies

Although profoundly studied, etiology of pancreatic cancer (PC) is still rather scarce. Some of established risk factors of PC are connected to an increased cadmium (Cd) body burden. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of this environmental pollutant in PC development by conducting human observational, experimental and in vitro studies. The case-control study included 31 patients with a histologically based diagnosis of exocrine PC subjected to radical surgical intervention as cases and 29 accidental fatalities or subjects who died of a nonmalignant illness as controls. Animal study included two treated groups of Wistar rats (15 and 30 mg Cd/kg b.w) and untreated control group, sacrificed 24 h after single oral exposure. In in vitro study pancreas hTERT-HPNE and AsPC-1 cells were exposed to different Cd concentrations corresponding to levels measured in human cancerous pancreatic tissue. Cd content in cancer tissue significantly differed from the content in healthy controls. Odds ratio levels for PC development were 2.79 (95% CI 0.91-8.50) and 3.44 (95% CI 1.19-9.95) in the third and fourth quartiles of Cd distribution, respectively. Animal study confirmed Cd deposition in pancreatic tissue. In vitro studies revealed that Cd produces disturbances in intrinsic pathway of apoptotic activity and the elevation in oxidative stress in pancreatic cells. This study presents three different lines of evidence pointing towards Cd as an agent responsible for the development of PC

The genetic landscape of immune-competent and HIV lymphoma

This journal supplement is Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Malignancies in AIDS and Other Acquired Immunodeficiencies (ICMAOI)Open Access JournalBurkitt lymphoma (BL) and diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are aggressive forms of lymphoma in adults and demonstrate overlapping morphology, immunophenotype and clinical behavior. The risk of developing these tumors increases ten to hundred-fold in the setting of HIV infection. The genetic causes and the role of specific mutations, especially in the setting of HIV, are largely unknown. The decoding of the human genome and the advent of high-throughput sequencing have provided rich opportunities for the comprehensive identification of the genetic causes of cancer. In order to comprehensively identify genes that are recurrently mutated in immune-competent DLBCL and BL, we obtained a total of 92 cases of DLBCLs and 40 cases of BL. These cases were compared to a set of 5 DLBCLs and BL tumors derived from patients with HIV. The DLBCL cases were divided into a discovery set (N=34) and …link_to_OA_fulltextThe 13th International Conference on Malignancies in AIDS and Other Acquired Immunodeficiencies (ICAMAOI), Bethesda, MD., 7-8 November 2011. In Infectious Agents and Cancer, 2011, v. 7 suppl. 1, article no. O

The genetic landscape of mutations in Burkitt lymphoma

Burkitt lymphoma is characterized by deregulation of MYC, but the contribution of other genetic mutations to the disease is largely unknown. Here, we describe the first completely sequenced genome from a Burkitt lymphoma tumor and germline DNA from the same affected individual. We further sequenced the exomes of 59 Burkitt lymphoma tumors and compared them to sequenced exomes from 94 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) tumors. We identified 70 genes that were recurrently mutated in Burkitt lymphomas, including ID3, GNA13, RET, PIK3R1 and the SWI/SNF genes ARID1A and SMARCA4. Our data implicate a number of genes in cancer for the first time, including CCT6B, SALL3, FTCD and PC. ID3 mutations occurred in 34% of Burkitt lymphomas and not in DLBCLs. We show experimentally that ID3 mutations promote cell cycle progression and proliferation. Our work thus elucidates commonly occurring gene-coding mutations in Burkitt lymphoma and implicates ID3 as a new tumor suppressor gene

Genetic heterogeneity of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common form of lymphoma in adults. The disease exhibits a striking heterogeneity in gene expression profiles and clinical outcomes, but its genetic causes remain to be fully defined. Through whole genome and exome sequencing, we characterized the genetic diversity of DLBCL. In all, we sequenced 73 DLBCL primary tumors (34 with matched normal DNA). Separately, we sequenced the exomes of 21 DLBCL cell lines. We identified 322 DLBCL cancer genes that were recurrently mutated in primary DLBCLs. We identified recurrent mutations implicating a number of known and not previously identified genes and pathways in DLBCL including those related to chromatin modification (ARID1A and MEF2B), NF-κB (CARD11 and TNFAIP3), PI3 kinase (PIK3CD, PIK3R1, and MTOR), B-cell lineage (IRF8, POU2F2, and GNA13), and WNT signaling (WIF1). We also experimentally validated a mutation in PIK3CD, a gene not previously implicated in lymphomas. The patterns of mutation demonstrated a classic long tail distribution with substantial variation of mutated genes from patient to patient and also between published studies. Thus, our study reveals the tremendous genetic heterogeneity that underlies lymphomas and highlights the need for personalized medicine approaches to treating these patients