Orbital Exenteration for Eyelid Skin Carcinoma

Exenteration of the orbit is a disfiguring and destructive procedure; it is generally performed for orbital malignancies and often provides a significant reconstructive challenge. Our purpose was to evaluate the clinical indications for orbital exenteration in a tertiary referral center and to assess the reconstructive options employed. A retrospective nonrandomized analysis was performed, selecting all patients undergoing orbital exenteration over a 5-year period, between January 2005 and January 2010. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and reconstructive techniques used were evaluated. Twenty patients with a mean age of 76.5 years underwent total orbital exenteration. Basal cell carcinoma was the main operative indication (45%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (15%). Reconstructive techniques included cover of the raw orbital cavity with a temporal muscular flap in all cases followed with split skin grafting (25%), bilaterally pedicle V-Y advancement flap (10%) and a fasciocutaneous island flap of the retroauricular region (65%). Twenty percent of patients had local complications and all were treated in a satisfactory fashion. Eyelid skin tumors remain an important cause of orbital exenteration. Temporal muscle flap is a reliable and stable reconstructive solution after orbital exenteration and additional aid is supplied with skin grafts or local flaps. This technique ensures a good aesthetic outcome and better situation for later complementary treatments and minimal associated donor site morbidity

Squeezing generation and revivals in a cavity-ion system in contact with a reservoir

We consider a system consisting of a single two-level ion in a harmonic trap, which is localized inside a non-ideal optical cavity at zero temperature and subjected to the action of two external lasers. We are able to obtain an analytical solution for the total density operator of the system and show that squeezing in the motion of the ion and in the cavity field is generated. We also show that complete revivals of the states of the motion of the ion and of the cavity field occur periodically.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Karyotype differentiation in three species of Tripogandra Raf. (Commelinaceae) with different ploidy levels

Most species of the genus Tripogandra (Commelinaceae) are taxonomically poorly circumscribed, in spite of having a relatively stable basic number x = 8. Aiming to estimate the cytological variation among Tripogandra species carrying this base number, several structural karyotypic characters were investigated in the diploid T. glandulosa, the hexaploid T. serrulata, and the octoploid T. diuretica. A careful evaluation of chromosome size and morphology did not reveal clear chromosome homeologies among karyotypes. The mean chromosome size was strongly reduced in the octoploid species, but not in the hexaploid species. They also differed largely in the CMA+ banding pattern and in the number of 5S and 45S rDNA sites per monoploid chromosome complement. All three species showed proximal DAPI + heterochromatin, although in T. serrulata this kind of heterochromatin was only visible after FISH. Further, the meiosis in T. serrulata was highly irregular, suggesting that this species has a hybrid origin. The data indicate that, in spite of the conservation of the base number, these species are karyologically quite different from each other

Liver transplantation for type I and type IV glycogen storage disease

Progressive liver failure or hepatic complications of the primary disease led to orthotopic liver transplantation in eight children with glycogen storage disease over a 9-year period. One patient had glycogen storage disease (GSD) type I (von Gierke disease) and seven patients had type IV GSD (Andersen disease). As previously reported [19], a 16.5-year-old-girl with GSD type I was successfully treated in 1982 by orthotopic liver transplantation under cyclosporine and steroid immunosuppression. The metabolic consequences of the disease have been eliminated, the renal function and size have remained normal, and the patient has lived a normal young adult life. A late portal venous thrombosis was treated successfully with a distal splenorenal shunt. Orthotopic liver transplantation was performed in seven children with type N GSD who had progressive hepatic failure. Two patients died early from technical complications. The other five have no evidence of recurrent hepatic amylopectinosis after 1.1–5.8 postoperative years. They have had good physical and intellectual maturation. Amylopectin was found in many extrahepatic tissues prior to surgery, but cardiopathy and skeletal myopathy have not developed after transplantation. Postoperative heart biopsies from patients showed either minimal amylopectin deposits as long as 4.5 years following transplantation or a dramatic reduction in sequential biopsies from one patient who initially had dense myocardial deposits. Serious hepatic derangement is seen most commonly in types T and IV GSD. Liver transplantation cures the hepatic manifestations of both types. The extrahepatic deposition of abnormal glycogen appears not to be problematic in type I disease, and while potentially more threatening in type IV disease, may actually exhibit signs of regression after hepatic allografting

Relativistic versus Nonrelativistic Optical Potentials in A(e,e'p)B Reactions

We investigate the role of relativistic and nonrelativistic optical potentials used in the analysis of ($e,e'p$) data. We find that the relativistic calculations produce smaller ($e,e'p$) cross sections even in the case in which both relativistic and nonrelativistic optical potentials fit equally well the elastic proton--nucleus scattering data. Compared to the nonrelativistic impulse approximation, this effect is due to a depletion in the nuclear interior of the relativistic nucleon current, which should be taken into account in the nonrelativistic treatment by a proper redefinition of the effective current operator.Comment: Added one new figure, the formalism section has been enlarged and the list of references updated. Added one appendix. This version will appear in Phys. Rev. C. Revtex 3.0, 6 figures (not included). Full postscript version of the file and figures available at http://www.nikhefk.nikhef.nl/projects/Theory/preprints

Children's unique experience of depression: Using a developmental approach to predict variation in symptomatology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Current clinical knowledge suggests that children can have different types of depressive symptoms (irritability and aggression), but presents no theoretical basis for these differences. Using a developmental approach, the present study sought to test the relationship between developmental level (mental age) and expression of depressive symptoms. The primary hypothesis was that as children's mental age increased, so would the number of internalizing symptoms present.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants were 252 psychiatric inpatients aged 4 to 16 with a diagnosed depressive disorder. All children were diagnosed by trained clinicians using DSM criteria. Patients were predominantly male (61%) with varied ethnic backgrounds (Caucasian 54%; African American 22%; Hispanic 19%; Other 5%). Children were given an IQ test (KBIT or WISC) while within the hospital. Mental age was calculated by using the child's IQ score and chronological age. Four trained raters reviewed children's records for depressive symptoms as defined by the DSM-IV TR. Additionally, a ratio score was calculated to indicate the number of internalizing symptoms to total symptoms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mental age positively correlated (<it>r </it>= .51) with an internalizing total symptom ratio score and delineated between several individual symptoms. Mental age also predicted comorbidity with anxiety and conduct disorders. Children of a low mental age were more likely to be comorbid with conduct disorders, whereas children with a higher mental age presented more often with anxiety disorders. Gender was independently related to depressive symptoms, but minority status interacted with mental age.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of this study indicate that a developmental approach is useful in understanding children's depressive symptoms and has implications for both diagnosis and treatment of depression. If children experience depression differently, it follows that treatment options may also differ from that which is effective in adults.</p

A Cross-Sectional Study on the Association between 24-h Urine Osmolality and Weight Status in Older Adults

Data on the association between hydration and body weight in the elderly are scarce. The objective of this work was to quantify the association between 24-h urine osmolality and weight status in the elderly. A cross-sectional study was conducted within the Nutrition UP 65 study. A quota sampling was implemented to achieve a nationally representative sample of Portuguese older adults (≥65 years) according to age, sex, education and region. From a sample size of 1500 participants, 1315 were eligible for the present analysis, 57.3% were women and 23.5% were aged ≥80 years. Participants were grouped using tertiles of 24-h urine osmolality by sex. World Health Organization cutoffs were used to classify participants according to weight status. Multinomial multivariable logistic regression models were conducted to evaluate the association of tertiles of osmolality with weight status, adjusting for confounders. Odds Ratios (OR) and respective 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CI) were calculated. Being in the 3rd urine osmolality tertile (highest) was associated with a higher risk of being obese in men, OR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.06, 3.66. No such association was found in women. These results highlight the need for implementing studies in order to clarify the association between hydration and weight status in the elderly.The Nutrition UP 65 project was granted by the Public Health Initiatives Programme (PT06), financed by European Economic Area (EEA) Grants Financial Mechanism 2009–2014. The country donors were Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway

A Bacterial Cytotoxin Identifies the RhoA Exchange Factor Net1 as a Key Effector in the Response to DNA Damage

Background: Exposure of adherent cells to DNA damaging agents, such as the bacterial cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) or ionizing radiations (IR), activates the small GTPase RhoA, which promotes the formation of actin stress fibers and delays cell death. The signalling intermediates that regulate RhoA activation and promote cell survival are unknown. Principal Findings: We demonstrate that the nuclear RhoA-specific Guanine nucleotide Exchange Factor (GEF) Net1 becomes dephosphorylated at a critical inhibitory site in cells exposed to CDT or IR. Expression of a dominant negative Net1 or Net1 knock down by iRNA prevented RhoA activation, inhibited the formation of stress fibers, and enhanced cell death, indicating that Net1 activation is required for this RhoA-mediated responses to genotoxic stress. The Net1 and RhoAdependent signals involved activation of the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase p38 and its downstream target MAPKactivated protein kinase 2. Significance: Our data highlight the importance of Net1 in controlling RhoA and p38 MAPK mediated cell survival in cells exposed to DNA damaging agents and illustrate a molecular pathway whereby chronic exposure to a bacterial toxin ma