Tähtiaurinkokello osana Tornion varhaismodernin ajan murrosta

Tiivistelmä. Aurinkokello oli 1500–1700-luvun tieteiden tutkituin ja yhteiskunnan symbolisin esine. Tämä aikakaudellaan keskeinen esine on kuitenkin jäänyt lähes huomiotta maailmankuvaa ja aikakäsitystä koskevassa tutkimuksessa. Pitkän käyttöajan esineenä aurinkokellojen kautta on mahdollista tarkastella muutoksia maailmankuvassa, yksilökäsityksessä, tieteissä ja aikakäsityksessä. Suensaaren aurinkokello osoittaa, miten aurinkokellojen kautta voidaan tutkia varhaismodernin Tornion asukkaiden maailmankuvan muutosta. Aurinkokellojen kautta näkyy mm. kuinka yksilökeskeisyyden lisääntyessä ja aseman osoittaminen korostuu, aika muuttuu henkilökohtaisemmaksi ja lopulta keinotekoiseksi. Tutkimus tarkastelee myös varhaisten julkisten kellojen merkitystä ja suhdetta aurinkokelloihin. Tutkimuksen ytimessä on Tornion Suensaaresta löydetty hiekkakivinen tähtiaurinkokello. Kello on todennäköisesti valmistettu Groningenissa, Hollannissa, missä on ulkonäöltä, että kellon toimintaperiaatteilta vastaavia kelloja edelleen. Malli on erittäin harvinainen ja rajoittuu ko. alueelle. Suensaaren kello on kuitenkin näitä kelloja vanhempi, ollen luultavasti 1500–1600-luvun alusta. Tornion korkeudelle päätyessään kello on mahdollisesti ollut jo vanha ja se on muokattu alueelle sopivaksi. Tähtiaurinkokellon kulkeutuminen Tornioon liittyy todennäköisesti Könkään ruukin saksalais-hollantilaisten omistajien Jacob ja Abraham Reenstierna-Momman toimintaan. On mahdollista, että juuri tämä tähtikello aikanaan seisoi heidän kartanonsa puutarhassa. Viimeistään ennen isonvihan alkua aurinkokello todennäköisesti päätyi Suensaaren maaperään ja säästyi tuhoilta palaen kaupungin mukana ja hautautuen maan alle. Suensaaren aurinkokello on osa aikakauden kulttuuria, jota kulkeutui varhaisen eurooppalaisen kolonisaation mukana. Kauppiaat käyttivät kotimaansa kulttuurisia elementtejä luoden hybriditilan uusille asuinsijoille niin Könkäällä kuin Kapkaupungissa. Samalla tavoin kruunun vaatima kaupunkitila Tornion keskustassa edusti samaa mallia koneellisine kelloineen kuin muutkin kaupungit tuolla aikakaudella. Tähtiaurinkokello kertoo aikakaudelle tyypillisten symbolien ja arvojen kulkeutumisesta ja käytöstä Torniossa. Se kertoo myös varhaismodernin globalisaation ulottumisesta napapiirin tuntumaan alueelle, joka tarkasteluaikakaudella oli kaikkea muuta kuin syrjäseutua

Treatment of keloid scars with intralesional triamcinolone and 5-fluorouracil injections - a randomized controlled trial

Keloids have high recurrence rates. Current first-line therapy is triamcinolone (TAC) injection, but it has been suggested that approximately 50% of keloids are steroid resistant. We compared the efficacy of intralesional 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and triamcinalone injections in a double-blind randomized controlled trial. Forty-three patients with 50 keloid scars were treated with either intralesional TAC or 5-FU-injections over 6 months. There was no statistically significant difference in the remission rate at 6 months between the 5-FU and TAC groups (46% vs 60%, respectively). Local adverse effects were higher in the TAC group compared to the 5-FU group. Occurrence of skin atrophy in TAC group was 44% and in the 5-FU group 8% (p <0.05). Also the occurrence of telangiectasia in the TAC group was 50% and in the 5-FU 21% (p <0.05). Vascularity of the keloids, assessed by spectral imaging and immunohistochemical staining for blood vessels, after treatment decreased in the TAC group, but not in the 5-FU group (p <0.05). Fibroblast proliferation evaluated by Ki-67 staining significantly decreased in the TAC group (p <0.05) but increased in the 5-FU group (p <0.05). TAC and 5-FU injections did not differ in their clinical effectivity in this randomized study, but 5-FU injections lead to increased proliferation rate and did not affect vascular density in histological assessment. Due to the greater number of adverse effects observed after TAC treatment, 5-FU injections may be preferable for cosmetically sensitive skin areas. (C) 2018 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Transverse myocutaneous gracilis flap reconstruction is feasible after pelvic exenteration : 12-year surgical and oncological results

Introduction: Pelvic exenteration (PE) is the only curative treatment for certain locally advanced intrapelvic malignancies. PE has high morbidity, and optimal reconstruction of the pelvic floor remains undetermined. Materials and methods: A retrospective chart review was performed at a tertiary university center to assess the surgical and oncological outcomes of 39 PE procedures over a 12-year period. The majority of patients (n = 25) underwent transverse musculocutaneous gracilis (TMG) flap reconstruction for pelvic floor reconstruction. Results: The 1- and 5-year overall survival (OS) was 72% (95%CI 58%-86%) and 48% (95%CI 31%-65%), respectively. In multivariate analysis, lymph node metastasis (HR 3.070, p = 0.024) and positive surgical margins (HR 3.928, p = 0.009) were risk factors for OS. In this population, 71.8% of the patients had at least one complication. The complication rate was 65.4% and 84.6% for patients with versus without flap reconstruction, respectively (p = 0.191). The length of stay was longer for patients with a major complication 16,0 +/- 5,9 days vs. 29,4 +/- 14,8 days, p = 0.001, but complications did not affect OS. Conclusion: For selected patients, PE is a curative option for locally advanced, residual, or recurrent intrapelvic tumors. Pelvic floor and vulvovaginal defects can reliably be reconstructed using TMG flaps. TMG flaps are favored in our institution over abdominal-based flaps because the donor site morbidity is reasonable and TMG does not interfere with enterostomy. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd, BASO similar to The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Probing QCD dynamics in two-photon interactions at high energies

In this paper the two-photon interactions at high energies are investigated considering different approaches for the QCD dynamics. In particular, we calculate the $\gamma^* \gamma^*$ total cross section in different theoretical approches and present a comparison among the predictions of the BFKL dynamics at leading and next-to-leading order with those from saturation physics. We analyze the possibility that the future linear colliders could discriminate between these different approaches.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures. Version to be published in Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physic

Soft tissue reconstruction after pelvic amputation: The efficacy and reliability of free fillet flap reconstruction

Background: The majority of hindquarter amputation defects can be reconstructed with local anterior or posterior thigh flaps. Less than 5% of soft tissue defects require free flap reconstruction after tumour resection. Lower extremity fillet flap is described for reconstructing such defects, but the majority of publications are case reports or short single institutional series. There is a lack of data regarding the oncological outcomes of this highly selected patient group. Methods: Three tertiary sarcoma units treated twelve patients with hindquarter amputation or hip disarticulation for oncological indications with a free flap reconstruction of the soft tissue defect. Results: The median age of patients was 60 (range 12-76) years. Bone resection was carried out through the SI-joint in six patients and through the sacrum in five patients, with one patient undergoing hip disarticulation. Nine patients had R0 resection margin and three had R1 resection. The median surgical time and flap ischaemia time was 420 (249-650) and 89 (64-210) min, respectively. Median hospital and ICU stay was 18 (10-42) and 3 (1-8) days, respectively. Median blood loss was 2400 (950-10000) ml. There were three returns to theatre due to vascular compromise, with one total flap loss due to arterial thrombosis. Overall survival was 58% (95%CI 28-91%) both at 1-year and at 3-years. Discussion: Carefully selected patients requiring hindquarter amputation with extensive soft tissue defect necessitating free flap reconstruction can be reconstructed with a lower extremity free fillet flap with low rate of local wound complications. Survival of these patients is similar to that in patients requiring less extensive resection. Keywords: Fillet flap; Free flap; Hindquarter amputation; Hip disarticulation; Sarcoma; Survival.Background: The majority of hindquarter amputation defects can be reconstructed with local anterior or posterior thigh flaps. Less than 5% of soft tissue defects require free flap reconstruction after tumour resection. Lower extremity fillet flap is described for reconstructing such defects, but the majority of publications are case reports or short single institutional series. There is a lack of data regarding the oncological outcomes of this highly selected patient group. Methods: Three tertiary sarcoma units treated twelve patients with hindquarter amputation or hip disarticulation for oncological indications with a free flap reconstruction of the soft tissue defect. Results: The median age of patients was 60 (range 12-76) years. Bone resection was carried out through the SI-joint in six patients and through the sacrum in five patients, with one patient undergoing hip disarticulation. Nine patients had R0 resection margin and three had R1 resection. The median surgical time and flap ischaemia time was 420 (249-650) and 89 (64-210) min, respectively. Median hospital and ICU stay was 18 (10-42) and 3 (1-8) days, respectively. Medianblood loss was 2400 (950-10000) ml. There were three returns to theatre due to vascular compromise, with one total flap loss due to arterial thrombosis. Overall survival was 58% (95%CI 28-91%) both at 1-year and at 3-years. Discussion: Carefully selected patients requiring hindquarter amputation with extensive soft tissue defect necessitating free flap reconstruction can be reconstructed with a lower extremity free fillet flap with low rate of local wound complications. Survival of these patients is similar to that in patients requiring less extensive resection. (c) 2020 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

GABA(B) receptor positive allosteric modulators with different efficacies affect neuroadaptation to and self-administration of alcohol and cocaine

Drugs of abuse induce widespread synaptic adaptations in the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) neurons. Such drug-induced neuroadaptations may constitute an initial cellular mechanism eventually leading to compulsive drug-seeking behavior. To evaluate the impact of GABA(B) receptors on addiction-related persistent neuroplasticity, we tested the ability of orthosteric agonist baclofen and two positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of GABA(B) receptors to suppress neuroadaptations in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and reward-related behaviors induced by ethanol and cocaine. A novel compound (S)-1-(5-fluoro-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-2-yl)-4-methyl-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]quinazolin-5(4H)-one (ORM-27669) was found to be a GABA(B) PAM of low efficacy as agonist, whereas the reference compound (R,S)-5,7-di-tert-butyl-3-hydroxy-3-trifluoromethyl-3H-benzofuran-2-one (rac-BHFF) had a different allosteric profile being a more potent PAM in the calcium-based assay and an agonist, coupled with potent PAM activity, in the [S-35] GTP gamma S binding assay in rat and human recombinant receptors. Using autoradiography, the high-efficacy rac-BHFF and the low-efficacy ORM-27669 potentiated the effects of baclofen on [S-35] GTP gamma S binding with identical brain regional distribution. Treatment of mice with baclofen, rac-BHFF, or ORM-27669 failed to induce glutamate receptor neuroplasticity in the VTA DA neurons. Pretreatment with rac-BHFF at non-sedative doses effectively reversed both ethanol- and cocaine-induced plasticity and attenuated cocaine i.v. self-administration and ethanol drinking. Pretreatment with ORM-27669 only reversed ethanol-induced neuroplasticity and attenuated ethanol drinking but had no effects on cocaine-induced neuroplasticity or self-administration. These findings encourage further investigation of GABA(B) receptor PAMs with different efficacies in addiction models to develop novel treatment strategies for drug addiction.Peer reviewe

B cells rapidly target antigen and surface-derived MHCII into peripheral degradative compartments

In order to mount high-affinity antibody responses, B cells internalise specific antigens and process them into peptides loaded onto MHCII for presentation to T helper cells (T H cells). While the biochemical principles of antigen processing and MHCII loading have been well dissected, how the endosomal vesicle system is wired to enable these specific functions remains much less studied. Here, we performed a systematic microscopy-based analysis of antigen trafficking in B cells to reveal its route to the MHCII peptide-loading compartment (MIIC). Surprisingly, we detected fast targeting of internalised antigen into peripheral acidic compartments that possessed the hallmarks of the MIIC and also showed degradative capacity. In these vesicles, intemalised antigen converged rapidly with membrane-derived MHCII and partially overlapped with cathepsin-S and H2-M, both required for peptide loading. These early compartments appeared heterogenous and atypical as they contained a mixture of both early and late endosomal markers, indicating a specialized endosomal route. Together, our data suggest that, in addition to in the previously reported perinuclear late endosomal MIICs, antigen processing and peptide loading could have already started in these specialized early peripheral acidic vesicles (eMlIC) to support fast peptide-MHCII presentation. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.Peer reviewe

Clinical results and quality of life after reconstruction following sacrectomy for primary bone malignancy

Background: Sacrectomy is a rare and demanding surgical procedure that results in major soft tissue defects and spinopelvic discontinuity. No consensus is available on the optimal reconstruction algorithm. Therefore, the present study evaluated the results of sacrectomy reconstruction and its impact on patients' quality of life (QOL). Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted for 21 patients who underwent sacrectomy for a primary bone tumour. Patients were divided into groups based on the timing of reconstruction as follows: no reconstruction, immediate reconstruction or delayed reconstruction. QOL was measured using the EQ-5D instrument before and after surgery in patients treated in the intensive care unit. Results: The mean patient age was 57 (range 22-81) years. The most common reconstruction was gluteal muscle flap (n =9) and gluteal fasciocutaneous flap (n = 4). Four patients required free-tissue transfer, three latissimus dorsi flaps and one vascular fibula bone transfer. No free flap losses were noted. The need for unplanned re-operations did not differ between groups (p =0.397), and no significant differences were found for pre- and post-operative QOL or any of its dimensions. Discussion: Free flap surgery is reliable for reconstructing the largest sacrectomy defects. Even in the most complex cases, surgery can be safely staged, and final reconstruction can be carried out within 1 week of resection surgery without increasing peri-operative complications. Sacrectomy does not have an immoderate effect on the measured QOL. (C) 2018 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

In Vivo and In Vitro Study of a Polylactide-Fiber-Reinforced β-Tricalcium Phosphate Composite Cage in an Ovine Anterior Cervical Intercorporal Fusion Model

A poly-70L/30DL-lactide (PLA70)–β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) composite implant reinforced by continuous PLA-96L/4D-lactide (PLA96) fibers was designed for in vivo spinal fusion. The pilot study was performed with four sheep, using titanium cage implants as controls. The composite implants failed to direct bone growth as desired, whereas the bone contact and the proper integration were evident with controls 6 months after implantation. Therefore, the PLA70/β-TCP composite matrix material was further analyzed in the in vitro experiment by human and ovine adipose stem cells (hASCs and oASCs). The composites proved to be biocompatible as confirmed by live/dead assay. The proliferation rate of oASCs was higher than that of hASCs at all times during the 28 d culture period. Furthermore, the composites had only a minor osteogenic effect on oASCs, whereas the hASC osteogenesis on PLA70/β-TCP composites was evident. In conclusion, the composite implant material can be applied with hASCs for tissue engineering but not be evaluated in vivo with sheep