E-AHPBA-ESSO-ESSR Innsbruck consensus guidelines for preoperative liver function assessment before hepatectomy

Background Posthepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) contributes significantly to morbidity and mortality after liver surgery. Standardized assessment of preoperative liver function is crucial to identify patients at risk. These European consensus guidelines provide guidance for preoperative patient assessment. Methods A modified Delphi approach was used to achieve consensus. The expert panel consisted of hepatobiliary surgeons, radiologists, nuclear medicine specialists, and hepatologists. The guideline process was supervised by a methodologist and reviewed by a patient representative. A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, the Cochrane library, and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry. Evidence assessment and statement development followed Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network methodology. Results Based on 271 publications covering 4 key areas, 21 statements (at least 85 per cent agreement) were produced (median level of evidence 2− to 2+). Only a few systematic reviews (2++) and one RCT (1+) were identified. Preoperative liver function assessment should be considered before complex resections, and in patients with suspected or known underlying liver disease, or chemotherapy-associated or drug-induced liver injury. Clinical assessment and blood-based scores reflecting liver function or portal hypertension (for example albumin/bilirubin, platelet count) aid in identifying risk of PHLF. Volumetry of the future liver remnant represents the foundation for assessment, and can be combined with indocyanine green clearance or LiMAx® according to local expertise and availability. Functional MRI and liver scintigraphy are alternatives, combining FLR volume and function in one examination. Conclusion These guidelines reflect established methods to assess preoperative liver function and PHLF risk, and have uncovered evidence gaps of interest for future research.publishedVersio

Los equipamientos sociales en la periferia de Córdoba. Análisis arquitectónico - constructivo. Criterios para su diseño.

Ponencia presentada en el XXXVI Encuentro y XIX Congreso ARQUISUR. Ciudades Vulnerables. Proyecto e Incertidumbre. La Plata, Buenos Aires. 2015Esta investigación comprende el estudio de los equipamientos sociales; en sus aspectos de diseño arquitectónico-constructivo, localizados en áreas periféricas ?en contextos ambientalmente degradados- que dan respuesta a necesidades sociales tales como: alimentación, salud, educación, recreación. Ésta se desarrolla como parte del proyecto aprobado por la Secretaria de Ciencia y Técnica de la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba Resolución No 203/2014- Equipamientos sociales en áreas ambientalmente degradadas. Criterios para su diseño y planificación. Estudio de casos en Córdoba. En esta presentación se profundizan aspectos de arquitectura y construcciones.Fil: Martínez, Mónica Susana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Guzzetti, Celia Susana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Dalvit, Emilse Vanina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Duboue, Víctor. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Copertari, F. Santiago. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Angueira Prieto, Manuel. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Moreyra, Martín. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Aguirre, María Luján. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Baigorria, Fernando. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Mattana, María Agustina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Damiani, Mercedes. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Dosio, W. Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Fernández Maidana, Marina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Maglione, E. David. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaFil: Fraticelli, Guido. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación en Vivienda y Hábitat; ArgentinaDiseño Arquitectónic

Optical imaging of the peri-tumoral inflammatory response in breast cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Purpose</p> <p>Peri-tumoral inflammation is a common tumor response that plays a central role in tumor invasion and metastasis, and inflammatory cell recruitment is essential to this process. The purpose of this study was to determine whether injected fluorescently-labeled monocytes accumulate within murine breast tumors and are visible with optical imaging.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>Murine monocytes were labeled with the fluorescent dye DiD and subsequently injected intravenously into 6 transgenic MMTV-PymT tumor-bearing mice and 6 FVB/n control mice without tumors. Optical imaging (OI) was performed before and after cell injection. Ratios of post-injection to pre-injection fluorescent signal intensity of the tumors (MMTV-PymT mice) and mammary tissue (FVB/n controls) were calculated and statistically compared.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>MMTV-PymT breast tumors had an average post/pre signal intensity ratio of 1.8+/- 0.2 (range 1.1-2.7). Control mammary tissue had an average post/pre signal intensity ratio of 1.1 +/- 0.1 (range, 0.4 to 1.4). The p-value for the difference between the ratios was less than 0.05. Confocal fluorescence microscopy confirmed the presence of DiD-labeled cells within the breast tumors.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Murine monocytes accumulate at the site of breast cancer development in this transgenic model, providing evidence that peri-tumoral inflammatory cell recruitment can be evaluated non-invasively using optical imaging.</p

Placenta Growth Factor-1 Exerts Time-Dependent Stabilization of Adherens Junctions Following VEGF-Induced Vascular Permeability

Increased vascular permeability is an early event characteristic of tissue ischemia and angiogenesis. Although VEGF family members are potent promoters of endothelial permeability the role of placental growth factor (PlGF) is hotly debated. Here we investigated PlGF isoforms 1 and 2 and present in vitro and in vivo evidence that PlGF-1, but not PlGF-2, can inhibit VEGF-induced permeability but only during a critical window post-VEGF exposure. PlGF-1 promotes VE-cadherin expression via the trans-activating Sp1 and Sp3 interaction with the VE-cadherin promoter and subsequently stabilizes transendothelial junctions, but only after activation of endothelial cells by VEGF. PlGF-1 regulates vascular permeability associated with the rapid localization of VE-cadherin to the plasma membrane and dephosphorylation of tyrosine residues that precedes changes observed in claudin 5 tyrosine phosphorylation and membrane localization. The critical window during which PlGF-1 exerts its effect on VEGF-induced permeability highlights the importance of the translational significance of this work in that PLGF-1 likely serves as an endogenous anti-permeability factor whose effectiveness is limited to a precise time point following vascular injury. Clinical approaches that would pattern nature's approach would thus limit treatments to precise intervals following injury and bring attention to use of agents only during therapeutic windows

The Complete Genome Sequence of Fibrobacter succinogenes S85 Reveals a Cellulolytic and Metabolic Specialist

Fibrobacter succinogenes is an important member of the rumen microbial community that converts plant biomass into nutrients usable by its host. This bacterium, which is also one of only two cultivated species in its phylum, is an efficient and prolific degrader of cellulose. Specifically, it has a particularly high activity against crystalline cellulose that requires close physical contact with this substrate. However, unlike other known cellulolytic microbes, it does not degrade cellulose using a cellulosome or by producing high extracellular titers of cellulase enzymes. To better understand the biology of F. succinogenes, we sequenced the genome of the type strain S85 to completion. A total of 3,085 open reading frames were predicted from its 3.84 Mbp genome. Analysis of sequences predicted to encode for carbohydrate-degrading enzymes revealed an unusually high number of genes that were classified into 49 different families of glycoside hydrolases, carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs), carbohydrate esterases, and polysaccharide lyases. Of the 31 identified cellulases, none contain CBMs in families 1, 2, and 3, typically associated with crystalline cellulose degradation. Polysaccharide hydrolysis and utilization assays showed that F. succinogenes was able to hydrolyze a number of polysaccharides, but could only utilize the hydrolytic products of cellulose. This suggests that F. succinogenes uses its array of hemicellulose-degrading enzymes to remove hemicelluloses to gain access to cellulose. This is reflected in its genome, as F. succinogenes lacks many of the genes necessary to transport and metabolize the hydrolytic products of non-cellulose polysaccharides. The F. succinogenes genome reveals a bacterium that specializes in cellulose as its sole energy source, and provides insight into a novel strategy for cellulose degradation

Arms and armor of sub-Saharan Africa.

This joint project with the Higgins Armory Museum created a website with a web-based database for the museum's collection of artifacts from Sub-Saharan Africa. It also documented the geography, history, culture, economy, military history and arms and armor of the region. The artifacts were photographed and linked with the database. The web-based database is searchable and contains the information about the artifacts

Understanding the biological rationale for the diversity of cellulose-directed carbohydrate-binding modules in prokaryotic enzymes

Plant cell walls are degraded by glycoside hydrolases that often contain noncatalytic carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs), which potentiate degradation. There are currently 11 sequence-based cellulose-directed CBM families; however, the biological significance of the structural diversity displayed by these protein modules is uncertain. Here we interrogate the capacity of eight cellulose-binding CBMs to bind to cell walls. These modules target crystalline cellulose (type A) and are located in families 1, 2a, 3a, and 10 (CBM1, CBM2a, CBM3a, and CBM10, respectively); internal regions of amorphous cellulose (type B; CBM4-1, CBM17, CBM28); and the ends of cellulose chains (type C; CBM9-2). Type A CBMs bound particularly effectively to secondary cell walls, although they also recognized primary cell walls. Type A CBM2a and CBM10, derived from the same enzyme, displayed differential binding to cell walls depending upon cell type, tissue, and taxon of origin. Type B CBMs and the type C CBM displayed much weaker binding to cell walls than type A CBMs. CBM17 bound more extensively to cell walls than CBM4-1, even though these type B modules display similar binding to amorphous cellulose in vitro. The thickened primary cell walls of celery collenchyma showed significant binding by some type B modules, indicating that in these walls the cellulose chains do not form highly ordered crystalline structures. Pectate lyase treatment of sections resulted in an increased binding of cellulose-directed CBMs, demonstrating that decloaking cellulose microfibrils of pectic polymers can increase CBM access. The differential recognition of cell walls of diverse origin provides a biological rationale for the diversity of cellulose-directed CBMs that occur in cell wall hydrolases and conversely reveals the variety of cellulose microstructures in primary and secondary cell walls. © 2006 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc