LOCAL FLAPS USED IN FACIAL RECONSTRUCTION AFTER THE EXCISION OF CUTANEOUS CARCINOMAS –RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

The incidence of skin carcinomas on the face varies significantly by geographical area, in Romania being 10 in 100.000 inhabitants. Aim of the study: To determine the incidence, clinical characteristics and histopathological types of facial cutaneous carcinomas, as well as the types of local flaps used in the reconstruction of facial cutaneous defects consecutive to the excision of carcinomatous lesions. Material and methods: The study was conducted on a representative sample made of 342 patients on two main directions: clinical and computer-assisted statistical. Results: Basal cell carcinoma was diagnosticated in 69% cases of whom 51.7% were male, mostly aged over 60. Rotation flap was the first option for most patients requiring local flaps plasty of postoperative defect (51%). Conclusions: The interventions using local flaps provide the possibility of restoring aesthetic function; their colour and texture are similar to the skin of the postoperative defect region

Optimization of Manufacturing Processes by Reducing the Costs of Tools and Equipment on Hydraulically Operated High-Pressure Technological Lines

Most technological manufacturing lines include hydraulically operated stationary tools, devices and equipment. During a manufacturing cycle, there are phases, usually short, in which part of the hydraulic cylinders of the drive systems concerned, with small gauges and displacement speeds, have to generate / maintain high clamping or pressing forces, which implies functioning at high working pressures. The solution for such cylinders is to use modular hydraulic pumping units comprising: oil tank; low-pressure electric pump; hydraulic directional valve for starting, stopping and changing the direction of displacement of the cylinder; electric pump pressure control valve; pressure filter; return filter; oscillating hydraulic pressure intensifier (minibooster mounted directly on the cylinder). Such pumping units, which consume low pressure (in the primary side of the minibooster) to generate high pressure (in the secondary side of the minibooster), are cost-effective when it comes to the procurement of components, installing them, the space required for installation, and their maintenance, too. The classic applications of using them are for achieving and maintaining high pressure values, either in volumes of closed spaces (endurance tests on pipes and tanks), or at the active stroke end of hydraulic cylinders (hydraulic presses). The authors demonstrate, on a laboratory test bench, the following: - The range of applications of such pumping units can be extended in a third direction, namely for actuation of hydraulic cylinders with low gauge / speeds and constant high load (high working pressure) over the entire stroke; - The uniformity of displacement of these cylinders with load over the entire stroke, fed and actuated by such pumping units, is weakly affected by the pulsating mode of operation of the hydraulic pressure intensifier

Green Chemistry in the Extraction of Natural Dyes from Colored Food Waste, for Dyeing Protein Textile Materials

The beetroot peels can be a sustainable source of betalains that can dye the wool materials through green processes based on low water and energy consumption. Green chemistry in the extraction of betalains from colored food waste/peels from red beetroot involved the use of water as a solvent, without other additives. In order for the extract obtained to be able to dye the wool, it was necessary to functionalize betalains or even the wool. Three types of sustainable functionalizations were performed, with (1) acetic acid; (2) ethanol; and (3) arginine. For each functionalization, the mechanism that can justify dyeing the wool in intense colors was elucidated. The characterization of the extract was performed with the data provided by UV-VIS and HPLC-MS analyses. The characterization of the wool dyed with the extract obtained from the red beetroot peels was possible due to the information resulting from the FTIR and CIELab analyses. The functionalizations of betalains and wool in acid environments lead to the most intense red colors. The color varies depending on the pH and the concentration of betalains

Comparative RNA-Sequencing Analysis Reveals High Complexity and Heterogeneity of Transcriptomic and Immune Profiles in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Tumors of Viral (HBV, HCV) and Non-Viral Etiology

Background and Objectives: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of primary liver cancer, is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. It arises and progresses against fibrotic or cirrhotic backgrounds mainly due to infection with hepatitis viruses B (HBV) or C (HCV) or non-viral causes that lead to chronic inflammation and genomic changes. A better understanding of molecular and immune mechanisms in HCC subtypes is needed. Materials and Methods: To identify transcriptional changes in primary HCC tumors with or without hepatitis viral etiology, we analyzed the transcriptomes of 24 patients by next-generation sequencing. Results: We identified common and unique differentially expressed genes for each etiological tumor group and analyzed the expression of SLC, ATP binding cassette, cytochrome 450, cancer testis, and heat shock protein genes. Metascape functional enrichment analysis showed mainly upregulated cell-cycle pathways in HBV and HCV and upregulated cell response to stress in non-viral infection. GeneWalk analysis identified regulator, hub, and moonlighting genes and highlighted CCNB1, ACTN2, BRCA1, IGF1, CDK1, AURKA, AURKB, and TOP2A in the HCV group and HSF1, HSPA1A, HSP90AA1, HSPB1, HSPA5, PTK2, and AURKB in the group without viral infection as hub genes. Immune infiltrate analysis showed that T cell, cytotoxic, and natural killer cell markers were significantly more highly expressed in HCV than in non-viral tumors. Genes associated with monocyte activation had the highest expression levels in HBV, while high expression of genes involved in primary adaptive immune response and complement receptor activity characterized tumors without viral infection. Conclusions: Our comprehensive study underlines the high degree of complexity of immune profiles in the analyzed groups, which adds to the heterogeneous HCC genomic landscape. The biomarkers identified in each HCC group might serve as therapeutic targets

Comprehensive transcriptomic analyses of tissue, serum, and serum exosomes from hepatocellular carcinoma patients

Background The expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is a promising prognostic and diagnostic tool in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here we performed small RNA sequencing (sRNA-seq) of tissue, serum and serum exosomes to investigate changes in miRNA expression between the different sample types and correlated the expression with clinical parameters. We also performed gene expression arrays on tumor and normal tissue. Results Paired tissue, serum and serum exosomes sequencing revealed consistent positive correlation of miR-21 between serum exosomes and tumor tissue, indicating that miR-21 could be exported from tissue to circulation via exosomes. We found that let-7 miRNAs are generally upregulated in serum exosomes compared to whole serum, indicating that these miRNAs could be preferentially loaded into exosomes. Comparing serum from HCC patients with serum from healthy individuals revealed a global increase of miRNAs in serum from HCC patients, including an almost 4-fold increase of several miRNAs, including the liver-specific miR-122. When correlating miRNA expression with clinical parameters we detected significant association between hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and miR-122 in serum as well as several serum and tissue-miRNAs that correlated with surgery type. We found that miR-141 and miR-146 correlated with cirrhosis in tumor tissue and normal tissue, respectively. Finally, high expression of miR-21 in tumors were associated with poor survival. Focusing on gene expression we found several significant messenger RNAs (mRNAs) between tumor and normal tissue and a Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that these changes were mainly related to cell cycle and metabolism. Further, we detected mRNAs that correlated with cirrhosis and HBV infection in tissue. Finally, GO analysis of predicted targets for miRNAs down-regulated in tumor found that these were enriched for functions related to collagen synthesis. Conclusions Our combined data point to altered miRNA and mRNA expression contributing to both generally impaired lipid metabolism and increased cell proliferation and a miRNA-driven increase in collagen synthesis in HCC. Our results further indicate a correlation in miRNA expression between exosomes, serum, and tissue samples suggesting export from tumors via exosomes. This correlation could provide a basis for a more tumor-specific miRNA profile in serum

Collagen Family and Other Matrix Remodeling Proteins Identified by Bioinformatics Analysis as Hub Genes Involved in Gastric Cancer Progression and Prognosis

Gastric cancer has remained in the top five cancers for over ten years, both in terms of incidence and mortality due to the shortage of biomarkers for disease follow-up and effective therapies. Aiming to fill this gap, we performed a bioinformatics assessment on our data and two additional GEO microarray profiles, followed by a deep analysis of the 40 differentially expressed genes identified. PPI network analysis and MCODE plug-in pointed out nine upregulated hub genes coding for proteins from the collagen family (COL12A1, COL5A2, and COL10A1) or involved in the assembly (BGN) or degradation of collagens (CTHRC1), and also associated with cell adhesion (THBS2 and SPP1) and extracellular matrix degradation (FAP, SULF1). Those genes were highly upregulated at the mRNA and protein level, the increase being correlated with pathological T stages. The high expression of BGN (p = 8 × 10−12), THBS2 (p = 1.2 × 10−6), CTHRC1 (p = 1.1 × 10−4), SULF1 (p = 3.8 × 10−4), COL5A1 (p = 1.3 × 10−4), COL10A1 (p = 5.7 × 10−4), COL12A1 (p = 2 × 10−3) correlated with poor overall survival and an immune infiltrate based especially on immunosuppressive M2 macrophages (p-value range 4.82 × 10−7–1.63 × 10−13). Our results emphasize that these genes could be candidate biomarkers for GC progression and prognosis and new therapeutic targets

Isochoric Supercooling Organ Preservation System.

This technical paper introduces a novel organ preservation system based on isochoric (constant volume) supercooling. The system is designed to enhance the stability of the metastable supercooling state, offering potential long-term preservation of large biological organs at subfreezing temperatures without the need for cryoprotectant additives. Detailed technical designs and usage protocols are provided for researchers interested in exploring this field. The paper also presents a control system based on the thermodynamics of isochoric freezing, utilizing pressure monitoring for process control. Sham experiments were performed using whole pig liver sourced from a local food supplier to evaluate the systems ability to sustain supercooling without ice nucleation for extended periods. The results demonstrated sustained supercooling without ice nucleation in pig liver tissue for 24 and 48 h. These findings suggest the potential of this technology for large-volume, cryoprotectant-free organ preservation with real-time control over the preservation process. The simplicity of the isochoric supercooling device and the design details provided in the paper are expected to serve as encouragement for other researchers in the field to pursue further research on isochoric supercooling. However, final evidence that these preserved organs can be successfully transplanted is still lacking

Isochoric Supercooling Organ Preservation System

This technical paper introduces a novel organ preservation system based on isochoric (constant volume) supercooling. The system is designed to enhance the stability of the metastable supercooling state, offering potential long-term preservation of large biological organs at subfreezing temperatures without the need for cryoprotectant additives. Detailed technical designs and usage protocols are provided for researchers interested in exploring this field. The paper also presents a control system based on the thermodynamics of isochoric freezing, utilizing pressure monitoring for process control. Sham experiments were performed using whole pig liver sourced from a local food supplier to evaluate the system’s ability to sustain supercooling without ice nucleation for extended periods. The results demonstrated sustained supercooling without ice nucleation in pig liver tissue for 24 and 48 h. These findings suggest the potential of this technology for large-volume, cryoprotectant-free organ preservation with real-time control over the preservation process. The simplicity of the isochoric supercooling device and the design details provided in the paper are expected to serve as encouragement for other researchers in the field to pursue further research on isochoric supercooling. However, final evidence that these preserved organs can be successfully transplanted is still lacking

The Extent of Insulin Resistance in Patients That Cleared Viral Hepatitis C Infection and the Role of Pre-Existent Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta-Analysis

A high risk of developing insulin resistance (IR) and, eventually, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). Multiple mechanisms can account for the development of IR in chronic HCV patients, steatosis or fatty liver that can lead to metabolic syndrome, and the inflammatory process associated with the presence of HCV infection. In this article, we analyze the reported values of homoeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) before and after successful direct-acting agents (DAAs) treatment in the literature (23 studies) at certain intervals, respectively 12, 24, and 52 weeks depending on the presence of T2DM among patients. The meta-analysis showed improvement of IR in most cases except for three studies that presented a minimal increase in HOMA-IR value for the non-T2DM group at the 12- and 24-week check-ups possibly hinting at a prediabetes group. All other studies showed an important decrease in HOMA-IR post-DAA treatment specifically for the T2DM group. The most significant change in HOMA-IR values was noticed after 24 weeks in all categories. Our meta-analysis showed that clearance of HCV leads to improvement of IR, especially in the case of patients with T2DM