COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND POLYPHENOLIC CONTENT OF SUCCESSIVE EXTRACTS OF NYCTANTHES ARBOR-TRISTIS LINN.

Objective: Present work comprehensively evaluates the antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) of four successive extracts of various parts of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis Linn. at different concentrations using spectrophotometric assays. Methods: TPC and TFC were measured using Folin–Ciocalteu's and aluminium trichloride method, respectively. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity and 2, 2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays. Relationship between free radical scavenging assays and phenolic compounds was deduced using correlation matrix between various study parameters. TPC, TFC and antioxidant activity was higher in methanolic extracts followed by aqueous, petroleum benzene and chloroform extracts. Results: Methanolic and aqueous extracts were found to have higher phenolic and flavonoid content. Antioxidant capacity of methanolic and aqueous extracts were greater than petroleum ether and chloroform extracts. Conclusion: The study suggests that to a certain extent, all extracts act as radical scavengers possibly due to presence of polyphenolic compounds. It was concluded that Nyctanthes arbor-tristis Linn. exhibit strong antioxidant activity and could serve as potential therapeutic plant for various diseases

Oncological safety of stromal vascular fraction enriched fat grafting in two-stage breast reconstruction after nipple sparing mastectomy: long-term results of a prospective study

OBJECTIVE: Autologous fat transfer (AFT) is commonly used to treat implant palpability and prevent fibrosis and thinning in mastectomy skin flaps. A major limit to this procedure is volume retention over time, leading to the introduction of fat enrichment with stromal vascular fraction (SVF+AFT). Oncological concerns have been raised over the injection of an increased concentration of progenitors cells (ASCs) in the SVF. The aim of the study is to evaluate the long-term cancer recurrence risk of SVF+AFT cases compared to AFT, in patients undergoing Nipple Sparing Mastectomy (NSM). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective study was designed to compare three groups of patients undergoing NSM followed by SVF+AFT, AFT or none (control group), after a two-stage breast reconstruction. Patients were strictly followed-up for at least 5-years from the second stage reconstructive procedure. Loco-regional and systemic recurrence rate were evaluated over time as the primary outcome. Logistic regression was used to investigate which factors were associated with recurrence events and independent variables of interest were: surgical technique, age above 50 years old, lympho-vascular invasion, oncological stage, adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy, adjuvant radiotherapy and adjuvant hormone therapy. RESULTS: 41 women were included in G1 (SVF+AFT), 64 in G2 (AFT), and 64 in G3 (control group). Loco-regional recurrence rate was 2.4% for G1, 4.7% for G2, and 1.6% for G3. Systemic recurrence was 7.3%, 3.1%, and 3.1%, respectively. Among the variables included, there were no significant risk factors influencing a recurrence event, either loco-regional or systemic. In particular, SVF+AFT (G1) did not increase the oncological recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that both centrifuged and SVF-enhanced fat transfer have a similar safety level in comparison to patients who did not undergo fat grafting in breast reconstruction after NSM

A Machine Checked Model of Idempotent MGU Axioms For Lists of Equational Constraints

We present formalized proofs verifying that the first-order unification algorithm defined over lists of satisfiable constraints generates a most general unifier (MGU), which also happens to be idempotent. All of our proofs have been formalized in the Coq theorem prover. Our proofs show that finite maps produced by the unification algorithm provide a model of the axioms characterizing idempotent MGUs of lists of constraints. The axioms that serve as the basis for our verification are derived from a standard set by extending them to lists of constraints. For us, constraints are equalities between terms in the language of simple types. Substitutions are formally modeled as finite maps using the Coq library Coq.FSets.FMapInterface. Coq's method of functional induction is the main proof technique used in proving many of the axioms.Comment: In Proceedings UNIF 2010, arXiv:1012.455

A note on the pulsation theory of cepheid variables

The problem of the anharmonic pulsations for the homogeneous model ( and also the Roche model ) pulsating in the fundamental mode is discussed. The ratio of specific heats is assumed to be 5/3. The results are compared with those of Rosseland

Oncoplastic conservative surgery for breast cancer: long-term outcomes of our first ten years experience

The main goal of oncoplastic breast surgery (OBS) is to optimize cosmetic outcomes and reduce patient morbidity, while still providing an oncologically-safe surgical outcome and extending the target population of conservative surgery. Although the growing number of reported experiences with oncoplastic surgery, few studies account for the long-term outcomes

Titanium-coated polypropylene mesh as innovative bioactive material in conservatives mastectomies and pre-pectoral breast reconstruction

Breast reconstruction is rapidly evolving, thanks to the growing acceptance of synthetic meshes as innovative biomaterials. 276 patients undergoing mastectomy (total of 328 mastectomies) were analyzed in a retrospective observational study to evaluate the pre-pectoral immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) using an implant wrapped with Titanium-Coated Polypropylene Mesh (TCPM) vs. patients treated with tissue expander (TE), equally placed pre-pectorally (and wrapped with the same TCPM in 74.3% of the control group’ breasts). 163 patients, of the study group (SG), underwent mastectomy and pre-pectoral IBR with implant wrapped with TCPM, in a one-step surgery, called direct-to-implant technique (DTI), while 113 patients control group (CG) underwent mastectomy and TE. DTI technique has been performed in 192 breasts of the SG while TE procedure in 136 breasts of the CG. The BREAST-Q questionnaire has been provided before the treatment and 2 years later. Baker scale has been used to evaluate capsular contracture. Oncologic, surgical, and aesthetic outcomes along with BREAST-Q scores were analyzed. Additionally, a histologic evaluation was conducted in 11 capsules' samples randomly chosen (6 derived from SG patients and 5 derived from CG). Complications were recorded in 43 cases (29SG-14CG): 8 skin-nipple necrosis (5SG-3CG), 8 wound dehiscence (6SG-2CG), 3 hematomas (1SG-2CG), and 24 infections (8SG-16CG). Grade IV capsular contracture was detected in 9 breasts (1SG-8CG), whereas 254 breasts were grade I (110SG-144CG), 33 (10SG-23CG) grade II, and 32 (4SG-28CG) grade III. Implant wrinkling was detected in 18 cases (10SG-8CG) after 30 months. The local tumor recurrence rate was 5.8%. Three recurrences were on the nipple-areola complex (1.9%). SG patients showed significantly higher rates in the BREAST-Q overall Satisfaction with Outcome (74.1), overall Satisfaction with Breasts (69.1), Psychosocial Well-being (81.9), and Sexual Well-being (63.1), versus CG's patients (p < 0.05). Histological analysis showed a process of normal tissue repair with a complete mesh integration and normal healing. Conservative mastectomies with pre-pectoral IBR assisted by TCPM proved themselves oncologically safe, biologically integrated into native tissues, and highly accepted in terms of quality of life guaranteeing a more natural and aesthetic breast appearance. Core tip: This retrospective observational study provided clinical and histological outcomes of the pre-pectoral IBR using an implant wrapped with TCPM vs. patients treated with TE, equally placed pre-pectorally. The efficacy of IBR using an implant wrapped with TCPM was confirmed by the cosmetic results obtained and by a rate of side effects comparable to TE. All the histological analyses performed confirmed the TCPM mesh complete integration with the physiological aspects of healing: The Collagen 1 and 3 expressions did not differ, between TCPM and NO TCPM samples to confirm a process of healing overlapping to perfect device incorporation and normal healing

A Formalization of the Theorem of Existence of First-Order Most General Unifiers

This work presents a formalization of the theorem of existence of most general unifiers in first-order signatures in the higher-order proof assistant PVS. The distinguishing feature of this formalization is that it remains close to the textbook proofs that are based on proving the correctness of the well-known Robinson's first-order unification algorithm. The formalization was applied inside a PVS development for term rewriting systems that provides a complete formalization of the Knuth-Bendix Critical Pair theorem, among other relevant theorems of the theory of rewriting. In addition, the formalization methodology has been proved of practical use in order to verify the correctness of unification algorithms in the style of the original Robinson's unification algorithm.Comment: In Proceedings LSFA 2011, arXiv:1203.542