Anatomic variability of groin innervation

Inguinal hernia repairs are very common yet fairly complex surgical procedures.Variations in the anatomical course of the inguinal nerves require that diligenceis taken in their proper recognition. Inadvertent surgical injury to these nerves isassociated with long term postoperative pain and complications. The aim of thepresent study was to highlight the complexity and variation in the innervation ofthe inguinal region in order to increase proper nerve identification during surgicalinterventions. Bilateral dissection of the inguinal and posterior abdominal regionsin one human male cadaver revealed an atypical anatomic topography of thegroin innervation. This unusual case was observed at the Jagiellonian UniversityAnatomy Department during routine cadaveric preparations. The left ilioinguinalnerve was absent. The left genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve arose higherthan expected from the lumbar plexus and supplied the groin region, which istypically innervated by the ilioinguinal nerve. Furthermore, the left lateral cutaneousfemoral nerve and the right genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve alsofollowed uncharacteristic courses. Awareness of topographical nerve variationsduring inguinal hernia repair will help surgeons identify and preserve importantnerves, thus decreasing the incidence of chronic postoperative pain

Deliverable 9.1 - Report on mixtures and implementation strategy in Europe – Assessment of chemical mixtures under consideration of current and future regulatory requirements and scientific approaches

This report gives an overview on the regulatory processes and requirements for risk assessment of chemical mixtures, identifies gaps in the European legislation and summarises potential approaches for the health risk assessment of chemical mixtures

Advances in studying phasic dopamine signaling in brain reward mechanisms

The last sixty years of research has provided extraordinary advances of our knowledge of the reward system. Since its discovery as a neurotransmitter by Carlsson and colleagues (1), dopamine (DA) has emerged as an important mediator of reward processing. As a result, a number of electrochemical techniques have been developed to measure DA in the brain. Together, these techniques have begun to elucidate the complex roles of tonic and phasic DA signaling in reward processing and addiction. In this review, we will first provide a guide for the most commonly used electrochemical methods for DA detection and describe their utility in furthering our knowledge about DA's role in reward and addiction. Second, we will review the value of common in vitro and in vivo preparations and describe their ability to address different types of questions. Last, we will review recent data that has provided new mechanistic insight of in vivo phasic DA signaling and its role in reward processing and reward-mediated behavior

Développement d'outils microbiologiques et chimiques permettant d'identifier l'origine des pollutions fécales dans les eaux de baignades

La pollution organique issue des effluents d'élevage et des stations d'épuration urbaines conduit à un problème essentiel de santé publique lié à la contamination des eaux de surface où s'exercent des activités sensibles telles que la baignade. S'il est possible de déterminer les pollutions localisées liées à un dysfonctionnement des systèmes de traitement, il est beaucoup plus difficile d'identifier les pollutions organiques diffuses qui participent pourtant majoritairement à la dégradation de la qualité des eaux de surface. La problématique des pollutions diffuses est d'autant plus importante que la nouvelle réglementation européenne concernant les eaux de baignade (Directive 2006/7/CE) demande de constituer des profils de baignade qui nécessitent une identification et une hiérarchisation des sources de pollutions fécales. Le dénombrement de Escherichia coli et des entérocoques intestinaux stipulé par les textes réglementaires européens, représente actuellement le seul outil analytique permettant la mise en évidence d'une contamination fécale du milieu aquatique, sans toutefois différencier l'origine humaine ou animale de cette contamination. Il est donc nécessaire de développer de nouvelles méthodes de détection de la pollution fécale qui puissent non seulement mettre en évidence une contamination mais aussi en indiquer l'origine. C'est d'ailleurs dans cet objectif que s'est développé depuis quelques années, le concept de "Microbial Source Tracking" ("Traceurs de Sources Microbiennes") qui consiste à identifier à l'aide de marqueurs microbiologiques ou chimiques les sources de pollutions fécales. Dans ce contexte, six laboratoires de recherche se sont associés pour développer des techniques de traçage des contaminations fécales afin de proposer un outil opérationnel utilisable pour différencier les sources de pollution, de leur point d'émission jusqu'au milieu récepteur final que constituent les eaux de surface. Les marqueurs qui ont fait l'objet de cette étude sont des molécules chimiques naturelles (stéroïdes, caféine), des molécules de synthèse retrouvées dans les effluents de stations d'épuration ou des rapports de fluorescence de la matière organique ainsi que des micro-organismes (bactériophages, bactéries). A la suite des développements méthodologiques, plusieurs marqueurs ont été sélectionnés : - bactéries appartenant aux groupes bactériens dominants du tractus intestinal humain (Bifidobacterium adolescentis) et porcin (Lactobacillus amylovorus) ; - Bacteroidales spécifiques des humains, porcins et bovins (HF183, Pig-2-Bac, Rum-2-Bac); - génogroupes humains des bactériophages F ARN spécifiques; - rapports de stéroïdes : coprostanol/(24ethylcoprostanol+coprostanol) (R1) et sitostanol/coprostanol (R2); - caféine, benzophénone et tri(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (TCEP)

Oxygen Tension and the VHL-Hif1α Pathway Determine Onset of Neuronal Polarization and Cerebellar Germinal Zone Exit.

Postnatal brain circuit assembly is driven by temporally regulated intrinsic and cell-extrinsic cues that organize neurogenesis, migration, and axo-dendritic specification in post-mitotic neurons. While cell polarity is an intrinsic organizer of morphogenic events, environmental cues in the germinal zone (GZ) instructing neuron polarization and their coupling during postnatal development are unclear. We report that oxygen tension, which rises at birth, and the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL)-hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (Hif1α) pathway regulate polarization and maturation of post-mitotic cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs). At early postnatal stages with low GZ vascularization, Hif1α restrains CGN-progenitor cell-cycle exit. Unexpectedly, cell-intrinsic VHL-Hif1α pathway activation also delays the timing of CGN differentiation, germinal zone exit, and migration initiation through transcriptional repression of the partitioning-defective (Pard) complex. As vascularization proceeds, these inhibitory mechanisms are downregulated, implicating increasing oxygen tension as a critical switch for neuronal polarization and cerebellar GZ exit

Morphological studies in modern teratological investigations

Despite the variety of modern molecular techniques available, examination of foetal anatomy is still a fundamental part of teratological studies in evaluating the developmental toxicity of xenobiotics or other non-chemical factors. The article presents contemporary methods of embryotoxicity and foetotoxicity assessment. A single alizarin red S and double alcian blue followed by alizarin red S staining, as well as various methods of soft tissue examination are discussed

Mechanical design of rotors for permanent magnet high speed electric motors for turbocharger applications

Realization of electrically boosted turbochargers requires electric motors capable of operating at very high speeds. These motors often use a permanent magnet rotor with the magnets retained within an interference fit external sleeve. Whilst it is possible to model such systems numerically, these models are an inefficient tool for design optimization. Current analytical models of rotors typically consider the stresses induced by the shrink fit of the sleeve separately from the stresses generated by centripetal forces due to rotation. However, such an approach ignores the frictional interaction between the components in the axial direction. This paper presents an analytical model that simultaneously accounts for interaction between the magnet and outer sleeve in both the radial and axial directions at designed interference and with the assembly subjected to centripetal and thermal loads. Numerical models presented show that with only moderate coefficients of friction and rotor lengths; axial load transfer between magnet and sleeve takes place over a short distance at the ends of the assembly. The paper then demonstrates how the analytical model aids definition of a feasible set of rotor designs and selection of an optimum design

Simple Objective Detection of Human Lyme Disease Infection Using Immuno-PCR and a Single Recombinant Hybrid Antigen

A serology-based tiered approach has, to date, provided the most effective means of laboratory confirmation of clinically suspected cases of Lyme disease, but it lacks sensitivity in the early stages of disease and is often dependent on subjectively scored immunoblots. We recently demonstrated the use of immuno-PCR (iPCR) for detecting Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in patient serum samples that were positive for Lyme disease. To better understand the performance of the Lyme disease iPCR assay, the repeatability and variability of the background of the assay across samples from a healthy population (n = 36) were analyzed. Both of these parameters were found to have coefficients of variation of \u3c 3%. Using eight antigen-specific iPCR assays and positive call thresholds established for each assay, iPCR IgM and/or IgG diagnosis from Lyme disease patient serum samples (n = 12) demonstrated a strong correlation with that of 2-tier testing. Furthermore, a simplified iPCR approach using a single hybrid antigen and detecting only IgG antibodies confirmed the 2-tier diagnosis in the Lyme disease patient serum samples (n = 12). Validation of the hybrid antigen IgG iPCR assay using a blinded panel of Lyme disease and non-Lyme disease patient serum samples (n = 92) resulted in a sensitivity of 69% (95% confidence interval [CI], 50% to 84%), compared to that of the 2-tier analysis at 59% (95% CI, 41% to 76%), and a specificity of 98% (95% CI, 91% to 100%) compared to that of the 2-tier analysis at 97% (95% CI, 88% to 100%). A single-tier hybrid antigen iPCR assay has the potential to be an improved method for detecting host-generated antibodies against B. burgdorferi