A case report of coexistence of a sialolith and an adenoid cystic carcinoma in the submandibular gland

Ôhe occurrence of sialoliths in the submandibular gland is 80% due to the specific anatomy of both the gland and its duct. The diagnosis is rather easy because of the obvious clinical signs of the entity. Imaging studies are always necessary in order to treat the patient as effectively as possible. The stones do not tend to occur within the gland as frequently as in the respective duct. The coexistence of sialoliths and malignant tumors is extremely rare. A 70-year-old woman with intraparenchymal stone was operated in our ENT department. In addition to the sialolith the pathological examination revealed the existence of an adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), that extended to the neighboring skeletal muscle. This is the reason why we believe it would be useful to report this case of a large stone (14 mm in diameter) located in the submandibular gland coexisting with ACC. This case report is a very good example illustrating that all available means should be used prior to reaching a conclusion and making a health professional decision

Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG)35–55 Mannan Conjugate Induces Human T-Cell Tolerance and Can Be Used as a Personalized Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis

We have previously performed preclinical studies with the oxidized mannan-conjugated peptide MOG35–55 (OM-MOG35–55) in vivo (EAE mouse model) and in vitro (human peripheral blood) and demonstrated that OM-MOG35–55 suppresses antigen-specific T cell responses associated with autoimmune demyelination. Based on these results, we developed different types of dendritic cells (DCs) from the peripheral blood monocytes of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) or healthy controls presenting OM-MOG35–55 or MOG-35–55 to autologous T cells to investigate the tolerogenic potential of OM-MOG35–55 for its possible use in MS therapy. To this end, monocytes were differentiated into different DC types in the presence of IL-4+GM-CSF ± dexamethasone (DEXA) ± vitamin D3 (VITD3). At the end of their differentiation, the DCs were loaded with peptides and co-cultured with T cells +IL-2 for 4 antigen presentation cycles. The phenotypes of the DC and T cell populations were analyzed using flow cytometry and the secreted cytokines using flow cytometry or ELISA. On day 8, the monocytes had converted into DCs expressing the typical markers of mature or immature phenotypes. Co-culture of T cells with all DC types for 4 antigen presentation cycles resulted in an increase in memory CD4+ T cells compared to memory CD8+ T cells and a suppressive shift in secreted cytokines, mainly due to increased TGF-β1 levels. The best tolerogenic effect was obtained when patient CD4+ T cells were co-cultured with VITD3-DCs presenting OM-MOG35–55, resulting in the highest levels of CD4+PD-1+ T cells and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Τ cells. In conclusion, the tolerance induction protocols presented in this work demonstrate that OM-MOG35–55 could form the basis for the development of personalized therapeutic vaccines or immunomodulatory treatments for MS

Myelin Peptide–Mannan Conjugate Multiple Sclerosis Vaccines: Conjugation Efficacy and Stability of Vaccine Ingredient

Myelin peptide–mannan conjugates have been shown to be potential vaccines in the immunotherapy of multiple sclerosis. The conjugates are comprised from the epitope peptide and the polysaccharide mannan which transfers as a carrier the antigenic peptide to dendritic cells that process and present antigenic peptides at their surface in complex with MHC class I or class II resulting in T-cell stimulation. The conjugation of antigenic peptide with mannan occurs through the linker (Lys–Gly)5, which connects the peptide with the oxidized mannose units of mannan. This study describes novel methods for the quantification of the vaccine ingredient peptide within the conjugate, a prerequisite for approval of clinical trials in the pursuit of multiple sclerosis therapeutics. Myelin peptides, such as MOG35–55, MBP83–99, and PLP131–145 in linear or cyclic form, as altered peptide ligands or conjugated to appropriate carriers, possess immunomodulatory properties in experimental models and are potential candidates for clinical trials

Demonstration of a Hybrid Analog–Digital Transport System Architecture for 5G and Beyond Networks

In future mobile networks, the evolution of optical transport architectures enabling the flexible, scalable interconnection of Baseband Units (BBUs) and Radio Units (RUs) with heterogeneous interfaces is a significant issue. In this paper, we propose a multi-technology hybrid transport architecture that comprises both analog and digital-Radio over Fiber (RoF) mobile network segments relying on a dynamically reconfigurable optical switching node. As a step forward, the integration of the discussed network layout into an existing mobile infrastructure is demonstrated, enabling the support of real-world services through both standard digital and Analog–Intermediate- Frequency over Fiber (A-IFoF)-based converged fiber–wireless paths. Emphasis has been placed on the implementation of a real-time A-IFoF transceiver that is employed through a single embedded fully programmable gateway array (FPGA)-based platform that serves as an Ethernet to Intermediate Frequency (IF) bridge for the transmission of legacy traffic over the analog network segment. The experimental evaluation of the proposed concept was based on the dynamic optical routing of the legacy Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI), 1.5 GBaud analog-intermediate frequency-over-fiber (A-IFoF)/mmWave and 10 Gbps binary optical waveforms, showing acceptable error vector magnitude (EVM) values for the complex radio waveforms and error-free operation for binary optical streams, with Bit Error Rate (BER) values less than 10−9. Finally, the end-to-end proof-of-concept demonstration of the proposed solution was achieved through the delivery of 4K video streaming and Internet Protocol (IP) calls over a mobile core network

Int5Gent : an integrated end-to-end system platform for verticals and data plane solutions beyond 5G

Int5Gent targets the integration of innovative data plane technology building blocks under a flexible 5G network resource, slice and application orchestration framework, providing a complete 5G system platform for the validation of advance 5G services and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. The platform can act as the enabler for the transition beyond the current 5G networking capabilities allowing novel and state-ofthe-art data transport and edge processing solutions to be evaluated under a cutting-edge network orchestration framework, with intelligent service allocation and management capabilities. A sample of the envisioned technologies include: flexible multi-Radio Access Technology (multi-RAT) baseband signal processing, millimeter Wave (mmWave)technology solutions at 60GHz and 150GHz bands, hardware-based edge processor with Time Sensitive Networking (TSN), Graphical Processing Unit (GPU)processing capabilities, and elastic Software Defined Networking (SDN)-based photonic data transport. The integration of the technology blocks is performed as part of an overall architecture that promotes edge processing and is orchestrated by a Network Function Virtualization Orchestrator (NFVO) compatible framework with edge node extensions at the network layer and an overlay vertical services application orchestrator at the user plane layer