A population of descending tyraminergic/octopaminergic projection neurons of the insect deutocerebrum

In this study, we describe a cluster of tyraminergic/octopaminergic neurons in the lateral dorsal deutocerebrum of desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) with descending axons to the abdominal ganglia. In the locust, these neurons synthesize octopamine from tyramine stress-dependently. Electrophysiological recordings in locusts reveal that they respond to mechanosensory touch stimuli delivered to various parts of the body including the antennae. A similar cluster of tyraminergic/octopaminergic neurons was also identified in the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) and the pink winged stick insect (Sipyloidea sipylus). It is suggested that these neurons release octopamine in the ventral nerve cord ganglia and, most likely, convey information on arousal and/or stressful stimuli to neuronal circuits thus contributing to the many actions of octopamine in the central nervous system.     

Luting of ceramic inlays in vitro: marginal quality of self-etch and etch-and-rinse adhesives versus self-etch cements.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate marginal integrity of IPS Empress inlays luted with different adhesives and cements before and after thermo-mechanical loading (TML). METHODS: MOD cavities with one proximal box beneath the cementoenamel junction were prepared in 72 extracted human third molars. IPS Empress inlays were luted with nine combinations of adhesive and luting composite or self-etch cement alone (n=8): Prime&Bond NT Dual-Cure+Calibra (PC), XP BOND/SCA+Calibra (XC), XP BOND/SCA light-cured+Calibra (XL), Syntac+Variolink II (SV), Multilink Primer+Multilink (ML), AdhesSE DC+Variolink II (AV), ED Primer+Panavia F 2.0 (EP), RelyX Unicem (RU), and Maxcem (MC). Marginal quality was analyzed under an SEM using epoxy resin replicas before and after thermo-mechanical loading (100,000x50N and 2500 thermocylces between +5 and +55 degrees C). RESULTS: All systems involving the etch-and-rinse approach resulted in significantly higher percentages of gap-free margins in enamel than all other luting systems (p<0.05). ML and AV achieved higher percentages of gap-free margins in enamel than EP and RU (p<0.05), with EP and RU being significantly above MC (p<0.05). For dentine margins, XP Bond resulted in significantly higher percentages of gap-free margins than Prime&Bond NT, independent of a separate light-curing step (p<0.05). Between the luting systems XC, XL, SV, ML, AV, ED, EP, and RU, no significant differences were computed (p>0.05). MC ranged at the end of the statistical subsets with 62% gap-free margins (p<0.05; Mann-Whitney U-test). SIGNIFICANCES: Etch-and-rinse adhesives combined with conventional luting resin composites reveal still the best prognosis for adhesive luting of glass ceramic inlays.     

Early Diagnosis of Colonic Anastomotic Leak With Peritoneal Endoscopy

Background and Objectives:

At present, we do not have a reliable method for the early diagnosis of colorectal anastomotic leakage (AL). We tested peritoneal flexible endoscopy through a port placed in the abdominal wall in the early postoperative course, as a new diagnostic method for detection of this complication and evaluated the suggested method for safety, feasibility, and accuracy.

Methods:

Ten swine were randomized into 2 groups: group A, colorectal anastomosis without leakage; and group B, colorectal anastomosis with leakage. A button gastrostomy feeding tube was inserted percutaneously into the peritoneal cavity. Colorectal anastomosis (with or without defect) was created 48 hours after the first operation. The swine were examined by peritoneal flexible endoscopy 8 and 24 hours after the colonic operation, by a consultant surgeon who was blinded to both the presence and the allocated location of the of the anastomotic defect.

Results:

None of the animals showed signs of illness 48 hours after the intraperitoneal gastrostomy tube placement. More than half of the anastomosis circumference was identified in 60 and 10% of the animals at endoscopy 8 and 24 hours, respectively, after the anastomosis was created. Excessive adhesion formation was observed in all animals, irrespective of AL. The sensitivity and specificity of endoscopy in detecting peritonitis 24 hours after AL were both 60%.

Conclusions:

Peritoneal endoscopy is a safe and simple procedure. Visualization of the peritoneal cavity in the early postoperative course was limited due to adhesion formation. Further studies are needed to clarify the accuracy of the procedure and to address additional methodological concerns.     

Antitumor activity of CTFB, a novel anticancer agent, is associated with the down-regulation of nuclear factor-kappaB expression and proteasome activation in head and neck squamous carcinoma cell lines

This study aimed to characterize the antitumor activity of 5-Chloro-N-[2-[2-(4-chloro-phenyl)-3-methyl-butoxy]-5-trifluoromethyl-phenyl]-2-hydroxy-benzamide (CTFB), a novel anticancer agent, in head and neck cancer cell lines, FaDu, SCC-25 and cisplatin-resistant CAL-27. CTFB was generated as a result of an extensive medicinal chemistry effort on a lead compound series discovered in a high-throughput screen for inducers of apoptosis. All cell lines showed significant growth delay in response to CTFB treatment at a concentration of 1 micromol/L with 17.16 +/- 2.08%, 10.92 +/- 1.22%, and 27.03 +/- 1.86% of cells surviving at 120 h in FaDu, CAL-27, and SCC-25, respectively. To define proteins involved in the mechanism of action of CTFB, we determined differences in the proteome profile of cell lines before and after treatment with CTFB using two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis followed by computational image analysis and mass spectrometry. Eight proteins were found to be regulated by CTFB in all cell lines. All these proteins are involved in cytoskeleton formation and function and/or in cell cycle regulation. We showed that CTFB-induced cell growth delay was accompanied by cell cycle arrest at the G(0)-G(1) phase that was associated with the up-regulation of p21/WAF1 and p27/Kip1 expression and the down-regulation of cyclin D1. Furthermore, we showed that activity of CTFB depended on the down-regulation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and NF-kappaB p65 phosphorylated at Ser(536). The level of proteasome activity correlated with the response to CTFB treatment, and the down-regulation of NF-kappaB is accompanied by enhanced proteasome activity in all investigated head and neck cancer cell lines. In this report, we show that CTFB reveals multiple effects that lead to delayed cell growth. Our data suggest that this compound should be studied further in the treatment of head and neck cancer.