Symptomatic isolated internal carotid artery occlusion with initial medical management: a monocentric cohort

Journal of Neurology - Symptomatic isolated carotid artery occlusions (ICAO) can lead to disability, recurrent stroke, and mortality, but natural history and best therapeutic management remain...     

The claustrum of the sheep and its connections to the visual cortex

The present study analyses the organization and selected neurochemical features of the claustrum and visual cortex of the sheep, based on the patterns of calcium-binding proteins expression. Connections of the claustrum with the visual cortex have been studied by tractography. Parvalbumin-immunoreactive (PV-ir) and Calbindin-immunoreactive (CB-ir) cell bodies increased along the rostro-caudal axis of the nucleus. Calretinin (CR)-labeled somata were few and evenly distributed along the rostro-caudal axis. PV and CB distribution in the visual cortex was characterized by larger round and multipolar cells for PV, and more bitufted neurons for CB. The staining pattern for PV was the opposite of that of CR, which showed densely stained but rare cell bodies. Tractography shows the existence of connections with the caudal visual cortex. However, we detected no contralateral projection in the visuo-claustral interconnections. Since sheep and goats have laterally placed eyes and a limited binocular vision, the absence of contralateral projections could be of prime importance if confirmed by other studies, to rule out the role of the claustrum in stereopsis.     

Late-Onset Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) and Lymphoma in a 65-Year-Old Patient with XIAP Deficiency

Journal of Clinical Immunology -     

Integrated analysis of genome‐wide copy number alterations and gene expression in microsatellite stable,CpG island methylator phenotype‐negative colon cancer

Microsatellite stable (MSS), CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP)‐negative colorectal tumors, the most prevalent molecular subtype of colorectal cancer, are associated with extensive copy number alteration (CNA) events and aneuploidy. We report on the identification of characteristic recurrent CNA (with frequency >25%) events and associated gene expression profiles for a total of 40 paired tumor and adjacent normal colon tissues using genome‐wide microarrays. We observed recurrent CNAs, namely gains at 1q, 7p, 7q, 8p12‐11, 8q, 12p13, 13q, 20p, 20q, Xp, and Xq and losses at 1p36, 1p31, 1p21, 4p15‐12, 4q12‐35, 5q21‐22, 6q26, 8p, 14q, 15q11‐12, 17p, 18p, 18q, 21q21‐22, and 22q. Within these genomic regions we identified 356 genes with significant differential expression (P < 0.0001 and ±1.5‐fold change) in the tumor compared to adjacent normal tissue. Gene ontology and pathway analyses indicated that many of these genes were involved in functional mechanisms that regulate cell cycle, cell death, and metabolism. An amplicon present in >70% of the tumor samples at 20q11‐20q13 contained several cancer‐related genes (AHCY, POFUT1, RPN2, TH1L, and PRPF6) that were upregulated and demonstrated a significant linear correlation (P < 0.05) for gene dosage and gene expression. Copy number loss at 8p, a CNA associated with adenocarcinoma and poor prognosis, was observed in >50% of the tumor samples and demonstrated a significant linear correlation for gene dosage and gene expression for two potential tumor suppressor genes, MTUS1 (8p22) and PPP2CB (8p12). The results from our integration analysis illustrate the complex relationship between genomic alterations and gene expression in colon cancer. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Variation of the impact duration during the in vitro insertion of acetabular cup implants

The acetabular cup (AC) is an implant impacted into a bone cavity and used for hip prosthesis surgery. Initial stability of the AC is an important factor for long term surgical success. The aim of this study is to determine the variations of the impact duration during AC implant insertion.Twenty-two bone samples taken from bovine femurs were prepared ex vivo for the insertion of an acetabular cup implant, following the surgical procedure used in the clinic. For each bone sample, ten impacts were applied using reproducible mass falls (3.5 kg) in order to insert the AC implant. Each impact duration was recorded using a wide bandwidth force sensor.For all bone samples, the impact duration was shown to first decrease as a function of the impact number, then reaching a stationary value equal in average to 4.2 ± 0.7 ms after an average number of 4.1 ± 1.7 impacts. The impact duration may be related to variations of the bone–implant interface contact rigidity because of an increase the amount of bone tissue in contact with the AC implant.Measurements of impact duration have a good potentiality for clinical application to assist the surgeon during the insertion of the AC implant, providing valuable information on the bone–implant interface contact properties.     

Is arsenite more toxic than arsenate in plants?

Ecotoxicology - In order to evaluate the differential absorption and toxicity of arsenate (AsV) and arsenite (AsIII), Lemna valdiviana plants were grown in a nutrient solution and subjected to 0.0...