Dependence of the kerr constants of benzene,p-dioxane and poly(oxydiethylene terephthalate) on temperature

The Kerr constants of benzene, p-dioxane, and of poly(oxydiethylene terephthalate) (PDET) in p-dioxane solution were measured at several temperatures. As in the case of some other pure liquids reported in the literature, the values obtained for benzene and p-dioxane are fitted by equations of the type _mK = a + b · T^?1 with a = (0,3 ± 0,6) · 10^?26 m⁵ · V^?2 · mol^?1 and b = (16,0 ± 1,8) · 10^?24 m⁵ · V^?2 · mol^?1 · K for benzene and a = (3,9 ± 0,9) · 10^?26, b = ?(8,2 ± 2,6) · 10^?24, in the same units, for p-dioxane. The values of the mean molar Kerr constant per repeating unit 〈_mK〉/x extrapolated to infinite dilution in the case of PDET yield a values of d(〈_mK〉/x)/dT = (13,5 ± 0,9) · 10^?27 m⁵ · V^?2 · mol^?1 · K^?1, in excellent agreement with the calculated result of 13,2 · 10^?27 (in the same units) reported in the literature.     

Extensive Cytoreductive Surgery for Appendiceal Carcinomatosis: Morbidity, Mortality, and Survival

Background

Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC) are frequently used to treat appendiceal carcinomatosis. Some patients require multivisceral resection because of the volume of disease. It is unclear whether extent of CRS impacts survival in appendiceal carcinomatosis.

Methods

We analyzed 282 patients undergoing attempted CRS/HIPEC for appendiceal carcinomatosis. Patients were defined as having undergone Extensive CRS (n = 60) if they had >3 organ resections or >2 anastomoses; a subgroup of Extreme CRS patients (n = 10) had ≥5 organ resections and ≥3 anastomoses. Kaplan–Meier survival curves and multivariate Cox-regression models were used to identify prognostic factors affecting outcomes.

Results

Relative to the comparison group, patients undergoing Extensive CRS had a higher median peritoneal carcinomatosis index, operative duration, blood loss, and length of stay. No difference in completeness of cytoreduction, severe morbidity, or 60-day mortality was evident. Subgroup analysis of 10 patients undergoing extreme CRS likewise revealed no increase in severe morbidity or mortality. Median progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 23.5 and 74 months in the comparison group; 18.5 (p = 0.086) and 51 (p = 0.85) months in the Extensive CRS group; and 40 months and not reached in the Extreme CRS subgroup. In a multivariable analysis, extent of CRS was not independently associated with PFS or OS.

Conclusions

Extensive CRS is associated with greater OR time, blood loss, and length of stay, but is not associated with higher morbidity, mortality, or inferior oncologic outcomes in patients with appendiceal carcinomatosis.     

CT evaluation of gastric wall pathology

The purpose of this study is to show the CT features of common and infrequent pathological lesions of the gastric wall. Although CT features are not often specific, familiarity with the most frequent pathological gastric findings on CT can assist in differential diagnosis.     

Continuous versus interrupted sutures for repair of episiotomy or second-degree perineal tears: a randomised controlled trial

Objective  To evaluate the repair techniques of continuous and interrupted methods for episiotomy or perineal tears.
Design  A randomised controlled trial.
Setting  The Hospital Universitario Principe de Asturias, a state hospital belonging to the community of Madrid.
Sample  Four hundred forty-five women who had undergone vaginal deliveries with episiotomies or second-grade tearing of the perineum between September 2005 and July 2007.
Methods  One group was repaired with continuous, nonlocking sutures involving the vagina, perineum, and subcutaneous tissues. The other group had continuous, locking sutures of the vagina, interrupted sutures in the perineal muscles, and interrupted transcutaneous sutures. The threads used for stitching were identical in both groups.
Main outcome measures  The participants were questioned regarding the sensation of pain and the use of painkillers on the second and the tenth days, and 3 months postpartum.
Results  When comparing the group with continuous suture to the group with interrupted sutures, the differences included less repair time (1 minute; P = 0.017) and less suture material used (relative risk [RR], 3.2, 95% CI: 2.6–4.0). The comparison of pain on the second and tenth days, and 3 months postpartum were not statistically different between the two techniques (RR, 1.08, 95% CI: 0.74–1.57; RR, 0.96, 95% CI: 0.59–1.55; and RR, 0.68, 95% CI: 0.19–2.46, respectively).
Conclusions  Although we did not demonstrate that one technique was better than the other in the incidence of pain in the short or long term, we showed that episiotomy and perineal tear repairs with continuous suturing were quicker and used less suture material without an increase in complication than interrupted suturing.     

Patterns of cell proliferation and cell migration in the Sezary syndrome

The patterns of cell proliferation and cell migration were studied in three patients with the Sezary syndrome using autoradiographic techniques. Cell labeling patterns following pulse labeling with tritiated thymidine in vivo indicated that Sezary cells proliferate actively in skin and in lymph nodes but that few if any Sezary cells proliferate in the peripheral blood. In two of the patients serial samples were obtained. Label dilution patterns in skin and blood over time suggested that circulating Sezary cells originated in extracutaneous sites where cells were proliferating more rapidly than in the skin. Cells labeled in extracutaneous sites of proliferation appear rapidly in the blood, and their transit time through the peripheral blood compartment is short. Circulating Sezary cells may then be deposited in the skin where they resume proliferation at a low rate. Thus, while Sezary cells proliferate in both cutaneous and extracutaneous sites, proliferation appears to be more rapid in extracutaneous sites such as lymph nodes. This suggests that trials of systemic therapeutic approaches should be undertaken.     

Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration associated with thymic germinoma

We present a 69 year-old man with hypertension who developed the sudden onset of horizontal binocular diplopia and stuttering of speech. On examination, bilateral exotropia (i.e. 'wall-eyed') was observed in the primary position. Attempted horizontal saccades revealed bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia; all consistent with the wall-eyed bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia (WEBINO) syndrome. Convergence, vertical saccades and vestibular ocular reflexes were likewise impaired. Pupillary and levator palpebrae superioris functions were intact. Mild left-sided dysmetria, intention tremor and dysdiadochokinesia were elicited. Conspicuously, further characterization of the patient's history revealed that he had stuttered as a child, but it had resolved in adolescence. Brain MRI revealed an acute infarction of the mesencephalic and upper pontine tegmentum involving the periaqueductal gray region and the medial longitudinal fasciculus bilaterally with greater involvement of the left. Like the WEBINO syndrome, re-emergent developmental stuttering is a rare neurologic phenomenon. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of a mesencephalic and upper pontine infarction causing both syndromes. We discuss the pathobiological underpinnings of the WEBINO syndrome and neurogenic stuttering and in relationship to this unusual case.     

Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in human genetic transmissible spongiform encephalopathies

The 14-3-3 protein test has been shown to support the clinical diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) when associated with an adequate clinical context, and a high differential potential for the diagnosis of sporadic CJD has been attributed to other cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteins such as tau protein, S100b and neuron specific enolase (NSE). So far there has been only limited information available about biochemical markers in genetic transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (gTSE), although they represent 10–15% of human TSEs. In this study, we analyzed CSF of 174 patients with gTSEs for 14-3-3 (n = 166), tau protein (n = 78), S100b (n = 46) and NSE (n = 50). Levels of brain-derived proteins in CSF varied in different forms of gTSE. Biomarkers were found positive in the majority of gCJD (81%) and insert gTSE (69%), while they were negative in most cases of fatal familial insomnia (13%) and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (10%). Disease duration and codon 129 genotype influence the findings in a different way than in sporadic CJD.     

Correspondence between altered functional and structural connectivity in the contralesional sensorimotor cortex after unilateral stroke in rats: a combined resting-state functional MRI and manganese-enhanced MRI study

This study shows a significant correlation between functional connectivity, as measured with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and neuroanatomical connectivity, as measured with manganese-enhanced MRI, in rats at 10 weeks after unilateral stroke and in age-matched controls. Reduced interhemispheric functional connectivity between the contralesional primary motor cortex (M1) and ipsilesional sensorimotor cortical regions was accompanied by a decrease in transcallosal manganese transfer from contralesional M1 to the ipsilesional sensorimotor cortex after a large unilateral stroke. Increased intrahemispheric functional connectivity in the contralesional sensorimotor cortex was associated with locally enhanced neuroanatomical tracer uptake, which underlines the strong link between functional and structural reorganization of neuronal networks after stroke.