Alveolar hydatid disease of the liver: Brief review and spectrum of adjacent organ invasion

The purpose of this study is to show the spectrum of adjacent organ invasion and to make a brief review of hepatic alveolar hydatid disease (AHD), using CT and MR imaging. We retrospectively reviewed CT and MR images of three patients with various adjacent organ invasions surgically and histologically proven to be AHD. Local invasion to right kidney and adrenal, right hemidiaphragm and lung were detected in one patient, right adrenal in another patient and gall bladder, duodenum, gastric wall and pancreas invasion in the other. AHD may rarely extend to the gall bladder, stomach, duodenum, pancreas, right adrenal and kidney, diaphragm, pleura and lung. The extension of the disease outside the liver is usually encountered in patients with large, peripherally located masses in the advanced stage of the disease.     

Deprivation of form vision suppresses diurnal cycling of retinal levels of leu-enkephalin

Deprivation of form vision by the fitting of translucent occluders suppressed the diurnal cycling of enkephalinergic amacrine cells (the ENSLI amacrine cells), in the chicken. Daily periods of normal vision or enforcing temporal contrast using strobe lighting appeared to restore normal functioning of the ENSLI cells. These results suggest that the ENSLI cells are involved in retinal circuits that assess the quality of the visual image and control eye growth.     

Segmental Uterine Horn Replacement in the Rat Using a Biodegradable Microporous Synthetic Tube

To investigate the possible use of a biodegradable microporous synthetic tube for fallopian tube replacement, polyetherurethane/poly-L-lactide (PU/PLLA) grafts in the uterine horn of the rat were studied and their patency and healing characteristics compared with those of nonbiodegradable polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE; Teflon) grafts as well as with those of reanastomosed uterine horns. Regarding the healing characteristics, the PU/PLLA grafts were superior to the PTFE graft, as was indicated by the regeneration of endometrium and the extensive perigraft tissue ingrowth. However, the graft/uterine anastomoses of the PU/PLLA and PTFE grafts became obstructed by a plug of mucosal folds, all reanastomosed, uterine horns in the control experiments remaining open. In conclusion, although biodegradable microporous PU/PLLA uterine horn grafts have better healing characteristics than PTFE grafts, they easily obstruct at the graft/uterine junction. Mucosal suturing and/or the use of splints may contribute to the feasibility of biodegradable microporous artificial fallopian tubes in tubal surgery.     

Mental fatigue and task control: planning and preparation

The effects of mental fatigue on planning and preparation for future actions were examined, using a task switching paradigm. Fatigue was induced by "time on task," with subjects performing a switch task continuously for 2 hr. Subjects had to alternate between tasks on every second trial, so that a new task set was required on every second trial. Manipulations of response-stimulus intervals (RSIs) were used to examine whether subjects prepared themselves for the task change. Behavioral measurements, event-related potentials (ERPs), and mood questionnaires were used to assess the effects of mental fatigue. Reaction times (RTs) were faster on trials in which no change in task set was required in comparison with switch trials, requiring a new task set. Long RSIs were used efficiently to prepare for the processing of subsequent stimuli. With increasing mental fatigue, preparation processes seemed to become less adequate and the number of errors increased. A clear poststimulus parietal negativity was observed on repetition trials, which reduced with time on task. This attention-related component was less pronounced in switch trials; instead, ERPs elicited in switch trials showed a clear frontal negativity. This negativity was also diminished by time on task. ERP differences between repetition and switch trials became smaller with increasing time on task.