Infantile Digital Fibroma Treated With Mohs Micrographic Surgery

BACKGROUND: Infantile digital fibroma (IDF) is a rare benign fibrous tumor of childhood that frequently recurs despite local excision. Conservative, nonsurgical management may result in regression and/or joint deformity. OBJECTIVE: To describe the histologic features of IDF and discuss a case excised using Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS). METHODS: Case report and review of the clinical, histologic, and ultrastructural features. RESULTS: Characteristic inclusion bodies of actin were identified with hematoxylin and eosin, Masson's trichrome, and rapid actin immunostain. The tumor was debulked and the majority was removed after one stage of MMS, except where the deep margin approached the joint space. The defect healed by secondary intention. At 2 years the patient had no recurrence or functional joint deformity. CONCLUSION: MMS is a surgical treatment option for IDF.     

Tissue zinc levels in precancerous tissue in the gastrointestinal tract of azoxymethane (AOM)-treated rats

Alterations in tissue zinc levels have been documented in patients with gastrointestinal tract malignancies and more frequently, in those with colonic cancer. However, the precise role of tissue zinc in carcinogenesis is not well elucidated. This study, using a well-established colon cancer model in rats, was designed to investigate the relationship of tissue zinc to the carcinogenic process. The aim was to examine tissue zinc levels in the preneoplastic tissues and to study the changes that occur during transition of mucosa from normal to preneoplastic state. Six-week old rats were given a single dose subcutaneous injection of azoxymethane (AOM) (30mg/kg body weight) and sacrificed after 1, 2, 5, and 9 months of the treatment. Plasma zinc levels showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) at 9 months compared with controls. Tissue zinc levels showed a significant decrease in the large intestine at 1 and 2 months (p<0.05) and at 5 and 9 months (p<0.01), in the small intestine at 2, 5, and 9 months (p<0.05), and in the stomach at 5 and 9 months (p<0.05). The maximum percent decrease (45%) in tissue zinc was observed in the large intestine at 9 months. Tissue copper zinc super oxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) activity was assessed in the body of the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine and compared with the control group. There was a significant fall in CuZnSOD levels in the small intestine at 9 months (p<0.05) and in the large intestine at 5 and 9 months (p<0.01). Two of these six rats showed histological evidence of precancerous lesions in the mucosa of the colon. This study suggests that the decrease in plasma zinc, tissue zinc and activity of CuZnSOD is associated with development of preneoplastic lesions in the colonic mucosa.     

Effect of a Water‐Soluble Polymer on Polymer Interdiffusion in P(MMA‐co‐BA) Latex Films

We describe non‐radiative energy‐transfer experiments to measure the rates of polymer interdiffusion in P(MMA‐co‐BA) latex films formed in the presence of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH). PVOH had relatively little effect on the initial efficiency of energy transfer, even when the amount of PVOH was large enough to form the continuous phase. Since Φ_ET(0) is a measure of the interfacial area between D‐ and A‐labeled cells in the film, we conclude that under these circumstances the dispersed P(MMA‐co‐BA) copolymer is in the form of clusters with many contacts between particles containing D and A labels. These large amounts of PVOH also reduce the amount of polymer diffusion that takes place when the films are annealed. When smaller amounts of PVOH are present, the effects are measurable but much smaller. In the presence of 2 to 17 wt.‐% PVOH, the polymer diffusion rate is retarded. The magnitude of the effect increases with the amount of PVOH present, and the effect is larger at 45 °C than at 63 °C. We show that the PVOH has its largest influence at the very early stages of polymer diffusion.

Schematic representation of an energy transfer experiment, which monitors polymer interdiffusion in a latex film.     

Effects of protein supplementation during prolonged exercise at moderate altitude on performance and plasma amino acid pattern

Summary The effects of two levels of protein intake on muscle performance and energy metabolism were studied in humans submitted to repeated daily sessions of prolonged exercise at moderate altitude. For this purpose, 29 healthy males, were exposed to seven successive stages of ski-mountaineering at altitudes between 2500 and 3 800 m, and to an isocaloric diet (4000 kcal·day^–1, 16760 kJ·day^–1) with either 1.5g·kg^–1·day^–1 (C group,n =14), or 2.5 g·kg^–1·day^–1 (PR group,n =15) protein intake. Measurements made after the ski-mountaineering programme did not show any change in body mass. The peak torque during maximal isometric voluntary contraction (MVC) of the quadriceps muscle was unaffected by the repeated exercises, whereas the endurance time at 50% MVC was decreased in PR subjects (–26.8%,P<0.001). Increased levels of both free fatty acids (+147%,P<0.001) and glycerol (+170%,P<0.001) observed in C subjects would suggest that lipolysis was enhanced after the repeated exercise. The plasma amino acid pattern was altered after completion of the ski-mountaineering programme; the plasma concentration of the three branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) was significantly decreased in C subjects, whereas the higher level of protein intake (PR group) greatly minimized the exercise-induced decrease in serum BCAA.     

To a day care surgical hospital (III). Influence of two anesthetic techniques on some appraisal criteria of the Newman test

Fourty four young male patients, anesthetised to undergo common peripheral surgery, performed the Newman test during pre-anesthetic consultation, then again 2 h. 30 and 3 h. 30 after induction of anesthesia and, if possible, 3 days later. Five different criteria of analysis were selected to rate the drawing. These criteria were compared either on an individual basis or altogether with the Student "t" test. The anesthetic and surgical modes were comparable, except for the anesthetic drug used, either a combination of fentanyl-Gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) for 22 patients or a combination of fentanyl-diazepam for the remaining 22. There was no significant difference between any of the criteria used except for the time duration to perform the test which was less in the GHB group 2 h. 30 min. after induction. This result supports a comparative study of the Newman test after other anesthetic inductions.     

Tissue Injury-Inducing Potential of Unmodified ECT: Serial Measurement of Acute Phase Reactants

Eight subjects with acute functional psychoses receiving unmodified electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) at Ibadan were investigated for occult or subclinical internal tissue damage by serial measurements of eight acute phase reactants. Samples of venous blood were collected from each patient at pretreatment, two within treatment, and one at posttreatment. The acute phase proteins assayed were C-reactive protein (CRP), alpha-2-macroglobulin, ceruloplasmin, factor B, C-4 protein, C-3 protein, transferin, and alpha-1-antitrypsin. Except for CRP, the values of the proteins did not change during treatment. CRP values decreased posttreatment and were not detectable in the last sample in five subjects in whom values had been present pretreatment. Our data do not support fears of occult internal tissue damage during unmodified ECT. The consistent decrease in CRP levels posttreatment when patients no longer exhibited psychotic symptoms could not be explained by type of psychosis, intramuscular injections, or changes in drugs and diet; its significance is not known.     

Morphometry of sacral neurons innervating the pelvic muscles. Experimental study]

Sacral motoneurons of the pelvic muscles have been extensively studied in the rat (1,2). Few informations occur in the literature on their specific morphology and their interconnection. In an experimental study we have differentiated the neuronal mapping of the: bulbo-spongiosus (B.S.M.), ischio-cavernosus (I.C.M.), levator ani (L.A.M.), sphincter ani (S.A.M.) and sphincter urethrae (S.U.M.) muscles. Each different or both sided pelvic muscle of 30 wistar rats have been injected by a solution of horse-radish-peroxidase. Using this H.R.P. technique, the mapping of the marked neurons and compared to the different muscles has been performed on horizontal and transversal spinal cord sections. A statistical study using the "T" test compares the maximal and minimal diameters and the surface of the neurons. 1. Most of the muscles injected in one side left or right receive their innervation from the neurons located in the homolateral side of the spinal cord. 2. The B.S.M. and the S.A.M. receive, in part, an innervation from the opposite side. 3. The neurons of the B.S.M. and of the S.A.M. are located in the D.M. group of L5 - L6 segment of the spinal cord. Their diameters are significantly different but not their surfaces (+/- 940 mu 2). 4. The neurons of the I.C.M. and of the S.U.M. located in the D.L. group have an equivalent diameter and surface. 5. The neurons of the L.A.M. have the largest diameter but an equivalent surface to the others. This work on a mammalian model brings further informations on the mapping of the sacral innervation of the pelvic muscles and offers a comparative reference for Man.