Nipple leiomyoma: A rare neoplasm with a broad spectrum of histologic appearances

Cutaneous leiomyomas are rare benign smooth‐muscle tumors. These lesions are distinguished based on their cell of origin and are subclassified as pilar leiomyoma, angioleiomyoma, and genital‐type leiomyoma. Nipple leiomyoma is the least common genital‐type leiomyoma, arising from the dartoic muscle cell of the nipple. Histologic examination of the lesion is necessary for definitive diagnosis, and these uncommon tumors can pose a diagnostic challenge. We describe herein a series of six nipple leiomyomas with a spectrum of histologic appearances.     

Orientation and mobility outcome measures

Despite orientation and mobility (O&M) being a significant factor determining quality of life of people with low vision or blindness, there are no gold standard measures or agreement on how to measure O&M performance. In the first part of this systematic review, an inventory of O&M outcome measures used by recent studies to assess the performance of orientation and/or mobility of adults with vision impairment (low vision and blindness) is presented. A wide variety of O&M outcome measures have been implemented in different fields of study, such as epidemiologic research and interventional studies evaluating training, assistive technology, vision rehabilitation and vision restoration. The most frequent aspect of outcome measures is efficiency such as time, distance, speed and percentage of preferred walking speed, followed by obstacle contacts and avoidance, and dis/orientation and veering. Other less commonly used aspects are target identification, safety and social interaction and self-reported outcome measures. Some studies employ sophisticated equipment to capture and analyse O&M performance in a laboratory setting, while others carry out their assessment in real-world indoor or outdoor environments. In the second part of this review, the appropriateness of implementing the identified outcome measures to assess O&M performance in clinical and functional O&M practice is evaluated. Nearly a half of these outcome measures meet all four criteria of face validity (either clinical or functional), responsiveness, reliability and feasibility and have the potential to be implemented in clinical or functional O&M practice. The findings of this review confirm the complicated and dynamic nature of O&M. Multiple measures are required in any evaluation of O&M performance to facilitate holistic assessment of O&M abilities and limitations of each individual.     

面肌痉挛微血管减压术中异常肌反应变化特点与术后疗效关系探究

目的探究面肌痉挛患者微血管减压术(MVD)中异常肌反应(AMR)的变化特点与术后疗效的关系。方法回顾性分析73例MVD术中采用AMR全程定量化监测患者的AMR变化特点,减压操作前AMR阈值较基础阈值升高≥1倍为A1组、1倍为A2组,手术结束时AMR完全消失为B1组、未消失为B2组,B2组中AMR阈值较基础阈值升高≥1倍为B2a组、1倍为B2b组,对各组的术后疗效进行对比分析。结果 A1组21例中,19例立即治愈,1例延迟治愈,1例未愈; A2组52例中,35例立即治愈,9例延迟治愈,8例未愈。A1组较A2组疗效好(P=0. 046)。B1组50例中,42例立即治愈,5例延迟治愈,3例未愈; B2组23例中,12例立即治愈,5例延迟治愈,6例未愈。B1组较B2组疗效好(P=0. 003)。B2 a组的治愈比例较B2 b组高(分别为14/16、3/7),差异有统计学意义(P=0. 045)。结论 AMR在术中的变化特点对术者有重要参考意义,AMR在减压前升高、在手术结束时完全消失、未消失但升高较基础阈值≥1倍者术后疗效相对较好。     

Relationship between EMG-detected and ultrasound-detected fasciculations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A prospective cohort study

ObjectivesFasciculation potentials (FP) are an important consideration in the electrophysiological diagnosis of ALS. Muscle ultrasonography (MUS) has a higher sensitivity in detecting fasciculations than electromyography (EMG), while in some cases, it is unable to detect EMG-detected fasciculations. We aimed to investigate the differences of FP between the muscles with and without MUS-detected fasciculations (MUS-fas).MethodsThirty-one consecutive patients with sporadic ALS were prospectively recruited and in those, both needle EMG and MUS were performed. Analyses of the amplitude, duration, and number of phases of EMG-detected FPs were performed for seven muscles per patient, and results were compared between the muscles with and without MUS-fas in the total cohort.ResultsThe mean amplitude and phase number of FP were significantly lower in patients with EMG-detected FP alone (0.39 ± 0.25 mV and 3.21 ± 0.88, respectively) than in those with both FP and MUS-fas (1.22 ± 0.92 mV and 3.74 ± 1.39, respectively; p < 0.0001 and p = 0.017, Welch’s t-test).ConclusionSmall FP may be undetectable with MUS. MUS cannot replace EMG in the diagnostic approach for ALS.SignificanceClinicians should use a combination of EMG and MUS for the detection and quantitative analysis of fasciculation in ALS.     

Orthogonally oriented scaffolds with aligned fibers for engineering intestinal smooth muscle

Controlling cellular alignment is critical in engineering intestines with desired structure and function. Although previous studies have examined the directional alignment of cells on the surface (x–y plane) of parallel fibers, quantitative analysis of the cellular alignment inside implanted scaffolds with oriented fibers has not been reported. This study examined the cellular alignment in the x–z and y–z planes of scaffolds made with two layers of orthogonally oriented fibers. The cellular orientation inside implanted scaffolds was evaluated with immunofluorescence. Quantitative analysis of coherency between cell orientation and fiber direction confirmed that cells aligned along the fibers not only on the surface (x–y plane) but also inside the scaffolds (x–z & y–z planes). Our study demonstrated that two layers of orthogonally aligned scaffolds can generate the histological organization of cells similar to that of intestinal circular and longitudinal smooth muscle.     

颞下颌关节强直动物模型中最大张口度与强直严重程度关系研究

目的　研究主、被动最大张口度（AMMO、PMMO）与颞下颌关节强直严重程度的关系。方法　选取28只健康雄性绵羊随机分为实验组和对照组，每组各14只。实验组绵羊双侧颞下颌关节模拟髁突矢状骨折，其中左侧翼外肌被切断以阻断其功能；对照组绵羊未进行手术。于术前及术后12、24周对所有绵羊体重、AMMO、PMMO、颞下颌关节形态学特点进行测量评估。结果　实验组只有右侧保留翼外肌功能的颞下颌关节发生了骨强直。术后12、24周，实验组绵羊AMMO、PMMO、极限距离均显著低于对照组，差异均有统计学意义（均P < 0.05）。实验组绵羊AMMO和PMMO与骨融合区宽度、长度、面积及钙化程度均呈负相关（均P < 0.05），其中骨融合区面积为主要影响因素（术后12、24周相关系数r分别为-0.94、-0.95）。结论　颞下颌关节强直动物模型中阻断翼外肌功能可阻止骨强直的发生；对于早期髁突矢状骨折，可通过牙合垫或牙合板进行张口训练，进而阻断翼外肌功能。当颞下颌关节发生骨强直时，骨融合区面积越大，张口受限越明显。