VARIANTS OF MASTOID AND OCCIPITAL EMISSARY FORAMENS AND THEIR CLINICAL CORRELATION

Purpose: Emissary foramens in the skull and emissary veins (EV), respectively, have been known for a long time, but their importance is often disregarded. In the present study, we introduce variants of occipital emissary foramens (OEF) unilaterally located on the left, close to оccipital condylе in a formation of three apertures that open together in a sinus near clivus. Material/Methods: Corpses of 30 dеad people were dissected in the Department of Anatomy, and standard techniques for soft tissue separation or maceration of the skull were used. After the removal of the calvaria, fixed bones of the skull were disarticulated. Foramens were cleaned using a double-ended probe, and depth and diameter measurements were performed using an atomical caliper. Results: We found variants of mastoid emissary foramens (MEF) situated into two groups, each of a couple of foramens. Their clinical significance is discussed, compared with existing experience and analysis of their phylogeny and embryogenesis. Conclusion: We introduce OEF and MEF to be important markers for detection of dural venous sinuses (DVS). The latter, together with EV, provide an important mechanism for decreasing intracranial pressure. This happens due to the absence of a valve apparatus in the veins of the brain, and the lack, or small amount, of muscle tissue. There is a possibility of existing varicose veins, such as those caused by arterio-venous fistulas and the pathology associated with it. We suggest the application of EV in imaging as an important study before surgery by lateral and transcondylar approach to the anterior foramen magnum.

Semi-automatic liver segmentation based on probabilistic models and anatomical constraints

Segmenting a liver and its peripherals from abdominal computed tomography is a crucial step toward computer aided diagnosis and therapeutic intervention. Despite the recent advances in computing methods, faithfully segmenting the liver has remained a challenging task, due to indefinite boundary, intensity inhomogeneity, and anatomical variations across subjects. In this paper, a semi-automatic segmentation method based on multivariable normal distribution of liver tissues and graph-cut sub-division is presented. Although it is not fully automated, the method minimally involves human interactions. Specifically, it consists of three main stages. Firstly, a subject specific probabilistic model was built from an interior patch, surrounding a seed point specified by the user. Secondly, an iterative assignment of pixel labels was applied to gradually update the probabilistic map of the tissues based on spatio-contextual information. Finally, the graph-cut model was optimized to extract the 3D liver from the image. During post-processing, overly segmented nodal regions due to fuzzy tissue separation were removed, maintaining its correct anatomy by using robust bottleneck detection with adjacent contour constraint. The proposed system was implemented and validated on the MICCAI SLIVER07 dataset. The experimental results were benchmarked against the state-of-the-art methods, based on major clinically relevant metrics. Both visual and numerical assessments reported herein indicated that the proposed system could improve the accuracy and reliability of asymptomatic liver segmentation.

Four Unusual Cases of Congenital Forelimb Malformations in Dogs

Four dogs were presented with thoracic limb deformity. After clinical and radiographic examinations, a diagnosis of congenital malformations was performed for each of them. In one case, a deformity involving both the radial and ulnar side of the distal limb was observed. Based on clinical and radiological evaluations, a diagnosis of postaxial terminal longitudinal ulnar hemimelia was performed. The term ectrodactyly was used to refer different malformations characterized by skin and soft tissue separation of the distal forelimb observed in two dogs. Simple complete uncomplicated syndactyly of the right forelimb, and complex incomplete uncomplicated syndactyly of the left forelimb were diagnosed in the fourth case. To the authors’ knowledge, ectrodactyly and simple complete uncomplicated syndactyly are very uncommon anomalies in companion animals and have been rarely documented. Moreover, postaxial terminal longitudinal ulnar hemimelia has still not been reported in dogs.

The Arabidopsis NRT1.1 transceptor coordinately controls auxin biosynthesis and transport to regulate root branching in response to nitrate

In agricultural systems, nitrate is the main source of nitrogen available for plants. Besides its role as a nutrient, nitrate has been shown to act as a signal molecule in plant growth, development, and stress responses. In Arabidopsis, the NRT1.1 nitrate transceptor represses lateral root (LR) development at low nitrate availability by promoting auxin basipetal transport out of the LR primordia (LRPs). Here we show that NRT1.1 acts as a negative regulator of the TAR2 auxin biosynthetic gene in the root stele. This is expected to repress local auxin biosynthesis and thus to reduce acropetal auxin supply to the LRPs. Moreover, NRT1.1 also negatively affects expression of the LAX3 auxin influx carrier, thus preventing the cell wall remodeling required for overlying tissue separation during LRP emergence. NRT1.1-mediated repression of both TAR2 and LAX3 is suppressed at high nitrate availability, resulting in nitrate induction of the TAR2 and LAX3 expression that is required for optimal stimulation of LR development by nitrate. Altogether, our results indicate that the NRT1.1 transceptor coordinately controls several crucial auxin-associated processes required for LRP development, and as a consequence that NRT1.1 plays a much more integrated role than previously expected in regulating the nitrate response of root system architecture.

Pathogenicity of fungus strains isolated from medicinal Fritillaria przewalskii Maxim. bulb rot

Background: Bulb rot causes loss of the perennial medicinal plant Fritillaria przewalskii Maxim., is exacerbated with growth years and seriously constrains plant productivity, but the pathogens responsible for the disease were still unknown, very few reports were presented before.Methods: To determine potential pathogenic sources, fungus strains were isolated from diseased plant samples with bulb rot symptom of the 3- to 5-year-old F. przewalskii plants by tissue separation, and assayed for pathogenicity according to Koch’s Law.Results: Seven pathogenic strains (F1-F7) were detected in5-year-old rot bulbs, six (F1-F6) in 4-year-old rot bulbs, and four (F1, F2, F5, F6) in 3-year-old rot bulbs. All of the strains were able to infect bulbs by stabbing and some exhibited varying levels of aggressiveness. Relative to the non-stabbing controls, the bulbs stab-inoculated with F5, F2, F7, F4, F1, F6, and F3 showed 76.65%, 75.15%, 71.44%, 40.37%, 39.09%, 36.87%, and 34.93% rot after 8 days, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that theses trains (deposited in GenBank under accessions MH917682 to MH917688) were clustered into Bionectria ochroleuca (F1, F3, F4), Fusarium oxysporum (F2, F7), Fusarium tricinctum (F5), and Clonostachys rosea (F6). The two species of Fusarium had the strongest pathogenicity, followed by Bionectria ochroleuca and Clonostachys rosea. Although leading to low bulb rot incidence by stab-inoculation, F1 showed the highest isolation rate (48.9%) among all strains. Conclusions: Thus, the edible and medicinal bulbs of F. przewalskii are susceptible to synergetic contamination by these seven pathogenic strains at some point after their third year of growth, which has contributed to the species endangered status, with the two strains of Fusarium being the predominant pathogens. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the seven strains of four fungal species causing in F. przewalskii bulb rot in China.

Local anesthesia in surgical treatment of patients with otosclerosis with IV degree of hearing loss and deafness

The article presents the material devoted to the actual problem-rehabilitation of patients with otosclerosis with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) IV degree and deafness with concomitant diseases. Material and methods: on the basis of Clinical Research Center of Otorhinolaryngology in the Department of ear diseases cochlear implantation (CI) was performed in 4 patients with otosclerosis and comorbidities under local infiltration anesthesia and intravenous sedation with Dexdor drug, which allowed to avoid the introduction of muscle relaxants. In the preoperative period, patients were carefully prepared for the operation, acquainted with each stage of the operation, with tables for intraoperative dialogue. CI was performed by the classical method. Each patient was also interviewed for all parameters (during surgery and in the early postoperative period). Results. After parenteral administration of the drug, the effect was achieved quickly enough, against the background of drug administration, blood pressure did not increase to high figures relative to the norm, aggravation of comorbidities was not noted, patients felt satisfactory, responded to all signs, answered questions by reading from the tables. In no case did patients feel pain during incision, soft tissue separation, boron machine operation, introduction of cochlear implant electrode array and its subsequent testing. Conclusions. The advantages of local anesthesia using the Dexdor drug include: less invasiveness of the procedure; the ability not to use muscle relaxants; cost savings; finding the patient in consciousness, which makes it possible to intraoperatively diagnose the implant and assess the patient’s auditory perception when giving signals; determine the presence or absence of pathological stimulation of the facial nerve; reducing the time of surgery.

Reversibility, Body Weight and Histo-architectural Alterations in the Anterior Pituitary Gland of Aqueous Azadirachta indica Extract Fed Wistar Rats

Several studies have reported the importance of neem plant (Azadirachta indica) with results showing it to be both medicinal and pharmacological in the property. However, little or no available record(s) relates its effect on body weights and the anterior pituitary gland. Consequently, the current study investigated the effect of aqueous extract Azadirachta indica on the anterior pituitary gland using Wistar rats as an experimental model. Twelve (12) healthy male Wistar rats of between 130 – 150 g were grouped as follows; Group I (normal control) received normal rat feed ad libitum, experimental groups II and III received normal feed + 200 mg/kg and normal feed + 300 mg/kg of aqueous leave extract of Azadirachta indica respectively. For each group, Body weights were checked weekly for a total of three (3) weeks. At the end of the experiments, the animals were sacrificed, and histology of the pituitary glands was assessed. Result in a statistically insignificant increase (p< 0.05) in body weights of control compared with experimental rats, with mild observational elevation in pituitary histo-architecture for experimental compared to the control group. Thus, reversal weights are very supportive factors of Wistar rats and the histological effect of Azadirachta indica on the anterior pituitary gland in Wistar rats. The study also observed axonic fibres (using H and E x 10) with neural tissues in 200 mg/kg extract-treated rats, implicating an increase in cellularity, mild vascular congestion and tissue separation on Wistar rats.

Intrafamilial Diversity of Clinical Severity in Dominant Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa: Case Series of Three Generations

Background: Epidermolysis bullosa, a group of inheritable blistering diseases with considerable clinical and genetic diversity, is divided into distinct subtypes depending on the level of tissue separation in the dermal–epidermal basement membrane zone. The dystrophic form of epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) is characterized by tense blisters and erosions which heals with extensive scarring. The fact that DEB can be inherited in either autosomal dominant (DDEB) or autosomal recessive (RDEB) pattern adds to its clinical diversity. The cause of marked clinical diversity in mild to severe DDEB is still unidentified. Main Observation: We report an intrafamilial diversity of clinical severity in dominant dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DDEB) cases within three generations. Conclusion: We emphasize the variety of clinical severity in DDEB cases within three generations which might be caused by unknown gene modifiers and environmental factors.