More Than Just a Spearhead: Diverse Functions of PAAR for Assembly and Delivery of Toxins of the Contractile Injection Systems

The type VI secretion system (T6SS) belongs to the evolutionarily related group of contractile injection systems that employ a contractile outer sheath to inject a rigid spear-like inner tube into target bacterial and eukaryotic cells. The tip of the rigid tube is often decorated by a PAAR-repeat protein as a key structural component.

PILOMATRIXOMA OF FACE PRESENTING AS PAROTID SWELLING

Pilomatrixoma, also known as pilomatrixoma or calcifying epithelioma of Malherbe, is a benign tumor of skin appendages. Although it is an uncommon and benign neoplasm of the head and neck region, it may sometimes become malignant. It arises from the cells of the outer sheath of the hair follicle root. Owing to its rarity, pilomatrixoma can be missed during differential diagnosis, and it can be misdiagnosed as malignancy. Therefore, for definitive and confirmatory diagnosis, histopathological analysis is imperative. We report a case of a 26-year-old female who presented with hard swelling on the right side of her face near the angle of the mandible. We have discussed its clinical, radiological, and histological findings and reflected light on the treatment of choice for pilomatrixoma.

Double-Sheath Vacuum Suction Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy for Management of Large Renal Stones

<b><i>Objectives:</i></b> This study aimed to describe a novel double-sheath vacuum suction minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy (mini-PCNL) to overcome the deficiencies of the conventional procedure. <b><i>Patients and Methods:</i></b> Between March 2019 and December 2019, 65 patients (37 males and 28 females) with a mean age of 41 years (range 23–69) underwent mini-PCNL with double-sheath vacuum suction. It consisted of an F20 Y-shaped sheath as an outer sheath and an F16 Y-shaped sheath as an inner sheath, in which the inner sheath was longer than the outer sheath. The oblique arm of the outer sheath and the inner sheath was connected to the perfusion inflow and the vacuum suction, respectively. A 550-μm holmium-YAG laser was introduced for stone fragmentation through the working channel of the mini-nephroscope, which was no longer connected to the perfusion fluid. <b><i>Results:</i></b> All procedures were successful. Mean operation time was 50.2 min (range 39–83). Mean hemoglobin decrease was 5.2 g/L (range 1.0–15.5), and no patient needed a blood transfusion. One patient (1.5%) with low fever (&#x3c;38°C) at day 1 had returned to normal at day 2 without administration of antibiotics. There were no Clavien grade 2–4 complications. Mean postoperative hospital stay was 2.4 days (range 2–6). The initial stone-free rate of PCNL was 81.53% (53 of 65 patients). One month after surgery, the final stone-free rate increased to 90.77% (59/65 patients). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The double-sheath vacuum suction mini-PCNL is a safe and effective modality for large renal stones, which might increase the efficiency of stone extraction with low intrapelvic pressure.

Long Vascular Sheaths for Transfemoral Neuroendovascular Procedures in Children

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of long vascular sheaths for transfemoral neuroendovascular procedures in children.Materials and Methods: A retrospective evaluation of transfemoral neuroendovascular procedures in children <18 years, using long sheaths was undertaken analyzing procedure type, fluoroscopic times, technical success, access site and systemic complications. Twenty-seven consecutive procedures were included over a two-year period. Mean age was 8.4 years (standard deviation [SD] 6.3) (range 17.0 months–16.3 years).Results: Patients were 44% female and mean weight was 35.0 kg (SD 22.8) (range 9.8–72.2 kg). A third of the procedures were performed in ≤15 kg children. The most common procedure was for embolization (n=13, 48.1%) and the most common indication was dual microcatheter technique (52%). The most common device used was the 5 Fr Cook Shuttle sheath. Mean fluoroscopy time was 61.9 minutes (SD 43.1). Of these procedures, 93% were technically successful. Femoral vasospasm, when present, was self-limiting. Complications (3/27, 11.1%) included groin hematoma (n=1), neck vessel spasm that resolved with verapamil (n=1), and intracranial thromboembolism (n=1), with no significant difference between the ≤15 kg and >15 kg subcohorts. There were no aorto-femoro-iliac or limb-ischemic complications.Conclusion: Long vascular sheaths without short femoral sheaths can be safely used for pediatric neuroendovascular procedures as they effectively increase inner diameter access without increasing the outer sheath diameter. This property increases the range of devices used and intracranial techniques that can be safely performed without arterial compromise, thus increasing the repertoire of the neurointerventionalist.

SYSTEM FOR REMOTE MONITORING OF HIGH-VOLTAGE CABLE LINE STATE

The article proposes a device for remote monitoring of high-voltage cable line state. The device gives a possibility to measure simultaneously several diagnostic characteristics, i.e. the temperature of cable outer sheath, electric current in cable core, capacitive current to earth and uses a specially designed internal electric power source that directly converts the energy of cable electromagnetic field into electric energy with necessary parameters. By computer simulation, the temperature field distribution in the cable cores of 330 kV cable line is determined and the quantitative relationship between the directly measured temperature on the cable outer sheath and the temperature values of the cable core and insulation, which are important diagnostic characteristics of the thermal state of power cables is revealed. References 5, figures 3.

Combustible Material Content vs. Fire Properties of Electric Cables

The fire load of buildings is significantly increased by means of electric cables, usually creating a long combustible base for fire to spread and in this way decreasing the fire safety of buildings. The aim of the study was to evaluate a relationship between the construction of the cables and their fire properties, especially the mass loss influence on other fire properties of cables. Six cables of different core numbers were tested by means of the standard test method EN 50399. Additionally, thermogravimetric analysis and Attenuated Total Reflection—Fourier Transform Infrared analysis were performed on the separate outer sheath, bedding, and core insulations in order to determine the similarity of the materials’ chemical structures. It was found that: (1) the construction of the cable strongly influences the fire behavior due to the creation of a barrier for flame penetration and emission of combustion effluents though inside the closed agglomeration of non-combustible metallic cores (conductors), and the intumescent structures formed from aluminum trihydrate/zinc borate fillers and fire retardants in outer sheath material during the self-sustained combustion process after ignition of cables; (2) the inhomogeneous distribution of non-combustible inorganic fillers or different contents of fillers and flame retardants within the polymer fraction cause an unobvious fire behaviors of cables; and (3) the use of bedding in multicore cable construction results in lower values of combustion parameters (maximum average heat release rate, total heat release, maximum average smoke production rate, total smoke production), e.g., better fire properties of cables.

Why do human languages have homophones?

Human languages are replete with ambiguity. This is most evident in homophony––where two or more words sound the same, but carry distinct meanings. For example, the wordform “bark” can denote either the sound produced by a dog or the protective outer sheath of a tree trunk. Why would a system evolved for efficient, effective communication display rampant ambiguity? Some accounts argue that ambiguity is actually a design feature of human communication systems, allowing languages to recycle their most optimal wordforms (those which are short, frequent, and phonotactically well-formed) for multiple meanings. We test this claim by constructing five series of artificial lexica matched for the phonotactics and distribution of word lengths found in five real languages (English, German, Dutch, French, and Japanese), and comparing both the quantity and concentration of homophony across the real and artificial lexica. Surprisingly, we find that the artificial lexica exhibit higher upper-bounds on homophony than their real counterparts, and that homophony is even more likely to be found among short, phonotactically plausible wordforms in the artificial than in the real lexica. These results suggest that homophony in real languages is not directly selected for, but rather, that it emerges as a natural consequence of other features of a language. In fact, homophony may even be selected against in real languages, producing lexica that better conform to other requirements of humans who need to use them. Finally, we explore the hypothesis that this is achieved by “smoothing” out dense concentrations of homophones across lexical neighborhoods, resulting in comparatively more minimal pairs in real lexica.