Endothelial-specific depletion of TGF-β signaling affects lymphatic function

Background Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β is a multifunctional cytokine involved in cell differentiation, cell proliferation, and tissue homeostasis. Although TGF-β signaling is essential for maintaining blood vessel functions, little is known about the role of TGF-β in lymphatic homeostasis. Methods To delineate the role of TGF-β signaling in lymphatic vessels, TβRIIfl/fl mice were crossed with Prox1-CreERT2 mice to generate TβRIIfl/fl; Prox1-CreERT2 mice. The TβRII gene in the lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) of the conditional knockout TβRIIiΔLEC mice was selectively deleted using tamoxifen. The effects of TβRII gene deletion on embryonic lymphangiogenesis, postnatal lymphatic structure and drainage function, tumor lymphangiogenesis, and lymphatic tumor metastasis were investigated. Results Deficiency of LEC-specific TGF-β signaling in embryos, where lymphangiogenesis is active, caused dorsal edema with dilated lymphatic vessels at E13.5. Postnatal mice in which lymphatic vessels had already been formed displayed dilation and increased bifurcator of lymphatic vessels after tamoxifen administration. Similar dilation was also observed in tumor lymphatic vessels. The drainage of FITC-dextran, which was subcutaneously injected into the soles of the feet of the mice, was reduced in TβRIIiΔLEC mice. Furthermore, Lewis lung carcinoma cells constitutively expressing GFP (LLC-GFP) transplanted into the footpads of the mice showed reduced patellar lymph node metastasis. Conclusion These data suggest that TGF-β signaling in LECs maintains the structure of lymphatic vessels and lymphatic homeostasis, in addition to promoting tumor lymphatic metastasis. Therefore, suppression of TGF-β signaling in LECs might be effective in inhibiting cancer metastasis.

Infectious Endocarditis with Major Cutaneous Expression: About A Case

Introduction: Infectious endocarditis is a transplant of microorganisms in healthy endocardium, in injured endocardium or intracardiac material. The modes of revelation can be multiple and varied, the skin manifestations of an infectious although classical endocarditis, are rare. Observation: This was a young 20-year-old patient, admitted in our cardiac unit for the exploration of a cardiac murmur in a context of long-term fever evolving for nearly 3 weeks associated with a skin rash. The examination found fever at 39°C and tachycardia at 115 beats/min. The cardiac auscultation revealed tachycardia with a systolic breath apexian mitral insufficiency. The skin examination revealed Osler’s nodules, an erythema of Janeway on the soles of the feet and on the palms of the hands. In biology, there was a non-specific biological inflammatory syndrome. Blood cultures from three series of samples did not isolate a germ. The transthoracic echography showed large vegetations in the anterior and posterior leaflets of mitral valve associated with severe mitral regurgitation. In this context, the diagnosis of mitral endocarditis is retained according to the Duke criteria. A double intravenous antibiotic therapy based on ceftriaxone and gentamycin was administrated. The evolution was favorable with stable apyrexia, disappearance of skin signs, regression of non-specific biological inflammatory syndrome. A replacement surgery of mitral valve was proposed. Conclusion: Infectious endocarditis is a disease with multiple and varied modes of revelation. Although skin manifestations are rare, they are still a determining factor in the diagnosis of infectious endocarditis.

Investigation of the effect of ergonomic flooring on the distribution of foot pressure in long standing

Introduction: Many occupations require prolonged standing during exercise, which is one of the most important causes of musculoskeletal disorders, causing pain and discomfort in the back, lower limbs, and especially the soles of the feet, resulting in improper distribution of pressure in the soles of the feet. Epidemiological studies also show a strong association between prolonged standing and pressure on the lower back and lower limbs. One of the ergonomic solutions to reduce the problems caused by long-standing activities is to correct the surface under the fee. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of ergonomic flooring and conventional flooring on the distribution of foot pressure in healthy individuals; based on that, the effect of using ergonomic flooring in comparison with conventional flooring, more appropriate distribution, and reduction of pressure in the sole can be determined. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 16 students with a mean age of 27.87±7.31 and a body mass index of 24.15±4.31. According to previous comparative studies and data analysis obtained from pilot samples, by considering the 95% confidence interval, the samples were determined by the convenience sampling method. Each participant was measured at eight anatomical points for one hour at two different surfaces of ergonomic and ordinary floor. Foot pressure distribution using a pedar-x device while the volunteers were barefoot. Data were analyzed by paired t-test and Wilcoxon using SPSS software. Results: This study showed that the ergonomic flooring significantly reduced the mean pressure on the plantar pressure (p≤0.001). Also, there is a significant difference in the mean pressure of left and right legs in different anatomical points when using ordinary surfaces and flooring (p≤0.001). Conclusion: There is a difference between the distribution of plantar pressure in ergonomic flooring and conventional flooring. Ergonomic flooring has better distribution than the ground and reduces the pressure on the sole during static activities.

A Rare Case of Keratoacanthoma of the Palm: Special Considerations when Treating Keratoacanthoma of the Hand

Keratoacanthoma (KA) is a low grade, rapidly growing skin tumor which is thought to originate from the pilosebaceous unit from hyperkeratosis of the infundibulum and are often thought to originate on hair bearing skin or sun exposed surfaces. There are very scarce reports demonstrating they may occur in other areas such as mucous membranes or soles of the feet. We present a rare case of palmar KA in a 65-year-old female with no known antecedent history. Surgical excision was performed with complete removal of the tumor. Following surgical excision, the pathology of the irregularly elevated 0.7 x 0.2 cm lesion revealed a keratoacanthoma. The patient remained without evidence of recurrence at one year follow-up. We believe there is only one other report of isolated palmar KA to date in the literature. We review relevant literature on hand KA.

The effects of mechanical noise bandwidth on balance across flat and compliant surfaces

Although the application of sub-sensory mechanical noise to the soles of the feet has been shown to enhance balance, there has been no study on how the bandwidth of the noise affects balance. Here, we report a single-blind randomized controlled study on the effects of a narrow and wide bandwidth mechanical noise on healthy young subjects’ sway during quiet standing on firm and compliant surfaces. For the firm surface, there was no improvement in balance for both bandwidths—this may be because the young subjects could already balance near-optimally or optimally on the surface by themselves. For the compliant surface, balance improved with the introduction of wide but not narrow bandwidth noise, and balance is improved for wide compared to narrow bandwidth noise. This could be explained using a simple model, which suggests that adding noise to a sub-threshold pressure stimulus results in markedly different frequency of nerve impulse transmitted to the brain for the narrow and wide bandwidth noise—the frequency is negligible for the former but significantly higher for the latter. Our results suggest that if a person’s standing balance is not optimal (for example, due to aging), it could be improved by applying a wide bandwidth noise to the feet.

Identification of Baby's Feet Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) Method Character Extraction with K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) Classification in Matlab Application

Biometric recognition systems or human identification are very important in security access for identification and verification systems. The biometric recognition system can be used as an identification system based on the characteristics possessed by the body part of each individual. The soles of the feet can be used for identification because the soles of the feet have certain and unique characteristics which include major lines, protrusions, small dots, single points, and textures. The introduction of biometrics in babies is still conventional, which is a standard operating procedure such as attaching bracelets on baby's feet and imprinting or inking on the soles of baby's feet which are affixed to paper and are very vulnerable to the risk of damage or loss of data, there is a need for a system that can store data automatically digital and able to do the baby identification process. The Principal Component Analysis method is used for the extraction process of the characteristics of the baby's feet. The classification uses the K-Nearest Neighbor (K-NN) method with the euclidean distance approach. Tests were carried using 120 images of baby feet, there are 20 classes, each class contains 3 images of the right foot and 3 images of the foot of the left foot, and a dataset of 280 training images. The highest accuracy result obtained in system testing is 91% with a computation time of 5.63 seconds using the Principal Component Analysis method with the K-Nearest Neighbor (K-NN) classification.Keywords: Footprint, Feature Extraction, Principal Component Analysis, K-Nearest Neighbor.

Classification of indicators of poor quality display of the plantar surface of bare feet of living persons

12 indicators of poor quality of papillary prints of the plantar surface of bare feet were revealed during traditional fingerprinting of living persons. Indicators are classified and arranged in chronological order as the total quantitative indicator decreases when studying 700 special fingerprint cards over two periods of time. It was concluded that the bulk of the indicators of poor quality of the plantar surface prints is associated with such indicators as prints from wet and dirty soles of the feet, repainted and smeared prints. A specific indicator only for the sole of the feet - “smeared print of the upper part of the big toe” was identified. These indicators are divided according to three more indicators for poor quality of footprints. It has been established that the quality of footprints depends on the quality of the technique and technology used to obtain them and the appropriate control by a competent person. This makes it possible to optimize measures to improve the quality of a special fingerprint card for displaying papillary prints of the plantar surface of the bare feet of living persons for comparative studies, especially when it is impossible to identify a person by the fingers and palms of the hands, as well as in connection with the use of biometric plantar terminals in the near future. Theoretical and practical recommendations for taking prints of the papillary sole of the feet are given in the development of the author’s previous works. This will affect the encoding of the image in the automatic fingerprint information system and its search characteristics, and most importantly, the final result for the prompt and objective identification of the person.

Assessment of Flatfoot Index and Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Foot in Young Athletes: Swimming, Rowing and Weightlifting

Objectives: The objective of this work was to analyze the morphology of the soles of the feet in young athletes to find the prevalence of these pathologies through the Chippaux-Smirak index. Material and Methods: Seventy-five athletes between nine and twenty years old participated in the study (56% female and 44% male), the average mass was 62.92 ± 13.46kg and the average height was 1.67 ± 0.11m. The sports considered in the study were weightlifting, swimming, and rowing. Results: The results clearly show that flatfeet in adolescents and young adults is a condition with a low prevalence level, 10.7% and 12% for the right and left foot, respectively. One of the most outstanding results found in the study is the high prevalence of cavus foot, where women are the most affected by this pathology. Furthermore, swimming presented the highest prevalence of cavus foot, 42.1% and 52.6% for the right and left foot, respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, the understanding of the morphology of the soles of the feet can help to determine the foot type in these three different sports, and therefore, it can be implemented physiotherapeutic treatments or orthotics devices for overcome the musculoskeletal disorders and prevent future injures.

Liposomal doxorubicin-related palmar–plantar erythrodysesthesia (hand–foot syndrome): a case report

Hand–foot syndrome (HFS) is a skin toxicity that occurs in areas of compressed skin. HFS manifests mainly in insensitive palms and the soles of the feet or in erythematous areas on the extremities caused by chemotherapy, which may be related to the dosage. This paper reports a case of HFS caused by liposomal doxorubicin. A 64-year-old Asian woman presented with severe erythema, ulceration, pruritus, and edema-related pain in her back, hands, and feet after receiving four cycles of liposomal doxorubicin. Clinicians and a pharmacist analyzed and evaluated the patient’s adverse reactions. After symptomatic treatment and patient education, her HFS symptoms were significantly relieved. The purpose of this study was to raise clinical awareness regarding adverse events following liposomal doxorubicin injection, and to provide new ideas for the clinical treatment of these adverse events.

Secondary Syphilis

Case Presentation: A 40-year-old male presented the the emergency department (ED) due to a diffuse body rash after a sexual encounter. Examination revealed a maculopapular rash that included the palms and soles of the feet bilaterally. A rapid plasma reagin was positive, and the patient was treated with 2.4 million units of benzathine benzylpenicillin intramuscularly. Diagnosis: Secondary syphilis can mimic many disease processes but classically presents as a painless macular rash on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. Diagnosis is based upon clinical examination coupled with serological testing. Emergency department management should include 2.4 million units of benzathine benzylpenicillin intramuscularly and mitigation strategies.