Benign fibrous histiocytoma of bone in a paediatric population: a report of 6 cases

Case records and radiological investigations of six children with benign fibrous histiocytoma were studied retrospectively. BFH occurred in the femur (n=2), tibia (n=2) and fibula (n=2). Clinically, patients reported pain from the lesion lasting several months (mean 6months). The pain was not associated with pathological fracture in any patient. On X-rays, the lesions appeared as lytic and sharply demarcated with a sclerotic rim and fine trabeculations. The reported cases were located in the metaphysis and the diaphysis of the long bones. The tumour was restricted to bone, without periosteal or soft tissue reaction. Treatment consisted of careful intralesional curettage of the lesion; the defect was thereafter filled with bone bank graft or injectable phosphocalcic cement. The length of follow-up ranged from 24months to 4.75years (mean 35.2months). One case presented with recurrence of the disease and required successful repeat intralesional curettage. Benign fibrous histiocytoma is probably underestimated among patients less than 20years of age. This diagnosis should be considered in any child or teenager who presents with a non-ossifying fibroma accompanied by unexplainable pain or a rapid growing. Surgery restricted to the osteolytic lesion seems sufficient to achieve bone healin

Electronic compressibility and charge imbalance relaxation in cuprate superconductors

In the material SmLa$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_{4-\delta}$ with alternating intrinsic Josephson junctions we explain theoretically the relative amplitude of the two plasma peaks in transmission by taking into account the spatial dispersion of the Josephson Plasma Resonance in $c$ direction due to charge coupling. From this and the magnetic field dependence of the plasma peaks in the vortex solid and liquid states it is shown that the electronic compressibility of the CuO$_2$ layers is consistent with a free electron value. Also the London penetration depth $\lambda_{ab} \approx 1100 {\rm \AA}$ near $T_c$ can be determined. The voltage response in the $IV$-curve of a Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_8$ mesa due to microwave irradiation or current injection in a second mesa is related to the nonequilibrium charge imbalance of quasiparticles and Cooper pairs and from our experimental data the relaxation time $\sim 100 {\rm ps}$ is obtained.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, phc-proc4-auth.cls, to be published in Physica C as a proceeding of M2S-HTSC Rio 200

The neuronal correlates of mirror illusion in children with spastic hemiparesis: a study with functional magnetic resonance imaging.

To investigate the neuronal activation pattern underlying the effects of mirror illusion in children/adolescents with normal motor development and in children/adolescents with hemiparesis and preserved contralateral corticospinal organisation. The type of cortical reorganisation was classified according to results of transcranial magnetic stimulation. Only subjects with congenital lesions and physiological contralateral cortical reorganisation were included. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed to investigate neuronal activation patterns with and without a mirror box. Each test consisted of a unimanual and a bimanual motor task. Seven children/adolescents with congenital hemiparesis (10-20 years old, three boys and four girls) and seven healthy subjects (8-17 years old, four boys and three girls) participated in this study. In the bimanual experiment, children with hemiparesis showed a significant effect of the mirror illusion (p<0.001 at voxel level, family-wise error corrected at cluster level) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex of the affected and unaffected hemispheres, respectively. No significant effects of the mirror illusion were observed in unimanual experiments and in healthy participants. Mirror illusion in children/adolescents with hemiparesis leads to activation of brain areas involved in visual conflict detection and cognitive control to resolve this conflict. This effect is observed only in bimanual training. We consider that for mirror therapy in children and adolescents with hemiparesis a bimanual approach is more suitable than a unimanual approach

Optical Resonances in Reflectivity near Crystal Modes with Spatial Dispersion

We study the effect of spatial dispersion of crystal modes on optical properties such as the reflectivity $R$. As an example for isotropic media, we investigate the simplest model for phonons in ionic crystals and compare with previous results for highly anisotropic plasmons, which are now understood from a more general point of view. As a consequence of the wave vector dependence of the dielectric function small changes in the lineshape are predicted. Beyond that, if the frequency of minimal $R$ is near a pole of the dispersionless dielectric function, the relative amplitude of dips in $R$ with normal and anomalous dispersion differ significantly, if dissipation and disorder are low.Comment: 4 pages, 7 eps figures, minor change

Enhancement of NAFLD risk by vinyl chloride : role of adipose tissue in a mouse model.

Background: Vinyl chloride (VC), an environmental contaminant, is directly hepatotoxic at high concentrations. However, our group has recently demonstrated that VC and the VC metabolite chloroethanol (CE), at concentrations that are not considered hepatotoxic, enhanced liver injury caused by high-fat diet (HFD). These data therefore suggest that the impact of VC exposure on hepatic tissue may be enhanced with underlying metabolic syndrome and/or liver injury. It is known that there is an axis between adipose and hepatic tissue in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), with the former impacting pathology in the hepatic tissue via release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and/or lipolysis. The current study investigated the impact of CE on epidydimal white adipose tissue (WAT) inflammation and lipolysis. Methods: Mice were administered CE (or vehicle) once, 10 weeks after being fed a diet high in saturated fatty acids (HFD: 42% milk fat), or a low fat control diet (LFD: 13% milk fat). Animals were sacrificed 0-24 hours after CE exposure. Plasma, liver and WAT samples were harvested for determination of liver damage, changes in energy metabolism, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and inflammation. Results: Hepatic steatosis and inflammation caused by HFD was significantly enhanced by CE. Moreover, while HFD significantly increased the size of epididymal fat pads, this increase was enhanced by CE. Adipocyte lipid droplets relative size was also increased in the HFD/CE group; which correlated with the increased expression of lipid-associated proteins (e.g., perilipin; PLINs). Although adipose tissue of LFD-fed mice was not affected by CE, CE significantly enhanced HFD-increased indices of WAT inflammation, and ER stress. It has been shown that hepatic-derived fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a major modulator of WAT lipolysis and is hypothesized to thereby regulate hepatic steatosis [1, 2]. Here we demonstrate that circulating levels of FGF21 are significantly increased by CE in animals fed a HFD, suggesting a possible role for WAT-mediated hepatic steatosis due to changes in WAT lipolysis. Conclusion: Chloroethanol (as a VC surrogate) can enhance local inflammation and alter lipid metabolism in WAT in experimental obesity. Taken together these data support the hypothesis that environmental toxicant exposure can exacerbate the severity of NAFLD or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and supports a role of the liver-adipose axis in this process

Sensory Electrical Stimulation Improves Foot Placement during Targeted Stepping Post-Stroke

Proper foot placement is vital for maintaining balance during walking, requiring the integration of multiple sensory signals with motor commands. Disruption of brain structures post-stroke likely alters the processing of sensory information by motor centers, interfering with precision control of foot placement and walking function for stroke survivors. In this study, we examined whether somatosensory stimulation, which improves functional movements of the paretic hand, could be used to improve foot placement of the paretic limb. Foot placement was evaluated before, during, and after application of somatosensory electrical stimulation to the paretic foot during a targeted stepping task. Starting from standing, twelve chronic stroke participants initiated movement with the non-paretic limb and stepped to one of five target locations projected onto the floor with distances normalized to the paretic stride length. Targeting error and lower extremity kinematics were used to assess changes in foot placement and limb control due to somatosensory stimulation. Significant reductions in placement error in the medial–lateral direction (p = 0.008) were observed during the stimulation and post-stimulation blocks. Seven participants, presenting with a hip circumduction walking pattern, had reductions (p = 0.008) in the magnitude and duration of hip abduction during swing with somatosensory stimulation. Reductions in circumduction correlated with both functional and clinical measures, with larger improvements observed in participants with greater impairment. The results of this study suggest that somatosensory stimulation of the paretic foot applied during movement can improve the precision control of foot placement

Low serum zinc levels predict presence of depression symptoms, but not overall disease outcome, regardless of ATG16L1 genotype in Crohn's disease patients.

Zinc deficiency (ZD) in Crohn's disease (CD) is considered a frequent finding and may exacerbate CD activity. ZD is associated with depression in non-CD patients. We aimed to assess the prevalence of ZD in CD patients in clinical remission, its association with mood disturbances and to analyze a potential impact on future disease course. Zinc levels from CD patients in clinical remission at baseline and an uncomplicated disease course within the next 3 years ( <i>n</i> = 47) were compared with those from patients developing complications ( <i>n</i> = 50). Baseline symptoms of depression and anxiety were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. Mean zinc level in the 97 patients (40.4 ± 15.7 years, 44.3% males) was 18.0 ± 4.7 μmol/l. While no ZD (<11 μmol/l) was observed, we found low zinc levels (<15.1 μmol/l) in 28 patients (28.9%). Males had higher zinc levels compared with females (19.4 ± 5.7 <i>versus</i> 16.8 ± 3.3, <i>p</i> = 0.006). Patients with low zinc levels more often reported depression symptoms compared with patients with higher levels (27.3 <i>versus</i> 9.4%, <i>p</i> = 0.047). In a multivariate analysis, zinc levels were an independent negative predictor for depression symptoms [odds ratio (OR) 0.727, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.532-0.993, <i>p</i> = 0.045]. Zinc levels of patients with a complicated disease course were not different from those of patients without (17.7 ± 4.3 <i>versus</i> 18.3 ± 5.1, n.s.). Baseline zinc levels did not predict disease outcome regardless of ATG16L1 genotype. Low-normal zinc levels were an independent predictor for the presence of depression symptoms in CD patients. Zinc levels at baseline did not predict a complicated disease course, neither in CD patients overall, nor ATG16L1 <sup>T300A</sup> carriers

Synovial sarcomas usually metastasize after >5 years: a multicenter retrospective analysis with minimum follow-up of 10 years for survivors

In SS, metastases develop late with high mortality. Patients with SS should be followed for >10 year

Scans for signatures of selection in Russian cattle breed genomes reveal new candidate genes for environmental adaptation and acclimation

Domestication and selective breeding has resulted in over 1000 extant cattle breeds. Many of these breeds do not excel in important traits but are adapted to local environments. These adaptations are a valuable source of genetic material for efforts to improve commercial breeds. As a step toward this goal we identified candidate regions to be under selection in genomes of nine Russian native cattle breeds adapted to survive in harsh climates. After comparing our data to other breeds of European and Asian origins we found known and novel candidate genes that could potentially be related to domestication, economically important traits and environmental adaptations in cattle. The Russian cattle breed genomes contained regions under putative selection with genes that may be related to adaptations to harsh environments (e.g., AQP5, RAD50, and RETREG1). We found genomic signatures of selective sweeps near key genes related to economically important traits, such as the milk production (e.g., DGAT1, ABCG2), growth (e.g., XKR4), and reproduction (e.g., CSF2). Our data point to candidate genes which should be included in future studies attempting to identify genes to improve the extant breeds and facilitate generation of commercial breeds that fit better into the environments of Russia and other countries with similar climates