Lumbo‐sacral cavernous hemangioma : a rare case

Pure spinal epidural cavernous angiomas are very rare, with only less than 100 cases on literature review. The average age of onset is 51 years, and it is more common in women than in men. Lumbo‐sacral spine is involved in less than 10% of reported cases. A 50 years old man with history of chronic hepatitis presented urinary retention and dysuria since 3 months. Clinical examination showed no significant abnormalities. A thorough central nervous system examination revealed no hypoesthesia nether weakness in the lower limbs. MRI revealed a well‐defined epidural lesion at the L5 S1 level. The diagnosis of nerve sheath tumor was suspected and an excision was performed. Histo‐pathological examination concluded to cavernous hemangioma. The patient improved after the excision of the lesion. The best treatment of spinal epidural cavernous angiomas is total surgical removal at an early stage

Evaluation of extra-virgin olive oils shelf life using an electronic tongue-chemometric approach

Physicochemical quality parameters, olfactory and gustatoryretronasal positive sensations of extra-virgin olive oils vary during storage leading to a decrease in the overall quality. Olive oil quality decline may prevent the compliance of olive oil quality with labeling and significantly reduce shelf life, resulting in important economic losses and negatively condition the consumer confidence. The feasibility of applying an electronic tongue to assess olive oils usual commercial light storage conditions and storage time was evaluated and compared with the discrimination potential of physicochemical or positive olfactory/gustatory sensorial parameters. Linear discriminant models, based on subsets of 58 electronic tongue sensor signals, selected by the meta-heuristic simulated annealing variable selection algorithm, allowed the correct classification of olive oils according to the light exposition conditions and/or storage time (sensitivities and specificities for leave-one-out cross-validation: 8296 %). The predictive performance of the E-tongue approach was further evaluated using an external independent dataset selected using the KennardStone algorithm and, in general, better classification rates (sensitivities and specificities for external dataset: 67100 %) were obtained compared to those achieved using physicochemical or sensorial data. So, the work carried out is a proof-of-principle that the proposed electrochemical device could be a practical and versatile tool for, in a single and fast electrochemical assay, successfully discriminate olive oils with different storage times and/or exposed to different light conditions.The authors acknowledge the financial support from the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, from Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984—Associate Laboratory LSRELCM funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020—Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI)—and by national funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia and under the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit. Nuno Rodrigues thanks FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE for the Ph.D. Grant (SFRH/BD/104038/2014).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Understanding the control of a vitamin B12 riboswitch

Within the life sciences switching mechanisms are pervasive at all levels, from molecules to cells and tissues. Their operation can be a key determinant of health or disease. Whilst the existence and importance of switches is widely acknowledged within the biological literature, many life scientists do not deal explicitly with the switching behaviour. Frequently, steady-state behaviour before and after switching is the primary focus. Here methods for analysis of switched systems from control engineering are applied to the modelling and analysis of a riboswitch. The model has been developed by studying the dynamics of the vitamin B12 riboswitch. The simulation results have been validated using in vivo experiments by checking the bacterial growth when using Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica where the action of the vitamin B12 riboswitch is known to be a determinant of system behaviour. The paper first describes a simple model for the B12-riboswitch regulatory network in E. coli and applies the same analysis when changing the strain to S. enterica. Validation of the simulation results has been undertaken by linking the dynamics of the riboswitch to bacterial growth

Exploration of 2-deoxy-D-ribose and 17β-Estradiol as alternatives to exogenous VEGF to promote angiogenesis in tissue-engineered constructs

Aim: In this study, we explored the angiogenic potential and proangiogenic concentration ranges of 2-deoxy-D-ribose (2dDR) and 17β-Estradiol (E2) in comparison with VEGF. The 2dDR and E2 were then loaded into tissue engineering (TE) scaffolds to investigate their proangiogenic potential when released from fibers. Materials & methods:Ex ovo chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay was used to evaluate angiogenic activity of 2dDR and E2. Both factors were then introduced into scaffolds via electrospinning to assess their angiogenic potential when released from fibers. Results: Both factors were approximately 80% as potent as VEGF and showed a dose-dependent angiogenic response. The sustained release of both agents from the scaffolds stimulated neovascularization over 7 days in the chorioallantoic membrane assay. Conclusion: We conclude that both 2dDR and E2 provide attractive alternatives to VEGF for the functionalization of tissue engineering scaffolds to promote angiogenesis in vivo

VALEUR PREDICTIVE POSITIVE DU TEST DE RESISTANCE ET DE LA PONCTION LOMBAIRE DEPLETIVE DANS L’HYDROCEPHALIE CHRONIQUE DE L’ADULTE: SUR UNE SERIE DE 46 CAS

Introduction : L’hydrocéphalie chronique de l’adulte (HCA) a une expression clinique reposant sur une triade d’Adams Hakim, associant des perturbations locomotrices, des troubles intellectuels et une incontinence urinaire. Devant un tableau clinique évocateur, les principaux arguments restent l’imagerie et la réversibilité des signes après la réalisation de ponctions lombaires déplétives. Matériels et Méthodes : étude rétrospective portant sur 46 patients suivis pour une hydrocéphalie chronique de l’adulte entre Janvier 1997 à Décembre 2013 dans notre service en insistant sur l’intérêt du test de résistance à l’écoulement de LCR. Résultats : il s’agissait de 25 hommes et 21 femmes, l’âge moyen était de 62 ans. La durée moyenne d’évolution des symptômes était de 18 mois.La triade d’Adams Hakim était complète chez 19/46 (41.3%), les troubles moteurs au 1er plan chez 12/46 (26%), suivi des troubles sphinctériens chez 8/46 (17.3%), et les démences chez 7/46 (15.2%). Une ponction lombaire soustractive d’au moins 30cc a été réalisée chez tous les patients et le test de résistance chez 33 patients (71.7%). La ponction lombaire était positive chez 39 patients, dont 28 se sont améliorés après dérivation. Le test de résistance à l’écoulement de LCR était positif chez 24 patients, dont 19 se sont améliorés après dérivation. La valeur prédictive positive des deux tests diagnostic est de 79.1% pour le test de résistance et de 72% pour la ponction lombaire. Conclusion : Le test de résistance à l’écoulement de LCR, bien que rarement utilisé, a pourtant toute sa place parmi les outils diagnostiques

GLIOBLASTOME MULTIFORME INTRAVENTRICULAIRE : A PROPOS D’UN CAS ET REVUE DE LA LITTERATURE

Les glioblastomes (GBM) multiformes représentent 15-20% des tumeurs cérébrales. Ils sont plus fréquents chez les sujets âgés et sont le plus souvent localisés au niveau des lobes frontal et temporal. Leur localisation intraventriculaire est rare. Nous rapportons le cas d’une femme de 44 ans qui présente des signes d’hypertension intracrânienne et de trouble de la mémoire. L’imagerie cérébrale (TDM et IRM) retrouve deux lésions hétérogènes, à contours irréguliers et prenant le contraste de façon hétérogène associées à une hydrocéphalie. Elles se sont développées aux dépens de 2 cornes frontales et du corps des ventricules latéraux. Après une dérivation ventriculo-péritonéale et une biopsie stéréotaxique, l’histologie confirme le diagnostic de GBM multiforme. Nous rapportons cette observation avec une revue de la littérature tout en insistant sur l’aspect pathogénique

Absence of pathogenic mitochondrial DNA mutations in mouse brain tumors

BACKGROUND: Somatic mutations in the mitochondrial genome occur in numerous tumor types including brain tumors. These mutations are generally found in the hypervariable regions I and II of the displacement loop and unlikely alter mitochondrial function. Two hypervariable regions of mononucleotide repeats occur in the mouse mitochondrial genome, i.e., the origin of replication of the light strand (O(L)) and the Arg tRNA. METHODS: In this study we examined the entire mitochondrial genome in a series of chemically induced brain tumors in the C57BL/6J strain and spontaneous brain tumors in the VM mouse strain. The tumor mtDNA was compared to that of mtDNA in brain mitochondrial populations from the corresponding syngeneic mouse host strain. RESULTS: Direct sequencing revealed a few homoplasmic base pair insertions, deletions, and substitutions in the tumor cells mainly in regions of mononucleotide repeats. A heteroplasmic mutation in the 16srRNA gene was detected in a spontaneous metastatic VM brain tumor. CONCLUSION: None of the mutations were considered pathogenic, indicating that mtDNA somatic mutations do not likely contribute to the initiation or progression of these diverse mouse brain tumors

Cairo's Urban Transformation: Mohandeseen and Zamalek Narratives

Im Gegensatz zu anderen Großstädten der Welt hat Kairo im Laufe seiner langen Geschichte einen bedeutenden Wandel durchlaufen. Während einige Elemente der Vergangenheit noch sichtbar sind, allen voran die Pyramiden von Gizeh, sind andere Elemente längst verschwunden. Es ist schwer vorstellbar, dass das historische Kairo einst das Zentrum einer fruchtbaren, von Seen durchzogenen Landschaft war, vor allem wenn man mit den heutigen Realitäten einer dichten, meist grauen Stadtlandschaft konfrontiert wird, die von einer dünnen Staubschicht und einer Vielzahl von Umweltproblemen bedeckt ist. Kairo ist die größte Mega-Stadt auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent und verändert sich weiterhin schnell, sowohl formal als auch informell. Um die Transformation Kairos zu steuern und die informelle Entwicklung auf dem verbleibenden fruchtbaren Land einzuschränken, werden neue staatlich finanzierte Wüstenstädte geplant, gebaut und bewohnt. Gleichzeitig haben massive Hochhäuser die einst charakteristischen großen, wohlhabenden Villensiedlungen in regulär entwickelten Kernstadtgebieten wie Zamalek und Mohandeseen ersetzt. In Zamalek hat sich diese Transformation dazu geführt, dass sich viele Bürger der Oberschicht in die Wüstenstädte zurückziehen und Spuren des Verfalls hinterlassen, während Mohandeseen zu einem der teuersten Gebiete in Kairo geworden ist, das fast keine Spuren des Garden City-Konzepts hinterlässt, das seine frühe Entwicklung bestimmt hat. Während viel Aufmerksamkeit auf die Erweiterung und Verbesserung informeller Gebiete und die Schaffung neuer Wüstenstädte gerichtet wird, ist es auch wichtig, aus der Vergangenheit zu lernen und die zukünftige Transformation von Kernstadtgebieten wie Mohandeseen und Zamalek zu steuern. Im Folgenden wird die Transformation ausgewählter Gebiete in Monhandeseen um die Libanon Street und den Assuan Square sowie um Zamalek im Norden des Gezira Sporting Club untersucht.Not unlike other major cities around the world, Cairo has undergone a significant transformation over the course of its long history. While some elements of the past are still visible, the most notable being the Pyramids of Giza, other elements have long since disappeared. It is hard to imagine that historic Cairo was once at the center of a fertile landscape dotted with lakes, especially when confronted with today’s realities of a dense mostly gray cityscape covered by a thin layer of dust and a host of environmental problems. Cairo is the largest mega-city on the African continent and it continues to transform rapidly, both formally and informally. In an effort to guide Cairo’s transformation and limit informal development on its remaining fertile land, new state funded desert cities are being planned, built and inhabited. At the same time, massive tower blocks have replaced the once characteristic large prosperous villa estates within formally developed core-city areas such as Zamalek and Mohandeseen. In Zamalek this transformation has caused many upper class residents to withdraw to the desert cities leaving behind signs of decay, while Mohandeseen has become one of the most expensive areas in Cairo leaving almost no trace of the Garden City concept which guided its early development. While much needed attention goes to the expansion and improvement of informal areas and to the creation of new desert cities, it is also important to learn from the past as well as to guide the future transformation of core-city areas such as Mohandeseen and Zamalek. The following investigates the transformation of select areas of Mohandeseen around Lebanon Street and Aswan Square in addition to Zamalek to the north of the Gezira Sporting Club

A framework to guide planetary health education

People around the world are increasingly facing the pressing challenges of today's interconnected environmental, social, and health crises. The COVID-19 pandemic has been an important wake-up call reminding us that we need a healthy planet to ensure the health of all people. The emerging field of planetary health is a framework for understanding these interconnections and identifying solutions to the complex challenges confronting our civilization. Building on the unique role and responsibility of education institutions in shaping our futures, embedding planetary health education in curricula is an essential step to achieving the transformative change needed. Planetary health education across all levels and disciplines will equip and enable learners to drive transdisciplinary and mutually reinforcing actions to protect and restore planetary health and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals