Silicone Particles in Capsules Around Breast Implants: An Investigation Into Currently Available Implants in North America.

Background: Breast implants have always been composed of a silicone elastomer envelope filled with either silicone gel or saline. Breast implant illness (BII) is a set of symptoms that has previously been linked to the leakage of silicone particles from the implants into the body.

Objectives: Our research aimed to quantify the number of silicone particles present in the capsules of breast implants available in North America.

Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders in Aesthetic Surgery.

Purpose: Our study aimed to characterize and objectify the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and the use of psychotropic drugs in patients interested in undergoing aesthetic surgery. The psychiatric profile of this population is particularly interesting and is related to self-perception and the general concept of beauty.

Methods: We conducted an observational, retrospective, and bicenter study of 2092 patients seen in plastic surgery departments.

Demographic Study and Description of the Surgical Demand in Aesthetic Surgery.

Background: The demand for aesthetic surgery presents a continuously growing trend over the years. The population wishing to undergo this type of surgery presents unique characteristics that are profoundly different in motivational, demographic, and clinical features from patients in other specialties.

Objectives: The aim of our multicenter study is to objectively define the surgical demand and the demographic characteristics of our patients comparing them with general population.

Silicone particles in capsules around breast implants: Establishment of a new pathological methodology to assess the number of particles around breast implants.

Introduction: The presence of silicone particles in breast implant capsules has been observed since the 1970s. Since then, little data has been published regarding the amount of silicone that is susceptible to migrate into the capsule. Quantifying the amount of silicone migration from the implant to the capsule could inform on the level of silicone exposure a patient with breast implants may experience in the short- or long-term.

Investigation into Changes of Microstructure and Abrasive Wear Resistance Occurring in High Manganese Steel X120Mn12 during Isothermal Annealing and Re-Austenitisation Process.

Hadfield steel, under unit pressure conditions, strengthens itself by forming a high density dislocation structure, which results in increased resistance to dynamic impact wear. However, under abrasion conditions, the homogeneous microstructure of the cast steel is insufficient to achieve the expected service life. The aim of the research is to conduct a comparative analysis of the material in its as-delivered state and after two-stage heat treatment (isothermal annealing followed by re-austenitisation).

A Surgical Alternative in the Treatment of Hypopharyngeal Perforation.

Pharyngo-esophageal perforation is a rare, life-threatening complication of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery with an incidence estimated to be between 0.2 and 1.51%.

Para-prosthetic Leaks Following Mitral Valve Replacement: Case Analysis on a 20-year Period.

Background: Mitral para-prosthetic leaks are rare but major complications of mitral heart valve replacements. When they must be re-operated, they are burdened with high mortality rates. We proposed to review our surgical experience in terms of approach and type of operation carried out.

ORCAN-a web-based meta-server for real-time detection and functional annotation of orthologs.

Summary: ORCAN (ORtholog sCANner) is a web-based meta-server for one-click evolutionary and functional annotation of protein sequences. The server combines information from the most popular orthology-prediction resources, including four tools and four online databases. Functional annotation utilizes five additional comparisons between the query and identified homologs, including: sequence similarity, protein domain architectures, functional motifs, Gene Ontology term assignments and a list of associated articles.