YeeE-like bacterial SoxT proteins mediate sulfur import for oxidation and signal transduction.

Many sulfur-oxidizing prokaryotes oxidize sulfur compounds through a combination of initial extracytoplasmic and downstream cytoplasmic reactions. Facultative sulfur oxidizers adjust transcription to sulfur availability. While sulfur-oxidizing enzymes and transcriptional repressors have been extensively studied, sulfur import into the cytoplasm and how regulators sense external sulfur are poorly understood.

Is the Size of Insulinoma Predictive for its Endocrine Behavior? An Endoscopic Ultrasound Study.

Objective: Insulinoma is a rare tumor of the pancreas that can lead to spontaneous hypoglycemia due to excessive insulin secretion. Seventy-two-hour fast is the gold standard for finding the correct diagnosis. Endoscopic ultrasound is an established examination method to identify the suspicious lesion.

[Mandatory Surgical Subinternship in the Final Year of Medical School - a Stepping Stone to Becoming a Surgeon?].

Background: The final year is an important time for a medical student as this is when medical knowledge is transformed into medical responsibilities. The field of surgery is firmly anchored in the educational structure as it is mandatory during the practical year of a medical student. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that influence medical students to choose surgery after the final year of medical school.

Proximal interphalangeal joint fractures treated with a dynamic external fixator: A multicenter and retrospective study of 88 cases.

Ligamentotaxis is now a well-established treatment method for proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint fractures. Despite satisfactory results, the technique is considered complex and the devices cumbersome. The aim of this study was to evaluate a miniaturized dynamic external fixator (Ligamentotaxor(®)) for the management of these fractures.

Chronic ischaemia does not appear to hinder healing with Integra(®) : implementation at a tibial artery bypass site.

Wounds with exposed vessels, especially in artery bypass procedures, can pose a barrier to adequate skin healing. Skin grafts or flaps are sometimes difficult to perform in the face of the ischaemia that is often present in such cases. We report a case of a 73-year-old man who presented with grade IV peripheral arterial disease necessitating salvage of the lower limb using artery bypass surgery.

3-D high-frequency ultrasound backscatter analysis of human articular cartilage.

High-frequency ultrasound is a promising method for non-invasive characterization of cartilage degeneration. Surface reflection and integrated spectral parameters are often used. In the work described here, human cartilage samples with varying degrees of degeneration were measured using a 40-MHz transducer.

Anatomical basis of the lateral superior gluteal artery perforator (LSGAP) flap and role in bilateral breast reconstruction.

Introduction: Deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap is one of the gold standards in autologous breast reconstruction. When the abdominal tissue is not available, the superior gluteal artery perforator (SGAP) is often a second option with its drawback, especially the donor-site deformity. Reports have highlighted that a higher and more lateral SGAP flap can be harvested to overcome several drawbacks of the classical SGAP, allowing in the same procedure a body-contouring procedure.

3-d high-frequency ultrasound improves the estimation of surface properties in degenerated cartilage.

High-frequency ultrasound (US) surface parameters are well known to be sensitive to degenerative changes in cartilage tissue, but estimates deteriorate if the sample is inclined. We propose 3-D US to precisely estimate the local surface and inclination. For this purpose, the most common ultrasonic surface parameters ultrasound roughness index and integrated reflection coefficient were extended to 2-D surface measurements.

[Perforator propeller flap for cutaneous coverage of the knee].

Previous pedicled techniques for coverage of the knee use muscular flaps and/or local fascio-cutaneous flaps limited to rotate until 90° on their cutaneous base. Freestyle perforator flaps match the patient's anatomy to fill a defect. Propeller perforator flaps have been used to treat three patients presenting with a skin loss over the knee.

Reciprocal role of GATA-1 and vitamin D receptor in human myeloid dendritic cell differentiation.

Two major pathways of human myeloid dendritic cell (DC) subset differentiation have previously been delineated. Langerhans cells (LCs) reside in epithelia in the steady state, whereas monocytes can provide dendritic cells (DCs) on demand in response to inflammatory signals. Both DC subset pathways arise from shared CD14+ monocyte precursors, which in turn develop from myeloid committed progenitor cells.

[Radiological mid-term results of total knee arthroplasty with femoral components of different materials].

Aim: The present work aimed at evaluating the radiological mid-term results of femoral components of different materials in an identically designed total knee system.

Method: 31 knees with zirconium femoral components and 32 standard femoral components were evaluated about 4 years following surgery using the Roentgenographic Evaluation and Scoring System of the Knee Society.

Results: In both groups, the implant position was correct.

Inhibition of mineralization by a calcium zirconium phosphate coating.

Bioactive ceramics used as coating materials combine the conductive properties of a bioceramic with the mechanical stability of the metal implant. We studied a calcium zirconium phosphate-containing coating material, FA-CZP [Ca(5)(PO(4))(3)F, CaZr(4)(PO(4))(6)], that is relatively insoluble in the biological milieu. The reaction of bone to this material was investigated histologically and histomorphometrically in an animal trial.

[Chromic acid burns: systematic prevention of systemic toxicity].

Chromic acid burns can lead to systemic toxicity by cutaneous absorption of the chrome seen surfaces more than 1% of the total body surface area. In order to illustrate the necessity of anticipate systematically this toxicity by a specific treatment, we describe the case of a patient with systemic toxicity in the least severe situation of chromic acid burn: the chromic acid was diluted to 0,02%, the burn was superficial second degree, both thermic and chemical, on the forearm, and extended only to 1% of the total body surface area. In spite of the specific treatment, our patient had a blood transfer of the chrome, however without any consequences on the renal and hepatic functions.

Human Langerhans-cell activation triggered in vitro by conditionally expressed MKK6 is counterregulated by the downstream effector RelB.

Environmentally exposed epithelial Langerhans cells (LCs) encounter diverse innate stress signals, which lead to the activation of complex intracellular signaling cascades. Among these, p38 MAPK is consistently phosphorylated. For which aspects of LC activation triggering of p38 signaling is sufficient remains to be elucidated.

Differential involvement of PU.1 and Id2 downstream of TGF-beta1 during Langerhans-cell commitment.

Langerhans cells (LCs) are highly abundant dendritic cells (DCs) in epidermal and mucosal tissues. The transcription factors PU.1 and Id2 have been implicated as positive regulators of LC development from hematopoietic progenitor cells.

The low-pressure balloon revisited.

The concept of residual dimensioning is offering unexpected design solutions. This reports on efforts to rediscover the potential of residual balloon dimensioning to improve the performance of existing catheters and create new approaches in design and therapy.

Lack of usefulness of electron beam computed tomography for detecting coronary allograft vasculopathy.

Fifty-five patients with cardiac allografts were studied by electron beam computed tomography for coronary calcification (EBCT CC) and coronary arteriography, and from the latter, a coronary index was calculated using the size, degree of obstruction, and linear extent of disease of each vessel. There was a significant correlation between EBCT CC score and coronary index, but receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated unsatisfactory performance of EBCT CC, and 6 patients had no coronary calcification despite having very abnormal coronary indexes. There are pathologic differences between coronary allograft vasculopathy and atherosclerosis, and correspondingly, EBCT CC has limited usefulness in the cardiac transplant population.

Angiographic changes in saphenous vein grafts are predictors of clinical outcomes.

Background: Previous studies have suggested that angiographic evidence of disease progression in coronary arteries increases the risk of subsequent coronary clinical events. This study ascertained whether patients enrolled in the Post Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Clinical Trial (POST CABG) who had substantial progression of atherosclerosis in >or=1 saphenous vein grafts (on the basis of assessment of baseline and follow-up angiograms obtained 4-5 years after study entry), but who had not reported clinical symptoms before follow-up angiography, were at a higher risk of subsequent events than patients who did not have substantial progression of atherosclerosis (decrease >or=0.6 mm in lumen diameter at site of greatest change from baseline).

Medial brachial and antebrachial cutaneous nerve injuries: effect on outcome in revision cubital tunnel surgery.

Twenty patients with persistent symptoms of medial elbow pain after previous cubital tunnel surgery were evaluated during reoperation, for injury of the medial antebrachial and medial brachial cutaneous nerves at the time of reoperation. Abnormalities of the medial cutaneous nerves were found in 65 percent of the patients. A neuroma was found in 40 percent of the patients.

[Significance of lateral release in the therapy of patellar chondromalacia].

A retrospective study was performed in 26 patients who underwent an operation for femoro-patellar pain due to a patellar chondromalacia with or without minor patellar dislocation/lateral pressure syndrome. The average age of the patients was 28.5 (15-39) years.

[Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) in epicondylitis humeri radialis. Short-term and intermediate-term results].

Eighty-five patients with a chronic therapy-resistant lateral epicondylitis (LE) were treated with extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT). All patients had been previously treated with physical therapy, local injections, and other conservative procedures for at least 6 months. Three weekly sessions of ESWT were performed under local anesthesia with a Dornier Epos Ultra (energy flux density 0.

An allograft salvage technique for failure of the Darrach procedure: a report of four cases.

We report on four patients with failed resections of the distal ulna causing instability and impingement, who were treated with a tendon allograft to stabilize and buffer the ulnar stump. In three of the four patients the outcome was excellent. We believe that this new technique holds promise as an alternative salvage procedure for the failed Darrach resection.

Acute myeloid leukemia presenting with diabetes insipidus.

A central diabetes insipidus should be considered as a sign of primary CNS involvement in patients with acute myeloid leukemia even in the case of normal cerebrospinal fluid and magnetic resonance imaging findings.

Minimal medial epicondylectomy and decompression for cubital tunnel syndrome.

Sixty-four patients (66 elbows) treated for refractory cubital tunnel syndrome had minimal medial epicondylectomy and in situ decompression to minimize the potential disadvantages of classic medial epicondylectomy. After a mean followup of 27 months results were excellent in 27 patients (44%), good in 23 patients (35%), fair in 10 patients (15%), and poor in four patients (6%). No ulnar nerve palsy, ulnar nerve subluxation, or medial elbow instability were seen.