Comparative Analysis of Taper Point and Reverse Cutting Needles on Skin Puncture Force.

Background: Reverse cutting needles are commonly used in cutaneous surgery due to their perceived ease of use. Despite this, there is limited research evaluating the force required to puncture skin using contemporary needles.

Objective: This study aims to compare the puncture forces required for two different needle geometries across various gauge sizes.

Porcine xenograft biosynthetic wound dressings for the management of postoperative Mohs wounds.

Cadaveric allografts and a large variety of other biologic dressings have been reported as being useful for the postoperative management of Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) wounds. Although the use of porcine xenografts for the immediate postoperative management of these wounds is known, their use has not been detailed in the dermatology literature. A case series of 15 consecutive Mohs micrographic surgery patients (mean age = 74.

Fleur-de-lis panniculectomy after bariatric surgery: our experience.

Background: Plastic surgeons are faced with increasing numbers of patients presenting for insurance-covered skin excision procedures following bariatric surgery. Panniculectomy for symptomatic relief of rashes is commonly performed, but an isolated infraumbilical amputation-type panniculectomy is a highly unaesthetic procedure, leaving many patients deeply dissatisfied. It may be also fraught with complications due to large incisions and potential for dead-space.

Adductor magnus perforator flap revisited: an anatomical review and clinical applications.

Background: The adductor magnus musculocutaneous perforator flap is a medial thigh flap whose utility is often overshadowed by that of its anatomic neighbor, the gracilis flap. It has a large, reliable pedicle and associated skin paddle. Few reports have been published describing the use of this flap as a local or free tissue transfer.

Single-stage forehead flap in nasal reconstruction.

The paramedian forehead flap has become the standard of care for major nasal reconstruction. The classic procedure involves a second-stage operation to divide and inset the external pedicle. We present our experience in a clinical series using single-stage forehead flap reconstruction.

Long-term histologic and mechanical results of a Permacol™ abdominal wall explant.

Purpose: We hypothesize that Permacol™ may allow controlled integration over time while providing long-term mechanical stability and native tissue remodeling. The purpose of this report is to investigate these properties in an explanted piece of Permacol™ after 2 years in vivo.

Methods: A 62-year-old female presented with a complex abdominal wall history having undergone a transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flap breast reconstruction 10 years ago, followed by an abdominal wall repair with Marlex™ mesh for weakness 3 years later.

A single dose of vitamin A improves haemoglobin concentration, retinol status and phagocytic function of neutrophils in preschool children.

Since there is a reported interrelationship between vitamin A and Fe metabolism, and with immunological response, the objective was to evaluate the effect of a single dose of vitamin A administered to preschool children, on Fe and vitamin A nutritional status, anaemia and phagocytic function of neutrophils, 30 d after supplementation. A total of eighty children (sixty-eight supplemented and twelve controls) were supplemented orally with 200,000 IU (60 mg) vitamin A, and evaluated for nutritional, haematological and immunological responses at the beginning of the study and 30 d after supplementation. Parameters studied included Hb, serum ferritin, retinol and Fe concentrations, transferrin saturation, IL-4, interferon-gamma and phagocityc capacity of neutrophils using non-fluorescent latex microbeads.

Rare isolated trapezoid fracture: a case report.

Isolated fractures of the trapezoid are rare. Of all of the fractures of the carpus, the most common is the scaphoid, which represents 68.2% of all carpal fractures (Papp, Orthop Clin N Am 38:251-60, 2007).

Increased prevalence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in hand infections at an urban medical center.

Background: The purpose of this article is to report the increased incidence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus in hand infections at an urban medical center.

Methods: The authors performed a retrospective review of all patients with hand infections over a 21-month period, and all patients with culture-positive methicillin-resistant S.

[Calcium/protein relation of women on the climacteric].

Objective: To evaluate the calcium/protein relation of the diet of climacteric women.

Methods: In a transversal study the diet was evaluated of 154 women 35-65 years old and matriculated in the Health Clinic of the Climateric Woman of Health Center of Public Health College of the São Paulo University. The food intake of calcium and protein was investigated by "24 hours recall" method.

[Nutritional status and food intake assessment of climacterics women].

Background: To evaluate the nutritional status and food intake of climacterics women.

Methods: In a transversal study were evaluated 154 women matriculated in the Clinic of the Climacteric Woman of the Health Center of Public Health College of the S o Paulo University, Brazil. The analyzed variables were body mass index (BMI) and food intake (energy, percentual distribution of macronutrients, A and C vitamins, calcium and iron minerals).

A simple filtration method to remove plankton-associated Vibrio cholerae in raw water supplies in developing countries.

Plankton to which cells of Vibrio cholerae O1 and/or O139 were attached was introduced into 0.5% Instant Ocean microcosms maintained at 25 degrees C. The bulk of the plankton and associated particulates was removed with a filter constructed from either nylon net and one of several different types of sari material, the latter being very inexpensive and readily available in villages in Bangladesh, where V.

Serogroup conversion of Vibrio cholerae non-O1 to Vibrio cholerae O1: effect of growth state of cells, temperature, and salinity.

Recently, we reported the occurrence of seroconversion from Vibrio cholerae non-O1 to V. cholerae O1, but little is known about the environmental and physiological factors influencing seroconversion. We investigated effects of temperature (4, 25, and 35 degrees C) and salinity ( < 0.

Taxonomy and protein fingerprinting of halophilic Vibrio isolates from bivalves of the Ebre delta.

A total of 380 isolates of halophilic Vibrio and related bacteria isolated from shellfish bred in the Ebro delta (in northeastern Spain) were studied by biochemical characterization; this allowed the use of numerical taxonomy programs. All but 25 isolates fell into 12 phenotypes. The analysis of whole-cell electrophoretic fingerprints of 100 isolates confirmed the numerical analysis of biochemical and morphological traits.

Lipopolysaccharide recovery restores susceptibility levels towards beta-lactams in Serratia marcescens.

O-side chain-defective spontaneous mutants of Serratia marcescens, selected by phage resistance, showed lower MICs against various beta-lactams than did their parental strains. The recovery of their ability to produce O-antigen restored the original MIC values, as well as phage susceptibility. The permeability coefficients of wild-type, O- mutants, and revertants, demonstrated that O-antigen modifies the permeability of antibiotics in S.

The role of O-antigen in susceptibility of Serratia marcescens to non-immune serum.

Selection of phage-resistant strains to three different phages, kappa, FSB3 and FSB55, whose primary receptor was lipopolysaccharide, enabled several spontaneous O-defective mutants to be isolated and characterized. Strains ATCC 274 (0:14), 2170 (0:14) and NIMA (0:6) showed serum resistance, whereas their O-side chain defective mutants exhibited high serum susceptibility. Both alternate and classical activation pathways were involved in serum killing activity in Serratia marcescens.

Lipopolysaccharide is the receptor for kappa phage in Serratia marcescens.

Kappa phage active on Serratia marcescens can form plaques on white and red strains with identical efficiencies. To identify the kappa phage receptor, the inactivation of the phage was studied after incubation with several bacterial subcellular fractions. The experiments demonstrated that kappa phage adsorbs to outer membrane fractions of susceptible cells.