Efficacy of Cold Atmospheric Plasma in Chronic Diabetic Foot Ulcer Management: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND Diabetes mellitus is a significant global health issue, affecting millions and costing billions annually in management. A major complication of diabetes is foot ulcers, which heal slowly due to nerve damage (neuropathy) and poor circulation. These ulcers have a high risk of infection and, if untreated, can lead to amputation.

Tunable pheromone interactions among microswimmers.

Indirect interactions via shared memory deposited on the field ("field memory") play an essential role in collective motions. Some motile species, such as ants and bacteria, use attractive pheromones to complete many tasks. Mimicking these kinds of collective behavior at the laboratory scale, we present a pheromone-based autonomous agent system with tunable interactions.

Interference-based wide-range dynamic tuning of the plasmonic color of single gold nanoparticles.

Dynamic tuning of nanoscale coloration by exploiting localized surface plasmon resonance of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) combined with an interference coloration mechanism is demonstrated experimentally. When interference between the scattering field from AuNPs and the reflected field from the substrate is observed under back-scattering white-light microscopy, the AuNPs exhibit various colors depending on their distance to the substrate. When the numerical aperture of the microscope objective is optimized, much greater coverage of the color space than was achieved with previously reported plasmon-based approaches is attained.

Rapid Assembly of Colloidal Crystals under Laser Illumination on a GeSbTe Substrate.

Optical techniques have been actively studied for manipulating nano- to microsized objects. However, long-range attraction and rapid transport of particles within thin quasi-two-dimensional systems are difficult because of the weak thermophoretic forces. Here, we introduce an experimental system that can rapidly generate quasi-two-dimensional colloidal crystals in deionized water, sandwiched between two hard plates.

VEGF secretion by adipose tissue-derived regenerative cells is impaired under hyperglycemic conditions via glucose transporter activation and ROS increase.

Transplantation of cultured adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADRCs) into ischemic tissues promotes neovascularization and blood perfusion recovery. These effects are attenuated in diabetes patients. We examined the effects of hyperglycemia on the angiogenic capacity of ADRCs derived from Wistar rats both in vivo and in vitro.

Ulcerative pigmented squamous cell carcinoma in a 101-year-old Japanese woman.

Pigmented squamous cell carcinoma is a rare variant of squamous cell carcinoma. We report a case of pigmented squamous cell carcinoma with dermoscopic examination probably arisen from actinic keratosis in a 101-year-old woman who was surgically treated under general anesthesia. In addition, we discuss indications of general anesthesia in elderly patients with skin cancer, differential diagnosis and dermoscopic features of pigmented squamous cell carcinoma.

A new design for free flap reconstruction of the tongue and oropharynx.

Radical resection of tongue and oropharyngeal carcinomas often results in complex defects that are challenging to reconstruct. Furthermore, remaining function should not be disturbed by the reconstruction. We introduce a new flap design and monitored swallowing and speech following reconstruction of complex oral defects.

Combined fibular osteocutaneous and omental flaps.

Background: The free vascularized fibular bone graft, first described in 1975, has become one of the most commonly used bone grafts. It is useful for reconstructing mandibular and traumatic long bone defects and defects following tumor resection. This flap, however, does not have a long pedicle and does not have very much volume.

Analysis of salvage operation in head and neck microsurgical reconstruction.

In this study, we examined salvage operations after reexploration in head and neck reconstruction and analyzed ways to solve problems. Free flap reconstruction of the head and neck lesion was carried out for 513 cases in our hospital over the past 12 years. Twenty-one cases of reexploration were caused by postoperative thrombosis (4.

Posterolateral cervical vein as a recipient vein in reconstructive microvascular surgery of the head and neck.

Free flaps are becoming the preferred method of choice for head and neck reconstruction. However, many patients who have undergone radiotherapy and radical neck dissection or who require treatment for recurrent tumor, often present difficulty in choosing recipient vessels. The authors have noted a potential recipient vein coursing vertically along the anterior ridge of the trapezius muscle.

Autoperipheral blood mononuclear cell transplantation improved giant ulcers due to chronic arteriosclerosis obliterans.

We report the case of a 74-year-old man with Fontaine stage IV chronic arteriosclerosis obliterans who had been suffering from inveterate giant skin ulcers on the dorsum and heel of the right foot. As conventional medical treatments had not improved these ulcers and surgical treatment was considered unfeasible, amputation of the right lower limb below the knee appeared to represent the only option. The patient was admitted to Tottori University Hospital to attempt a new angiogenic therapy using auto-mononuclear cell transplantation to avoid amputation.

Successful upper alveolar reconstruction for gingival cancer using a fibular osteoadipofascial flap without osseointegrated implants.

An upper alveolar skeletal reconstruction with closure of the palatal fistula using an osteocutaneous free flap is considered an ideal reconstructive strategy after curative surgery for cancer of the lower maxilla. Although installation of osseointegrated implants into the bone has advantages for utilizing a dental prosthesis, it is often time and cost prohibitive. In the case of 1 patient, we reconstructed and fit the patient with a conventional denture, eliminating the need for installation of osseointegrated implants.

Reconstruction using a three-dimensional orbitozygomatic skeletal model of titanium mesh plate and soft-tissue free flap transfer following total maxillectomy.

The surgical strategy for maxillary reconstruction after maxillectomy has yet to be standardized. The authors developed a technique using a three-dimensional orbitozygomatic skeletal model of a titanium mesh for skeletal reconstruction after maxillectomy. From May of 1996 to September of 2000, 18 patients underwent reconstruction using the titanium mesh model in conjunction with a soft-tissue free flap following total maxillectomy for a maxillary malignancy.

The gastrocnemius with soleus bi-muscle flap.

The gastrocnemius muscle flap is often insufficient in volume and arc of rotation for coverage of a large soft tissue defect of the knee and the upper third of the leg. Therefore we developed a new concept of the flap which combines soleus and gastrocnemius muscles, named the 'gastrocnemius with soleus bi-muscle flap'. In 16 cadavers we studied the location and number of perforators, which penetrate the gastrocnemius muscle through the soleus muscle.

Role of the anterolateral thigh flap in head and neck reconstruction: advantages of moderate skin and subcutaneous thickness.

Skin-flap thickness is an important consideration when choosing a free flap for head and neck reconstruction. The anterolateral thigh flap, the rectus abdominis flap, and the radial forearm flap, which included the epidermis, the dermal, and the subcutaneous layers, were measured using ultrasonography in 31 patients. The mean skin and subcutaneous thickness of the anterolateral thigh flap was 7.

Usefulness of a first transferred free flap vascular pedicle for secondary microvascular reconstruction in the head and neck.

The authors found that a previously transferred free flap vascular pedicle, distal to the first microvascular anastomosis, can be used as a recipient vessel for an additional free flap transfer. Free flap transfers were performed by using the standard procedure in patients with head and neck cancer. The mean age of the patients was 62 years.

[Distribution of intraglandular metastatic foci in the contralateral lobe of papillary thyroid carcinoma].

The distribution of metastatic foci in the opposite lobe has not been studied in detail despite of several reports on the high incidence of contralateral metastasis. Whether foci spread to the upper one-third of the contralateral lobe influences the choice of total or subtotal thyroidectomy. Metastasis was studied in 66 patients 11 men and 55 women aged 24-73 years (mean; 51.

Treatment of malignant melanoma of the lower eyelid using anterolateral thigh flap.

Malignant melanoma is a poor prognostic disease with the potential for high mortality despite early diagnosis and currently available treatment. Surgical judgment pertaining to the extent of primary resection and regional node dissections must be tempered by cosmetic considerations and by the anatomically diffuse pathways for lymphatic spread in certain lesions. We reported a case of malignant melanoma of the left lower eyelid, and presented the surgical excision and reconstruction using anterolateral thigh flap for skin defect.

An electrochemotherapy model for rat tongue carcinoma.

Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a new technique that enhances the antitumor effect of various anticancer agents by delivering high-voltage electrical impulses to the tumor. A rat squamous cell carcinoma and a hepatocellular carcinoma were transplanted into the tongues of rats and subjected to a) high-voltage electrical impulses 30 min after the injection of bleomycin, b) bleomycin treatment alone, and c) electrical treatment alone. A non-treated control group was also included.