Mycotic Aneurysm of Brachial Artery Secondary to Infective Endocarditis.

Introduction: This case describes a brachial artery mycotic aneurysm (BAMA) secondary to infective endocarditis caused by . BAMAs are rare and potentially limb or life threatening. A literature review revealed 61 cases since 1950, primarily caused by intravenous drug use, with being the most common causative bacteria.

Adult Burkitt's lymphoma presenting as intussusception: first UK case report.

Colonic intussusception is rare in adults and can present with non-specific symptoms that can make diagnosis difficult and delayed. Unlike in children, it is commonly due to a pathological lead point that is often malignant. This case is the first reported case of adult intussusception due to Burkitt's lymphoma in the UK.

Shape instability of a biomembrane driven by a local softening of the underlying actin cortex.

We present a theory showing that local shape instabilities of composite biological membranes, consisting of a lipid bilayer and an underlying actin cortex, can be triggered by a local softening of the membrane-associated cytoskeleton. A membrane containing such cortical defects can form blisters or invaginations, depending on external conditions. The theoretical predictions agree with observations provided by two sets of experiments: (i) microscopic observations of shape changes of giant vesicles with underlying shells of a thin actin network show the formation of local blisters and (ii) micropipet aspiration experiments of Dictyostelium discoideum cells in which we observed the formation of blisters in the aspirated cell part.

A micromechanic study of cell polarity and plasma membrane cell body coupling in Dictyostelium.

We used micropipettes to aspirate leading and trailing edges of wild-type and mutant cells of Dictyostelium discoideum. Mutants were lacking either myosin II or talin, or both proteins simultaneously. Talin is a plasma membrane-associated protein important for the coupling between membrane and actin cortex, whereas myosin II is a cytoplasmic motor protein essential for the locomotion of Dictyostelium cells.

Membrane bending modulus and adhesion energy of wild-type and mutant cells of Dictyostelium lacking talin or cortexillins.

We have employed an interferometric technique for the local measurement of bending modulus, membrane tension, and adhesion energy of motile cells adhering to a substrate. Wild-type and mutant cells of Dictyostelium discoideum were incubated in a flow chamber. The flow-induced deformation of a cell near its adhesion area was determined by quantitative reflection interference contrast microscopy (RICM) and analyzed in terms of the elastic boundary conditions: equilibrium of tensions and bending moments at the contact line.