A technique for placement of interosseous wires

A technique for passing interosseous wires is described. By using an intravenous cathether, it is possible to pass an interosseous wire through the drill hole without difficulty.     

The lumbrical fat graft: a replacement for lost upper eyelid fat

Human eyelids seem to age earlier and more rapidly than do other regions of the face, making blepharoplasty (either age or familially indicated) an operation often performed earlier than other remedial procedures for facial aging. The traditional and more doctrinaire approach to upper blepharoplasty in which fat and orbicularis muscle are excised has led to a type of iatrogenia that often leaves the upper (and lower) eyelids hollowed and vacant, before their time. The notion of upper blepharoplasty as a simple operation is, therefore, to be questioned. The idea of normal and obligatory asymmetry as a key to recognizability is brought into relief when contemplating blepharoplasty. In questioning the judgments by which upper palpebral fat (and orbicularis muscle) is excised, the author suggests both a remedy-the lumbrical fat graft-and the need for a heightened awareness of the synergy such excisions make with the age-related palpebral fat atrophies. This is a report of 35 cases (70 eyelids), over a 24-month period, during which the current technique was used. The technique is relatively simple, the anatomy well known, the learning slope shallow, the results gratifying, and the complications and problems few and benign.     

Pain following controlled cutaneous insertion of needles with different diameters

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Needle injections are used daily by millions of people around the world for the administration of various drugs (e.g., insulin), venepuncture, and some neurophysiological procedures. The aim of this paper was to study the influence of the outer needle diameter on the pain evoked by controlled needle insertion. METHODS: An automated needle injection system was used to perform a series of insertions where velocity, angle of insertion, and depth of injection were controlled. The frequency of pain following needle insertions (23G, 27G, 30G, 32G) was recorded together with the pain intensity (measured using the visual analogue scale--VAS) and the occurrence of bleeding. RESULTS: The outer needle diameter was positively and significantly correlated to the frequency of the insertion pain; for example, 63% of insertions with 23G needles caused pain, 53% of insertions with 27G and 31% of insertions with the thinnest (32G) needle (p < 0.0001) caused pain. The thickest needle caused most insertions associated with bleeding. Bleeding insertions were approximately 1.3 times more painful (as indicated by VAS scores) than insertions without concomitant bleedings (p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: By decreasing the outer diameter of a needle, the frequency of insertion pain can be reduced and may encourage patients to adhere to demanding injection regimens such as recurrent insulin administration.     

Screening of the needles of different yew species and cultivars for paclitaxel and related taxoids

The needles of several yew species and cultivars were analysed by high-pressure liquid chromatography for paclitaxel, 10-deacetylpaclitaxel, cephalomannine, baccatin III, 10-deacetylbaccatin III and brevifoliol. About 750 samples were collected from five different locations in the Netherlands and the UK. The results of this screening show a large variation in taxane content between the different species and cultivars. The content of paclitaxel and 10-deacetylbaccatin III varied from 0 to 500 micrograms/g and 0 to 4800 micrograms/g dried needles, respectively. Brevifoliol was found in a very high concentration in Taxus brevifolia. 10-Deacetylpaclitaxel, cephalomannine and baccatin III were found in concentrations ranging from 0 to 500 micrograms/g dried needles.     

Human visceral fat in different anthropometric patterns and in diabetes: a morphometric study

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the cellularity of the adipose tissue and the size of adipocytes in unrelated adults and investigate any correlation between morphometric and anthropometric or clinical variables. STUDY DESIGN: Surgical biopsies of visceral fat (epiploic appendixes) were obtained from the large intestines of 56 patients. A morphometric model was applied to obtain the volume fraction occupied by adipocytes and the size distribution and number in unit volume of the adipocytes. Body mass index (BMI), lifestyle factors, significant body weight variations and clinical disorders (diabetes) were evaluated. RESULTS: Volume fraction occupied by adipocytes and size distribution and number in unit volume of the adipocytes have an opposite trend in underweight, normal and overweight subjects and subjects with referred gain, normal, or loss weight. Regression analysis reveals a significant negative linear relationship between number in unit volume of the adipocytes and BMI and body weight variations. The group of normal patients is characterized by a unimodal size distribution of adipocytes when compared with the group affected by diabetes, who show a likely plurimodal pattern. CONCLUSION: Our observations seem to confirm the hypothesis that hypertrophy, rather than adipose tissue hyperplasia, plays a fundamental role when significant ponderal variations occur in adult life.     

Fungal successions on pine needles fallen at different seasons: The succession of surface colonizers

Field experiments were carried out to investigate influences of seasonal change on the fungal succession occurring on the surface of decaying pine needles at a moder site in Japan. At different seasons, the needles fallen for a short period were collected and marked, then placed on the surface of the O horizon. The needles were removed at intervals and their fungal communities were examined by using a washing technique. Unlike the successions of interior colonizers studied at the same time, those of surface colonizers observed on the fallen needles at four different times are roughly similar to each other.Thysanophora penicillioides was the major first colonizer on the sample needles from the O horizon, andTrichoderma species followed it. In an experiment started in late autumn, three dematiaceous fungi,Chloridium viride var.chlamydosporis, Sporidesmium omahutaense, andChalara sp., commonly occurred and contributed to the darkening of colonized needles. Seasonal variation in climate may have a stronger effect on internal colonizers than external colonizers of needles. Contributions from Sugadaira Montane Research Center, No. 165.     

Fungal successions on pine needles fallen at different seasons: The succession of interior colonizers

Experimental studies were carried out to investigate seasonal effects on the fungal succession in the interior or decaying pine needles. At different seasons, the needles fallen for a short period were collected and marked, then placed on the surface of the O horizon in a pine forest. The needles were removed at intervals and their interior fungal communities were examined by using a surface sterilization technique. The successions of interior colonizers observed on the fallen needles at four different times are roughly divided into three groups based on the composition of species colonizing from litter. Seasonal shifts in the species combination were discussed with climatic and biotic factors. As a result, temperature at the surface of litter appeared to be a cardinal factor contributing to these seasonal changes in the succession of interior colonizers. Contributions to Sugadaira Montane Research Center, No. 164.     

Trichloroacetic acid of different origin in Norway spruce needles and chloroplasts

Trichloroacetic acid (TCA), a secondary atmospheric pollutant, is also formed in forest soil and thus ranked among natural organohalogens. The observed biooxidation of atmospheric tetrachloroethene (PER) to TCA in chloroplasts has led to the investigation of the mode of action of TCA in spruce needles, since TCA is also accumulated in the needles after its rapid uptake from soil by roots. Being phytotoxic, TCA considerably influences conifers by affecting their photosynthetic apparatus. We examined the transport of TCA from soil into chloroplasts in order to compare the effects of TCA on conifers from both sources, i.e. endogenously produced within chloroplasts or taken up by roots. The influence of TCA formed in chloroplasts was found to be much more adverse than that of “soil” TCA.     

Cytological profiling: providing more haystacks for chemists' needles

Conventional high-throughput 'chemical genetic' screening seeks to identify small-molecule inhibitors of a specific protein or pathway. A recent study describes how unbiased screening of cellular morphology, followed by affinity purification to identify targets of compounds with interesting effects, can lead to the identification of novel inhibitors.     

Cytological profiling: providing more haystacks for chemists' needles

Conventional high-throughput 'chemical genetic' screening seeks to identify small-molecule inhibitors of a specific protein or pathway. A recent study describes how unbiased screening of cellular morphology, followed by affinity purification to identify targets of compounds with interesting effects, can lead to the identification of novel inhibitors.