Academic literature on the topic 'Bark necrosis'

Data from 69 experimental, small-plot fires are used to describe relationships among fire intensity, bark-surface heat flux, and depth of necrosis in stem tissue for red maple (Acer rubrum L.) and chestnut oak (Quercus prinus L.). A tetrazolium staining technique was used to determine the depth of necrosis in tree boles subjected to fires with intensities of 20 to 2000 kW/m. Over a range of bark moistures (28%–83%) and bole diameters (3–20 cm), depth of necrosis appears to be primarily a function of fire intensity, flame residence time at the stem, and the corresponding time-integrated heat flux at the bark surface. Our results, along with known relations between bole diameter and bark thickness, and improved models of fire behavior and heat transfer, may be useful for estimating tree mortality resulting from prescribed fires.

Ceratocystis montia (Rumb.) Hunt, an ascomycetous fungus, is associated with bark beetle infested lodgepole pine in the intermountain region of United States and portions of western Canada. The organism, when inoculated into lodgepole pine (20 years old) caused necrosis of the inner bark, a blue-stained appearance of the sapwood, and chlorosis and necrosis of the foliage. Koch's postulates were fulfilled in these experiments. Particles of inner bark provided the best support for fungal growth and inhibitors of fungal growth may develop in sapwood during the process of drying.

Vegetatively propagated plants (15-cm in leaf spread) of a white-flowered Phalaenopsis Taisuco Kaaladian clone were imported bare-root in late May and planted in a mix consisting of three parts of medium-grade fir bark and one part each of perlite and coarse Canadian peat (by volume) or in Chilean sphagnum moss. All plants were given 200 mg·L-1 each of N and P, 100 mg·L-1 Ca, and 50 mg·L-1 Mg. K concentrations were 0, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 mg·L-1. After 7 months, plants grown in moss produced an average of two more leaves than those in the bark mix (4 to 5 vs. 2 to 3 leaves), regardless of K rates. In any given medium, K rate did not alter the rate of leaf production. The K rate did not affect the size of the top leaves when grown in the bark mix. However, plants grown in moss had increasingly longer and wider top leaves as K rate increased. The lower leaves on plants in the bark mix receiving no K showed deficiency symptoms of purple tinting, yellowing, necrosis, and even death. Yellowing and necrosis started from the leaf tip and progressed basipetally. The K at 50 mg·L-1 reduced and 100 mg·L-1 completely alleviated the symptoms of K deficiency. Plants grown in moss and receiving no K showed limited signs of K deficiency. Flowering stems started to emerge (spiking) from plants in the bark mix up to 4 weeks earlier than those planted in sphagnum moss. For plants receiving no K, all plants in the bark mix bloomed, whereas none planted in sphagnum moss produced flowering stems. Overall, at least 200 mg·L-1 K (∼250 mg·L-1 K2O) is recommended to produce quality plants with maximum leaf growth and early spiking.

Bleeding canker on horse chestnut (Aesculus sp.), caused by Phytophthora cactorum (Lebert and Cohn) Schröeter previously has been reported from the United States and Europe (1). In August 2000, it was found for the first time in a park in Ankara Province, Turkey. Symptoms included sparse yellowish brown foliage with abnormally small leaves, and dark-stained spots or dark brown necrosis of the bark on the trunk and main branches, with or without a reddish black gummy exudate. P. cactorum was isolated from tissues taken from the margins of necrotic bark. Pure cultures were slightly radiate, fluffy but not dense, and had short aerial hyphae when grown on carrot agar, potato dextrose agar, or V8 agar. Sporangia were ovoid, strongly papillate, and averaged 35.6 μm in length and 26.8 μm in width (range: 24 to 55 μm × 19 to 40 μm). The isolates were homothallic with smooth-walled paragynous oogonia ranging from 23.5 to 34.5 μm in diameter. To satisfy Koch's postulates, mycelium of P. cactorum was placed under the bark of six branches of healthy horse chestnut. Noninoculated wounds served as controls. Four months later a reddish black gummy exudate was observed oozing from the inoculated wounds, and the bark tissue was necrotic for 3 to 4 cm around each infection. P. cactorum was successfully reisolated from the necrotic bark tissue. Control wounds remained healthy. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this disease on horse chestnut in Asia Minor. Reference: (1) D. C. Erwin and O. K. Ribeiro. Phytophthora Diseases Worldwide. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, 1996.

Role of toxin produced by Botryodiplodia theobromae causes Diplodia Bark Diseases on some citrus. The purpose of the research was to study the role of toxin produced by Botryodiplodia theobromae causes diplodia bark diseases on some citrus. Research was conducted from March through November 2007. The experiment was done at the laboratory and at a glass house of the Department of Plant Pests and Diseases of the Faculty of Agriculture and the laboratory of the Faculty of Science and Mathematics Lambung Mangkurat University in Banjarbaru. For a leaf-necrosis bioassay of crude toxin production, the surfaces of the leaves were scratched near the center with a needle, and culture filtrate samples (50 µl) were placed on each wounded site. Treated leaves were incubated in a moist chamber with light at 26oC for 4 days, and toxin activity was determined by induction of veinal necrosis on the seven susceptible cultivar of citrus. The results of the experiment showed that the B. theobromae pathogens produced the toxin. The crude toxin was bioassayed for leaf necrosis to determine their ability to produce toxin. Culture filtrates of the isolate were highly toxic only on five susceptible citrus leaves siam Banjar citrus, sweet orange, lime, kaffir lime, and sour lime, indicating that the B. theobromae can produced toxin. Pathogenicity and toxin production of B. theobromae did not differ among different cultivar. While, no necrotic symptom produces on the pummelo and sunkist. Toxin production of B. theobromae produced during spore germination.

Twenty-five-year-old Norway spruce trees (Picea abies) were inoculated with four blue-stain fungi. Each tree was inoculated three times with each fungus and three times with sterile agar as a control, giving a total of 15 inoculations per tree. There was little variation in the extent of phloem necrosis produced in response to the different fungi, but 5 weeks after inoculation necroses induced by Ceratocystis polonica and Ambrosiella sp. were significantly longer than those for the other fungi. At the same time, C. polonica had induced sapwood desiccation twice as deeply into the wood as any other fungus. Hyphal growth of the fungi into phloem and sapwood followed the same pattern as necrosis length and desiccation depth. Five weeks after inoculation, C. polonica had penetrated phloem and sapwood farther than any other fungus. It grew more slowly than the other fungi in both tissues the first week after inoculation, but the four following weeks it grew more quickly than all other fungi. Key words: Ambrosiella, blue-stain fungi, Ceratocystis polonica, low-density inoculation, Ophiostoma piceae, Scolytidae.

Morus alba var. pendula (mulberry) is a favorite ornamental tree in Hungary. In 1998 and 1999, a canker disease was observed on this species in a western Hungarian ornamental tree nursery in Köszeg. Bark necrosis and cankers exposing the xylem were observed on the trunks of 1-, 2-, and 3-year-old trees. Pink sporodochia 200 to 400 μm in diameter were found in the necrotic bark. The fungus associated with the trunk cankers was identified as Fusarium lateritium Nees:Fr. f. sp. mori (Desmaz.) Matuo & K. Sato (1) from sporodochia and fungal isolates recovered from necrotic tissues. Isolations on potato dextrose agar yielded white colonies with a slight pink discoloration. Radial colony growth rate at 22°C and 12 h of light daily was 5 mm. Macroconidia were typical of F. lateritium, with three to eight septa. Microconidia were not observed. Intercalary chlamidospores (7 to 8 μm) rarely formed. Pathogenicity of the fungus was confirmed with a monoconidial culture. Three-year-old mulberry tree stems were inoculated with mycelial agar plugs. After 10 days, sunken necrotic lesions with a brownish discoloration, similar to naturally occurring cankers, developed. F. lateritium was successfully recovered from these lesions. No necrosis developed around control wounds. Mulberry Fusarium stem blight and canker is found in many temperate regions (2) but was not recorded as a disease of M. alba var. pendula in nurseries. This is the first record of the disease in Hungary. References: (1) C. Booth. 1971. The Genus Fusarium. Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Kew, England. (2) D. F. Farr et al. 1989. Fungi on Plants and Plant Products in the United States. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN.

Le bar est une espèce économique majeure de l’aquaculture méditerranéenne. La nécrose nerveuse virale (VNN), une maladie qui affecte au moins 70 espèces aquatiques, est devenue la menace la plus grave pour l’aquaculture de cette espèce. Bien que de nombreuses études aient été réalisées afin de contrôler cette maladie, aucune procédure simple et efficace n’est disponible. Dans cette thèse, nous évaluons la variabilité génétique de la résistance à cette pathologie et le potentiel d’amélioration génétique pour lutter contre cette menace.Après une introduction générale (premier chapitre) et une revue de la littérature sur la nodavirose en aquaculture (second chapitre), nous explorons dans le troisième chapitre la variabilité génétique de résistance de populations sauvages de bar, Atlantique Nord (NAT), Méditerranée ouest (WEM), Nord-Est Méditerranée (NEM) et Méditerranée Sud-Est (SEM). Pour ce faire, 2011 descendants d’un croisement factoriel complet, où 9 mères WEM ont été croisées avec 60 pères NAT, WEM, NEM et SEM (15 mâles par population), ont été élevés en "common garden". Après 202 jours, 1472 poissons ont été infectés par injection intrapéritonéale nodavirus à 15.8g de poids moyen. Le reste des poissons a été conservé pour collecter les paramètres de performance. Après la récupération du pedigree, nous révélons une forte variabilité de résistance en fonction de l’origine des pères (de 53 à 90%), les descendants de pères Est-Méditerranéens étant les plus résistants (83 à 90% de survie), les descendants WEM étant intermédiaires (62% de survie) et les descendants de père NAT étant les plus sensibles (53% seulement de la survie). Une héritabilité modérée mais significative pour la résistance (0,26 ± 0,11) a été estimée et des corrélations négatives entre la résistance et les traits de production ont été montrées.Dans le quatrième chapitre une recherche de loci à effets fort (QTL) sur la résistance a été effectuée avec une carte de liaison moyenne-densité. Pour cela, 1717 individus appartenant à 397 familles de plein-frères et leurs parents ont été génotypés pour 2722 marqueurs SNP imprimés sur une puce SNPs. À partir de 1274 loci significatifs, une carte de liaison contenant 24 groupes de liaison, ainsi que des cartes sexe-spécifiques et origine-spécifiques ont été construites. Ces résultats révèlent une hétérochiasmie, avec un taux de recombinaison 1,25 fois plus fort chez les femelles par rapport aux mâles. La recherche de QTL a été effectuée à partir de différentes méthodes, mais bien qu’aucun QTL pour le «temps de survie» ou la survie, n’ait été identifié, nous discutons de l’effet du plan expérimental utilisé.Dans le quatrième chapitre, une étude association génomique a été effectuée en deux étapes: non pondérée (GWAS) puis pondérée (wGWAS) à partir de modèles mixtes linéaires utilisant les mêmes SNP que pour la cartographie de QTL, l’objectif étant de détecter des SNPs liés à la résistance au VNN. Un SNP significatif expliquant 3.11% de la résistance appartenant à LG9 a pu être détecté. Le potentiel de prédiction de la génomique pour la résistance au VNN en utilisant différents modèles génomiques a enfin été évalué, mais aucune différence significative n’a été montrée entre les valeurs génétiques estimées à partir des données génomiques ou à partir du pedigree.En conclusion, cette étude montre forte variation génétique de la résistance au VNN des populations sauvages de bar avec des corrélations génétiques négatives avec les traits de production. Ces derniers résultats sont précieux pour aider à définir des stratégies d’amélioration génétique de la résistance au VNN du bar. Enfin, de premières hypothèses sur l’emplacement de QTL putatifs plaident pour une future cartographie fine pour localiser ces QTLs, une valeur ajoutée dans un schéma de sélection assistée par marqueurs pour améliorer la résistance au VNN du bar
European seabass is one of the most economic species in aquaculture in Mediterranean areas. Viral nervous necrosis (VNN), a disease affecting at least 70 aquatic species, has become the most serious threat to seabass cultured industry. While numerous studies have been performed in order to control this disease, no simple and effective procedures are available. In this thesis, we question genetic variability and the potential of selective breeding as an opportunity to address thwart this threat.After a general introduction (first chapter) and a deep literature review of nodavirus in aquaculture (second chapter), we explore in the third chapter the genetic variability of resistance of different wild populations of European seabass, namely Northern Atlantic (NAT), Western Mediterranean (WEM), Northern-East Mediterranean (NEM) and Southern-East Mediterranean (SEM). To address this question, 2011 fish derived from a full-factorial mating scheme, where 9 WEM dams were crossed with 60 sires originated from NAT, WEM, NEM and SEM (15 sires per population), were reared in “common garden”. At 202 days, 1472 were challenged by nodavirus intraperitoneal injection at a mean body weight of 15.8 g. The rest of fish were kept in a single tank in order to collect performance traits. Strikingly, after pedigree recovery, we reveal a very strong and significant differentiation in VNN resistance among sires’ origin (ranging from 53 to 90%), offspring from East Mediterranean sires being the most resistant (83-90% of survival), offspring from WEM sires being intermediate (62% of survival) and offspring from NAT sires being the most sensitive (53% of survival only). A moderate liability heritability for VNN resistance (0.26±0.11) was estimated and negative correlations between resistance and production traits were shown.In the fourth chapter, a search of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) linked to the resistance was performed using a medium linkage map as examined. Therefore, 1717 individuals belonging 397 full-sib families and their parents were genotyped for 2722 SNP markers spotted on a SNPChip. From 1274 significant loci, a 24 linkage groups medium-density linkage map was constructed, as well as sex-specific and Origin-specific linkage maps. From these results, we show a 1.25-fold sex-biased heterochiasmy in favor to female recombination rate. Finally, genome scans for QTLs were performed in different methods, and while no QTLs were identified for both “time to death” or survival, we discuss the effect of the experimental design used.In the fifth chapter, a two-step unweighted then weighted Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS & wGWAS) was carried out based on linear mixed models using the same SNPs as for QTL mapping. The aim was to determine whether we can detect significant individual SNPs linked to resistance against VNN. After SNPs weight calculation, the wGWAS detected one significant SNP explaining 3.11% of the resistance belonging to LG9. Finally, the potential for genomics prediction for VNN resistance using the different genomic models was performed and extensively presented. However, no significant differences were observed between genomic-based estimated breeding values and pedigree-based estimated breeding values.In conclusion, this study depicts a large genetic variation for VNN resistance in wild seabass populations but with negative genetic correlations with production traits. These latter results are valuable to help to define strategies for genetic improvement of resistance against VNN of European seabass. Moreover, the first assumptions on the location of potential QTLs claim for a fine QTL mapping and an expectable add-value of the use of genomic information in potential marker-assisted selection to VNN resistance in European seabass

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The diagnosis of dementia is made through autopsy. The histopathological and immunohistochemical technique makes it possible to differentiate the subtypes of dementia by pre-established macroscopic and microscopic criteria. Banks brain, although recent, provide biological material quality for multidisciplinary research in normal subjects and with dementia. Objectives: To correlate clinical findings with neuropathological cases with dementia from the Brains Bank of Central of Brazil (BBCB); establish morphological patterns in macroscopic focal dementias; determine the prevalence of diagnosis of other types of dementia. Materials and Methods: Brain Study from autopsies of patients with neurodegenerative diseases of dementia clinic of the HC-UFG (Ethics Committee of the Protocol on research 0692007). The brains were processed following dissection and measurement protocol. Appropriate external and macroscopic morphological descriptions and coronal and sagittal sections were performed. Results: 15 brains, 9 female patients were studied, aged 10 to 89 years. The types of dementias found in BCBC were 5 cases of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), 3 Alzheimer's disease (AD), 3 patients had primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD), 1 Huntington's disease, 1 disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob 1, Rasmussen's encephalitis and 1 depressive pseudodementia (Cotard’s syndrome). Described frontal gyrus supernumerary in 3 cases of CBD and 2 cases of FTD. Discussion: Most cases presented morphological pattern of the respective type of dementia according to the literature, except PPA with CBD. In BCBC material only 20% of AD cases were 27% and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Conclusion: The higher prevalence of dementia in BCBC was the type FTLD. The frontotemporal focal atrophy was the most observed type of change. The cases with FTD showed classic morphological patterns, while the PPA CBD was different standard literature. The BCBC will enable studies in various research areas.
O diagnóstico definitivo das demências é feito através de necropsia. Os exames anatomopatológico e imunoistoquímico possibilitam diferenciar os subtipos de demência por critérios macroscópicos e microscópicos pré-estabelecidos. Os bancos de cérebros, apesar de recentes, fornecem material biológico de qualidade para pesquisas multidisciplinares de indivíduos normais e com demência. Objetivos: Correlacionar aspectos clínicos com alterações neuropatológicas de casos com demências provenientes do Banco de Cérebros do Brasil Central (BCBC); estabelecer padrões morfológicos macroscópicos nas demências focais; verificar a prevalência do diagnóstico de outros tipos de demências. Materiais e Métodos: Estudo de cérebros provenientes de necropsias de pacientes com doenças neurodegenerativas do ambulatório de demências do HC-UFG (protocolo do Comitê de ética em pesquisa 0692007). Os cérebros foram processados seguindo protocolo de dissecção e mensuração. Foram realizadas as devidas descrições morfológicas e macroscópicas externas e dos cortes coronais e sagitais. Resultados: Foram estudados 15 cérebros, 9 de pacientes do sexo feminino, com idade entre 10 a 89 anos. Os tipos de demências encontrados no BCBC foram: 5 casos de demência frontotemporal (DFT), 3 de doença de Alzheimer (DA), 3 casos com afasia progressiva primaria (APP) e degeneração corticobasal (DCB), 1 de doença de Huntington, 1 de doença de Creutzfeldt-Jakob, 1 de encefalite de Rasmussen e 1 de pseudodemência depressiva (síndrome de Cotard). Foi observado giro frontal supranumerário nos 3 casos de DCB e em 2 casos de DFT. Discussão: A maioria dos casos apresentou padrão morfológico do respectivo tipo de demência de acordo com a literatura, exceto APP com DCB. No material do BCBC apenas 20% dos casos foram de DA e 27% degeneração lobar frontotemporal (DLFT). Conclusão: A maior prevalência de demências no BCBC foi do tipo DLFT. A atrofia focal frontotemporal foi o tipo de alteração mais observada. Os casos com DFT apresentaram padrões morfológicos clássicos, enquanto que os de APP com DCB apresentaram padrão diferente da literatura. O BCBC possibilitará a realização de estudos em várias linhas de pesquisa.

博士
長庚大學
生物醫學研究所
99
We have previously shown that thymidine phosphorylase (TP) and tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced protein 2 (TNFAIP2) are highly expressed in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tumor cells and significantly correlated with poor prognosis in patients with NPC. NPC is well known to be closely associated with Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) and the EBV-encoded oncogene product, latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), is expressed in approximately 60% of tumor tissues. However, no study has examined whether LMP1 is involved in up-regulating TP and TNFAIP2 gene expression in NPC tissues. TP is the chemotherapeutic target and we herein show that LMP1 expression is correlated with TP expression in tumor cells, as examined by quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemical staining. We further show that the CTAR1 and CTAR2 domains of LMP1 mediate TP induction, as demonstrated by quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analyses using LMP1 deletion and site-specific mutants. Mechanistically, LMP1-mediated TP induction is abolished by inhibitors of NF-kappaB and p38 MAPK, dominant-negative IkappaB and p38, and siRNA-mediated knockdown of p38 MAPK. Clinically, there were significant correlations among the expression levels of TP, activated p65, and phospho-p38 MAPK in NPC biopsy samples. Functionally, LMP1-mediated induction of TP expression enhanced the sensitivity of NPC cells to the chemotherapeutic prodrug, 5’-DFUR. As regards TNFAIP2, a novel migration-promoting gene, we herein show that significant TNFAIP2 expression can be detected in LMP1-positive or higher TNF alpha-expressed tumor cells, as examined by quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemical staining. Unlike TP, we found that the CTAR2 domain of LMP1 dominantly mediates TNFAIP2 induction, as demonstrated by quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting using LMP1 deletion and its mutants. That the NF-kappaB inhibitor and dominant-negative IkappaB potently abolished LMP1-mediated TNFAIP2 induction confirmed the involvment of NF-kappaB signaling in TNFAIP2 regulation. Our results provide new insights into the roles of LMP1-mediated NF-kappaB and p38 MAPK signaling pathways in TP induction and also confirm LMP1 can up-regulate TNFAIP2, both providing new information and suggesting new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of NPC.

The utilization of in vitro tests with a tiered testing strategy for detection of mild ocular irritants can reduce the use of animals for testing, provide mechanistic data on toxic effects, and reduce the uncertainty associated with dose selection for clinical trials. The first section of this thesis describes how in vitro methods can be used to improve the prediction of the toxicity of chemicals and ophthalmic products. The proper utilization of in vitro methods can accurately predict toxic threshold levels and reduce animal use in product development. Sections two, three and four describe the development of new sensitive in vitro methods for predicting ocular toxicity. Maintaining the barrier function of the cornea is critical for the prevention of the penetration of infections microorganisms and irritating chemicals into the eye. Chapter 2 describes the development of a method for assessing the effects of chemicals on tight junctions using a human corneal epithelial and canine kidney epithelial cell line. In Chapter 3 a method that uses a primary organ culture for assessing single instillation and multiple instillation toxic effects is described. The ScanTox system was shown to be an ideal system to monitor the toxic effects over time as multiple readings can be taken of treated bovine lenses using the nondestructive method of assessing for the lens optical quality. Confirmations of toxic effects were made with the utilization of the viability dye alamarBlue. Chapter 4 describes the development of sensitive in vitro assays for detecting ocular toxicity by measuring the effects of chemicals on the mitochondrial integrity of bovine cornea, bovine lens epithelium and corneal epithelial cells, using fluorescent dyes. The goal of this research was to develop an in vitro test battery that can be used to accurately predict the ocular toxicity of new chemicals and ophthalmic formulations. By comparing the toxicity seen in vivo animals and humans with the toxicity response in these new in vitro methods, it was demonstrated that these in vitro methods can be utilized in a tiered testing strategy in the development of new chemicals and ophthalmic formulations.

• Formerly known as lymphomatoid granulomatosis • There are no granulomas; necrosis of arterial wall is mistaken for granulomas • Increased incidence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) or EBV antigen, associated with B cells • Originally some were considered “benign,” then “prelymphoma,” but all should be considered lymphoma...

Circumcision is the surgical removal of the skin covering the glans and is one of the oldest and most common surgical procedures in the world. Although there is evidence that the first circumcision was performed in Egypt in 4000 BC, according to some anthropologists, it dates back to the 10th millennium BC. The purpose of medical circumcision is to obtain enough foreskin to expose the glans penis and to prevent medical problems caused by the foreskin. Although it is known that the complications arising from these procedures are not well documented, the complication rates in the literature vary between 1 and 15%, when evaluated according to age, the rate of post-circumcision complications in newborns is reported to be approximately 0.2-0.6% and this rate is 10 times higher between the ages of 1-9. Various complications such as bleeding, infection, incomplete and insufficient circumcision, hematoma, penile adhesion, urinary retention, glanular injury, necrosis and urethral narrowing have been reported. In this book section, one of the complications, penile necrosis, will be explained in the light of the literature.

The Oxford Handbook of Rheumatology, 4th edition, includes a chapter on spondyloarthritis (SpA) conditions. These conditions are axial spondyloarthritis, including ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease-related arthritis. It summarizes evidence for pathogenetic mechanisms either common to all conditions, or specific for each condition, highlights current disease classifications, and emphasizes clinical features common to all SpAs, such as inflammatory back pain and enthesitis. There is an expanded section on treatments including biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs; ‘biologics’) such as anti-tumour necrosis factor-α‎, ustekinumab, and secukinumab, and new to this edition of the Handbook, an expanded section on juvenile spondyloarthritis.

Haem molecules are degraded in macrophages to biliverdin and then to bilirubin, which is selectively removed by hepatocytes from sinusoidal blood and conjugated, chiefly with two glucuronic acid moieties. Conjugated bilirubin is excreted into the bile, but in many liver diseases it refluxes back into blood from which some is filtered into and darkens the urine (choluria). In the distal intestine, conjugated bilirubin is deconjugated and reduced to a series of uro- and stercobilinogens that give the normal colour to faeces. Jaundice is the clinical sign of hyperbilirubinaemia and usually indicates disease of the liver or biliary tree. Dark urine and pale stools indicate cholestasis. Stigmata of chronic liver disease do not define the cause of jaundice. Unconjugated hyperbilirubinaemia—presents with raised serum bilirubin levels and normal other liver-related blood tests. Causes include haemolysis and benign inherited unconjugated hyperbilirubinaemia (i.e. Gilbert’s syndrome). Conjugated hyperbilirubinaemia—routine liver-related blood tests cannot alone differentiate between intra- and extrahepatic causes of jaundice although high levels of transferases suggests hepatitis (e.g. viral, autoimmune) or hepatic necrosis (e.g. paracetamol). Alcohol and drug histories are needed in those with both elevated alkaline phosphatase and transferases. Extrahepatic cholestasis should be sought by abdominal ultrasonography to detect a dilated intra- and/or extrahepatic biliary tree (and often also to reveal its cause, e.g. gallstones, tumour). Further investigation depends on the clinical context: (1) likely large bile duct disease—endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, magnetic resonance cholangiography, and endoscopic ultrasonography; (2) likely intrahepatic cholestasis—autoantibodies, immunoglobulins, and liver biopsy.

Abstract Cell transfection by electroporation is a biological assay that has been utilized to inject exogenous molecules (e.g.: RNA, DNA and protein) into live cells. Recently, electroporation has been utilized in developing cell therapy for cancer (e.g., CAR T-cell). One of the major drawbacks in current electroporation methods is the cell death during the process. These dead cells can be detrimental, if injected back to the patients. Current cell filtering methods are unable purify T-cells following electroporation, this is due to the lack of unique biomarkers that target the apoptosis and necrosis of T-cells. To address this issue, we have developed a method using dielectrophoresis and microfluidics, where no prior labeling is needed to isolate dead cells from live cells. Upon electroporation, the cell sample has to be flowed through the microfluidic chip where a selective electric field is applied through specially designed electrodes so that the dead cells are trapped on the electrodes, and the live cells are able to flow through and are collected at the end. Results after purification of the cells using our method reveal that it is possible to achieve ∼100% of purity in filtering of the live cells. This method presents a viable solution to a critical concern regarding CAR T-cell manufacturing. This paper presents an extended study of the variation of efficacy in the design with the time from the electroporation.