Pancreatic adenocarcinoma in duodenal ectopic pancreas: a case report and review of the literature.

Ectopic pancreas is defined as pancreatic tissue outside the normal location without connection to the normal pancreas. It occurs throughout the gastrointestinal tract, most commonly in the stomach (25-60%), followed by the duodenum (25-35%) and jejunum (16%). It may develop the same pathological changes of a normal pancreas such as acute pancreatitis and cyst formation. Malignant degeneration rarely occurs. We present a case of heterotopic pancreatic adenocarcinoma localized in the duodenal bulb presenting with symptoms of gastric obstruction.

[Enteric anastomosis and Tachosil®]. / Anastomosi enteriche e Tachosil®.

AIM: Anastomotic leakage is a common complication of colorectal surgery. To date, no clinical study exists showing a significant effect in reducing its frequency by sealing the anastomosis with a fibrin glue-coated collagen patch; the aim of this study was to demonstrate the efficacy of Tachosil®. METHODS: We considered patients undergoing open resective colorectal surgery. In selected cases, the Tachosil® patches were wrapped around the anastomotic line. The onset of anastomotic leakage was either defined clinically and investigated by contrast enema and CT scan. RESULTS: From January 2010 to February 2011, 63 patients underwent colorectal surgery at our Institute. Tachosil® was used in 24 cases. We recorded six major surgical complications; all complicated cases were in the no-Tachosil® group. A shorter mean postoperative stay of 7.2 days was observed for patients where Tachosil® was applied compared to 9.3 days for patients of no- Tachosil® group. These difference was mainly related to anastomotic insufficiencies recorded in the no-Tachosil®, group. Fibrin-coated collagen glue is used in different fields of surgery to improve hemostasis and anastomotic healing. Our experience confirmed its safety with a low incidence of anastomotic leak. These experience is based on few, non-randomized cases and therefore cannot demonstrate a real efficacy of Tachosil® in anastomotic leak prevention. CONCLUSION: Anastomotic leakage is a relatively common and potentially catastrophic complication after gastrointestinal surgery. Our initial experience with Tachosil® has confirmed the safety of this patch and we can therefore suggest a possible positive effect on anastomotic healing.

Elastofibroma dorsi: three cases of personal experience.

Elastofibroma dorsi is a rare, slow growing, soft tissue lesion, which occurs mainly in elderly women, typical located in the infrascapular region. This lesion is characterized by a poorly defined solid mass of fibro-elastic and fatty tissue, enlarging into intermuscular spaces. Elastofibroma may simulate an aggressive behaviour, and differential diagnosis with malignant tumors is sometimes difficult. Surgical resection is generally recommended in symptomatic lesions or in the suspicion of malignancy. We report our experience of three cases of elastofibroma, two of which typically located in the infrascapular region and one located in the supra-clavicle fossa, atypical site never reported so far.

Synthesis, herbicidal activity, and mode of action of IR 5790.

IR 5790, an arylthiadiazolone herbicide structurally related to oxadiargyl and oxadiazon, was synthesized. The herbicidal activity and mode of action of IR 5790 were investigated. This herbicide has broad-spectrum pre-emergence activity against both dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous weeds. The phenotypic responses of susceptible plants, such as interruption of growth and light-dependent development of necrotic areas on the foliage, are consistent with those observed with protoporphyrinogen oxidase-inhibiting herbicides. Tissues exposed to IR 5790 in darkness accumulated protoporphyrin IX, which led to a photodynamic loss of membrane integrity upon exposure to light. Consistent with these physiological symptoms, IR 5790 strongly inhibited protoporphyrinogen oxidase, with an I(50) value of 3 nM. The presence of a sulfur atom did not significantly alter the molecular properties of the thiadiazolone ring, relative to the oxadiazolone ring of oxadiargyl, which explains why IR 5790 has the same mode of action as this herbicide.

Natural and synthetic allatotoxins: suicide substrates for juvenile hormone biosynthesis.

Cytotoxic agents with antijuvenile hormone activity in insects have been discovered. Their mechanism of action may involve an oxidative bioactivation into a reactive quinone methide.