Central Stellated Scar Sign: Classic Imaging Finding of Renal Oncocytoma with Radiopathological Correlation

Oncocytomas are benign tumors, with the classic stellate scar found in up to a third of cases, mainly in large ones. We present the case of a 69-year-old man with a palpable, mobile, and painless mass on the right flank, where abdominal ultrasound and abdominal computed tomography detected the presence of a solid right kidney lesion with a central stellate area in the sinus. Postoperative histological analysis confirmed the presence of oncocytoma with a central stellate scar. Biopsy may not be useful to distinguish this entity from renal carcinoma, surgery being necessary for definitive confirmation of the diagnosis of oncocytoma (AU)

Nutritional and non-nutritional agents that stimulate white adipose tissue browning.

Obesity is a public health problem present in both developed and developing countries. The white adipose tissue (WAT) is the main deposit of lipids when there is an excess of energy. Its pathological growth is directly linked to the development of obesity and to a wide number of comorbidities, such as insulin-resistance, cardiovascular disease, among others. In this scenario, it becomes imperative to develop new approaches to the treatment and prevention of obesity and its comorbidities. It has been documented that the browning of WAT could be a suitable strategy to tackle the obesity epidemic that is developing worldwide. Currently there is an intense search for bioactive compounds with anti-obesity properties, which present the particular ability to generate thermogenesis in the brown adipose tissue (BAT) or beige. The present study provide recent information of the bioactive nutritional compounds capable of inducing thermogenesis and therefore capable of generate positive effects on health.

Self-Sensing of Damage Progression in Unidirectional Multiscale Hierarchical Composites Subjected to Cyclic Tensile Loading.

The electrical sensitivity of glass fiber/multiwall carbon nanotube/vinyl ester hierarchical composites containing a tailored electrically-percolated network to self-sense accumulation of structural damage when subjected to cyclic tensile loading-unloading is investigated. The hierarchical composites were designed to contain two architectures differentiated by the location of the multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), viz. MWCNTs deposited on the fibers and MWCNTs dispersed within the matrix. The changes in electrical resistance of the hierarchical composites are associated to their structural damage and correlated to acoustic emissions. The results show that such tailored hierarchical composites are able to self-sense damage onset and accumulation upon tensile loading-unloading cycles by means of their electrical response, and that the electrical response depends on the MWCNT location.

Trastorno de Tourette y de la lectura en un niño con disrupción del tracto parietofrontal izquierdo / Tourette syndrome and reading disorder in a boy with left parietofrontal tract disruption

Presentamos el caso de un paciente de 9 años con trastorno de Tourette y de la lectura con antecedente de un proceso infeccioso grave durante el período neonatal tardío. La resonancia magnética cerebral demostró una cavidad encefalomalácica parietal izquierda, y un estudio con tensor de difusión y tractografía mostraron una llamativa disrupción del haz de sustancia blanca que une la región parietal izquierda con la frontal homolateral, con afectación del fascículo longitudinal superior y del fascículo arcuato izquierdos. Aunque los trastornos descritos son fundamentalmente neuropsiquiátricos hereditarios, pueden existir casos secundarios a alteraciones cerebrales como la que nos ocupa en el presente niño. La introducción de ésta y otras técnicas modernas de neuroimagen en pacientes con trastornos neuropsiquiátricos (o riesgo de padecerlos) podrían tener un gran valor diagnóstico y pronóstico en el futuro (AU)

We present the case of a nine-year-old boy with Tourette syndrome and reading disorder with a history of a severe infectious process in the late neonatal period. Brain MRI showed a left parietal malacotic cavity and diffusion tensor imaging and tractography showed a striking disruption of the white matter bundle that joins the left parietal region with the ipsilateral frontal region with involvement of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus and of the left arcuate fasciculus. Although Tourette syndrome and reading disorder are fundamentally hereditary neuropsychiatric disorders, they can also occur secondary to cerebral alterations like those existing in this boy. The introduction of modern neuroimaging techniques in patients with neuropsychiatric disorders (or the risk of developing them) can be very useful in the diagnosis and prognosis in the future (AU)

[Tourette syndrome and reading disorder in a boy with left parietofrontal tract disruption]. / Trastorno de Tourette y de la lectura en un niño con disrupción del tracto parietofrontal izquierdo.

We present the case of a nine-year-old boy with Tourette syndrome and reading disorder with a history of a severe infectious process in the late neonatal period. Brain MRI showed a left parietal malacotic cavity and diffusion tensor imaging and tractography showed a striking disruption of the white matter bundle that joins the left parietal region with the ipsilateral frontal region with involvement of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus and of the left arcuate fasciculus. Although Tourette syndrome and reading disorder are fundamentally hereditary neuropsychiatric disorders, they can also occur secondary to cerebral alterations like those existing in this boy. The introduction of modern neuroimaging techniques in patients with neuropsychiatric disorders (or the risk of developing them) can be very useful in the diagnosis and prognosis in the future.

Dilatación unilateral completa de conducto deferente como causa de masa inguinal / Complete unilateral dilation of the vas deferens as a cause of an inguinal mass

La dilatación completa unilateral del conducto deferente es un hallazgo radiológico extremadamente raro. La mayoría de las estructuras quísticas adyacentes a la próstata se pueden agrupar en quistes y divertículos. El hallazgo de masas inguinales obliga a descartar la existencia, entre otras entidades, de hernia intestinal. Presentamos el caso de un paciente con masa inguinal secundaria a conducto deferente dilatado de manera unilateral (AU)

The complete unilateral dilation of the vas deferens is an extremely rare radiologic finding. Most cystic structures adjacent to the prostate can be grouped into cysts and diverticula. The finding of an inguinal mass makes it necessary to rule out intestinal hernias and other entities. We present the case of a patient who developed an inguinal mass secondary to unilateral dilation of the vas deferens (AU)

Effect of particle-hole symmetry on the behavior of tracer and jump diffusion coefficients.

This paper analyzes the effect of particle-hole symmetry on the behavior of the tracer diffusion coefficient as well as the jump diffusion coefficient. The coefficients are obtained by performing a random walk of individual atoms in a two-dimensional square lattice at monolayer, using the n-fold way Monte Carlo simulation. Different hopping mechanisms have been introduced to study the effect of particle-hole symmetry. For hopping kinetics where the initial-state interactions are involved, the diffusion coefficient at high coverage falls several orders of magnitude due to the effect of particle-hole symmetry. For hopping kinetics where the final-state interactions are present, the effect is the opposite. For those involving both initial- and final-state interactions, like the so-called interaction kinetics, the effect of particle-hole symmetry is also discussed. This effect seems to be critical for repulsive lateral interactions, for which the behavior of the diffusion coefficients is modified by introducing the particle-hole symmetry condition.

[Complete unilateral dilation of the vas deferens as a cause of an inguinal mass]. / Dilatación unilateral completa de conducto deferente como causa de masa inguinal.

The complete unilateral dilation of the vas deferens is an extremely rare radiologic finding. Most cystic structures adjacent to the prostate can be grouped into cysts and diverticula. The finding of an inguinal mass makes it necessary to rule out intestinal hernias and other entities. We present the case of a patient who developed an inguinal mass secondary to unilateral dilation of the vas deferens.

Single-file diffusion in a box: effect of the initial configuration.

This paper studies the single-file diffusion process on a linear chain of identical pointlike particles with multiple-site occupation confined in a one-dimensional box. The particles are noninteracting, except that double occupancy is forbidden. When particles are confined in a finite box, the final stage is saturation. By means of combinatorial analysis, an exact numerical evaluation of the saturation values for both the mean-square displacement (MSD) of a tracer particle and the center of mass of the system are obtained. Different initial distributions of particles are introduced. The time dependence of the MSD is obtained by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The values of the MSD for the tracer particles as well as the center of mass of the system depend on the size of the particle, the size of the box, and the initial distribution. Moreover, the transient regime depends on the initial distribution. In fact, the crossover from normal to subdiffusive regime is observed for random and alternate initial distributions, while superdiffusive diffusion appears for any stacked initial distributions. In all cases, it is shown that the collisions between particles do not determine the time exponent of the MSD. A simple expression for the transient regime is also obtained for the especial case of random initial distribution.

One-dimensional diffusion: discrepancy between exact results and Monte Carlo calculations.

The exact expression for the collective diffusion coefficient in one dimension, obtained by Payne and Kreuzer [Phys. Rev. B. 75, 115403 (2007)], is compared with Monte Carlo simulation. Different hopping kinetics are analyzed. For initial- and final-state interaction kinetics no anomalies are observed. However, for the so-called interaction kinetics where both initial- and final-state interactions are involved, it is shown that even when the transition rates satisfy the principle of detail balance, additional constraints are necessary to guarantee the diffusion of particles. These restrictions give rise to a phase diagram that determines the regions where the exact solution of the diffusion coefficient seem to be not physically sound. The Monte Carlo simulation allows us to analyze the mechanism of diffusion in these regions, where in some cases the simulation does not match the exact solution. A possible explanation is presented.

Osteosarcoma condroblástico sobre una artroplastia total de cadera / Chondroblastic osteosarcoma over a total hip prosthesis

La aparición de zonas de malignización en regiones con prótesis articulares es un hecho muy infrecuente. Presentamos el caso de una paciente que desarrolló un osteosarcoma condroblástico en el área donde tenía implantada una prótesis total de cadera (AU)

Malignant transformation in the area of joint prostheses is very rare. We present the case of a woman who developed a chondroblastic osteosarcoma in the area where a total hip prosthesis had been implanted (AU)

Comparison between the resistance of benzalkonium chloride-adapted and -nonadapted biofilms of Listeria monocyogenes to modified atmosphere packaging and nisin once transferred to mussels.

Benzalkonium chloride-adapted and -nonadapted Listeria monocytogenes biofilm cells were transferred by contact to cooked or live mussels and packed in rich CO(2) and O(2), respectively. The viabilities of transferred cells during storage of these packed samples at 2.5 °C were compared. In addition, in cooked mussels the combined effect of CO(2) and nisin against the survival of L. monocytogenes was also studied by using a first-order factorial design. The results obtained demonstrated that biofilms formed by benzalkonium chloride-adapted L. monocytogenes cells could be more resistant to the application of modified atmospheres rich in CO(2) and nisin once they have been transferred to cooked mussels by contact (simulating cross-contamination). This implies an increase in the risk associated with the presence of these cells in food processing plants. Significant empirical equations obtained after 7, 11, and 20 days showed an inhibitory effect of CO(2) and nisin against L. monocytogenes. However, a significant positive interaction between both variables highlights an incompatibility between CO(2) and nisin at high concentrations. Results also demonstrated that L. monocytogenes could persist after cross-contamination during the processing of live mussels, so L. monocytogenes is of concern as a contaminant in live mussels packaged in high-O(2) atmospheres.

[Chondroblastic osteosarcoma over a total hip prosthesis]. / Osteosarcoma condroblástico sobre una artroplastia total de cadera.

Malignant transformation in the area of joint prostheses is very rare. We present the case of a woman who developed a chondroblastic osteosarcoma in the area where a total hip prosthesis had been implanted.

Resistance to benzalkonium chloride, peracetic acid and nisin during formation of mature biofilms by Listeria monocytogenes.

Increase of resistance to the application of benzalkonium chloride (BAC), peracetic acid (PA) and nisin during biofilm formation at 25 °C by three strains of Listeria monocytogenes (CECT 911, CECT 4032, CECT 5873 and BAC-adapted CECT 5873) in different scenarios was compared. For this purpose, resistance after 4 and 11-days of biofilm formation was quantified in terms of lethal dose 90% values (LD(90)), determined according with a dose-response logistic mathematical model. Microscopic analyses after 4 and 11-days of L. monocytogenes biofilm formation were also carried out. Results demonstrated a relation between the microscopic structure and the resistance to the assayed biocides in matured biofilms. The worst cases being biofilms formed by the strain 4032 (in both stainless steel and polypropylene), which showed a complex "cloud-type" structure that correlates with the highest resistance of this strain against the three biocides during biofilm maturation. However, that increase in resistance and complexity appeared not to be dependent on initial bacterial adherence, thus indicating mature biofilms rather than planctonic cells or early-stage biofilms must be considered when disinfection protocols have to be optimized. PA seemed to be the most effective of the three disinfectants used for biofilms. We hypothesized both its high oxidizing capacity and low molecular size could suppose an advantage for its penetration inside the biofilm. We also demonstrated that organic material counteract with the biocides, thus indicating the importance of improving cleaning protocols. Finally, by comparing strains 5873 and 5873 adapted to BAC, several adaptative cross-responses between BAC and nisin or peracetic acid were identified.

Pitfalls en el diagnóstico de la subluxación rotatoria atlantoaxial postraumática tipo II: a propósito de dos casos / Pitfalls in diagnosis of posttraumatic type II atlantoaxial rotatory subluxation: report of two cases

La subluxación rotatoria atlantoaxial es una entidad poco frecuente que puede causar dolor cervical y limitación funcional para girar la cabeza. Exponemos los casos de dos niños con sospecha clínica y pruebas de imagen iniciales compatibles con una subluxación rotatoria atlantoaxial, cuyo diagnóstico final fue de tortícolis postural. Resaltamos la utilidad de las técnicas de imagen para el manejo adecuado de estas situaciones (AU)

The atlantoaxial rotatory subluxation is a rare entity, which can cause cervical pain and functional limitation to turn the head. We show the cases of two children with a clinical suspicion and initial test images compatible with atlantoaxial rotator subluxation and with final diagnosis of postural torticollis, as well as the usefulness of the image techniques for the adequate management of these situations (AU)

Aumento de tamaño muscular secundario a metástasis de adenocarcinoma gástrico no conocido / Increase in muscle mass secondary to metastasis of an unknown gastric adenocarcinoma

Objetivo. Presentar un caso de manifestación atípica de metástasis en forma de múltiples masas musculares. Caso clínico. Varón de 52 años con úlcera gástrica como único antecedente de interés que acudió al servicio de traumatología por dolor con la deambulación en el glúteo izquierdo de intensidad progresiva y con efecto de masa asociado. Resultados. Las pruebas de imagen realizadas detectaron múltiples masas musculares. La biopsia de las mismas dio como resultado metástasis de adenocarcinoma gástrico en anillo de sello. Conclusión. La presentación insidiosa de sintomatología muscular, en ausencia de antecedente traumático, debe hacer sospechar y valorar la posibilidad de patología tumoral (AU)

Objective. To present a case of rare manifestation of metastases as multiple muscular masses. Clinical case. A 52 year old male with gastric ulcer as the only history of interest went to traumatology service referring to progressive pain in the left buttock with associated mass effect when walking. Results. Imaging tests detected a multiple muscle mass. The biopsies showed signet ring gastric adenocarcinoma metastases. Conclusion. The insidious presentation of muscular symptoms in the absence of traumatic injury, should be suspected and the possibility of a tumour assessed (AU)

A proteomic approach to cold acclimation of Staphylococcus aureus CECT 976 grown at room and human body temperatures.

Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogenic microorganism that has been associated with serious infection problems in different fields, from food to clinic. In the present study, we have taken into account that the main reservoirs of this microorganism are the human body and some parts of food processing plants, which have normal temperatures of around 37 and 25°C, respectively. It can be expected that S. aureus must acclimate its metabolism to colder temperatures before growing in food matrices. Since temperature abuse for foods occurs at approximately 12°C, it is expected that S. aureus must acclimate its metabolism to colder temperatures before growing in food. For this reason, we have performed a proteomic comparison between exponential- and stationary-phase cultures of S. aureus CECT 976 acclimated to 12°C after growing at 25°C or 37°C. The analysis led to the identification of two different protein patterns associated with cold acclimation, denominated pattern A and pattern B. The first was characteristic of cultures at stationary phase of growth, grown at 25°C and acclimated to 12°C. The second appeared in the rest of experimental cases. Pattern A was distinguished by the presence of glycolytic proteins, whereas pattern B was differentiated by the presence of general stress and regulatory proteins. Pattern A was related through physiological experiments with a cross-resistance to acid pH, whereas pattern B conferred resistance to nisin. This prompted us to conclude that both molecular strategies could be valid, in vivo, for the process of acclimation of S. aureus to cold temperatures.