Pulmonary intimal sarcoma: a rare differential diagnosis for arterial filling defects on a chest CT

We present a rare case of pulmonary intimal sarcoma mimicking pulmonary embolism in a 40-year-old woman. Although extremely rare, these tumors must be considered in patients who present inappropriate imaging findings that suggest embolism. Chest computed tomography is the modality of choice to determine the extent of the tumor. We present a female patient with suspected embolism that was in fact found to be an endothelial sarcoma of the pulmonary arteries.

A computer-assisted microscopic analysis of bone tissue developed inside a polyactive plymer implanted into an equine articular surface

One of the most promising applications for the restoration of small or moderately sized focal articular lesions is mosaicplasty (MP). Although recurrent hemarthrosis is a rare complication after MP, recently, various strategies have been designed to find an effective filling material to prevent postoperative bleeding from the donor site. The porous biodegradable polymer Polyactive (PA; a polyethylene glycol terephthalate - polybutylene terephthalate copolymer) represents a promising solution in this respect. A histological evaluation of the longterm PA-filled donor sites obtained from 10 experimental horses was performed. In this study, attention was primarily focused on the bone tissue developed in the plug. A computer-assisted image analysis and quantitative polarized light microscopic measurements of decalcified, longitudinally sectioned, dimethylmethylene blue (DMMB)- and picrosirius red (PS) stained sections revealed that the coverage area of the bone trabecules in the PA-filled donor tunnels was substantially (25%) enlarged compared to the neighboring cancellous bone. For this quantification, identical ROIs (regions of interest) were used and compared. The birefringence retardation values were also measured with a polarized light microscope using monochromatic light. Identical retardation values could be recorded from the bone trabeculae developed in the PA and in the neighboring bone, which indicates that the collagen orientation pattern does not differ significantly among these bone trabecules. Based on our new data, we speculate that PA promotes bone formation, and some of the currently identified degradation products of PA may enhance osteo-conduction and osteoinduction inside the donor canal.

Plug-and-Display: decoration of Virus-Like Particles via isopeptide bonds for modular immunization.

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are non-infectious self-assembling nanoparticles, useful in medicine and nanotechnology. Their repetitive molecularly-defined architecture is attractive for engineering multivalency, notably for vaccination. However, decorating VLPs with target-antigens by genetic fusion or chemical modification is time-consuming and often leads to capsid misassembly or antigen misfolding, hindering generation of protective immunity. Here we establish a platform for irreversibly decorating VLPs simply by mixing with protein antigen. SpyCatcher is a genetically-encoded protein designed to spontaneously form a covalent bond to its peptide-partner SpyTag. We expressed in E. coli VLPs from the bacteriophage AP205 genetically fused to SpyCatcher. We demonstrated quantitative covalent coupling to SpyCatcher-VLPs after mixing with SpyTag-linked to malaria antigens, including CIDR and Pfs25. In addition, we showed coupling to the VLPs for peptides relevant to cancer from epidermal growth factor receptor and telomerase. Injecting SpyCatcher-VLPs decorated with a malarial antigen efficiently induced antibody responses after only a single immunization. This simple, efficient and modular decoration of nanoparticles should accelerate vaccine development, as well as other applications of nanoparticle devices.

Ebola vaccine R&D: Filling the knowledge gaps

With an emphasis on systems analyses, the VSV-EBOVAC project harnesses state-of-the-art technologies that illuminate mechanisms behind the observed immunogenicity and reactogenicity of the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine and ensures that such information is shared among stakeholders.

Prevention of cement leakage into the hip joint by a standard cement plug during PFN-A cement augmentation: a technical note.

Medial penetration of the helical blade into the hip joint after fixation of trochanteric fractures using the proximal femur nail antirotation (PFN-A) is a potential failure mode. In low demand patients a blade exchange with cement augmentation may be an option if conversion to total hip arthroplasty is unfeasible to salvage the cut-through. This article describes a technique to avoid intraarticular cement leakage using a cement plug to close the defect in the femoral head caused by the cut-through.