The effect of plasma applied to mulungu (Erythrina velutina) seeds was studied to verify its influence on the germination, water absorption, wettability and structure of the seeds. The plasma jet used in this study was produced by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in a helium gas flow of 0.03 L/s at a distance of 13 mm for 60 s. The plasma treatment significantly affected the seed germination ...

Nutcracker phenomenon or renal vein entrapment is classically seen as a compression of renal vein in between abdominal aorta and superior mesenteric artery with patients being asymptomatic or clinically manifested in the form of nutcracker syndrome as proteinuria, hematuria, flank pain, pelvic congestion in women, and varicocele in men. In this report, we are presenting a case of rare variant o...

A 53-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with abdominal pain. He had undergone surgery for a pancreatic pseudocyst related to chronic alcoholic pancreatitis 7 years previously at another hospital. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 3 years later had shown a cystic lesion, 4cm in diameter, at the hepatic hilum, with two small mural nodules. The patient was then lost to follow-up for 3 years....

BACKGROUND Cavernous transformation of the portal vein (CTPV) is a rare vascular deformity. It is thought to be secondary to extra-hepatic portal vein obstruction, with formation of serpiginous collateral vessels around the extra-hepatic bile duct, and even the gallbladder. Surgery is difficult because the vessels have irregular courses, are somewhat fragile and bleed easily. Single-incision la...

BACKGROUND Leiomyosarcoma of vascular smooth muscle is a very rare entity. A fair number of cases of vascular leiomyosarcomas have been reported, and the vast majority of these tumors arose from the inferior vena cava. CASE PRESENTATION We report the case of a 71-year-old female patient who presented with recurrent upper abdominal pain. A CT-scan demonstrated a heterogenous mass in the liver ...

Since its introduction into clinical practice in 1967, selective variceal decompression by means of a distal splenorenal shunt (DSRS) has become one of the more commonly performed portal-systemic shunting procedures in the treatment of variceal hemorrhage throughout the world. In addition to selective decompression of gastroesophageal varices, the DSRS provides the advantages of preservation of...

The production of bile is an essential function of the liver. It contains cholesterol, bile acids, pigments and electrolytes, and their concentration is modified when the bile transits through the biliary tract. The bile is produced by the hepatocytes and is secreted into the bile canaliculi. These canaliculi are delineated by the apical membrane of the hepatocytes and are connected to the netw...