Rolando Arcelli

Equine amniotic membrane transplantation in some ocular surface diseases in the dog and cat: a preliminary study

Equine amniotic membrane transplantation in some ocular surface diseases in the dog and cat: a preliminary study R. Arcelli & P. Tibaldini & G. Angeli & E. Bellezza Published online: 5 August 2009 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009

Anatomical variation of the spinous and transverse processes in the caudal cervical vertebrae and the first thoracic vertebra in horses

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDYnThere are scant data on the incidence of different anatomical variants of the equine caudal cervical spine, despite interest in cervical pathology.nnnOBJECTIVESnTo identify morphological radiographic variation in the 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae and the first thoracic vertebra in horses of different breeds and to determine whether there are breed- and sex-related differences.nnnSTUDY DESIGNnRetrospective descriptive study.nnnMETHODSnRadiographs of the cervical spine of 270 horses were assessed retrospectively. The Chi-square test, or Fishers exact test when appropriate, was used to test for associations between radiographic findings and sex or breed, and residual analysis was performed to localise differences. Chi-square tests and calculation of phi coefficient (φ) were used to test for associations between different types of radiological variation.nnnRESULTSnThree variants were identified in the spinous process of the 7th cervical vertebra, and 2 variants were identified in the spinous process of the first thoracic vertebra. The presence of the spinous process of the 7th cervical vertebra was associated with breed, and transposition of the ventral process of the 6th cervical vertebra onto the ventral aspect of the 7th cervical vertebra was associated with sex. The shape of the spinous process of first thoracic vertebra was associated with the shape of the spinous process of the 7th cervical vertebra and with the presence of transposition of the ventral process of the 6th cervical vertebra onto the ventral aspect of the 7th.nnnCONCLUSIONSnA large number of anatomical variants can be detected radiographically in the caudal cervical area; some of these have a higher frequency, depending on sex and breed. Knowledge of the different shapes is very important in avoiding misdiagnosis of periarticular new bone formation. The spinous process of the first thoracic vertebra has 2 morphological variants.

Gold nanoparticles approach to detect chondroitin sulphate and hyaluronic acid urothelial coating

This study investigated the location of hyaluronic acid (HA)- and chondroitin sulphate (CS)-coated gold nanoparticles in rabbit bladder and evaluated gene expression of CD44, RHAMM and ICAM-1 receptors involved in HA and CS transport into the cell. Gold nanoparticles were synthesised by reduction of gold salts with HA or CS to form HA-AuNPs and CS-AuNPs. Bladder samples were incubated with CS-AuNPs and HA-AuNPs or without glycosaminoglycans. Transmission electron microscopy, optic microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to determine the location of the synthesised AuNPs. Real-time PCR was used to analyse expression of urothelial cell receptors CD44, RHAMM, ICAM-1, after ex vivo administration of CS-AuNPs and HA-AuNPs. We showed that HA-AuNPs and CS-AuNPs were located in the cytoplasm and tight junctions of urothelial umbrella cells; this appearance was absent in untreated bladders. There were no significant differences in gene expression levels for CD44, RHAMM and ICAM-1 receptors in treated versus control bladder tissues. In conclusion, we clearly showed the presence of exogenous GAGs in the bladder surface and the tight junctions between umbrella cells, which is important in the regeneration pathway of the urothelium. The GAGs-AuNPs offer a promising approach to understanding the biophysical properties and imaging of urothelial tissue.