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Early Palaeozoic sites with soft-tissue preservation are predominantly found in Cambrian rocks and tend to capture past tropical and temperate ecosystems. In this study, we describe the diversity and preservation of the Cabrières Biota, a newly discovered Early Ordovician Lagerstätte from Montagne Noire, southern France. The Cabrières Biota showcases a diverse polar assemblage of both biomineralized and soft-bodied organisms predominantly preserved in iron oxides. Echinoderms are extremely scarce, while sponges and algae are abundantly represented. Non-biomineralized arthropod fragments are also preserved, along with faunal elements reminiscent of Cambrian Burgess Shale-type ecosystems, such as armoured lobopodians. The taxonomic diversity observed in the Cabrières Biota mixes Early Ordovician Lagerstätten taxa with Cambrian forms. By potentially being the closest Lagerstätte to the South Pole, the Cabrières Biota probably served as a biotic refuge amid the high-water temperatures of the Early Ordovician, and shows comparable ecological structuring to modern polar communities., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Complications of reduction mammoplasty can lead to aesthetic sequelae, which are known to be difficult and delicate to treat, and only a few articles deal with this subject., Purpose: The objective of this article is to present and analyze our experience of lipomodeling for the secondary management of aesthetic sequelae occurring after a complication of reduction mammoplasty., Material and Methods: An uniform and consecutive series of 22 female patients, operated with the lipomodeling technique from December 2003 to March 2019 by the last author, to correct aesthetic sequelae after secondary complications of reduction mammoplasty was studied analyzing the efficiency and the tolerance of this technique., Results: The results showed 86.4% of very good results and 13.6% of good results. Seventeen patients (77.3%) were highly satisfied with the postoperative outcome, and 5 patients were satisfied (22.7%). The number of procedures varied from 1 to 3: 15 patients (68.2%) underwent only one session of lipomodeling, 5 patients (22.7%) underwent two sessions, and 2 patients (9.1%) underwent three sessions. The mean time between two interventions was 4 months (3-12). No patient of this series initiates any medico-legal proceeding towards the first surgeon., Conclusion: After this study, lipomodeling, in association with ancillary procedures, seems to be an effective and safe solution to correct aesthetic sequelae following secondary complications of reduction mammoplasty. It should have a key role for the correction of these sequelae. An effective and appropriate care of these patients leads to good results and patients' final satisfaction, and manages to avoid any medico-legal proceeding, always badly lived as much for the patient as for the first surgeon., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Background: Flap reconstruction is often required after pelvic tumor resection to reduce wound complications. The use of perforator flaps has been shown to reduce donor site morbidity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of pedicled deep inferior epigastric perforator (pDIEP) flap reconstruction., Methods: This was a retrospective multicenter study of patients who underwent immediate pDIEP flap reconstruction for a pelvic or perineal defect after tumor resection between November 2012 and June 2022. The primary outcome was abdominal donor site morbidity, and the secondary outcome was perineal morbidity., Results: Thirty-four patients (median age, 57.5 years) who underwent pelvic exenteration (n = 31), extralevator abdominoperineal excision (n = 2), or extended vaginal hysterectomy (n = 1) were included. The most common indications were recurrent cervical (n = 19) and anal (n = 4) squamous cell carcinoma. Twenty-nine patients (85%) had a history of radiotherapy. Only one patient (3%) had major (Clavien-Dindo ≥ III) donor site complications (surgical site infection due to tumor recurrence). Eleven patients (32%) had at least one major recipient site complication (surgical site infection [n = 1], total [n = 2] or partial [n = 1] flap loss, perineal dehiscence [n = 2], hematoma [n = 1], fistula [n = 5]). No incisional or perineal hernias were observed during follow-up. Ninety-day survival was 100%., Conclusion: Pedicled DIEP flap reconstructions performed by experienced surgical teams had good outcomes for perineal or vaginal reconstruction, with low abdominal morbidity, in patients with advanced pelvic malignancies who had undergone median laparotomy. The risks and benefits of this procedure should be carefully evaluated preoperatively using clinical and imaging data., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Fezouata Biota (Morocco) is a unique Early Ordovician fossil assemblage. The discovery of this biota revolutionized our understanding of Earth's early animal diversifications-the Cambrian Explosion and the Ordovician Radiation-by suggesting an evolutionary continuum between both events. Herein, we describe Taichoute, a new fossil locality from the Fezouata Shale. This locality extends the temporal distribution of fossil preservation from this formation into the upper Floian, while also expanding the range of depositional environments to more distal parts of the shelf. In Taichoute, most animals were transported by density flows, unlike the in-situ preservation of animals recovered in previously investigated Fezouata sites. Taichoute is dominated by three-dimensionally preserved, and heavily sclerotized fragments of large euarthropods-possibly representing nektobenthic/nektic bivalved taxa and/or hurdiid radiodonts. Resolving whether this dominance reflects a legitimate aspect of the original ecosystem or a preservational bias requires an in-depth assessment of the environmental conditions at this site. Nevertheless, Taichoute provides novel preservational and palaeontological insights during a key evolutionary transition in the history of life on Earth., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Spitz neoplasms, according to 2018 WHO Blue Book, are morphologically defined by spindled and/or epithelioid melanocytes and genetically by either HRAS mutations or kinase gene fusions. The terminology "spitzoid" refers to lesions with similar morphology but with alternate or undefined genetic anomalies. Herein, we present 3 melanocytic neoplasms with a spitzoid cytomorphology, variable nuclear atypia, and harboring undescribed fusions involving RASGRF1. Two cases presented as unpigmented papules on the heel of a 26-year-old female (case 1) and the forearm of a 13-year-old boy (case 2). They were classified as low-grade melanocytomas (WHO 2018). The third case appeared as a pigmented ulcer on the sole of a 72-year-old female (case 3) that displayed diagnostic features of an invasive melanoma (Breslow thickness 6 mm, Clark level V). A wide skin reexcision identified an epidermotropic metastasis, and sentinel lymph node biopsy displayed multiple subcapsular metastatic deposits. RNA sequencing revealed CD63::RASGRF1, EHBP1::RASGRF1, and ABCC2::RASGRF1 fusions in cases 1 to 3, respectively. They were confirmed by a RASGRF1 break-apart fluorescence in situ hybridization technique. Translocations of RASGRF1, a gene coding a guanine nucleotide exchange factor but not a kinase, have rarely been reported in tumors. While all these cases showed spitzoid cytomorphology, it is too early to tell if they are true Spitz neoplasms as currently defined., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding: The authors have disclosed that they have no significant relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this article., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

The Chengjiang Biota is the earliest Phanerozoic soft-bodied fossil assemblage offering the most complete snapshot of Earth's initial diversification, the Cambrian Explosion. Although palaeobiologic aspects of this biota are well understood, the precise sedimentary environment inhabited by this biota remains debated. Herein, we examine a non-weathered core from the Yu'anshan Formation including the interval preserving the Chengjiang Biota. Our data indicate that the succession was deposited as part of a delta influenced by storm floods (i.e., produced by upstream river floods resulting from ocean storms). Most Chengjiang animals lived in an oxygen and nutrient-rich delta front environment in which unstable salinity and high sedimentation rates were the main stressors. This unexpected finding allows for sophisticated ecological comparisons with other Burgess Shale-type deposits and emphasizes that the long-held view of Burgess Shale-type faunas as snapshots of stable distal shelf and slope communities needs to be revised based on recent sedimentologic advances., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Global marine archives from the early Pleistocene indicate that glacial-interglacial cycles, and their corresponding sea-level cycles, have predominantly a periodicity of ~ 41 kyrs driven by Earth's obliquity. Here, we present a clastic shallow-marine record from the early Pleistocene in Southeast Asia (Cholan Formation, Taiwan). The studied strata comprise stacked cyclic successions deposited in offshore to nearshore environments in the paleo-Taiwan Strait. The stratigraphy was compared to both a δ 18 O isotope record of benthic foraminifera and orbital parameters driving insolation at the time of deposition. Analyses indicate a strong correlation between depositional cycles and Northern Hemisphere summer insolation, which is precession-dominated with an obliquity component. Our results represent geological evidence of precession-dominated sea-level fluctuations during the early Pleistocene, independent of a global ice-volume proxy. Preservation of this signal is possible due to the high-accommodation creation and high-sedimentation rate in the basin enhancing the completeness of the stratigraphic record., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: In delayed breast reconstruction, the thoraco-mammary cutaneous tissue often shows residual damage from radiotherapy. The fragility of this tissue is associated with a risk of skin necroses of approximately 8% when dissection is performed by reopening of the mastectomy scar., Objectives: The objective of this study was to adapt the technique of short-scar latissimus dorsi flap surgery with an abdominal advancement flap employing a lateral approach only avoiding re-incision of the mastectomy scar., Methods: In this retrospective study, the authors performed 150 reconstructions in 146 patients to assess the safety and effectiveness of the short-scar latissimus dorsi technique with lateral approach. The primary outcome was the occurrence of postoperative skin necrosis of the thoraco-mammary area., Results: Of the 150 delayed breast reconstruction procedures performed, none showed skin necrosis of the thoraco-mammary area, and a positive effect on skin trophicity of this area was observed. The resulting patient and surgical team satisfaction were very favorable., Conclusions: In the authors' practice, this technique changed their paradigm because of good skin safety and effectiveness. It allows reconstruction without a patch-effect in patients with very poor skin quality in whom the thoraco-mammary skin would have been replaced in the past by a skin paddle. Reconstruction would have even be contraindicated. It could also be an alternative to many other more complex and longer techniques of autologous reconstruction., (© 2021 The Aesthetic Society. Reprints and permission: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Soft tissue sarcomas are rare malignant tumors with pejorative prognosis. They require a multidisciplinary approach in a specialized hospital belonging to the NetSarc network in France. In all cases treated with curative intent, the objective of excision surgery is to achieve wide, microscopically negative margins (R0 according to the UICC classification). When growing on a limb, sarcomas may threaten functionally relevant structures and even lead to amputation. Nowadays, when combined with radiation therapy, wide exeresis limb-sparing surgery is achievable in 90 to 95% of the cases, of which 25% will nevertheless require reconstructive surgery to preserve the limb, to limit postoperative complications and to manage possible sequelae. Progress in reparative surgery, particularly in microsurgery, has helped not only to improve limb salvage rates but also to create wider margins without altering oncologic goals of curative resection. After determining the range of resection, reconstructive surgery should be tailored to address the tissue defect. The converse is to be strongly discouraged. The extent of resection must not be compromised or reduced in order to facilitate reconstructive surgery. A plastic surgeon must master all the flap techniques, including microsurgery, while taking into account the impact of preoperative and postoperative radiation therapy on previously irradiated tissues or on wounds requiring adjuvant therapy. Recent developments, especially as regards perforator flaps, have helped to enhanced the quality of reconstruction procedure while reducing donor site morbidity. In our experience, perforator flaps are a workhorse in reconstructive surgeries subsequent to soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities. On a parallel track, lipofilling (otherwise known as fat grafting or fat transfer) has become the first-line treatment for patients with post-surgical functional or cosmetic sequalae. It is performed after long-term follow-up during disease-free survival. Strict clinical examination and MRI are mandatory prior to programming any local procedure. Usually, three to four sessions of fat grafting are needed to enhance local trophicity or the cosmetic aspect. Sequalae treatments are of great interest in terms of psychological as well as functional outcome., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Introduction: The concept of extended thoracodorsal artery perforator (TDAP) flap was described in 2015 for breast reconstruction. Our anatomical study aims to identify the territories vascularised by the thoracodorsal artery perforator via the deep muscular fascial network. The second goal was to define the volume of the extended TDAP flap., Materials and Method: Ten extended TDAP flaps were dissected on 5 fresh human cadavers. Around the classical skin paddle of a TDAP flap, the dissections were performed in a subfascial level, including the muscular fascia and the adipose tissue compartments to increase the volume of the flap. After injection of methylene blue in the thoracodorsal artery, we measured the length and width, the surface and the volume of the coloured flap., Results: The mean sizes of the extended TDAP flap were 24.9 cm × 20.1 cm. The mean surface of the total vascularization zone was 441 cm 2 . The mean volume of the vascularized flap was 193 ml., Conclusion: The thoracodorsal artery perforator via the deep muscular fascial network allows us to harvest a flap of 25 cm × 20 cm with a mean surface of 441 cm² and a mean volume of 193 ml. The extended TDAP flap is a credible option in breast reconstruction.

Cutaneous defect of the hand and the upper limb expose the underlying anatomical structures. The reconstruction therefore often resorts to flaps. The ideal flap must be thin and flexible, allowing a good resurfacing and a satisfactory functional result. The objective of this study is to analyze the various thinned flaps, to reveal their advantages and to underline their limits. We presented a literature review on the various techniques of thin skin flaps developed over the last 20 years, bringing together 18 articles, and including 225 patients. For 3 articles, the skin flaps were thinned down by preliminary expansion and for the 15 others they were surgically thinned during the harvesting of the flap. Thinning the flap seems to be an interesting surgical alternative in the management of cutaneous defect of the hand and the upper limb, but it would be interesting to be able to compare the results of these thin flaps to those of the conventional ones. This study also led us to propose a classification of thin flaps according to their thickness in order to clarify the terminology., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Gastrointestinal parasites are one of the biggest health problems faced in sheep, mainly due to their pathogenicity and resistance to drugs used to control these parasites. Thus, the following study aimed to assess the anthelmintic efficacy of Melaleuca alternifolia against Haemonchus contortus in gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) experimentally infected. Three treatments were tested: M. alternifolia essential oil, popularly known as tea tree oil (TTO), a solid lipid nanocarrier made with essential oil of Melaleuca (nanoTTO), and terpinen-4-ol (terp-4-ol). In vivo studies were performed by determining the mean worm burden of H. contortus in gerbils TTO (0.75 mL/kg); nanoTTO (0.5 mL/kg) and terp-4-ol (0.5 mL l/kg) were able to reduce 46.36%; 48.64%, and 43.18% worm burden, respectively. H. contortus increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels, as demonstrated by liver injury. It was found that the TTO, nanoTTO, and terp-4-ol were not toxic to liver and kidneys since hepatic and renal functions were not affected. Moreover, terp-4-ol was able to prevent increased levels of seric AST and ALT in infected animals, indicating a hepatoprotective effect. Thus, our results indicate that TTO, nanoTTO, and terp-4-ol are safe and efficient against H. contortus infection in gerbils, and possibly the terp-4-ol may be considered the compound present in the Melaleuca alternifolia responsible for parasitic action against H. contortus., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.)