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Spontaneous tumours in dogs and cats are an excellent model for clinical human research, such as in developing proton conformation radiotherapy for humans. The kinetics of tumour cells can be used effectively to predict prognosis and response to therapy in patients with tumours. Knowledge of the kinetic parameters in these tumours is therefore important. In the present study the kinetic parameters evaluated included the labelling index (LI), relative movement (RM), mitotic index (MI), and potential doubling time (Tpot). These parameters were determined using in vivo labelling with bromodeoxyuridine, flow cytometry and histological preparation. Samples were obtained and evaluated from 72 dogs and 20 cats, presenting as patients in our clinic. Within the groups of epithelial and mesenchymal tumours from dogs and cats, the kinetic parameters LI, RM and MI were compared with Tpot. Significant correlations were observed for the comparison Tpotand LI. No correlation was found between Tpotand RM.

Machete-related wounds are a source of appreciable morbidity in many developing nations. We describe a case of radial nerve injury resulting from a machete attack in Haiti. Twenty-two additional cases of machete-related wounds treated during a 3-month humanitarian mission to Haiti are reported. Sixty-five percent were accidental in nature, occurring from a variety of routine activities, whereas the remainder were secondary to assaults. The upper extremity was injured in 85% of the cases, often resulting in complicated wounds with nerve, tendon, and joint injuries. A treatment protocol for peripheral nerve injuries incurred in austere conditions is presented.

Adult gliomas are aggressive brain tumours associated with low patient survival rates and limited life expectancy. The most important hallmark of this type of tumour is its invasive behaviour, characterized by a markedly phenotypic plasticity, infiltrative tumour morphologies and the ability of malignant progression from low- to high-grade tumour types. Indeed, the widespread infiltration of healthy brain tissue by glioma cells is largely responsible for poor prognosis and the difficulty of finding curative therapies. Meanwhile, mathematical models have been established to analyse potential mechanisms of glioma invasion. In this review, we start with a brief introduction to current biological knowledge about glioma invasion, and then critically review and highlight future challenges for mathematical models of glioma invasion.