Evaluation of Mast Cell Density using CD117 antibody and Microvessel Density Using CD34 Antibody in Different Grades of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objective: To compare mast cell and microvessel densities among histologic grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Setting: Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Materials and Methods: A total of 60 specimens of OSCC comprising 20 each of well, moderately and poorly differentiated were evaluated. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to measure MCD and MVD by applying monoclonal CD117 antibody and monoclonal CD34 antibody, on formalin fixed and paraffin embedded sections. ANOVA and Post Hoc Tukey test was employed to assess the densities and to compare the differences between different grades of OSCC. A p-value     

Ability of laypersons to use the cincinnati prehospital stroke scale

Objective

Early stroke recognition optimizes patients' opportunities to benefit from therapeutic options. Prehospital stroke recognition is suboptimal. If 9-1-1 dispatchers used stroke-identification tools, prehospital stroke recognition might occur more rapidly and accurately. The Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale (CPSS) is a brief, effective tool used by emergency medical services and hospital personnel to identify stroke. The study's goal was to determine whether laypersons could be instructed to use the CPSS over the telephone.

Methods

Adult visitors (laypersons) to a tertiary care emergency department were enrolled. Using a mock patient, laypersons were instructed to use the CPSS via telephone by an investigator simulating a 9-1-1 dispatcher. The patient randomly portrayed clinically normal and abnormal patient types. The layperson's ability to convey CPSS instructions to the patient and relay findings to the investigator was scored.

Results

Seventy laypersons were enrolled (35 each for normal and abnormal patient types). Average age was 48 years, 63% were female, and 40% never attended college. Facial droop and speech instructions were administered with 100% accuracy. Arm drift instructions were administered with 99% accuracy. Layperson accuracies for interpreting findings were 93% for facial droop, 93% for arm drift, and 97% for speech. Overall, stroke symptoms were detected with 94% sensitivity (95% CI 87, 100) and 83% specificity (95% CI 70, 95).

Conclusion

Laypersons correctly administered and interpreted the CPSS when directed to do so over the telephone by a trained investigator. These findings suggest that the CPSS may be a useful tool in early prehospital detection of stroke by dispatchers.     

Drug-prescribing patterns during pregnancy in the tertiary care hospitals of Pakistan: a cross sectional study

Background

Low birth weight (LBW) is considered as a major multifaceted public health concern. Seventy-two percent of LBW infants are born in Asia. An estimation of 8% LBW infants has been reported for Eastern Mediterranean region including Iran. This study investigated contributory factors of LBW in singleton term births in Tehran, Iran. Tehran is a multicultural metropolitan area and a sample from the general population in Tehran could be regarded as a representative sample of urban population in Iran.

Methods

This was a retrospective study using data from 15 university maternity hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Data on all singleton term births in these hospitals were extracted from case records during a one calendar year. Study variables included: maternal age, maternal educational level, history of LBW deliveries, history of preterm labor, cigarette smoking during pregnancy, number of parities, chronic diseases and residential area (Tehran versus suburbs of Tehran). In order to examine the relationship between LBW and demographic and reproductive variables the adjusted logistic regression analysis was performed.

Results

In all, data for 3734 term pregnancies were extracted. The mean age of women was 25.7 (SD = 5.3) years and 5.2% of term births were LBW. In addition to association between LBW and maternal age, significant risk factors for LBW were: history of LBW deliveries [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.06–6.03], smoking during pregnancy (OR = 4.64, 95% CI = 1.97–10.95) and chronic diseases (OR for hypertension = 3.70, 95% CI = 2.25–6.06, OR for others = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.09–3.83).

Conclusion

The findings indicate that in addition to maternal age, history of LBW deliveries; smoking during pregnancy and chronic diseases are significant determinants of LBW in this population. This is consistent with national and international findings indicating that maternal variables and risk behaviors during pregnancy play important roles on LBW.     

LC3-associated phagocytosis in bone marrow macrophages suppresses acute myeloid leukemia progression through STING activation

The bone marrow (BM) microenvironment regulates acute myeloid leukemia (AML) initiation, proliferation, and chemotherapy resistance. Following cancer cell death, a growing body of evidence suggests an important role for remaining apoptotic debris in regulating the immunologic response to and growth of solid tumors. Here, we investigated the role of macrophage LC3–associated phagocytosis (LAP) within the BM microenvironment of AML. Depletion of BM macrophages (BMMs) increased AML growth in vivo. We show that LAP is the predominate method of BMM phagocytosis of dead and dying cells in the AML microenvironment. Targeted inhibition of LAP led to the accumulation of apoptotic cells (ACs) and apoptotic bodies (ABs), resulting in accelerated leukemia growth. Mechanistically, LAP of AML-derived ABs by BMMs resulted in stimulator of IFN genes (STING) pathway activation. We found that AML-derived mitochondrial damage–associated molecular patterns were processed by BMMs via LAP. Moreover, depletion of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in AML-derived ABs showed that it was this mtDNA that was responsible for the induction of STING signaling in BMMs. Phenotypically, we found that STING activation suppressed AML growth through a mechanism related to increased phagocytosis. In summary, we report that macrophage LAP of apoptotic debris in the AML BM microenvironment suppressed tumor growth.     

Secondary biogenic amine deficiencies: genetic etiology,therapeutic interventions,and clinical effects

neurogenetics - Monoamine neurotransmitter disorders present predominantly with neurologic features, including dystonic or dyskinetic cerebral palsy and movement disorders. Genetic conditions that...     

Therapeutic Efficacy of Neurostimulation for Depression: Techniques,Current Modalities,and Future Challenges

Depression is the most prevalent debilitating mental illness; it is characterized as a disorder of mood, cognitive function, and neurovegetative function. About one in ten individuals experience depression at some stage of their lives. Antidepressant drugs are used to reduce the symptoms but relapse occurs in ~20% of patients. However, alternate therapies like brain stimulation techniques have shown promising results in this regard. This review covers the brain stimulation techniques electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial direct current stimulation, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation, and deep brain stimulation, which are used as alternatives to antidepressant drugs, and elucidates their research and clinical outcomes.     

Use of Rigid Nephroscope for Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration—A Single-Center Experience

Background  

Increasingly, laparoscopic biliary surgeons are undertaking laparoscopic cholecystectomy and laparoscopic common bile duct exploration for patients with cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis. In laparoscopic common bile duct exploration a flexible choledochoscope is ordinarily used, and with this instrument the surgeon usually fails to remove large impacted stones. In contrast with use of a rigid nephroscope it is possible to remove all common bile duct stones irrespective of size and degree of impaction. The present study evaluates the efficiency of rigid nephroscope for managing common bile duct stones laparoscopically.