Ex vivo histological analysis of the thermal effects created by a 445-nm diode laser in oral soft tissue biopsy

The aim of this study was to evaluate, ex vivo, the histological effects of 445-nm diode laser (Eltech K-Laser srl, Treviso, Italy), during an oral soft ti     

Culture and Palliative Care: Preferences,Communication, Meaning,and Mutual Decision Making

Palliative care is gaining acceptance across the world. However, even when palliative care resources exist, both the delivery and distribution of services too often are neither equitably nor acceptably provided to diverse population groups. The goal of this study was to illustrate tensions in the delivery of palliative care for diverse patient populations to help clinicians to improve care for all. We begin by defining and differentiating culture, race, and ethnicity, so that these terms—often used interchangeably—are not conflated and are more effectively used in caring for diverse populations. We then present examples from an integrative literature review of recent research on culture and palliative care to illustrate both how and why varied responses to pain and suffering occur in different patterns, focusing on four areas of palliative care: the formation of care preferences, communication patterns, different meanings of suffering, and decision-making processes about care. For each area, we provide international and multiethnic examples of variations that emphasize the need for personalization of care and the avoidance of stereotyping beliefs and practices without considering individual circumstances and life histories. We conclude with recommendations for improving palliative care research and practice with cultural perspectives, emphasizing the need to work in partnerships with patients, their family members, and communities to identify and negotiate culturally meaningful care, promote quality of life, and ensure the highest quality palliative care for all, both domestically and internationally.     

Glycosidic intermediates identified in 1H MR spectra of intact tumour cells may contribute to the clarification of aspects of glycosylation pathways

The glycosylation process, through the addition of carbohydrates, is a major post‐translational modification of proteins and glycolipids. Proteins may be glycosylated in either the secretory pathway leading to N‐linked or O‐linked glycoproteins or as nucleocytoplasmic glycosylation that targets only single proteins involving a single β‐linked N‐acetylglucosamine. In both cases, the key precursors are the uridine diphospho‐N‐acetylhexosamines synthesised by the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway. Furthermore, uridine diphospho‐N‐acetylglucosamine participates in the biosynthesis of sialic acid. In this work, we propose MRS for the detection of uridine diphospho‐N‐acetylhexosamines visible in high‐resolution MR spectra of intact cells from different human tumours. Signals from the nucleotide and amino sugar moieties, including amide signals observed for the first time in whole cells, are assigned, also taking advantage of spectral changes that follow cell treatment with ammonium chloride. Finally, parallel changes in uridine diphospho‐N‐acetylhexosamines and glutamine pools, observed after pH changes induced by ammonium chloride in the different tumour cell lines, may provide more details on the glycosylation processes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Genomic damage induced by 1‐MHz ultrasound in vitro

Genotoxic effects of therapeutic ultrasound are poorly documented, when compared with the wide use of this physical agent. The aim of this work was to investigate the clastogenic and aneugenic potential of 1 MHz ultrasound, employing intensities (200 and 300 mW/cm²) above the cavitational threshold, but in the range of those normally used in therapeutics. Both normal fibroblasts (AG01522) and tumoral cells (MCF‐7) were sonicated. While no effects on viability were noted, significant increases of CREST‐negative micronuclei (indicative of clastogenesis) and CREST‐positive micronuclei (indicative of aneuploidy) were detected. Clastogenesis was confirmed by increases of γ‐H2AX foci, while increases of spindle anomalies confirmed the induction of aneuploidy. Our results confirm previous works that showed ultrasound‐induced DNA breakage. Moreover, our experiments show that the known effect of ultrasound‐induced damage to microtubules is also able to damage the mitotic spindle and induce aneuploidy. On the overall, this work highlights the importance to further investigate the potential risks related to therapeutics US. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 59:60–68, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Outcome prediction by immunophenotypic minimal residual disease detection in adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Flow-cytometric detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) identifies patients with high relapse risk in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). We studied the efficacy of this method in adult T-ALL treated with the Italian co-operative GIMEMA (Gruppo Italiano Malattie Ematologiche dell'Adulto) LAL0496 protocol. Bone marrow samples from 53 patients were taken at fixed treatment time points and MRD was analysed using a leukaemia-specific immunophenotype (cytoplasmic-CD3/nuclear-terminal desoxynucleotidyl transferase). The median follow-up was 17 months (range 3-61) and a median of 4.5 analyses/patient was performed (range 3-12). Six out of 53 (11.3%) patients were refractory to treatment, 30/53 (56.6%) relapsed and 17/53 (32.1%) remain in continuous complete remission. The probability of relapse at 2 years for MRD-positive patients at preconsolidation was 81.5%vs 38.9% for MRD-negative patients (P = 0.00078). This risk was still 54.5% for MRD-positive vs 15.8% for MRD-negative patients pre-third reinduction (P = 0.0098) and 50.0% for MRD-positive vs 16.4% for MRD-negative patients pre-sixth reinduction (P = 0.032). The relapse-predicting value of MRD did not depend on features at diagnosis such as age, sex and leucocyte count. Our data suggest that immunophenotypic MRD monitoring in the first year of treatment is a useful outcome predictor for adult T-ALL patients.     

Radiofrequency ablation of hepatic tissue: a new experimental animal model

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Experimental radiofrequency ablation has already been performed in healthy livers of porcine models, but not in less expensive and easy-to-manage rats, with devices capable of delivering radiofrequency ablation in the 20-30 g liver of such small animals being so far unavailable. METHODOLOGY: We experimented with a modified system of radiofrequency ablation of liver tissue in rat models developing a custom-made needle-microelectrode of very small dimensions (0.3x2 mm) and an electrode-tip cooling technique, based on saline solution infusion. We adjusted duration (seconds) and power (watts) of radiofrequency ablation letting them range between 5-50 seconds and 5-25 W, respectively, to obtain the greatest lesions with the least side effects. After sacrificing the animals, an accurate histological examination of the liver was made. RESULTS: It is possible to establish beforehand the diameter of thermal liver lesion on the basis of joules of applied energy. The greatest increase of liver thermal lesion diameter (8 mm) is obtained with a 250-joule (10 W for 25 seconds) thermal energy cooling the electrode-tissue interface. CONCLUSIONS: Experimental radiofrequency ablation in rat liver is an effective and cheap way to study its effects on healthy hepatic tissues. It might be the first step to treat experimentally caused liver tumors.