Sphenoid wing meningiomas: peritumoral brain edema as a prognostic factor in surgical outcome

Neurosurgical Review - Sphenoidal meningiomas constitute 18% of intracranial masses, and still present a difficult surgical challenge. PTBE has been associated with several complications and future...     

Simple changes save lives: a multi-centre clinical audit of the management of trauma patients on arrival at the emergency room in the Gaza Strip,occupied Palestinian territory

Background

The WHO trauma checklist reduces morbidity and mortality. This study evaluates adherence of three hospitals in Gaza to the basic WHO checklist standards in order to promote set standards of care.

Psychological Impact of Chemotherapy for Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on Patients and Their Parents

To assess the self-esteem of pediatric patients on chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and psychological status of their parents.The psychological status of 178 children receiving chemotherapy for ALL and their parents was assessed using parenting stress index (PSI) to determine the degree of stress the parents are exposed to using parent''s and child''s domains. Self-esteem Scale was used to determine the psychological status of patients.The study revealed significant low level of self-esteem in 84.83% of patients. Their parents had significant psychological stress. PSI was significantly associated with parents’ low sense of competence, negative attachment to their children, feeling of high restriction, high depression, poor relation to spouse, high social isolation variables of parent''s domains. It was significantly associated with low distraction, negative parents’ reinforcement, low acceptability, and high demanding variables of child''s domains. Long duration of disease was the most detrimental factor among demographic data of the patients.Chemotherapy for ALL has a significant impact on the psychological status of both patients and their parents with high prevalence of low self-esteem in children and high degree of stress in their parents.     

High‐density lipoprotein reduces inflammation from cholesterol crystals by inhibiting inflammasome activation

Interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), a potent pro‐inflammatory cytokine, has been implicated in many diseases, including atherosclerosis. Activation of IL‐1β is controlled by a multi‐protein complex, the inflammasome. The exact initiating event in atherosclerosis is unknown, but recent work has demonstrated that cholesterol crystals (CC) may promote atherosclerosis development by activation of the inflammasome. High‐density lipoprotein (HDL) has consistently been shown to be anti‐atherogenic and to have anti‐inflammatory effects, but its mechanism of action is unclear. We demonstrate here that HDL is able to suppress IL‐1β secretion in response to cholesterol crystals in THP‐1 cells and in human‐monocyte‐derived macrophages. HDL is able to blunt inflammatory monocyte cell recruitment in vivo following intraperitoneal CC injection in mice. HDL appears to modulate inflammasome activation in several ways. It reduces the loss of lysosomal membrane integrity following the phagocytosis of CC, but the major mechanism for the suppression of inflammasome activation by HDL is decreased expression of pro‐IL‐1β and NLRP3, and reducing caspase‐1 activation. In summary, we have described a novel anti‐inflammatory effect of HDL, namely its ability to suppress inflammasome activation by CC by modulating the expression of several key components of the inflammasome.     

Living conditions in Iraq: 10 years after the US-led invasion

In the early 1980s, Iraq was a middle-income and rapidly developing country with a well-developed health system. A few decades later – after wars, sanctions and a violent sectarian upsurge – child and maternal health indicators have deteriorated, its poverty headcount index is at 22.9% and diseases such as cholera have remerged. Today Iraq is beset by chronic political deadlock and a complexity of economic challenges; accordingly, all aspects of life are suffering, including health. Irrespective of the monumental investment to improve components of the health system, via national and international efforts, the health status of the population can only advance through resounding and synergistic effort in other aspects of life affecting health: the social determinants of health.     

Impedance,Electrical Equivalent Circuit (EEC) Modeling,Structural (FTIR and XRD), Dielectric,and Electric Modulus Study of MC-Based Ion-Conducting Solid Polymer Electrolytes

The polymer electrolyte system of methylcellulose (MC) doped with various sodium bromide (NaBr) salt concentrations is prepared in this study using the solution cast technique. FTIR and XRD were used to identify the structural changes in solid films. Sharp crystalline peaks appeared at the XRD pattern at 40 and 50 wt.% of NaBr salt. The electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) study illustrates that the loading of NaBr increases the electrolyte conductivity at room temperature. The DC conductivity of 6.71 × 10⁻⁶ S/cm is obtained for the highest conducting electrolyte. The EIS data are fitted with the electrical equivalent circuit (EEC) to determine the impedance parameters of each film. The EEC modeling helps determine the circuit elements, which is decisive from the engineering perspective. The DC conductivity tendency is further established by dielectric analysis. The EIS spectra analysis shows a decrease in bulk resistance, demonstrating free ion carriers and conductivity boost. The dielectric property and relaxation time confirmed the non-Debye behavior of the electrolyte system. An incomplete semicircle further confirms this behavior model in the Argand plot. The distribution of relaxation times is related to the presence of conducting ions in an amorphous structure. Dielectric properties are improved with the addition of NaBr salt. A high value of a dielectric constant is seen at the low frequency region.     

Remote Effects of Transplanted Perivascular Adipose Tissue on Endothelial Function and Atherosclerosis

Purpose

Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) surrounds the arterial adventitia and plays an important role in vascular homeostasis. PVAT expands in obesity, and inflamed PVAT can locally promote endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Here, using adipose tissue transplantation, we tested the hypothesis that expansion of PVAT can also remotely exacerbate vascular disease.

Methods

Fifty milligrams of abdominal aortic PVAT was isolated from high-fat diet (HFD)-fed wild-type mice and transplanted onto the abdominal aorta of lean LDL receptor knockout mice. Subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues were used as controls. After HFD feeding for 10 weeks, body weight, glucose/insulin sensitivity, and lipid levels were measured. Adipocytokine gene expression was assessed in the transplanted adipose tissues, and the thoracic aorta was harvested to quantify atherosclerotic lesions by Oil-Red O staining and to assess vasorelaxation by wire myography.

Results

PVAT transplantation did not influence body weight, fat composition, lipid levels, or glucose/insulin sensitivity. However, as compared with controls, transplantation of PVAT onto the abdominal aorta increased thoracic aortic atherosclerosis. Furthermore, PVAT transplantation onto the abdominal aorta inhibited endothelium-dependent relaxation in the thoracic aorta. MCP-1 and TNF-α expression was elevated, while adiponectin expression was reduced, in the transplanted PVAT tissue, suggesting augmented inflammation as a potential mechanism for the remote vascular effects of transplanted PVAT.

Conclusions

These data suggest that PVAT expansion and inflammation in obesity can remotely induce endothelial dysfunction and augment atherosclerosis. Identifying the underlying mechanisms may lead to novel approaches for risk assessment and treatment of obesity-related vascular disease.