Mediastinal Schwannoma Diagnosed by Endoscopic Ultrasonography-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology

Schwannoma is the most common neurogenic tumor that is derived from the peripheral nerve sheath. There are no specific serologic markers or characteristic imaging abnormalities associated with schwannoma. Tissue diagnosis and immunohistochemistry are required to diagnose this lesion. We describe a 65-year-old male with a finding of three mass lesions in the superior and middle mediastinum on computed tomography of the chest. The largest lesion measured 4.6 × 5 cm. The patient subsequently underwent endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) of the lesion and cytology was consistent with spindle cell neoplasm. Immunohistochemical staining of the cytologic specimen was positive for S-100 and negative for pan-cytokeratin, CD34, CD117, calcitonin, smooth muscle actin and desmin. These findings were consistent with schwannoma. This is the second reported case of a mediastinal schwannoma diagnosed by EUS-FNA

A comparative study between mixed-type tumours from human salivary and canine mammary glands

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In comparative pathology, canine mammary tumours have special interest because of their similarities with human breast cancer. Mixed tumours are uncommon lesions in the human breast, but they are found most frequently in the mammary gland of the female dogs and in the human salivary glands. The aim of the study was to compare clinical, morphological and immunohistochemical features of human salivary and canine mammary gland mixed tumours, in order to evaluate the latter as an experimental model for salivary gland tumours.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Ten examples of each mixed tumour type (human pleomorphic adenoma and carcinomas ex-pleomorphic adenomas and canine mixed tumour and metaplastic carcinoma) were evaluated. First, clinical and morphologic aspects of benign and malignant variants were compared between the species. Then, streptavidin-biotin-peroxidase immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expression of cytokeratins, vimentin, p63 protein, estrogen receptor, β-catenin, and E-cadherin.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After standardization, similar age and site distributions were observed in human and canine tumours. Histological similarities were identified in the comparison of the benign lesions as well. Metaplastic carcinomas also resembled general aspects of carcinomas ex-pleomorphic adenomas in morphological evaluation. Additionally, immunohistochemical staining further presented similar antigenic expression between lesions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There are many similar features between human salivary and canine mammary gland mixed tumours. This observation is of great relevance for those interested in the study and management of salivary gland tumours, since canine lesions may constitute useful comparative models for their investigations.</p

New Caledonian crows rapidly solve a collaborative problem without cooperative cognition

There is growing comparative evidence that the cognitive bases of cooperation are not unique to humans. However, the selective pressures that lead to the evolution of these mechanisms remain unclear. Here we show that while tool-making New Caledonian crows can produce collaborative behavior, they do not understand the causality of cooperation nor show sensitivity to inequity. Instead, the collaborative behavior produced appears to have been underpinned by the transfer of prior experience. These results suggest that a number of possible selective pressures, including tool manufacture and mobbing behaviours, have not led to the evolution of cooperative cognition in this species. They show that causal cognition can evolve in a domain specific manner-understanding the properties and flexible uses of physical tools does not necessarily enable animals to grasp that a conspecific can be used as a social tool

Protocol for developing a core outcome set for male infertility research : an international consensus development study

STUDY QUESTION We aim to develop, disseminate and implement a minimum data set, known as a core outcome set, for future male infertility research. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Research into male infertility can be challenging to design, conduct and report. Evidence from randomized trials can be difficult to interpret and of limited ability to inform clinical practice for numerous reasons. These may include complex issues, such as variation in outcome measures and outcome reporting bias, as well as failure to consider the perspectives of men and their partners with lived experience of fertility problems. Previously, the Core Outcome Measure for Infertility Trials (COMMIT) initiative, an international consortium of researchers, healthcare professionals and people with fertility problems, has developed a core outcome set for general infertility research. Now, a bespoke core outcome set for male infertility is required to address the unique challenges pertinent to male infertility research. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION Stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, allied healthcare professionals, scientists, researchers and people with fertility problems, will be invited to participate. Formal consensus science methods will be used, including the modified Delphi method, modified Nominal Group Technique and the National Institutes of Health’s consensus development conference. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS An international steering group, including the relevant stakeholders outlined above, has been established to guide the development of this core outcome set. Possible core outcomes will be identified by undertaking a systematic review of randomized controlled trials evaluating potential treatments for male factor infertility. These outcomes will be entered into a modified Delphi method. Repeated reflection and re-scoring should promote convergence towards consensus outcomes, which will be prioritized during a consensus development meeting to identify a final core outcome set. We will establish standardized definitions and recommend high-quality measurement instruments for individual core outcomes. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This work has been supported by the Urology Foundation small project award, 2021. C.L.R.B. is the recipient of a BMGF grant and received consultancy fees from Exscentia and Exceed sperm testing, paid to the University of Dundee and speaking fees or honoraria paid personally by Ferring, Copper Surgical and RBMO. S.B. received royalties from Cambridge University Press, Speaker honoraria for Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Singapore, Merk SMART Masterclass and Merk FERRING Forum, paid to the University of Aberdeen. Payment for leadership roles within NHS Grampian, previously paid to self, now paid to University of Aberdeen. An Honorarium is received as Editor in Chief of Human Reproduction Open. M.L.E. is an advisor to the companies Hannah and Ro. B.W.M. received an investigator grant from the NHMRC, No: GNT1176437 is a paid consultant for ObsEva and has received research funding from Ferring and Merck. R.R.H. received royalties from Elsevier for a book, consultancy fees from Glyciome, and presentation fees from GryNumber Health and Aytu Bioscience. Aytu Bioscience also funded MiOXYS systems and sensors. Attendance at Fertility 2020 and Roadshow South Africa by Ralf Henkel was funded by LogixX Pharma Ltd. R.R.H. is also Editor in Chief of Andrologia and has been an employee of LogixX Pharma Ltd. since 2020. M.S.K. is an associate editor with Human Reproduction Open. K.Mc.E. received an honoraria for lectures from Bayer and Pharmasure in 2019 and payment for an ESHRE grant review in 2019. His attendance at ESHRE 2019 and AUA 2019 was sponsored by Pharmasure and Bayer, respectively. The remaining authors declare no competing interests. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) initiative registration No: 1586. Available at www.comet-initiative.org/Studies/Details/1586

Vasovagal tonus index (VVTI) as an indirect assessment of remission status in canine multicentric lymphoma undergoing multi-drug chemotherapy

Vasovagal tonus index (VVTI) is an indirect measure of heart rate variability and may serve as a marker of disease severity. Higher heart rate variability has predicted lower tumour burden and improved survival in humans with various tumour types. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate VVTI as a biomarker of remission status in canine lymphoma. The primary hypothesis was that VVTI would be increased in dogs in remission compared to dogs out of remission. Twenty-seven dogs were prospectively enrolled if they had a diagnosis of intermediate to high-grade lymphoma and underwent multidrug chemotherapy. Serial electrocardiogram data were collected under standard conditions and relationships between VVTI, remission status and other clinical variables were evaluated. VVTI from dogs in remission (partial or complete) did not differ from dogs with fulminant lymphoma (naive or at time of relapse). Dogs in partial remission had higher VVTI than dogs in complete remission (p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.021). Higher baseline VVTI was associated with higher subsequent scores (p&nbsp;&lt;&nbsp;0.001). VVTI also correlated with anxiety level (p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.03). Based on this pilot study, VVTI did not hold any obvious promise as a useful clinical biomarker of remission status. Further investigation may better elucidate the clinical and prognostic utility of VVTI in dogs with lymphoma

Protocol for developing a core outcome set for male infertility research: an international consensus development study

Study question: We aim to develop, disseminate and implement a minimum data set, known as a core outcome set, for future male infertility research.What is known already: Research into male infertility can be challenging to design, conduct and report. Evidence from randomized trials can be difficult to interpret and of limited ability to inform clinical practice for numerous reasons. These may include complex issues, such as variation in outcome measures and outcome reporting bias, as well as failure to consider the perspectives of men and their partners with lived experience of fertility problems. Previously, the Core Outcome Measure for Infertility Trials (COMMIT) initiative, an international consortium of researchers, healthcare professionals and people with fertility problems, has developed a core outcome set for general infertility research. Now, a bespoke core outcome set for male infertility is required to address the unique challenges pertinent to male infertility research.Study design size duration: Stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, allied healthcare professionals, scientists, researchers and people with fertility problems, will be invited to participate. Formal consensus science methods will be used, including the modified Delphi method, modified Nominal Group Technique and the National Institutes of Health's consensus development conference.Participants/materials setting methods: An international steering group, including the relevant stakeholders outlined above, has been established to guide the development of this core outcome set. Possible core outcomes will be identified by undertaking a systematic review of randomized controlled trials evaluating potential treatments for male factor infertility. These outcomes will be entered into a modified Delphi method. Repeated reflection and re-scoring should promote convergence towards consensus outcomes, which will be prioritized during a consensus development meeting to identify a final core outcome set. We will establish standardized definitions and recommend high-quality measurement instruments for individual core outcomes.Study funding/competing interests: This work has been supported by the Urology Foundation small project award, 2021. C.L.R.B. is the recipient of a BMGF grant and received consultancy fees from Exscentia and Exceed sperm testing, paid to the University of Dundee and speaking fees or honoraria paid personally by Ferring, Copper Surgical and RBMO. S.B. received royalties from Cambridge University Press, Speaker honoraria for Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Singapore, Merk SMART Masterclass and Merk FERRING Forum, paid to the University of Aberdeen. Payment for leadership roles within NHS Grampian, previously paid to self, now paid to University of Aberdeen. An Honorarium is received as Editor in Chief of Human Reproduction Open. M.L.E. is an advisor to the companies Hannah and Ro. B.W.M. received an investigator grant from the NHMRC, No: GNT1176437 is a paid consultant for ObsEva and has received research funding from Ferring and Merck. R.R.H. received royalties from Elsevier for a book, consultancy fees from Glyciome, and presentation fees from GryNumber Health and Aytu Bioscience. Aytu Bioscience also funded MiOXYS systems and sensors. Attendance at Fertility 2020 and Roadshow South Africa by Ralf Henkel was funded by LogixX Pharma Ltd. R.R.H. is also Editor in Chief of Andrologia and has been an employee of LogixX Pharma Ltd. since 2020. M.S.K. is an associate editor with Human Reproduction Open. K.Mc.E. received an honoraria for lectures from Bayer and Pharmasure in 2019 and payment for an ESHRE grant review in 2019. His attendance at ESHRE 2019 and AUA 2019 was sponsored by Pharmasure and Bayer, respectively. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.</p

Kea cooperate better with sharing affiliates

Controlled studies that focus on intraspecific cooperation tasks have revealed striking similarities, but also differences, in abilities across taxa as diverse as primates, fish, and birds. Such comparisons may provide insight into the specific socio-ecological selection pressures that led to the evolution of cooperation. Unfortunately, however, compared to primates data on birds remain relatively scarce. We tested a New Zealand psittaciform, the kea, in a dyadic cooperation task using the loose-string design. During trials our subjects were in separate compartments, but obtained a common reward that could be divided multiple ways, allowing the examination of reward division effects. Ten individuals were tested twice in 44 combinations of partners. Dyads with a high affiliation score attempted to cooperate more often and were also more often successful in doing so. Furthermore, dyads that shared rewards more equally seemed to be more likely to attempt cooperation in the next trial. Like other bird and some monkey species, but unlike, for example, chimpanzees, kea did not spontaneously show understanding of either the role of the partner or the mechanism behind the cooperation task. This may point to true disparities between species, but may also be due to differences in task design and/or the amount of exposure to similar tasks and individual skills of the subjects. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10071-016-1017-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

A novel canine histiocytic sarcoma cell line:initial characterization and utilization for drug screening studies

In order to be responsible stewards of other people’s data, cloud providers must be accountable for their data handling practices. The potential long provider chains in cloud computing introduces additional accountability challenges, and this paper examines requirements which must be fulfilled to achieve an accountability-based approach.acceptedVersio

A novel canine histiocytic sarcoma cell line:initial characterization and utilization for drug screening studies

Abstract Background Histiocytic sarcoma is a rare disorder in humans, however it is seen with appreciable frequency in certain breeds of dogs, such as Bernese mountain dog. The purpose of this study was to fully characterize a novel canine histiocytic sarcoma cell line, and utilize it as a tool to screen for potential therapeutic drugs. Methods The histiocytic sarcoma cell line was characterized by expression of cellular markers as determined by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry techniques. The neoplastic cells were also evaluated for their capability of phagocytizing beads particles, and their potential to grow as xenograft in an immunodeficient mouse. We investigated the in vitro cytotoxic activity of a panel of thirteen compounds using the MTS proliferation assay. Inhibitory effects of different drugs were compared using one-way ANOVA, and multiple means were compared using Tukey’s test. Results Neoplastic cells expressed CD11c, CD14, CD18, CD45, CD172a, CD204, MHC I, and vimentin. Expression of MHC II was upregulated after exposure to LPS. Furthermore, the established cell line clearly demonstrated phagocytic activity similar to positive controls of macrophage cell line. The xenograft mouse developed a palpable subcutaneous soft tissue mass after 29 days of inoculation, which histologically resembled the primary neoplasm. Dasatinib, a tyrosine kinase pan-inhibitor, significantly inhibited the growth of the cells in vitro within a clinically achievable and tolerable plasma concentration. The inhibitory response to dasatinib was augmented when combined with doxorubicin. Conclusions In the present study we demonstrated that a novel canine histiocytic sarcoma cell line presents a valuable tool to evaluate novel treatment approaches. The neoplastic cell line favorably responded to dasatinib, which represents a promising anticancer strategy for the treatment of this malignancy in dogs and similar disorders in humans