Left renal Ewing's sarcoma: A case study and a review of imaging literature

Extra-skeletal Ewing's sarcoma is among the rarest tumors in adults. The primary sites of the tumor dictates symptoms and signs, thus early treatments are compromised when more common tumors are lined up as differentials by the location. We present a case of a 35-year-old pregnant female who developed a renal Ewing sarcoma during pregnancy. A prior simple left kidney cyst in an ultrasound with no tumor signs was spotted. A month after her cesarean section she visited a doctor when she was sent and admitted for surgery with renal cell carcinoma as the primary diagnosis to the Firoozgar hospital. Histology confirmed the final diagnosis. To this end, she completed the standard chemotherapy for the renal Ewing sarcoma with pulmonary metastasis when she was re-evaluated for the general bone pain, diagnosed with multiple bone metastases, and ultimately approached her palliative care. She expired after 2 months. This study demonstrates: a gently progressive mass; palpable in late stages; introduced rise in mean corpuscular volume and lactate dehydrogenase with no drop in the hematocrit. In conclusion, any random parenchymal and/or cortical thickening in primary ultrasound and/or computed tomography demonstrating a cyst�whether displaying internal echo or not� with suggested signs should be furtherly evaluated. © 202

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Production from Natural Gas by a Methanotroph Native Bacterium in a Bubble Column Bioreactor

Reducing the total cost of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) production as an attractive substitute for conventional petrochemical plastics still remains an unsolved problem. The aim of this research was the screening of PHB-producing microorganisms and selection of the best suitable medium for microbial growth and PHB production from methane. A new isolated methanotroph for PHB production from natural gas was studied in different media. After selection of the suitable medium, the effect of five process variables (content of nitrogen source, disodium hydrogen phosphate, methane to air ratio, seed age, and pH) on PHB production was investigated in a bubble column bioreactor. Also, hydrodynamic and mass transfer factors (flow regime, mixing time, gas hold up, and kLa) were considered. At optimum operating conditions and engineering parameters in a bubble column, PHB content in the dried biomass reached 25 % w/w. The results showed that pH is the most important variable in the selected conditions

Plasma proteome profiling identifies changes associated to AD but not to FTD

Background Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is caused by frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), characterized mainly by inclusions of Tau (FTLD-Tau) or TAR DNA binding43 (FTLD-TDP) proteins. Plasma biomarkers are strongly needed for specific diagnosis and potential treatment monitoring of FTD. We aimed to identify specific FTD plasma biomarker profiles discriminating FTD from AD and controls, and between FTD pathological subtypes. In addition, we compared plasma results with results in post-mortem frontal cortex of FTD cases to understand the underlying process. Methods Plasma proteins (n = 1303) from pathologically and/or genetically confirmed FTD patients (n = 56; FTLD-Tau n = 16; age = 58.2 +/- 6.2; 44% female, FTLD-TDP n = 40; age = 59.8 +/- 7.9; 45% female), AD patients (n = 57; age = 65.5 +/- 8.0; 39% female), and non-demented controls (n = 148; 61.3 +/- 7.9; 41% female) were measured using an aptamer-based proteomic technology (SomaScan). In addition, exploratory analysis in post-mortem frontal brain cortex of FTD (n = 10; FTLD-Tau n = 5; age = 56.2 +/- 6.9, 60% female, and FTLD-TDP n = 5; age = 64.0 +/- 7.7, 60% female) and non-demented controls (n = 4; age = 61.3 +/- 8.1; 75% female) were also performed. Differentially regulated plasma and tissue proteins were identified by global testing adjusting for demographic variables and multiple testing. Logistic lasso regression was used to identify plasma protein panels discriminating FTD from non-demented controls and AD, or FTLD-Tau from FTLD-TDP. Performance of the discriminatory plasma protein panels was based on predictions obtained from bootstrapping with 1000 resampled analysis. Results Overall plasma protein expression profiles differed between FTD, AD and controls (6 proteins; p = 0.005), but none of the plasma proteins was specifically associated to FTD. The overall tissue protein expression profile differed between FTD and controls (7-proteins; p = 0.003). There was no difference in overall plasma or tissue expression profile between FTD subtypes. Regression analysis revealed a panel of 12-plasma proteins discriminating FTD from AD with high accuracy (AUC: 0.99). No plasma protein panels discriminating FTD from controls or FTD pathological subtypes were identified. Conclusions We identified a promising plasma protein panel as a minimally-invasive tool to aid in the differential diagnosis of FTD from AD, which was primarily associated to AD pathophysiology. The lack of plasma profiles specifically associated to FTD or its pathological subtypes might be explained by FTD heterogeneity, calling for FTD studies using large and well-characterize cohorts

Risperidone Side effect in a Child with Autism and Suspected Dysphagia

Abstract Background & aim: Autism is one of the diseases with clearly associated disorders. Children with autism are not able to express the pain and in case of signs of mental disability in children a delay in reporting of diagnosis or misdiagnosis will occurs. The aim of this study was to report a case of risperidone in children with autism and suspected dysphagia. Case Presentation: This case report dealt with a rare complication of Risperidone side effect diagnosed as dysphagia in an autistic child. Risperdal is approved for autism treatment and the common side effects of this drug is increased appetite, but has led to difficulty in eating in children. To investigate the cause of dysphagia, no para-clinic examination was conducted. Conclusion: It is necessary to take a complete drug history in patients with problems of communication and swallowing disorders. Key words: Risperidone, Autism, Dysphagia, Chil

Comparing the Influence of Drug Ther-apy and Neurofeedback Training on Reduction of Anxiety Symptoms and Life Quality of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Patients

The main goal of this paper is focused on comparison of influence of drug therapy and neurofeedback training on reduction of anxiety symptoms and life quality of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) patients. For this purpose, 16 visitors in one of psychiatry centers in Tehran were studied who received GAD diagnosis and did not suffer other psychological disorders according to psychiatrist visit and diagnostic criteria within fourth edition of statistical and diagnostic guide revised text of psychological disorders )DSM-IV-TR( (8 persons in neurofeedback training and 8 ones in drug therapy). Patients in both groups were surveyed and studied in pre-test and post-test steps through GAD seven-question scale (GAD-7) and life quality questionnaire (PWI-A). Persons in neurofeedback training group received fifteen 30-minute sessions (three sessions per week) on alpha wave increase and those in drug therapy were treated under supervision of physicians by anti-anxiety drugs (SSIRs) for one year. Record and training of alpha wave activity was accomplished in O1 or O2 and patients received audio feedback for increase of alpha range up to higher than determined threshold. Wilcoxon and Mann Witney tests were applied for descriptive analysis of data. Research findings show that neurofeedback training led to increase of alpha wave in the receiver group. In addition, influence of neurofeedback training on reduction of GAD symptoms in this group is considerably higher than that of drug therapy group. There was no meaningful difference between the two groups on change of patients' life quality index

Photo neutron dose equivalent rate in 15 MV X-ray beam from a Siemens Primus Linac

Fast and thermal neutron fluence rates from a 15 MV X-ray beams of a Siemens Primus Linac were measured using bare and moderated BF 3 proportional counter inside the treatment room at different locations. Fluence rate values were converted to dose equivalent rate (DER) utilizing conversion factors of American Association of Physicist in Medicine′s (AAPM) report number 19. For thermal neutrons, maximum and minimum DERs were 3.46 × 10 -6 (3 m from isocenter in +Y direction, 0 × 0 field size) and 8.36 × 10 -8 Sv/min (in maze, 40 × 40 field size), respectively. For fast neutrons, maximum DERs using 9" and 3" moderators were 1.6 × 10 -5 and 1.74 × 10 -5 Sv/min (2 m from isocenter in +Y direction, 0 × 0 field size), respectively. By changing the field size, the variation in thermal neutron DER was more than the fast neutron DER and the changes in fast neutron DER were not significant in the bunker except inside the radiation field. This study showed that at all points and distances, by decreasing field size of the beam, thermal and fast neutron DER increases and the number of thermal neutrons is more than fast neutrons

Comparing the efficacy of dietary alpha-tocopherol with that of dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, both either alone or in combination with ascorbic acid, on growth and stress resistance of angelfish, Pterophylum scalare, juveniles

This study aimed to compare the efficacy of dietary alpha-tocopherol with that of dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, both either alone or in combination with vitamin C (ascorbic acid), on the growth performance, survival, and stress resistance of angelfish, Pterophylum scalare, juveniles. Juveniles were fed ad libitum for four weeks with Artemia enriched with no vitamins (control), vitamin C (T-c), alpha-tocopherol (T-alpha), dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate (T (dl) ), alpha-tocopherol and vitamin C (T alpha+C), and dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate and vitamin C (T (dl+C)). After four weeks, an osmotic stress test was performed using seawater (25 g/L) to evaluate juvenile's resistance to stress. Whole-body glucose and cortisol were used as stress indicators. At the end of the feeding trial, growth performance and survival of the juveniles fed vitamin-enriched Artemia were significantly (P 0.05) different between the vitamin-fed groups. Osmotic stress significantly elevated the stress indicators, whole-body cortisol and glucose levels (P < 0.05), highest and lowest values being observed in control and T alpha+C groups, respectively. Survival after osmotic stress of juveniles fed the T alpha+c diet was significantly higher (by 46.2%, P < 0.001) than for controls. Results suggested that alpha-tocopherol has greater efficacy than dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate and enriching Artemia with alpha-tocopherol and vitamin C together improves growth performance, survival, and stress resistance of angelfish juveniles

Edematous Dermal Thickening on Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a Biomarker for Lymphatic Surgical Outcomes

Background and Objectives: One of the surgical treatments for breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is debulking lipectomy. The aim of this study is to investigate whether dermal thickness could be utilized as an objective indicator of post-operative changes following debulking. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of BCRL patients who underwent debulking lipectomy was conducted. MRI-based dermal thickness was measured by two separate trained readers at 16 regions of the upper extremity. Pre- and post-operative reduction in dermal thickness was compared across the affected and unaffected (control) arms for each patient. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to assess for significant change. Univariate linear regression was used to assess the relationship between dermal thickness reduction and changes to LYMPH-Q scores, L-Dex scores, and relative volume change. Results: Seventeen patients were included in our analysis. There was significant reduction in dermal thickness at 5/16 regions in the affected arm. Dermal thickness change was significantly correlated with LYMPH-Q scores, L-Dex scores, and relative volume change in 2/16 limb compartments. There was predominant dermal thickening in the dorsal compartment of the upper arm and in the ventral and ulnar compartments of the forearm. Conclusions: Dermal thickness shows promising utility in tracking post-operative debulking procedures for breast cancer-related lymphedema. Further studies with larger patient populations and a variety of imaging modalities are required to continue to develop a clinically objective and reproducible method of post-surgical lymphedema staging and monitoring