An unusual case of uterine leiomyoma vs. hemangiopericytoma: diagnostic dilemma solved by immunohistochemistry

Case report of a 45 year, multiparous, widow lady, who underwent total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for uterine mass of 20 weeks. Microscopic examination revealed a hemangiopericytoma (HPC) of uterus, finally confirmed as uterine leiomyoma with cystic degeneration and HPC-like focal areas without atypia on immunohistochemical staining

Interactive Watershed Optimization in the Presence of Spatially-varying and Uncertain Stakeholder Preferences

Watershed planning over a geographic area is a difficult task primarily due to the presence of large number of stakeholders and decision makers whose intrinsic conflicting and/or subjective preferences often lead to uncertainty in perceived fitness of planning decisions. Deciding which watershed strategy should be implemented at what location requires a participatory approach to design and decision making, if adoption of landscape decisions is critical to success. Analytical participatory design (APD) approaches aim to enable farmers, environmentalists, government agencies, and other stakeholders to visualize the landscape, explore and design competitive scenarios of implementing certain management practices on the landscape. Since these approaches improve decision makers' awareness of opportunities and constraints in the co-existing physical and human systems, it is hypothesized that they can be used to generate acceptable decisions that are robust to uncertainties in stakeholder preferences. An APD method based on Interactive optimization is described in this paper and tested for design of wetlands in a study watershed site (Eagle Creek Watershed) in the state of Indiana. The method is then used to test research hypothesis by involving multiple virtual stakeholders as surrogates to diverse human users and their preferences. The results indicate that, while, as expected, the interactive optimization approach results in lower values of the financial and environmental objective criteria (which are being traded off against users' diverse subjective personal criteria), it also results in a relatively high degree of user consensus, indicating high likelihood of adoption of the generated solutions by the stakeholders

A Qualitative Study Exploring How the Aims, Language and Actions of Yoga for Pregnancy Teachers May Impact Upon Women's Self-efficacy for Labour and Birth

As women's anxiety and the rate of medical intervention in labour and birth continue to increase, it is important to identify how antenatal education can increase women's confidence and their ability to manage the intense sensations of labour. To report a grounded theory study of how the aims, language and actions of yoga for pregnancy teachers may impact upon women's self-efficacy for labour and birth. Yoga for pregnancy classes in three locations were filmed. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with the teachers to explore what they were trying to achieve in their classes, and how. Interviews and classes were transcribed and analysed using grounded theory. There was considerable consistency in the teachers’ aims, the language they used in classes and in their thinking about class structure. Four main themes emerged: creating a sisterhood, modelling labour, building confidence and enhancing learning. Teachers see yoga for pregnancy as a multi-faceted, non-prescriptive intervention that enhances women's physical, emotional and social readiness for labour and birth, and supports women to make their own decisions across the transition to parenthood. Women's self-efficacy for labour is complex and multi-factorial. This study offers insights into the factors which may be involved in increasing it. These include not only traditional elements of yoga such as postures, breathing and meditation, but also the creation of safe, women-only groups where anxieties, experiences and stories can be shared, and pain-coping techniques for labour learned and practised

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma and spermidine/spermine N(1)-acetyltransferase gene expressions are significantly correlated in human colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND: The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is a transcription factor that regulates adipogenic differentiation and glucose homeostasis. Spermidine/spermine N(1)-acetyltransferase (SSAT) and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) are key enzymes involved in the metabolism of polyamines, compounds that play an important role in cell proliferation. While the PPARγ role in tumour growth has not been clearly defined, the involvement of the altered polyamine metabolism in colorectal carcinogenesis has been established. In this direction, we have evaluated the PPARγ expression and its relationship with polyamine metabolism in tissue samples from 40 patients operated because of colorectal carcinoma. Since it is known that the functional role of K-ras mutation in colorectal tumorigenesis is associated with cell growth and differentiation, polyamine metabolism and the PPARγ expression were also investigated in terms of K-ras mutation. METHODS: PPARγ, ODC and SSAT mRNA levels were evaluated by reverse transcriptase and real-time PCR. Polyamines were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). ODC and SSAT activity were measured by a radiometric technique. RESULTS: PPARγ expression, as well as SSAT and ODC mRNA levels were significantly higher in cancer as compared to normal mucosa. Tumour samples also showed significantly higher polyamine levels and ODC and SSAT activities in comparison to normal samples. A significant and positive correlation between PPARγ and the SSAT gene expression was observed in both normal and neoplastic tissue (r = 0.73, p < 0.0001; r = 0.65, p < 0.0001, respectively). Moreover, gene expression, polyamine levels and enzymatic activities were increased in colorectal carcinoma samples expressing K-ras mutation as compared to non mutated K-ras samples. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our data demonstrated a close relationship between PPARγ and SSAT in human colorectal cancer and this could represent an attempt to decrease polyamine levels and to reduce cell growth and tumour development. Therefore, pharmacological activation of PPARγ and/or induction of SSAT may represent a therapeutic or preventive strategy for treating colorectal cancer

High temperature tolerance in grain legumes

High temperature stress (or heat stress) during reproductive stages is becoming aserious constraint toproductivity of grain legumes as their cultivation is expanding to warmer environments and temperature variability is increasing due to climate change.Large genetic variations exist ingrainlegumesforheat tolerance whichcan be exploited for development of locally adapted heat tolerant cultivars. Heat tolerant cultivars will be more resilient to the impacts of climate change, allow flexibility in sowing dates and enhance opportunities for expanding area of grain legumes to new nichesand croppingsystems

A Prospective Examination of Clinician and Supervisor Turnover Within the Context of Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices in a Publicly-Funded Mental Health System

Staff turnover rates in publicly-funded mental health settings are high. We investigated staff and organizational predictors of turnover in a sample of individuals working in an urban public mental health system that has engaged in a system-level effort to implement evidence-based practices. Additionally, we interviewed staff to understand reasons for turnover. Greater staff burnout predicted increased turnover, more openness toward new practices predicted retention, and more professional recognition predicted increased turnover. Staff reported leaving their organizations because of personal, organizational, and financial reasons; just over half of staff that left their organization stayed in the public mental health sector. Implications include an imperative to focus on turnover, with a particular emphasis on ameliorating staff burnout

Super Annigeri 1 and improved JG 74: two Fusarium wilt-resistant introgression lines developed using marker-assisted backcrossing approach in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Annigeri 1 and JG 74 are elite high yielding desi cultivars of chickpea with medium maturity duration and extensively cultivated in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, respectively. Both cultivars, in recent years, have become susceptible to race 4 of Fusarium wilt (FW). To improve Annigeri 1 and JG 74, we introgressed a genomic region conferring resistance against FW race 4 (foc4) through marker-assisted backcrossing using WR 315 as the donor parent. For foreground selection, TA59, TA96, TR19 and TA27 markers were used at Agricultural Research Station, Kalaburagi, while GA16 and TA96 markers were used at Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur. Background selection using simple sequence repreats (SSRs) for the cross Annigeri 1 × WR 315 in BC1F1 and BC2F1 lines resulted in 76–87% and 90–95% recurrent parent genome recovery, respectively. On the other hand, 90–97% genome was recovered in BC3F1 lines in the case of cross JG 74 × WR 315. Multilocation evaluation of 10 BC2F5 lines derived from Annigeri 1 provided one superior line referred to as Super Annigeri 1 with 8% increase in yield and enhanced disease resistance over Annigeri 1. JG 74315-14, the superior line in JG 74 background, had a yield advantage of 53.5% and 25.6% over the location trial means in Pantnagar and Durgapura locations, respectively, under Initial Varietal Trial of All India Coordinated Research Project on Chickpea. These lines with enhanced resistance and high yield performance are demonstration of successful deployment of molecular breeding to develop superior lines for FW resistance in chickpea

Reactive Oxygen Species Hydrogen Peroxide Mediates Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Reactivation from Latency

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) establishes a latent infection in the host following an acute infection. Reactivation from latency contributes to the development of KSHV-induced malignancies, which include Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), the most common cancer in untreated AIDS patients, primary effusion lymphoma and multicentric Castleman's disease. However, the physiological cues that trigger KSHV reactivation remain unclear. Here, we show that the reactive oxygen species (ROS) hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) induces KSHV reactivation from latency through both autocrine and paracrine signaling. Furthermore, KSHV spontaneous lytic replication, and KSHV reactivation from latency induced by oxidative stress, hypoxia, and proinflammatory and proangiogenic cytokines are mediated by H2O2. Mechanistically, H2O2 induction of KSHV reactivation depends on the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase ERK1/2, JNK, and p38 pathways. Significantly, H2O2 scavengers N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), catalase and glutathione inhibit KSHV lytic replication in culture. In a mouse model of KSHV-induced lymphoma, NAC effectively inhibits KSHV lytic replication and significantly prolongs the lifespan of the mice. These results directly relate KSHV reactivation to oxidative stress and inflammation, which are physiological hallmarks of KS patients. The discovery of this novel mechanism of KSHV reactivation indicates that antioxidants and anti-inflammation drugs could be promising preventive and therapeutic agents for effectively targeting KSHV replication and KSHV-related malignancies

Spermine oxidase (SMO) activity in breast tumor tissues and biochemical analysis of the anticancer spermine analogues BENSpm and CPENSpm

Background: Polyamine metabolism has a critical role in cell death and proliferation representing a potential target for intervention in breast cancer (BC). This study investigates the expression of spermine oxidase (SMO) and its prognostic significance in BC. Biochemical analysis of Spm analogues BENSpm and CPENSpm, utilized in anticancer therapy, was also carried out to test their property in silico and in vitro on the recombinant SMO enzyme. Methods: BC tissue samples were analyzed for SMO transcript level and SMO activity. Student’s t test was applied to evaluate the significance of the differences in value observed in T and NT samples. The structure modeling analysis of BENSpm and CPENSpm complexes formed with the SMO enzyme and their inhibitory activity, assayed by in vitro experiments, were examined. Results: Both the expression level of SMO mRNA and SMO enzyme activity were significantly lower in BC samples compared to NT samples. The modeling of BENSpm and CPENSpm complexes formed with SMO and their inhibition properties showed that both were good inhibitors. Conclusions: This study shows that underexpression of SMO is a negative marker in BC. The SMO induction is a remarkable chemotherapeutical target. The BENSpm and CPENSpm are efficient SMO inhibitors. The inhibition properties shown by these analogues could explain their poor positive outcomes in Phases I and II of clinical trials