Combined adenocarcinoid and mucinous cystadenoma of the appendix: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Adenocarcinoid of the appendix is a rare malignant tumour with features of both adenocarcinoma and carcinoid, showing both epithelial and endocrine differentiation. Mucinous cystadenoma is the commonest of the benign neoplasms of the appendix, with an incidence of 0.6% in appendicectomy specimens. We report a rare combination of these tumours and discuss the latest treatment options. To the best of our knowledge, only six cases have been reported in the literature to date.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 71-year-old Caucasian man presented to our department with a right iliac fossa mass associated with pain. Laparoscopy revealed an adenocarcinoid of the appendix in combination with mucinous cystadenoma. He underwent a radical right hemicolectomy with clear margins and lymph nodes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Adenocarcinoids account for 2% of primary appendiceal malignancies. Most tumours are less than 2 cm in diameter and 20% of them metastasize to the ovaries. The mean age for presentation is 59 years and the 5-year survival rate ranges from 60% to 84%. Right hemicolectomy is generally advised if any of the following features are present: tumours greater than 2 cm, involvement of resection margins, greater than 2 mitoses/10 high-power fields on histology, extension of tumour beyond serosa. Chemotherapy mostly with 5-Fluorouracil and Leucovorin is advised for remnant disease after surgery. Cytoreductive surgery with intraperitoneal chemotherapy can offer improved survival for advanced peritoneal dissemination.</p

Mineral analysis of complete dog and cat foods in the UK and compliance with European guidelines

Mineral content of complete pet food is regulated to ensure health of the companion animal population. Analysis of adherence to these regulatory guidelines has not been conducted. Here, mineral composition of complete wet (n = 97) and dry (n = 80) canine and feline pet food sold in the UK was measured to assess compliance with EU guidelines. A majority of foods complied with ≥8 of 11 guidelines (99% and 83% for dry and wet food, respectively), but many failed to provide nutritional minimum (e.g. Cu, 20% of wet food) or exceeded nutritional maximum (e.g. Se, 76% of wet food). Only 6% (6/97) of wet and 38% (30/80) of dry food were fully compliant. Some foods (20–30% of all analysed) had mineral imbalance, such as not having the recommended ratio of Ca:P (between 1:1 to 2:1). Foods with high fish content had high levels of undesirable metal elements such as arsenic. This study highlights broad non-compliance of a range of popular pet foods sold in the UK with EU guidelines (94% and 61% of wet and dry foods, respectively). If fed exclusively and over an extended period, a number of these pet foods could impact the general health of companion animals

Positive psychology of Malaysian students: impacts of engagement, motivation, self-compassion and wellbeing on mental health

Malaysia plays a key role in education of the Asia Pacific, expanding its scholarly output rapidly. However, mental health of Malaysian students is challenging, and their help-seeking is low because of stigma. This study explored the relationships between mental health and positive psychological constructs (academic engagement, motivation, self-compassion, and wellbeing), and evaluated the relative contribution of each positive psychological construct to mental health in Malaysian students. An opportunity sample of 153 students completed the measures regarding these constructs. Correlation, regression, and mediation analyses were conducted. Engagement, amotivation, self-compassion, and wellbeing were associated with, and predicted large variance in mental health. Self-compassion was the strongest independent predictor of mental health among all the positive psychological constructs. Findings can imply the strong links between mental health and positive psychology, especially selfcompassion. Moreover, intervention studies to examine the effects of self-compassion training on mental health of Malaysian students appear to be warranted.N/

Knowledge and competency standards for specialized cognitive behavior therapy for adult obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a leading cause of disability world-wide (World Health Organization, 2008). Treatment of OCD is a specialized field whose aim is recovery from illness for as many patients as possible. The evidence-based psychotherapeutic treatment for OCD is specialized cognitive behavior therapy (CBT, NICE, 2005, Koran and Simpson, 2013). However, these treatments are not accessible to many sufferers around the world. Currently available guidelines for care are deemed to be essential but insufficient because of highly variable clinician knowledge and competencies specific to OCD. The phase two mandate of the 14 nation International OCD Accreditation Task Force (ATF) created by the Canadian Institute for Obsessive Compulsive Disorders is development of knowledge and competency standards for specialized treatments for OCD through the lifespan deemed by experts to be foundational to transformative change in this field. This paper presents knowledge and competency standards for specialized CBT for adult OCD developed to inform, advance, and offer a model for clinical practice and training for OCD. During upcoming ATF phases three and four criteria and processes for training in specialized treatments for OCD through the lifespan for certification (individuals) and accreditation (sites) will be developed based on the ATF standards

Role of the IL-1 Pathway in Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration and Decreased Voluntary Movement

Interleukin-1 (IL-1), a proinflammatory cytokine synthesized and released by activated microglia, can cause dopaminergic neurodegeneration leading to Parkinsons disease (PD). However, it is uncertain whether IL-1 can act directly, or by exacerbating the harmful actions of other brain insults. To ascertain the role of the IL-1 pathway on dopaminergic neurodegeneration and motor skills during aging, we compared mice with impaired [caspase-1 knockout (casp1(-/-))] or overactivated IL-1 activity [IL-1 receptor antagonist knockout (IL-1ra(-/-))] to wild-type (wt) mice at young and middle age. Their motor skills were evaluated by the open-field and rotarod tests, and quantification of their dopamine neurons and activated microglia within the substantia nigra were performed by immunohistochemistry. IL-1ra(-/-) mice showed an age-related decline in motor skills, a reduced number of dopamine neurons, and an increase in activated microglia when compared to wt or casp1(-/-) mice. Casp1(-/-) mice had similar changes in motor skills and dopamine neurons, but fewer activated microglia cells than wt mice. Our results suggest that the overactivated IL-1 pathway occurring in IL-1ra(-/-) mice in the absence of inflammatory interventions (e.g., intracerebral injections performed in animal models of PD) increased activated microglia, decreased the number of dopaminergic neurons, and reduced their motor skills. Decreased IL-1 activity in casp1(-/-) mice did not yield clear protective effects when compared with wt mice. In summary, in the absence of overt brain insults, chronic activation of the IL-1 pathway may promote pathological aspects of PD per se, but its impairment does not appear to yield advantages over wt mice.Funding Agencies|John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University</p

Inhibitory control, but not prolonged object-related experience appears to affect physical problem-solving performance of pet dogs

Human infants develop an understanding of their physical environment through playful interactions with objects. Similar processes may influence also the performance of non-human animals in physical problem-solving tasks, but to date there is little empirical data to evaluate this hypothesis. In addition or alternatively to prior experiences, inhibitory control has been suggested as a factor underlying the considerable individual differences in performance reported for many species. Here we report a study in which we manipulated the extent of object-related experience for a cohort of dogs (Canis familiaris) of the breed Border Collie over a period of 18 months, and assessed their level of inhibitory control, prior to testing them in a series of four physical problem-solving tasks. We found no evidence that differences in object-related experience explain variability in performance in these tasks. It thus appears that dogs do not transfer knowledge about physical rules from one physical problem-solving task to another, but rather approach each task as a novel problem. Our results, however, suggest that individual performance in these tasks is influenced in a complex way by the subject’s level of inhibitory control. Depending on the task, inhibitory control had a positive or a negative effect on performance and different aspects of inhibitory control turned out to be the best predictors of individual performance in the different tasks. Therefore, studying the interplay between inhibitory control and problem-solving performance will make an important contribution to our understanding of individual and species differences in physical problem-solving performance

Biofield Therapies: Helpful or Full of Hype? A Best Evidence Synthesis

Biofield therapies (such as Reiki, therapeutic touch, and healing touch) are complementary medicine modalities that remain controversial and are utilized by a significant number of patients, with little information regarding their efficacy. This systematic review examines 66 clinical studies with a variety of biofield therapies in different patient populations. We conducted a quality assessment as well as a best evidence synthesis approach to examine evidence for biofield therapies in relevant outcomes for different clinical populations. Studies overall are of medium quality, and generally meet minimum standards for validity of inferences. Biofield therapies show strong evidence for reducing pain intensity in pain populations, and moderate evidence for reducing pain intensity hospitalized and cancer populations. There is moderate evidence for decreasing negative behavioral symptoms in dementia and moderate evidence for decreasing anxiety for hospitalized populations. There is equivocal evidence for biofield therapies' effects on fatigue and quality of life for cancer patients, as well as for comprehensive pain outcomes and affect in pain patients, and for decreasing anxiety in cardiovascular patients. There is a need for further high-quality studies in this area. Implications and future research directions are discussed

A New Heterobinuclear FeIIICuII Complex with a Single Terminal FeIII–O(phenolate) Bond. Relevance to Purple Acid Phosphatases and Nucleases

A novel heterobinuclear mixed valence complex [Fe^IIICu^II(BPBPMP)(OAc)_2]ClO_4, 1, with the unsymmetrical N_5O_2 donor ligand 2-bis[{(2-pyridylmethyl)aminomethyl}-6-{(2-hydroxybenzyl)(2-pyridylmethyl)} aminomethyl]-4-methylphenol (H_2BPBPMP) has been synthesized and characterized. A combination of data from mass spectrometry, potentiometric titrations, X-ray absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, as well as kinetics measurements indicates that in ethanol/water solutions an [Fe^III-(nu)OH-Cu^IIOH_2]+ species is generated which is the likely catalyst for 2,4-bis(dinitrophenyl)phosphate and DNA hydrolysis. Insofar as the data are consistent with the presence of an Fe_III-bound hydroxide acting as a nucleophile during catalysis, 1 presents a suitable mimic for the hydrolytic enzyme purple acid phosphatase. Notably, 1 is significantly more reactive than its isostructural homologues with different metal composition (Fe^IIIM^II, where M^II is Zn^II, Mn^II, Ni^II,or Fe^II). Of particular interest is the observation that cleavage of double-stranded plasmid DNA occurs even at very low concentrations of 1 (2.5 nuM), under physiological conditions (optimum pH of 7.0), with a rate enhancement of 2.7 x 10^7 over the uncatalyzed reaction. Thus, 1 is one of the most effective model complexes to date, mimicking the function of nucleases

Identification of Methylated Genes Associated with Aggressive Bladder Cancer

Approximately 500,000 individuals diagnosed with bladder cancer in the U.S. require routine cystoscopic follow-up to monitor for disease recurrences or progression, resulting in over $2 billion in annual expenditures. Identification of new diagnostic and monitoring strategies are clearly needed, and markers related to DNA methylation alterations hold great promise due to their stability, objective measurement, and known associations with the disease and with its clinical features. To identify novel epigenetic markers of aggressive bladder cancer, we utilized a high-throughput DNA methylation bead-array in two distinct population-based series of incident bladder cancer (n = 73 and n = 264, respectively). We then validated the association between methylation of these candidate loci with tumor grade in a third population (n = 245) through bisulfite pyrosequencing of candidate loci. Array based analyses identified 5 loci for further confirmation with bisulfite pyrosequencing. We identified and confirmed that increased promoter methylation of HOXB2 is significantly and independently associated with invasive bladder cancer and methylation of HOXB2, KRT13 and FRZB together significantly predict high-grade non-invasive disease. Methylation of these genes may be useful as clinical markers of the disease and may point to genes and pathways worthy of additional examination as novel targets for therapeutic treatment