Histopathology of salivary glands

Salivary gland (SG) biopsy is a technique broadly applied for the diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS), lymphoma accompanying SS, sarcoidosis, amyloidosis, and IgG4-related disease The most peculiar feature of pSS on biopsy is focal lymphocytic sialadenitis. In the past, several histological scores have been reported in the literature to describe glandular involvement during pSS. However, the variability among centres in reporting glandular scores is one of the rationales behind the development of standardised consensus guidance. SGs as well as lacrimal glands are involved in up to 50% of patients with IgG4-related disease with 3 histopathological hallmarks such as dense lymphoplasmacytic infiltration, storiform fibrosis and obliterative phlebitis. SGs can be also affected by amyloidosis with MSG biopsy being more sensitive than that of rectal mucosa or subcutaneous fat. SG involvement is a rare manifestation during sarcoidosis, and the presence of non-caseating granulomas needs to be differentiated from granulomas of other etiology. This review article provides an overview of normal and pathological SGs in the context of rheumatic diseases, identifying key elements in the tissue as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, useful in the current clinical practice

Do prosocial-certified companies walk the talk? An analysis of B Corps' contributions to Sustainable Development Goals

This paper investigates the contribution of the B Corp movement in Europe to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) compared with non-B Corps. B Corp certification aims to identify organisations that utilise business as 'a force for good', but there is limited empirical evidence on how effectively certified organisations translate their prosocial claims into measurable SDG contributions. We address this through cluster analysis, comparing 313 B Corp-certified and 1506 non-certified European companies by way of the SDG Action Manager tool. Our findings reveal three clusters of B Corp-certified organisations with varying contribution levels across all SDGs, indicating that the certification does not consistently identify organisations with significant SDG impacts. Non-certified companies, meanwhile, do not exhibit distinct patterns. These results raise doubts about whether the B Corp category identifies a distinctive prototype member that can define clear prosocial norms and practices. The paper contributes to understanding B Corp organisations' narratives by providing insights into their empirical performance compared with non-certified organisations. It also offers potential explanations for these discrepancies and proposes strategies to strengthen B Corp certification bodies in alignment with the SDGs, while acknowledging the presence of intra-category variations

Grants Work in a Congressional Office

Members of Congress often get requests from constituents for information and help in obtaining funds for projects. Many state and local governments, nonprofit social service and community action organizations, private research groups, small businesses, and individuals approach congressional offices to find out about funding, both from the federal government and from the private sector. The success rate in obtaining federal assistance is not high, given the competition for federal funds. A grants staff’s effectiveness often depends on both an understanding of the grants process and on the relations it establishes with agency and other contacts. The following report does not constitute a blueprint for every office involved in grants and projects activity, nor does it present in-depth information about all aspects of staff activity in this area. The discussion is aimed at describing some basics about the grants process and some of the approaches and techniques used by congressional offices in dealing with this type of constituent service

Tracking Federal Funds: USAspending.gov and Other Data Sources

This report discusses USAspending.gov, which collects data on grants, loans, insurance, assistance, and contracts, and it presents various searching and downloading options to Congress and the public

How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal

This report intended for Members and staff assisting grant seekers in districts and states and covers writing proposals for both government and private foundation grants

How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal

This report is intended for grant seekers in districts and states. This report has been expanded to include writing proposals for both government and private foundations grants. The report first discusses preliminary information gathering and preparation, developing ideas for the proposal, gathering community support, identifying funding resources, and seeking preliminary review of the proposal and support of relevant administrative officials

Congressional Resources in CRS Research Centers and the La Follette Congressional Reading Room

This report describes types of CRS products and a selection of the most frequently used printed and online reference sources available in the reading room and research centers for use by congressional staff. These deal with legislation and public policy; bills, congressional documents, laws, and regulations; Congress, elections, and politics; the federal government; directories of organizations, associations, corporations, state agencies, educational institutions, and the media; biographical information; data on foreign countries and international affairs; quick facts and statistics; and special collections such as quotations

Grants Work in a Congressional Office

Members of Congress often get requests from constituents for information and help in obtaining funds for projects. Many state and local governments, nonprofit social service and community action organizations, private research groups, small businesses, and individuals approach congressional offices to find out about funding, both from the federal government and from the private sector. The success rate in obtaining federal assistance is not high, given the competition for federal funds. A grants staff’s effectiveness often depends on both an understanding of the grants process and on the relations it establishes with agency and other contacts. The following report does not constitute a blueprint for every office involved in grants and projects activity, nor does it present in-depth information about all aspects of staff activity in this area. The discussion is aimed at describing some basics about the grants process and some of the approaches and techniques used by congressional offices in dealing with this type of constituent service

How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal

This report is intended for Members and staff assisting grant seekers in districts and states and covers writing proposals for both government and private foundations grants. In preparation for writing a proposal, the report first discusses preliminary information gathering and preparation, developing ideas for the proposal, gathering community support, identifying funding resources, and seeking preliminary review of the proposal and support of relevant administrative officials. The second section of the report covers the actual writing of the proposal. The last section of the report provides a listing of free grants-writing websites

Testing the performance of an innovative markerless technique for quantitative and qualitative gait analysis

Gait abnormalities such as high stride and step frequency/cadence (SF-stride/second, CAD-step/second), stride variability (SV) and low harmony may increase the risk of injuries and be a sentinel of medical conditions. This research aims to present a new markerless video-based technology for quantitative and qualitative gait analysis. 86 healthy individuals (mead age 32 years) performed a 90 s test on treadmill at self-selected walking speed. We measured SF and CAD by a photoelectric sensors system; then, we calculated average \ub1 standard deviation (SD) and within-subject coefficient of variation (CV) of SF as an index of SV. We also recorded a 60 fps video of the patient. With a custom-designed web-based video analysis software, we performed a spectral analysis of the brightness over time for each pixel of the image, that reinstituted the frequency contents of the videos. The two main frequency contents (F1 and F2) from this analysis should reflect the forcing/dominant variables, i.e., SF and CAD. Then, a harmony index (HI) was calculated, that should reflect the proportion of the pixels of the image that move consistently with F1 or its supraharmonics. The higher the HI value, the less variable the gait. The correspondence SF-F1 and CAD-F2 was evaluated with both paired t-Test and correlation and the relationship between SV and HI with correlation. SF and CAD were not significantly different from and highly correlated with F1 (0.893 \ub1 0.080 Hz vs. 0.895 \ub1 0.084 Hz, p < 0.001, r2 = 0.99) and F2 (1.787 \ub1 0.163 Hz vs. 1.791 \ub1 0.165 Hz, p < 0.001, r2 = 0.97). The SV was 1.84% \ub1 0.66% and it was significantly and moderately correlated with HI (0.082 \ub1 0.028, p < 0.001, r2 = 0.13). The innovative video-based technique of global, markerless gait analysis proposed in our study accurately identifies the main frequency contents and the variability of gait in healthy individuals, thus providing a time-efficient, low-cost means to quantitatively and qualitatively study human locomotion