Post-mortem analysis of cortical thickness and neuronal morphometry in autism.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a group of conditions characterized by a broad spectrum of deficiencies related to social communication, both verbal and non-verbal, as well as repetitive behaviors such as rocking back and forth, or arm flapping. This devastating group of disorders affects millions of people regardless of their socioeconomic, ethnic and racial backgrounds. Among other issues such as migraines, sensory deficits and intense aggression, epilepsy is a major neurological disorder very highly associated with ASD; roughly one third of all ASD patients are diagnosed with epilepsy, and a much higher proportion suffer from at least one seizure in their lifetime. Past neuropathological studies have suggested various deformities in the brains of ASD patients, ranging from abnormal brain volume, and head circumference, to the presence of atrophy and cortical dysplasias, such as heterotopias. Other more cellular abnormalities have also been speculated, including neurotransmitter imbalances, as well as neuron proliferation and organization disturbances. Though many intricate techniques have been attempted in order to investigate the etiology and potential treatments of ASD pathology, the results have been inconclusive and highly arguable. This especially applies to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of cortical thickness, which have produced highly questionable and inconsistent information; researchers have attributed this to the potential instability of the mode of research. Due to the limitations on the resolution of MRI, it is difficult to directly compute the location of the pial surface, which creates difficulty in delineating the cortical gray matter from the subcortical white matter. The goal of our study was to indentify cortical dysplasias, and then to analyze the neuromorphology of the same areas. In order to accomplish this, we retrieved post-mortem tissue from the Autism Tissue Program, and measured the cortical thickness by solving the Laplace equation, followed by the application of the Boolean model and granulometry to determine the potential abnormalities of ASD neuronal morphometry. We found multiple dysplasias in various brain regions, predominantly within the pre-frontal cortex, which correlated nicely with the symptomology of ASD. The anterior commissure (AC) served as the landmark to delineate the prefrontal cortex; when compared with neurotypical tissue, the ASD tissue was thinner surrounding the AC. Upon further analysis of the dysplastic processes, our findings confirmed the presence of smaller, but more numerous pyramidal neurons in the ASD brain when compared with neurotypicals. These findings are also substantial in terms of explaining two of the more prominent issues associated with ASD: aggressive behavior and frequent seizures. Overall, the findings of the current study do support several previous reports and provides further evidence of problematic cortical development and ASD symptom manifestation

Exploring The Hidden Realms Of Global Biodiversity: Interesting Endophytic Yeast Flora From Floral Ovaries

Soil is considered the ultimate reservoir of all the microbiota and specifically the yeasts. However their association with different plant organs and at different developmental stages is not fully explored. Although about 1000 yeast species have been identified, exploration of various microhabitats such as plant storage organs, flowers, nectar, and tree sap is expected to yield a large number of novel species, including interesting endophytic yeasts(Carlos & Gabor, 2006). Angiosperms are considered the most diverse group of the plant kingdom comprising of about 250,000 species (Kenrick, 1999). As part of an exhaustive exploration of yeasts associated with angiosperm flowers, specific attention was paid to floral ovaries to detect the presence of endophytic yeast flora. A total of 52 flower species belonging to 25 families were sampled and screened for endophytic yeasts. Altogether ten viable yeast strains were obtained from seven flower species

Wettability changes in polyether impression materials subjected to immersion disinfection

Background: Disinfection of impression materials prevents cross-contamination; however, the disinfectants may alter the wettability property. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the wettability changes of polyether impression material after immersing in four different chemical disinfectant solutions for a period of 10 min and 30 min, respectively. Materials and Methods: A total of 45 samples of polyether dental impression material (Impregum soft, 3MESPE, St. Paul, MN, USA) were randomly divided into nine groups with five specimens each. Each specimen was disc shaped, flat of 32 mm diameter and 3 mm thickness. The samples were immersed in four disinfectant solutions: 2% Glutaraldehyde, 5% sodium hypochlorite, 0.05% iodophor, and 5.25% phenol for 10 min and 30 min, respectively. The control was without disinfection. Wettability of the samples was assessed by measuring the contact angle by using the Telescopic Goniometer. Data were subjected to analysis of variance (Fisher′s test) and Tukey′s post hoc test for multiple comparisons at 5% level of significance. Results: The contact angle of 20.21° ± 0.22° were recorded in the control samples. After 10 min, the samples that were immersed in 5% sodium hypochlorite and 5.25% phenol showed significant statistical increase in the contact angle as compared to the control (P < 0.001). After 30 min of disinfection, only the samples immersed in 0.05% iodophor showed there were no significant changes in the contact angle, whereas the other disinfectants significantly increased the contact angle and decreased the wettability of the polyether material. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the study, 2% glutaraldehyde proved safe for 10 min of immersion disinfection while 0.05% iodophor holds promise as an effective disinfectant without affecting the wettability of the material

Association of guideline-concordant initial systemic treatment with clinical and economic outcomes among older women with metastatic breast cancer in the United States

Purpose: We examined guideline-concordant initial systemic treatment among women with metastatic breast cancer, its predictors, and if guideline-concordant treatment was associated with mortality, healthcare utilization and Medicare expenditures. Methods: This retrospective observational cohort study was conducted using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, End Results-Medicare linked database. Women aged 66–90 years diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer during 2010–2013 (N = 1282) were included. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network treatment guidelines were used to determine the guideline-concordant initial systemic treatment following cancer diagnosis. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine significant predictors of guideline-concordant treatment. Generalized linear regressions were used to examine the association between guideline-concordant treatment and healthcare utilization and average monthly Medicare expenditures. Results: About 74% of the study cohort received guideline-concordant initial systemic treatment. Women who received guideline-concordant treatment were significantly more likely to be comparatively younger (p \u3c 0.05), were married/partnered (p = 0.0038), had HER2 positive tumors, and had good performance status. Adjusted hazards ratios for all-cause (2.364, p \u3c 0.0001) and breast-cancer specific mortality (2.179, p \u3c 0.0001) were higher for women who did not receive guideline-concordant treatment. Rates of healthcare utilization were also higher for women not receiving guideline-concordant treatment. Average monthly Medicare expenditures were 100.4% higher (95% confidence interval: $77.3%–126.5%) for women who did not receive guideline-concordant treatment compared to those who received guideline-concordant treatment (p \u3c 0.0001). Conclusion: One fourth of the study cohort did not receive guideline-concordant initial systemic treatment. Guideline-concordant initial treatment was associated with reduced mortality, and lower healthcare utilization and Medicare expenditures in women with metastatic breast cancer