Coordinated Increased Expression of Cyclooxygenase2 and Nuclear Factor κB Is a Steady Feature of Urinary Bladder Carcinogenesis

Objectives. The inescapable relationship between chronic inflammation and carcinogenesis has long been established. Our objective was to investigate COX-2 and NF-κB immunohistochemical expression in a large series of normal epithelium and bladder carcinomas. Methods. Immunohistochemical methodology was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections from urinary bladder carcinomas of 140 patients (94 males and 46 females with bladder carcinomas). Results. COX-2 expression is increased in the cytoplasm of bladder cells, during loss of cell differentiation (rs = 0.61, P-value < .001) and in muscle invasive carcinomas (P-value < .001). A strong positive association between tumor grade and nuclear expression of NFκB has been established. A positive correlation between COX-2 and nuclear NFκB immunoreactivity was observed. Conclusions. The possible coordinated upregulation of NFκB and COX-2, during bladder carcinogenesis, indicates that agents inhibitors of these two molecules may represent a possible new treatment strategy, by virtue of their role in bladder carcinogenesis

Successful Treatment of Lichen Striatus With Occlusive Imiquimod 5% Cream

Lichen striatus is an uncommon acquired linear inflammatory skin disorder, that preferentially occurs in children. We report a 15-year-old girl with a 16-month history of lichen striatus. Topical application of imiquimod 5% cream twice-daily under occlusion led to resolution of the intense pruritus within 6 days of treatment and to complete remission of the cutaneous lesions after 5 weeks of treatment. The patient experienced no local or systemic side effects. She has been followed-up for 13 months and revealed no evidence of recurrence. Topical imiquimod may be an effective and safe alternative treatment for recalcitrant lichen striatus

Η Μεταγνώση ως βοηθητικό εργαλείο εκμάθησης του ταμπουρά στο Μουσικό Σχολείο σε συνθήκες εξ αποστάσεως εκπαίδευσης.

Η μελέτη αυτή πραγματοποιήθηκε στο πλαίσιο εκπόνησης μεταπτυχιακής διπλωματικής εργασίας και προέκυψε από τον προβληματισμό που δημιούργησε η παρατήρηση δυσκολιών που αντιμετωπίζουν μαθητές των Μουσικών Σχολείων κατά την υποχρεωτική εκμάθηση του ταμπουρά, ως όργανο αναφοράς της ελληνικής παραδοσιακής μουσικής. Η σημασία της Μεταγνώσης ως προς τη μάθηση, όπως προκύπτει μέσα από την επιστημονική βιβλιογραφία, παράλληλα με τη μακρόχρονη διδακτική μου εμπειρία, επέτρεψαν την υπόθεση μιας συσχέτισης της Μεταγνώσης με τη βελτίωση της επίδοσης στην εκμάθηση του ταμπουρά, στο Μουσικό Σχολείο. Κύριο στόχο της εργασίας αποτέλεσε η ανίχνευση μεταγνωστικών «εργαλείων», με την υπόθεση πως αν υιοθετηθούν από μαθητές, ως στρατηγικές μάθησης, θα μπορούσαν να προσφέρουν στη μαθησιακή διαδικασία, βελτιώνοντας την επίδοσή τους στον ταμπουρά. Η συνθήκη της εξ αποστάσεως εκπαίδευσης, που επέβαλλε ο έκτακτος παράγοντας της πανδημίας της Covid-19, εστίασε το ενδιαφέρον της εργασίας στην Αυτορρύθμιση καθώς, ως μεταγνωστική δεξιότητα, θα μπορούσε να ενισχύσει το επίπεδο αυτο-οργάνωσης των μαθητών, και να τους βοηθήσει στην εξ αποστάσεως μάθηση. Για την ανάπτυξη της αυτορρυθμιστικής δεξιότητας των μαθητών, επιλέχθηκαν ως «εργαλεία» η χρήση βίντεο και το αναστοχαστικό δοκίμιο. Η ερευνητική υπόθεση εξετάστηκε με τη μέθοδο της μελέτης περίπτωσης, σε δείγμα 12 μαθητών των α΄ και β΄ τάξεων του γυμνασίου. Η πρόοδος των μαθητών αξιολογήθηκε μέσα από τις βαθμολογικές επιδόσεις των τετραμήνων και μέσω βίντεο από όπου μπορούσε να αξιολογηθεί η εκτελεστική τους ικανότητα στον ταμπουρά, πριν και μετά την πειραματική διαδικασία. Το πρώτο ακαδημαϊκό τετράμηνο αποτέλεσε τη συνθήκη ελέγχου ενώ το δεύτερο, την πειραματική συνθήκη. Η ποιοτική ανάλυση των δεδομένων, επιβεβαίωσε εν μέρει την υπόθεση της εργασίας. Ωστόσο, παρά την πρόοδο που παρατηρήθηκε στην επίδοση των μαθητών στον ταμπουρά, οι περιορισμοί της έρευνας δεν επέτρεψαν μια γενικευμένη σύνδεση με τη Μεταγνώση.This study was carried out in the context of a master&apos;s thesis and stems from the observation of the difficulties faced by students at Music Schools, during the compulsory learning of the tampoura, as an instrument in support of Greek traditional music. Based on the importance of Metacognition in terms of learning, as highlighted through the scientific literature, and while leveraging my teaching experience, I attempted to demonstrate that the use of metacognitive techniques could result in increased with effectiveness in the learning of the instrument. The main goal of this study was to find metacognitive &quot;tools&quot; which, if adopted as learning strategies by the students, could both facilitate the learning process on the tampoura and improve their performance in the subject. The distance learning imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic narrowed the scope of the study to Self-regulation which, as a metacognitive skill, could enhance students&apos; level of self-organization and thereby lead to success in the distance learning environment. The development of student’s self-regulatory skills was attempted through the use of two such &quot;tools&quot;: videos and reflective reports. The research question was investigated through a case study, with a sample of twelve seventh and eighth grade students. Their development was measured through a comparison of the grades they attained each term, and through videos where their progress on the instrument before and after the experiment could be seen. The first academic term acted as the control condition and the second as the experimental one. The qualitative analysis of the research data partially confirmed the hypothesis. However, despite the progress in the students&apos; performance, research limitations did not allow for a generalized connection to Metacognition

Contemporary Grading of Prostate Cancer: The Impact of Grading Criteria and the Significance of the Amount of Intraductal Carcinoma

(1) Background: Prognostic grade group (PGG) is an important prognostic parameter in prostate cancer that guides therapeutic decisions. The cribriform pattern and intraductal carcinoma (IDC) are two histological patterns, that have additional prognostic significance. However, discrepancies exist regarding the handling of IDC according to the guidelines published by two international genitourinary pathology societies. Furthermore, whether, in addition to its presence, the amount of IDC is also of importance has not been studied before. Lastly, the handling of tertiary patterns has also been a matter of debate in the literature. (2) Methods: A total of 129 prostatectomy cases were retrieved and a detailed histopathologic analysis was performed. (3) Results: Two cases (1.6%) upgraded their PGG, when IDC was incorporated in the grading system. The presence and the amount of IDC, as well as the presence of cribriform carcinoma were associated with adverse pathologic characteristics. Interestingly, in six cases (4.7%) there was a difference in PGG when using the different guidelines regarding the handling of tertiary patterns. In total, 6.2% of the cases would be assigned a different grade depending on the guidelines followed. (4) Conclusions: These findings highlight a potential area of confusion among pathologists and clinicians and underscore the need for a consensus grading system

Elucidating the role of PRMTs in prostate cancer using open access databases and a patient cohort dataset

Protein arginine methylation is an understudied epigenetic mechanism catalyzed by enzymes known as Protein Methyltransferases of Arginine (PRMTs), while the opposite reaction is performed by Jumonji domain- containing protein 6 (JMJD6). There is increasing evidence that PRMTs are deregulated in prostate cancer (PCa). In this study, the expression of two PRMT members, PRMT2 and PRMT7 as well as JMJD6, a demethylase, was analyzed in PCa. Initially, we retrieved data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to explore the differential expression of various PRMT family members in patients with PCa and then applied immunohistochemistry in a patient cohort across the spectrum of PCa, including non-neoplastic prostate tissue and lymph node metastatic foci. The results from the TCGA analysis revealed that PRMT7, PRMT6 and PRMT3 expression increased while PRMT2, PRMT9 and JMJD6 levels decreased in the tumor compared to non-neoplastic prostate. Results from the GEO datasets were similar, albeit not identical with the TCGA results, with PRMT7 and PRMT3 being upregulated and PRMT2 and JMJD6 being downregulated in the tumor compared to non-neoplastic tissue in some of them. In addition, PRMT7 levels decreased with stage and grade progression in the TCGA analysis. In the patient cohort, both PRMTs and JMJD6 were overexpressed in PCa compared to non-neoplastic tissue, and nuclear PRMT2 and JMJD6 were upregulated in lymph node metastasis, too. PRMT7 and JMJD6 expression were upregulated with the progression of stage and JMJD6 was also increased with the elevation of grade. After androgen ablation therapy, nuclear expression of PRMT7 and JMJD6 were elevated compared to untreated tumors. PRMT2, PRMT7 and JMD6 were also correlated with markers of EMT and cell cycle regulators. Finally, our findings indicate that PRMTs and JMJD6 are involved in prostate cancer progression and revealed a potential interplay of PRMTs with EMT mediators, underscoring the need for therapeutic targeting of arginine methylation in prostate cancer