mRNA expression of the DNA replication-initiation proteins in epithelial dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The tongue squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are characterized by high mitotic activity, and early detection is desirable. Overexpression of the DNA replication-initiation proteins has been associated with dysplasia and malignancy. Our aim was to determine whether these proteins are useful biomarkers for assessing the development of tongue SCC.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analyzed the mRNA expression of CDC6, CDT1, MCM2 and CDC45 in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded benign and malignant tongue tissues using quantitative real-time PCR followed by statistical analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that the expression levels are significantly higher in malignant SCC than mild precancerous epithelial dysplasia, and the expression levels in general increase with increasing grade of precancerous lesions from mild, moderate to severe epithelial dysplasia. CDC6 and CDC45 expression is dependent of the dysplasia grade and lymph node status. CDT1 expression is higher in severe dysplasia than in mild and moderate dysplasia. MCM2 expression is dependent of the dysplasia grade, lymph node status and clinical stage. The expression of the four genes is independent of tumor size or histological grade. A simple linear regression analysis revealed a linear increase in the mRNA levels of the four genes from the mild to severe dysplasia and SCC. A strong association was established between CDC6 and CDT1, and between MCM2 and CDC45 expression. The nonparametric receiver operating characteristic analysis suggested that MCM2 and CDC45 had a higher accuracy than CDC6 and CDT1 for distinguishing dysplasia from tongue SCC.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These proteins can be used as biomarkers to distinguish precancerous dysplasia from SCC and are useful for early detection and diagnosis of SCC as an adjunct to clinicopathological parameters.</p

The Effect of Science Centres on Students' Attitudes Towards Science

The study, carried out in Ankara, Turkey, examined the effect of Middle East Technical University's Science Centre (METU SC) on students' attitudes towards science. The sample consisted of 251 students. The age range of the students varied from 11 to 14. The attitude scale was administered before, immediately after, and one week after a visit to METU SC. Because of the limitations on sampling procedure, two different research designs were used. Design 1 was a quasi-experimental design and arranged to determine the impact of METU SC on sixth graders' attitudes towards science with respect to the six constructs of the attitude scale, namely ‘Learning science in school’, ‘Self-concept in school science’, ‘Practical work in school science’, ‘Science outside of school’, ‘Future participation in science’, and ‘Importance of science’. Design 2 was a weak experimental design and arranged to determine the impact of METU SC on students' overall attitudes towards science with respect to their gender, grade levels, and science achievement levels. The results of this study suggest that science centres might have high potential on increasing students' attitudes towards science in all dimensions of the attitude scale, except for ‘Practical work in school science’. Furthermore, this increase is independent of gender, science achievement, and grade levels. Also, considering that this achievement was accomplished in quite a short time, science centres can be used by educators as an effective way of increasing students' attitudes towards science.Peer Reviewe

A retrospective propensity-score-matched cohort study of the impact of procalcitonin testing on antibiotic use in hospitalized patients during the first wave of COVID-19

Background Procalcitonin (PCT) is a blood marker used to help diagnose bacterial infections and guide antibiotic treatment. PCT testing was widely used/adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Objectives Primary: to measure the difference in length of early (during first 7 days) antibiotic prescribing between patients with COVID-19 who did/did not have baseline PCT testing during the first wave of the pandemic. Secondary: to measure differences in length of hospital/ICU stay, mortality, total days of antibiotic prescribing and resistant bacterial infections between these groups. Methods Multi-centre, retrospective, observational, cohort study using patient-level clinical data from acute hospital Trusts/Health Boards in England/Wales. Inclusion: patients ≥16 years, admitted to participating Trusts/Health Boards and with a confirmed positive COVID-19 test between 1 February 2020 and 30 June 2020. Results Data from 5960 patients were analysed: 1548 (26.0%) had a baseline PCT test and 4412 (74.0%) did not. Using propensity-score matching, baseline PCT testing was associated with an average reduction in early antibiotic prescribing of 0.43 days [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.22–0.64 days, P < 0.001) and of 0.72 days (95% CI: 0.06–1.38 days, P = 0.03] in total antibiotic prescribing. Baseline PCT testing was not associated with increased mortality or hospital/ICU length of stay or with the rate of antimicrobial-resistant secondary bacterial infections. Conclusions Baseline PCT testing appears to have been an effective antimicrobial stewardship tool early in the pandemic: it reduced antibiotic prescribing without evidence of harm. Our study highlights the need for embedded, rapid evaluations of infection diagnostics in the National Health Service so that even in challenging circumstances, introduction into clinical practice is supported by evidence for clinical utility