Endometrial polyps in postmenopausal women

The malignancy risk of endometrial polyps in postmenopausal women was correlated with the presence or absence of abnormal uterine bleeding. Of 481 postmenopausal women who presented with endometrial polyps at diagnostic hysteroscopy between 2004 and 2007, 48.9% were asymptomatic and 51.1% had postmenopausal uterine bleeding. Transvaginal ultrasound revealed abnormal endometrial thickness in 60.0% vs. 57.7%, polyps in 37.9% vs. 32.9%, endometrial tumors in 1.3% vs. 0.8%, and submucosal myomas in 0.9% vs. 2.0% by the absence or presence of bleeding. Around three-fourth of the polyps were removed. Histopathologic diagnoses showed mucous polyps in 93.7 of asymptomatic women compared to 80.7% of those with bleeding, while endometrial tumors were only seen in those bleeding (7.2%). The malignancy risk within endometrial polyps in postmenopausal women varies with the presence of vaginal bleeding, and is minimal in asymptomatic women

Head-to-head comparison of two online nomograms for prostate biopsy outcome prediction

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2b. What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? In recent years, several nomograms were developed in an effort to decrease the number of unnecessary prostate biopsies. The European SWOP-PRI and the North American PCPT are among the most popular. However, evidence on the relative predictive accuracy is lacking. A head-to-head comparison on the diagnostic accuracy of two previously validated prostate cancer risk predictors on biopsy confirmed the superiority of these tools over PSA alone. Moreover, in the studied population, the European SWOP-PRI proved to be more accurate than the North American PCPT-CRC. OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of two previously validated prostate cancer risk predictors on biopsy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In total, 390 consecutive patients submitted to 10-core systematic transrectal prostate biopsy at our institution were included in this retrospective study. External validation of a European (European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer derived Prostate Risk Indicator; SWOP-PRI) and a North American (Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial Cancer Risk Calculator; PCPT-CRC) nomogram was performed. The predictive accuracy of these online available nomograms was calculated based on the area under the curve derived from receiver-operator characteristic curves and then compared using the DeLong method. RESULTS: Both tools were confirmed to be superior to prostate-specific antigen alone. Moreover, the SWOP-PRI (77.9%) displays a 7.96% increase in the predictive accuracy compared to the PCPT-CRC (69.9%) in a statistically significant fashion (P=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in the present study confirm the utility of nomograms with respect to biopsy outcome prediction in patients with suspicion of prostate cancer. In the current sample of patients, the European-based nomogram appears to be more accurate than the North American nonogram, which lacks information regarding prostate volume and prostatic ultrasonographic lesions. • To our knowledge, this is the first study to compare the accuracy of these popular risk calculators in a specific population

Autoimmune Pancreatitis with Associated Ulcerative Colitis in a Teenager

Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a rare entity that is extremely uncommon in children. Its diagnosis is also a clinical challenge. This form of chronic pancreatitis often presents itself with obstructive jaundice and/or a pancreatic mass and it is sometimes misdiagnosed as pancreatic cancer. We describe the case of a 13-year-old boy with obstructive jaundice and a 4 cm mass in the head of the pancreas that was diagnosed as AIP with associated ulcerative colitis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estabilidade oxidativa de biodiesel de ésteres etílicos de ácidos graxos de soja

Biodiesel consists of long-chain fatty acid esters, derived from renewable sources such as vegetable oils, and its utilization is associated to the substitution of the diesel oil in engines. Depending on the raw material, biodiesel can contain more or less unsaturated fatty acids in its composition, which are susceptible to oxidation reactions accelerated by exposition to oxygen and high temperatures, being able to change into polymerized compounds. The objective of this work was to determine the oxidative stability of biodiesel produced by ethanolysis of neutralized, refined, soybean frying oil waste, and partially hydrogenated soybean frying oil waste. The evaluation was conducted by means of the Rancimat® equipment, at temperatures of 100 and 105ºC, with an air flow of 20 L h-1. The fatty acid composition was determined by GC and the iodine value was calculated. It was observed that even though the neutralized, refined and waste frying soybean oils presented close comparable iodine values, biodiesel presented different oxidative stabilities. The biodiesel from neutralized soybean oil presented greater stability, followed by the refined and the frying waste. Due to the natural antioxidants in its composition, the neutralized soybean oil promoted a larger oxidative stability of the produced biodiesel. During the deodorization process, the vegetable oils lose part of these antioxidants, therefore the biodiesel from refined soybean oil presented a reduced stability. The thermal process degrades the antioxidants, thus the biodiesel from frying waste oil resulted in lower stability, the same occuring with the biodiesel from partially hydrogenated waste oil, even though having lower iodine values than the other.Biodiesel consiste em ésteres de ácidos graxos de cadeia longa, proveniente de fontes renováveis como óleos vegetais, e sua utilização está associada à substituição do diesel em motores. Dependendo da matéria-prima, o biodiesel pode conter mais ou menos ácidos graxos insaturados em sua composição, que são suscetíveis a reações de oxidação aceleradas pela exposição ao oxigênio e altas temperaturas, podendo resultar em compostos poliméricos prejudiciais ao motor. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a estabilidade oxidativa do biodiesel obtido pela etanólise dos óleos de soja neutro, refinado, usado em fritura, e óleo parcialmente hidrogenado usado em fritura. A avaliação foi feita através do equipamento Rancimat®, nas temperaturas de 100 e 105ºC, com fluxo de ar de 20 L h-1. A composição em ácidos graxos foi determinada por CG e o índice de iodo calculado. Embora os óleos de soja neutro, refinado e usado em fritura apresentassem índices de iodo próximos, a estabilidade oxidativa do biodiesel comportou-se de maneira distinta. O biodiesel de óleo neutro apresentou maior estabilidade, seguido pelo refinado e usado em fritura. Por conter antioxidantes naturais em sua composição, o óleo neutro de soja proporcionou uma estabilidade oxidativa maior ao biodiesel produzido. O proveniente de óleo refinado - que pelo processo de desodorização perde parte destes antioxidantes - apresentou menor estabilidade. O processo térmico degrada os antioxidantes, resultando em menor estabilidade ao biodiesel de óleo de fritura, ocorrendo o mesmo com o biodiesel de óleo hidrogenado usado em fritura, embora este apresentasse índice de iodo inferior aos demais

Three-dimensional culture of single embryonic stem-derived neural/stem progenitor cells in fibrin hydrogels: neuronal network formation and matrix remodelling

In an attempt to improve the efficacy of neural stem/progenitor cell (NSPC) based therapies, fibrin hydrogels are being explored to provide a favourable microenvironment for cell survival and differentiation following transplantation. In the present work, the ability of fibrin to support the survival, proliferation, and neuronal differentiation of NSPCs derived from embryonic stem (ES) cells under monolayer culture was explored. Single mouse ES-NSPCs were cultured within fibrin (fibrinogen concentration: 6 mg/ml) under neuronal differentiation conditions up to 14 days. The ES-NSPCs retained high cell viability and proliferated within small-sized spheroids. Neuronal differentiation was confirmed by an increase in the levels of ßIII-tubulin and NF200 over time. At day 14, cell-matrix constructs mainly comprised NSPCs and neurons (46.5% ßIII-tubulin + cells). Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic and dopaminergic/noradrenergic neurons were also observed, along with a network of synaptic proteins. The ES-NSPCs expressed matriptase and secreted MMP-2/9, with MMP-2 activity increasing along time. Fibronectin, laminin and collagen type IV deposition was also detected. Fibrin gels prepared with higher fibrinogen concentrations (8/10 mg/ml) were less permissive to neurite extension and neuronal differentiation, possibly owing to their smaller pore area and higher rigidity. Overall, it is shown that ES-NSPCs within fibrin are able to establish neuronal networks and to remodel fibrin through MMP secretion and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition. This three-dimensional (3D) culture system was also shown to support cell viability, neuronal differentiation and ECM deposition of human ES-NSPCs. The settled 3D platform is expected to constitute a valuable tool to develop fibrin-based hydrogels for ES-NSPC delivery into the injured central nervous system.The authors would like to acknowledge Prof. Domingos Henrique (Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Lisbon) for providing the ES 46C cell line. This work was supported by FEDER funds through the Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade – COMPETE (FCOMP‐01–0124‐FEDER‐021125) and by National funds FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (PTDC/SAU‐BMA/118869/2010). A.R.B. and M.J. Oliveira are supported by FCT (SFRH/BD/86200/2012; Investigator FCT)

Tribomechanical Comparison between PVA Hydrogels Obtained Using Different Processing Conditions and Human Cartilage

Designing materials for cartilage replacement raises several challenges due to the complexity of the natural tissue and its unique tribomechanical properties. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels have been explored for such purpose since they are biocompatible, present high chemical stability, and their properties may be tailored through different strategies. In this work, the influence of preparation conditions of PVA hydrogels on its morphology, water absorption capacity, thermotropic behavior, mechanical properties, and tribological performance was evaluated and compared with those of human cartilage (HC). The hydrogels were obtained by cast-drying (CD) and freeze-thawing (FT), in various conditions. It was found that the method of preparation of the PVA hydrogels critically affects their microstructure and performance. CD gels presented a denser structure, absorbed less water, were stiffer, dissipated less energy, and withstood higher loads than FT gels. Moreover, they led to friction coefficients against stainless steel comparable with those of HC. Overall, CD hydrogels had a closer performance to natural HC, when compared to FT ones.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ammonia scavenging agents for people with cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the benefits and harms of ammonia scavenging agents versus placebo, no intervention, or other active interventions for people with cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy

Impact of carvedilol on the mitochondrial damage induced by hypoxanthine and xantine oxidase: what role in myocardial ischemia and reperfusion?

OBJECTIVES: The cardioprotective effects of carvedilol (CV) may be explained in part by interactions with heart mitochondria. The objective of this work was to study the protection afforded by CV against oxidative stress induced in isolated heart mitochondria by hypoxanthine and xanthine oxidase (HX/XO), a well-known source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cardiovascular system. METHODS: Mitochondria were isolated from Wistar rat hearts (n = 8) and incubated with HX/XO in the presence and in the absence of calcium. Several methods were used to assess the protection afforded by CV: evaluation of mitochondrial volume changes (by measuring changes in the optical density of the mitochondrial suspension), calcium uptake and release (with a fluorescent probe, Calcium Green 5-N) and mitochondrial respiration (with a Clark-type oxygen electrode). RESULTS: CV decreased mitochondrial damage associated with ROS production by HX and XO, as verified by the reduction of mitochondrial swelling and increase in mitochondrial calcium uptake. In the presence of HX and XO, CV also ameliorated mitochondrial respiration in the active phosphorylation state and prevented decrease in the respiratory control ratio (p < 0.05) and in mitochondrial phosphorylative efficiency (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate that CV partly protected heart mitochondria from oxidative damage induced by HX and XO, which may be useful during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion. It is also suggested that mitochondria may be a priority target for the protective action of some compounds