Profile and pattern of histology specimen of thyroidectomy patients operated in Mankweng hospital, Limpopo province, South Africa

Object of study: To evaluate the histopathologic pattern of the thyroidectomy specimen in patients with goitre who underwent thyroidectomy operation at Mankweng Hospital and to review the profile of thyroid disease in relation to the age, gender & Distribution of thyroid disease which are referred to Mankweng hospital from the districts of Limpopo Province. The problem to be solved: The demographic profile of thyroidectomy patients in this hospital is identified. Hence outreach program can be initiated according to demographic profile. Main scientific results: Total of 62 patients analyzed: Male 2, female 60. Age range 15-70: District: Capricorn 23, Sekhukhune 33, Mopani 6. Histology: 62: Multinodular goitre 47, Papillary carcinoma 5: Hurtle cell carcinoma 3, colloid goitre 2, Diffuse colloid goitre 1, Cavernous haemangioma 1, follicular neoplasm 1, Hashimoto`s Thyroiditis 1, benign thyroid parenchyma with cyst 1 The area of practical use of research results: General surgery department in Regional & Tertiary hospital An innovative technological product: Patient demographic profile for health outreach program. Scope of application of an innovative technological product: General surgery department

Series of rare cases of breast tumour: 8-year review at mankweng Breast Oncology clinic, Limpopo, South Africa

Breast cancer remains the most common cancer in many parts of the world, particularly for women. In March 2015, a Breast Oncology clinic for breast cancer patients was established at Mankweng Hospital. Invasive ductal carcinoma is the most common (87 %) tumour found in Limpopo, and occasionally, another rare tumour of the breast is presented in the Breast Oncology clinic. The aim: The main objective is to share the experience of a rare tumour of the breast came across over the past 8 years since the establishment of the Breast Oncology clinic. Material and Method: Series of rare case reports of Breast tumours and literature review from the Mankweng Breast Oncology Clinic. Result: Rare tumour encountered in Breast Oncology clinic: adenomyoepithelioma, micro-papillary carcinoma of the breast, primary malignant melanoma of the breast, primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the bilateral breast, advanced breast cancer in a case of Down's syndrome, primary neuroendocrine invasive breast carcinoma, sarcoma of the breast. Conclusions: Most of these rare cases are presented to the Breast Oncology clinic in the advanced stage. Breast cancer awareness campaign is highly important for women in Limpopo, particularly when attending primary health care for any other conditions

Factors influencing of professional nurse resignation from Mankwneg Academic Hospital, Limpopo, South Africa

Professional nurses are registered nurses who provide comprehensive nursing treatment and care to patients at various levels of health care. Intentions to quit a job are frequently associated with employee motivation and job satisfaction factors. It has been observed that some of the health professional nurses are quitting Mankweng academic hospital more frequently and which is affecting the service delivery. There is no research done regarding the turnover of the Professional nurse from this institution. The aim: The main objective of the study is to figure out what factors concern Professional nurses to quit Mankweng Hospital. Material & methods: The study was a retrospective cross-sectional descriptive quantitative design to analyze the profile of all Professional nurses who quit Mankweng Academic Hospital for 5 years from January 2018 to December 2022. Result: A total of 47 professional nurses resigned over 5 years from different departments. Lack of promotions (34 %) was the key reason which made professional nurses quit their job at Mankweng Hospital. Poor working conditions (12.8 %) and work-related stress (12.8 %) are other important reasons for resigning. Conclusions: Lacks of promotions, poor working conditions, and work-related stress are important factors responsible for quitting jobs. Increased staffing, employee support, and enhanced promotion are vital to address to retain the employe

Primary tuberculosis of the breast from mankweng hospital

Object of study: To share our experience with a rare case of Primary Tuberculosis of Breast. The problem to be solved: Tuberculosis of the breast is a rare type of extrapulmonary tuberculosis and usually affects young lactating multiparous women. It accounts for less than 0.1 % of all breast pathologies. Tuberculosis of the breast is often misdiagnosed. Therefore, a high index of suspicion is needed when evaluating cases of breast abscesses, fistulae, or mass. Main scientific results: A case of a 27-year-old female with no known co-morbidities, HIV negative who presented to our Surgical Outpatient Department with a 1-year history of a painless left breast lump. No previous history of pulmonary tuberculosis was reported. Breasts ultrasonography indicated BIRADS (Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System) V: lesion highly suspicious of malignancy. Histopathological analysis of the core biopsy showed features of a necrotizing granulomatous mastitis with adjacent fat necrosis. Ziehl-Neelsen stain was negative though histological results were worrisome of a mycobacterial infection. Patient responded well to antitubercular therapy as evidenced by lump regression, ulceration healed, peau d’orage currently resolved, and the overall size of the breast is going back to its normal state. The area of practical use of research results: Family medicine physicians, Primary health care center, District level or regional level hospital. An innovative technological product: a high index of suspicion tuberculosis is needed when evaluating cases of breast abscesses, fistulae, or mass. Awareness of this condition is important as it can clinically, and radiologically mimic breast carcinoma. Scope of application of an innovative technological product: Family medicine physicians, Primary health care center

Chitosan biopolymer improves the fruit quality of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.)

Chitosan (CHT) is a natural compound that has been used to control postharvest pathogenic diseases due to its capability of eliciting natural defense responses in plants. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of foliar CHT application on yield and quality of the litchi fruit. Chitosan was applied by spraying on to fruit and foliage just after fruit set four times at 7-day intervals with four varying doses viz. 100, 250, 500, and 1,000 µg L−1 and a control (0 µg L−1). Although the application of CHT had no significant effect on the size of the fruits (length and width), the total contents of phenolics, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid and the antioxidant activity of litchi fruit arils were significantly increased in CHT-treated fruit compared with the untreated control. The highest phenolic, flavonoid, and ascorbic acid contents were 334 µg gallic acid g−1, 881 μg quercetin g−1, and 178 µg g−1, respectively, in fruits treated with 500 µg L−1 CHT. However, the highest antioxidant activity (622 μg butylated hydroxytoluene g−1) was recorded in 250 µg L−1 CHT-treated fruits. Our findings revealed that the application of low doses of CHT in a litchi orchard might improve fruit quality by increasing the content of antioxidants and antioxidant activities

Psychotherapy as a treatment modality for psychiatric disorders: Perceptions of general public of Karachi, Pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Psychiatric disorders affect about 450 million individuals worldwide. A number of treatment modalities such as psychotropic medications, psychotherapy and electroconvulsive therapy can be used to treat these disorders. Attitudes of general public play a pivotal role in effective utilization of mental health services. We explored the perceptions of general public of Karachi, Pakistan regarding psychotherapy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan during July-August, 2008. A three-step sampling strategy and a structured questionnaire were employed to survey knowledge and perceptions of adult general public about psychotherapy. Descriptive statistics were used for baseline characteristics. Logistic regression models were used to investigate any significant associations between baseline characteristics of the participants and their perceptions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study sample comprised of 985 individuals (536 males; 531 financially independent) with an average age of 36.7 years (SD 13.54 years) and 12.5 years (SD 3.09 years) of education were included. Majority (59.4%; n = 585) claimed to be aware of psychotherapy as a treatment option for psychiatric disorders but 47.5% of these (n = 278/585) failed to identify its correct definition. Concerns voiced by the participants about psychotherapy included stigma (48.7%) and breech in confidentiality (39.5%); 60.7% opined it cost effective and 86.5% favored its use as an adjuvant modality. A preference for psychotherapy as the treatment strategy for psychiatric disorders was demonstrated by 46.6% (n = 459/985). Younger, more educated, financially independent and female participants were more likely to prefer psychotherapy as were those who deemed it cost effective.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Positive attitudes regarding the acceptability, clinical utility and cost-effectiveness of psychotherapy were observed in a sample representative of general public of Karachi, Pakistan. These findings highlight its potential utility for devising pragmatic mental health strategies in the face of limited resources.</p

Up-regulation of cell cycle arrest protein BTG2 correlates with increased overall survival in breast cancer, as detected by immunohistochemistry using tissue microarray

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies have shown that the <it>ADIPOR1</it>, <it>ADORA1</it>, <it>BTG2 </it>and <it>CD46 </it>genes differ significantly between long-term survivors of breast cancer and deceased patients, both in levels of gene expression and DNA copy numbers. The aim of this study was to characterize the expression of the corresponding proteins in breast carcinoma and to determine their correlation with clinical outcome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Protein expression was evaluated using immunohistochemistry in an independent breast cancer cohort of 144 samples represented on tissue microarrays. Fisher's exact test was used to analyze the differences in protein expression between dead and alive patients. We used Cox-regression multivariate analysis to assess whether the new markers predict the survival status of the patients better than the currently used markers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>BTG2 expression was demonstrated in a significantly lower proportion of samples from dead patients compared to alive patients, both in overall expression (<it>P </it>= 0.026) and cell membrane specific expression (<it>P </it>= 0.013), whereas neither ADIPOR1, ADORA1 nor CD46 showed differential expression in the two survival groups. Furthermore, a multivariate analysis showed that a model containing BTG2 expression in combination with HER2 and Ki67 expression along with patient age performed better than a model containing the currently used prognostic markers (tumour size, nodal status, HER2 expression, hormone receptor status, histological grade, and patient age). Interestingly, BTG2 has previously been described as a tumour suppressor gene involved in cell cycle arrest and p53 signalling.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that high-level BTG2 protein expression correlates with prolonged survival in patients with breast carcinoma.</p

2D-DIGE as a strategy to identify serum biomarkers in Mexican patients with Type-2 diabetes with different body mass index

"Obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are the most prevalent and serious metabolic diseases affecting people worldwide. However racial and ethnic disparities seems to be a risk factor for their development. Mexico has been named as one of the largest populations with the highest prevalence of diabetes and obesity. The aim of this study was to identify novel T2D-associated proteins in Mexican patients. Blood samples were collected from 62 Mexican patients with T2D and they were grouped according to their body mass index (BMI). A panel of 10 diabetes and obesity serum markers was determined using MAGPIX. A comparative proteomics study was performed using two-dimensional difference in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) followed by mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We detected 113 spots differentially accumulated, in which 64 unique proteins were identified, proteins that were involved in metabolism pathways, molecular transport, and cellular signalling. Four proteins (14-3-3, ApoH, ZAG, and OTO3) showing diabetes-related variation and also changes in relation to obesity were selected for further validation by western blotting. Our results reveal new diabetes related proteins present in the Mexican population. These could provide additional insight into the understanding of diabetes development in Mexican population and may also be useful candidate biomarkers.

Genome-wide analyses of individual differences in quantitatively assessed reading- and language-related skills in up to 34,000 people

The use of spoken and written language is a fundamental human capacity. Individual differences in reading- and language-related skills are influenced by genetic variation, with twin-based heritability estimates of 30 to 80% depending on the trait. The genetic architecture is complex, heterogeneous, and multifactorial, but investigations of contributions of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were thus far underpowered. We present a multicohort genome-wide association study (GWAS) of five traits assessed individually using psychometric measures (word reading, nonword reading, spelling, phoneme awareness, and nonword repetition) in samples of 13,633 to 33,959 participants aged 5 to 26 y. We identified genome-wide significant association with word reading (rs11208009, P = 1.098 × 10−8) at a locus that has not been associated with intelligence or educational attainment. All five reading-/language-related traits showed robust SNP heritability, accounting for 13 to 26% of trait variability. Genomic structural equation modeling revealed a shared genetic factor explaining most of the variation in word/nonword reading, spelling, and phoneme awareness, which only partially overlapped with genetic variation contributing to nonword repetition, intelligence, and educational attainment. A multivariate GWAS of word/nonword reading, spelling, and phoneme awareness maximized power for follow-up investigation. Genetic correlation analysis with neuroimaging traits identified an association with the surface area of the banks of the left superior temporal sulcus, a brain region linked to the processing of spoken and written language. Heritability was enriched for genomic elements regulating gene expression in the fetal brain and in chromosomal regions that are depleted of Neanderthal variants. Together, these results provide avenues for deciphering the biological underpinnings of uniquely human traits