Immunoreactivity of various peptides in typical and atypical bronchopulmonary carcinoid tumours.

The presence of a number of regulatory peptides (bombesin, gastrin, glucagon, somatostatin, calcitonin and ACTH) was compared in 30 typical carcinoid tumours and 27 well differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas (atypical carcinoids) using conventional immunocytochemistry. Strong immunostaining for one or more peptide was observed in 97% of the typical carcinoids (29/30) whereas only 67% of the neuroendocrine carcinomas showed immunoreactivity. The peptide most frequently detected in typical carcinoids was bombesin (67%), while gastrin was more common in neuroendocrine carcinomas (44%). Immunoreactivity for more than one peptide was present in 33 tumours and in three cases, six different peptides were detected. The study shows that immunoreactivity to various peptides is more common in typical carcinoids than well differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas. The significance of these findings is discussed

Complication Following percutaneous coronary intervention via the femoral artery Experience in lraqi center for the Heart Disease and lbn Al-Bitar Hospital for cardiac surgery.

Background: Vascular complications have been recognized as an important factor in morbidity after diagnostic and percutaneous coronary interventions. Objectives: This study sought to evaluate vascular complications after diagnostic coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) from the common femoral artery. Patients and methods: This prospective cohort study was carried out over a year period, from February 2008 till January 2009, at the Iraqi Center for the Heart Disease and Ibn Al-Bitar Hospital for Cardiac Surgery. A total number of 2400 patients underwent 3600 procedures, diagnostic coronary angiography (2196) and PCI(1404) via their common femoral arteries were included in this study. Result: A total 407(11.3%) patients developed different vascular complications (retroperitoneal hematoma, loss of distal pulse, arterial perforation each of them 0.03%, bruises 8.9%, pseudoaneurysm 0.69%, AV fistula 0.03%, hematoma ≥10cm 0.3% and <10cm 1.2%). We identified multiple factors associated with increased frequency of vascular complications like age, gender and past medical history. We have more frequent minor complications and more attendance to treat our complications surgically. Conclusions: This study has shown that the vascular complications continue to occur post PCI and diagnostic coronary angiography

Effects of waste frying oil and crumb rubber on the characteristics of a reclaimed asphalt pavement binder

The reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) has become a moderately common practice in most countries; Hence, rejuvenating materials with RAP have earned publicity in the asphalt manufacturers, mainly due to the increasing raw material costs. In this study, the crumb rubber (CR) and waste frying oil (WFO) utilized as waste materials to restore the properties and enhance the rutting resistance of the RAP. Several physical, rheological, chemical properties of bituminous binders were tested. The result showed that the RAP bituminous binders incorporating WFO and CR decreased softening points and the increased penetration value; these translate to an increase in penetration index. Moreover, the viscosity of the WFO/CR combination reclaimed asphalt pavement binder showed better workability and stiffness, as well as a low storage stability temperature (less than 2.2 degrees C) with an acceptable loss upon heating. Without chemical reaction was observed between the waste-frying oil with the rubberized binder and the reclaimed asphalt pavement binder. Additionally, the WFO/CR rheological properties combined with the reclaimed asphalt pavement binder were comparable to the control sample. The incorporation of CR with WFO as a hybrid rejuvenator enhanced the rutting resistance. Therefore, the presence of WFO/CR has a considerable influence on the RAP binder properties while preserving a better environment and reducing pollution by reusing waste materials

Increased expression of inducible co-stimulator on CD4+ T-cells in the peripheral blood and synovial fluid of patients with failed hip arthroplasties

OBJECTIVES: T-cells are considered to play an important role in the inflammatory response causing arthroplasty failure. The study objectives were to investigate the composition and distribution of CD4+ T-cell phenotypes in the peripheral blood (PB) and synovial fluid (SF) of patients undergoing revision surgery for failed metal-on-metal (MoM) and metal-on-polyethylene (MoP) hip arthroplasties, and in patients awaiting total hip arthroplasty. METHODS: In this prospective case-control study, PB and SF were obtained from 22 patients (23 hips) undergoing revision of MoM (n = 14) and MoP (n = 9) hip arthroplasties, with eight controls provided from primary hip osteoarthritis cases awaiting arthroplasty. Lymphocyte subtypes in samples were analysed using flow cytometry. RESULTS: The percentages of CD4+ T-cell subtypes in PB were not different between groups. The CD4+ T-cells in the SF of MoM hips showed a completely different distribution of phenotypes compared with that found in the PB in the same patients, including significantly decreased CD4+ T-central memory cells (p < 0.05) and increased T-effector memory cells (p < 0.0001) in the SF. Inducible co-stimulator (ICOS) was the only co-stimulatory molecule with different expression on CD4+ CD28+ cells between groups. In PB, ICOS expression was increased in MoM (p < 0.001) and MoP (p < 0.05) cases compared with the controls. In SF, ICOS expression was increased in MoM hips compared with MoP hips (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Increased expression of ICOS on CD4+ T-cells in PB and SF of patients with failed arthroplasties suggests that these cells are activated and involved in generating immune responses. Variations in ICOS expression between MoM and MoP hips may indicate different modes of arthroplasty failure. Cite this article: Professor P. A. Revell. Increased expression of inducible co-stimulator on CD4+ T-cells in the peripheral blood and synovial fluid of patients with failed hip arthroplasties. Bone Joint Res 2016;5:52–60. DOI: 10.1302/2046-3758.52.200057

Causes and risk factors for common mental illnesses : the beliefs of paediatric hospital staff in the United Arab Emirates

Background Children and adolescents with chronic physical health conditions are vulnerable to poor mental health outcomes. The measurement of mental health literacy of health professionals working with such populations is important because of their role in promoting early and appropriate help-seeking. This study sought to determine the beliefs regarding the causes of and risks factors for three types of mental illnesses amongst health professionals in United Arab Emirates. Method A culturally validated mental health literacy survey presenting three vignettes of fictional characters meeting diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder, depression with suicidal thoughts and psychosis was distributed. The survey measured health care professionals’ beliefs regarding the causes of and risk factors for these disorders. Results A total of 317 health care professional (> 90% nurses) were surveyed from across the UAE. Although 43.8% correctly endorsed exposure to a ‘traumatic event’ as the most likely cause for developing posttraumatic stress disorder, there was a more limited understanding of the contribution of biopsychosocial factors to the development of the mental illness, particularly for psychosis. Participant socio-demographic variables were associated with attributions of religious or spiritual beliefs and personal weakness as causal and/or vulnerability factors in the development of depression with suicidal thoughts and psychosis. Conclusions Efforts to improve mental health systems and health care providers in UAE and other similar Middle Eastern countries requires targeted mental health literacy programs that seek to integrate biopsychosocial models of mental illness and their treatment with the positive aspects of religious and cultural beliefs that are dominant in this region

A Homozygous Mutation in the Tight-Junction Protein JAM3 Causes Hemorrhagic Destruction of the Brain, Subependymal Calcification, and Congenital Cataracts

The tight junction, or zonula occludens, is a specialized cell-cell junction that regulates epithelial and endothelial permeability, and it is an essential component of the blood-brain barrier in the cerebrovascular endothelium. In addition to functioning as a diffusion barrier, tight junctions are also involved in signal transduction. In this study, we identified a homozygous mutation in the tight-junction protein gene JAM3 in a large consanguineous family from the United Arab Emirates. Some members of this family had a rare autosomal-recessive syndrome characterized by severe hemorrhagic destruction of the brain, subependymal calcification, and congenital cataracts. Their clinical presentation overlaps with some reported cases of pseudo-TORCH syndrome as well as with cases involving mutations in occludin, another component of the tight-junction complex. However, massive intracranial hemorrhage distinguishes these patients from others. Homozygosity mapping identified the disease locus in this family on chromosome 11q25 with a maximum multipoint LOD score of 6.15. Sequence analysis of genes in the candidate interval uncovered a mutation in the canonical splice-donor site of intron 5 of JAM3. RT-PCR analysis of a patient lymphoblast cell line confirmed abnormal splicing, leading to a frameshift mutation with early termination. JAM3 is known to be present in vascular endothelium, although its roles in cerebral vasculature have not been implicated. Our results suggest that JAM3 is essential for maintaining the integrity of the cerebrovascular endothelium as well as for normal lens development in humans

The influence of PelletRAP™ rejuvenator on the mechanical properties of reclaimed asphalt pavement

In the last decade, the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) resulted from asphalt milling process has been widely increased for economic and environmental reasons. However, RAP mixtures have undesired characteristics, such as higher stiffness and low flexibility. In this case, the rejuvenators should be used for restoring the properties of RAP which were lost during service life. In the present research, the mechanical properties of 100% RAP incorporating various percentages of PelletRAP™ rejuvenator were evaluated via stability, flow, stiffness, indirect tensile strength (ITS), moisture damage and Cantabro loss measurements. The results showed that the rejuvenated mixtures containing 4% of PelletRAP™ exhibited better performance in terms of stability, cracking and moisture damage resistance, as well as durability, compared with virgin mixtures. Thus, it can be concluded that 100% RAP can be renovated and re-used in the pavement if it is mixed with an appropriate prescription of PelletRAP™. The proposed of incorporating PelletRAP™ with RAP is beneficial in the improvement of sustainability and cost-efficiency of the asphalt mixtures industry

Evaluating the performance of reclaimed asphalt pavement incorporating pelletrap as a rejuvenator

In the recent years, the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) in the pavement has become inevitable for economic and environmental reasons. However, the brittleness property of aged asphalt in the RAP restrict its usage in a high percentage. Nevertheless, the rejuvenators are introduced into the mixtures to reverse the effect of ageing processes, decrease the stiffness and increase the workability of RAP mixture. In the present research, various percentages of PelletRAP rejuvenator were added to 100% of RAP mixtures. The performance characteristics of rejuvenated mixtures were investigated via resilient modulus (MR), dynamic creep, and wheel tracking tests. The results showed that when the PelletRAP was included into the mixture, the MR values and the creep stiffness modulus (CSM) decreased, while the permanent creep, the creep strain slope (CSS) and the rutting depth increased. However, all the rejuvenated mixtures exhibited better results than that of virgin mixture. Such a trend of findings suggested that PelletRAP can be used as a rejuvenator without a negative effect on the high-temperature performance of asphalt mixtures

The influence of pelletRAP™ rejuvenator on the mechanical properties of reclaimed asphalt pavement

In the last decade, the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) resulted from asphalt milling process has been widely increased for economic and environmental reasons. However, RAP mixtures have undesired characteristics, such as higher stiffness and low flexibility. In this case, the rejuvenators should be used for restoring the properties of RAP which were lost during service life. In the present research, the mechanical properties of 100% RAP incorporating various percentages of PelletRAP™ rejuvenator were evaluated via stability, flow, stiffness, indirect tensile strength (ITS), moisture damage and Cantabro loss measurements. The results showed that the rejuvenated mixtures containing 4% of PelletRAP™ exhibited better performance in terms of stability, cracking and moisture damage resistance, as well as durability, compared with virgin mixtures. Thus, it can be concluded that 100% RAP can be renovated and re-used in the pavement if it is mixed with an appropriate prescription of PelletRAP™. The proposed of incorporating PelletRAP™ with RAP is beneficial in the improvement of sustainability and cost-efficiency of the asphalt mixtures industry