Squamous Metaplasia in Pleomorphic Adenoma: A Diagnostic and Prognostic Enigma

Pleomorphic adenoma (PA) is the most common benign salivary gland tumor. Histologically, squamous metaplasia has been reported in PA, but has rarely been documented as being extensive enough to cause significant misdiagnosis. Here, we present an unusual case of PA in a 50-year-old female patient presenting with swelling on the postero-lateral aspect of the palate for a week. Histopathologically, the tumor exhibited the features of conventional PA with extensive squamous metaplasia and giant keratotic lamellae in cyst-like areas. Such exuberant squamous metaplasia and keratin can be a diagnostic and prognostic pitfall and lead to overtreatment of the patient

Role of gamma radiation in changing phytotoxic effect of elevated level of ozone in Trifolium alexandrinum L. (Clover)

AbstractThe present study was conducted on clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L. cv Wardan), to investigate the effect of ambient and elevated (ambient +10 ppb O3) ozone (O3) on plants grown in open top chambers (OTCs) germinated from gamma (γ) irradiated seeds. Dry seeds were subjected to irradiation with 0, 5, 10 and 20 krad doses of γ rays from 60Co source. Dose dependent differential responses were observed on growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, metabolites, antioxidative defense system of plant. Growth parameters and biomass of plants were severely affected under elevated O3 with increasing radiation doses, except, 5 krad which showed a reverse trend of response. Photosynthetic pigments and total soluble proteins were also reduced with higher dose of γ radiation and elevated O3. Reactive oxygen species formation and membrane damage increased significantly to different extents. Plants grown from seeds irradiated with low dose (5 krad) of γ irradiation depicted more induction of antioxidants (enzymatic and non–enzymatic) than higher doses suggesting their high ameliorative capability against elevated O3. Principal component analysis has also confirmed that plants grown from 5 krad γ irradiated seeds performed better against O3 depicting reduction in negative effect against elevated O3. The experimental findings evidently showed that 5 krad γ radiations altered the O3 induced stress and thus minimized the loss in biomass of the test plant

Physiological and Yield Responses of Spring Wheat Cultivars under Realistic and Acute Levels of Ozone

Tropospheric ozone (O3) is widely recognized as the cause of substantial yield and quality reduction in crops. Most of the previous studies focused on the exposure of wheat cultivars to elevated O3 levels. Our main objectives were to: (i) investigate the consistency of wheat cultivars’ physiological responses across two different realistic O3 levels; and (ii) compare these physiological responses with those under short acute O3 exposure. Three commercially available hard spring wheat cultivars bred under semiarid and Eastern Mediterranean conditions were exposed to two different O3 levels during two consecutive seasons (2016–2018)—36 and 71 ppbv 7 h mean O3 mixing ratios in open-top chambers. The results were compared to those following short acute O3 exposure (102.8 ppbv, 7 h mean for 10 days) in a greenhouse. Non-stomatal responses were significantly more pronounced than stomatal responses in all cultivars under different levels of O3. The specific cultivar was observed as the most O3-tolerant under all experiments. The fact that the same cultivar was found remarkably tolerant to the local semiarid ambient conditions according to other studies and to O3 exposure based on the present study supports a link between cultivar resistance to drought conditions and O3

A cross cultural analysis of early prelinguistic gesture development and its relationship to language development

Many Western industrialized nations have high levels of ethnic diversity but to date there are very few studies which investigate prelinguistic and early language development in infants from ethnic minority backgrounds. This study tracked the development of infant communicative gestures from 10 to 12 months (n = 59) in three culturally distinct groups in the United Kingdom and measured their relationship, along with maternal utterance frequency and responsiveness, to vocabulary development at 12 and 18 months. No significant differences were found in infant gesture development and maternal responsiveness across the groups, but relationships were identified between gesture, maternal responsiveness, and vocabulary development

Exploring the cost-effectiveness of high versus low perioperative fraction of inspired oxygen in the prevention of surgical site infections among abdominal surgery patients in three low- and middle-income countries

Background: This study assessed the potential cost-effectiveness of high (80-100%) vs low (21-35%) fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) at preventing surgical site infections (SSIs) after abdominal surgery in Nigeria, India, and South Africa. Methods: Decision-analytic models were constructed using best available evidence sourced from unbundled data of an ongoing pilot trial assessing the effectiveness of high FiO2, published literature, and a cost survey in Nigeria, India, and South Africa. Effectiveness was measured as percentage of SSIs at 30 days after surgery, a healthcare perspective was adopted, and costs were reported in US dollars ($). Results: High FiO2 may be cost-effective (cheaper and effective). In Nigeria, the average cost for high FiO2 was$216 compared with 222 for low FiO2 leading to a -6 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -13 to -1) difference in costs. In India, the average cost for high FiO2 was $184 compared with$195 for low FiO2 leading to a -$11 (95$15 to -$6) difference in costs. In South Africa, the average cost for high FiO2 was$1164 compared with 1257 for low FiO2 leading to a -93 (95% CI: -132 to -65) difference in costs. The high FiO2 arm had few SSIs, 7.33% compared with 8.38% for low FiO2, leading to a -1.05 (95% CI: -1.14 to -0.90) percentage point reduction in SSIs. Conclusion: High FiO2 could be cost-effective at preventing SSIs in the three countries but further data from large clinical trials are required to confirm this