Entrapment of an air gun pellet between the thyroid cartilage and the lining mucosa in a patient with a penetrating neck injury: a case report

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Air guns, either modern or traditional models, are powerful weapons that are capable ofcausing serious or life-threatening injuries. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we present a case of an air gun pellet injury, with the pellet trapped between the thyroidcartilage and the lining mucosa of a 58-year-old Iranian man. CONCLUSION: Entrapment of air gun pellet between thyroid cartilage and the lining mucosa, as presented inour case, may cause diagnostic challenges through the clinical presentation of slightodynophagia.     

New insights into the role of pH and aeration in the bacterial production of calcium carbonate (CaCO3)

Over recent years, the implementation of microbially produced calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) in different industrial and environmental applications has become an alternative for conventional approaches to induce CaCO₃ precipitation. However, there are many factors affecting the biomineralization of CaCO₃, which may restrict its application. In this study, we investigated the effects of pH and aeration as the main two influential parameters on bacterial precipitation of CaCO₃. The results showed that the aeration had a significant effect on bacterial growth and its rise from 0.5 to 4.5 SLPM could produce 4.2 times higher CaCO₃ precipitation. The increase of pH to 12 resulted in 6.3-fold increase in CaCO₃ precipitation as compared to uncontrolled-pH fermentation. Morphological characterization showed that the pH is an effective parameter on CaCO₃ morphology. Calcite was found to be the predominant precipitate during aeration-controlled fermentations, while vaterite was mainly produced at lower pH (up to 10) over controlled-pH fermentations. Further increase in pH resulted in a morphological transition, and vaterite transformed to calcite at the pH ranges between 10 and 12.

     

Correlation between Lsp1 (Rs3817198) and Casc (Rs4784227) Polymorphisms and the Susceptibility to Breast Cancer

Background:Breast cancer is classified as one of the common cancers among women worldwide. Within numerous genetic factors involved in the development of breast cancer, lsp1 and casc genes are both located on breast cancer susceptibility locus. While the SNP rs3817198 in lsp1 gene has a twilight association with breast cancer in different populations, casc rs4784227 polymorphisms have been reported to associate with breast tumor appearance in Asian, European, and African ancestry populations. The present report was designed a case-control group aimed at assessing the association of these two SNPs with breast cancer risk in the Iranian population.Methods:In the case-control study of rs3817198 and rs4784227 polymorphisms in 100 women with breast cancer and 100 healthy women were examined by Tetra Arms PCR. Data collected using SPSS software and chi-square test and correlation coefficient were used for statistical analysis.Results:The results of current study showed that the Chi-square of lsp1 rs3817198 and casc rs4784227 polymorphism genotypes in breast cancer, were reported to be 51.613 and 47.920, respectively. Also there has been a significance level of both polymorphisms resulting in the frequency of genotypes in these two polymorphisms between case and control group.Conclusion:Our finding thus suggested that in both polymorphisms, homozygote genotype showed strong correlation with cancer susceptibility. While, TT genotype in lsp1 rs3817198 showed significant association with pathogenic properties, in the case of casc rs4784227 genotypes CC, and in second place, TT showed similar correlation.Key Words: Breast cancer, Casc, Lsp1, Polymorphism     

Diversity,phytochemical and medicinal potential of the genus Ocimum L. (Lamiaceae)

Phytochemistry Reviews - Ocimum, commonly known as Tulsi, is a huge genus within family Lamiaceae, comprising about 64 species of annual to perennial aromatic medicinal herbs with a long history of...     

Signaling Pathways in Leiomyoma: Understanding Pathobiology and Implications for Therapy

Uterine leiomyomas are the most common tumors of the female genital tract, affecting 50% to 70% of females by the age of 50. Despite their prevalence and enormous medical and economic impact, no effective medical treatment is currently available. This is, in part, due to the poor understanding of their underlying pathobiology. Although they are thought to start as a clonal proliferation of a single myometrial smooth muscle cell, these early cytogenetic alterations are considered insufficient for tumor development and additional complex signaling pathway alterations are crucial. These include steroids, growth factors, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β)/Smad; wingless-type (Wnt)/β-catenin, retinoic acid, vitamin D, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ). An important finding is that several of these pathways converge in a summative way. For example, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and Akt pathways seem to act as signal integrators, incorporating input from several signaling pathways, including growth factors, estrogen and vitamin D. This underlines the multifactorial origin and complex nature of these tumors. In this review, we aim to dissect these pathways and discuss their interconnections, aberrations and role in leiomyoma pathobiology. We also aim to identify potential targets for development of novel therapeutics.     

The effect of thymoquinone treatment on the combined renal and pulmonary toxicity of cisplatin and diesel exhaust particles

Particulate air pollution (PAP) exposure is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, particularly in patients with renal disease. However, there are only a few studies on the interaction between PAP and renal injury, and none on agents that may ameliorate it. We studied the interaction between cisplatin (CP) nephrotoxicity and a single exposure to diesel exhaust particle (DEP) in rats 24 h before sacrifice, and assessed the effect of co-treatment with the active ingredient in Nigella Sativa seed oil, thymoquinone (TQ) thereon. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with CP (6 mg/kg) and four days later, they were exposed intratracheally to DEP (0.5 mg/kg), and were sacrificed 24 h later. Oral TQ (20 mg/kg) was given daily throughout the experimental period. CP alone caused several physiological, biochemical, and histopathological changes that included reduced growth and creatinine clearance, and raised plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP), creatinine and urea concentrations, and urinary N-acetyl-b-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activities. It adversely affected several indices of oxidative damage in the kidneys, and induced renal tubular necrosis. Most of these actions were significantly potentiated in rats given both CP and DEP. TQ significantly abrogated many of the effects of CP and DEP, given alone and in combination. These results provide experimental evidence that subjects with renal diseases can be at higher risk from PAP, and that TQ, pending further pharmacological and toxicological studies, can be considered a useful agent in patients with renal diseases and exposed to PAP.