Plagiarism in medical scientific research

Plagiarism is defined as "the practice of taking someone else's words, work or ideas and passing them off as one's own". It is probably the most common form of scientific dishonesty found in research articles. The aim of this review is to present a comprehensive account about plagiarism to raise awareness of all aspects of plagiarism. The key words "plagiarism", "types", "detection" and "consequences" were used to retrieve articles from the MEDLINE database. About five hundred articles were retrieved. Articles were divided into subgroups, with each group covering an aspect of plagiarism. Main findings and updates were summarized for each topic. The main reason behind plagiarism was found to be a lack of knowledge about the subject. When coupled with insufficient time, immature writing skills and the pressure on researchers to get their work published in good journals, authors take unacknowledged pieces of others' work and commit plagiarism. In the past, it was difficult to detect plagiarism; however, in recent years, many plagiarism-detection services and software programs have become available. The present article details how journals use these services and software as a helpful tool to check for plagiarism in submitted manuscripts. Within academia, plagiarism is an offense that can be devastating. Plagiarism is the most common problem in research writing. The cornerstone in preventing this problem from getting worse is to raise awareness about how to cope with this growing problem of research misconduct

The accuracy of transvaginal ultrasound and uterineartery Doppler in the diagnosis of adenomyosis

To measure the accuracy of combined two dimensional [2D] trans-vaginal ultrasound [TVS] and color Doppler in diagnosis of adenomyosis uteri and to assess the role of Doppler indices of the uterine arteries in diagnosis of adenomyosis. A cross-sectional observational study. One hundred women complaining of pelvic pain and or uterine bleeding and were clinically and sonographically diagnosed to have adenomyosis and scheduled for hysterectomy were approached for participation. Eighty patients were recruited and subjected to color and uterine artery Doppler studies [systolic/ diastolic [S/D] ratio, resistance and pulsatility index [RI and PI] in a trial to diagnose adenomyosis. The finding of 2D-TVS and color Doppler were compared to a gold standard of histopathology of the retrieved uterine specimens. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were measured. Fifty specimens out of 80 uteri histologically confirmed to have adenomyosis by histopathology. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and overall accuracy of the 2D-TVS in the diagnosis of adenomyosis were 76.0%, 83.3%, 88.4%, 67.6% and 78.8%, respectively. However, for combined 2D-TVS and the color-Doppler ultrasound the figures were 86.0%, 86.67%, 91.5%, 78.8% and 86.3%, respectively. Myometrial cysts were the most commonly diagnosed [53.8%] ultrasonographic criteria. However, uterine artery S/D, RI and PI showed no significant association with adenomyosis. Combined 2D-TVS and color Doppler ultrasound is superior to 2D-TVS alone in diagnosis of adenomyosis. Uterine artery Doppler study was of no diagnostic value in adenomyosis

Immunohistochemical expression of MMP-2, and mmp.-9 in serous versus mucinous ovarian tumors: correlation with angiogenesis and clinico-pathological characteristics

Purpose: to analyze the expression of MMP-2. MMP-9, and VEGF and mean vascular count [MVC] in both serous and mucinous ovarian tumors. The correlation of these markers with clinico-patological characteristics was also evaluated

Methods: Ninety five paraffin-embedded sections of ovarian tumors were stained for MMP-2, MMP-9. VEGF and CD34 using standard immunohistochemistry. The intensity and percentage of positive cells were evaluated using HSCORE for MMPs and VEGF. The MVC as stained by CD34[X 400] was also evaluated. Correlations between HSCOREs of MMP-2, MMP-9 with VEGF expressions were evaluated. The relationships between the above markers with clinico-pathological characteristics and the correlations between VEGF with MVC were also studied

Results: There is a significant increase in HSCOREs of tumor and stromal cells with the transitions through tumorigenesis phases [P<0.0001 for all markers]. Serous tumors showed significantly higher expression of VEGF, MMP-2 and MMP-9 and MVC as compared with mucinous tumors. The expression of all markers was significantly correlated with clinic-pathological characteristics of the tumors

Conclusion: MMP-2, MMP-9 and VEGF are expressed by both tumor and stromal cells of ovarian tumors and their expressions are associated with the transitions from benign, through borderline, to malignant nature. The above markers are correlated with clinico-pathological characteristics

Acceptability for the use of postpartum intrauterine contraceptive devices: Assiut experience

To evaluate the acceptance of postpartum intrauterine contraceptive devices [PPIUCD] among the inhabitants of Assiut governorate, Egypt and to study the factors that influence this acceptance. Subjects and Contraceptive counseling was given to 3,541 clients: 1,880 and 1,661 during the antenatal visits and postpartum hospitalization, respectively. Acceptors during antenatal counseling were to receive IUCDs via postplacental insertion in the case of vaginal delivery or transcesarean insertion in case of abdominal delivery. The clients who refused PPIUCD and chose interval IUCD insertion were referred to the Family Planning Clinic after the end of puerperium. Among postpartum counselees, PPIUCD acceptors received predischarge insertion within 48 h of delivery and the interval IUCD were referred to have IUCD inserted after the end of puerperium. The acceptance rate of both PPIUCD and interval IUCD and the percentage of actual insertions were recorded. The causes of both acceptance and refusal were also recorded. Of the 3,541 clients, 1,024 [28.9%] accepted the use of IUCD after delivery. Acceptance was approximately the same during antenal and postpartum counseling: 26.4 and 31.8%, respectively. Verbal acceptance was higher among women with formal education than among illiterate women. Planning another pregnancy in the near future, preference for another contraceptive method, namely lactational infertility, and complications from previous use of IUCD were the most common reasons for refusing the use of IUCD. Of the 1,024 verbal acceptors, only 243 [23.7%] had the actual insertion of IUCD. Both the acceptance and actual insertion of IUCD were low probably because the use of IUCD is a new concept in the community. For these women, the only opportunity to receive information about contraceptives is during childbirth when they are in contact with medical personnel. Hence, it is suggested that family planning should be integrated with maternal and child-care services in order to effectively promote the use of contraceptive devices in these women who otherwise would not seek the use of such a device