Pathological investigation of childhood foreskin: are lichen sclerosus and phimosis common?

Objective: To evaluate histopathological results of foreskin removed during circumcision in the pediatric age group and the relationship between these and the degree of phimosis

Study Design: Cross-sectional study

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Urology, Samsun Training and Research Hospital, Samsun, Turkey, from June to December 2014

Methodology: Male children undergoing planned circumcision were examined for the presence and degree of phimosis which was recorded before the operation. After circumcision, the preputial skin was dermatopathologically investigated. Pathological investigation carefully evaluated findings such as acute inflammation, chronic inflammation, increased pigmentation and atrophy in addition to findings of Lichen Sclerosus [LS] in all specimens. The pathological findings obtained were classified by degree of phimosis and evaluated

Results: The average age of the 140 children was 6.58 +/- 2.35 years. While 61 [43.6%] children did not have phimosis, 79 [56.4%] patients had different degrees of phimosis. Classic LS was not identified in any patient. In a total of 14 [10%] children, early period findings of LS were discovered. The frequency of LS with phimosis was 12.6%, without phimosis was 6.5% [p=0.39]. The incidence of histopathologically normal skin in non-phimosis and phimosis groups was 37.7% and 22.7%, respectively. In total, 41 [29.3%] of the 140 cases had totally normal foreskin

Conclusion: Important dermatoses such as LS may be observed in foreskin with or without phimosis. The presence of phimosis may be an aggravating factor in the incidence of these dermatoses

study of the professional development needs of Shiraz high schools' principals in the area of educational leadership

Introduction: The increased emphasis on standards-based school accountability since the passage of the no child left behind act of 2001 is focusing critical attention on the professional development of school principals and their ability to meet the challenges of improving the student outcomes. Due to this subject, the current study examined professional development needs of Shiraz high schools principals

Methods: The statistical population consisted of 343 principals of Shiraz high schools, of whom 250 subjects were selected using Krejcie and Morgan [1978] sample size determination table. To collect the data, a questionnaire developed by Salazar [2007] was administered. This questionnaire was designed for professional development in the leadership skills/competencies and consisted of 25 items in each leadership performance domain using five-point Likert-type scales. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed and the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was [Alpha = 0.78]. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics and Paired-Samples t-test were used. Also, the data was analyzed through SPSS14 software

Results: The findings showed that principals' [Importance] ratings were always higher than their [Actual proficiency] ratings. The mean score of the difference between [Importance] and [Actual proficiency] pair on [Organizing resources] was 2.11, making it the highest [need] area. The lowest need area was [Managing the organization and operational procedures] at 0.81. Also, the results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the means of the [Importance] and the corresponding means on the [Actual proficiency] [Difference of means=1.48, t=49.38, p<0.001]

Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, the most important professional development needs of the principals included organizing resources, resolving complex problems, understanding student development and learning, developing the vision and the mission, building team commitment, understanding measurements, evaluation and assessment strategies, facilitating the change process, solving problems and making decisions. In other words, the principals had statistically significant professional development needs in all areas of the educational leadership. Also, the results suggested that today's school principals need to grow and learn throughout their careers by ongoing professional development

Anti-hyperglycemic and antinociceptive activity of methanol leaf and stem extract of Nypa fruticans Wurmb

Nypa fruticans Wurmb. [Arecaceae] is a mangrove palm well-known for its traditional uses by the local practitioners against different ailments in southern regions of Bangladesh. However, the plant is yet to be scientifically studied. The present study was done to evaluate the anti-hyperglycemic and antinociceptive potential ofmethanolic extract of leaf and stem of Nypa fruticans Wurmb. [MENF]. The anti-hyperglycemic activity was tested on glucose loaded hyperglycemic mice whereas antinociceptive activity was evaluated using a model of acetic acid-induced writhing in mice. The crude MENF was found to show significant oral anti-hyperglycemic activity on glucose loaded mice at every dose. Maximum anti-hyperglycemic activity was observed at a dose of 500 mg MENF/kg body weight, which was more than what was obtained with a standard drug glibenclamide at a dose of 10 mg glibenclamide/kg body weight. Significant antinociceptive activity was also demonstrated by MENF in acetic acid-induced writhing mice model. The extract caused a maximum of 39.88% [p<0.00l] inhibition of writhing at the dose of 600 mg/kg body weight, which was better than the result obtained with a standard drug [200 mg aspirin/kg body weight, 49.34% inhibition]. These findings indicate that MENF has significant anti-hyperglycemic and antinociceptive activity and thus have great potential as a source of natural products