Overexpression of Lysosome-Associated Membrane Protein 1 in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and its Correlation with Tumor Differentiation and Metastasis.

INTRODUCTION: The overexpression of lysosome-associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP1) has been demonstrated in different types of cancers, such as ovarian carcinoma, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, breast cancer, and colorectal carcinoma. Nonetheless, the expression of LAMP1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has not been investigated yet. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 65 patients with OSCC selected from the Department of Pathology of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The control group comprised 55 tissues of normal oral epithelium. The expression of LAMP1 in OSCC tissue samples was assessed using immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis. The association between LAMP1 and clinicopathological features of patients with OSCC was also evaluated. RESULTS: The expression of LAMP1 was significantly higher in OSCC tissues, as compared to that in normal tissues (P<0.001). The chi-square analysis indicated that the high LAMP1 expression was correlated with the degree of tumor differentiation and metastasis (P=0.014). CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results pointed to the overexpression of LAMP1 in OSCC, as well as its correlation with tumor grade and metastasis; therefore, LAMP1 might have a role to play in OSCC pathogenesis and could be regarded as an independent prognostic marker in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Image analysis method for heterogeneity and porosity characterization of biomimetic hydrogels.

This work presents an image processing procedure for characterization of porosity and heterogeneity of fully hydrated hydrogels based on the analysis of cryogenic scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM) images. An algorithm consisting of different filtering, morphological transformation, and thresholding steps to denoise the image whilst emphasizing the hydrogel fibres edges for extracting the pores features is explained. Finally, the information of hydrogel porosity and heterogeneity is presented in form of pore size distribution, spatial contours maps and kernel density dot plots. The obtained results reveal that a non-parametric kernel density plot effectively determines the spatial heterogeneity and porosity of the hydrogel.

Health-Related Quality of Life of Persons after Rhinoplasty: A Longitudinal Study among Iranian Population.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the growing number of cosmetic rhinoplasty surgeries in Iran in recent years, there is little information about the effects of this procedure on the subjects' Quality of Life (QoL). This study examined the QoL after rhinoplasty in subjects without nasal obstruction, who wanted the surgery for aesthetic reasons, three and six months postoperatively. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the changes of QoL in clients who take rhinoplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective study conducted in Tehran, Iran. Using convenience sampling, 150 subjects who had undergone cosmetic rhinoplasty from June 2013 to June 2014 were invited to participate in the study. Patients' QoL was measured one week before and three and six months after rhinoplasty, using the Iranian version of the 36-item Short Form (SF-36) questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, one-way ANOVA, paired t-test, and independent sample t-test were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Most of the participants were women (64%), and the mean age was 26.8±5.4 years (range: 18-41 years). The mean QoL scores before and three and six months after rhinoplasty were 67.26±26.01, 68.00±15.7 and 83.65±9.6, respectively. None of the measured demographic characteristics showed any correlation or relationship with the participants' QoL before and after the procedure (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: QoL can be considered as a quality indicator of health care systems. This study shows that the persons' QoL improved six months after cosmetic rhinoplasty.

Extracts of Artemisia ciniformis Protect Cytotoxicity Induced by Hydrogen Peroxide in H9c2 Cardiac Muscle Cells through the Inhibition of Reactive Oxygen Species.

Objective. Artemisia ciniformis (Asteraceae) and A. biennis are two of 34 Artemisia species growing naturally in Iran. In this study we investigated whether different extracts of A. ciniformis and A. biennis have protective effect against hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity in rat cardiomyoblast cells (H9c2). Method. The dried and ground aerial parts of these two species were extracted successively using petroleum ether (40-60), dichloromethane, ethyl acetate (EA), ethanol (EtOH) and ethanol : water (1 : 1) by maceration method. To evaluate whether different extracts of A. ciniformis and A. biennis protect cardiomyoblast H9c2 cells from H2O2 cytotoxicity, we examined the direct cytotoxic effect of H2O2 on H9c2 cells in the presence and absence of different extracts. After then, cell viability was measured by MTT assay. Results. H2O2 induced cytotoxicity in a concentration dependent manner. The IC50 value was 62.5 µ M for 24 h exposure. However, pretreatment of cells with various concentrations of EA, EtOH, and EtOH/wt extract of A. ciniformis protected cells from H2O2-induced cytotoxicity. Moreover, pretreatment with EA, EtOH and EtOH/wt extracts of A. ciniformis lead to a decrease in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Taken together our observation indicated that nontoxic concentration of different extracts of A. ciniformis has protective effect on H2O2-induced cytotoxicity in H9c2 cells.

A prospective study to validate an impairment questionnaire for major trauma survivors.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate an impairment questionnaire that will provide an estimate of whole-person impairment in patients who have suffered major trauma. DESIGN: This was a multicenter prospective study involving a convenience sample of 43 volunteer participants who had sustained major trauma within 1 yr of study commencement. Patients were recruited from two trauma centers in Ontario, Canada. The impairment questionnaire was developed as a self-administered questionnaire based on the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Fourth Edition. RESULTS: Clinician assessments of whole-person impairment showed adequate interrater (r > or = 0.55, P < or = 0.03) and intrarater (r > or = 0.62, P < or = 0.055) reliabilities across dimensions. The impairment questionnaire correlated significantly with clinician assessments at the initial visit (r > or = 0.57, P < 0.001) and at follow-up (r > 0.60, P < 0.001). Comparison of the physical and emotional subcategories of the impairment questionnaire, whole-person impairment ratings by physicians, and the Short Form 36 demonstrated good convergent and divergent validity of the impairment questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: The impairment questionnaire is a reliable and valid self-administered tool that can be used to evaluate physical impairment after major trauma.