Submandibular gland involvement in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: The submandibular gland (SMG) is routinely excised during neck dissection. Given the importance of the SMG in saliva production, it is important to understand its involvement rate by cancer tissue and the feasibility of its preservation. METHODS: Retrospective data were collected from five academic centers in Europe. The study involved adult patients affected by primary oral cavity carcinoma (OCC) undergoing tumor excision and neck dissection. The main outcome analyzed was the SMG involvement rate. A systematic review and a meta-analysis were also conducted to provide an updated synthesis of the topic. RESULTS: A total of 642 patients were enrolled. The SMG involvement rate was 12/642 (1.9%; 95% CI 1.0-3.2) when considered per patient, and 12/852 (1.4%; 95% CI 0.6-2.1) when considered per gland. All the glands involved were ipsilateral to the tumor. Statistical analysis showed that predictive factors for gland invasion were: advanced pT status, advanced nodal involvement, presence of extracapsular spread and perivascular invasion. The involvement of level I lymph nodes was associated with gland invasion in 9 out of 12 cases. pN0 cases were correlated with a reduced risk of SMG involvement. The review of the literature and the meta-analysis confirmed the rare involvement of the SMG: on the 4458 patients and 5037 glands analyzed, the involvement rate was 1.8% (99% CI 1.1-2.7) and 1.6% (99% CI 1.0-2.4), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of SMG involvement in primary OCC is rare. Therefore, exploring gland preservation as an option in selected cases would be reasonable. Future prospective studies are needed to investigate the oncological safety and the real impact on quality of life of SMG preservation.

Farm Application of Lactoperoxidase Treatment and Evaporative Cooling for the Intermediate Preservation of Unprocessed Milk in Kenya.

Activation of the natural milk lactoperoxidase system (LPS) and a simple means for evaporative cooling (EC) were tested on three small dairy farms in a rural area of Kenya. Lactoperoxidase activation was accomplished by adding pre-weighed quantities of sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate (0.04 g/l) and sodium thiocyanate (0.03 g/1) to 51 quantities of freshly collected bovine milk. Containers were covered with two layers of jute fabric which was thoroughly saturated with water to enhance natural cooling by evaporation. The experiment included four storage treatments: (1) untreated control, (2) LPS, (3) LPS/EC, and (4) refrigerated control. The storage time at outdoor ambient temperatures ranging from 14 to 20°C was 20 to 22 h. Milk quality was estimated by standard plate counts, coliform counts, the 10-min Resazurin test, and total acidity. The experiment was replicated six times. Refrigerated storage resulted in excellent quality milk, followed by LPS/EC treatment. The latter was adequate to produce milk considered to be acceptable for processing after 20 to 22 h in 13 out of 18 cases. LPS treatment alone was not adequate. Sensory analysis of LPS/EC milk that was subsequently pasteurized revealed acceptable flavor. The LPS/EC treatment has potential for reducing milk spoilage and increasing the supply of marketable milk in countries which lack facilities for refrigerated cooling.

Microbiological Evaluation of Shrimp ( Pandalus borealis ) Processing.

Line samples from three different shrimp processing plants (brine-cooked shell-on, hand-peeled raw, and machine-peeled cooked) in Maine were examined for microbiological quality. Aerobic plate count (APC) of freshly caught shrimp ( Pandalus borealis ) was found to be about 530/g (Plate Count Agar at 35 C) while salt-requiring (SR) organisms were at significantly higher concentration (1.11 ×105/g; Salt Water Medium at 21 C). Some increase in psychrotrophic-mesophilic flora of shrimp delivered to the plant was observed. Cooking in-plant or on board the boat drastically reduced the SR flora, which was subsequently observed to increase after culling and inspection in the brine-cooked shell-on process. No such significant fluctuation due to processing was detected in APC. Shrimp sampled from steel barrels before a hand-peeled raw operation exhibited relatively high APC (7.2 × 104/g) and SR microflora (2.78 × 106/g). Heading and hand-peeling reduced the APC and SR bacterial loads by 71 and 95%, respectively. Subsequent processing and holding at room temperature resulted in a product with an APC and SR load of about 4 × 104/g. Similarly, high APC (1.66 × 105/g) and SR bacterial loads (1.84 × 105/g) were detected in samples obtained from a storage hopper of the machine-peeled cooking process. Although significant reduction in bacterial load was detected on line samples of this process (fluming, preheating, and cooking), the total bacterial load reached about 4 × 104/g before the canning step. Low levels of contamination with coliform and/or coagulase-positive staphylococci were detected in the three processes studied.