Immunohistochemical analysis of osteopontin expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Background

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common malignant neoplasm of the oral cavity. Osteopontin (OPN) has been proved as a biomarker in varying malignant tumors. Only limited studies detail the role of OPN in OSCC.

Aims

This study aims to demonstrate the expression of OPN in OSCC and to correlate the expression of OPN with the histologic grades of OSCC.

Settings and Design

This is a retrospective immunohistochemical study in Dravidian population (linguistically Malayalam).

Materials and Methods

Thirty diagnosed cases of OSCC were subjected to immunohistochemistry using OPN antibody for detection of OPN expression. Ten normal oral mucosal specimens were also stained as controls.

Statistical Analysis Used

Chi-square test and ANOVA followed by Bonferroni test.

Results

OPN expression was significantly higher in OSCC patients than in controls. In normal oral mucosal specimens, none of them showed OPN immunoreactivity. A significant difference was observed between total scores and intensities of normal and varying grades of OSCC. A significant difference was also observed between the percentage of positive cells for OPN expression of normal and varying grades of OSCC. However, no significant difference was observed between the percentage of positive cells for OPN expression of well-, moderate-, poorly-differentiated carcinomas. Correlation of OPN expression with lymph node status, site, and sex was found to be statistically insignificant.

Conclusion

Insights gained from this study may lead to research targeted at the treatment of OSCC.

A phytobeneficial strain Planomicrobium sp. MSSA-10 triggered oxidative stress responsive mechanisms and regulated the growth of pea plants under induced saline environment

AIMS

The study was planned to characterize Planomicrobium sp. MSSA-10 for plant-beneficial traits and to evaluate its inoculation impact on physiology of pea plants under different salinity levels.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Strain MSSA-10 was isolated from pea rhizosphere and identified by the analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence. The strain demonstrated phosphate solubilization and auxin production up to 2 mol l-1 NaCl and exhibited 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid deaminase activity up to 1·5 mol l-1 salt. In an inoculation experiment under different salinity regimes, a significant increase in growth was observed associated with decreased levels of reactive oxygen species and enhanced antioxidative enzyme activities. The strain also promoted the translocation of nutrients in plants with subsequent increase in chlorophyll and protein contents as compared to noninoculated plants. It has been observed that rifampicin-resistant derivatives of MSSA-10 were able to survive for 30 days at optimum cell density with pea rhizosphere.

CONCLUSION

Growth-stimulating effect of MSSA-10 on pea plants may be attributed to its rhizosphere competence, nutrient mobilization and modulation of plant oxidative damage repair mechanisms under saline environment.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Planomicrobium sp. MSSA-10 might be used as potent bioinoculant to relieve pea plants from deleterious effects of salinity.

Correlation of lip patterns, gender, and blood group in North Kerala population: A study of over 800 individuals

Context:

With the ever-changing field of criminal justice, the constant revision of criteria for acceptable evidence by the judiciary poses new challenges in forensic investigation. The applicability of cheiloscopy in individual identification is an area of extensive research in recent years.

Objectives:

The aim of the present study was to determine the distribution of different lip print patterns in North Kerala population, to assess any sexual dimorphism in lip patterns, and to correlate lip print patterns with ABO and Rh blood groups.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 858 students, 471 males and 387 females, from different colleges in the district of Kozhikode in North Kerala were included in the study. Lip prints were obtained using lipstick and cello tape and transferred onto white papers. Blood group of the participants was noted.

Results:

The most predominant pattern observed was Type I (48.3%), followed by Type II, Type III, Type IV, Type I', and Type V. We also observed that the lower lip exhibited an overwhelming predominance of Type I pattern in the North Kerala population while the upper lip showed a more even distribution. Gender-wise difference was observed with Type II being the most common in males and Type IV being the predominant pattern in females. No correlation was obtained between the blood groups and lip patterns.

Conclusion:

The potential usefulness of cheiloscopy in forensic medicine still remains largely untapped and under-recognized. Similar studies in different populations with large sample sizes will allow a more definite picture of lip print patterns to emerge.

Expression of survivin and p53 in oral lichen planus, lichenoid reaction and lichenoid dysplasia: An immunohistochemical study

Context:

The malignant transformation potential of oral lichen planus (OLP) and related lesions is a subject of great controversy.

Aim:

The aim of this study was to compare the expression of proteins related to apoptosis and tumour suppressor gene processes in OLP, oral lichenoid reaction (OLR) and oral lichenoid dysplasia (OLD).

Materials and Methods

The immunohistochemical study was carried out to investigate the expressions of survivin and p53 in a total of 30 lesional biopsy specimens - 10 cases each of OLP, OLR and OLD. The expression rates were further compared with 10 control specimens of normal oral mucosa (NORM).

Results:

Immunoreactivity for p53 was seen in 7 cases (70%) of OLD, 4 cases (40%) of OLP and 2 cases (20%) of OLR and none of NORM. We obtained a significant difference (P = 0.01) in mean p53 expression between the different entities. The positive staining rate of survivin was found to be significantly different between OLD (50%), OLP (10%), OLR (0%), and normal mucosa (0%) (P = 0.004). There was a positive correlation between p53 and survivin expression in OLP and OLD using Pearson's correlation coefficient.

Conclusion:

Lichenoid dysplasia has shown p53 and survivin expression in the range of not OLP, but leukoplakia. On the other hand, OLR seems to be an innocuous lesion. The study results with OLP are inconclusive but points toward a small but important malignant potential in OLP. This kind of comparative study highlights the importance of biopsying OLP and related lesions for proper diagnosis and appropriate management.

Compositional engineering of the pi-conjugated small molecular VOPcPhO : Alq3 complex to boost humidity sensing

This study exhibits a solution-processed organic semiconductor humidity sensor based on vanadyl 2,9,16,23-tetraphenoxy-29H,31H-phthalocyanine (VOPcPhO), tris-(8-hydroxy-quinoline)aluminum (Alq₃), and their composites.

Intraosseous lipoma of mandible presenting as a swelling

Lipomas are the most common form of benign mesenchymal tumors and are composed of mature adipocytes. They can occur anywhere in the body where fat is found and thus, called as the 'universal tumor' or the 'ubiquitous tumor'. Intraosseous lipomas (IOL) are among the rarest (0.1%) of primary bone tumors and are very rarely seen in head and neck bones. They have been subdivided based on the site of origin within bone, into intramedullary and intracortical. Of the two, few cases of intramedullary lipoma have been reported intraorally and none of the latter. Intraosseous lipomas are usually asymptomatic and are detected incidentally on radiographs taken for other complaints. Here, we report a case of intraosseous lipoma in the mandible presenting as a large swelling.

A cluster of occupational mental illness in an NHS trust

A cluster of clinical cases of occupational mental illness has not previously been reported. A prospective cross-sectional study of patients referred for examination and advice about rehabilitation was undertaken to ascertain a variety of employer's rates of occupational mental illness. A background rate of referral for occupational mental illness of 3.1/1,000 employees per year was found apart from in one NHS trust where the rate was 25.6/1,000. Most patients were nurses and diagnoses were anxiety and/or depression with a median length of time off work of four months. There was no evidence that patients from this employer were vulnerable to mental illness. The high rate of occupational mental illness was associated with organisational change and a hostile working climate. This study shows that NHS trusts may be associated with unhealthy working practices. A cluster of occupational mental illness should be statutorily reportable to the Health and Safety Executive for further investigation.

Biomass selection for optimal anaerobic treatment of olive mill wastewater

This research was conducted to identify the most efficient biomass out of five different types of biomass sources for anaerobic treatment of Olive Mill Wastewater (OMW). This study was first focused on examining the selected biomass in anaerobic batch systems with sodium acetate solutions (control study). Then, the different types of biomass were tested with raw OMW (water-diluted) and with pretreated OMW by coagulation-flocculation using Poly Aluminum Chloride (PACl) combined with hydrated lime (Ca(OH)2). Two types of biomass from wastewater treatment systems of a citrus juice producing company "PriGat" and from a citric acid manufacturing factory "Gadot", were found to be the most efficient sources of microorganisms to anaerobically treat both sodium acetate solution and OMW. Both types of biomass were examined under different concentration ranges (1-40 g l(-1)) of OMW in order to detect the maximal COD tolerance for the microorganisms. The results show that 70-85% of COD removal was reached using Gadot biomass after 8-10 days when the initial concentration of OMW was up to 5 g l(-1), while a similar removal efficiency was achieved using OMW of initial COD concentration of 10 g l(-1) in 2-4 days of contact time with the PriGat biomass. The physico-chemical pretreatment of OMW was found to enhance the anaerobic activity for the treatment of OMW with initial concentration of 20 g l(-1) using PriGat biomass. This finding is attributed to reducing the concentrations of polyphenols and other toxicants originally present in OMW upon the applied pretreatment process.