The pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which represents over 90% of pancreatic cancer cases,
has the highest proliferative and metastatic rate in comparison to other pancreatic cancer compartments. This
study is designed to determine whether small nucleolar RNA, H/ACA box 64 (snoRNA64) is associated with
pancreatic cancer initiation and progression. Gene expression data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO)
repository have shown that snoRNA64 expression is reduced in primary and metastatic pancreatic cancer as
compared to normal tissues based on statistical analysis of the in Silico analysis. Using qPCR techniques,
pancreatic cancer cell lines include PK-1, PK-8, PK-4, and Mia PaCa-2 with different levels of snoRNA64,
including PK-1, PK-8, PK-4, and Mia PaCa-2. The level of expression is correlated with the cell line epithelial
or mesenchymal characteristics. Cell lines displaying epithelial characteristics such as PK-1, PK-8 show high
levels of snoRNA64 meanwhile, cell lines displaying mesenchymal characteristics such as PK-4, Mia PaCa-2
show low levels of snoRNA64. The level of expression is correlated with the cell line epithelial or
mesenchymal characteristics. After knocking down the PK-8 with high snoRNA64 expression, the epithelial
markers E. cadherin (E-cad) and Cytokeratin-8 (CK-8) are decreased, while mesenchymal markers Vimentin
(Vim), Cytokeratin-19 (CK-19), Metalloprotease -2 (MMP-2), and Metalloprotease-3 (MMP-3) are activated.
Those changes suggest that PK-8 responding to the snoRNA64 knock down protocol and increase in
mesenchymal function. Together, snoRNA64 expression may participate in epithelial to mesenchymal
transition (EMT) and mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET), in which during metastasis these processes
are crucial. In addition, snoRNA64 may be considered as a potential diagnostic biomarker for both early and
invasive stages of PDAC. And due to its gradual expression decreases, it may be considered a barrier in tumor
progression.
Fibroepithelioma of Pinkus (FEP) is a slowly growing, low-grade malignant tumor with very low metastatic potential that is considered a distinct variant of basal cell carcinoma (BCC). It usually manifests as sessile or polypoidal lesions on the trunk of middle-aged patients. However, it may present in younger age groups, even in children. In this case, we present a rare case of FEP atypically presenting as a scaly plaque on the lower back for several years in an elderly female who was eventually diagnosed by excisional biopsy and histopathology.
Given the paucity and toxicity of available drugs for leishmaniasis, coupled with the advent of drug resistance, the discovery of new therapies for this neglected tropical disease is recognised as being of the utmost urgency. As such antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been proposed as promising compounds against the causative Leishmania species, insect vector-borne protozoan parasites. Here the AMP temporins A, B and 1Sa have been synthesised and screened for activity against Leishmania mexicana insect stage promastigotes and mammalian stage amastigotes, a significant cause of human cutaneous disease. In contrast to previous studies with other species the activity of these AMPs against L. mexicana amastigotes was low. This suggests that ama
... Show MoreIntroduction: Cerebral hydatid disease (CHD) is rare and the multiple-cystic variety is even rarer. In this paper, we report a case of multiple CHD and explore a possible link with a preceding spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). Case presentation: A 27-year old gentleman with a history of surgically-evacuated, spontaneous ICH presented with severe headache, left-sided weakness - Medical Research Council (MRC) grade II - and recurrent tonic-clonic seizures, while on a full dose of anti-epileptic medication. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed multiple intra-axial cystic lesions in the right hemisphere. The cysts were removed intact using Dowling’s technique through a large temporoparietal crani
... Show MorePurpose: The research aims to estimate models representing phenomena that follow the logic of circular (angular) data, accounting for the 24-hour periodicity in measurement. Theoretical framework: The regression model is developed to account for the periodic nature of the circular scale, considering the periodicity in the dependent variable y, the explanatory variables x, or both. Design/methodology/approach: Two estimation methods were applied: a parametric model, represented by the Simple Circular Regression (SCR) model, and a nonparametric model, represented by the Nadaraya-Watson Circular Regression (NW) model. The analysis used real data from 50 patients at Al-Kindi Teaching Hospital in Baghdad. Findings: The Mean Circular Erro
... Show MoreBackground: Painful elbow joint over the lateral epicondyle especially with resisted wrist extension are common signs of lateral epicondyle tendinopathy, also called tennis elbow.
Objective: To evaluate the clinical outcome of local platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection in patients with chronic tennis elbow compared with a steroid (Depomedrol 40 mg) injection.
Methods: A total of 88 patients with chronic tennis elbow were treated at Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital and private clinics. All patients had chronic pain for about 24 weeks or more and had failed first line treatment. The patients dividing into two groups, Group A injected with PRP (n = 44), and group B injected with d
... Show MoreAsthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of respiratory airways characterized by distinctive history of respiratory symptoms due to variable airflow obstruction which reverses either spontaneously or in response to certain medications. Acetylcholine is a parasympathetic neurotransmitter which plays fundamental roles in the development of persistent asthma. Treatment guidelines recommend using medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids in addition to another controller bronchodilator instead of using high doses inhaled steroid alone for treatment of moderate to severe persistent asthma. The inhaled long acting muscarinic antagonist, tiotropium, was approved recently to control unresponsive asthma to inhaled corticosteroid with or without a long
... Show MoreThe liver is one of the largest glands in the digestive system and performs 13 various functions, including the secretion of hormones and enzymes. The gallbladder serves as a storage reservoir for secretions before they are released into the digestive system through the duodenum. The bile ducts branch from the liver’s lobes and ultimately connect to the digestive system, making this structure significant and distinct among different animal species. This review focuses on the differences between dogs and cats, highlighting the importance of these differences from both health and pathological perspectives. After conducting a detailed scientific review of the biliary tree in dogs and cats, we concluded that cats are more susceptible to the d
... Show MoreX-ray emission contains some of the gaseous properties is produced when the particles of the solar wind strike the atmosphere of comet ISON and PanSTARRS Comets. The data collected with NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory of the two comets, C/2012 S1 (also known as Comet ISON) and C/2011 S4 (Comet PanSTARRS) are used in this study.
The real abundance of the observed X-ray spectrum elements has been extracted by a new simple mathematic model. The study found some physical properties of these elements in the comet’s gas such as a relationship between the abundance with emitted energy. The elements that have emission energy (2500-6800) eV, have abundance (0.1-0.15) %, while the elements
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