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Snails, a delicacy in most tropical communities, are highly perishable and seasonal. Employed preservative methods are highly temperature dependent, adversely affecting their nutritional value and sensory properties. This study was aimed at determining the effect of size and drying time on the rehydration and sensory properties of freeze-dried snails. Snails were sized into three categories with average weights 7.59 g (quarter-sized), 14.41 g (half-sized), and 30.71 g (whole), and freeze-dried for 15, 20, and 25 h. The moisture content and percent rehydration of the dried samples were determined by standard methods and sensory properties assessed by an in-house panel of 30 using a 5-point hedonic scale. The moisture content of the fresh and freeze-dried samples ranged from 65.80 to 75.20% and 3.25 to 10.24%, respectively. Freeze-dried samples had higher percent rehydration (27 to 102%) than the control; smoked snails (21 to 32%). Size had a significant (P less then 0.05) effect on the rehydration ability of the samples with the half-sized and freeze-dried for 15 h samples having the highest. The freeze-dried samples generally had higher consumer preference than the control in all attributes assessed. selleckchem The findings show that freeze-drying snails (approximate weight of 14.4 g) for 15 h could be a consumer-preferred alternative preservative method for extending the shelf life of snails. Copyright © 2020 Matthew A. Achaglinkame et al.Background Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most frequent bone tumor with high metastasis. This study is aimed at assessing the expression and prognostic significance of microRNA-1826 (miR-1826) in OS patients, as well as its biological function in tumor progression. Methods Quantitative Real-Time PCR was employed to measure the expression of miR-1826 in OS tissues and cell lines. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression model were used to evaluate the prognostic value of miR-1826. CCK-8 and Transwell assay were conducted to investigate the effect of miR-1826 on OS cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Results miR-1826 expression was downregulated in OS tissues and cell lines and associated with OS patients' clinical stage and distant metastasis. Low levels of miR-1826 were related with shorter survival time and determined as an independent prognostic indicator for the overall survival of OS patients. The overexpression of miR-1826 in OS cells led to inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Conclusion The decreased expression of miR-1826 predicts a poor prognosis in OS patients, and its overexpression inhibits OS cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. This newly identified miR-1826 provides a novel sight into the pathogenesis of OS and offers a candidate prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for OS treatment. Copyright © 2020 Peng Li et al.Cigarette smoke contains a host of molecules including toxins and carcinogens, most of which have not been well studied. Aqueous cigarette smoke extract (CSE) is one of various cigarette smoke derivatives that can be used for in vitro studies, and the influence of different method parameters on CSE composition and toxicity remains incompletely understood. Herein, we prepared CSE by bubbling cigarette smoke through mammalian cell culture medium, varying the type of pipette inserted into the recipient medium. Changing this one component of the preparation apparatus had a marked effect on the toxicity of the resulting CSE. Since many other parameters can also be varied in CSE preparation, these results stress the importance of standardization within and between studies.Background and Aim. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding is a threat to patients with gastric varices (GVs). Previous studies have concluded that both transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) and balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) are effective treatments for patients with GV. We aimed to compare the efficiency and outcomes of these two procedures in GV patients through meta-analysis. Methods The PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases were searched using the keywords GV, bleeding, TIPS, and BRTO to identify relevant randomized controlled trials and cohort studies. The overall survival (OS) rate, imminent haemostasis rate, rebleeding rate, technical success rate, procedure complication rate (hepatic encephalopathy and aggravated ascites), and Child-Pugh score were evaluated. Randomized clinical trials and cohort studies comparing TIPS and BRTO for GV due to portal hypertension were included in our meta-analysis. Two independent reviewers performed data extraction and assessed the study quality. A meta-analysis was performed to calculate risk ratios (RRs), mean differences (MDs), and 95% CIs using random effects models. Results A total of nine studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. There was a significant difference between TIPS and BRTO in the OS rate (RR, 0.81 (95% CI, 0.66 to 0.98); P=0.03) and rebleeding rate (RR, 2.61 (95% CI, 1.75 to 3.90); P=0.03) and rebleeding rate (RR, 2.61 (95% CI, 1.75 to 3.90); P=0.03) and rebleeding rate (RR, 2.61 (95% CI, 1.75 to 3.90); P=0.03) and rebleeding rate (RR, 2.61 (95% CI, 1.75 to 3.90); P=0.03) and rebleeding rate (RR, 2.61 (95% CI, 1.75 to 3.90); P=0.03) and rebleeding rate (RR, 2.61 (95% CI, 1.75 to 3.90); P=0.03) and rebleeding rate (RR, 2.61 (95% CI, 1.75 to 3.90). Conclusions In this meta-analysis, BRTO brought more benefits to patients, with a higher OS rate and lower rebleeding rate. BRTO is a feasible method for GVB. Copyright © 2020 Zi Wen Wang et al.Locoregional therapies (LRTs) including radiofrequency ablation, surgical resection, and TACE, play a pivotal role in the treatment of early stage/locally advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Besides their direct effect on tumor cells, LRTs also play an essential role in the immunomodulation of the tumor microenvironment which is of interest in the current era of cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we describe the HCC immune microenvironment and how it is affected by LRTs as described in multiple pre-clinical and clinical studies and provide the rationale for combining LRTs with immunotherapy. © 2020 Singh et al.Purpose To report treatment outcomes of penile cancer in a single institution in Thailand and to identify prognostic factors for survival, highlighting the crucial role of multi-modality treatment (MMT). Patients and Methods Squamous cell carcinoma of penis patients who were treated at Srinagarind hospital between 2007-2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical and pathological data were retrospectively reviewed. Overall survival (OS) was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and data were compared using the Log rank test. Cox regression analysis of factors affecting survival was conducted. Results A total of 70 patients were identified with a median follow-up of 69.4 months. Twenty-eight patients (40%) presented with early-stage (stage I or II), whereas 42 patients (60%) were stage III or IV disease. The median OS was 29.3 months (Interquartile range 10.5 months - not reached) for the entire cohort. Nodal involvement was the only factor identified from the multivariate model with the adjusted HR or 5.74 (95% CI 2.52-13.04). For patients with stage IIIB/IV, multi-modality treatment (MMT) resulted in longer survival when compared with surgery alone (HR 0.37; 95% CI 0.16-0.90). Conclusion Patients with penile cancer in Thailand presented with younger age and more locally advanced stage. Nodal involvement is the single poor prognostic factor for OS and MMT was associated with longer survival in stage IIIB/IV disease. © 2020 Sirithanaphol et al.Introduction The ischemic process in priapism can lead to displacement of normal tissue with fibrotic tissue, due to collagen deposition, and eventually leads to erectile dysfunction. Many studies have identified that the supernatant of adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) significantly ameliorates fibrosis of different tissue, but limited attention has been paid to its efficacy on fibrosis of the corpora cavernosa. Methods A total of 22 Wistar rats divided into five groups, with two groups each consisting of five male wistar rats with priapism without human ADSC (hADSC) therapy (group I) and two other groups consisting of five rats with priapism, were given 106 cells' intracorporeal hADSC injection after 12 hours of penile clamping (group II) were euthanized after 2 and 4 weeks of observation. The last group consisted of two rats without any treatment or model (group III). Following euthanasia, penises were harvested for TGFβ1 and collagen type I measurement using ELISA. Statistical analysis using independent-sample t-tests was done with SPSS 21.0. Results Penile TGFβ1 concentration in the treatment group was significantly lower in the second and fourth weeks of observation (p 2=0.004, p 4=0.003), and collagen type I was significantly lower in the second and fourth weeks (p 2=0.003, p 4=0.011). Conclusion Intracorporeal hADSC injection limited the fibrosis process in a priapism model. Although the mechanism was unclear, it may be related to the potential of hADSCs to produce various growth factors that could limit TGFβ1 and collagen production. © 2020 Siregar et al.Physicians treating patients affected by nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) have been in shock during the last six years since manufacturing restrictions on the production of the first-option medicine, Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), have resulted in worldwide shortages. This shortage of BCG has led to a rethinking of the established treatment guidelines for the rationing of the administration of BCG. Some possible schedule modifications consist of a decrease in the length of maintenance treatment, a reduction in the dose of BCG in intravesical instillations or the use of different BCG substrains. All these strategies have been considered valuable in times of BCG shortage. In addition, the lack of availability of BCG has also led to the general recognition of the need to find new treatment options for these patients so that they are not dependent on a single treatment. Few alternatives are committed to definitively replacing BCG intravesical instillations, but several options are being evaluated to improve its efficacy or to combine it with other chemotherapeutic or immunotherapeutic options that can also improve its effect. In this article, we review the current state of the treatment with BCG in terms of all of the aforementioned aspects. © 2020 Guallar-Garrido and Julián.Purpose Self-medication is drug use without advice from a medical professional. Proper self-medication can reduce health expenses and physician waiting time. However, prescription or over-the-counter drugs are considered unsafe when used irrationally. Presumably, university students can make informed decisions regarding their lives. However, there are limited studies documenting self-medication in Ugandan universities. This study sought to document the prevalence, patterns and factors associated with self-medication among students enrolled at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST). Patients and Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was done on 385 medical and non-medical students. Data were collected by interviewer-led semi-structured questionnaires and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. The statistical significance was considered as p less then 0.05 for both univariate and multivariate analyses. Results This study showed a 63.5% prevalence of self-medication.
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