The effect of electronic cigarette and tobacco smoke exposure on COPD bronchial epithelial cell inflammatory responses.

Background: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are used to help smoking cessation. However, these devices contain harmful chemicals, and there are safety concerns. We have investigated the effects of e-cigs on the inflammatory response and viability of COPD bronchial epithelial cells (BECs).

Primary Maxillary Deficiency Dentofacial Deformities: Occlusion and Facial Esthetic Surgical Outcomes.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to document the malocclusion and facial dysmorphology in patients with primary maxillary deficiency (PMD) and chronic obstructive nasal breathing before treatment and the outcomes after bimaxillary orthognathic, genioplasty, and intranasal surgery.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients with PMD undergoing bimaxillary orthognathic, chin, and intranasal surgery was implemented. The predictor variables were grouped into demographic, anatomic, operative, and longitudinal follow-up categories.

Lifetime and current sexual assault and harassment victimization rates of active-duty United States Air Force women.

From a stratified random sample, 2,018 active-duty United States Air Force women completed a telephone survey dealing with sexual assault and harassment. The lifetime prevalence of rape among Air Force women (28%) was more than twice as high as the prevalence in a national sample (13%). Nearly half of the military sample had been the victims of rape, molestation, or attempted sexual assault.

Avian reproductive failure in response to an extreme climatic event.

Recently, climate change research has emphasized the potential increase in the frequency and severity of climatic extremes. We compared the reproductive effort and output among four species of passerine birds in coastal southern California, USA, a semi-arid region, during a normal precipitation year (2001) and the driest year in a 150-year climate record (2002). Both reproductive effort and output differed dramatically between years.

Total ear canal ablation in the cat: indications, morbidity and long-term survival.

Fifty-two total ear canal ablation (TECA) procedures in 44 cats were reviewed. The indication for surgery was neoplasia in 41 per cent of the cats, 86 per cent of which had ceruminous gland adenocarcinoma. Chronic inflammatory or polypoid disease accounted for 50 per cent of surgical procedures.

Immunohistochemical and histopathologic features of 14 malignant fibrous histiocytomas from Flat-Coated Retrievers.

Flat-Coated Retrievers seem to be at increased risk of developing soft-tissue sarcomas, and undifferentiated round cell or spindle cell sarcomas account for approximately 59% of sarcomas in the breed. In an attempt to classify these tumors further, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections from 14 undifferentiated sarcomas from Flat-Coated Retrievers were reviewed and examined with a panel of histologic and immunohistochemical stains. The panel included vimentin, desmin, Myo D1, smooth muscle actin, cytokeratin, S100, von Willebrand factor (factor VIII), Mac 387, CD3, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, and CD79a.

Prognostic variables in canine multicentric lymphosarcoma.

This paper presents the results of a prospective study to investigate the prognostic value of clinical staging, histological grading, immunophenotype, mitotic count and average numbers of argyrophilic nucleolar organiser region counts in dogs with multicentric lymphosarcoma treated with a standard chemotherapy protocol comprising vincristine, cyclophosphamide and prednisolone. Forty-nine dogs were treated according to the study protocol. Univariate and multivariate analysis with regression modelling was used to evaluate the prognostic importance of patient and tumour variables upon tumour response and relapse-free survival.

Histopathological survey of neoplasms in flat-coated retrievers, 1990 to 1998.

Over the period from March 1990 to December 1998, veterinary surgeons in general practice were invited to submit tissues suspected of being neoplastic which had been removed from flat-coated retrievers. When possible, pedigree details were obtained from the owners. In addition, data were collected from flat-coated retrievers known to have suffered from a neoplastic condition and for which a histopathological report was available.

Prognostic factors for treated canine malignant lymphoma.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic importance of different clinical, immunohistologic and tumor proliferation characteristics in dogs with malignant lymphoma treated with chemotherapy. From 74 dogs with malignant lymphoma at least one enlarged peripheral lymph node was taken for biopsy before chemotherapy following a standardized protocol (vincristine, cyclophosphamide, prednisolone, doxorubicin, and L-asparaginase). The variables evaluated as prognostic factors were age, sex, and tumor stage, as well as histomorphologic grade (Kiel classification, Working Formulation), immunophenotype (using markers for CD3 and CD79a), and cell proliferation (Ki-67, proliferation cell nuclear antigen, mitotic index, and argyrophil nucleolar organizer regions [AgNORs]) in extirpated lymph nodes.

The prognostic significance of AgNOR counts and PCNA-positive cell counts in canine malignant lymphomas.

The behaviour of canine malignant lymphomas is difficult to predict on the basis of histomorphology alone, but the majority of such tumours are "high-grade" by most classifications. The aim of this study was to examine the prognostic significance of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer region (AgNOR) counts and of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-positive cell counts in canine malignant lymphomas; and to relate the results to the histological grade (Kiel classification) and to the survival time of treated and untreated dogs. Low- and high-grade malignant lymphomas differed significantly in having mean AgNOR counts of 3.

Effect of ovariohysterectomy in bitches with mammary neoplasms.

Ninety bitches with mammary tumours were studied for two years after the surgical removal of the primary tumour(s). Twenty-nine of the bitches had been spayed before the development of the mammary tumour, 22 were spayed when the tumours were removed and 39 were left entire. Fifty-eight of the bitches (64 per cent) had benign tumours and, of these, 15 (26 per cent) developed a new mammary tumour within two years, irrespective of whether the bitch was spayed.

A world view model of health care utilization: the impact of social and provider context on health care decision-making.

This article provides a conceptual model illustrating the filtering effect that social factors have on a health care event. Individual, family and social network filters translate the symptom for the patient before and after s/he enters the health care delivery system. Simultaneously, managed care and provider filters shape what resource is provided by the health care provider to the patient.

Use of tamoxifen in the control of canine mammary neoplasia.

Ninety-three bitches which had undergone mammary tumour surgery were entered into a clinical trial to examine the effects of ovariohysterectomy (spaying) at the time of mammary surgery and the use of the drug tamoxifen in preventing the recurrence of the tumour and/or the development of new mammary tumours. Twenty-three of the bitches which had been spayed were allocated tamoxifen but only 18 of them complied with the treatment and in nine of these the treatment was stopped owing to side effects (mostly oestrogenic). Too few animals were studied to draw conclusions about the possible preventative effects of tamoxifen on mammary neoplasia, but the high percentage of bitches affected by oestrogen-like side effects may reduce the compliance of owners and prevent tamoxifen being widely used in dogs.

Correlation between histologic diagnosis mean nucleolar organizer region count and prognosis in canine mammary tumors.

In this study, surgically excised mammary tumors from 98 bitches were graded histologically, and the grade was compared with the mean nucleolar organizer region (NOR) count in silver-stained paraffin-embedded sections. Histologically benign tumors, papillary adenocarcinomas, and intraductal carcinomas showed relatively little variation; the mean count for each category was between three and four NOR per nucleus. There was, however, a significant increase in the NOR counts in tubular and solid carcinomas.

Nucleolar organiser regions as indicators of post-surgical prognosis in canine spontaneous mast cell tumours.

The average number of nucleolar organiser regions per cell has previously been shown to correlate well with histological grading techniques for a variety of neoplasms in man, and may thus be of value as an aid to post-surgical prognosis. In this study 50 spontaneously arising, subcutaneous canine mast cell tumours were graded and the histological grade compared with the mean AgNOR count. For well differentiated neoplasms the mean count was 1.

Sialolithiasis.

Sialolithiasis occurs most commonly in the submandibular gland. The vast majority of salivary stones are single, with only 3 percent occurring bilaterally. Patients with distal submandibular stones may be treated with simple sialolithotomy.

Classification and behaviour after surgery of canine 'epulides'.

Seventy-five surgically excised canine gum neoplasms, which had previously been diagnosed as epulis or ameloblastoma, were reclassified on the basis of their presumed tissue of origin. They included 42 tumours of fibroblastic origin, which contained small foci of odontogenic epithelium and were classified as peripheral odontogenic fibroma, whilst 31 epithelial tumours were classified as basal cell carcinomas arising from the gum epithelium. Two epithelial tumours which apparently arose within the bone of the mandible and were not connected with the surface mucosa were classified as ameloblastomas.

Comparison of canine oropharyngeal malignancy in various geographical locations.

The variation in prevalence of neoplasms over time and location has been of value in identifying environmental carcinogens. Studies on the relative frequency of the different histological types of canine oropharyngeal malignant neoplasm have shown that squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsil occurs four times more commonly in south east England, and twice as frequently in the United States of America as in Melbourne, Australia. The prevalence of tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma in London in 1950 was 15 times greater than that currently experienced in Melbourne and four times greater than that now found in other areas of south east England.

Prognosis after surgical excision of canine fibrous connective tissue sarcomas.

One hundred eighty seven dogs from which fibrous connective tissue sarcomas had been excised were studied until death or for at least 3 years after surgery. Dogs with a skin fibrosarcoma had a median survival time of 80 weeks, compared with 140 weeks for animals with haemangiopericytoma in similar sites, this difference being statistically significant. However, the difference in survival time between the two histologic types disappeared when tumours with a similar mitotic index were compared.