Comparative histologic evaluation of teeth decalcified by conventional method versus microwave induced decalcification.

Introduction: Complete demineralization of hard tissues with preservation of organic components to retain their tissue architecture and to obtain thin section for histological examination is done by a process known as "decalcification". Tooth decalcification may be achieved by subjecting the tissue to a decalcifying chemical agent and employing heat, vacuum, or electric current to enhance the procedure. Completion of decalcification is adjudged by determination of end-point.

Metastasis in the mandible involving gingiva: An intriguing case with a perplexing pathology.

Oral metastasis, although rare, tends to involve jawbones, particularly the posterior region of the mandible, and involvement of oral soft tissues, even when less likely, is most often seen on the gingiva and tongue. Clinically, the soft-tissue masses tend to mimic pyogenic granuloma, peripheral giant cell granuloma or an epulis and thus are difficult to diagnose and identify. The jaw bone is preferred by prostate carcinoma as a metastatic target.

Osteosarcoma of jaws: Challenges in diagnosis.

Osteosarcoma (OS) accounts for about 20% of all sarcomas with gnathic involvement seen in about 6%-10% of all OSs. The clinical presentation of OSs in the jaws is different from that of long bones as swelling is the most common complaint in patients with jaw OS followed by pain. The histopathologic variables seen are more favorable in OSs of jaws.

Programmed intermittent epidural bolus as compared to continuous epidural infusion for the maintenance of labor analgesia: a prospective randomized single-blinded controlled trial.

Background: Programmed intermittent epidural bolus (PIEB) techniques are a new area of interest for maintaining labor analgesia due to the potential to decrease motor block and improve labor analgesia. This study compares continuous epidural infusion (CEI) to 2 PIEB regimens for labor analgesia.

Methods: One hundred fifty patients undergoing scheduled induction of labor at term gestation having epidural labor analgesia were randomized to receive an epidural analgesia regimen of bupivacaine 0.

Salivaomics: The current scenario.

For generations, blood has been the medium of choice for diagnosing most diseases and conditions. The reason for this is mainly the limitations of technology. The concept of oral diagnostics is preferred to more invasive methods.

Benign lymphoepithelial cyst of parotid gland: Review and case report.

Benign lymphoepithelial cyst (BLC), also known as branchial cyst, is an infrequent lesion usually occurs in the parotid gland or the lateral cervical area including lymph nodes. It occurs due to the process of lymphocyte-induced cystic ductular dilatation and is always diagnosed postoperatively by histopathological examination (HPE). These dysontogenetic lesions are usually found in the lateral neck but can also be located in the salivary glands, mostly in the parotids.

Anesthetic Management for Cesarean Delivery in a Patient With Pulmonary Emboli, Pulmonary Hypertension, and Right Ventricular Failure.

The maternal mortality rate for parturients with severe pulmonary hypertension is 30% to 50%. General, epidural, and combined low-dose spinal-epidural anesthesia have been used successfully for cesarean deliveries in patients with pulmonary hypertension. We describe a cesarean delivery performed using an intrathecal catheter in a 25-year-old morbidly obese (body mass index, 82 kg/m) woman (gravida 3, para 2 at 32 weeks of gestation) who had severe pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular failure, pulmonary emboli, and obstructive sleep apnea.

Biomarkers and chemopreventives in oral carcinogenesis and its prevention.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the predominant type of oral malignancy and is a result of oral carcinogenesis. Oral carcinogenesis is a mutifactorial and complex process related to the sequential occurrence of alterations in genetic structures, promoting inhibitory or excitatory effects of the tumor oncogenes and gene suppressors, compromising the histophysiology of the division, differentiation and cell death; and therefore, methods to prevent, detect, or treat it in the best way is constantly being searched for. Biomarkers reveal the genetic and molecular changes related to early, intermediate and late endpoints in the process of oral carcinogenesis.

Randomized phase II trial of first-line treatment with sorafenib versus interferon Alfa-2a in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: An open-label, phase II study to evaluate progression-free survival (PFS), overall best response, adverse events (AEs), and patient-reported outcomes with sorafenib versus interferon alfa-2a (IFN-alpha-2a) in patients with untreated, advanced renal cancer.

Patients And Methods: A total of 189 patients were randomly assigned to oral sorafenib 400 mg twice daily or to subcutaneous IFN-alpha-2a 9 million U three times weekly (period 1). Sorafenib patients who progressed were dose-escalated to 600 mg twice daily; IFN-alpha-2a patients who progressed were switched to sorafenib 400 mg twice daily (period 2).

Economic evaluation of sorafenib in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in Canada.

Background: A randomized phase III trial of sorafenib vs. placebo in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) demonstrated that sorafenib significantly prolonged overall survival (OS) compared to placebo.

Research Design And Methods: A Markov model was developed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of sorafenib vs.

The burden of illness associated with hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States.

Background/aims: Despite the rising prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), data on its economic consequences are limited. This study was undertaken to estimate the aggregate annual financial burden associated with HCC in the United States, including healthcare costs and the value of lost productivity.

Methods: Annual prevalence of HCC and incidence and survival were estimated using SEER data.

Sorafenib for older patients with renal cell carcinoma: subset analysis from a randomized trial.

Background: The perception that older cancer patients may be at higher risk than younger patients of toxic effects from cancer therapy but may obtain less clinical benefit from it may be based on the underrepresentation of older patients in clinical trials and the known toxic effects of cytotoxic chemotherapy. It is not known how older patients respond to targeted therapy.

Methods: This retrospective subgroup analysis of data from the phase 3, randomized Treatment Approach in Renal Cancer Global Evaluation Trial examined the safety and efficacy of sorafenib in older (age >or=70 years, n = 115) and younger patients (age <70 years, n = 787) who received treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Pharmacy students' learning styles before and after a problem-based learning experience.

Objectives: To determine learning-style scores of second-year pharmacy students before and after a problem-based learning (PBL) teaching experience and to evaluate the relationships between scores and demographic variables.

Methods: The Grasha-Reichmann Student Learning Style Scale (GRSLSS) was given to pharmacotherapy laboratory students before and after a semester-long problem-based learning class.

Results: Only one of the GRSLSS score variables was reported as "high" ("collaborative") and none were reported as "low.

Evaluation and comparison of models of metabolic syndrome using confirmatory factor analysis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare three competing models of the underlying factor structure of metabolic syndrome using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Data from the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS) was used, which has previously been evaluated using principal components analysis (PCA). The three models that were evaluated consisted of oblique and orthogonal two-factor models with hypothesized underlying "metabolic" and "blood pressure" factors, and a four-factor model theorizing "insulin resistance," "obesity," "lipids," and "blood pressure" as the underlying constructs.

Community pharmacists' actions when patients use complementary and alternative therapies with medications.

Objective: To assess actions of community pharmacists in response to their patients' concurrent use of prescription medications and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Design: Nonexperimental, cross-sectional mail survey.

Setting: Texas.

Urogenital and caudal dysgenesis in adrenocortical dysplasia (acd) mice is caused by a splicing mutation in a novel telomeric regulator.

Adrenocortical dysplasia (acd) is a spontaneous autosomal recessive mouse mutant with developmental defects in organs derived from the urogenital ridge. In surviving adult mutants, adrenocortical dysplasia and hypofunction are predominant features. Adults are infertile due to lack of mature germ cells, and 50% develop hydronephrosis due to ureteral hyperplasia.

Interaction between Dax-1 and steroidogenic factor-1 in vivo: increased adrenal responsiveness to ACTH in the absence of Dax-1.

Two nuclear receptors, dosage-sensitive sex reversal adrenal hypoplasia congenita, critical region on the X chromosome gene-1 (Dax-1) and steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1), are required for adrenal development and function. In vitro assays suggest that Dax-1 represses SF-1 mediated transcription. In this study, we generated SF-1(+/-): Dax-1(-/Y) mice to examine the role of Dax-1 in SF-1-dependent steroidogenesis in vivo.