Investigating a Detection Method for Viruses and Pathogens Using a Dual-Microcantilever Sensor.

Piezoresistive microcantilever sensors for the detection of viruses, pathogens, and trace chemical gasses, with appropriate measurement and signal processing methods, can be a powerful instrument with high speed and sensitivity, with in situ and real-time capabilities. This paper discusses a novel method for mass sensing on the order of a few femtograms, using a dual-microcantilever piezoresistive sensor with a vibrating common base. The two microcantilevers have controllably shifted natural frequencies with only one of them being active.

A pictorial view on false positive findings of Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT and their prognostic value in patients with prostate carcinoma after radical prostatectomy and undetectable PSA values.

Objective: Recently, gallium-68-prostate-specific membrane antigen-11 (Ga-PSMA-11) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has become a key imaging method in prostate carcinoma staging and biochemical progression, with varying sensitivities in different studies (from 40% to 80%). After four years of experience with Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT, we found that it is possible to detect lesions with increased PSMA expression in patients with undetectable prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels after radical prostatectomy. The key questions we wanted to answer were as follows: if those lesions were malignant and could the early detection of those malignant lesions have a role in patient management? We aimed to identify and follow up PSMA-positive findings for a period of 4 years in patients with prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy and undetectable PSA values at the time of the examination.

Solvent polarity and hydrophobicity of solutes are two sides of the same coin.

The hydrophobicity of solutes measures the intensity of a solute's interaction with aqueous environment. The aqueous environment may change with its composition, leading to changes in its solvent properties largely characterized by polarity. As a result, the relative hydrophobicity of a solute is a function of the solute structure and the properties of the water-based solvent determined by the total composition of the aqueous phase.

Comparison of fracture risk calculators in elderly fallers: a hospital-based cross-sectional study.

Objective: Elderly patients presenting with falls are known to carry an extremely high risk of future fragility fractures. Current osteoporosis guidelines recommend using fracture risk calculators such as FRAX, QFracture or Garvan to guide management. However, they differ considerably in their inputs and may therefore provide contrasting risk estimations in certain individuals.

Intraoperative Radiotherapy with Balloon-Based Electronic Brachytherapy System-A Systematic Review and First Bulgarian Experience in Breast Cancer Patients.

(1) Background: We aimed to analyze currently available studies with intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) as a choice of treatment where the Xoft Axxent electronic brachytherapy (eBx) system was used as a single-dose irradiation and an exclusive radiotherapy approach at the time of surgery in patients with early breast cancer (EBC). We also compared the results of the systematic review to the Bulgarian experience. (2) Methods and Materials: We performed a systematic review of the studies published before February 2021, which investigate the application of a single-fraction 20 Gy radiation treatment, delivered at the time of lumpectomy in EBC patients with the Xoft Axxent eBx System.

A Possible Path towards Rapid Development of Live-Attenuated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines: Plunging into the Natural Pool.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic spreading around the world, causing massive distress to the world's economy and affecting healthcare systems worldwide. Although some exposed individuals have no symptoms and most symptomatic infections are not severe, COVID-19 cases span a wide spectrum, ranging from mild to critical and sometimes resulting in life-threatening complications, such as pneumonia, severe respiratory distress and cardiac problems. Currently, there is no curative drug for COVID-19 and vaccines are still under development.

Context- and Subgroup-Specific Language Changes in Individuals Who Develop PTSD After Trauma.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a very common condition with more than 3 million new cases per year in the US alone. The right diagnosis in a timely manner is key to ensuring a prompt treatment that could lead to a full recovery. Unfortunately, avoidance of trauma reminders, social stigma, self-presentation, and self-assessment biases often prevent individuals from seeking timely evaluation, leading to delays in treatment and suboptimal outcomes.

Lateral retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy: advantages and drawbacks.

Lateral retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy (LRA) is performed mostly by urologists. It is gaining popularity among general surgeons because of the direct access to the adrenal gland. However, the management of large tumors remains controversial.

Amelioration of obsessive-compulsive disorder in three mouse models treated with one epigenetic drug: unraveling the underlying mechanism.

Mental health disorders are manifested in families, yet cannot be fully explained by classical Mendelian genetics. Changes in gene expression via epigenetics present a plausible mechanism. Anxiety often leads to avoidant behaviors which upon repetition may become habitual, maladaptive and resistant to extinction as observed in obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD).

Hypothesis: Regulation of neuroplasticity may involve I-motif and G-quadruplex DNA formation modulated by epigenetic mechanisms.

Recent studies demonstrated the existence in vivo of various functional DNA structures that differ from the double helix. The G-quadruplex (G4) and intercalated motif (I-motif or IM) DNA structures are formed as knots where, correspondingly, guanines or cytosines on the same strand of DNA bind to each other. There are grounds to believe that G4 and IM sequences play a significant role in regulating gene expression considering their tendency to be found in or near regulatory sites (such as promoters, enhancers, and telomeres) as well as the correlation between the prevalence of G4 or IM conformations and specific phases of cell cycle.

RIPK3 expression as a potential predictive and prognostic marker in metastatic colon cancer.

Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the primary causes of cancer-related deaths and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) therapy remains the cornerstone of treatment in these patients. Resistance to 5-FU represents a major obstacle; therefore, finding new predictive and prognostic markers is crucial for improvement of patient outcomes. Recently a new type of programmed cell death was discovered-necroptosis, which depends on receptor interacting protein 3 (RIPK3).

Diffuse Xanthogranulomatous Cholecystitis: Master of Disguise.

A 67-year-old woman presented with clinical symptoms, radiological findings, and preoperative work-up highly suggestive of advanced stage IV carcinoma of the gallbladder (CG). An extended cholecystectomy with the excision of adjacent liver segments and loco-regional lymphadenectomy was performed. Final pathology results revealed diffuse xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis (XG) with ruptured Rokitansky-Aschoff sinuses with tumor-resembling adenomyosis without atypical or malignant cells.

Cushing's Syndrome: A Historic Review of the Treatment Strategies and Corresponding Outcomes in a Single Tertiary Center over the Past Half-Century.

Cushing's syndrome (CS) is associated with serious comorbidities and an increased mortality rate that could be reduced only if strict biochemical control is achieved. The aim of this study was to show the 50-year experience of a single tertiary center in the management of CS patients - the different treatment modalities used over the years and the corresponding outcomes. It was a retrospective study of a large cohort of patients from the Bulgarian CS database: 613 patients (374 with ACTH-dependent and 239 with ACTH-independent CS).

Laser Adjuvant-Assisted Peptide Vaccine Promotes Skin Mobilization of Dendritic Cells and Enhances Protective CD8 T and T Cell Responses against Herpesvirus Infection and Disease.

There is an urgent need for chemical-free and biological-free safe adjuvants to enhance the immunogenicity of vaccines against widespread viral pathogens, such as herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), that infect a large proportion of the world human population. In the present study, we investigated the safety, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy of a laser adjuvant-assisted peptide (LAP) vaccine in the B6 mouse model of genital herpes. This LAP vaccine and its laser-free peptide (LFP) vaccine analog contain the immunodominant HSV-2 glycoprotein B CD8 T cell epitope (HSV-gB) covalently linked with the promiscuous glycoprotein D CD4 T helper cell epitope (HSV-gD).

The impact of the extent of surgical resection on survival of gastric cancer patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the significance of the extent of gastric resection on the postoperative and overall gastric cancer survival.

Background: Resection with clean margins (4 cm or more) is widely accepted as the standard-ized goal for radical treatment of gastric cancer according to current guidelines, while the type of resection (subtotal or total) is still a matter of debate.

Patients And Methods: The study included 155 patients diagnosed and treated in the Department of Surgery, Aleksandrovska University Hospital between January 2005 and December 2014.

SINGLE-ACCESS TRANSUMBILICAL LAPAROSCOPIC APPENDECTOMY USING CURVED REUSABLE INSTRUMENTS: AN INITIAL REPORT OF THREE CASES.

Introduction: The continuous evolution of laparoscopic surgery and the ambition of better cosmetic results raise the need for less invasive procedures. The umbilicus represents a natural scar and constitutes a well-healing site of access to the peritoneal cavity. Single-access Transumbilical Laparoscopy (SATL) is gaining popularity and can be an alternative surgical treatment for acute appendicitis.

[Inguinal endometriosis: two case reports and literature review].

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease that is characterized by the presence of endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterus. Ectopic endometrial tissue can be localized in all organs of the human body, but it affects most often organs in the pelvis. The localization in the inguinal canal is extremely rare - 0.

LAPAROSCOPIC TREATMENT OF RECTAL CANCER.

There is an established standard for the surgical treatment of rectal neoplasms. Every conventional operation can be performed by means of laparoscopy, if the complex approach to the disease and classical oncological principles are observed. Depending on the height of tumor, surgical operations, different in tactical and technical terms, are performed.

PRIMARY RETROPERITONEAL EXTRA-ORGAN TUMORS (PRET) - SURGICAL TACTICS.

Introduction: Retroperitoneal tumors, in general, are rare tumors which histopathological characteristics and biological behavior can be considered as benign or malignant. They originate from various tissue elements located in the retroperitoneal space. They often cover Anatomical structures of varying importance - mainly retroperitoneal vessels and organs, which determines the type of surgery - radical or palliative.

Clinical and prognostic significance of pathological and inflammatory markers in the surgical treatment of locally advanced colorectal cancer.

Background: Locally advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) may vary in its clinical and pathological appearance. It is now accepted that progression of disease in patients with locally advanced CRC is determined not only by local tumor characteristics but also by the immune system and inflammatory response in the body.

Methods: We investigated patients with confirmed CRC who were treated in the surgical clinic at the University Hospital Alexandrovska over a 10-year period and retrospectively evaluated the histological features of the preoperative biopsies and operative specimens removed during radical multivisceral resections.

A Meta-Analysis of Quality of Life, Estimated by Questionnaires of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) after Rectal Cancer Surgery.

Background: Rectal carcinoma is one of the most common cancers on a global scale. Although there were major improvements in its treatment during the last two decades, surgery is still the only curative method. However, is often complicated and can cause disorder of different aspects of the patients self-perception of health.

Clinical and pathological characteristics, and prognostic factors for gastric cancer survival in 155 patients in Bulgaria.

Almost one million new cases of gastric cancer were estimated to have occurred in 2012, making it the fifth most common malignancy in the world. It is also the third leading cause of cancer death of people of both genders worldwide. The aim of this study is to evaluate the significance of some prognostic factors for gastric cancer survival in 155 patients treated at Aleksandrovska University Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria.

Long-term consequences of anesthetic technique after cancer surgery.

Unlabelled: The main treatment for most types of malignant tumors is their surgical removal. During the past years there has been a growing interest in the anesthesia effects on long-term surgery results in connection with cancer. Modern clinical and laboratory data indicate that the anesthetic technique may play a role in tumor dissemination and recurrence.

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome--a rare case and a literature review.

The Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is inherited condition, characterized by hamartomatous gastrointestinal polyposis and with mucocutaneous pigmentation. We have experienced a case with typical clinical features, diagnosed before complication's development. In order to prevent cancer setting it is recommended to perform aggressive screening and high-technological procedures.