Harnessing potential of avian eggshell membrane derived collagen hydrolysate for bone tissue regeneration.

BACKGROUND: Natural bone grafts are the highly preferred materials for restoring the lost bone, while being constrained of donor availability and risk of disease transmission. As a result, tissue engineering is emerging as an efficacious and competitive technique for bone repair. Bone tissue engineering (TE) scaffolds to support bone regeneration and devoid of aforesaid limitations are being vastly explored and among these the avian eggshell membrane has drawn attention for TE owing to its low immunogenicity, similarity with the extracellular matrix, and easy availability. METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS: In this study, the development of bone ingrowth support system from avian eggshell membrane derived collagen hydrolysates (Col-h) is reported. The hydrolysate, cross-linked with glutaraldehyde, was developed into hydrogels with poly-(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) by freeze-thawing and further characterized with ATR-FTIR, XRD, FESEM. The biodegradability, swelling, mechanical, anti-microbial, and biocompatibility evaluation were performed further for the suitability in bone regeneration. The presence of amide I, amide III, and -OH functional groups at 1639 cm- 1,1264 cm- 1, and 3308 cm- 1 respectively and broad peak between 16°-21° (2θ) in XRD data reinstated the composition and form. CONCLUSIONS: The maximum ratio of Col-h/PVA that produced well defined hydrogels was 50:50. Though all the hydrogel matrices alluded towards their competitive attributes and applicability towards restorative bone repair, the hydrogel with 40:60 ratios showed better mechanical strength and cell proliferation than its counterparts. The prominent E. coli growth inhibition by the hydrogel matrices was also observed, along with excellent biocompatibility with MG-63 osteoblasts. The findings indicate strongly the promising application of avian eggshell-derived Col-h in supporting bone regeneration.

High field magnetometry with hyperpolarized nuclear spins.

Quantum sensors have attracted broad interest in the quest towards sub-micronscale NMR spectroscopy. Such sensors predominantly operate at low magnetic fields. Instead, however, for high resolution spectroscopy, the high-field regime is naturally advantageous because it allows high absolute chemical shift discrimination. Here we demonstrate a high-field spin magnetometer constructed from an ensemble of hyperpolarized 13C nuclear spins in diamond. They are initialized by Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) centers and protected along a transverse Bloch sphere axis for minute-long periods. When exposed to a time-varying (AC) magnetic field, they undergo secondary precessions that carry an imprint of its frequency and amplitude. For quantum sensing at 7T, we demonstrate detection bandwidth up to 7 kHz, a spectral resolution < 100mHz, and single-shot sensitivity of 410pT[Formula: see text]. This work anticipates opportunities for microscale NMR chemical sensors constructed from hyperpolarized nanodiamonds and suggests applications of dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) in quantum sensing.

Management of Asymptomatic Postmenopausal Women Referred to Outpatient Hysteroscopy Service with Incidental Finding of Thickened Endometrium - A UK District General Hospital Experience.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to review the management and outcome of asymptomatic postmenopausal women with increased endometrial thickness as there is lack of robust guidance for the same. DESIGN: Retrospective case series over a period of 2 years. SETTING: District general hospital. PATIENTS: Eighty-three. INTERVENTIONS: No prospective interventions were done. Only a review of the interventions done in an outpatient setting, namely, hysteroscopy and endometrial sampling, was carried out. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Retrospective review of 1453 referrals to outpatient hysteroscopy service over a period of 2 years was carried out, and 83 patients referred with asymptomatic thickened endometrium on imaging were identified. Patients underwent hysteroscopy on the basis of the local policy, that is, if the endometrial thickness was more than 10 mm or in the presence of additional risk factors. The yield rate of endometrial cancer and atypical hyperplasia was 1.2% and 2.4%, respectively, among all patients (n = 83). The yield rate of endometrial cancer and atypical hyperplasia was 1.81% and 3.63%, respectively, among patients referred with endometrial thickness ≤10 mm after considering other risk factors. CONCLUSION: It is reasonable to use endometrial thickness of 10 mm or above as a cutoff threshold to offer endometrial biopsy or outpatient hysteroscopy for asymptomatic postmenopausal women. For asymptomatic women with endometrial thickness between 4 and 10 mm, decisions about further investigations should be made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account any risk factors for endometrial pathology. As this study had a reasonably good sample size, it can contribute toward formulation of robust guidance for management of postmenopausal women with asymptomatic endometrial thickening.

Stromal expression of CD10 in breast carcinoma and its correlation with clinicopathological parameters.

INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is the foremost cause of death in women worldwide with more than one million cases occurring annually. AIM: This study was conducted to study the stromal CD10 expression in breast carcinomas (BCa) and its correlation with various prognostic factors such as tumor size, histological grade, lymph node status, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), HER2neu, and Ki67 status. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty cases of BCa diagnosed between 2013 and 2015 were included in the study. Stromal expression of CD10 was studied on entire section of selected BCa blocks for all cases. A technique of manual tissue microarray was employed for the analysis of expression of immunohistochemical markers ER, PR, and HER2/Neu and Ki67 in all cases. Results were subjected to statistical analysis. RESULTS: Stromal CD10 positivity was seen in 78.3% cases, out of which 53.3% of cases were strongly positive, and 25.0% cases were weakly positive. Positivity for ER, PR, HER2, and Ki67 was 31.7%, 33.3%, 65%, and 75%, respectively. Stromal expression of CD10 was found to be significantly associated with increasing tumor grade, lymph node status, HER2neu positivity, ER negativity, and Ki67 positivity. CD10 stromal expression was seen mainly in PR negative BCa cases; however, it was statistically insignificant. It was noted that CD10 stromal positivity increased with increasing grade. CONCLUSION: CD10 can be used as an independent prognostic marker and should be included in routine histopathology report. CD10 could act as a potential target for newer drug development.

Hemiatrophy of brain: antenatal ultrasonography and MRI/postnatal MRI diagnosis with the introduction of "shifted falx sign".

Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome (DDMS) is an uncommon congenital/pediatric disorder diagnosed only with the help of imaging. Clinical features associated with it are hemiparesis, seizures, facial asymmetry, and mental retardation. We here present a case of DDMS diagnosed antenatally at 29 weeks gestational age during routine antenatal ultrasound examination. The patient was further evaluated and followed using both ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging during antenatal and postnatal periods. The infant had unilateral hemiatrophy with the absence of anterior and middle cerebral arteries. We hereby also want to coin the term "shifted falx sign" as a diagnostic indicator for DDMS for the first time. To our knowledge, this is the earliest antenatally sonologically diagnosed case of the said pathology.

Acute post-traumatic encephalocele in a child: CT and MRI features.

Orbital trauma is a commonly encountered entity in clinical practice, especially in cases of head trauma. Although fractures of the orbit are rare, they can present in an emergency setting owing to associated complications such as orbital encephaloceles. We present a case of a paediatric male patient who presented with post-traumatic proptosis and diminution of vision and was diagnosed with orbital encephalocele. The child's vision recovered completely and proptosis of the eye decreased, compared with the time of presentation. Despite persistent counselling, the patient and his parents did not give consent for surgical correction and he was discharged as leaving against medical advice. Post-traumatic orbital encephaloceles are caused as a result of blunt cranial trauma. Early treatment and diagnosis is extremely important in the optimum management and good long-term prognosis of the patient.