Analysis of monocyte cell tractions in 2.5D reveals mesoscale mechanics of podosomes during substrate-indenting cell protrusion.

Podosomes are mechanosensitive protrusive actin structures that are prominent in myeloid cells, and they have been linked to vascular extravasation. Recent studies have suggested that podosomes are hierarchically organized and have coordinated dynamics on the cell scale, which implies that the local force generation by single podosomes can be different from their global combined action. Complementary to previous studies focusing on individual podosomes, here we investigated the cell-wide force generation of podosome-bearing ER-Hoxb8 monocytes. We found that the occurrence of focal tractions accompanied by a cell-wide substrate indentation cannot be explained by summing the forces of single podosomes. Instead, our findings suggest that superimposed contraction on the cell scale gives rise to a buckling mechanism that can explain the measured cell-scale indentation. Specifically, the actomyosin network contraction causes peripheral in-plane substrate tractions, while the accumulated internal stress results in out-of-plane deformation in the central cell region via a buckling instability, producing the cell-scale indentation. Hence, we propose that contraction of the actomyosin network, which connects the podosomes, leads to a substrate indentation that acts in addition to the protrusion forces of individual podosomes. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

Molecular typing and virulence characteristics of Escherichia coli strains isolated from hospital and community acquired urinary tract infections.

BACKGROUND: The main causes of hospital- and community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a group of Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains with multiple virulence factors known as uropathogenic E. coli. METHODS AND RESULTS: One hundred E. coli isolates from the urine specimens of hospital- and community-acquired UTI patients were characterized based on their virulence factors and genetic relatedness using PCR and RAPD‒PCR, respectively. Among all, the traT (71%), sitA (64%), ompT (54%), malX (49%), ibeA (44%), tsh (39%), hlyD (18%) and cnf1 (12%) genes had the highest to lowest frequencies, respectively. There was no significant difference between the frequency of tested virulence genes in E. coli isolates from inpatients and outpatients. The frequency of the hlyD gene was significantly greater in E. coli isolates from patients hospitalized in gynecology, dermatology and intensive care unit (ICU) wards than in those from other wards. Eight virulence gene patterns were common among the isolates of inpatients in different wards of the same hospital, of which five patterns belonged to the isolates of inpatients in the same ward. More E. coli isolates with similar virulence gene patterns and greater genetic similarity were found in female patients than in male patients. The analysis of the RAPD‒PCR dendrograms revealed more genetic similarities among the E. coli isolates from inpatients than among those from outpatients. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate the presence of a wide variety of virulence factors in E. coli isolates and the possibility of spreading the same clones in different wards of the hospital.

A survival analysis of socio-demographic and clinical predictors among hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Southern Iran.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the socio-demographic, clinical, and laboratory risk factors in hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the first 6 months of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. METHOD: This retrospective hospital-based cross-sectional study included all laboratory-confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus that were admitted to the Shohadaye-Khalije-Fars Hospital in Bushehr, Iran, from February 22, 2020 to September 21, 2020. The patients' records were reviewed during the hospitalization period. The global COVID-19 clinical platform, i.e., the World Health Organization Rapid Case Report Form was used as the data collection tool. We conducted the survival analysis using the Kaplan-Meier and the Stepwise Cox regression analyses. RESULTS: The analysis included 2108 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with a mean age of 47.81 years (SD 17.78); 56.8% men, 43.2% women and 6.3% (n = 133) deaths. After adjustment, it was found that factors associated with an increased risk of death consisted of chronic kidney disease, intensive care unit admission, cancer, and hemoptysis. The 7-day survival rate was 95.8%, which decreased to 95.1%, 94.0%, and 93.8% on days 14, 21, and 28 of hospitalization, respectively. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Older COVID-19 patients with manifestation of hemoptysis and a past medical history of chronic kidney disease and cancer, should be closely monitored to prevent disease deterioration and death, and also should be admitted to the intensive care unit.

The effect of sage (Salvizan gel) compared to triamcinolone acetonide on the treatment of recurrent aphthous stomatitis: a double-blinded randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS) is one of the most common lesions of the oral mucosa. Herbal medicine can be used for the treatment of this disease. The present study aimed to compare the effects of topical application of Sage (Salvizan) and triamcinolone acetonide gels on RAS. METHODS: This double-blind clinical study recruited sixty patients with minor aphthous ulcers. Half of the patients were treated with Salvizan gel, and the other half were treated with oral triamcinolone acetonide gel. The effect of Salvizan topical gel was evaluated and compared with that of oral triamcinolone acetonide gel. Factors such as Pain recovery time, wound healing time, and pain level was evaluated. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 22 using independent t-test, paired t-test, repeated measures ANOVA, and survival analysis, including Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression. RESULTS: The mean duration of pain recovery was 1.5 days for Salvizan and 2.5 days for triamcinolone acetonide (p < 0.001). Moreover, the duration of wound healing was 3.3 days for Salvizan and 6 days for triamcinolone acetonide (p < 0.001). Patients' satisfaction from factors such as taste and smell had no significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that Salvizan gel is very effective in the treatment of RAS. It was significantly better than triamcinolone acetonide in the pain recovery and wound healing. These promising results favor herbal treatments and show that they can be used more commonly for treating diseases such as RAS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was approved by the ethics committee of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (IR.MUI. RESEARCH: REC.1399.834) on 17/03/2021. It was also registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT20100202003251N7).

Evaluation and relation of oral health-related quality of life and oral health status in Thalassemia Major patients, a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Beta-Thalassemia is the most common human inherited disease, directly impacting patients' physical and psychosocial aspects. The present study evaluated oral health status, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), and their correlation in Thalassemia Major patients. METHODS: Two hundred Thalassemia Major patients aged 12-49 participated in this cross-sectional study. Subjects were selected among the patients referred to the Faculty of Dentistry of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences using simple sampling. Oral Health Impact Profile 14 (OHIP 14) was used to assess OHRQoL. The decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index was used as an oral health index. SPSS 22 was used for analysis, using T and Pearson Correlation tests. RESULTS: 53% of participants were female, and 47% were male. The mean OHIP-14 score (± SD) was 13.20 (± 7.01). The mean DMFT score was 9.54 (± 5.72). DMFT and total OHIP 14 scores correlated significantly (p < 0.001, r = 0.78). All domains of the OHIP-14 score were also significantly correlated with DMFT (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Poor oral health conditions might adversely affect OHRQoL in TM patients. It seems necessary to provide oral treatment needs in order to improve OHRQoL in patients suffering from this particular disease.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of new 2-(4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl)-N-phenylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-amine as selective COX-2 inhibitors.

Cyclooxygenase (COX), which plays a role in converting arachidonic acid to inflammatory mediators, could be inhibited by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Although potent NSAIDs are available for the treatment of pain, fever, and inflammation, some side effects, such as gastrointestinal ulcers, limit the use of these medications. In recent years, selective COX-2 inhibitors with a lower incidence of adverse effects attained an important position in medicinal chemistry. In order to introduce some new potent COX-2 inhibitors, a new series of 2-(4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl)-N-phenylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-amines was designed, synthesized, and evaluated. The docking studies performed by AutoDock Vina demonstrated that docked molecules were positioned as well as a crystallographic ligand in the COX-2 active site, and SO2Me pharmacophore was inserted into the secondary pocket of COX-2 and formed hydrogen bonds with the active site. The designed compounds were synthesized through two-step reactions. In the first step, different 1-(4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl)-2-(phenylamino)ethan-1-one derivatives were obtained by the reaction of aniline derivatives and α-bromo-4-(methylsulfonyl)acetophenone. Then, condensation of intermediates with different 2-aminopyridines gave final compounds. Enzyme inhibition assay and formalin test were performed to evaluate the activity of these compounds. Among these compounds, 8-methyl-2-(4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl)-N-(p-tolyl)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-amine (5n) exhibited the highest potency (IC50 = 0.07 µM) and selectivity (selectivity index = 508.6) against COX-2 enzyme (selectivity index: COX-1 IC50/COX-2 IC50). The antinociceptive activity assessment via the formalin test showed that nine derivatives (5a, 5d, 5h, 5i, 5k, 5q, 5r, 5s, and 5t) possessed significant activity compared with the control group with a p value less than 0.05.

The effects of exercise training on inflammatory biomarkers in patients with breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Despite several studies on the effects of exercise training on inflammatory biomarkers in patients with breast cancer, no earlier study has systematically summarized their findings. Current systematic review and meta-analysis has been done on earlier clinical trials in this topic. METHOD: Relevant studies published up to August 2021 were searched through PubMed, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, EMBASE, and Google Scholar using predefined keywords. Studies that examined the effect of exercise training on inflammatory biomarkers in adult women with breast cancer were included. RESULT: A total of 18 studies were included. Combining 11 effect sizes, exercise training significantly reduced CRP level (WMD: -0.55; 95% CI: -1.10, -0.01). However, it had no significant influence on serum TNF-α (WMD: -0.40; 95% CI: -1.30, 0.50) and IL-6 concentrations (WMD: -0.05, 95% CI: -0.53, 0.43) in 8 and 15 studies, respectively. Pooling 7 effect sizes, we failed to find significant changes in IL-8 following exercise training (WMD: -0.65, 95% CI: -1.57, 0.28). Moreover, we reached no significant findings for serum levels of INF-É£ (WMD: -2.66, 95% CI: -7.67, 2.36), IL-1ß (WMD: 0.03, 95% CI: -0.26, 0.21), and IL-10 (WMD: -0.70, 95% CI: -2.92, 1.52). Based on subgroup analyses, best findings were reached in long-term intervention and after concurrent training. DISCUSSION: Chronic inflammation is hypothesized to be associated with breast cancer development. We found significant reduction in CRP level following exercise training, which was more considerable after concurrent aerobic and resistance training and in long-term intervention. No significant changes were seen in serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, INF-É£, IL-1ß following exercise training. Further studies are needed to find more details.

Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin and Retinol-Binding Protein-4 as Biomarkers for Diabetic Kidney Disease.

AIMS: This study was designed to evaluate the conflicting association between 2 tubular protein markers including neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP-4) with albuminuria and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and calculate the accuracy of the role of NGAL and RBP-4 in diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy (DN) in patients with type2 diabetes. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study that included 133 patients with type 2 diabetes. There were 3 diabetic study groups with normoalbuminuria, moderately increased albuminuria, severely increased albuminuria, and non-diabetic control group without any renal disease. We analyzed the difference of urinary NGAL (uNGAL) and RBP-4 between nondiabetics and diabetics, as well as within the diabetic group. We also assessed the association between albuminuria and NGAL and RBP-4. RESULTS: The urinary levels of NGAL and RBP-4 were higher in patients with type 2 diabetes compared to nondiabetics as well as in albuminuric diabetics compared to nonalbuminuric patients with diabetes (p value <0.001). These 2 proteins were higher in patients with severely increased albuminuria compared to patients with moderately increased albuminuria, even after adjustment for other metabolic factors (all p < 0.01). Moreover, areas under the curve of NGAL and RBP-4 for the diagnosis of chronic kidney disease were 80.6 and 74.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION: uNGAL and RBP-4 are potential markers of tubular damage that may increase before the onset of glomerular markers such as albuminuria and GFR in patients with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, these markers can be used as complementary measurements to albuminuria and GFR in the earlier diagnosis of DN.

Cervical Lipomyelomeningocele Presenting with Progressive Motor Deficit: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Cervical lipomyelomeningocele is a very rare form of spina bifida occulta, which can cause some complications following tethered cord syndrome. We report a 10-year-old female with a history of progressive upper-extremity weakness, a very small soft-tissue mass at the posterior aspect of her neck, and evidence of lipomyelomeningocele in her radiological study. The patient underwent laminectomy of C6 and C7 together with resection of lipomatous tissue attaching to the cord from superficial tissue and cord untethering, which resulted in progressive improvement of her weakness.

Effects of Amiloride, an Ion Channel Blocker, on Alamethicin Pore Formation in Negatively Charged, Gold-Supported, Phospholipid Bilayers: A Molecular View.

The effects of amiloride on the structure and conductivity of alamethicin ion pore formation within negatively charged, gold-supported, 1,2-dimyristoyl- sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine/Egg-PG membranes were investigated with the help of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), photon polarization modulation-infrared reflection spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The EIS results indicate that ion conductivity across negatively charged phospholipid bilayers containing alamethicin decreases by an order of magnitude when amiloride is introduced to the system. Despite the reduction in ion conductivity, the PM-IRRAS data shows that amiloride does not inhibit ion channel formation by alamethicin peptides. High-resolution AFM images revealed that amiloride enlarges and distorts the shape of alamethicin ion pores when introduced to the system, indicating that it is inserting itself into the mouth of the alamethicin pores. This effect is driven by electrostatic interactions between positively charged amiloride molecules and the negative charge on the membrane.

Role of Transmembrane Potential and Defects on the Permeabilization of Lipid Bilayers by Alamethicin, an Ion-Channel-Forming Peptide.

The insertion and ion-conducting channel properties of alamethicin reconstituted into a 1,2-di- O-phytanyl- sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine bilayer floating on the surface of a gold (111) electrode modified with a 1-thio-ß-d-glucose (ß-Tg) self-assembled monolayer were investigated using a combination of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS). The hydrophilic ß-Tg monolayer separated the bilayer from the gold substrate and created a water-rich spacer region, which better represents natural cell membranes. The EIS measurements acquired information about the membrane resistivity (a measure of membrane porosity), and the PM-IRRAS experiments provided insight into the conformation and orientation of the membrane constituents as a function of the transmembrane potential. The results showed that the presence of alamethicin had a small effect on the conformation and orientation of phospholipid molecules within the bilayer for all studied potentials. In contrast, the alamethicin peptides assumed a surface state, where the helical axes adopted a large tilt angle with respect to the surface normal, at small transmembrane potentials, and inserted into the bilayer at sufficiently negative transmembrane potentials forming pores, which behaved as barrel-stave ion channels for ionic transport across the membrane. The results indicated that insertion of alamethincin peptides into the bilayer was driven by the dipole-field interactions and that the transitions between the inserted and surface states were electrochemically reversible. Additionally, the EIS measurements performed on phospholipid bilayers without alamethicin also showed that the application of negative transmembrane potentials introduces defects into the bilayer. The membrane resistances measured in both the absence and presence of alamethicin show similar dependencies on the electrode potential, suggesting that the insertion of the peptide may also be assisted by the electroporation of the membrane. The findings in this study provide new insights into the mechanism of alamethicin insertion into phospholipid bilayers.

Pore Forming Properties of Alamethicin in Negatively Charged Floating Bilayer Lipid Membranes Supported on Gold Electrodes.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and photon polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) were employed to investigate the formation of alamethicin pores in negatively charged bilayers composed of a mixture of 1,2-dimyristoyl- sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) and egg-PG floating at gold (111) electrode surfaces modified by self-assembled monolayers of 1-thio-ß-d-glucose (ß-Tg). The EIS data showed that the presence of alamethicin decreases the membrane resistivity by about 1 order of magnitude. PM-IRRAS measurements provided information about the tilt angles of peptide helical axis with respect to the bilayer normal. The small tilt angles obtained for the peptide helical axis prove that the alamethicin molecules were inserted into the DMPC/egg-PG membranes. The tilt angles decreased when negative potentials were applied, which correlates with the observed decrease in membrane resistivity, indicating that ion pore formation is assisted by the transmembrane potential. Molecular resolution AFM images provided visual evidence that alamethicin molecules aggregate forming hexagonal porous 2D lattices with periodicities of 2.0 ± 0.2 nm. The pore formation by alamethicin in the negatively charged membrane was compared with the interaction of this peptide with a bilayer formed by zwitterionic lipids. The comparison of these results showed that alamethicin preferentially forms ion translocating pores in negatively charged phospholipid membranes.

New methods for drug synergy prediction: A mini-review.

In this mini-review, we explore the new prediction methods for drug combination synergy relying on high-throughput combinatorial screens. The fast progress of the field is witnessed in the more than thirty original machine learning methods published since 2021, a clear majority of them based on deep learning techniques. We aim to put these articles under a unifying lens by highlighting the core technologies, the data sources, the input data types and synergy scores used in the methods, as well as the prediction scenarios and evaluation protocols that the articles deal with. Our finding is that the best methods accurately solve the synergy prediction scenarios involving known drugs or cell lines while the scenarios involving new drugs or cell lines still fall short of an accurate prediction level.

Direct additive-free N-formylation and N-acylation of anilines and synthesis of urea derivatives using green, efficient, and reusable deep eutectic solvent ([ChCl][ZnCl2]2).

In the current report, we introduce a simple, mild efficient and green protocol for N-formylation and N-acetylation of anilines using formamide, formic acid, and acetic acid as inexpensive, nontoxic, and easily available starting materials just with heating along stirring in [ChCl][ZnCl2]2 as a durable, reusable deep eutectic solvent (DES), which acts as a dual catalyst and solvent system to produce a wide range of formanilides and acetanilides. Also, a variety of unsymmetrical urea derivatives were synthesized by the reaction of phenyl isocyanate with a range of amine compounds using this benign DES in high to excellent yields. [ChCl][ZnCl2]2 showed good recycling and reusability up to four runs without considerable loss of its catalytic activity.

Synthesis and characterization of novel polymer-drug conjugates based on the poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) as a potential method for drug release.

Six well known drugs, captopril, metformin-HCl, metroniazole, nortriptyline-HCl, fluoxetine-HCl and betahistin-HCl, were grafted to poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) (PSMA). Grafting was attained by combining of anhydride groups in the PSMA with therapeutic agents containing NH, OH or SH groups. The covalently grafted drugs were identified by infrared, (1)H NMR and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The drug release data at different times fits well to the Korsmeyer-Peppas equation. The analysis of the exponent n of this model revealed a dominant Fickian diffusion mechanism under the in vitro conditions. Furthermore, mean dissolution time values (45.9 to 86.7 h) indicate a high resistance against drugs transport, the highest being obtained for betahistin-HCL.

Iron Nanoparticles Wrapped with an N-Doped Carbon Material Produced by Using a Zinc Hydroxide Ferrocyanide Nanohybrid for Use in Commercial-like Supercapacitors.

According to the technology of carbon-based supercapacitors, modifying the structure of carbon as an active electrode material leads to an increase in capacitance. A modification involves introducing heteroatoms such as nitrogen into the carbon structure and composing it with metals such as iron. In this research, an anionic source called ferrocyanide was used to produce N-doped carbon consisting of iron nanoparticles. In fact, ferrocyanide was located as a guest between the layers of a host material, which is zinc hydroxide in the α phase. This new nanohybrid material was then heat-treated under Ar, and the heated product after acid washing was iron nanoparticles wrapped with N-doped carbon materials. This material was used as an active material in the production of symmetric supercapacitors with different organic (TEABF4 in acetonitrile) and aqueous (sodium sulfate) electrolytes as well as a new electrolyte (KCN in methanol). Accordingly, the supercapacitor made by the N/Fe-carbon active material and the organic electrolyte showed a capacitance value of 21 F/g at a current density of 0.1 A/g. This value is comparable to and even higher than the values observed in commercial supercapacitors.

Effect of gamma-irradiated honey bee venom on gene expression of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in mice.

In this study, the effect of gamma-irradiated honey bee venom (doses of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 kGy, volume of 0.1 ml and concentration of 0.2 mg/ml) was evaluated on the reduction of allergen compounds and the gene expression of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in mice. Hence, edema activity induced by the bee venom irradiated at 4, 6, and 8 kGy was reduced, compared with the control group and that irradiated at 2 kGy. In contrast, the paw edema induced by the bee venom irradiated at 8 kGy increased, compared with 4 and 6 kGy. At all the time periods, there was a significant decrease in the gene expression of interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and interleukin 10 (IL-10) in the bee venoms irradiated at 4, 6, and 8 kGy, compared with the control group and that irradiated at 2 kGy. In contrast, there was an increase in the gene expression of IFN-γ and IL-6 in the bee venom irradiated at 8 kGy, compared with those irradiated at 4 and 6 kGy. Therefore, gamma irradiation at 4 and 6 kGy reduced the gene expression of cytokines at each time period by decreasing the allergen compounds of honey bee venom.

Ion Release from Stainless Steel Brackets Subjected to Tooth Bleaching Treatment.

Statement of the Problem: Tooth discoloration in the form of staining is a common finding during conventional orthodontic treatment. Due to elevated esthetic standards, clinicians in the field of orthodontics are faced with increasing demands by patients to perform bleaching treatments while the appliances are still in place. Though the success of such treatments has been reported in literature, the effect of whitening agents on orthodontic appliances has not been evaluated. Increased ion release following corrosion of orthodontic brackets is considered a health hazard. Purpose: In this study, we measured the amount of ion release from steel brackets under home and office bleaching treatment in order to evaluate the safety of such treatments during orthodontic therapy. Materials and Method: In this experimental study, a total of 120 brackets were randomly divided into 3 groups. The first group was subjected to an office bleaching regimen (hydrogen peroxide 40%). The second group was subjected to a home bleaching treatment (carbamide peroxide 20%). The third group did not receive any bleaching treatment. The specimens of all groups were immersed in artificial saliva and after 30 days, the amount of released chromium, copper, iron, magnesium, and nickel ions was measured and compared using one way ANOVA. Results: The results showed that ion release was significantly different between the three groups (pValue >0.05). For the chromium, iron, magnesium, and Nickel ion release the order was as follows: no bleaching < home bleaching < office bleaching. However, the copper ion release was greater in the group that received home bleaching. Conclusion: Ion release was enhanced when bleaching treatments were performed, with office bleaching having a more significant effect. Although the amounts of released ions were less than those permitted by WHO, we suggest that the clinicians recommend home bleaching for orthodontic patients that are seeking tooth whitening treatment.

Effect of gamma-irradiated honey bee venom on blood parameter and histopathological observations of liver and kidney in a mice animal model.

Honey bee venom is a valuable product with a wide range of biological effects, whose use is rapidly increasing in apitherapy. In this study, the effect of gamma-irradiated honey bee venom (doses of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 kGy, volume of 0.1 ml, and concentration of 0.2 mg/ml) was evaluated on median lethal dose (LD50) determinations, liver and kidney histology, biochemical marker level, and serum protein analyses. Hence, the LD50 induced by the honey bee venom irradiated at 4, 6, and 8 kGy was increased, compared with the one at 0 and 2 kGy. Normal histology was observed in the liver and kidney of the mice receiving the honey bee venom irradiated at 4, 6, and 8 kGy. The serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and all serum proteins were reduced at 4, 6, and 8 kGy compared with 0 and 2 kGy. Therefore, gamma irradiation at 4, 6, and 8 kGy had no negative effect on LD50, liver and kidney tissues, ALT, and serum protein levels by decreasing the allergen compounds of the honey bee venom.

Intraoral Extranodal Natural Killer Cell/T-Cell Lymphoma of the Hard Palate.

Natural killer cell/T-cell lymphoma (NK/TL) is a rare subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and requires early detection, which can be very challenging. NK/TL often arises in the nasal cavity and can then spread to the oral cavity, but the case presented here is an unusual presentation of NK/TL in a 66-year-old edentulous male patient who initially presented an intraoral exophytic lesion in the palate that appeared within 3 months. We report the present case to highlight the challenges of reaching an accurate diagnosis given the diverse clinical manifestations of NK/TL.