Nonneoplastic pathology of the appendix: A review article, based on the recent literature.

OBJECTIVES: The appendix, although considered a vestigial organ, is of considerable clinical importance because acute appendicitis is a common medical problem. There are also other disease processes involving the appendix. The appendix is among the first specimens that the pathologist (and surgeon) cuts one's teeth on. Thus, there may be a tendency to underestimate the clinically and prognostically significant appendiceal pathologies. METHODS: We provide a vade mecum of the pathologic features of a wide range of nonneoplastic appendiceal pathologies, with an emphasis on developing a practical approach to grossing, microscopy, and reporting-all with clinical and therapeutic implications. Much of this is based on literature on MEDLINE with reference to years 2008 to 2023, as well as on personal experiences and interpretations. RESULTS: The appendix can harbor a myriad of nonneoplastic pathologies, including infections, inflammations of varying etiologies (including interval appendectomy), endometriosis, diverticulosis, and so on. Chronic appendicitis, Crohn disease, and clinical audit are recurring themes while COVID-19 is a new entity. CONCLUSIONS: Most importantly, all pathologists should appreciate that the appendix is not as "routine" a specimen as one would want to believe.

Chatbots, generative AI, and scholarly manuscripts: WAME recommendations on chatbots and generative artificial intelligence in relation to scholarly publications.

This statement revises our earlier "WAME Recommendations on ChatGPT and Chatbots in Relation to Scholarly Publications" (January 20, 2023). The revision reflects the proliferation of chatbots and their expanding use in scholarly publishing over the last few months, as well as emerging concerns regarding lack of authenticity of content when using chatbots. These recommendations are intended to inform editors and help them develop policies for the use of chatbots in papers published in their journals. They aim to help authors and reviewers understand how best to attribute the use of chatbots in their work and to address the need for all journal editors to have access to manuscript screening tools. In this rapidly evolving field, we will continue to modify these recommendations as the software and its applications develop.

Esta declaración revisa las anteriores "Recomendaciones de WAME sobre ChatGPT y Chatbots en Relation to Scholarly Publications" (20 de enero de 2023). La revisión refleja la proliferación de chatbots y su creciente uso en las publicaciones académicas en los últimos meses, así como la preocupación por la falta de autenticidad de los contenidos cuando se utilizan chatbots. Estas recomendaciones pretenden informar a los editores y ayudarles a desarrollar políticas para el uso de chatbots en los artículos sometidos en sus revistas. Su objetivo es ayudar a autores y revisores a entender cuál es la mejor manera de atribuir el uso de chatbots en su trabajo y a la necesidad de que todos los editores de revistas tengan acceso a herramientas de selección de manuscritos. En este campo en rápida evolución, seguiremos modificando estas recomendaciones a medida que se desarrollen el software y sus aplicaciones.

Quality metrics in academia: time to revisit the rules?

Publication and citation metrics have been used for many years now as apparently objective parameters to evaluate educational institutions as well as individual researchers. A recent report in Science, about the Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), near Chennai, Tamil Nadu [1], highlights concerns about the value and limitations of such metrics in evaluating the importance of research publications, authors, journals and institutions.

Chatbots, generative AI, and scholarly manuscripts: WAME recommendations on chatbots and generative artificial intelligence in relation to scholarly publications

This statement revises our earlier "WAME Recommendations on ChatGPT and Chatbots in Relation to Scholarly Publications" (January 20, 2023). The revision reflects the proliferation of chatbots and their expanding use in scholarly publishing over the last few months, as well as emerging concerns regarding lack of authenticity of content when using chatbots. These recommendations are intended to inform editors and help them develop policies for the use of chatbots in papers published in their journals. They aim to help authors and reviewers understand how best to attribute the use of chatbots in their work and to address the need for all journal editors to have access to manuscript screening tools. In this rapidly evolving field, we will continue to modify these recommendations as the software and its applications develop.

Esta declaración revisa las anteriores "Recomendaciones de WAME sobre ChatGPT y Chatbots en Relation to Scholarly Publications" (20 de enero de 2023). La revisión refleja la proliferación de chatbots y su creciente uso en las publicaciones académicas en los últimos meses, así como la preocupación por la falta de autenticidad de los contenidos cuando se utilizan chatbots. Estas recomendaciones pretenden informar a los editores y ayudarles a desarrollar políticas para el uso de chatbots en los artículos sometidos en sus revistas. Su objetivo es ayudar a autores y revisores a entender cuál es la mejor manera de atribuir el uso de chatbots en su trabajo y a la necesidad de que todos los editores de revistas tengan acceso a herramientas de selección de manuscritos. En este campo en rápida evolución, seguiremos modificando estas recomendaciones a medida que se desarrollen el software y sus aplicaciones.

Lacunae in Laboratory Medicine Services and in Pathology Education in Medical Schools in India.

CONTEXT.­: Laboratories of many medical college hospitals in India do not offer important diagnostic tests, most of which are routine in the West. This detracts from the service as well as the educational function of the college. OBJECTIVES.­: To provide the background to pathology and laboratory medicine services and education in India, and to create a questionnaire that will put the lack of tertiary care laboratory services in perspective. This article will help illustrate the lacunae in laboratory medicine services and in the education of students. For this, we present information on the health services and pathology education facilities in India. We propose a questionnaire comprising 30 questions in various disciplines in pathology and laboratory medicine. These questions will help administrators and bureaucrats evaluate the status of the laboratories with respect to the services provided. DATA SOURCES.­: Sources include Web sites of the government of India, including that of the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories; indexed medical journal articles; and standard books and white papers on health care in India. We also used our personal experiences and interpretations of the laboratory and medical education sector in India. CONCLUSIONS.­: Medical colleges in India need to offer specialized diagnostic services if they are to achieve the targets of universal health care as well as turning out competent doctors. The agencies responsible for health care in India should use the questionnaire as a first step toward improving laboratory services. Other low- and middle-income countries should also adopt this method.

Report of a Case With Clinical and Pathologic Features of Castleman Disease That Predates Castleman's Report by More Than 50 Years.

CONTEXT.­: In 1954, Benjamin Castleman, MD, described what was then believed to be a new entity in lymph node pathology. Initially labeled "Hyperplasia of the mediastinal node" and then "Localized mediastinal lymph node hyperplasia resembling thymoma," we now recognize the condition with the eponym "Castleman disease." We document a paper that describes the same condition, a half century before Castleman did. OBJECTIVE.­: To report the striking resemblance between Castleman disease and the lymph node reported in the paper published by Edwin R. LeCount, MD, titled "Lymphoma, a benign tumor representing a lymph gland in structure," published in Journal of Experimental Medicine in 1899. We also provide an overview of the remarkable achievements of LeCount. DESIGN.­: We compared the elucidation in the original paper by LeCount with the morphologic details in the papers published by Castleman et al. Material on the life of LeCount was compiled from the scientific literature, the Internet, and the files of the University of Chicago. RESULTS.­: LeCount's description and illustrations of the lymph node are uncannily similar to the onion-skinning and vascularity that Castleman documented. CONCLUSIONS.­: LeCount deserves credit for his depiction of a hitherto-unreported entity.

Intramural Ova of Enterobius vermicularis in the Appendix-An Egg-Topic Location!

We report an unusual case of appendicitis in a 9-year-old girl in whom the wall of the appendix contained necrotizing granulomas, as well as eggs of Enterobius vermicularis. Although luminal E vermicularis adult parasites are commonly identified in the appendix and luminal eggs are occasionally seen, intramural worms and eggs are rare. We are unaware of earlier reports of ectopic intramural eggs in the appendix. It is important to and make a correct diagnosis, as both, the patient, as well as the family should be treated for enterobiasis.

An audit of the editorial process at the Indian Journal of Cancer: Lessons learned, and how to improve chances of acceptance of your paper.

BACKGROUND: The editors of the Indian Journal of Cancer (IJC) have not, so far, objectively analyzed the editorial processes involving author, referee, and editor data of the journal. Hence, we aimed at doing so in this audit. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed manuscripts submitted to the IJC from April 1, 2020, to May 31, 2020, for data related to the peer-review process. Microsoft Excel was used to enter the retrieved information and to carry out the statistical analysis. RESULTS: Three hundred and nineteen manuscripts were submitted during the study period. Of these, three were excluded from the study. Of the 316, 79 (25%) were articles on laboratory medicine; 182 (57.6%) were original articles. About half of the submitted manuscripts (166, 52.5%) were desk-rejected. Of the remaining 149 manuscripts, 105 did not follow the instructions to contributors (ITC) and required a median number of two revisions (range = 1-5) to satisfy the ITC. To review 107 manuscripts, 536 external referees were invited; of them 306 did not respond, 79 declined the invitation, and 151 accepted the invitation. Of these 151, 132 reverted with comments. Of the 200 Indians who were invited as referees, 118 (59%) accepted the invitation, whereas of the 336 non-Indian referees, only 33 (9.8%) did. Of the 107 Indian and 25 non-Indian referees who sent their comments, 86 (80.4%) and 19 (88%), respectively, offered useful comments. The median number of days to decision: for desk-rejection was 1 day (range = 0 - 42) days, for rejection after peer-review was 67 (range = 4 - 309) days, and for acceptance was 133.5 (range = 42 - 305) days. Decision has not yet been taken for 14 manuscripts. CONCLUSION: The study provides evidence that it is difficult to get referees. Also, a significant number of authors do not read or follow the ITC. We suggest that the time taken for a decision can be appreciably improved if these issues are addressed.

Typhoid appendicitis and 'the man from Istanbul'.

We describe typhoid appendicitis in a 19-year-old girl. The appendix showed aggregates of macrophages in the mucosa and in the wall. Blood culture yielded Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. The presence of macrophages in an appendicectomy specimen should prompt the pathologist to consider the possibility of typhoid fever, even in the absence of supporting microbiological investigations.

Gross reporting of adult kidney tumor specimens: A comprehensive evidence-based review.

Renal tumors comprise a wide spectrum of benign and malignant tumors. The important prognostic factors in renal cell carcinoma include pathological stage, tumor grade, morphological type, sarcomatoid/rhabdoid differentiation, and tumor necrosis. Therefore, the pathologist needs to be fully aware of how to gross nephrectomy specimens to be able to accurately provide the above prognostic information while reporting adult kidney tumors. With the advent of nephron-sparing surgeries, due diligence should be exercised to assess and sample the parenchymal surgical margin. This article discusses the approach to grossing nephrectomy specimens, elaborates the significance of every step, and also sheds light on the importance of clinical and radiological information in providing a holistic approach to the diagnosis and staging of adult renal tumors.