• 2019-2023close
• Open Access close

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one ofthe most prevalent healthcare-associated infections (HAI) andcauses of death in intensive care units (ICUs), and studies haveshown its relation to oral health. Aim: To report the impact ofthe incorporation of dental professionals into multidisciplinaryICU staff on the incidence of VAP. Methods: A retrospectiveobservational study was carried out to collect and analyzehealth indicators of patients in the ICUs from 2011 to 2018 andto differentiate these indicators between the periods beforeand after the participation of dental staff in the ICU. This studywas approved by the Research Ethics Committee. Results:The average number of monthly ICU admissions was 105.89 ±169.72, and the discharge was 105.21 ± 168.96, with a monthlyaverage number of deaths within 24 h of 38.61 ± 62.27. Theaverage number of monthly HAI-related deaths decreasedfrom 2011 to 2018, followed by a reduction in cases of HAIper month. The average monthly number of HAIs relatedto mechanical ventilation (MV) decreased, and the samewas observed for the infection density of HAIs related to MV(p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, there was a significantdecrease in the number of HAIs related to MV (p = 0.005).Conclusion: Although a reduction in the number of admissionsor complexity of cases was not observed in the study period,multidisciplinary staff practices were essential for controllingHAIs and the presence of dental professionals can assist in thecontrol of HAIs related to MV.

The former primers being employed in various literacy centers were evaluated on the basis of contents and literacy objectives. Current study being descriptive in nature comprised self-developed questionnaire. The responses obtained from the questionnaire were fed in Microsoft excel programmes. Questionnaire using five-point Likert scale, having close ended responses were developed by researcher through consulting related researches, by making basis the literature review. After determining validity and reliability of research tool, the researcher personally visited and administered questionnaire from the selected respondents. To analyze the data, the statistical package for Social Science (SPSS) was utilized by using formulas. The results that were attained were stated in the form of tables and figures. The conclusions and interpretations drawn from these results were also stated. Major findings of the study were the students' responses and teachers feel that the existing primer is pleasing.

Breast cancer is the commonest cancer among females. Patient outcome and treatment options are largely influenced by its molecular subtypes. This study aims to evaluate molecular subtypes of breast cancers among patients treated at a tertiary cancer centre in Sri Lanka. Clinical and demographic data were collected retrospectively from electronic medical records available at the cancer institute, Maharagama, Sri Lanka. Histology reports of 200 patients who had undergone mastectomy or wide local excision during an 18-month period starting from January 2018 were analyzed. Patients' age, histological subtype of cancer, receptor status of estrogen receptor (ER) progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), Ki-67 index, and tumour grading were considered. The age range of the patients was 29 to 84 years (mean=57.7, SD=11.76). The 50-59 and 60-69 age groups represented the most patients (28% each). Females represented 99% (n=199) of the total while three patients had bilateral breast cancer. Histologically, invasive carcinoma of no special type (NST) was the commonest cancer type (n=178, 89%), with the majority being grade 2 cancers (52.5%) according to the Nottingham cancer grading (grade 1=15.1% and grade 3=32%). Luminal A was the most common (64%) molecular subtype, followed by basal-like (21%), HER2-enriched (11.5%), and luminal B (4.5%). Data on the Ki-67 index was available for only 98 patients, and 8.1% (8) of them had a Ki-67 index less than 10, while 22.5% (n=22) between 10 and 20. All others (69%) had a higher Ki-67 index (>20). There is a significant association between the molecular subtype of breast cancer and Nottingham grading (p Majority of Sri Lankan women with breast cancers present in the 5th and 6th decades of their lives. Luminal A molecular subtype was the predominant, followed by basal-like, HER2- enriched, and luminal B. Aggressive HER2- enriched and basal subtypes are more common in younger age groups. We recommend breast cancer subtyping before surgery so that more people will benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Covid-19 appeared in Wuhan (China), by December 2019 and rapidly spread to the rest of the world. Many countries adopted measures against its spread to protect people and national healthcare services. However, at the moment, more than 2.5 million people got infected and more than 175 thousand died in the 213 countries, areas and territories reached by the disease (official records at April 23, 2020). Countries began to adopt also measures to protect the economy and to prepare the economic recovery, once the effects are tremendous worldwide. In Portugal, measures allowed a flattered curve for Covid-19 spread. In this paper, we use an analogy to the 'drop of honey effect' to show how this curve develops. The 'drop of honey effect' is studied in terms of chaos theory and dynamic systems and is used as a framework to the way systems change in social phenomena.

We present a new method for data sharing across largecollaborations to improve reproducibility and transparency,by creating a Python package that serves as an interface (API) to the multi-omics characterization of tumors from NCI’s CPTAC program.

AbstractIn the spreading of infectious diseases, an important number to determine is how many other people will be infected on average by anyone who has become infected themselves. This is known as the reproduction number. This paper describes a non-parametric inverse method for extracting the full transfer function of infection, of which the reproduction number is the integral. The method is demonstrated by applying it to the timeline of hospitalisation admissions for covid-19 in the Netherlands up to May 20 2020, which is publicly available from the site of the Dutch National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (rivm.nl).

Background. Treatment of glioblastoma multiforme remains little effective due to the rapidly developing recurrence of the tumor, due to its high tumorigenic potential, resistance to chemoradiation therapy and increased dissemination of glioma stem cells (GSC). Molecular mechanisms of these cell interaction with extracellular matrix (ECM) are practically not studied. At present, it is also not clear the signaling of the ECM-receptor interaction (ECM-RI) differs for GSC and differentiated glioma cells (GDC). Objective : using high-resolution proteomic mass spectrometry to study the determinant expression of the ECM-receptor interaction signaling cascade in CD133 + GSC and CD133 – GDC. Results. 1990 proteins are identified, 18 of which are associated with the ECM-RI process. Positive regulation of 14 ECM-RI proteins was found in CD133 + GSC compared with CD133 – GDC, ten had more than 2 times increased expression. Increase in the CD133 + GSC level of 4 proteins activating the ECM-RI signaling cascade was noted. Conclusion. Important regularities are determined that could be used for the development of new approaches for detection of potential therapy targets of glioblastoma multiforme.