AI-Based Analysis of Ziehl-Neelsen-Stained Sputum Smears for as a Screening Method for Active Tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis is the primary cause of death due to infection in the world. Identification of in sputum is a diagnostic test, which can be used in screening programs-especially in countries with a high incidence of tuberculosis-to identify and treat those persons with the highest risk of disseminating the infection. We previously developed an algorithm which is able to automatically detect mycobacteria on tissue; in particular, our algorithm identified acid-fast bacilli on tissue with 100% specificity, 95.

Skin Malignant Melanoma and Matrix Metalloproteinases: Promising Links to Efficient Therapies.

Skin malignant melanoma (MM) is one of the most frequent and aggressive neoplasia worldwide. Its associated high mortality rates are mostly due to its metastases, while diagnosis and treatment of MM in its early stages is of favorable prognostic. Even skin superficial MMs at incipient local stages can already present with lymph node invasion and distant metastases.

Successfully physical therapy program for functional respiratory rehabilitation after lung transplant surgery - case report.

The first lung transplant (LT) was made in Romania in 2018 at a 36-year-old male patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study follows the first LT rehabilitation by describing the physical therapy program (PTP), the measurements of body mass and appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) by bio-impedancemetry analysis (BIA) and the functional capacity assessment realized by the six-minute walk test (6MWT) and by the functional respiratory tests (FRTs) in order to evaluate the effectiveness of functional respiratory rehabilitation in this case during a period of one year. In parallel, repeated transbronchial biopsies were performed after six weeks, three months, six months and one year since the transplant.

MMP1, MMP9, MMP11 and MMP13 in melanoma and its metastasis - key points in understanding the mechanisms and celerity of tumor dissemination.

Background: Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)1, MMP9, MMP11, and MMP13 are overexpressed in malignant melanoma (MM), being associated with tumor invasive phase, metastases, and more aggressive neoplastic phenotypes.

Aim: The main objective of the current study was to correlate the expression of the MMPs with the evolution of MM toward distant metastasis.

Patients, Materials And Methods: We designed a retrospective cohort study, including 13 patients with metastatic MM.

Assessment of RAS-RAF-MAPK Pathway Mutation Status in Healthy Skin, Benign Nevi, and Cutaneous Melanomas: Pilot Study Using Droplet Digital PCR.

In the present study, we employed the ddPCR and IHC techniques to assess the prevalence and roles of and mutations in a small batch of melanoma ( = 22), benign moles ( = 15), and normal skin samples ( = 15). Mutational screening revealed the coexistence of and mutations in melanomas and nevi and the occurrence of G12/G13 variants in healthy skin. All investigated nevi had driver mutations in the or genes and elevated p16 protein expression, indicating cell cycle arrest despite an increased mutational burden.

A New Method of Artificial-Intelligence-Based Automatic Identification of Lymphovascular Invasion in Urothelial Carcinomas.

The presence of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) in urothelial carcinoma (UC) is a poor prognostic finding. This is difficult to identify on routine hematoxylin-eosin (H&E)-stained slides, but considering the costs and time required for examination, immunohistochemical stains for the endothelium are not the recommended diagnostic protocol. We developed an AI-based automated method for LVI identification on H&E-stained slides.

Real-World Endoscopic and Histologic Outcomes in Ulcerative Colitis Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Histologic activity has emerged as an aspirational therapeutic goal in ulcerative colitis management. It is not yet a formal treatment target in ulcerative colitis. However, it could be used as an adjunct to mucosal healing to represent a deeper level of healing.

EUS-guided fine needle biopsy is able to provide diagnosis in rare osteoclast-like giant cells undifferentiated carcinoma of the pancreas: report of two cases.

Undifferentiated carcinoma of the pancreas with osteoclast-like giant cells (UC-OGC) is a rare subtype of pancreatic cancer, accounting for less than 1% of all pancreatic tumors. Preoperative diagnosis is cumbersome as cross-sectional imaging is often not capable to distinguish between UC-OGC and other pancreatic tumors such as pancreatic adenocarcinoma, mucinous carcinoma or neuroendocrine tumors and specific tumor markers seem to be lacking. Endoscopic ultrasound r `m(EUS) with tissue acquisition via fine-needle aspiration (FNA) or biopsy (FNB) with microscopic HE staining and immunohistochemistry allows for an accurate diagnosis, thus influencing further treatment.

The prognostic significance of the clinical and histological parameters in primary cutaneous melanoma patients.

Cutaneous melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer and its incidence is unfortunately increasing. In the last decades, a progressive increase of new cases of diagnosed thin melanoma has been noted. This may be due to earlier detection, better surveillance, improved diagnostic criteria or increased exposure to sunlight.

A New Artificial Intelligence-Based Method for Identifying Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in Ziehl-Neelsen Stain on Tissue.

Mycobacteria identification is crucial to diagnose tuberculosis. Since the bacillus is very small, finding it in Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN)-stained slides is a long task requiring significant pathologist's effort. We developed an automated (AI-based) method of identification of mycobacteria.

MLH1, BRAF and p53 - searching for significant markers to predict evolution towards adenocarcinoma in colonic sessile serrated lesions.

Background And Aim: Colonic serrated lesions are premalignant lesions, using an alternative malignization pathway, including multiple genetic and epigenetic alterations, as: mismatch repair deficiency due to MutL homolog 1 (MLH1) promoter methylation, tumor protein p53 (TP53) mutations, activating mutations of v-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (BRAF) and Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS). Our study aims to evaluate MLH1, BRAF and p53 immunohistochemical (IHC) status in sessile serrated lesions (SSLs), with and without dysplasia.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective case-control study including 20 SSLs with dysplasia and 20 SSLs without dysplasia (matching sex and age).

Role of immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis and staging of cutaneous squamous-cell carcinomas (Review).

Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common type of neoplasm affecting Caucasian individuals, with squamous-cell carcinoma (cSCC) being the second most common type of NMSC after basal-cell carcinoma. The immunohistochemical study of cSCC is of particular importance, especially for the diagnosis of its rare forms, for which accurate and early diagnosis is crucial for survival. In the present review of the literature, the potentially significant value of immunohistochemical markers were highlighted to more accurately assess the biological behaviour, the prognosis of cSCC and to optimize case management.

Coexistence of Trisomy 8 and 13 in a Newly Diagnosed Patient With Diffuse Large B Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and Acute Myeloid Leukemia Secondary to Primary Myelofibrosis.

Concomitant diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and acute myeloid leukemia secondary to chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) is rarely reported. Patients with MPNs may have a second neoplasm, and the risk of lymphoid line neoplasms is 2.5-3.

E-cadherin and aquaporin 1 co-expression analysis in hepatocellular carcinoma: a pilot study.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the main primary liver malignancy, being associated with both health and economic burden worldwide. Recently, novel molecular markers and possible therapeutic targets were identified. Different adhesion molecules, as well as possible angiogenesis-associated targets can be prime candidates when investigating novel therapies.

The differential diagnosis of ulcerative colitis versus angiodysplasia of the colon with ischemic colitis.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are the inflammatory bowel diseases with a continuously increasing of prevalence. Their exact causes are still not well known and, more than that, they are raising up serious issues of diagnosis. The same difficulties of diagnosis are encountered in the case of the colonic angiodysplasia or ischemic colitis (IC).

Characteristics and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 and liver injury: a retrospective analysis and a multicenter experience.

Patients with COVID-19 frequently present abnormal elevated liver function tests of unknown clinical significance. We aimed to investigate the characteristics and factors influencing outcome in patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and liver injury on admission. This is a retrospective observational study of patients hospitalized in two COVID units in Romania.

COVID‑19 vaccination and IgG and IgA antibody dynamics in healthcare workers.

Given the current outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) and the development and implementation of mass vaccination, data are being obtained by analyzing vaccination campaigns. In the present study, 69 healthcare workers who were exposed to patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‑2 were monitored for specific immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgA levels at different time periods. Prior to vaccination, after the first round of vaccination at 21 days (when the second dose of vaccine was administrated) and 24 days after the second round of vaccination, with an mRNA‑based vaccine.

Prognostic Potential of Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells in Resectable Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

(1) : The immune microenvironment plays an important role in carcinogenesis and has prognostic potential in many types of cancer. In this study we assess the prognostic character of tumor-infiltrating immune cells CD4, CD8 and CD56 in resectable oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC); (2) : We have evaluated the densities of CD4, CD8 and CD56 in two distinct compartments, intratumor and invasion front, in 90 patients with OSCC; (3) : Significant differences were found between the tumor compartments for the CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes. An improved outcome (OS) was seen in patients with high densities of intratumor CD8 lymphocytes ( = 0.

FOXP3 in Melanoma with Regression: Between Tumoral Expression and Regulatory T Cell Upregulation.

Cutaneous melanoma is a significant immunogenic tumoral model, the most frequently described immune phenomenon being tumor regression, as a result of the interaction of tumoral antigens and stromal microenvironment. We present a retrospective cohort study including 52 cases of melanoma with regression. There were evaluated correlations of the most important prognostic factors (Breslow depth and mitotic index) with FOXP3 expression in tumor cells and with the presence of regulatory T cells and dendritic cells in the tumoral stroma.

Dangerous Liaison: Helicobacter pylori, Ganglionitis, and Myenteric Gastric Neurons: A Histopathological Study.

Chronic inflammation induced by () infection plays a major role in development of gastric cancer. However, recent findings suggested that progression of inflammation and neoplastic transformation in infection are more complex than previously believed and could involve different factors that modulate gastric microenvironment and influence host-pathogen interaction. Among these factors, gastric myenteric plexus and its potential adaptive changes in H.

Tumor Microenvironment in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Role and Prognosis.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) represents 30-40% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) and is a disease with an aggressive behavior. Because about one-third of DLBCL patients will be refractory or resistant to standard therapy, several studies focused on identification of new individual prognostic and risk stratification biomarkers and new potential therapeutic targets. In contrast to other types of cancers like carcinomas, where tumor microenvironment was widely investigated, its role in DLBCL pathogenesis and patient survival is still poorly understood, although few studies had promising results.

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Skin Cancers: A Review.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in physiologic processes such as embryogenesis and wound healing. A similar mechanism occurs in some tumors where cells leave the epithelial layer and gain mesenchymal particularities in order to easily migrate to other tissues. This process can explain the invasiveness and aggressiveness of these tumors which metastasize, by losing the epithelial phenotype (loss of E-cadherin, desmoplakin, and laminin-1) and acquiring mesenchymal markers (N-cadherin).

Efficacy of methotrexate as anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative drug in dermatology: Three case reports.

Methotrexate (MTX) is a folic acid analog with anti-proliferative (anti-neoplastic, cytotoxic), immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties, which has been used in the treatment of various cutaneous disorders, such as psoriasis, keratoacanthoma, pityriasis rubra pilaris, atopic dermatitis, mycosis fungoides, bullous skin diseases, systemic sclerosis, morphea, lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis and crusted scabies. Inhibition of cell proliferation is explained through its role in blocking DNA/RNA synthesis, by inhibiting dihydrofolate reductase, necessary for the production of pyrimidine and purine nucleotides. An anticancer effect can be related to α-oxoaldehyde metabolism (MTX increases methylglyoxal levels).