The aim of this study was to assess recovery, cell death, and cell composition of post-thaw cultured human islets. Cryopreserved islets were provided by the Clinical Islet Transplant Program, Edmonton, Canada. Islets were processed using media prepared in accordance with Pre-Edmonton and Edmonton protocols. Cryopreserved islets were rapidly thawed and cultured for 24 h, 3 d, 5 d, and 7 d, following which they were processed for histology. Islet quantification, integrity, morphology and tissue turnover were studied via hematoxylin and eosin stained sections. Ultrastructure was studied by electron microscopy and endocrine cell composition by immunohistochemistry. Using the Pre-Edmonton protocol, islet recovery was 50.1% and islet survival was 50% at 24 h while for the Edmonton protocol, the islet recovery was 69.4% (p<0.001) and islet survival, 50% at ≈2.5 d. With an increasing culture duration although the physical integrity was retained there was an increasing loss of cohesivity both at light microscopic and at ultrastructure level regardless of the protocols used. Percentage islet survival and tissue turnover correlated negatively with culture duration in both protocols. The Edmonton protocol appears to preserve the islets better. However, culture duration adversely affects islet survival and quality, indicating the need for more optimal cryopreservation and culture techniques.

Background:Monitoring blood utilization helps in effective management of blood stock to meet present and future demands in a hospital. Hence, we analyzed the age, gender and frequency distribution of each blood product used in different diseases conditions.Materials and Methods:We included all blood products utilized from January 2008 to December 2012 in our tertiary care hospital in South India. The primary and secondary discharge diagnoses (International Classification of Diseases [ICD-10]) were matched with clinical information provided in the request forms. The most relevant indication requiring blood transfusion was selected for each recipient and grouped into broad diagnostic categories according to the headings of ICD-10. The utilization of stored whole blood, packed red blood cells (RBCs), fresh frozen plasma (FFP) and platelets was stratified according to age, gender and diagnosis.Results:Our results indicated decline in usage of whole blood and an increase in use of FFP and platelets over the years. While packed RBCs were frequently used for treating injury and poisoning conditions, platelets and FFP were preferred for infectious and parasitic diseases. Various blood products were used less frequently in patients aged over 60 years and the overall usage of blood products was higher in males.Conclusion:The patterns of blood products utilization is in contrast to the Western nations, which may be due to difference in age structure among Indian population and higher prevalence of infectious diseases such as Dengue in our region. Nevertheless, this study highlights the importance of understanding the epidemiology of blood transfusion locally to improve usage of blood and blood products.

Seborrheic keratosis is a benign lesion that is common in the trunk and head and neck regions. It shows a considerable variety of histological appearances leading to different variants. The presence of sebaceous differentiation in seborrheic keratosis is very rare and can histologically mimic benign and malignant tumors with sebaceous differentiation. We present a case of a 65-year-old male presenting with multiple nodules over the right and left sides of neck and the right preauricular region, histopathological examination of which revealed multiple pigmented seborrheic keratoses with sebaceous differentiation. This case is reported for its rare sebaceous differentiation and multiplicity along with the importance of differentiating it from a variety of benign to malignant neoplasms showing sebaceous differentiation.

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the major neurodegenerative disorders, and its incidence increases globally every year. Currently, available AD drugs symptomatically treat AD with multiple adverse effects. Gefitinib (GE) is an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase inhibitor. EGFR is the preferred target for the treatment of AD, whereas the effect of GE in AD conditions is limited. The present study was designed to explore the ameliorative potential of GE in Aβ1–42 oligomer-induced neurotoxicity in AD mice. AD was induced by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of Aβ1–42 oligomer (4 μg/4 μL) into the lateral ventricles of the mouse brain. The test compound, i.e., GE (2 and 4 mg/kg of body weight), was administered orally on days 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, and 28, and the reference drug, i.e., donepezil (DP, 2 mg/kg), was administered orally from the 10th to 28th days. The behavioral changes were screened by the Morris water maze (MWM) test. Furthermore, biomarkers i.e., brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels were estimated from brain samples. The AD-associated histopathological changes were analyzed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The administration of GE significantly ameliorated the AD-associated behavioral, biochemical, and histopathological changes. The ameliorative effect of GE against the Aβ1–42 oligomer-associated neurotoxicity was due to its potent inhibition of EGFR kinase activation, as well as its antioxidant and antilipid peroxidative effect.

Diffuse neurofibroma is an unusual variant of neurofibroma with the head and neck being the common sites of involvement. It is benign in nature and spreads superficially and has many ectatic blood vessels. Histologically it is similar to conventional neurofibromas except for a few peculiar distinguishing features. We report a case of a 14-year-old boy who presented with a diffuse recurrent painless swelling over the dorsum of the nose with the clinical stigmata of neurofibromatosis. Microscopy revealed a diagnosis of diffuse neurofibroma with a few foci showing differentiation towards Meissner's type of tactile corpuscles. It is important to recognize this entity as it has a tendency to recur, yet hardly ever become malignant and is almost always associated with neurofibromatosis type 1.

Non-necrotizing granulomas are occasionally seen in patients with certain malignant disorders and are termed as "sarcoid-like reaction," which have many similarities with sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown etiology characterized by organ involvement and interference of organ function by granuloma or fibrosis. Sarcoidosis is occasionally found in a variety of malignant diseases with an overall incidence of 4.4% in carcinoma patients. We present here a rare case of moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of alveolar mucosa with regard to mandible associated with sarcoid-like reaction of cervical lymph nodes in a female patient in the absence of clinical evidence of systemic sarcoidosis. The relevant literature including pathogenesis is also discussed.

The energy management scheme is a desirable solution to integrate multiple renewable energy generators into the network and operate them synchronously. Controlling the energy shared between different distributed generators is an important consideration for the stabilized operation of the electricity grid. In this thesis work, a new method with the concept of fall control technique is used and is designed to control the power of each individual generator in the particular DC network. The proposed energy management scheme can be widely applied to the grid connected to the grid and to the grid isolated from the electricity grid to obtain high energy distribution efficiency and also provide greater stability. An efficient power control method for sharing the power required by the load is designed based on the drop control concept. The proposed controller can be applied to a single distributed generator to adjust its output power quickly and accurately. The power sharing control method was formulated, modeled and verified by simulating transient stability and steady state test studies. The optimal coupling resistance for power sharing was also identified. Controller interaction and communication delay were also investigated. Communication delay interference is negligible for the shared power controller. The system is simulated in the MATLAB / SIMULINK environment.