Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory, multifactorial condition, that, in the absence of an early and adequate treatment, may lead to a progressive damaging of the alveolar tissues that support the teeth (periodontal ligament, cement and alveolar bone) followed by teeth mobility and, subsequently, their loss. Periodontal disease is one of the most common inflammatory disease affecting adult individuals all over the world, being considered a real worldwide pandemic. This disease may influence the progression of certain systemic diseases: diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, ischemic cardiomyopathy, myocardial infarction, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases, chronic kidney diseases, cancer, etc. The association between smoking and periodontal disease was described in numerous clinical and epidemiological studies, suggesting that products derived from tobacco burning may change the clinical aspects and the disease progression. The present study analyzed microscopically and immunohistochemically 58 periodontal fragments, from 50 patients, chronic smokers, clinically diagnosed with severe periodontitis. There were highlighted major changes in the gingival epithelium (epithelium thickening, acanthosis, intraepithelial edema, infiltrates of neutrophils or lymphocytes, epithelial necrosis), in the periodontal conjunctive tissue (more or less intense inflammatory infiltrates, microhemorrhages, vascular congestion, intense immunohistochemical expression for some matrix metalloproteinases). The periodontal changes may be the expression of both toxic factors present in tobacco smoke and due to the changes caused by tobacco in the microbial flora of the oral cavity.
Femoral head osteonecrosis, also known as avascular necrosis, is a disease with a multifactorial etiology, characterized by a profound change of bone architecture, which leads to the diminishing of bone resistance and femoral head collapse. The main causes that lead to femoral head necrosis are represented by the decrease of local blood perfusion and increase of intraosseous pressure, because of an excessive development of adipose tissue in the areolas of the trabecular bone tissue in the femoral head. The histopathological and immunohistochemical (IHC) study performed by us showed that most of bone trabeculae were damaged by necrotic-involutive processes, their sizes being reduced, both regarding their length and their diameter; generally, the spans were thin, fragmented, distanced among them, which led to the occurrence of some large areolar cavities, full of conjunctive tissue, rich in adipocytes. Some of the residual bone spans even presented microfractures. In the structure of the trabecular bone tissue, numerous cavities showed lack of content, which indicates the death of osteocytes inside, while the endosteum appeared very thin, with few osteoprogenitor, flattened, difficult to highlight cells. The IHC study showed a low reaction of the bone reparatory processes and a reduced multiplication capacity of bone cells involved in the remodeling and remake of the diseased bone tissue. Nevertheless, there were identified numerous young conjunctive cells (fibroblasts, myofibroblasts), positive to proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), cells that have a high capacity of multiplication, participating in the formation of a fibrous conjunctive tissue (sclerous) instead of the damaged bone trabeculae. The formation of fibrous conjunctive tissue causes the reduction of mechanical resistance of the femoral head and its collapse. The IHC study of the microvascularization in the femoral head damaged by aseptic osteonecrosis showed the presence of a very low vascular system, both in the residual bone trabeculae and in the sclerous conjunctive tissue. Of the inflammatory cells present in the spongy bone tissue of the femoral head affected by osteonecrosis, the most numerous ones were the macrophages. Both macrophages and T-and B-lymphocytes had a heterogenous distribution.
Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) development is strongly associated with risk factors like smoking, chronic alcohol consumption, and the living environment, but also chronic human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, which can trigger cascade cellular changes leading to a neoplastic transformation. The prevalence of these factors differs among different world regions, and the prevention, diagnosis, and prognosis of OPSCC are highly dependent on them. We performed a retrospective study on 406 patients diagnosed with OPSCC in our region that were classified according to the tumor type, localization and diagnosis stage, demographic characteristics, risk factors, and histological and immunohistochemical features. We found that most of the patients were men from urban areas with a smoking habit, while most of the women in our study were diagnosed with tonsillar OPSCC and had a history of chronic alcoholism. During the immunohistochemical study, we analyzed the tumor immunoreactivity against anti-p16 and anti-HPV antibodies as markers of HPV involvement in tumor progression, as well as the correlation with the percentage of intratumoral nuclei immunomarked with the anti-Ki 67 antibody in serial samples. We observed that the percentage of Ki67-positive nuclei increased proportionally with the presence of intratumoral HPV; thus, active HPV infection leads to an increase in the rate of tumor progression. Our results support the implementation of strategies for OPSCC prevention and early diagnosis and can be a starting point for future studies aiming at adapting surgical and oncological treatment according to the HPV stage for better therapeutic results.
Currently, new varieties of triticale show improved morphological characteristics, according to the requirements of practice. The new directions mainly concern the waist and the components of the ear. Recent research has shown that new varieties, which form chains with relatively lower heights, could be suitable for different levels of intensification. On the other hand, current studies on morphological characters are useful in the progress of variety improvement, characteristic of the current stage. The wide genetic dowry and growing conditions of triticale usually lead to the specific expression of plant morphology. In the autumn triticale varieties Haiduc and FDL Bolid, some new directions were found, these being recently improved. Thus, compared to the two varieties, the straw and its upper segments were shorter in Haiduc. The thickness of the straw at the base was 0.2 mm smaller at Bolid. Both the length of the spike and its weight were similar. The Haiduc variety dominated instead in the number of spikelets in a spike, 31 compared to 29 in the Bolid variety. The membranes that cover the spikelet had similar dimensions: the external glume of 9 mm, the lower palea of 12-13 mm, and at Bolid the awn was 2 cm higher. The two varieties of triticale were more obviously differentiated by the morphological characteristics of the grains. Thus, for the Bolid variety, the number of grains in an ear was higher by 10, and the weight was higher by 0.5 g. Instead, the grain length was higher in Haiduc. The dominant values of the mass of one thousand grains were in both varieties at 50 g. Specific and at the same time important correlations were obtained between the morphological characters of the varieties. Thus, the number of grains in an ear and their weight were positively correlated with all the studied characters, with higher values of the correlation coefficients obtained for the Bolid variety. Both varieties of autumn triticale have demonstrated by their morphological characteristics, a good adaptability to zonal conditions.
Soybeans, a very valuable nutritious and cultivated plant, have recently received special attention for the improvement of new varieties. Their adaptability is increasing given the relatively large diversity of environmental conditions. Mainly the new varieties are distinguished both by the increased production of grains and by the contents in active principles as high as possible. At the same time, soybeans provide the current level required for the sustainable structure of crops on a farm. The Raluca TD variety, studied for its specific morphological characters, is one of the newest creations. Even in the conditions with recent dry periods, this variety has formed plants with heights of over 65 cm, with a total plant weight of 30 g. 3-4 branches have formed on a soybean stalk. Each plant formed 40-50 pods, weighing 15 g and 60 berries that weighed 7-10 g. The bean was 6.8 mm long, 5.8-6 mm thick, and the absolute weight of the berries was 120 g. Significantly positive correlations were obtained between these morphological characters in most cases. Insignificant situations were between the length of the grain with the other characters, between the thickness of the grain with the other characters - with two negative exceptions. The mass of one thousand berries was positively correlated with the weight of the berries on a plant and the size of the berries. The variability of the determined characters was reduced to the height of the plants and the size of the grains, average values were to the number, the grains from one pod and high values to the other characters, mainly due to the existence of the dry bottom. However, the Raluca TD variety, with improved morphological characteristics, proved to be a good adaptability to the zonal cultivation conditions.
Among the species of weeds with early emergence in spring is Lamium purpureum L. The plant is observed by its appearance in the form of small hearths, with relatively high densities, in addition to and in the areas cultivated with wheat. On the one hand, there was an obvious spread in agricultural areas, and on the other hand, a certain culinary and medicinal interest increased. Its spread occurs through the relatively high number of seeds it produces and their persistence in the soil. Morphological characters have shown a continuous evolution, depending on the ecotype existing at a given time. Thus, the average plant measured 13 cm in height and weighed 0.12 g of dry matter. One plant had on average 35 top-like fruit formations, and the number of nuts on a plant was 28. The nuts were 1.8 mm long and 0.8 mm thick. and the mass of one thousand walnuts was at the level of the whole experiment of 0.57 g. Significant positive correlations were obtained between the height of the plants with their weight, with the number of fruit formations and with the number of seeds/ nuts. Negative correlations were between the length of the nuts and the other characters. The determinations performed showed that the weed also adapted to the current climatic conditions in the agricultural field, with the increase of the fruiting of the plants.
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