Colectomy Followed by J-Pouch Reconstruction to Correct Total Colonic Aganglionosis

Background: Patients suffering from complete colonic aganglionosis (TCA) require the best surgical care possible. Only a few studies reported J-Pouch repair as the primary reconstructive surgery in TCA patients. This study adds to the current literature a thorough clinical and functional outcomes group. Methods: Between 2011 and 2021, medical records of Hirschsprung disease (HD) patients who underwent J-Pouch reconstruction during infancy (n = 12) were reviewed. In close follow-up, bowel function and satisfaction with operation results were evaluated. The median age at the time of J-Pouch reconstruction was 16 months, and covering ileostomies were closed four months later. There were no postoperative problems. After the final repair, Pouch-related problems (PRP) occurred in 27% of the children and were treated conservatively. There was no histological evidence of pouchitis in any of the individuals. The median 24-h stooling frequency was 4–5 at the latest follow-up 51 months following enterostomy closure. Conclusions: The current study’s findings support the existing literature and advocate for J-pouch repair in TCA patients. However, more research will be needed to determine the best time to undergo pouch surgery and ileostomy closure in TCA patients.

Surgery Versus Radiofrequency Ablation for Small Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Randomized Controlled Trial (SURF-Trial)

Introduction: It remains unclear which of surgery or radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is the more effective treatment for small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to compare survival between patients undergoing surgery (surgery group) and patients undergoing RFA (RFA group). Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 49 institutions in Japan. Patients with Child-Pugh scores ≤ 7, largest HCC diameter ≤ 3 cm, and ≤ 3 HCC nodules were considered eligible. The co-primary endpoints were recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). The current study reports the final result of RFS, and the follow-up of OS is still ongoing. Results: During 2009–2015, 308 patients were registered. After excluding ineligible patients, the surgery and RFA groups included 150 and 151 patients, respectively. Baseline factors did not differ significantly between the groups. In both groups, 90% of patients had solitary HCC. The median largest HCC diameter was 1.8 cm (interquartile range, 1.5–2.2 cm) in the surgery group and 1.8 cm (interquartile range, 1.5–2.3 cm) in the RFA group. The median procedure duration (274 versus 40 minutes, P<0.01) and the median duration of hospital stay (17 days versus 10 days, P<0.01) were longer in the surgery group than in the RFA group. RFS did not differ significantly between the groups as the median RFS was 3.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.6–5.1) years in the surgery group and 3.0 (95% CI, 2.4–5.6) years in the RFA group (hazard ratio, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.67–1.25; P=0.58). Discussion/Conclusion: Our study did not show which of surgery or RFA is the better treatment option for small HCC.

RELATIONS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA FROM THE POSITION OF CHINESE MILITARY PHILOSOPHY

Целью статьи является рассмотрение общей тенденции отношений двух стран в контексте противостояния Китая давлению Запада. Используются методы общенаучной группы (анализ, синтез, дедукция, индукция); а также специальные методы: контентанализ научной литературы; фактографический анализ, метод ретроспективного анализа. Автор приходит к выводу, что китайская военная философия реализуется в стратегии «мягкой силы» Китая. В отношениях с Россией Китай не делает исключения из общих философских принципов взаимодействия с западной цивилизацией. Принципы военной философии Китая противоречат прогнозам о возможности военного союза с Россией. Теоретическая значимость исследования заключается в том, что отношения между Россией и Китаем рассматриваются с позиции основных принципов военной философии КНР. Aim. The aim is the considering of the general trend in relations between the two countries in the context of China’s opposition to Western pressure. Methodology. General scientific group methods (analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction); as well as special methods: content analysis of scientific literature; factual analysis, retrospective analysis method. Results. Chinese military philosophy is implemented in China’s «soft power» strategy. In relations with Russia, China makes no exceptions from the general philosophical principles of interaction with Western civilization. The principles of China’s military philosophy contradict forecasts of the possibility of a military alliance with Russia. The theoretical significance of the study lies in the fact that relations between Russia and China are viewed from the standpoint of the basic principles of the military philosophy of the PRC.

Gross, Histomorphological and Scanning Electronic Microscopic Studies on Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue of Intestine of Pati Duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) of Assam

Background: The study on Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue (GALT) of Pati duck of Assam is of great value in regard to normal academic and bio-medical research aspects. The aim of the study was to evaluate the gross, histomorphological and scanning electronic microscopic examination of gut-associated lymphoid tissue of the intestine of Pati duck at different age group. Methods: For this study, forty five Pati ducks were divided into five groups depending on its age viz., 1st week, 4th week, 16th week, 24th week and 42nd weeks old. The pieces of gut having lymphoid tissue or Peyer’s patches were collected immediately after slaughter. These samples were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin solution and were processed as per the standard technique of procedure (Luna, 1968). The paraffin blocks were sectioned in Shandon Finesse microtome at 5 µm thickness and the sections were stained with Mayer’s Haematoxylin and Eosin staining technique for Cellular details, Van Gieson’s method for collagen fibres, Gomori’s method for reticular fibres, Hart’s method for elastic fibres and Bielchowsky’s method for axis cylinder and dendrites as per the method of Luna (1968). Result: Gut-associated lymphoid tissue was found in the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum and the terminal part of the rectum in all the age group of Pati duck. The lymphoid compartment of the gut-associated lymphoid tissue in duck included a follicular structure, dome, follicle associated epithelia and interfollicular area. Lamina propria of jejunum was heavily infiltrated with diffuse lymphatic tissue in the 16th, 24th and 42nd week of age of Pati duck. The scattered and diffuse lymphatic infiltration occurred in all age groups. The lamina propria of the colorectum revealed an extensive network of reticular fibre with diffused lymphatic tissue in all the age group of duck. In Scanning Electron Microscope, the lumen of the jejunum was covered by finger-like villi with numerous opening of goblet cells. The lymphoid follicle of Lamina propria contains numerous lymphocytes along with connective tissue fibres.

ANALYSIS OF POSTGRADUATE THESES PREPARED FOR THE PRESCHOOL PERIOD ON “ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION” CONDUCTED BETWEEN 2011 AND 2020 IN TURKEY: A CONTENT ANALYSIS

This study was conducted to analyze postgraduate theses in the field of environmental education in preschool education in Turkey between 2011 and 2020 in terms of their distribution, levels (doctorate, master’s), sample groups, and data collection tools. To establish the theses written in the field, the Higher Education Council National Thesis Centre database was reviewed on April 16th, 2020. Care was taken to determine postgraduate theses according to the criteria of having been conducted on environmental education with preschool children, preschool teachers/prospective preschool teachers and families, having been conducted on the subject area of education and training, having been registered to YÖK National Thesis Centre with permission for access. In line with these criteria, a total of 12 postgraduate theses were included in the study. The data were accessed using the document analysis technique. Detailed information about the postgraduate theses was collected using a “Postgraduate Thesis Examination Form.” Postgraduate theses included in the study were examined under the headings of thesis year, thesis type, objective, study group, methods, and designs, and data collection tools and frequency (f) were used in the analysis of data. When the distribution of postgraduate theses studies was conducted in terms of thesis type, it was found that the number of masters’ theses (n=8) was much higher than the number of doctoral theses (n=4), there was a large increase in the number of theses in 2015, the theses were mostly doctoral (n=3), and children mostly featured in the postgraduate thesis studies conducted within the specified dates..

Oral dyspraxia in self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes: a comparative study with a control group

ABSTRACT Background: self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes, previously considered benign focal childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes show clinical signs of involvement of Rolandic areas, mainly lower area, which may affect the planning and execution of motor sequences. Objective: This study aimed to evaluated oral praxis in children with self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes and compare to the age-matched control group. Methods: This was a descriptive study with 74 children with self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes, with the classical forms according to International League Against Epilepsy, and between 4 and 15 years of age, selected from the child neurology outpatient clinic of the Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, and 239 age-matched and educational level-matched (convenience sampling) control children. All children were submitted to the battery of oral volitional movements, which consisted of 44 tests for oral movement (tongue, lip, cheek, jaw, and palate) and 34 phonemes and consonant cluster tasks, with simple and sequenced oral movements. Results: The mean age and standard deviation (SD) of children with epilepsy was 9.08 years (SD 2.55) and of controls 9.61 years (SD 3.12). The results showed significant differences between the groups with a poorer performance of children with epilepsy compared to children without epilepsy in simple and particularly in sequenced movements. Conclusion: These findings can be attributed to the genetically determined immaturity of cortical structures related to motor planning in children with self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes.

Improving Care in Neonatal Intensive Units During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey on Electronic Health Communication

Background A novel virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) started spreading through Italy and the world from February 2020, and the pandemic threatened the family-centred care (FCC) model used in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Teleconferences and video calls were employed to keep parents in contact with their babies. This study aimed to evaluate satisfaction and stress levels between parents in the telematic family-centred care group (T-FCC) versus the FCC group and the no Family-Centred Care (N-FCC) group. Methods A prospective cohort pilot study was carried out from April to May 2020. A parental stressor scale and the NICU satisfaction questionnaire were administered to parents at the time of discharge of their newborns. Parents in T-FCC group could see their newborns via video calls, while those in the FCC and N-FCC groups were extracted from our previously published database. Results Parents in the T-FCC group were more satisfied and less stressed than those in the N-FCC group. Experiences of the mothers and fathers in the T-FCC group were similar. However, the FCC group showed the best results. Conclusion The T-FCC group showed satisfaction with the quality of information received about their babies and felt that their privacy was considered and respected by the medical staff. Parents were also less stressed because they could monitor what happens to the baby through a video, however, they could not intervene if there was a problem. Data support the use of video calls to improve insight into clinical conditions and communication between doctors, nurses, and parents during the pandemic.

Physicochemical properties of frozen tuna fish as affected by immersion ohmic thawing and conventional thawing

One of the key points in the frozen food processing is thawing with minimal damage to the quality. Since the commonly used methods for thawing of foods are slow and reduce the quality of the product, application of an efficient method seems necessary. In this research, thawing of tuna fish was performed by immersion ohmic method. Thawing rate roles a vital key in the quality and significantly increased by ohmic ([Formula: see text], the mean of ohmic group) in comparison with conventional thawing ([Formula: see text], the mean of conventional group) methods. Immersion ohmic thawing increased rate of thawing about 5 times. Parameters important in quality such as T-VBN, protein solubility, thawing evaporation loss, pH, thawing loss and press juice were measured. Group analyses showed significant difference between ohmic and conventional treatment in protein solubility, thawing evaporation and thawing loss (p < 0.05).