Working in the Sphere of Food Trade and Service in Armenia: Patterns of Precariousness

The food trade and service sector is considered to be the most uncertain, with a strong expression of instability both worldwide and in Armenia. Currently, the term precariousness is widely used in the field to describe the uncertainty and risks in the field. Research on food trade and services in Armenia has been conducted recently, but there have been no sociological studies on patterns of precariousness in the field. The study of patterns of precariousness provides an in-depth look at sectoral uncertainty and risk in relation to broader social structures. The purpose of this article is to study the patterns of precariousness expressed in the field through secondary analysis, which will provide opportunities for deeper analysis in the future, emphasizing the expressions of social injustice and inequality.

Promise and devotion: catholicism and Girl Guides in Brazil

This paper attempts to analyze the main justifications for the expansion of Girl Guides in Brazil, a movement that featured a strong expression of female association, a tactic mobilized by certain female Catholic intellectuals to legitimize their circulation in the public space. It indicates education, culture and assistance as important fronts, in a group of actions aimed at securing the Catholic foundations of Brazilian society. Although the elementary principle of Girl Guides wasn’t connected to any one religion or belief, it’s possible to assess that the movement in Brazil was strongly intertwined with a religious and moral discourse in the form of the “good Girl Guide”, who should be pious and devoted to her promise of serving God and country, with clearly Catholic roots.

Immunohistochemical features of gastrointestinal stromal tumors and their role for differential diagnosis and prognosis

The aim. To clarify all most important immunohistochemical features of gastrointestinal stromal tumors with different histological patterns and analyze the role of expression of Ki-67, MMP-9, VEGF and p16ink4A as a predictive markers of tumor progression. Materials and methods. The study is based on analysis of 100 primary GISTs for description of their morphological features and 36 GISTs taken from this 100 for study of prognostic markers. Results. All spindle cell GISTs have shown diffuse expression of CD117 in tumor cells. The levels of CD117 expression varied from strong expression (3+) until mild expression (1+). Strong expression were seen in 75,8 % of spindle cell GISTs. Epithelioid GISTs demonstrated heterognous moderate or mild expression of CD117. All primary epithelioid GISTs from patients that had relapse of tumor in period from 1 till 3 years demonstrated focal mild expression of CD 117 in tumor cells. Expression of DOG-1 were seen in all 100 cases of GISTs, that were included in our study. The strong expression of DOG-1 (3+) were seen in all 45 GISTs that had low mitotic rate (≤5 mitoses per 50HPF) and not associated with their histological pattern. GISTs with high mitotic rate demonstrated heterogeneous expression of DOG-1 in tumors: moderate expression (2+) with patchy areas of strong expression (3+). Expression of CD56 was not found in spindle cell GISTs, but single tumor cells of epithelioid GISTs that had high mitotic rate demonstrated expression of this marker. The average expression of p16ink4A were higher in tumors that gave relapses compared with tumors without relapses (50,3 % versus 5,7 % respectively, U-test=16.5; p≤0,01).The average expression of MMP-9 also were significantly higher in GISTs that gave relapses: 63,2 % compared with 13,4 % in GISTs without relapse (U-test=16; p≤0 ,01).The strong VEGF expression was found in 66,7 % of GISTs that had relapses and only in 8,3 % of GISTs without relapses. 50 % of GISTs without relapses was negative for VEGF. Finally, the average expression of Ki-67 were 13,4 % in GISTs with relapses and 8,7 % in GISTs without them (U-test=16; p≤0,01). Conclusion. We highly recommend using DOG-1 for epithelioid GISTs. Additionally in epithelioid GISTs can be used CD56 that can give focal positive reaction in some tumour cells. The following minimal panel of markers for differential diagnosis of spindled GISTs from other mesenchymal tumors of gastrointestinal tract is proposed: CD117, DOG-1 and SMA, where the first too markers will demonstrated the moderate or strong diffuse expression and SMA can be occasionally positive in some tumor cells. p16ink4A, ki-67, VEGF and MMP-9 can be used as additional prognostic markers in GISTs.

The feasibility of using immunocytochemical research in the preoperative diagnosis of thyroid tumors

Background. Thyroid cancer has long been an urgent problem of health care in Ukraine and requires both improved timely detection of the disease and increased coverage by special treatment of this category of patients to improve its results. Objective. Investigate the complex of immunocytochemical and ultrasound characteristics of thyroid tumors to improve diagnostic algorithms in the preanalytical stage. Methods. During the the research work the results of diagnostics of 60 patients with thyroid neoplasms aged 21 to 83 years who underwent fine-needle aspiration. Patients were divided into three groups according to the Bethesda System (BSRTC) classification category. The 1st group included 18 patients of category II BSRTC (Benign. Group 2 included 20 patients with category V BSRTC (Suspicious for Malignancy – SFM). And other 22 patients with category VI BSRTC (malignant tumor) formed the 3rd group). Patients of all groups underwent questionnaires, ultrasound examination with FNA, cytological and immunocytochemical examination. Results. There is no clear link between E-cadherin expression and neoplasia. Negative expression occurred in 36.4% of cases of metastatic lesions. This partially satisfies the requirements of timely preoperative diagnosis. That is why E-cadherin cannot be used as a separate marker. The expression of cytokeratin-19 with different degrees of intensity of cytoplasmic staining of tumor cells was determined in all studied neoplasms of V and VI category on the BSRTC scale. Strong expression of cytokeratin-19 was observed in 40.0% of cases with BSRTC-5 and 45.4% with BSRTC-6, moderate - in 50.0% and 36.4% of cases, respectively, weak - in 10.0% and 18.2%, without significant differences between groups (p> 0.05). At the same time, in the benign process in 55.6% of cases there was no reaction of cytokeratin-19, and in 44.4% - weak expression (p <0.001 in comparison with the 2nd and 3rd groups). Conclusion. Benign thyroid disease (category II BSRTC) is likely to be associated with younger patients (46.6 ± 3.7 years), low serum REA (less than 0.95 ng / ml), poor thyroglobulin expression (77.8 %), negative reaction with TTF-1 (100%) and cytokeratin-19 (55.6%). Differential-prognostic markers of thyroid cancer with risk of malignancy (V category BSRTC) include elevated serum REA (0.95 ng / ml and above), the presence of a moderate reaction with antibodies to thyroglobulin (80.0%), a positive reaction - to TTF-1 (100.0%) and E-cadherin (90.0%), with moderate or strong expression of cytokeratin-19 (90.0%).

Immunohistochemical Expression of “HE4” in Endometrial Hyperplasia versus Endometrial Endometrioid Carcinoma

Aim Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer of the female genital tract. No effective biomarkers currently exist to allow for an efficient risk classification of endometrial carcinoma. Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) overexpression is first observed in ovarian cancer tissue and subsequent research has shown that the HE4 overexpression has also been observed in patients with endometrial carcinoma. To our knowledge, this marker was evaluated in small number of research studies in cases of endometrial carcinoma versus hyperplasia. This has inspired us to test for immunohistochemical expression of HE4 in endometrial endometrioid carcinoma and hyperplastic endometria and to correlate HE4 expression with various prognostic pathological parameters including International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) grading and staging. Methods Immunohistochemical staining for HE4 was performed on paraffin-embedded sections of forty cases of endometrial endometrioid carcinoma and thirty cases of endometrial hyperplasia: including 15 cases of non-atypical hyperplasia and 15 cases of atypical hyperplasia. A histochemical score was used to evaluate HE4 expression by the tumor cells. Results In this study, HE4 overexpression level was significantly higher in endometrial endometrioid carcinoma than endometrial hyperplasia and significantly higher than non-atypical endometrial hyperplasia (P<0.05). HE4 strong expression was detected in 20% of atypical endometrial hyperplasia, but no statistical significance was detected between atypical hyperplasia and endometrial carcinoma. HE4 overexpression showed statistically significant positive correlation with FIGO grading, FIGO staging, and depth of myometrial invasion. Conclusion: During interpretation of endometrial biopsies of atypical hyperplasia, HE4 strong expression might raise the possibility of the presence of coexisting adenocarcinoma not biopsied or even warning of a near future malignant transformation. Also, strong expression of HE4 by tissue biopsy of adenocarcinoma should be reported as this might predict higher grade and stage of the tumor, a point that should be considered by surgeons while performing hysterectomy. These results should be further confirmed by extending the study on a large scale, correlation of HE4 expression with the molecular classification of Tumor Cancer Genome Atlas and long term follow up are required to establish the prognostic significance of HE4 expression in endometrial carcinoma and atypical hyperplasia. Keywords: Endometrial carcinoma, Endometrial hyperplasia, HE4, Immunohistochemistry.

Prognostic Significance of CXCR4 in Colorectal Cancer: An Updated Meta-Analysis and Critical Appraisal

Background: This study was conducted to provide an updated estimate of the prognostic power of C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) in colorectal cancer (CRC), and analyze modalities of evaluating and reporting its expression. Methods: A systematic review with meta-analysis was performed and described according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Studies were identified through PubMed and Google Scholar. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) for overall survival (OS) or progression-free survival (PFS) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated with the random-effect model. Results: Sixteen studies were selected covering a period from 2005 to 2020. An immunohistochemical evaluation of CXCR4 was performed in all studies. Only in three studies assessment of mRNA through RT–PCR was correlated with prognosis; in the remaining studies, the authors identified prognostic categories based on immunohistochemical expression. In pooled analyses, significant associations were found between positive or high or strong expression of CXCR4 and T stage ≥3 (P = 0.0001), and positive or high or strong expression of CXCR4 and left side primary tumor localization (P = 0.0186). The pooled HR for OS was 2.09 (95% CI: 1.30–2.88) in favor of high CXCR4 expression; for PFS, it was 1.42 (95% CI: 1.13–1.71) in favor of high CXCR4 expression. Conclusion: High CXCR4 expression is clearly associated with increased risk of death and progression in CRC. However, strong methodologic heterogeneity in CXCR4 assessment hinders direct translation into clinical practice; thus, a consensus to streamline detection and scoring of CXCR4 expression in CRC is indicated.

Interleukin-37 regulates innate immune signaling in human and mouse colonic organoids

Intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) reside in close proximity to the gut microbiota and are hypo-responsive to bacterial products, likely to prevent maladaptive inflammatory responses. This is in part due to their strong expression of Single Ig IL-1 related receptor (SIGIRR), a negative regulator of interleukin (IL)-1 and toll-like receptor signaling. IL-37 is an anti-inflammatory cytokine that inhibits innate signaling in diverse cells by signaling through SIGIRR. Despite the strong expression of SIGIRR by IEC, few studies have examined whether IL-37 can suppress their innate immune signaling. We characterized innate immune responses of human and murine colonoids to bacteria (FliC, LPS) and host (IL-1β) products and the role of IL-37/SIGIRR in regulating these responses. We demonstrated that human colonoids responded only to FliC, but not to LPS or IL-1β. While colonoids derived from different donors displayed significant inter-individual variability in the magnitude of their innate responses to FliC stimulation, all colonoids released a variety of chemokines. Interestingly, IL-37 attenuated these responses through inhibition of p38 and NFκB signaling pathways. We determined that this suppression by IL-37 was SIGIRR dependent, in murine organoids. Along with species-specific differences in IEC innate responses, we show that IL-37 can promote IEC hypo-responsiveness by suppressing inflammatory signaling.

Chlorine and Chromium Elements, Proteins of Oxidative Stress and Dna Repair Pathways Are Related to Tumor Aggressiveness and Prognosis of Patients With Oral Cancer

BackgroundSquamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC), the most frequent cancer of the oral cavity, is extremely aggressive, the response to treatment is poor and markers for prognosis of disease are scarce. The comparison of chemical and histopathological data obtained from the analysis of excised tumor fragments with the demographic and clinical evolution data is an effective strategy scarcely explored in OCSCC studies. The aim was to analyse OCSCC tissues for trace elements and protein expression of enzymes related with oxidative stress and DNA repair that can be candidates as markers of tumor aggressiveness and prognosis. MethodsSeventy-eight tumor fragments from 78 OCSCC patients that had undergone ablative surgery were qualitatively analyzed by synchrotron micro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) for trace elements. Protein expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD-1) and thioredoxin (Trx) and DNA repair-related purinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease/redox factor-1 (Ref-1) and 8-oxoguanine glycosylase (OGG1/2) was performed by immunohistochemistry. Sociodemographic, clinical and hystopathological data were obtained from 4-year follow-up records. ResultsDisease relapse was higher in patients with chlorine and chromium presence and in those with tumors with strong OGG1/2 expression. Strong expression of SOD-1, Trx and Ref-1 was determinant of larger tumor. As expected, perineural, vascular invasions and alcohol consumption were markers of greater worse prognosis. ConclusionPresence of trace elements can be markers of disease prognosis. Strong expression of enzymes related with oxidative stress or DNA repair can be either harmful by stimulating tumor growth or beneficial by diminishing relapse rates. Interference on these players may bring novel strategies for the therapeutic management of OCSCC patients.