In pemphigus vulgaris (PV), autoantibody binding to desmoglein (Dsg) 3 induces loss of intercellular adhesion in skin and mucous membranes. Two hypotheses are currently favored to explain the underlying molecular mechanisms: (a) disruption of adhesion through steric hindrance, and (b) interference of desmosomal cadherin-bound antibody with intracellular events, which we speculated to involve pl...

Decision support systems in Medicine must be easily comprehensible, both for physicians and patients. In this chapter, the authors describe how the fuzzy modeling methodology called HILK (Highly Interpretable Linguistic Knowledge) can be applied for building highly interpretable fuzzy rule-based classifiers (FRBCs) able to provide medical decision support. As a proof of concept, they describe t...

We have previously shown that high levels of HER-2/neu protein were overexpressed in human Ewing's sarcoma cells (TC71, SK-ES1) relative to normal human osteoblasts. The purpose of this study was to determine whether herceptin alone or in combination with chemotherapeutic agents could inhibit the growth of Ewing's sarcoma in vitro and in vivo. Western blot analysis showed that the protein level...

OBJECTIVE To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of general practitioners regarding tetanus immunization in adults. SETTING The study was conducted in District Central, Karachi. STUDY DESIGN This was a Knowledge, Attitude and practices (KAP) survey. METHODS From a list of 1050 general practitioners (GPs), 100 were selected through simple random sampling and interviewed through a ...

Embryo implantation depends on both embryo quality and the endometrial environment. Implantation failure has a complex, variable pathophysiology and is detrimental to the outcome of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Thus, patients with multiple implantation failure require an individualized approach to diagnosing and managing treatment options for future IVF cycles. These options should be based on...

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND Owing to its ease of collection, saliva is potentially the sample of choice in diagnosis. Salivary biomolecules have provided a porthole in surveying a person's health and well-being. Our study aims were (1) to demonstrate the effects of pre-analytical steps, collection and pre-processing techniques on salivary protein detection and (2) to establish an indication of sal...

Recent studies have revealed that ozone ultraviolet (UVO) illumination of titanium (Ti) implants improves bone-implant anchorage by altering the physico-chemical and immune activating properties of the titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) layer. In the present rat tibia model, the authors compared the early events of inflammation and bone formation around UVO-treated Ti and complement activating immunoglo...

Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection still represents the most common potentially serious viral complication in humans and is a major cause of congenital anomalies in infants. This study is aimed to detect HCMV in infants with congenital anomalies. Study subjects consisted of infants born with neural tube defect, hydrocephalus and microcephaly. Fifty serum specimens (20 males, 30 females) wer...