Objectives: To identify the frequency and types of microsatellite instability among a group of sporadic CRC patients and to correlate the findings with clinicopathological characteristics. Methods: During an 8-month period, all patients with sporadic CRC who attended to two teaching hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq were recruited to this cross-sectional study regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, or tumor characteristics. Demographic, clinical, and histopathological features were recorded. DNA was extracted from FFPE-blocks of the resected tumors and normal tissues. PCR amplification of five microsatellite mononucleotide repeat loci (BAT25, BAT26, NR-21, NR-24, and MONO-27) and 2 pentanucleotide repeat control markers (Penta C and Penta D) was performed to determine the MSI status. Capillary electrophoresis and Genetic Analyzer 3500 (Applied Biosystem, Japan) were used to separate and examine the products. Data were analyzed by Genescan software (Promega, USA). Instability of two or more loci is considered MSI-H. Result: In this study, ages of the 45 recruited patients ranged between 20-80 years, with a mean±SD of 55±12.3 years; of them, 31(68.9%) were ≥50 years; 25 (55.6%) were males. Rectal bleeding was the most frequent presenting feature [22 (48.9%)] patients; 23 (51.1%) of CRCs were located at recto-sigmoid region, 29 (64.4%) were T3 tumors, 34(75.5%) were non-mucinous adenocarcinoma, 39(86.7%) were moderately differentiated, 17 (37.8%) patients had stage III tumors; and 25 (55.5%) had lymphovascular invasion. MSI-H was seen in 5/45 (11.1%) patients; 3(60%) of them were ≥50 years, 4(80%) were males, 3(60%) were smokers, 2 (40%) presented with intestinal obstruction and altered bowel habits each; 4(80%) had T3 tumors, 3(60%) had mucinous adenocarcinomas [p=0.004], 2(40%) had stage II tumor and stage III each. Conclusion: The frequency of MSI-H among the recruited patients with CRC was 5/45 (11.1%) and it was significantly associated with mucinous adenocarcinoma subtype. NR-24 and NR-21 were the most prevalent instable markers.
The main objective of this paper is to study the behavior of Non-Prismatic Reinforced Concrete (NPRC) beams with and without rectangular openings either when exposed to fire or not. The experimental program involves casting and testing 9 NPRC beams divided into 3 main groups. These groups were categorized according to heating temperature (ambient temperature, 400°C, and 700°C), with each group containing 3 NPRC beams (solid beams and beams with 6 and 8 trapezoidal openings). For beams with similar geometry, increasing the burning temperature results in their deterioration as reflected in their increasing mid-span deflection throughout the fire exposure period and their residual deflection after cooling. Meanwhile, the existing ope
... Show MoreThe main objective of this paper is to study the behavior of Non-Prismatic Reinforced Concrete (NPRC) beams with and without rectangular openings either when exposed to fire or not. The experimental program involves casting and testing 9 NPRC beams divided into 3 main groups. These groups were categorized according to heating temperature (ambient temperature, 400°C, and 700°C), with each group containing 3 NPRC beams (solid beams and beams with 6 and 8 trapezoidal openings). For beams with similar geometry, increasing the burning temperature results in their deterioration as reflected in their increasing mid-span deflection throughout the fire exposure period and their residual deflection after cooling. Meanwhile, the existing ope
... Show MoreIn this work, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) nanocomposite was prepared and hybrid with Graphene (Gr) by casting method. The morphological and optical properties were investigated. Fourier Transformer-Infrared (FT-IR) indicates the presence of primary distinctive peaks belonging to vibration groups that describe the prepared samples. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images showed a uniform dispersion of graphene within the PVP-MWCNT nanocomposite. The results of the optical study show decrease in the energy gap with increasing MWCNT and graphene concentration. The absorption coefficient spectra indicate the presence of two absorption peaks at 282 and 287 nm attributed to the π-π* electronic tr
... Show MoreImage classification is the process of finding common features in images from various classes and applying them to categorize and label them. The main problem of the image classification process is the abundance of images, the high complexity of the data, and the shortage of labeled data, presenting the key obstacles in image classification. The cornerstone of image classification is evaluating the convolutional features retrieved from deep learning models and training them with machine learning classifiers. This study proposes a new approach of “hybrid learning” by combining deep learning with machine learning for image classification based on convolutional feature extraction using the VGG-16 deep learning model and seven class
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