American Journal of Medical and Clinical Research & Reviews

Advancing Precision Oncology in the USA: A Literature Review of EGFR, MYC, and RAS Alterations in Head and Neck Cancers

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Head and neck cancers (HNCs) constitute a diverse group of malignancies characterized by complex molecular alterations that contribute to tumor initiation, progression, therapeutic resistance, and clinical heterogeneity. In the era of precision oncology in the United States, a comprehensive understanding of key oncogenic drivers, particularly EGFR, MYC, and RAS, has become increasingly important for improving risk stratification, early diagnosis, prognostic assessment, and the development of personalized therapeutic strategies. These genes regulate critical cellular processes, including proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and signal transduction, and their dysregulation is closely associated with aggressive tumor behaviour and variable treatment responses. This literature review synthesizes current evidence on the molecular alterations, biological significance, and clinical implications of EGFR, MYC, and RAS in head and neck cancers, with an emphasis on their role as diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers. Furthermore, it highlights recent advances in targeted therapies and precision medicine approaches aimed at improving patient outcomes. By consolidating contemporary molecular insights, this review underscores the growing need to integrate genomic profiling into routine clinical practice to facilitate individualized treatment planning and advance precision oncology for patients with head and neck cancers in the United States.

Research Ethics Knowledge and Attitudes Among Physicians in Three Tertiary Hospitals in Nouakchott, Mauritania: A 2018–2019 Cross-Sectional Survey

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Background: Research involving human participants must be conducted according to established ethical principles to protect participants and preserve scientific integrity. However, access to research ethics training and independent ethical review remains uneven in many low- and middle-income settings. Empirical evidence concerning physicians’ knowledge and attitudes toward research ethics in Mauritania is limited. This study assessed research ethics training, knowledge, and attitudes among physicians working in three tertiary hospitals in Nouakchott.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among physicians working in three tertiary hospitals in Nouakchott, Mauritania, between November 2018 and March 2019. A structured, self-administered questionnaire adapted from previously published instruments was translated from English into French by the research team. The questionnaire was distributed to 260 physicians. A total of 110 physicians returned completed questionnaires and were included in the analysis, corresponding to a response rate of 42.3%. Descriptive analyses were performed using SPSS version 20.

Results: Among the 110 respondents, 86 (78.2%) were men and 24 (21.8%) were women. Eighty-one participants (73.6%) reported no previous training in research ethics. Seventy-three participants (66.4%) agreed or strongly agreed that a research ethics committee was needed in every institution. However, 44 participants (40.0%) agreed or strongly agreed that fabricating data to improve research outcomes could be acceptable when no harm was caused to patients. Other responses revealed uncertainty or incorrect understanding concerning informed consent, protection of vulnerable populations, authorship, plagiarism, and the functions of research ethics committees.

Conclusion: Physicians participating in this survey demonstrated important gaps in research ethics training and understanding. The findings also identified concerning attitudes toward research misconduct and incomplete recognition of the role of research ethics committees. Because the study was conducted in three tertiary hospitals and had a response rate of 42.3%, the results should not be generalized to all physicians in Mauritania. Further nationally representative research and strengthened research ethics education are warranted.

The Heart Cannot Reach the Spring: A Normative Case for an Irreducible Ayin and Yesh

Julian Ungar-Sargon — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Deveykut cannot be defended descriptively. Moshe Idel's correction of Gershom Scholem established that genuinely unitive and absorptive strands are well attested across Jewish mysticism, which means that any account of deveykut as communion-without-annihilation cannot be presented as a simple report of what Jewish mystics sought or attained. This essay accepts Idel's finding and draws the consequence: a deveykut that preserves the finite self must be argued for normatively, as a claim about what covenant requires, made in full awareness that the tradition contains the alternative. The argument proceeds in three stages. First, the descriptive route is closed. Second, three normative warrants are advanced for the persistence of the yesh — the conditions of accountability, the structure of ethical summons following Levinas, and the requirement of anti-theodicy after catastrophe — none of which apophasis alone can supply. Third, the resulting model is given a mechanism rather than merely a definition: covenantal asymptoticity, in which distance functions as the medium of relation rather than its deficit, exemplified in Rebbe Nachman's parable/mashal of the Heart and the Spring. The essay engages Wolfson's demonstration that Chabad's own apophatic grammar resists metaphysical closure and concedes the point while identifying what it leaves unaddressed: apophasis destabilizes predication without generating any demand that the finite self-remain finite. An addendum applies the model to the Higher Power of Alcoholics Anonymous, reading Kurtz's not-God-ness as the practical form of the same normative claim.

Dietary Macronutrients, Fiber, Alcohol Intake, Total Energy, Uric Acid, and Blood Pressure: An Integrated Pathophysiological and Epidemiological Survey

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Dietary factors exert profound influence on blood pressure regulation and uric acid metabolism. While sodium intake has traditionally dominated hypertension research, increasing evidence supports a broader framework involving macronutrient composition, dietary fiber, alcohol intake, and total caloric consumption. This narrative review summarizes current evidence regarding the relationships between dietary components, blood pressure, and hyperuricemia. Saturated fats are associated with increased blood pressure via endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness. Total caloric intake emerges as the principal upstream determinant linking obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, and hyperuricemia. Carbohydrates exhibit heterogeneous effects depending on quality and glycemic index. Protein intake, particularly plant-derived protein, is modestly associated with lower blood pressure. Dietary fiber demonstrates consistent inverse associations with blood pressure. Alcohol consumption shows a strong dose-dependent relationship with serum uric acid levels and gout risk. Overall, current evidence supports dietary quality and energy balance as key therapeutic targets, with excess caloric intake representing the central driver connecting hypertension and hyperuricemia.