BACKGROUND: Radiation therapy (RT) after lumpectomy for breast cancer can be delivered with several different regimens. We evaluated a cost-minimization strategy to select among RT options. METHODS: An institutional review board (IRB)-approved retrospective review identified a sample of 100 women who underwent lumpectomy for invasive or in situ breast cancer ...

Metastasis to the regional lymph node is the most important prognostic indicator for the outcomes of patients with sold cancer. In general, it is well recognized that cancer development is genetically determined with progression from the microenvironment of the primary tumor site, oftentimes via the SLN gateway, to the distant ...

Chemical and electrical synergies between graphite oxide and multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) for processing graphene wrapped-MWNT hybrids has been realized by chemical vapor deposition without any chemical functionalization. Potential of the hybrid composites have been demonstrated by employing them as electrocatalyst supports in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The defects ...

To evaluate whether the prolonged consumption of flaxseed minimize the factors that trigger MS in healthy rats. Pregnant rats were divided immediately after delivery into two groups during the lactation period, a control group (CG) receiving casein-based diet with 17% of protein, and a Flaxseed group (FG) with casein-based diet ...

Three cases of different types of neuromuscular diseases demonstrate different muscle responses to external stress or intrinsic muscle abnormalities. The first muscle biopsy shows stenosis of its vessels causing acute muscle ischemia, stress from an external vascular disease. The muscle response is similar to the cellular necrosis seen in primary ...

The dramatic increase in the elderly population in Taiwan has made dysphagia an increasingly prevalent problem in long-term care. While tube feeding is mandatory for patients unable to take food orally, this approach increases recurrent aspiration pneumonia and malnutrition risks. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is currently the most effective and ...

Trauma resulting in hemorrhage from vascular disruption within the torso is a challenging scenario, with a propensity to be lethal in the first hour following trauma. The term noncompressible torso hemorrhage (NCTH) was only recently coined as part of contemporary studies describing the epidemiology of wounding during the wars in ...

Chronic infection with Opisthorchis viverrini for many years has been associated with the development of hepatobiliary diseases including cholangiocarcinoma. It is well known that inflammation is a key component of the tumor microenvironment, and that chronic inflammation plays an important role in tumorigenesis. Therefore, in this study cholangiocarcinogenesis was induced ...

Though widely considered to reduce physical exposures and increase exposure variation, there is limited evidence that rotating between tasks is effective in reducing the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of rotation, specifically focusing on rotation frequency and task order, ...

Grain protein content in wheat has been shown to be affected by the NAM-B1 gene where the wildtype allele confers high levels of protein and micronutrients but can reduce yield. Two known non-functional alleles instead increase yield but lead to lower levels of protein and micronutrients. The wildtype allele in ...

Cardiac arrest and acute myocardial infarction are leading causes of death in the middleaged and elderly, whereas trauma primarily affects the younger segment of the population. The three conditions are all characterized by a period of reduced blood flow either regionally in the heart or globally, and treatment strategies target ...

Catheter-related bloodstream infections are associated with significantly increased morbidity, mortality, and expenditures. Such infections are a serious threat to patient safety in the intensive care unit. This review describes the latest protocols related to preventing and treating central venous catheter-associated bloodstream infections in critically ill patients. According to 2011 Center ...

This study investigated weight changes and patient characteristics associated with weight gain in a public psychiatric hospital. A retrospective chart review was conducted on a multi-racial population admitted for psychiatric inpatient treatment. Patients gained an average of 5.41 pounds during psychiatric hospitalization. Patients with normal weight at admission were significantly ...

The evolution of chemoprevention research continues in exciting new directions. Large chemoprevention trials in unselected patients have often been negative, but this trend promises to be reversed by more-focused and novel trial designs emphasizing the identification of molecular targets and predictive biomarkers. Phase 0 designs, blood and tissue-based biomarkers, and ...

Acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma is a rare variant of squamous cell carcinoma in the mucosa of upper aerodigestive tract. Histomorphologically, acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma may lose the typical features of conventional squamous cell carcinoma and mimic other epithelial or mesenchymal malignancies due to advanced acantholysis and dyskeratosis. Because of its ...

Coccidiostats are the only veterinary drugs still permitted to be used as feed additives to treat poultry for coccidiosis. To protect consumers, maximum levels for their presence in food and feed have been set by the European Union (EU). To monitor these coccidiostats, a rapid and inexpensive screening method would ...

INTRODUCTION: To more precisely estimate the association between the tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 4 (TNFSF4) gene polymorphisms and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) risk, we surveyed studies on the association of the TNFSF4 rs2205960, rs1234315, rs844644, and rs844648 polymorphisms with SLE. METHODS: A literature-based search was conducted to identify ...

Head and neck carcinomas often are at an advanced stage at the time of diagnosis and therefore frequently primarily hardly operable. A downstaging achieved by neoadjuvant radiotherapy can facilitate a radical tumor resection. Because of radiogenic tissue alterations like scarring and impairment of blood supply, elaborate operations, such as microsurgical ...

Interleukin-22 (IL-22) is one of the key mediators of keratinocyte alterations in psoriasis. IL-22 inhibits keratinocyte differentiation and induces the migration of human keratinocytes. Grb2-associated binder 1 (Gab1) has been shown to mediate epidermal growth factor-induced epidermal growth and differentiation via interaction with the Src homology-2-containing protein-tyrosine phosphatase (Shp2). In ...

Childhood maltreatment has been known to produce long-lasting impairments in behavioral, cognitive and social functioning, but their underlying mechanisms are not well-understood. A better understanding of their underlying mechanisms will aid in developing effective preventive interventions. Nineteen adolescent volunteers with no personal history of a psychiatric illness, but who were ...

Comprising less than 1% of invasive carcinomas of the breast, metaplastic carcinomas are a heterogeneous group of malignant tumors in which part or all of the carcinomatous epithelium is transformed into a nonglandular (metaplastic) growth process. Metaplastic carcinomas with a low-grade spindle cell component resembling fibromatosis, as in our present ...

Background: Quality of life (QOL) is a critical issue in mental health care. The associations between quality of life and schizophrenia patients' stigma perception and stigma coping behavior are not well understood. Purpose: This study investigated quality of life in schizophrenia patients. Methods: We used a cross-sectional, correlational research design; ...

Inpatient psychiatric settings anticipate changes in reimbursement that will link payment rates to objective quality measures. Readmission rates are expected to be one of the quality measures. Inpatient areas are undertaking initiatives to decrease readmission rates in preparation for this change. The emphasis on avoiding readmission could cause an increase ...

The inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)) receptor (IP(3)R) channel is crucial for the generation and modulation of intracellular Ca(2+) signals in animal cells. To gain insight into the complicated ligand regulation of this ubiquitous channel, we constructed a simple quantitative continuous-time Markov-chain model from the data. Our model accounts for most experimentally ...

A method for measurement of the aberration status from high-resolution dark-field images is developed using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), called the Segmented Image Autocorrelation function Matrix (SIAM). The method employs an autocorrelation function from the segmented area in the defocused STEM images from an aligned crystalline specimen to measure ...

Inconsistencies in eyewitness accounts are perceived as indicative of inaccuracy and reduce the witnesses' credibility. Reminiscence, the delayed recall of previously not recalled information, is generally interpreted as a type of inconsistency. Even though it does not necessarily involve the falsity of the statements, reminiscence presents a counterintuitive instance with ...

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to identify a panel of microRNAs (miRNAs) that can predict overall survival (OS) in non micro-dissected cancer tissues from patients operated for pancreatic cancer (PC). METHODS: MiRNAs were purified from formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) cancer tissue from 225 patients operated for PC. ...

Conformationally restricted amino acids are important components in peptidomimetics and drug design. Herein, we describe the synthesis of a novel, non-proteinogenic constrained delta amino acid containing a cyclobutane ring, cis-3(aminomethyl)cyclobutane carboxylic acid (ACCA). The synthesis of the target amino acid was achieved in seven steps, with the key reaction being ...

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has evolved several immune evasion strategies. One strategy is controlling the movement of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by encoding homologues of chemokines. Our aim was to determine whether HCMV open reading frame (ORF) UL128 could encode a protein that attracts PBMCs like a β-chemokine. The recombinant ...

PURPOSE: To develop and validate a method for estimating numbers of people with distant cancer metastases, for evidence-based service planning. METHODS: Estimates were made employing an illness-death model with distant metastatic cancer as the illness state- and site-specific mortality as an outcome, using MIAMOD software. To demonstrate the method, we ...

Plasmodium falciparum is the major cause of malaria globally and is transmitted by mosquitoes. During parasitic development, P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes (P. falciparum-IEs) express multiple polymorphic proteins known as variant surface antigens (VSAs), including the P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1). VSA-specific antibodies are associated with protection from symptomatic and ...

Attentional bias in substance-dependent individuals is the tendency to automatically direct the attention to substance-related cues in the environment. Attentional bias is known to be associated with clinical measures such as relapse or successful quitting in smokers. It has been suggested that attentional bias emerges as a consequence of dopaminergic ...

Objective-To evaluate antinociceptive effects on thermal thresholds after oral administration of tramadol hydrochloride to Hispaniolan Amazon parrots (Amazona ventralis). Animals-15 healthy adult Hispaniolan Amazon parrots. Procedures-2 crossover experiments were conducted. In the first experiment, 15 parrots received 3 treatments (tramadol at 2 doses [10 and 20 mg/kg] and a control ...

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between perpetration and victimization of physical and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) in the past year and substance use disorders (SUDs) in the past year, including alcohol, sedatives/tranquilizers, cocaine, cannabis, and nicotine stratified according to sex. Data were from ...

The values of biological parameters related to hatching, lifespan, the number of blood meals between moults, mortality, time lapse before the beginning of feeding, feeding time and defecation delay for each instar of three Mexican-American species of Triatominae, Triatoma recurva, Triatoma protracta (former subspecies protracta) and Triatoma rubida (former subspecies ...

At every age abilities mature and are internalized through corresponding experience. Every child wants to develop and learn, but at his own pace. In this process the child is not only active, but also selective, that is, it seeks experiences that correspond to its stage of development. The task of ...

PURPOSE: To determine the maximum tolerated doses and dose-limiting toxicities of oral panobinostat in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin when administered to patients with advanced solid tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients initially received panobinostat twice weekly. Following amendment #1, patients received panobinostat three times weekly. Paclitaxel and carboplatin were administered ...

ABSTRACT This study investigated cross-linguistic influence in acquisition of a second lexicon, evaluating Samoan-English sequentially bilingual children (initial mean age 4 ; 9) during their first 18 months of school. Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary tasks evaluated acquisition of four word types: cognates, matched nouns, phrasal nouns and holonyms. Each word ...

The World Wide Web (www) and other internet-based technologies offer enormous potential for enhancing teaching in dermatology. There is also the possibility that if these technologies are adopted uncritically, either because of ignorance of how people learn, or because they are viewed primarily as ways to reduce institutional costs, that ...

The objective of this retrospective study is to present a large series of patients with sphenoid sinus fungus ball (SSFB) and describe clinical manifestations, diagnostic workup, surgical treatment, and eventual complications of this disease. We included patients operated on for this disease over a 14-year period. All patients benefited from ...

Many workers experience combined physical and mental demands in their jobs, yet the contribution of these demands to the development of musculoskeletal disorders is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle- and task-dependent responses to concurrent demands during intermittent static work. Twenty-four participants performed shoulder, wrist, and ...

Despite impressive advances, precise simulation of fluid-fluid and fluid-solid phase transitions still remains a challenging task. The present work focuses on the determination of the phase diagram of a system of particles that interact through a pair potential, ϕ(r), which is of the form ϕ(r) = 4ϵ[(σ/r)(2n) - (σ/r)(n)] with n = 12. The vapor-liquid phase ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the CSN1S1 locus polymorphism on 305-d records of milk, fat, protein, lactose and total solids yields, fat, protein, lactose and total solids contents in Mexican dairy goats. A total of 514 lactation records belonging to Alpine (n=60), Saanen (n=105) ...

A fluorimetric microassay that uses a redox dye to determine the viability of the flagellate Trichomonas vaginalis has been optimised to provide a more sensitive method to evaluate potential trichomonacidal compounds. Resazurin has been used in recent years to test drugs against different parasites, including trichomonadid protozoa; however, the reproducibility ...

Since tumor focality in prostate cancer continues to be considered a major limitation for focal prostate therapy, in this study we attempted to compare the pathological features and the proportion of patients with anatomically unifocal versus biologically unifocal tumors (i.e. multifocal prostate cancer in which the secondary nonindex elements are ...

Pharmaceutical adulterants are commonly found in herbal weight loss products, and analytical techniques for detecting these adulterants have become increasingly important to the public health community. Previously we reported a novel analytical method for the determination of adulterants in herbal formulations by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection. The current ...

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the trends in indications for penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) in Homburg/Saar between 2001 and 2010. METHODS: Retrospective review of 1,200 corneal buttons which underwent PKP that were performed between 2001 and 2010 at the Department of Ophthalmology of Saarland University Hospital, Germany. Indications were classified into eight different ...

We design and synthesize a polyaniline (PANI)-decorated Pt/C@PANI core-shell catalyst that shows enhanced catalyst activity and durability compared to non-decorated Pt/C. The experimental results demonstrate that the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity strongly depends on the thickness of the PANI shell and that the greatest enhancement in catalytic properties occurs ...

Microscopic features and antioxidant status of kidneys of young, old, and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) and melatonin administered old Sprague Dawley rats were evaluated. Aging-related tubular and glomerular changes were evident. The most prominent tubular alterations were massive vacuole formation, mitochondrial degeneration, and lysosome accumulation. Mean tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) ...

ABSTRACT: Research has shown an increased frequency of suicidal behaviors in those with PTSD, but few studies have investigated the factors that underlie the emergence of suicidal behavior in PTSD. Two theories of suicide, the Cry of Pain and the Schematic Appraisal Model of Suicide, propose that feelings of hopelessness, ...