An estimated 25,000 infants are born to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive women annually in the United States. With no intervention, 40%-90% of these infants will acquire hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Approximately 90% of infected infants develop chronic HBV infection, with a 15%-25% risk for premature death from cirrhosis ...

Influenza vaccination of health-care personnel (HCP) is recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Vaccination of HCP can reduce morbidity and mortality from influenza and its potentially serious consequences among HCP, their family members, and their patients. To provide timely estimates of influenza vaccination coverage and related data ...

Since July 2012, 305 cases of infection with influenza A (H3N2) variant (H3N2v) virus containing the influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 M gene have occurred in multiple U.S. states, primarily associated with swine exposure at agricultural fairs. In Ohio, from July 28 to September 25, 2012, a total of 106 confirmed H3N2v ...

Patients waking up with stroke symptoms are generally excluded from intravenous thrombolysis. It was shown that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can identify patients within the time window for thrombolysis (≤ 4.5 h from symptom onset) by a mismatch between the acute ischemic lesion visible on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) but not visible on ...

Although atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is widely used in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), little is known about its effect on epicardial coronary arteries. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enables precise measurement of coronary vasodilation and flow velocity. In this study, we examined the changes in epicardial coronary artery size ...

Although an increasing number of individuals with autism spectrum disorders are entering adulthood, currently there are few evidence-based programs for individuals later in the life course. In this paper we present an overview of recent research on outcomes for adolescents and adults with ASD and highlight the role of the ...

Pregnant women and their newborns are at elevated risk for influenza-associated hospitalization and death. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) have recommended influenza vaccination for all women who are or will be pregnant during the influenza season, regardless of trimester. ...

BACKGROUND: The optimal strategy to prevent cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease after kidney transplantation continues to be open to debate. The preemptive approach requires regular determination of CMV viremia and prompt initiation of therapy. METHODS: We retrospectively compared the incidence of CMV disease during two periods at our center: A first phase ...

BACKGROUND: The etiology of acute pancreatitis can be difficult to determine early in the course of the disease. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between biochemical parameters and the cause of acute pancreatitis. METHODS: A prospectively collected database of patients admitted with acute pancreatitis between ...

A patient with a 20-year history of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis had progressive, bilateral tumor invasion of the lung parenchyma. We used conditional reprogramming to generate cell cultures from the patient's normal and tumorous lung tissue. Analysis revealed that the laryngeal tumor cells contained a wild-type 7.9-kb human papillomavirus virus type ...

Herein we report the design, preparation, and properties of a supramolecular system based on a tailored nitric oxide (NO) photodonor and a rhodamine-labeled β-cyclodextrin conjugate. The combination of spectroscopic and photochemical experiments shows the absence of significant interchromophoric interactions between the host and the guest in the excited states. As ...

OBJECTIVE: Kisspeptins (Kps), were first found to regulate the hypothalamopituitary-gonadal axis (HPG) axis in 2003, when two groups-demonstrated that mutations of GPR54 causes idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) characterized by delayed puberty. Objective of this review is to highlight both animal and human discoveries in KISS1/GPR54 system in last decade and ...

Circadian rhythms are ubiquitous in biological systems and regulate metabolic processes throughout the body. Misalliance of these circadian rhythms and the systems they regulate has a profound impact on hormone levels and increases risk of developing metabolic diseases. Melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland, is one of the ...

Aims: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has recently developed into an accepted alternative to conventional surgery in high-risk patients. According to current data, post-TAVI prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) seems to occur very rarely. Methods and results: We followed the first 180 consecutive patients who underwent TAVI at our institution to ...

BACKGROUND: There is an increased prevalence of asthmatic, obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery. The objective of our study is to evaluate the severity, level of control, respiratory medication use, and time required for prebariatric surgery asthma control. METHODS: This is a prospective study in which 88 obese asthmatics were evaluated ...

The Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health (SEGH) is a forum for multidisciplinary interaction relating the geochemical environment to health. With national funding, SEGH identified collaborative opportunities through the MULTITUDE series of workshops (2007-2011). We reviewed the meetings by electronic questionnaire (39 % response). Smaller meetings saw most returning delegates, suggesting ...

PURPOSE: Knee arthrodesis is a scarcely tolerated procedure with a strong negative impact on the quality of life of the patient. The use of a fresh osteochondral allograft represents a fascinating option for a biological joint reconstruction. Aim of this report is to describe a case of total femoral and ...

This study evaluates the use of the sandhopper Talitrus saltator as a bioindicator of PAHs contamination of the supralittoral zone of sandy beaches. Adult amphipods were collected at eight localities on the Tuscany shore in summer. Concentrations of 16 PAHs indicated as priority pollutants by the Environmental Protection Agency were ...

Circulating and podocyte-bound urokinase receptor (uPAR) is a mediator of podocyte injury, proteinuria, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) allowing pathological activation of the uPAR-β3 integrin signaling axis. Clinically, calcineurin inhibitors (e.g., cyclosporine A, CsA) are known to suppress T cells, yet are also being used to reduce proteinuria in FSGS, ...

PURPOSE: Influenza viruses infect airway epithelial cells, causing respiratory distress. Immune defense is maintained by chemokine/cytokine secretions from airway epithelial cells. While moderate inflammatory response protects from ill effects, hyper-inflammatory response promotes the pathogenesis. High circulating levels of vitamin D are known to mitigate effects of infectious diseases, including respiratory ...

BACKGROUND: Public awareness of the signs of stroke is essential to ensure that those affected by stroke arrive at the hospital in time for lifesaving therapies. It is unclear how well stroke awareness campaigns improve awareness of stroke signs and whether people translate this into action. METHODS: We evaluated stroke ...

Mechanical forces trigger biological responses in bone cells that ultimately control osteoblastogenesis and bone program. Although several mechanosensors have been postulated, the precise mechanotransduction pathway remains obscure as the initial mechanosensing event has not yet been identified. Studies in kidney cells have shown that polycystin-1 (PC1), via its extracellular N-terminal ...

BACKGOUND: Intracranial cerebral aneurysms in the pediatric population are infrequent, and those occurring in infants less than 1 year old are extremely rare. Of intracranial aneurysms in children, dissecting aneurysms are the most common type seen. While spontaneous dissecting aneurysms usually present with ischemia, hemorrhage can also occur. METHODS: A retrospective ...

BACKGROUND: The three Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved anti-tumor necrosis factor drugs (anti-TNFs) for Crohn's disease (CD) have not been directly compared. AIM: To compare the efficacy of the three anti-TNFs for CD in clinical practice. METHODS: Retrospective review of patients initiated on anti-TNF between 2004 and 2008. Disease activity, ...

The disadvantages of human amniotic membrane (hAM), used for ocular surface reconstruction, necessitate the development of standardized alternatives. Keratin-derived-films (KF) have been indicated as transferable substrate for cell cultivation and tissue engineering. The impact of different sterilization procedures on KF and surgical feasibility were investigated. Human hair KF were prepared ...

In low resource settings, where the majority of asphyxial deaths occur, the mandatory measuring of core temperature may not always be practical when practicing therapeutic hypothermia (TH). If a standardized measurement of skin temperature could replace core temperature monitoring, it would make cooling more feasible. In normothermic newborn, axillary temperature ...

To describe delays in diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in patients treated by radiotherapy from the first abnormal imaging to the first day of treatment. Our retrospective single-center study included all patients treated for primary lung cancer in our center receiving radiotherapy alone or in association to chemotherapy or ...

Porphyrins, phthalocyanines and subphthalocyanines are three attractive classes of chromophores with intriguing properties making them suitable for the design of artificial photosynthetic systems. The assembly of these components by a supramolecular approach is of particular interest as it provides a facile means to build multi-chromophoric arrays with various architectures and ...

Fusobacterium necrophorum causes various clinical syndromes, ranging from otitis media to life-threatening Lemierre's syndrome. The purpose of this study was to review our experience with pediatric Fusobacterium infections. The medical records of all children aged 0 to 18 years who were diagnosed between 1999 and 2011 with Fusobacterium infection were reviewed. ...

Strength training seems to be an interesting approach to counteract decreases that affect knee extensor strength, muscle mass and muscle quality (force per unit of muscle mass) associated with ageing. However, there is no consensus regarding the changes in muscle mass and their contribution to strength during periods of training ...

Investigations to exploit the anion binding induced conformational changes displayed by a new class of acyclic receptor for anion recognition, fluorescence sensing and pseudorotaxane disassembly are described. A series of imidazolium-appended bis-amide-pyridine, pyridine N-oxide and pyridinium containing receptors are synthesised and their anion binding properties elucidated using (1)H NMR spectroscopy. ...

Combination therapies are urgently needed for optimal clinical benefit, but an efficient strategy for rational discovery of drug combinations, especially combinations of experimental drugs, is still lacking. Consequently, we proposed here a network-based computational method to identify novel synergistic drug combinations. A large-scale drug combination network (DCN), which provides an ...

Motor imagery (MI) is often used in combination with neuroimaging techniques to study the cognitive control of gait. However, imagery ability (IA) varies widely across individuals, potentially influencing the pattern of cerebral recruitment during MI. The aim of the current study was to investigate this effect of IA on the ...

Abstract Colostrum contains cellular components that convey immunological protection to offspring. In the present study the main subsets of lymphocytes present in colostrum and in peripheral blood of healthy screened mothers were compared through the evaluation of more than 15 different flow cytometry markers. Colostrum and peripheral blood samples were ...

Hypoxic/ischemic injury remains the most dreaded cause of neurological disability and mortality. Despite the humbling experiences due to lack of promising therapy, our understanding of the complex cascades underlying the neuronal insult has led to advances in basic science research. One of the most noteworthy has been the effect of ...

INTRODUCTION: Total surgical resection is the treatment of choice for choroid plexus tumors. However, the hypervascular nature of such lesions imposes challenges to the surgical treatment. Preoperative embolization for intracranial tumors has been widely used in an attempt to reduce blood loss, but rarely with choroid plexus tumors. CASE REPORT: ...

Gene discovery efforts in patients with hematopoietic malignancies have brought to the forefront a series of mutations in genes thought to be involved in the epigenetic regulation of gene transcription. These mutations occur in genes known, or suspected, to play a role in modifying cytosine nucleotides on DNA and/or altering ...

Abstract Objectives: Statins decrease cardiovascular events mainly via cholesterol-lowering but anti-inflammatory effects also play a role. The effects of the cholesterol absorption inhibitor ezetimibe on markers of inflammation remains unclear. We performed an exploratory post-hoc analysis whether these drugs influence the pro-inflammatory markers interleukin-6 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in subjects ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Modulation of K(v) 7/M channel function represents a relatively new strategy to treat neuronal excitability disorders such as epilepsy and neuropathic pain. We designed and synthesized a novel serial compounds of pyrazolo[1,5-a] pyrimidin-7(4H)-ones (PPOs) which activate K(v) 7 channels. Here, we characterized a lead compound, QO-58, on ...

The central goal of this study was to contribute to the advancements being made in determining the underlying causes of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. ACL injuries are frequently incurred by recreational and professional young female athletes during non-contact impact activities in sports like volleyball and basketball. This musculoskeletal-neuromuscular study ...

Arsenobetaine is one of the major organoarsenic compounds found in aquatic organisms, including seafood and fish meant for human consumption. It has been widely studied over the last 50 years because of its non-toxic properties, and its origin is postulated to be at bottom of the aquatic food chains. The ...

Dramatic social change involves profound transformations that impact an entire group moving forward. Such is the reality for race relations in South Africa. Research has found that most people report a trajectory of group-based relative deprivation that appears to parallel actual historical events. However, a significant subset of respondents reported ...

Purpose: To investigate the effects of axitinib, an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors, on choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in an animal model of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: Experimental CNV lesions were induced in C57BL/6 mice by laser photocoagulation. Beginning 1 day after CNV induction, mice were treated ...

BACKGROUND: Previous studies reported that exposure to dioxins was associated with an increased risk of various diseases in general populations. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the association between levels of dioxins in blood and allergic and other diseases. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study on 1,063 ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recent studies have shown that thrombolysis could decrease or eliminate ischaemic diffusion-weighted imaging lesions. However, the features of such diffusion-weighted imaging lesion reduction are not well known. AIMS: To clarify, the frequency of and factors associated with lesion reduction were investigated. METHODS: Patients given intravenous tissue plasminogen ...

RATIONALE: Transcranial laser therapy is undergoing clinical trials in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The NeuroThera(®) Efficacy and Safety Trial-1 was strongly positive for 90-day functional benefit with transcranial laser therapy, and post hoc analyses of the subsequent NeuroThera(®) Efficacy and Safety Trial-2 trial suggested a meaningful beneficial effect in ...

Nursing research is critical to establish the science for the discipline and to provide a foundation for evidence-based practice. All nurses need to understand the research process and engage in research at the level for which they were prepared. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing has clearly outlined essential ...

BACKGROUND: In esophageal cancer patients preoperative staging will determine the type of surgical procedure and use of neoadjuvant therapy. Tumor location and lymph node status play a pivotal role in this tailored strategy. The aim of the present study was to prospectively evaluate the accuracy of preoperative assessment of tumor ...

Ultrasound detection of sub-clinical atherosclerosis (ATS) may help identify individuals at high cardiovascular risk. Most studies evaluated intima-media thickness (IMT) at carotid level. We compared the relationships between main cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) and five indicators of ATS (IMT, mean and maximal plaque thickness, mean and maximal plaque area) at ...

Mussels are widespread in coastal environments and experience various physical, chemical, and bacteriological conditions. Owing to the increase of coastal urbanization, mussels are now commonly exposed not only to indigenous bacteria, but also to enteric bacteria originating from pulsed and chronic sewage discharges into coastal environments. Due to its broad ...