This article introduces the use of qualitative research techniques in the field of radiation oncology with respect to quality improvement initiatives. The qualitative techniques used in this research include field observations and in-depth, one-on-one interviews with radiation therapy technologists. The observations were conducted in a fast-paced academic institution. This high-pressure, ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The main aim of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of forty four traditional Chinese medicinal herbal extracts and to examine these activities in relation to their antioxidant content. METHODS: The antioxidant activities were investigated using DPPH radical scavenging method and yeast model. The ...

Abstract The importance of spleen iron and splenectomy has been investigated in 28 male and 19 female β-thalassemia major (β-ΤΜ), adult patients. In one study an increase from about five (615g;19.5 × 11.0 × 6.0 cm) to twenty (2030g; 25.0 × 17.5 × 12.0 cm) times higher than the normal size and weight of spleen has been observed ...

D-dimer is a global indicator of coagulation activation and fibrinolysis and, therefore, an indirect marker of thrombotic activity. The utility of D-dimer measurement has been evaluated in several clinical situations including the exclusion of venous thromboembolism (VTE), prediction of future risk of VTE, and the diagnosis and monitoring of disseminated ...

ABSTRACT: Niemann-Pick disease type C (NP-C) is a rare neurovisceral disease characterised by progressive neurological deterioration and premature death, and has an estimated birth incidence of 1:120,000. Mutations in the NPC1 gene (in 95% of cases) and the NPC2 gene (in approximately 4% of cases) give rise to impaired intracellular ...

Now one-year qualified, Jen Hall feels that she has moved on from being a new graduate to becoming a recent graduate. She is the BVA's new recent graduate representative on Council.

The epilepsies of childhood are a heterogeneous group of disorders with different causes, treatments and outcomes. The choice of anti-epileptic drug is largely determined by its effectiveness in a specific epilepsy syndrome, or seizure type(s) if a syndrome cannot be readily identified, and the drug's safety profile. There are minimal ...

This article attempts to answer two basic questions. First, can body parts be the subject of property rights? This requires us to start with a definition of property rights, and this is set out in the first section. In the second section, it will be argued that rights in relation ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The quality of multiple protein structure alignments are usually computed and assessed based on geometric functions of the coordinates of the backbone atoms from the protein chains. These purely geometric methods do not utilize directly protein sequence similarity, and in fact, determining the proper way to incorporate sequence ...

The syndrome of cocaine-levamisole thrombotic vasculopathy is a tetrad of cutaneous manifestations, arthralgia, leukopenia, and positive antineutrophil cytoplasmic antigen (ANCA). Cocaine is cut with levamisole to potentiate its euphoric effects. However, along with this are the adverse reactions of levamisole such as fatal agranulocytosis, flu-like symptoms, and cutaneous thrombotic vasculopathy. ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The exponential growth of the number of fully sequenced genomes at varying taxonomic closeness allows one to characterize transcriptional regulation using comparative-genomics analysis instead of time-consuming experimental methods. A transcriptional regulatory unit consists of a transcription factor, its binding site and a regulated gene. These units constitute a ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Y-Short Tandem Repeats (Y-STR) data consist of many similar and almost similar objects. This characteristic of Y-STR data causes two problems with partitioning: non-unique centroids and local minima problems. As a result, the existing partitioning algorithms produce poor clustering results. RESULTS: Our new algorithm, called k-Approximate Modal Haplotypes ...

In his address to the Association's annual congress last week, the outgoing BVA President Carl Padgett described some of the areas in which the Association had been active during his year as president and how the congress programme reflected the theme he had chosen, 'Delivering a healthy future'.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Pain can be one of the most severe symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) and develops with varying levels and time courses. MS-related pain is difficult to treat, since very little is known about the mechanisms underlying its development. Animal models of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mimic many ...

Transparent conductive carbon nanotube (CNT) films were fabricated by dip coating solutions of pristine CNTs dissolved in chlorosulfonic acid (CSA) and then removing the CSA. The film performance and morphology (including alignment) were controlled by the CNT length, solution concentration, coating speed, and level of doping. Using long CNTs (~10 ...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether perioperative serum levels of oxidative stress markers, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and carbonyl moieties are associated with outcomes in children after heart surgery. BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress markers are increased following heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and can play a role in ischemia-reperfusion injury, but ...

Introduction: The G protein-coupled receptor TGR5 is a key player of the bile acid signaling network, and its activation has been proved to increase the glycemic control, to enhance energy expenditure and to exert anti-inflammatory actions. Accordingly, TGR5 ligands have emerged in drug discovery and preclinical appraisals as promising agents ...

BACKGROUND: The active-treatment comparative safety information for all inhaled medications in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is limited. We aimed to compare the risk of overall and cardiovascular death for inhaled medications in patients with COPD. METHODS: Through systematic database searching, we identified randomised controlled trials of tiotropium ...

OBJECTIVE: The UCSD Shortness-of-Breath Questionnaire (SOBQ) has been used to assess dyspnea-related activitylimitation in patients with airway and parenchymal lung disease. We sought to assess the constructvalidity and responsiveness of the SOBQ in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients with incident pulmonary hypertension(PH) and those at high risk for developing PH. METHODS: ...

BVA members can benefit from free one-to-one sessions from specialist careers, legal and financial advisers at the BVA Careers Fair at the London Vet Show 2012.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) symptoms and respiratory events during sleep in infants with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P). DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Cleft palate clinic, tertiary care paediatric hospital, before palate surgery. PATIENTS: Consecutive newborn infants with CL/P. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographics, clinical history, ...

AIMS: To investigate the effects of high-polyphenol chocolate upon endothelial function and oxidative stress in Type 2 diabetes mellitus during acute transient hyperglycaemia induced following a 75-g oral glucose challenge. METHODS: Ten subjects with Type 2 diabetes underwent a double-blinded randomized controlled crossover study. A 75-g oral glucose load was used to ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the "real-world" clinical effectiveness and safety of leflunomide in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). METHODS: This prospective, multinational 24-week observational study involved adult patients with active PsA who initiated treatment with leflunomide.Patients were evaluated at baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks.The primary outcome was response as assessed ...

With the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), dramatic improvements have been made in the quality and length of life in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA). Complications that are seen with increasing frequency in this group include venous thromboembolism events (VTE) and cardiovascular disease. Recent epidemiologic studies suggest PLWA ...

Chloroplast-located proteins which are encoded by the nuclear genome have to be imported from the cytosol into the organelle in a post-translational manner. Among these nuclear-encoded chloroplast proteins are the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding proteins (LHCPs). After translation in the cytosol, precursor proteins of LHCPs are imported via the TOC/TIC translocase, ...

The Nominations and Awards Group met in July to select 16 new committee members for the BVA's five Standing Committees - the BVA Animal Welfare Foundation, the Ethics and Welfare Group, the Members' Services Group, the Overseas Group and the Veterinary Policy Group. The new members come from a variety ...

BACKGROUND: Free school breakfast programmes (SBPs) exist in a number of high-income countries, but their effects on educational outcomes have rarely been evaluated in randomised controlled trials. METHODS: A 1-year stepped-wedge, cluster randomised controlled trial was undertaken in 14 New Zealand schools in low socioeconomic resource areas. Participants were 424 ...

The genes encoding the cytochrome P450 2C9 enzyme (CYP2C9) and vitamin K-epoxide reductase complex unit 1 (VKORC1) are major determinants of anticoagulant response to warfarin. Together with patient demographics and clinical information, they account for approximately one-half of the warfarin dose variance in individuals of European descent. Recent prospective and ...

This paper presents a pseudorotaxane that acts as a thermally-driven molecular switch in the single-crystal state. Crystals of the cationic pseudorotaxane consisting of dibenzo[24]crown-8 (DB24C8) and N-(xylylammonium)-methylferrocene as the cyclic and axle component molecules, respectively, undergo crystalline-phase transition at 128 °C with heating and 116 °C with cooling, according to ...

Plant growth requires cell wall extension. The cotton AtRD22-Like 1 gene GhRDL1, predominately expressed in elongating fiber cells, encodes a BURP domain-containing protein. Here, we show that GhRDL1 is localized in cell wall and interacts with GhEXPA1, an α-expansin functioning in wall loosening. Transgenic cotton over-expressing GhRDL1 showed an increase ...

Despite a well-established link between obesity and renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the mechanism through which obesity acts to increase cancer risk is unclear. Adiponectin, leptin and resistin are adipocyte-secreted peptide hormones that may influence RCC development through their demonstrated effects on inflammation, insulin resistance and cell growth and proliferation. We ...

Insulin resistance during late gestation may act as a predisposing factor of ovine pregnancy toxaemia (OPT). To evaluate the insulin action on energy metabolism in ewes with different susceptibilities to OPT, intravenous glucose tolerance tests (1 mmol glucose/kg body weight) were performed in 5.6 ± 0.7 year old, slightly underfed German Blackheaded Mutton ewes ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by selective degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). The familial form of PD, PARK2, is caused by mutations in the parkin gene. parkin-knockout mouse models show some abnormalities, but they do not fully recapitulate the pathophysiology of ...

BACKGROUND: In patients with recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC), there are no data about an every-other-week cetuximab maintenance schedule after chemotherapy plus cetuximab as first-line treatment. METHODS: We reviewed the safety and feasibility of every-other-week maintenance cetuximab administered at 3 different European centers. RESULTS: Thirty-one ...

Abstract Zinc (Zn) is one of the essential trace elements and has numerous physiological functions. Zn acts as an antioxidant and also as a part of other antioxidant related proteins, such as metallothionein (MT) and Zn-copper superoxide dismutase. Zn deficiency often occurs in patients with diabetes. Therefore, the effect of ...

Phytopharmaceuticals are plant secondary metabolites strongly inducible and especially sensitive to biotic changes. Plant cell cultures are a good alternative to obtain secondary metabolites, in case effective stimulation can be achieved. In this study metabolic elicitors from two rhizobacteria able to enhance isoflavone content in soybean seedlings, were tested on ...

During S phase, not only does DNA have to be replicated, but also newly synthesized DNA molecules have to be connected with each other. This sister chromatid cohesion is essential for the biorientation of chromosomes on the mitotic or meiotic spindle, and is thus an essential prerequisite for chromosome segregation. ...

The human guanylate-binding protein 1 (GBP-1) is among the proteins the most highly induced by IFN-γ in every cell type investigated as yet. In vivo, GBP-1 expression is associated with the presence of inflammation and has been observed in autoimmune diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and cancer. In colorectal carcinoma ...

Acrolein (Acr), an α,β-unsaturated aldehyde, is abundant in tobacco smoke and cooking and exhaust fumes. Acr induces mutagenic α- and γ- hydroxy-1,N(2)-cyclic propano-deoxyguanosine adducts in normal human bronchial epithelial cells. Our earlier work has found that Acr-induced DNA damage preferentially occurs at lung cancer p53 mutational hotspots that contain CpG ...

ABSTRACT: There is a major mistake in the order of figure 6 and figure 7 in [1]. We replace the correct original order of figure 6 and figure 7 in this correction. We also replced with new corrected figures of figure 5 and figure6. Sorry for the inconveniences!

The transfer of nuclei of fully differentiated cells into enucleated oocytes is a well-recognized method for the generation of embryonic stem (ES) cells. Here, we demonstrate that nuclear transferred ES (NT-ES) cells can be established with high efficiency using innate-like B lymphocytes as donor cells. We established two mouse lines ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate how clinical chemistry test results were assessed by volunteers when presented with four different visualization techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 20 medical students reviewed quantitative test results from 4 patients using 4 different visualization techniques in a balanced, crossover experiment. The laboratory data represented relevant ...

From 2013, the British Veterinary Association's annual Congress will take place at the London Vet Show. The partnership between the BVA and the Vet Show was announced by outgoing BVA President Carl Padgett at the opening ceremony of this year's BVA Congress, as he welcomed delegates and guests to Liverpool.

Optogenetic strategies for perturbation of neural circuit function have begun to revolutionize systems neuroscience. Whereas optogenetics has proven to be a powerful approach for studying neural systems, the tools to conduct these experiments are still continuously evolving. Here we briefly summarize available hardware and reagents that can be used for ...

Interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23R) is a key element in the T-helper 17 (Th17) cell-mediated inflammatory process, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cancer. In this study, we examined whether genetic polymorphisms in IL-23R are associated with cancer risk in 4,936 cancer patients and 5,664 control subjects from eastern ...

Alistair Dornan, head of consultancy at Bupa Health and Wellbeing, will discuss managing stress in the workplace at the BVA Careers Fair at the London Vet Show.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Although many diseases have been well characterized at the molecular level, the underlying mechanisms are often unknown. Nearly half of all human genes remain poorly studied, yet these genes may contribute to a number of disease processes. Genes involved in common biological processes and diseases are often co-expressed. ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In order for computers to extract useful information from unstructured text, a concept normalization system is needed to link relevant concepts in a text to sources that contain further information about the concept. Popular concept normalization tools in the biomedical field are dictionary-based. In this study we ...

OBJECTIVE: We applied quality improvement methodology to identify unnecessary, redundant parts of processes that can lead to delayed on-time starts for patients scheduled with general anesthesia (GA) in the radiology department. AIM: To address the issue of delayed on-time starts by improving work flow for the first patient scheduled with ...

OBJECTIVES: To identify non-major histocompatibility complex susceptible genes that might contribute to Behçet's disease (BD). METHODS: We performed a genome-wide association study using DNA samples from a Korean population consisting of 379 BD patients and 800 controls. A replication study was performed in a Japanese population (363 BD patients and ...