Aim: To understand the role of iPS inductive genes in esophageal cancer, we examined the expression of Sex determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2), Octamer-binding transcription factor 3/4 (OCT3/4), Krueppel-like factor 4 (KLF4), c-Myelocytomatosis viral oncogene (c-MYC) and Tir Na Nog (NANOG) using an esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissue micrroarray. The ...

Vitamin D deficiency and rickets are major health problems in developing countries. Congenital rickets is a rare form of rickets. Maternal vitamin D deficiency is the most important risk factor for vitamin D deficiency and rickets in newborns and early infancy. In this report, we presented a two-monthold infant with ...

Diabetes has become one of the most common chronic diseases and the third leading cause of death in China. Many programs have been initiated at national and local levels to address the illness. However, the effect of these programs in daily outpatient clinics is still unclear. The objective of this ...

We report a patient who presented with takotsubo cardiomyopathy but was misdiagnosed as an anterior wall ST elevation myocardial infarction (AWMI). We illustrate how misdiagnosis led to mismanagement by initiating intravenous inotropic agents that led to further hemodynamic compromise. Subsequent withdrawal of the inotropic agents and simultaneous administration of oral ...

Aim: To determine the predictive value of HIF-1α and VEGF-C in primary neuroendocrine breast cancers (NEBC) and their correlation with other clinico-pathological characteristics of NEBC. HIF-1α and VEGF-C were determined immunohistochemically in tissue samples from 31 cases of NEBC. The HIF-1α expression in NEBC was predominantly negative, with only 5 ...

The molecular events leading to the development of ovarian cancer are not well-established. Defects of the retinoblastoma protein (pRb)/cyclin-D1/p16 pathway have been shown to play a critical role in the development of human malignancies. In particular, the p16/cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) gene located on chromosomal region 9p21 frequently is ...

Introduction. There is currently a deficiency of physicians in pediatric intensive care units (PICU). The cause of this deficit is multifactorial, although the burnout phenomenon has been described as relevant. Objective. To analyze the situation of human resource in the pediatric intensive care units in Argentina and measure the level ...

Bevacizumab is used to treat patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, including those who will undergo liver surgery. The effects of this agent on the regenerative capacity of the liver are unclear. We used a rabbit model of partial hepatectomy to assess the effects of bevacizumab on hepatocyte replication and the ...

Aim: Determination of the prevalence, of the radiological and clinical characteristics, and outcome of atypical hyperplasia (AH) of the breast within a population subjected to routine screening (double-view mammography with double reading, performed every two years between 50 and 75 years of age). The clinical and radiological records and histological ...

While there is a growing body of work on moral issues and global governance in the fields of global justice and international relations, little work has connected principles of global health justice with those of global health governance for a theory of global health. Such a theory would enable analysis ...

Low-grade central osteosarcoma (LGCOS) is a very rare low-grade malignant neoplasm that is often confused with a variety of benign fibro-osseous lesions. It rarely involves the small tubular bones of the feet. We present an unusual case of LGCOS arising in the third metatarsal bone of a 16-year-old boy. The ...

The correlation between angiographic or intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) variables and fractional flow reserve (FFR) in patients with single left anterior descending artery (LAD) lesion has not been studied. The current study aimed at determining the best cutoff value of angiographic and IVUS parameters for defining FFR < 0.80 in patients ...

Women's experiences as professionals and behavior therapists have changed considerably in the past 40 years. The author describes early challenges and experiences of discrimination as a young female professional. Although women's opportunities have improved considerably, women still experience unique career challenges and choices. The author provides some suggestions for women's ...

The following reviewers generously gave their time and expertise to provide reviews during the past 12 months. The * denotes reviewers who provided multiple reviews or other exceptional assistance.

Aim: We retrospectively analyzed the risk associated with undergrading Gleason score 6 (GS6) prostate cancer (PCa) at biopsy, in patients with preoperative PSA levels of 2-3,99 and 4-10 ng/ml. A total of 674 patients with needle biopsy-diagnosed GS6 PCa, who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) between 1995 and 2011, were evaluated. ...

Patient safetyin the operating room is a topic of universal concern. Several studies support the existence of a high percentage of complications and a high mortality rate in surgical procedures (0.5 to 5%). The World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed the implementation of surgical check list in order to improve ...

Statewide (Queensland) Clinical Guidelines reflecting current best practice have recently become available for the management of pregnancy-related obesity. However, dissemination of guidelines alone do not change practice. To systematically assess evidence-practice gap in the multidisciplinary management of overweight and obesity (ow/ob) in pregnancy to inform an intervention to facilitate translating ...

Background/Aim: Inhibition of CD4(+)FOXP3(+) regulatory T-cell (Treg) activity may be important for successful cancer immunotherapy. We investigated the suppressive effects of several chemotherapeutic agents on Treg induction in vitro. Tregs were induced by incubating human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with interleukin-2 (500 U/ml) and transforming growth factor-β (10 ng/ml) ...

Regardless of current multimodal treatment strategies, the prognosis of patients harboring glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is still dismal. The introduction of concomitant radiochemotherapy and adjuvant cyclic temozolomide has significantly improved the overall survival, compared to postoperative radiotherapy-alone. Furthermore this regimen shows a lower toxicity profile compared to previous nitrosourea-based chemotherapy and ...

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva is a rare genetic disorder characterized by fibrotic tissue proliferation and calcification that affect body soft tissues, especially after minor traumas. Joint ankylosis and restrictive respiratory failure can be observed in the most extreme cases of the disease. Because of its rarity, diagnosis is often late and ...

In this issue (beginning on page 1368), Kreul and colleagues report a retrospective review of long-term efficacy and toxicity for subjects participating in a phase III study of difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) for prevention of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC). They conclude that those treated with DFMO had a nonsignificant, persistent decrease in ...

Increased risk of bladder cancer has been reported in diabetic patients. This study was to investigate the roles of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) 1 and 2 in the regulation of human insulin- and insulin glargine-induced proliferation of human bladder cancer T24 cells. In the absence or presence of a ...

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCC) is the second most common type of primary liver cancer, and is associated with a high rate of mortality due to the difficulty of early detection and resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. To evaluate the possibility for new therapeutic strategies, we examined the combined effect of gefitinib and gemcitabine ...

Tumor hypoxia, a common pathophysiological feature of solid tumors, contributes to drug resistance and treatment failure. Here, we demonstrate that hypoxia in HepG2 cells induces resistance towards cytotoxicity of curcumin, a promising anticancer agent. The number of surviving cells after exposure to chemotherapeutic drugs under normoxia (ambient O(2)) and hypoxia ...

Aim: The analysis of the prognostic impact of residual disease at day 15 of induction therapy, individual tumor response testing (ITRT) at diagnosis, initial factors and initial therapy response to the risk of relapse in children with precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). A total of 87 children were tested ...

This issue's Moving Points highlights the challenges and victories of a subspecialty within nephrology, obstetric nephrology. This article presents an overview of the renal physiology of normal pregnancy and exciting new developments in the understanding of both common renal disorders, such as lupus nephritis, diabetic kidney disease, and preeclampsia, and ...

Background: Metoprolol (MET) is a β1-adrenoceptor antagonist, which is widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and α-hydroxymetoprolol (α-OHM) is its hydroxylated metabolite. Owing to their similar structures, optimization of the condition for the chromatography approach, which is in common use for determination, is both time consuming and laborious. ...

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) reduces fatty acid-induced beta-cell lipotoxicity in diabetes; however, the explicit mechanisms underlying this process are not fully understood. This study was designed to investigate the involvement of microRNA, which regulates gene expression by the sequence-specific inhibition of mRNA transcription in the GLP-1 mediation of beta-cell function. The ...

Differences between atypical antipsychotics in their potential to cause parkinsonism and risk factors for antipsychotic-induced parkinsonism are not well established. There is a particular paucity of information on this in real-world use of these drugs, outside of clinical trial settings. We compared the incidence of parkinsonism after new treatment with ...

Precise staging of gastric cancer is essential when selecting for the appropriate treatment approach. 5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is metabolized and accumulated as protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), which is a photosensitizer. In this study, we evaluated the diagnostic usefulness of 5-ALA for demonstrating peritoneal dissemination in patients with gastric cancer. Fluorescence laparoscopy ...

Especially in times of economic distress, patients who lack health care connections tend to wind up in the ED. However, administrators at Sutter General and Sutter Memorial hospitals in Sacramento, CA, have discovered that by pairing these patients with ED navigators, they can be plugged into appropriate resources and follow-up ...

Aim: To determine whether modulation of expression of cell adhesion molecules occurs in neoplastic transformation of laryngeal epithelium and to investigate their possible role in clinical outcome. Fifty-five T1 N0 laryngeal biopsies were tested by immunohistochemistry for the E-cadherin/α-catenin adhesion complex. High immunohistochemical expression of E-cadherin and α-catenin was found ...

In this article, we report the synthesis and the in vitro activity of trans-bis(2-methylimidazole)dichloroplatinum(II) (coded as DH4) and trans-(ammino)(2,3-diaminopyridine) dichloroplatinum(II) (coded as DH5) in the human ovarian tumour models. DH4 is less active than cisplatin against the parental A2780 cell line but more active than cisplatin against the resistant A2780(cisR) ...

Aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate single center experience with hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) of irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin in patients with liver metastases from colorectal carcinoma (CRC). A retrospective analysis of 68 patients treated between 1998 and 2007 was performed. Among 60 patients who had ...

Acute pharyngitis is a frequent pediatric consultation, being group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus (GABHS) the main bacterial etiology. GABHS screening is controversial in children less than 5 years, because of the low frequency historically reported. Nevertheless, 24% prevalence was recently estimated in this group. The aim of this study was to ...

Two cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs), rivastigmine and galantamine, are used to treat Alzheimer disease in the Netherlands. Several adverse cardiac events have been reported for these medications. We aimed to assess if the use of ChEIs increased the risk of cardiac events in the Netherlands. A cohort crossover study of the ...

Background/Aim: To determine if early passage tumor cells obtained from patients with mesothelioma continue to express the tumor differentiation antigen mesothelin and their sensitivity to the anti-mesothelin immunotoxin SS1P. Cell cultures were established from ascites or pleural effusion of 6 peritoneal and 3 pleural mesothelioma patients, respectively. These cells were ...

To investigate the histopathologic causes of canalicular obstruction in a case series of patients treated by canalicular trephination for symptomatic epiphora. A university and private practice retrospective chart review. The study involved 12 consecutive patients who underwent unilateral canalicular trephination with tissue retrieval for the treatment of canalicular obstruction. Canalicular ...

The difference of cardiovascular effects between rosiglitazone and pioglitazone treatment for diabetic patients has not been thoroughly studied. We performed a meta-analysis to compare the risk of cardiovascular adverse effects in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with rosiglitazone compared to pioglitazone. The Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase were searched ...

Abstract Understanding whether M dwarf stars may host habitable planets with Earth-like atmospheres and biospheres is a major goal in exoplanet research. If such planets exist, the question remains as to whether they could be identified via spectral signatures of biomarkers. Such planets may be exposed to extreme intensities of ...

Data from the Adult Dental Survey conducted in 2009/10 have recorded some major changes in the pattern of oral conditions in British adults. The change in the number of sound and untreated teeth in recent decades has been particularly marked in younger adults. Across all ages there were 17.9 sound ...

Background/Aim: In the search for new derivatives of anthracycline antibiotics, formamidinodaunorubicins containing in the amidine group either a morpholine moiety (DAUFmor) or a hexamethyleneimine moiety (DAUFhex) were synthesized. The biological effects of daunorubicin (DAU), DAUFmor and DAUFhex were compared. The experiments were performed on human acute lymphoblastic leukemia MOLT-4 cells ...

One hundred and eighty scientists from industry and academia discussed the progress in emerging technologies approaching regulated bioanalysis, with a focus on what potential hurdles prevent them becoming broadly accepted by industry and regulators. The conference delegates agreed that moving innovative technologies forward can only be achieved by providing solid ...

An adolescent with acute lymphoblastic leukemia developed an early and severe tumor lysis syndrome with acute kidney injury after a low and single dose of steroids. Renal dysfunction was attributed primarily to phosphate nephropathy with nephrocalcinosis due to extreme elevations of phosphate in blood. Urinary alkalinization probably contributed to this ...

Coronary heart disease is the main complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus; its incidence is closely related to microalbuminuria. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between the urinary albumin excretion rate and the incidence and severity of coronary heart disease in elderly type 2 diabetes mellitus ...

This article reviews the intersections of personal and professional life development for the author. She offers perspective on three important life lessons that have guided her in this rewarding life path. First, be responsible in fulfilling and seeking professional opportunities. Second, be nice—respectful, warm, collegial, collaborative; treat others with the ...

Background: Little is known regarding gender- or race-based differences in critical care. We investigated whether gender or race was associated with pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) utilization or with in-hospital death among patients with a PAC. A particular focus was patients with cardiogenic shock (CS), in whom guidelines recommend PAC use. ...

As part of our continuing investigation of polymethoxyflavone (PMF) derivatives as potential anticancer substances, a series of PMF derivatives was synthesized. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for cytotoxicity against the promyelocytic leukemic HL60 cell line, and structure-activity relationship correlations were investigated along with previously isolated PMFs from the peel of ...

Bicalutamide (BIC) is an alternative treatment to castration for advanced prostate cancer. Breast events are common adverse effects which can be effectively prevented by the concurrent administration of tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator. We investigated the effects of BIC, 4-hydroxy Tamoxifen (4OHT), the active metabolite of tamoxifen, and their ...

Epidemiological studies suggest that nutrition plays an important role in colonic cancer prevention. A possible mechanism of this prevention may be the modulation of carcinogen metabolism and scavenging of reactive intermediates. In particular, dietary fibres are discussed as potentially protective food ingredients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to ...