In pregnancy complicated by placental insufficiency (PI) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), the fetus near term has reduced basal and glucose-stimulated insulin concentrations and reduced β-cell mass. To determine whether suppression of insulin concentrations and β-cell mass precedes reductions in fetal weight, which would implicate insulin deficiency as a cause ...

OBJECTIVE: A proportion of women experience depressive and anxiety symptoms and/or disorders in connection with the menopausal transition. Estrogen-only therapy has been reported to have beneficial effects on mental health, but the effects of combined hormone therapy (HT) on mental health are less clear. We studied the associations between HT ...

OBJECTIVE: We studied the radiosensitizing effect of irisquinone on a VX2 lung transplant tumor model during three-dimensional radiotherapy using fluorine-18-deoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET/computed tomography (PET/CT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty VX2 tumor-bearing rabbits were randomized into three groups: the radiotherapy group, the irisquinone+radiotherapy group, and the control group, each comprising 10 rabbits. ...

Chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is epidemiologically associated with hepatocellular-carcinoma (HCC) but its role in HCC remains poorly understood due to technological limitations. Here, we systematically characterize HBV in HCC patients. HBV sequences were enriched from 48 HCC patients using an oligo-bead-based strategy, pooled together and sequenced using the ...

A best evidence topic in cardiac surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was: is extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) superior to dedicated ventricular assist device (VAD) in patients with acutely failing allograft following transplantation. Altogether, 162 papers were found using the reported search, of which 8 ...

Impairment of language abilities is a common feature in autistic individuals. Heterozygous mutations in the Forkhead Box P2 (FOXP2) gene lead to a severe spoken language disorder. Recently, several studies have pinpointed the involvement of common variants of the Contactin-Associated Protein-Like 2 (CNTNAP2) gene, whose transcription is regulated by the ...

BackgroundA moss sporophyte inherits a haploid set of genes from the maternal gametophyte to which it is attached and another haploid set of genes from a paternal gametophyte. Evolutionary conflict is expected between genes of maternal and paternal origin that will be expressed as adaptations of sporophytes to extract additional ...

An in situ derivatization and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method based on sol-gel technology coupled with gas chromatography-flame ionization detection was proposed for the determination of mercury [Hg(ΙΙ)] at ultra-trace levels in water samples.The analytical procedure involves aqueous-phase derivatization of Hg(ΙΙ) with phenylboronic acid in a sample vial and subsequent extraction ...

OBJECTIVE: Obesity and osteoporosis are two important public health problems that greatly impact mortality and morbidity. Several similarities between these complex diseases have been identified. The aim of this study was to analyze if different body mass indexes (BMIs) are associated with variations in bone mineral density (BMD) among postmenopausal ...

AIM: The aim of our study was to assess improvements in spatial resolution and noise control from the application of the Astonish resolution recovery algorithm for single photon emission computed tomography imaging. Secondary aims were to compare acquisitions made with low-energy general purpose collimators with those obtained using low-energy high-resolution ...

Recent studies suggest that a number of common cold medicines, including nasal decongestants are not suitable for small children. In Latvia nasal decongestants are primarily over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, and patient information leaflets generally permit use of these medicines for small children. The previous studies in Latvia investigating the use of ...

BACKGROUND: We retrospectively examined the clinical outcome of irradiated versus non-irradiated groups of Japanese breast cancer patients according to their clinical and histopathological characteristics following breast-conserving therapy. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated a total of 1197 Japanese female breast cancer patients (598 irradiated and 599 non-irradiated) who received breast-conserving therapy. The ...

Recidivism outcomes were examined over a 2-year postrelease period for participants of an Australian employment assistance program. The voluntary 12-month program operated from 17 Victorian correctional locations, 7 prisons, and 10 community corrections locations, targeting participants at moderate to high risk of reoffending. Recidivism outcomes included simple rates of reoffending ...

BackgroundA phase III study (Lung Cancer Evaluation of TS-1) previously demonstrated noninferiority in terms of overall survival (OS) at interim analysis for carboplatin-S-1 compared with carboplatin-paclitaxel for first-line treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Patients and methodsA total of 564 patients were randomly assigned to receive either carboplatin on day ...

OBJECTIVES: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopment disorders with a complex genetic aetiology. The aim of this study was to identify copy number variations (CNVs) with a clinical significance for ASD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Array-based comparative genomic hybridization was applied to detect CNVs in a clinically ...

OBJECTIVES: Numerous studies have shown associations between an on-going depression and elevated serum levels of the acute-phase reactant C-reactive protein (CRP). Also, in suicidal behaviour, a proinflammatory state has been suggested to be of importance for the pathophysiology. There is a genetic susceptibility to suicidal behaviour, but studies with respect ...

Sentinel node lymphoscintigraphy and biopsy has become standard practice for lymphatic staging in early-stage breast cancer and melanoma. More recently, sentinel node lymphoscintigraphy has also been used in head and neck squamous cell cancers and other solid tumours. Single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) is a new tool and ...

Background:An inverse relationship between risk of schizophrenia and premorbid IQ is a robust empirical finding. Cognitive impairment may be a core feature of schizophrenia in addition to the clinical symptoms that have historically defined the disorder. Aims:To evaluate whether risk of schizophrenia increases linearly or nonlinearly with the lowering of ...

Paediatric femur fractures are managed with the titanium elastic nail system (TENS) in the 5-16-year age group. TENS is costly and not easily available in public hospitals. This study compares TENS nailing with stainless-steel Ender's nail fixation of paediatric femur fractures. A retrospective analysis of patient records from 2006 to ...

We showed previously that breast cancer chemoprevention with benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) in MMTV-neu mice was associated with induction of E-cadherin protein in vivo. Loss of E-cadherin expression and induction of mesenchymal markers (e.g., vimentin) are biochemical hallmarks of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a developmental process implicated in progression of cancer to ...

AIMS: The femoral approach for lead extraction is typically used as a bailout procedure. We describe the results of a femoral approach with a Needle's Eye Snare and Femoral Workstation as a primary tool for extracting pacing leads.PATIENTS AND METHODS AND RESULTS: Four hundred and seventy-six pacing leads implanted for ...

In batterer intervention programs, there are conflicting recommendations about best practices for responding to client dropout. Risk management philosophies emphasize the importance of swift and sure sanctions for failure to comply with program attendance requirements. In contrast, change theory emphasizes the importance of providing clients with multiple opportunities to engage ...

High-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HR-ICP-MS) can be used to measure metal ion levels in whole blood, although the accuracy and repeatability of this method is not yet known in the clinical setting. In this study, chromium, cobalt and titanium ion levels were measured in three whole blood samples, ...

BACKGROUND: Despite proven heritability, little is known about the genetic architecture of mood disorders. Although a number of family and case-control studies have examined the genetics of mood disorders, none have carried out joint linkage-association studies and sought to validate the results with gene expression analyses in an independent cohort. ...

OBJECTIVE: Clinical trials have demonstrated an increased risk of breast cancer during estrogen/norethisterone (NET) therapy. With this in mind, the effects of estrogen/NET combination on the proliferation of breast cancer cells overexpressing the progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) were examined. The same combination was used for the first time ...

Background and AimsTecophilaeaceae (27 species distributed in eight genera) have a disjunct distribution in California, Chile and southern and tropical mainland Africa. Moreover, although the family mainly occurs in arid ecosystems, it has colonized three Mediterranean-type ecosystems. In this study, the spatio-temporal history of the family is examined using DNA ...

Research has consistently revealed that measures of psychopathy and psychopathic personality traits represent some of the most consistent predictors of violent criminal involvement. As a result, there has been a considerable amount of interest in trying to identify the various etiological factors related to psychopathy. The current study builds on ...

BackgroundAndrogen deprivation therapy (ADT) in localized prostate cancer improves overall survival and is recommended by National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines in certain situations. However, ADT is without benefit in other situations and can actually cause harm. This study examines recent trends in the ADT use and quantifies the cost of ...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to determine whether genetic variability in UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) genes, together with clinical factors, contribute to variability in morphine glucuronide (M6G and M3G) to morphine serum concentration ratios in patients with advanced cancer receiving chronic morphine therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of ...

Some patients with peripheral arterial disease may present with critical limb ischemia, a condition associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis and effective medical therapy and revascularization are indicated to avoid amputation and reduce mortality. Ideally, a multidisciplinary approach with collaboration between endovascular interventionist, vascular surgeons, podiatrist, ...

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine whether recurrence of meningiomas could be reduced by combining somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) of Tc-HYNIC-octreotide SPECT/CT and radio guidance with a hand-held γ-probe during surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients with meningiomas diagnosed by MRI and considered as the study group ...

Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are ubiquitous chaperones that bind and sequester non-native proteins preventing their aggregation. Despite extensive studies of sHSPs chaperone activity, the location of the bound substrate within the sHSP oligomer has not been determined. In this paper, we used cryo electron microscopy (cryoEM) to visualize destabilized ...

Altered intracellular calcium homeostasis and oxidative stress are involved in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD)-I. To explore the genes contributing to these abnormalities, we examined the association with BD of the iPLA2β (PLA2G6), a signaling enzyme that mobilizes the arachidonic acid signaling cascade and activates oxidative stress, and assessed ...

The GTPase-activating protein RLIP76 is overexpressed in many malignant tumor cells, but it is unclear if RLIP76 overexpression contributes to the high proliferative potential of glioma cells. We demonstrate that RLIP76 mRNA and protein expression are positively correlated with glioma grade and that higher RLIP76 expression correlates with shorter patient ...

We report the case of a 35-year old woman with a giant thymic carcinoid of the left hemithorax. Enhanced computed tomography showed marked vascularization of the tumour, with an enlarged drainage vein. Endovascular embolization of the major feeding arteries of the tumour was performed preoperatively with good angiographic results. A ...

The 5-hydroxy tryptamine transporter (5-HTT) gene has been previously implicated in lithium response, but the roles of the triallelic 5-HTT linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) and variable number tandem repeats in the second intron [serotonin transporter intron 2 (STin2)] have not been reported. We examined these polymorphisms in 122 patients with ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the association between changes in blood oxidative stress level/activity and changes in memory performance among postmenopausal women. METHODS: This study involved 39 postmenopausal women who received estrogen-progestin therapy (EPT) for 16 weeks. Verbal learning and memory performance were assessed using the ...

Trichloroethylene (TCE) has been associated with a variety of immunotoxic effects and may be associated with an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Altered serum immunoglobulin levels have been reported in NHL patients and in animals exposed to TCE. Recently, we reported that occupational exposure to TCE is associated with ...

AIMS: The impact of different basic paced heart rates (pHRs) in patients receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) remains largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the haemodynamic effects of different pHRs (60 or 80 b.p.m.), using an implanted haemodynamic monitor (IHM), during a 2-week period in ...

BackgroundOncogenic driver mutations are responsible for the initiation and maintenance of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Elucidation of driver mutation occurrence in NSCLC has important clinical implications.Patients and methodsNSCLC at various clinical stages were studied for their oncogenic mutations and their association with patients' disease-free survival (DFS).ResultsOf 488 patients with NSCLC, ...

The aim of this paper was to describe the optimized labeling protocol and quality control measures used in the production of [Y]DOTATOC, starting from three different radioactivity levels to treat one, two, or three patients per therapeutic session. We investigated three different starting radioactivity levels. For the low radioactivity preparation ...

BackgroundImplementation of pharmacy services in dialysis centers seems to be limited and requires acceptance from nephrologists. The aim of this study was to explore the opinions of Australian and Portuguese nephrologists toward a potential future provision of clinical pharmacy services in outpatient dialysis centers.MethodsA qualitative study using semistructured interviews was ...

The Dega acetabuloplasty is considered to be safe and effective in the treatment of hip pathologies, but the number of clinical follow-up series in the literature is not sufficient. The aim of our study was to identify the alterations in acetabular development in 35 patients (43 hips) with developmental dysplasia ...

While substantial research attention has been paid to the disproportionately high levels of fear of crime among women relative to men, less attention has been paid to the apparent mirror of this: that men have disproportionately more concern for female partners than women do for male partners. The work that ...

OBJECTIVE:: Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has greatly improved the life expectancy of people living with HIV (PLHIV). Our study aims to project the life expectancy of PLHIV in a resource-rich setting in the context of the currently available antiretroviral treatments. METHODS:: Patient antiretroviral treatment data were sourced from an observational ...

OBJECTIVE:: To define the relative frequencies of different mechanisms of viral escape. DESIGN:: A population-based approach to examine the distribution of HIV polymorphism associated with diverse population HLA at sites within and flanking CD8 T cell epitopes as a correlate of likely mechanisms of viral escape. METHODS:: Sequence windows surrounding ...

OBJECTIVES: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and pre-eclampsia are severe and clinically important manifestations of placental insufficiency. In the mouse, dual specificity phosphatase 9 (DUSP9) is critical to the normal development of the placenta, where knock-outs are growth restricted and have a placental phenotype similar to that seen in syndromes of ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Sinus disease impacts millions of Americans every year, with significant associated costs on the healthcare system. Primary care physicians (PCPs) are at the frontline of treatment for patients with sinus disease. Patients would be well served by improved collaboration between PCPs and consulting otolaryngologists. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent ...

OBJECTIVES:: To compare efficacy, resistance development, and safety between rilpivirine and efavirenz in treatment-naïve, HIV-1-infected adults with baseline viral load (VL) ≤100 000 copies/ml in the pooled 48-week data set of the ECHO and THRIVE trials. DESIGN:: Phase III, double-blind, double-dummy, randomised trials. METHODS:: Patients received rilpivirine 25 mg qd or efavirenz ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:: HIV-associated Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) remains one of the commonest opportunistic infections in Western countries. Although it has been suggested that racial differences in PJP incidence exist, early studies report conflicting results. This study aims to investigate differences in PJP incidence in a developed country among patients ...