MedWorm: Journals (General)

Listen to the lancet: 05 july

Listen to The Lancet — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:30:00 +0100

A new care package — 'Depression Care for People with Cancer' (DCPC) — can reduce depression in cancer patients and is cost-effective in improving quality of life compared with current cancer treatments. Michael Sharpe, University of Edinburgh, UK, discusses the new research findings in a podcast. (Source: Listen to The Lancet)

MedWorm Sponsored Message: MD Consult brings the leading medical resources into one integrated online solution for medical professionals. Get full text access to more than 50 leading Medical Journals at MD Consult.

Estrogen level monitoring in artificial frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles using step-up regime without pituitary suppression: is it necessary?

BioMed Central — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: To discuss the meaning of serum oestradiol monitoring in frozen embryo transfer cycle using hormone replacement without pretreatment with gonadotropin hormone (GnRH) agonist.MethodThe data from two hundred twelve women undergoing two hundred seventy-four frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles was included in this retrospective cohort study. They ware detected of serum oestradiol levels and endometrium thicknesses during hormone supplement FET cycles and compared their pregnancy outcomes according to their oestradiol level on progesterone initiation day. Results: Patients with different levels of serum oestradiol (percentile 0-25th, 25th-75th and 75th-100th) on progesterone initiation day yielded the endometrium thickness of 9.3+/-0.12, 8.9+/-0.07 and 9.1+/-0.11 mm( P>0.05) and the pregnancy rate of 32.2%, 38.4% and 36.3% (P>0.05) respectively. Conclusions: The serum estradiol level did not predict pregnancy success in hormone replacement FET cycles, suggesting that oestradiol monitoring in this method of endometrial preparation is unnecessary. (Source: BioMed Central)

Aspr - opeo bi-monthly all hands meeting - july 2008

Videocast - All Events — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:57:00 +0100

OPEO senior leadership will be discussing the progress made on the Balanced Scorecards with all OPEO employees. Other guest presentations will be made at this time.Air date: 7/10/2008 9:30:00 AM (Source: Videocast - All Events)

Strong position-dependent effects of sequence mismatches on signal ratios measured using long oligonucleotide microarrays

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Microarrays are an important and widely used tool. Applications include capturing genomic DNA for high-throughput sequencing in addition to the traditional monitoring of gene expression and identifying DNA copy number variations. Sequence mismatches between probe and target strands are known to affect the stability of the probe-target duplex, and hence the strength of the observed signals from microarrays. We describe a large-scale investigation of microarray hybridisations to murine probes with known sequence mismatches, demonstrating that the effect of mismatches is strongly position-dependent and for small numbers of sequence mismatches is correlated with the maximum length of perfectly matched probe-target duplex. Length of perfect match explained 43% of the variance in log2 signal ratios between probes with one and two mismatches. The correlation with maximum length of perfect match does not conform to expectations based on considering the effect of mismatches purely in terms of reducing the binding energy. However, it can be explained qualitatively by considering the entropic contribution to duplex stability from configurations of differing perfect match length. The results of this study have implications in terms of array design and analysis. They highlight the significant effect that short sequence mismatches can have upon microarray hybridisation intensities even for long oligonucleotide probes. (Source: BioMed Central)

Congenital plasmodium falciparum infection in neonates in muheza district, tanzania

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Although recent reports on congenital malaria suggest that the incidence is increasing, it is difficult to determine whether the clinical disease is due to parasites acquired before delivery or as a result of contamination by maternal blood at birth. Understanding of the method of parasite acquisition is important for estimating the time incidence of congenital malaria and design of preventive measures. The aim of this study was to determine whether the first Plasmodium falciparum malaria disease in infants is due to same parasites present on the placenta at birth. Methods: Babies born to mothers with P. falciparum parasites on the placenta detected by PCR were followed up to two years and observed for malaria episodes. Paired placental and infant peripheral blood samples at first malaria episode within first three months of life were genotyped (msp2) to determine genetic relatedness. Selected amplifications from nested PCR were sequenced and compared between pairs. Results: Eighteen (19.1%) out of 95 infants who were followed up developed clinical malaria within the first three months of age. Eight pairs (60%) out of 14 pairs of sequenced placental and cord samples were genetically related while six (40%) were genetically unrelated. One pair (14.3%) out of seven pairs of sequenced placental and infants samples were genetically related. In addition, infants born from primigravidae mothers were more likely to be infected with P. falciparum (P< 0.001) as compared to infants from secundigravidae and multigravidae mothers during the two years of follow up. Infants from multigravidae mothers got the first P. falciparum infection earlier than those from secundigravidae and primigravidae mothers (RR = 1.43) Conclusion: Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites present on the placenta as detected by PCR are more likely to result in clinical disease (congenital malaria) in the infant during the first three months of life. However, sequencing data seem to question the validity of this likelihood. Therefore, the relationship between placental parasites and first clinical disease need to be confirmed in larger studies (Source: BioMed Central)

A genome-wide 20k citrus microarray for gene expression analysis

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Understanding of genetic elements that contribute to key aspects of citrus biology will impact future improvements in this economically important crop. Global gene expression analysis demands microarray platforms with a high genome coverage. In the last years, genome-wide EST collections have been generated in citrus, opening the possibility to create new tools for functional genomics in this crop plant. Results: We have designed and constructed a publicly available genome-wide cDNA microarray that include 21,081 putative unigenes of citrus. As a functional companion to the microarray, a web-browsable database (http://bioinfo.ibmcp.upv.es/genomics/cfgpDB) was created and populated with information about the unigenes represented in the microarray, including cDNA libraries, isolated clones, raw and processed nucleotide and protein sequences, and results of all the structural and functional annotation of the unigenes, like general description, BLAST hits, putative Arabidopsis orthologs, microsatellites, putative SNPs, GO classification and PFAM domains. We have performed a Gene Ontology comparison with the full set of Arabidopsis proteins to estimate the genome coverage of the microarray. We have also performed microarray hybridizations to check its usability. Conclusions: This new cDNA microarray replaces the first 7K microarray generated two years ago and allows gene expression analysis at a more global scale. We have followed a rational design to minimize cross-hybridization while maintaining its utility for different citrus species. Furthermore, we also provide access to a website with full structural and functional annotation of the unigenes represented in the microarray, along with the ability to use this site to directly perform gene expression analysis using standard tools at different publicly available servers. Furthermore, we show how this microarray offers a good representation of the citrus genome and present the usefulness of this genomic tool for global studies in citrus by using it to catalogue genes expressed in citrus globular embryos. (Source: BioMed Central)

Evaluation of light microscopy and rapid diagnostic test for the detection of malaria under operational field conditions: a household survey in ethiopia

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: In most resource-poor settings, malaria is usually diagnosed based on clinical signs and symptoms and not by detection of parasites in the blood using microscopy or rapid diagnostic tests (RDT). In population-based malaria surveys, accurate diagnosis is important: microscopy provides the gold standard, whilst RDTs allow immediate findings and treatment. The concordance between RDTs and microscopy in low or unstable transmission areas has not been evaluated. Objectives This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of malaria parasites in randomly selected malarious areas of Amhara, Oromia, and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' (SNNP) regions of Ethiopia, using microscopy and RDT, and to investigate the agreement between microscopy and RDT under field conditions. Methods: A population-based survey was conducted in 224 randomly selected clusters of 25 households each in Amhara, Oromia and SNNP regions, between December 2006 and February 2007. Fingerpick blood samples from all persons living in even-numbered households were tested using two methods: light microscopy of Giemsa-stained blood slides; and RDT (ParaScreen device for Pan/Pf). Results: A total of 13,960 people were eligible for malaria parasite testing of whom 11,504 (82%) were included in the analysis. Overall slide positivity rate was 4.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.4-5.0%) while ParaScreen RDT was positive in 3.3% (95% CI 2.6-4.1%) of those tested. Considering microscopy as the gold standard, ParaScreen RDT exhibited high specificity (98.5%; 95% CI 98.3-98.7) and moderate sensitivity (47.5%; 95% CI 42.8-52.2) with a positive predictive value of 56.8% (95% CI 51.7-61.9) and negative predictive value of 97.6% (95% CI 97.6-98.1%) under field conditions. Conclusion: Blood slide microscopy remains the preferred option for population-based prevalence surveys of malaria parasitaemia. The level of agreement between microscopy and RDT warrants further investigation in different transmission settings and in the clinical situation. (Source: BioMed Central)

Pleomorphic adenoma arising from the 'tail' of the parotid gland - value of preoperative multiplanar imaging: a case report

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Pleomorphic Adenoma or benign mixed tumour is the most common tumour of the parotid gland. They are also known to occur in the submandibular, sublingual & minor salivary glands. We report a case of a pleomorphic adenoma arising from the 'tail' of the parotid gland which appears extra parotid in location. We also discuss the value of preoperative multiplanar imaging in the accurate localisation of parotid 'tail' lesions. (Source: BioMed Central)

Impact of nine common type 2 diabetes risk polymorphisms in asian indian sikhs: pparg2 (pro12ala), igf2bp2, tcf7l2 and fto variants confer a significant risk

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Recent genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified several unsuspected genes associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) with previously unknown functions. In this investigation, we have examined the role of 9 most significant SNPs reported in GWA studies: [peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma 2 (PPARG2; rs 1801282); insulin-like growth factor two binding protein 2 (IGF2BP2; rs 4402960); cyclin-dependent kinase 5, a regulatory subunit-associated protein 1-like 1 (CDK5; rs7754840); a zinc transporter and member of solute carrier family 30 (SLC30A8; rs13266634); a variant found near cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A ; rs10811661); hematopoietically expressed homeobox (HHEX; rs 1111875); transcription factor-7-like 2 (TCF7L2; rs 10885409); potassium inwardly rectifying channel subfamily J member 11(KCNJ11; rs 5219); and fat mass obesity-associated gene (FTO; rs 9939609)]. Methods: We genotyped these SNPs in a case-control sample of 918 individuals consisting of 532 T2D cases and 386 normal glucose tolerant (NGT) subjects of an Asian Sikh community from North India. We tested the association between T2D and each SNP using unconditional logistic regression before and after adjusting for age, gender, and other covariates. We also examined the impact of these variants on body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio (WHR), fasting insulin, and glucose and lipid levels using multiple linear regression analysis. Results: Four of the nine SNPs revealed a significant association with T2D; PPARG2 (Pro12Ala) [odds ratio (OR) 0.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.03 - 0.52); p=0.005], IGF2BP2 [OR 1.37; 95% CI (1.04 -1.82); p=0.027], TCF7L2 [OR 1.64; 95% CI (1.20 -2.24); p=0.002] and FTO [OR 1.46; 95% CI (1.11 -1.93); p=0.007] after adjusting for age, sex and BMI. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed significant association of two of nine investigated loci with diabetes-related quantitative traits. The 'C' (risk) allele of CDK5 (rs 7754840) was significantly associated with decreased HDL-cholesterol levels in both NGT (p = 0.005) and combined (NGT and T2D) (0.005) groups. The less common 'C' (risk) allele of TCF7L2 (rs 10885409) was associated with increased LDL-cholesterol (p = 0.010) in NGT and total and LDL-cholesterol levels (p = 0.008; p = 0.003, respectively) in combined cohort. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is first study reporting the role of some recently emerged loci with T2D in a high risk population of Asian Indian origin. Further investigations are warranted to understand the pathway-based functional implications of these important loci in T2D pathophysiology in different ethnicities. (Source: BioMed Central)

Adhd characteristics: i. concurrent co-morbidity patterns in children & adolescents

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Objective342 Caucasian subjects with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were recruited from pediatric and behavioral health clinics for a genetic study. Concurrent comorbidity was assessed to characterize the clinical profile of this cohort. Methods: Subjects 6 to 18 years were diagnosed with the Schedule for Affective Disorders & Schizophrenia for School aged Children (K-SADS-P IVR). Results: The most prevalent diagnoses co-occurring with ADHD were Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) (40.6%), Minor Depression/Dysthymia (MDDD) (21.6%), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) (15.2%). In Inattentive ADHD (n=106), 20.8% had MDDD, 20.8% ODD, and 18.6% GAD; in Hyperactive ADHD (n=31) 41.9% had ODD, 22.2% GAD, and 19.4% MDDD. In Combined ADHD, (n=203), 50.7% had ODD, 22.7% MDDD and 12.4% GAD. MDDD and GAD were equally prevalent in the ADHD subtypes but, ODD was significantly more common among Combined and Hyperactive ADHD compared to Inattentive ADHD. The data suggested a subsample of Irritable prepubertal children exhibiting a diagnostic triad of ODD, Combined ADHD, and MDDD may account for the over diagnosing of Bipolar Disorder. Conclusions: Almost 2/3rd of ADHD children have impairing comorbid diagnoses; Hyperactive ADHD represents less than 10% of an ADHD sample; ODD is primarily associated with Hyperactive and Combined ADHD; and, MDDD may be a significant morbidity for ADHD youths from clinical samples. (Source: BioMed Central)

Intra-abdominal pectus bar migration - a rare clinical entity: case report

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

We present the case of a 20-year-old male who underwent successful surgical correction of pectus excavatum with the Highly Modified Ravitch Repair (HMRR). At 29 months the attempted operative removal of the Ravitch bar was unsuccessful despite the impression of adequate bar location on chest x-ray. Subsequent imaging with computed tomography was unclear in determining whether the bar was supra or infra-diaphragmatic due to the tissue distortion subsequent to initial surgery. Video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) successfully retrieved the bar and revealed that it was not in the thorax, but had migrated to the intra-abdominal bare area of the liver, with no evidence of associated diaphragmatic defect or hernia. Intra-abdominal pectus bar migration is a rare clinical entity, and safe removal can be facilitated by the use of the VATS technique. (Source: BioMed Central)

Recent reduction in the water level of lake victoria has created more habitats for anopheles funestus

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: The water level of Lake Victoria has fallen more than 1.5 m since 1998, revealing a narrow strip of land along the shore. This study determined whether the recent drop in the water level has created additional breeding grounds for malaria vectors. Methods: The recent and past shorelines were estimated using landmarks and a satellite image. The locations of breeding habitats were recorded using a GPS unit during the high and low lake water periods. GIS was used to determine whether the breeding habitats were located on newly emerged land between the new and old shorelines. Results: Over half of the breeding habitats existed on newly emerged land. Fewer habitats for the Anopheles gambiae complex were found during the low water level period compared to the high water period. However, more habitats for Anopheles funestus were found during the high water level period, and they were all located on the newly emerged land. Conclusions: The recent reduction in water level of Lake Victoria has increased the amount of available habitat for A. funestus. The results suggest that the water drop has substantially affected the population of this malaria vector in the Lake Victoria basin, particularly because the lake has a long shoreline that may harbour many new breeding habitats. (Source: BioMed Central)

A family of gfp-like proteins with different spectral properties in lancelet branchiostoma floridae

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Members of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) family share sequence similarity and the 11-stranded beta-barrel fold. Fluorescence or bright coloration, observed in many members of this family, is enabled by the intrinsic properties of the polypeptide chain itself, without the requirement for cofactors. Amino acid sequence of fluorescent proteins can be altered by genetic engineering to produce variants with different spectral properties, suitable for direct visualization of molecular and cellular processes. Naturally occurring GFP-like proteins include fluorescent proteins from cnidarians of the Hydrozoa and Anthozoa classes, and from copepods of the Pontellidae family, as well as non-fluorescent proteins from Anthozoa. Recently, an mRNA encoding a fluorescent GFP-like protein AmphiGFP, related to GFP from Pontellidae, has been isolated from the adult lancelet Branchiostoma floridae, a cephalochordate (Deheyn et al., Biol Bull, 2007 213:95). Results: We report that the nearly-completely sequenced genome of Branchiostoma floridae encodes at least 12 GFP-like proteins. The evidence for expression of six of these genes can be found in the EST databases. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that a gene encoding a GFP-like protein was present in the common ancestor of Cnidaria and Bilateria. We synthesized and expressed two of the lancelet GFP-like proteins in mammalian cells and in bacteria. One protein, which we called LanFP1, exhibits bright green fluorescence in both systems. The other protein, LanFP2, is identical to AmphiGFP in amino acid sequence and is moderately fluorescent. Live imaging of the adult animals revealed bright green fluorescence at the anterior end and in the basal region of the oral cirri, as well as weaker green signals throughout the body of the animal. In addition, red fluorescence was observed in oral cirri, extending to the tips. Conclusions: GFP-like proteins may have been present in the primitive Metazoa. Their evolutionary history includes losses in several metazoan lineages and expansion in cephalochordates that resulted in the largest repertoire of GFP-like proteins known thus far in a single organism. Lancelet expresses several of its GFP-like proteins, which appear to have distinct spectral properties and perhaps diverse functions. Reviewers This article was reviewed by Shamil Sunyaev, Mikhail Matz (nominated by I.King Jordan) and L.Aravind. (Source: BioMed Central)

Monitoring of people and workers exposure to the electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields in an italian national cancer institute

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: The paper reports the electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields (emf) measurements carried out in the Regina Elena National Cancer Institute (NCI). Several devices, used in diagnostics and in medical cures, can represent sources of emf for the workers and for the public subjected to the treatments. The aim is to evaluate their exposition, in order to assess the compliance with the law. Methods: The investigations have been carried out in the departments of: intensive care, physiotherapy, MR presstherapy and in the surgical rooms. The measurements have been performed using broad band probes in the frequency ranges 5 Hz30 kHz and 100 kHz-3 GHz. Results: The variability of the magnetic induction (B(uT)) levels is between 0,05 uT and 80 uT. The statistical distribution shows that most of the measurements are in the range 0,05 (Source: BioMed Central)

Gynaecological morbidity among hiv positive pregnant women in cameroon

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

ObjectiveTo compare the prevalence of gynaecological conditions among HIV infected and non-infected pregnant women. Methods: Two thousand and eight (2008) pregnant women were screened for HIV, lower genital tract infections and lower genital tract neoplasia at booking antenatal visit. Results: About 10% (198/2008) were HIV positive. All lower genital tract infections except candidiasis were more prevalent among HIV positive compared to HIV negative women: vaginal candidiasis (36.9% vs 35.4%; p = 0.678), Trichomoniasis (21.2% vs 10.6%; p (Source: BioMed Central)

Head-neck domain of arabidopsis myosin xi, mya2, fused with gfp produces f-actin patterns that coincide with fast organelle streaming in different plant cells

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: The cytoskeletal mechanisms that underlie organelle transport in plants are intimately linked to acto-myosin function. This function is mediated by the attachment of myosin heads to F-actin and the binding of cargo to the tails. Acto-myosin also powers vigorous cytoplasmic streaming in plant cells. Class XI myosins exhibit strikingly fast velocities and may have extraordinary roles in cellular motility. Studies of the structural basis of organelle transport have focused on the cargo-binding tails of myosin XI, revealing a close relationship with the transport of peroxisomes, mitochondria, and Golgi-vesicles. Links between myosin heads and F-actin-based motility have been less investigated. To address this function, we performed localization studies using the head-neck domain of AtMYA2, a myosin XI from Arabidopsis. Results: We expressed the GFP-fused head-neck domain of MYA2 in epidermal cells of various plant species and found that it associated with F-actin. By comparison to other markers such as fimbrin and talin, we revealed that the myosin-labeled F-actin was of a lower quality and absent from the fine microfilament arrays at the cell cortex. However, it colocalized with cytoplasmic (transvacuolar) F-actin in areas coinciding with the tracks of fast organelles. This observation correlates well with the proposed function of myosin XI in organelle trafficking. The fact that organelle streaming was reduced in cells expressing the GFP-MYA2-head6IQ indicated that the functionless motor protein inhibits endogenous myosins. Furthermore, co-expression of the GFP-MYA2-head6IQ with other F-actin markers disrupted its attachment to F-actin. In nuclei, the GFP-myosin associated with short bundles of F-actin. Conclusion: The localization of the head of MYA2 in living plant cells, as investigated here for the first time, suggests a close linkage between this myosin XI and cytoplasmic microfilaments that support the rapid streaming of organelles such as peroxisomes. Potential roles of MYA2 may also exist in the cell nucleus. Whether the low quality of the F-actin-labeling by MYA2-head6IQ compared to other F-actin-binding proteins (ABPs) signifies a weak association of the myosin with actin filaments remains to be proven by other means than in vivo. Clues for the mode of contact between the myosin molecules and F-actin so far cannot be drawn from sequence-related data. (Source: BioMed Central)

Multicenter double blind trial of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell transplantation through intracoronary injection post acute myocardium infarction a miheart/ami study

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Myocardial infarction remains as a major cause of mortality worldwide and a high rate of survivors develop heart failure as a sequel, resulting in a high morbidity and elevated expenditures for health system resources. We have designed a multicenter trial to test for the efficacy of autologous bone marrow (ABM) mononuclear cell (MC) transplantation in this subgroup of patients. The main hypothesis to be tested is that treated patients will have a significantly higher ejection fraction (EF) improvement after 6 months than controls.MethodA sample of 300 patients admitted with ST elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) and left ventricle (LV) systolic dysfunction, and submitted to successful mechanical or chemical recanalization of the infarct-related coronary artery will be selected for inclusion and randomized to either treated or control group in a double blind manner. The former group will receive 100 x 106 MC suspended in saline with 5% autologous serum in the culprit vessel, while the latter will receive placebo (saline with 5% autologous serum). ImplicationsMany phase I/II clinical trials using cell therapy for STEMI have been reported, demonstrating that cell transplantation is safe and may lead to better preserved LV function. Patients with high risk to develop systolic dysfunction have the potential to benefit more. Larger randomized, double blind and controlled trials to test for the efficacy of cell therapies in patients with high risk for developing heart failure are required. This trial is registered at the NIH registry under the number NCT00350766. (Source: BioMed Central)

Analytical approaches to detect maternal/fetal genotype incompatibilities that increase risk of pre-eclampsia

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: In utero interactions between incompatible maternal and fetal genotypes are a potential mechanism for the onset or progression of pregnancy related diseases such as pre-eclampsia (PE). However, the optimal analytical approach and study design for evaluating incompatible maternal/offspring genotype combinations is unclear. Results: Using simulation, we estimated the type I error and power of incompatible maternal/offspring genotype models for two analytical approaches: logistic regression used with case-control mother/offspring pairs and the log-linear regression used with case-parent triads. We evaluated a real dataset consisting of maternal/offspring pairs with and without PE for incompatibility effects using the optimal analysis based on the results of the simulation study. We identified a single coding scheme for the incompatibility effect that was equally or more powerful than all of the alternative analysis models evaluated, regardless of the true underlying model for the incompatibility effect. In addition, the log-linear regression was more powerful than the logistic regression when the heritability was low, and more robust to adjustment for maternal or fetal effects. For the PE data, this analysis revealed three genes, lymphotoxin alpha (LTA), von Willebrand factor (VWF), and alpha 2 chain of type IV collagen (COL4A2) with possible incompatibility effects. Conclusions: The incompatibility model should be evaluated for complications of pregnancy, such as PE, where the genotypes of two individuals may contribute to the presence of disease. (Source: BioMed Central)

Deducing topology of protein-protein interaction networks from experimentally measured sub-networks

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Protein-protein interaction networks are commonly sampled using yeast two hybrid approaches. However, whether topological information reaped from these experimentally-measured sub-networks can be extrapolated to complete protein-protein interaction networks is unclear. Results: By analyzing various experimental protein-protein interaction datasets, we found that they are not random samples of the parent networks. Based on the experimental bait-prey behaviors, our computer simulations show that these non-random sampling features may affect the topological information. We tested the hypothesis that a core sub-network exists within the experimentally sampled network that better maintains the topological characteristics of the parent protein-protein interaction network. We developed a method to filter the experimentally sampled network to result in a core sub-network that more accurately reflects the topology of the parent network. These findings have fundamental implications for large-scale protein interaction studies and for our understanding of the behavior of cellular networks. Conclusions: The topological information from experimental measured networks network as is may not be the correct source for topological information about the parent protein-protein interaction network. We define a core sub-network that more accurately reflects the topology of the parent network. (Source: BioMed Central)

Pulmonary talc granulomatosis mimicking malignant disease thirty years after last exposure: a case report

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

IntroductionPulmonary talc granulomatosis is a rare disorder characterized by the development of foreign body granuloma secondary to talc exposure. Previous case reports have documented the illness in current intravenous drug users who inject medications intended for oral use. We present a rare case of the disease in a patient with a distant history of heroin abuse who presented initially with history and imaging findings highly suggestive of malignancy. Case presentationA 53-year-old man reported a 4-month history of increasing dyspnea and weight loss. He had a long history of smoking and admission chest X-ray revealed a density in the right hemithorax. Computed tomography confirmed a probable mass with further speculated opacities in both lung fields suspicious for malignant spread. Biopsies obtained using endobronchial ultrasound-guided aspiration returned negative for malignancy and showed bronchial epithelial cells with foreign body giant cell reaction and polarizable birefringent talc crystals. Conclusions: This case demonstrates a rare presentation of talc granulomatosis three decades after the last likely exposure. The history and imaging findings in a chronic smoker were initially strongly suggestive of malignant disease, and we recommend that talc-induced lung disease is considered in any patient with multiple scattered pulmonary lesions and a history of intravenous drug use. Confirmation of the disease by biopsy is essential, but unfortunately there are few successful proven management options for patients with worsening disease. (Source: BioMed Central)

Synchrony between orientation-selective neurons is modulated during adaptation-induced plasticity in cat visual cortex

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Visual neurons respond essentially to luminance variations occurring within their receptive fields. In primary visual cortex, each neuron is a filter for stimulus features such as orientation, motion direction and velocity, with the appropriate combination of features eliciting maximal firing rate. Temporal correlation of spike trains was proposed as a potential code for linking the neuronal responses evoked by various features of a same object. In the present study, synchrony strength was measured between cells following an adaptation protocol (prolonged exposure to a non-preferred stimulus) which induce plasticity of neurons' orientation preference. Results: Multi-unit activity from area 17 of anesthetized adult cats was recorded. Single cells were sorted out and (1) orientation tuning curves were measured before and following 12 min adaptation and 60 min after adaptation (2) pairwise synchrony was measured by an index that was normalized in relation to the cells' firing rate. We first observed that the prolonged presentation of a non-preferred stimulus produces attractive (58%) and repulsive (42%) shifts of cells' tuning curves. It follows that the adaptation-induced plasticity leads to changes in preferred orientation difference, i.e. increase or decrease in tuning properties between neurons. We report here that, after adaptation, the neuron pairs that shared closer tuning properties display a significant increase of synchronization. Recovery from adaptation was accompanied by a return to the initial synchrony level. Conclusion: We conclude that synchrony reflects the similarity in neurons' response properties, and varies accordingly when these properties change. (Source: BioMed Central)

What works with men? a systematic review of health promoting interventions targeting men

BMC Health Services Research — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Encouraging men to make more effective use of (preventive) health services is considered one way of improving their health. The aim of this study was to appraise the available evidence of effective interventions aimed at improving menas health. Methods: Systematic review of relevant studies identified through 14 electronic databases and other information resources. Results were pooled within health topic and described qualitatively. Results: Of 11,749 citations screened, 338 articles were assessed and 27 met our inclusion criteria. Most studies were male sex-specific, i.e. prostate cancer screening and testicular self-examination. Other topics included alcohol, cardiovascular disease, diet and physical activity, skin cancer and smoking cessation. 23 interventions were effective or partially effective and 18 studies satisfied all quality criteria. Conclusions: Most of the existing evidence relates to male sex-specific health problems as opposed to general health concerns relevant to both men and women. There is little published evidence on how to improve menas uptake of services. We cannot conclude from this review that targeting men works better than providing services for all people. Large-scale studies are required to help produce evidence that is sufficiently robust to add to the small evidence base that currently exists in this field. (Source: BMC Health Services Research)

Implementing the semi-structured interview kiddie-sads-pl into an in-patient adolescent clinical setting: impact on frequency of diagnoses

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Research is needed to establish the utility of diagnostic interviews in clinical settings. Studies comparing clinical diagnoses with diagnoses generated with structured instruments show generally low or moderate agreement and clinical diagnostic assignment (e.g. admission or chart diagnoses) are often considered to underdiagnose disorders. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of implementing the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children -Present and Lifetime Version (Kiddie-SADS-PL) into an in-patient adolescent clinical setting. Methods: Participants were all adolescents admitted through the years 2001-2004 (N = 333 admissions, age 12-17 years). The authors reviewed the charts of the previous three years of consecutive admissions, patients being evaluated using routine psychiatric evaluation, before the Kiddie-SADS-PL was introduced. They then reviewed the charts of all consecutive admissions during the next twelve months, patients being evaluated by adding the instrument to routine practice. Results: The rates of several main diagnostic categories (depressive, anxiety, bipolar and disruptive disorders) increased considerably, suggesting that those disorders were likely underreported when using non-structured routine assessment procedures. The rate of co-morbidity increased markedly as the number of diagnoses assigned to each patient increased. Conclusions: The major differences in diagnostic assignment rates provide arguments for the utility of diagnostic interviews in inpatient clinical settings but need further research, especially on factors that affect clinical diagnostic assignment in "real world" settings. (Source: BioMed Central)

Cse1l/cas, the cellular apoptosis susceptibility protein, enhances invasion and metastasis but not proliferation of cancer cells

BioMed Central — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: The cellular apoptosis susceptibility (CAS) protein is regarded as a proliferation-associated protein that associates with tumour proliferation as it associates with microtubule and functions in the mitotic spindle checkpoint. However, there is no any actual experimental study showing CAS (or CSE1 and CSE1L) can increase the proliferation of cancer cells. Previous pathological study has reported that CAS was strongly positive stained in all of the metastasis melanoma that be examined. Thus, CAS may regulate the invasion and metastasis of cancers. CAS is highly expressed in cancers; if CAS is associated with cancer proliferation, then increased CAS expression should be able to increase the proliferation of cancer cells. We studied whether increased CAS expression can increase cancer cell proliferation and whether CAS regulates the invasion of cancer cells. Methods: We enhanced or reduced CAS expression by transfecting CAS or anti-CAS expression vectors into human MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The proliferations of cells were determined by trypan blue exclusion assay and flow cytometry analysis. Invasion of cancer cells were determined by matrigel-based invasion assay. Results: Our studies showed that increased CAS expression was unable to enhance cancer cell proliferation. Immunofluorescence showed CAS was distributed in cytoplasm areas near cell membrane and cell protrusions. CAS was localized in cytoplasmic vesicle and immunogold electronmicroscopy showed CAS was located in vesicle membrane. CAS overexpression enhanced matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) secretion and cancer cell invasion. Animal experiments showed CAS reduction inhibited the metastasis of B16-F10 melanoma cells by 56% in C57BL/6 mice. Conclusions: Our results indicate that CAS increases the invasion but not the proliferation of cancer cells. Thus, CAS plus ECM-degradation proteinases may be used as the markers for predicting the advance of tumour metastasis. (Source: BioMed Central)

Pharmacists should participate in care of patients with heart failure

The Medscape Medical Minute — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:35:00 +0100

Dr. George Lundberg talks about why it's important for pharmacists to get involved in the treatment of patients with heart failure. (Source: The Medscape Medical Minute)

The deleterious effect of psoriasis on sleep

MD Consult: News: Top Stories — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Read the full story on MD Consult: The deleterious effect of psoriasis on sleep (Source: MD Consult: News: Top Stories)

Data suggest overuse of diagnostic testing in pediatric blunt trauma

MD Consult: News: Top Stories — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Read the full story on MD Consult: Data suggest overuse of diagnostic testing in pediatric blunt trauma (Source: MD Consult: News: Top Stories)

Jama: 2008-07-02, vol. 300, no. 1, this week's audio commentary

JAMA: This Week's Audio Commentary — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:34:00 +0100

Audio Commentary by Dr Catherine D. DeAngelis, MD, MPH, Editor in Chief of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, for the July 2, 2008 issue (Source: JAMA: This Week's Audio Commentary)

Novel de novo brca2 mutation in a patient with a family history of breast cancer

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: BRCA2 germ-line mutations predispose to breast and ovarian cancer. Mutations are widespread and unclassified splice variants are frequently encountered. We describe the parental origin and functional characterization of a novel de novo BRCA2 splice site mutation found in a patient exhibiting a ductal carcinoma at the age of 40. Methods: Variations were identified by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (dHPLC) and sequencing of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The effect of the mutation on splicing was examined by exon trapping in COS-7 cells and by RT-PCR on RNA isolated from whole blood. The paternity was determined by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray analysis. Parental origin of the de novo mutation was determined by establishing mutation-SNP haplotypes by variant specific PCR, while de novo and mosaic status was investigated by sequencing of DNA from leucocytes and carcinoma tissue. Results: A novel BRCA2 variant in the splice donor site of exon 21 (nucleotide 8982+1 G->A/c.8754+1 G->A) was identified. Exon trapping showed that the mutation activates a cryptic splice site 46 base pairs 3' of exon 21, resulting in the inclusion of a premature stop codon and synthesis of a truncated BRCA2 protein. The aberrant splicing was verified by RT-PCR analysis on RNA isolated from whole blood of the affected patient. The mutation was not found in any of the patient's parents or in the mother's carcinoma, showing it is a de novo mutation. Variant specific PCR indicates that the mutation arose in the male germ-line. Conclusion: We conclude that the novel BRCA2 splice variant is a de novo mutation introduced in the male spermatozoa, that can be classified as a disease causing mutation. (Source: BioMed Central)

High accuracy mass spectrometry analysis as a tool to verify and improve gene annotation using mycobacterium tuberculosis as an example

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: While the genomic annotations of diverse lineages of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex are available, divergences between gene prediction methods are still a challenge for unbiased protein dataset generation. M. tuberculosis gene annotation is an example, where the most used datasets from two independent institutions (Sanger Institute and Institute of Genomic Research-TIGR) differ up to 12% in the number of annotated open reading frames, and 46% of the genes contained in both annotations have different start codons. Such differences emphasize the importance of the identification of the sequence of protein products to validate each gene annotation including its sequence coding area. Results: With this objective, we submitted a culture filtrate sample from M. tuberculosis to a high-accuracy LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometer analysis and applied refined N-terminal prediction to perform comparison of two gene annotations. From a total of 449 proteins identified from the MS data, we validated 35 tryptic peptides that were specific to one of the two datasets, representing 24 different proteins. From those, 5 proteins were only annotated in the Sanger database. In the remaining proteins, the observed differences were due to differences in annotation of transcriptional start sites. Conclusions: Our results indicate that, even in a less complex sample likely to represent only 10% of the bacterial proteome, we were still able to detect major differences between different gene annotation approaches. This gives hope that high-throughput proteomics techniques can be used to improve and validate gene annotations, and in particular for verification of high-throughput, automatic gene annotations. (Source: BioMed Central)

Transfer of immunoglobulins through the mammary endothelium and epithelium and in the local lymph node of cows during the initial response after intramammary challenge with e. coli endotoxin

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: The first hours after antigen stimulation, interactions occur influencing the outcome of the immunological reaction. Immunoglobulins originate in blood and/or are locally synthesized. The transfer of Ig isotypes (Igs) in the udder has been studied previously but without the possibility to distinguish between the endothelium and the epithelium. The purpose of this study was to map the Ig transfer through each barrier, separately, and Ig transfer in the local lymph nodes of the bovine udder during the initial innate immune response. Methods: The content of IgG1, IgG2, IgM, IgA and albumin (BSA) was examined in peripheral/afferent mammary lymph and lymph leaving the supramammary lymph nodes, and in blood and milk before (0 h) and during 4 hours after intramammary challenge with Esherichia coli endotoxin in 5 cows. Results: Igs increased most rapidly in afferent lymph resulting in higher concentrations than in efferent lymph at postinfusion hour (PIH) 2, contrary to before challenge. Ig concentrations in milk were lower than in lymph; except for IgA at 0 h; and they increased more slowly. Afferent lymph:serum and efferent lymph:serum concentration ratios (CR) of Igs were similar to those of BSA but slightly lower. Milk:afferent lymph (M:A) CRs of each Ig, except for IgG2, showed strikingly different pattern than those of BSA. The M:A CR of IgG1, IgM and IgA were higher than that of BSA before challenge and the CR of IgA and IgG1 remained higher also thereafter. At PIH 2 there was a drop in Ig CRs, except for IgG2, in contrast to the BSA CR which gradually increased. The M:A CR of IgM and Ig A decreased from 0 h to PIH 4, in spite of increasing permeability. Conclusions: The transfer of Igs through the endothelium appeared to be merely a result of diffusion although their large molecular size may hamper the diffusion. The transfer through the epithelium and the Ig concentrations in milk seemed more influenced by selective mechanisms and local sources, respectively. Our observations indicate a selective mechanism in the transfer of IgG1 through the epithelium also in lactating glands, to our knowledge not previously shown; a local synthesis of IgA and possibly of IgM, released primarily into milk, not into tissue fluid; that IgG2 transfer through both barriers is a result of passive diffusion only and that the content of efferent lymph is strongly influenced by IgG1, IgM and IgA in the mammary tissue, brought to the lymph node by afferent lymph. (Source: BioMed Central)

Detection of co-eluted peptides using database search methods

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Current experimental techniques, especially those applying liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, have made high-throughput proteomic studies possible. The increase in throughput however also raises concerns on the accuracy of identification or quantification. Most experimental procedures select in a given MS scan only a few relatively most intense parent ions, each to be fragmented (MS2) separately, and most other minor co-eluted peptides that have similar chromatographic retention times are ignored and their information lost. Results: We have computationally investigated the possibility of enhancing the information retrieval during a given LC/MS experiment by selecting the two or three most intense parent ions for simultaneous fragmentation. A set of spectra is created via superimposing a number of MS2 spectra, each can be identified by all search methods tested with high confidence, to mimick the spectra of co-eluted peptides. The generated convoluted spectra were used to evaluate the capability of several database search methods - SEQUEST, Mascot, X!Tandem, OMSSA, and RAId_DbS - in identifying true peptides from superimposed spectra of co-eluted peptides. We show that using these simulated spectra, all the database search methods will gain eventually in the number of true peptides identified by using the compound spectra of co-eluted peptides. Open peer review: Reviewed by Vlad Petyuk (nominated by Arcady Mushegian), King Jordan and Shamil Sunyaev. For the full reviews, please go to the Reviewers' comments section. (Source: BioMed Central)

Pseudogenequest - service for identification of different pseudogene types in the human genome

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Pseudogenes, nonfunctional copies of genes, evolve fast due the lack of evolutionary pressures and thus appear in several different forms. PseudoGeneQuest is an online tool to search the human genome for a given query sequence and to identify different types of pseudogenes as well as novel genes and gene fragments. Description The service can detect pseudogenes, that have arisen either by retrotransposition or segmental genome duplication, many of which are not listed in the public pseudogene databases. The service has a user-friendly web interface and uses a powerful computer cluster in order to perform parallel searches and provide relatively fast runtimes despite exhaustive database searches and analyses. Conclusions: PseudoGeneQuest is a versatile tool for detecting novel pseudogene candidates from the human genome. The service searches human genome sequences for five types of pseudogenes and provides an output that allows easy further analysis of observations. In addition to the result file the system provides visualization of the results linked to Ensembl Genome Browser. PseudoGeneQuest service is freely available. (Source: BioMed Central)

Relationships between climate and year-to-year variability in meningitis outbreaks: a case study in burkina faso and niger

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Every year, West Africa is afflicted with Meningococcal Meningitis (MCM) disease outbreaks. Although the seasonal and spatial patterns of disease cases have been shown to be linked to climate, the mechanisms responsible for these patterns are still not well identified. Results: A statistical analysis of annual incidence of MCM and climatic variables has been performed to highlight the relationships between climate and MCM for two highly afflicted countries: Niger and Burkina Faso. We found that disease resurgence in Niger and in Burkina Faso is likely to be partly controlled by the winter climate through enhanced Harmattan winds. Statistical models based only on climate indexes work well in Niger showing that 25% of the disease variance from year-to-year in this country can be explained by the winter climate but fail to represent accurately the disease dynamics in Burkina Faso. Conclusions: This study is an exploratory attempt to predict meningitis incidence by using only climate information. Although it points out significant statistical results it also stresses the difficulty of relating climate to interannual variability in meningitis outbreaks. (Source: BioMed Central)

A novel application of quantile regression for identification of biomarkers exemplified by equine cartilage microarray data

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Identification of biomarkers among thousands of genes arrayed for disease classification has been the subject of considerable research in recent years. These studies have focused on disease classification, comparing experimental groups of effected to normal patients. Related experiments can be done to identify tissue-restricted biomarkers, genes with a high level of expression in one tissue compared to other tissue types in the body. Results: In this study, cartilage was compared with ten other body tissues using a two color array experimental design. Thirty-seven probe sets were identified as cartilage biomarkers. Of these, 13 (35%) have existing annotation associated with cartilage including several well-established cartilage biomarkers. These genes comprise a useful database from which novel targets for cartilage biology research can be selected. We determined cartilage specific Z-scores based on the observed M to classify genes with Z-scores greater than or equal to 1.96 in all ten cartilage/tissue comparisons as cartilage-specific genes. Conclusions: Quantile regression is a promising method for the analysis of two color array experiments that compare multiple samples in the absence of biological replicates, thereby limiting quantifiable error. We used a nonparametric approach to reveal the relationship between percentiles of M and A, where M is log2(R/G) and A is 0.5log2(RG) with R representing the gene expression level in cartilage and G representing the gene expression level in one of the other 10 tissues. Then we performed linear quantile regression to identify genes with a cartilage-restricted pattern of expression. (Source: BioMed Central)

The minimal important difference of the hospital anxiety and depression scale in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Interpretation of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), commonly used to assess anxiety and depression in COPD patients, is unclear. Since its minimal important difference has never been established, our aim was to determine it using several approaches. Methods: 88 COPD patients with FEV1[less than or equal to]50% predicted completed the HADS and other patient-important outcome measures before and after an inpatient respiratory rehabilitation. For the anchor-based approach we determined the correlation between the HADS and the anchors that have an established minimal important difference (Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire [CRQ] and Feeling Thermometer). If correlations were [greater than or equal to]0.5 we performed linear regression analyses to predict the minimal important difference from the anchors. As distribution-based approach we used the Effect Size approach. Results: Based on CRQ emotional function and mastery domain as well as on total scores, the minimal important difference was 1.41 (95% CI 1.18-1.63) and 1.57 (1.37-1.76) for the HADS anxiety score and 1.68 (1.48-1.87) and 1.60 (1.38-1.82) for the HADS total score. Correlations of the HADS depression score and CRQ domain and Feeling Thermometer scores were (Source: BioMed Central)

Thumb reconstruction by grafting skeletonized amputated phalanges and soft tissue cover - a new technique: a case series

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

This study reports five cases of crush-avulsion injury to the thumb at different levels presented at our plastic and hand surgery unit between 2005 and 2007. All of the patients were male labors with machine injuries to the thumb with non-replantable amputations. Distal phalanx or proximal phalanx, or both, were used as a free cortical bone graft. The amputated part was skeletonized keeping the periosteum attached to the cortical bone of the phalanx fixing it to the stump and covering it by either local flap like dorsal metacarpal flap or regional flaps like the distally based pedicled radial forearm flap and neurovascular island sensate flap or groin flap. The results were functionally and cosmetically good and follow up X rays showed no osteoporotic resorption after one year. (Source: BioMed Central)

Cross-diagnostic validity of the nottingham health profile index of distress (nhpd)

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: The Nottingham Health Profile index of Distress (NHPD) has been proposed as a generic undimensional 24-item measure of illness-related distress that is embedded in the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). Data indicate that the NHPD may have psychometric advantages to the 6-dimensional NHP profile scores. Detailed psychometric evaluations are, however, lacking. Furthermore, to support the validity of the generic property of outcome measures evidence that scores can be interpreted in the same manner in different diagnostic groups are needed. It is currently unknown if NHPD scores have the same meaning across patient populations. This study evaluated the measurement properties and cross-diagnostic validity of the NHPD as a survey instrument among people with Parkinson's disease (PD) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Methods: Data from 215 (PD) and 258 (PAD) people were Rasch analyzed regarding model fit, reliability, differential item functioning (DIF), unidimensionality and targeting. In cases of cross-diagnostic DIF this was adjusted for and the impact of DIF on the total score and person measures was assessed. Results: The NHPD was found to have good overall and individual item fit in both disorders as well as in the pooled sample, but seven items displayed cross-diagnostic DIF. Following adjustment for DIF some aspects of model fit were slightly compromised, whereas others improved somewhat. DIF did not impact total NHPD scores or resulting person measures, but the unadjusted scale displayed minor signs of multidimensionality. Reliability was >0.8 in all within- and cross-diagnostic analyses. Items tended to represent more distress (mean, 0 logits) than that experienced by the sample (mean, -1.6 logits). Conclusions: This study supports the within- and cross-diagnostic validity of the NHPD as a survey tool among people with PD and PAD. We encourage others to reassess available NHP data within the NHPD framework to further evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of this simple patient-reported index of illness-related distress. (Source: BioMed Central)

Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry as a routine method for the quantification of beryllium in blood and serum

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: A routine method for the quantification of beryllium in biological fluids is essential for the development of a chelation therapy for Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD). We describe a procedure for the direct determination of beryllium in undigested micro quantities of human blood and serum using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Blood and serum samples are prepared respectively by a simple 8-fold and 5-fold dilution with a Nash Reagent. Three experimental setups are compared: using no modifier, using magnesium nitrate and using palladium/citric acid as chemical modifiers. Results: In serum, both modifiers did not improve the method sensitivity, the optimal pyrolysis and atomization temperatures are 1000C and 2900C, respectively. In blood, 6 ug of magnesium nitrate was found to improve the method sensitivity. The optimal pyrolysis and atomization temperatures were 800C and 2800C respectively. Conclusion: In serum, the method detection limit was 2 ng l-1, the characteristic mass was 0.22 (+/- 0.07) pg and the accuracy ranged from 95 to 100 %. In blood, the detection limit was 7 ng l-1, the characteristic mass was 0.20 (+/- 0.02) pg and the accuracy ranged from 99 to 101 %. (Source: BioMed Central)

Value of syndromic surveillance within the armed forces for early warning during a dengue fever outbreak in french guiana in 2006

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: A dengue fever outbreak occured in French Guiana in 2006. The objectives were to study the value of a syndromic surveillance system set up within the armed forces, compared to the traditional clinical surveillance system during this outbreak, to highlight issues involved in comparing military and civilian surveillance systems and to discuss the interest of syndromic surveillance for public health response. Methods: Military syndromic surveillance allows the surveillance of suspected dengue fever cases among the 3,000 armed forces personnel. Within the same population, clinical surveillance uses several definition criteria for dengue fever cases, depending on the epidemiological situation. Civilian laboratory surveillance allows the surveillance of biologically confirmed cases, within the 200,000 inhabitants. Results: It was shown that syndromic surveillance detected the dengue fever outbreak several weeks before clinical surveillance, allowing quick and effective enhancement of vector control within the armed forces. Syndromic surveillance was also found to have detected the outbreak before civilian laboratory surveillance. Conclusions: Military syndromic surveillance allowed an early warning for this outbreak to be issued, enabling a quicker public health response by the armed forces. Civilian surveillance system has since introduced syndromic surveillance as part of its surveillance strategy. This should enable quicker public health responses in the future. (Source: BioMed Central)

The effect of whole body position on lumbar cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

We compared cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) opening pressure measurements in the lumbar subarachnoid space between the flexed position (F-OP) and relaxed position (R-OP) in recumbent patients. We devised an equation for using F-OP to determine the existence of raised intracranial pressure (ICP). Patients (n=83) underwent lumbar puncture while in the flexed lateral decubitus position and then were moved to the relaxed position. F-OP and R-OP were measured with a water manometer. R-OP>180 mmH2O plus relevant clinical signs were taken as indicators of raised intracranial pressure. Mean pressures for F-OP and R-OP were 178.54 and 160.52 mmH2O respectively, p 180, raised ICP could be significantly over diagnosed. The authors recommend an equation [R-OP(calculated, mmH2O) = 0.885 x F-OP(measured, mmH2O)] or using 200 mmH2O as the threshold for increased ICP with flexed posture. (Source: BioMed Central)

Sub region-specific modulation of synchronous neuronal burst firing after a kainic acid insult in organotypic hippocampal cultures

BioMed Central — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Background: Excitotoxicity occurs in a number of pathogenic states including stroke and epilepsy. The adaptations of neuronal circuits in response to such insults may be expected to play an underlying role in pathogenesis. Synchronous neuronal firing can be induced in isolated hippocampal slices and involves all regions of this structure, thereby providing a measure of circuit activity. The effect of an excitotoxic insult (kainic acid, KA) on Mg2+-free-induced synchronized neuronal firing was tested in organotypic hippocampal culture by measuring extracellular field activity in CA1 and CA3. Results: Within 24hrs of the insult regional specific changes in neuronal firing patterns were evident as: (i) a dramatic reduction in the ability of CA3 to generate firing; and (ii) a contrasting increase in the frequency and duration of synchronized neuronal firing events in CA1. Two distinct processes underlie the increased propensity of CA1 to generate synchronized burst firing; a lack of ability of the CA3 region to 'pace' CA1 resulting in an increased frequency of synchronized events; and a change in the 'intrinsic' properties limited to the CA1 region, which is responsible for increased event duration. Neuronal quantification using NeuN immunoflurescent staining and stereological confocal microscopy revealed no significant cell loss in hippocampal sub regions, suggesting that changes in the properties of neurons within this region were responsible for the KA-mediated excitability changes. Conclusions: These results provide novel insight into adaptation of hippocampal circuits following excitotoxic injury. KA-mediated disruption of the interplay between CA3 and CA1 clearly increases the propensity to synchronized firing in CA1. (Source: BioMed Central)

Weekends slow weight loss, researchers find

MD Consult: News: Top Stories — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Read the full story on MD Consult: Weekends slow weight loss, researchers find (Source: MD Consult: News: Top Stories)

No matter what their weight, men with diabetes benefit from exercise

MD Consult: News: Top Stories — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Read the full story on MD Consult: No matter what their weight, men with diabetes benefit from exercise (Source: MD Consult: News: Top Stories)

Fda issues update about salmonella in tomatoes

MD Consult: News: Top Stories — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Read the full story on MD Consult: FDA issues update about salmonella in tomatoes (Source: MD Consult: News: Top Stories)

Challenges and promise of cell-based therapies

Videocast - All Events — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:28:00 +0100

Challenges and Promise of Cell-Based TherapiesPresented by: NIHCategory: ConferencesAired date: 05/06/2008 (Source: Videocast - All Events)

Health services responses to disasters in mumbai sharing experiences

Indian Journal of Medical Sciences — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:34:13 +0100

Supe Avinash, Satoskar RajeevIndian Journal of Medical Sciences 2008 62(6):242-251 (Source: Indian Journal of Medical Sciences)

Amisulpride-induced both oculogyric crisis and trismus

Indian Journal of Medical Sciences — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:34:13 +0100

Mendhekar DN, Yajuvendra Bisht, Aggarwal AshishIndian Journal of Medical Sciences 2008 62(6):239-241 (Source: Indian Journal of Medical Sciences)

Olanzapine-induced oculogyric crisis in a patient with schizophrenia

Indian Journal of Medical Sciences — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:34:13 +0100

Chakraborty Rudraprosad, Chatterjee Arunima, Chaudhury SuprakashIndian Journal of Medical Sciences 2008 62(6):238-239 (Source: Indian Journal of Medical Sciences)

Peliosis hepatis presenting as hemoperitoneum

Indian Journal of Medical Sciences — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:34:13 +0100

Khadilkar Urmila N, Prabhu Shivanand, Sharma DivyaIndian Journal of Medical Sciences 2008 62(6):236-237 (Source: Indian Journal of Medical Sciences)