Explant of an infected, endo-trashed IVC filter in an immunosuppressed patient with chronically occluded iliocaval stents.

Background: In the absence of a contiguous bowel perforation or intraabdominal source, infection of a retained vena cava filter in an occluded IVC has never been described.

Objective: To describe a case of an infected IVC filter in a chronically occluded iliocaval segment.

Methods: Here we present a case of an immunosuppressed 35-year-old female with chronically occluded iliocaval stents and an extensive staphylococcus hominis infection of a previously endo-trashed Bard Eclipse® filter.

Empowering Medical Students to Respond to Discriminatory Comments from Patients: A Just-in-Time Training Method.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Physicians in training may experience harassment and discrimination from supervisors, consultants, colleagues, or patients and families.

Complement activity and complement regulatory gene mutations are associated with thrombosis in APS and CAPS.

The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is characterized by thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity in the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies, including anti-β2-glycoprotein-I (anti-β2GPI), that are considered central to APS pathogenesis. Based on animal studies showing a role of complement in APS-related clinical events, we used the modified Ham (mHam) assay (complement-dependent cell killing) and cell-surface deposition of C5b-9 to test the hypothesis that complement activation is associated with thrombotic events in APS. A positive mHam (and corresponding C5b-9 deposition) were present in 85.

Open-source system for millisecond-synchronized continuous video-EEG.

The causes of epilepsy are incompletely understood, and rodent models enable valuable mechanistic investigations. Synchronized video-electroencephalography (video-EEG) data is critical for clinical assessment of seizure events and is similarly important in basic research on epilepsy, but commercial packages offer limited flexibility and are costly. We've developed and here make freely available OpenVEEG, fully open-source software for millisecond-synchronized video-EEG.

Hypertension and Chronic Kidney Disease in Primary Care.

Introduction: TBL enables a group of learners to engage in independent preparation through prereadings, check their knowledge with readiness assessments, and both share and build on their personal experience with each topic through robust small-group discussions. This TBL exercise uses case-based questions to enable learners to make a treatment plan for challenging cases of hypertension and to manage chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the primary care setting.

Methods: This module serves as part of a series of team-based learning (TBL) modules in an internal medicine residency ambulatory medicine curriculum.

The prevalence and distribution of the amyloidogenic transthyretin (TTR) V122I allele in Africa.

Background: Transthyretin (TTR) pV142I (rs76992529-A) is one of the 113 variants in the human TTR gene associated with systemic amyloidosis. It results from a G to A transition at a CG dinucleotide in the codon for amino acid 122 of the mature protein (TTR V122I). The allele frequency is 0.

Prevalence of the amyloidogenic transthyretin (TTR) V122I allele in 14 333 African-Americans.

Background: Transthyretin (TTR) V122I (rs76992529) is one of 111 variants caused by point mutations in the coding sequence of the human TTR gene that are associated with systemic amyloidosis. It results from a G to A transition at a CG dinucleotide in codon 142(122 of the mature protein) of the gene and has been described almost exclusively in people of African descent. Several series have reported allele frequencies from 0.

The Cell Wall Teichuronic Acid Synthetase (TUAS) Is an Enzyme Complex Located in the Cytoplasmic Membrane of Micrococcus luteus.

The cell wall teichuronic acid (TUA) of Micrococcus luteus is a long-chain polysaccharide composed of disaccharide repeating units [-4-β-D-ManNAcAp-(1→6)α-D-Glcp-1-](n), which is covalently anchored to the peptidoglycan on the inner cell wall and extended to the outer surface of the cell envelope. An enzyme complex responsible for the TUA chain biosynthesis was purified and characterized. The 440 kDa enzyme complex, named teichuronic acid synthetase (TUAS), is an octomer composed of two kinds of glycosyltransferases, Glucosyltransferase, and ManNAcA-transferase, which is capable of catalyzing the transfer of disaccharide glycosyl residues containing both glucose and the N-acetylmannosaminuronic acid residues.

Significance of the amyloidogenic transthyretin Val 122 Ile allele in African Americans in the Arteriosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) and Cardiovascular Health (CHS) Studies.

Background: Many African Americans carry an amyloidogenic transthyretin mutation (TTR V122I), with a high risk for cardiac TTR amyloid deposition after the age of 65 years. We wished to determine the allele frequency and its clinical penetrance in community-dwelling African Americans.

Methods: Five thousand consenting African Americans, aged 41 to 93 years, in 2 community studies of cardiovascular risk (CHS and ARIC) were included in the study.

Targeting viral dsRNA for antiviral prophylaxis.

Double-stranded (ds)RNA in the infected cells is a trait shared by most if not all viruses. While humans have developed variable immune responses, viruses have also developed countermeasures to defeat dsRNA-induced antiviral strategies. Thus, we proposed a broad antiviral strategy to antagonize the countermeasures of viruses and bypass the dsRNA-induced signals that are readily defeated by viruses.

Sentinel lymph node mapping and molecular staging in nonsmall cell lung carcinoma.

Background: Lymph node (LN) involvement predicts recurrence in patients who have undergone resection of apparently localized nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Standard detection methods for LN disease have a low sensitivity, and many patients with apparent N0 disease status develop recurrent disease. Molecular techniques can improve the detection of micrometastases, whereas sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping can indicate which LN may contain micrometastases.

Drop-in, drop-out allele-specific PCR: a highly sensitive, single-tube method.

Allelotyping large numbers of samples by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can be problematic if the DNA samples to be tested are of highly variable concentration. On the one hand, analysis of dilute DNA samples often requires nested PCR to produce a product of sufficient yield to be detectable on ethidium bromide-stained agarose gels. Such two-step assays require additional reagents, are labor-intensive, and have a higher risk of contamination.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia with prostate infiltration mediated by specific clonal membrane-bound IgM.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by an accumulation of monoclonal B lymphocytes in the hematopoietic organs. Rarely, CLL cells accumulate in a single atypical site. The mechanism underlying this unusual distribution of CLL cells has not been studied previously.