Promoting workplace psychological wellbeing through Yoga and Tai Chi classes in female university employees.

Introduction: Academic environments are known for their high demands, often resulting in significant distress among employees. Thus, identifying effective intervention strategies to mitigate workplace stress is essential. The present study aims to evaluate the potential benefits of mind-body interventions (i.

Augmentation Mammaplasty After Breast Enhancement With Hyaluronic Acid.

Background: Macrolane is a stabilized, hyaluronic acid-based gel that has been available since 2007 as a minimally invasive, nonpermanent option for breast enhancement. However, numerous controversies pertaining to its side effects have highlighted the need for studies involving larger groups of patients.

Objectives: The authors sought to determine complications of Macrolane injections for breast enhancement and performed surgical evacuation of cysts comprising collections of hyaluronic acid in patients who previously received Macrolane treatment and presented for augmentation mammaplasty.

Evaluation of peripheral microcirculation improvement of foot after tarsal tunnel release in diabetic patients by transcutaneous oximetry.

Background: According to recent studies, peripheral nerve decompression in diabetic patients seems to not only improve nerve function, but also to increase microcirculation; thus decreasing the incidence of diabetic foot wounds and amputations. However, while the postoperative improvement of nerve function is demonstrated, the changes in peripheral microcirculation have not been demonstrated yet. The aim of this study is to assess the degree of microcirculation improvement of foot after the tarsal tunnel release in the diabetic patients by using transcutaneous oximetry.

Polyfunctional T cell responses in children in early stages of chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection contrast with monofunctional responses of long-term infected adults.

Background: Adults with chronic Trypanosoma cruzi exhibit a poorly functional T cell compartment, characterized by monofunctional (IFN-γ-only secreting) parasite-specific T cells and increased levels of terminally differentiated T cells. It is possible that persistent infection and/or sustained exposure to parasites antigens may lead to a progressive loss of function of the immune T cells.

Methodology/principal Findings: To test this hypothesis, the quality and magnitude of T.

Transverse upper gracilis flap with implant in postmastectomy breast reconstruction: a case report.

Autologous flaps can be used in combination with prosthesis in postmastectomy breast reconstruction. The deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap is considered the preferred choice among autologous tissue transfer techniques. However, in patients with a peculiar figure (moderately large breasts and large thighs with flat stomach), who cannot use their abdominal tissue, the transverse upper gracilis (TUG) flap with implant is investigated as a further option for breast reconstruction.

Sequential combined treatment with allopurinol and benznidazole in the chronic phase of Trypanosoma cruzi infection: a pilot study.

Objectives: Even though the use of combined drugs has been proved to be effective in other chronic infections, assessment of combined treatment of antiparasitic drugs in human Chagas' disease has not been performed. Herein, a pilot study was conducted to evaluate the tolerance and side effects of a sequential combined treatment of two antiparasitic drugs, allopurinol and benznidazole, in the chronic phase of Trypanosoma cruzi infection.

Patients And Methods: Changes in total and T.

Inhibitory receptors are expressed by Trypanosoma cruzi-specific effector T cells and in hearts of subjects with chronic Chagas disease.

We had formerly demonstrated that subjects chronically infected with Trypanosoma cruzi show impaired T cell responses closely linked with a process of T cell exhaustion. Recently, the expression of several inhibitory receptors has been associated with T cell dysfunction and exhaustion. In this study, we have examined the expression of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and the leukocyte immunoglobulin like receptor 1 (LIR-1) by peripheral T.

Early life exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals causes lifelong molecular reprogramming of the hypothalamus and premature reproductive aging.

Gestational exposure to the estrogenic endocrine disruptor methoxychlor (MXC) disrupts the female reproductive system at the molecular, physiological, and behavioral levels in adulthood. The current study addressed whether perinatal exposure to endocrine disruptors re-programs expression of a suite of genes expressed in the hypothalamus that control reproductive function and related these molecular changes to premature reproductive aging. Fischer rats were exposed daily for 12 consecutive days to vehicle (dimethylsulfoxide), estradiol benzoate (EB) (1 mg/kg), and MXC (low dose, 20 μg/kg or high dose, 100 mg/kg), beginning on embryonic d 19 through postnatal d 7.

Impact of aetiological treatment on conventional and multiplex serology in chronic Chagas disease.

Background: The main criterion for treatment effectiveness in Chagas Disease has been the seronegative conversion, achieved many years post-treatment. One of the main limitations in evaluating treatment for chronic Chagas disease is the lack of reliable tests to ensure parasite clearance and to examine the effects of treatment. However, declines in conventional serological titers and a new multiplex assay can be useful tools to monitor early the treatment impact.

Implant infection after augmentation mammaplasty: a review of the literature and report of a multidrug-resistant Candida albicans infection.

Background: Implant breast augmentation is one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures, and fungal infection still is considered exceptional. This report presents a case of bilateral breast implant infection by multidrug-resistant Candida albicans treated with a targeted antifungal therapy.

Methods: A young woman presented with breast pain and asymmetry as well as implant superficialization in the left breast 3 years after bilateral tuberous breast correction with implant insertion.

Long-term results of a versatile technique for umbilicoplasty in abdominoplasty.

Background: Umbilical repositioning is a main step in performing abdominoplasty. The surgical aims are minimal visible scars and a natural-appearing result. Reported techniques do not completely satisfy the aesthetic targets for all types of patients.

The impact of socioeconomic conditions on chronic Chagas disease progression.

Introduction And Objectives: The extent to which a patient's socioeconomic conditions determine the persistence or control of chronic Chagas disease has not been previously investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of socioeconomic conditions on clinical and serologic measures of disease progression.

Methods: Data on the following socioeconomic variables were obtained by questioning as part of medical history taking at admission: birth in a rural area, time of residence in endemic and urban areas (in years), overcrowding index (i.

Changes in Trypanosoma cruzi-specific immune responses after treatment: surrogate markers of treatment efficacy.

Background: As many as 20 million people are living with Trypanosoma cruzi infection in Latin American, yet few receive any treatment. The major limitation in developing and evaluating potential new drugs for their efficacy is the lack of reliable tests to assess parasite burden and elimination.

Methods: Adults volunteers with chronic T.

Hyperthermic isolated perfusion with tumor necrosis factor-alpha and doxorubicin for the treatment of limb-threatening soft tissue sarcoma: the experience of the Italian Society of Integrated Locoregional Treatment in Oncology (SITILO).

Background: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha)-based hyperthermic isolated limb perfusion (HILP) is routinely carried out at most oncological institutions in the treatment of locally advanced soft tissue limb sarcoma (STS), employing high TNFalpha dosages. After a phase I-II study, the SITILO (Italian Society of Integrated Locoregional Therapies in Oncology) centers began to employ the lower dose of 1 mg of TNFalpha. The aim of this paper is to report on the results obtained in 75 patients with limb-threatening STS treated with a low TNFalpha dose and doxorubicin (Dx).

Prognostic factors influencing tumor response, locoregional control and survival, in melanoma patients with multiple limb in-transit metastases treated with TNFalpha-based isolated limb perfusion.

Background: In isolated limb perfusion (ILP) with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and interferon (IFN)-gamma, pioneered by Lienard and Lejenne in 1988, TNFalpha was empirically employed at a dosage (3-4 mg) ten times higher than the systemic maximum tolerable dose (MTD). We previously conducted a phase I/II study in 20 patients with in-transit melanoma metastases, using a combination of melphalan and TNFalpha at dosages ranging from 0.5 to 3.

Side effects of benznidazole as treatment in chronic Chagas disease: fears and realities.

Chagas disease is caused by a parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, transmitted primarily by a triatomine insect and affects approximately 8 million people in Latin American countries. The principal aim of the management of the disease is to avoid the development of cardiomyopathy and transmission by blood transfusion, congenital and organ transplants. Currently, benznidazole is the only etiological treatment commercially available for the disease until new and better drugs can be developed and tested.

Developmental methoxychlor exposure affects multiple reproductive parameters and ovarian folliculogenesis and gene expression in adult rats.

Methoxychlor (MXC) is an organochlorine pesticide with estrogenic, anti-estrogenic, and anti-androgenic properties. To investigate whether transient developmental exposure to MXC could cause adult ovarian dysfunction, we exposed Fischer rats to 20 microg/kg/day (low dose; environmentally relevant dose) or 100 mg/kg/day (high dose) MXC between 19 days post coitum and postnatal day 7. Multiple reproductive parameters, serum hormone levels, and ovarian morphology and molecular markers were examined from prepubertal through adult stages.

HLA Class I-T cell epitopes from trans-sialidase proteins reveal functionally distinct subsets of CD8+ T cells in chronic Chagas disease.

Background: Previously, we identified a set of HLA-A020.1-restricted trans-sialidase peptides as targets of CD8+ T cell responses in HLA-A0201+ individuals chronically infected by T. cruzi.

[Predictors of heart failure in chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy with asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction].

Introduction And Objectives: The development of asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction signifies a worsening of chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy. Our objective was to identify factors that predict the development of heart failure and all-cause mortality.

Methods: The study included 95 patients with an echocardiographic diagnosis of asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction.

Early postnatal methoxychlor exposure inhibits folliculogenesis and stimulates anti-Mullerian hormone production in the rat ovary.

Methoxychlor [1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-methoxyphenyl) ethane; MXC] is a chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide commonly used in the United States as a replacement for DDT [1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane]. While MXC is a weak estrogenic compound, its more active, major metabolite [2,2-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane; HPTE] shows estrogenic, anti-estrogenic, or anti-androgenic properties depending on the receptor subtype with which it interacts. Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) is a paracrine factor that suppresses initial follicle recruitment in the ovary.

Long-term cardiac outcomes of treating chronic Chagas disease with benznidazole versus no treatment: a nonrandomized trial.

Background: Benznidazole is effective for treating acute-stage Chagas disease, but its effectiveness for treating indeterminate and chronic stages remains uncertain.

Objective: To compare long-term outcomes of patients with nonacute Chagas disease treated with benznidazole versus outcomes of those who did not receive treatment.

Design: Clinical trial with unblinded, nonrandom assignment of patients to intervention or control groups.

Trypanosoma cruzi modulates the profile of memory CD8+ T cells in chronic Chagas' disease patients.

We present a cross-sectional analysis of the maturation and migratory properties of the memory CD8(+) T cell compartment, in relation to the severity of heart disease in individuals with chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection removed from endemic areas for longer than 20 years. Subjects with none or mild heart involvement were more likely to mount T. cruzi-specific memory IFN-gamma responses than subjects with more advanced cardiac disease, and the T.