Varanopid from the Carboniferous of Nova Scotia reveals evidence of parental care in amniotes.

Here we report on a fossil synapsid, Dendromaia unamakiensis gen. et sp. nov.

Ineffectiveness of the measurement of 'routine' vital signs for adult inpatients with community-acquired pneumonia.

More frequent vital sign evaluation does not result in a statistically significant difference in survival or the number of transfers to the intensive care unit (for progression of disease) after adjusting for age, gender, duration of intravenous antibiotics and comorbid conditions.

Immunohistochemical detection of HER-2/neu, c-kit (CD117) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) overexpression in soft tissue sarcomas.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of HER-2/neu, VEGF and CD117 overexpression in soft tissue sarcomas (STS) and to study the effect of this overexpression, if present, on survival in patients with specific histological subtypes of STS.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study on patients diagnosed with STS during the period of 1986-2001. HER-2/neu overexpression was measured in these patients by immunohistochemistry (IHC) using the Hercep test developed by DAKO.

Ineffectiveness of measuring routine vital signs in adult inpatients with deep venous thrombosis.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefit, if any, of routine monitoring of vital signs on clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT). One hundred forty-nine patients with DVT included in this study were categorized into two groups: those that underwent measurement of vital signs every 6 hours or those that had vital signs measured every 8 hours. Vital signs included pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and temperature.

HER-2/neu overexpression detected by immunohistochemistry in soft tissue sarcomas.

Sarcomas currently represent 1% of adult malignancies and 15% of pediatric malignancies. To determine the prevalence of HER-2/neu overexpression by the histologic type and to identify a possible predictive role in patients with sarcoma, we performed a retrospective study on subjects with a biopsy-proven diagnosis of a soft tissue sarcoma. HER-2/neu overexpression was evaluated using immunohistochemistry (IHC) performed on paraffin-embedded specimens.

Risk of primary non-hepatocellular malignancies in hereditary hemochromatosis.

Objective: The relationship between hemochromatosis, a genetic iron disorder, and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma is well-documented. However, the true incidence of non-hepatocellular malignancies remains ill defined. We performed a retrospective cohort study to identify a possible association between hereditary hemochromatosis and the development of non-hepatocellular carcinomas.

Hyperhomocysteinemia and the risk of thromboembolic phenomenon in patients with chronic renal failure.

Thromboembolic phenomena are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease. Studies in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) have demonstrated an increased relative risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in association with hyperhomocysteinemia (HHe). However, very little data exist about the causal relationship between HHe and cerebrovascular diseases (CVA) in patients with CRF.

Predictive role of HER-2/neu overexpression and clinical features at initial presentation in patients with extensive stage small cell lung carcinoma.

Although recent advances in therapy have improved the quality of life in patients with extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ESSCLC), prolonged survival is still uncommon. To determine the role of HER-2/neu overexpression and other clinical predictors (symptoms at presentation) of adverse outcome in ESSCLC, we performed a retrospective study on subjects with a biopsy-proven diagnosis of ESSCLC. HER-2/neu overexpression was evaluated using immunohistochemistry (IHC) performed on paraffin-embedded specimens.