Exome Sequencing Analysis in Severe, Early-Onset Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Rationale: Genomic regions identified by genome-wide association studies explain only a small fraction of heritability for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency shows that rare coding variants of large effect also influence COPD susceptibility. We hypothesized that exome sequencing in families identified through a proband with severe, early-onset COPD would identify additional rare genetic determinants of large effect.

The 3-Hole Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy: A Safe Procedure Following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Radiation.

Induction therapy followed by esophagectomy has become standard for treatment of intermediate-stage esophageal cancer in many centers. Herein we evaluate the feasibility and safety of the 3-hole minimally invasive esophagectomy (3HMIE) approach in patients who received induction radiation and chemotherapy. Between 2003 and 2012, the records of 119 consecutive patients with esophageal cancer who underwent 3HMIE were reviewed for perioperative complications and long-term outcomes.

Efficacy of Two Larvasonic™ Units Against Culex Larvae and Effects on Common Aquatic Nontarget Organisms in Harris County, Texas.

The Larvasonic™ Field Arm Mobile Wetlands Unit and SD-Mini were tested for efficacy against Culex larvae, and effects on aquatic nontarget organisms (NTO). The Field Arm provided 84.61% to 100% control of caged Culex larvae out to 0.

Water level effect on herbaceous plant assemblages at an artificial reservoir-Lago Azul State Park, Southern Brazil.

This study presents the effect of water level variation on the assemblages of herbaceous species in Mourão I Reservoir, Lago Azul State Park, Southern Brazil. The structure and distribution of populations was examined in February (dry period) and April (rainy period), 2011, in two transects. These transects started at the forest edge towards the center of the lake.

Thirty-Day Mortality After Lobectomy in Elderly Patients Eligible for Lung Cancer Screening.

Background: Whether US surgeons have been able to replicate the low mortality rate of 1% after lobectomy experienced by patients treated in the National Lung Screening Trial is unknown.

Methods: To determine current operative 30-day mortality rates after lobectomy, we analyzed American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data files from 2005 to 2012.

Results: Of the 2,690 patients analyzed, 1,595 underwent open thoracotomy lobectomy and 1,095 underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy.

Combined Periodontal, Orthodontic, and Prosthetic Treatment in an Adult Patient.

A 41-year-old man had a significant loss of bone and supporting tissues with pathologic migration of several teeth and several missing teeth. He was treated with an interdisciplinary therapeutic protocol that included nonsurgical periodontal therapy based on strict control of supragingival plaque, subgingival periodontal therapy, orthodontic and endodontic treatment, and replacement of restorations. The orthodontic therapy was performed in a severely reduced bone support and the presence of pathological tooth migration after periodontal disease control.

A novel approach to inhibit bone resorption: exosite inhibitors against cathepsin K.

Background And Purpose: Cathepsin K (CatK) is a major drug target for the treatment of osteoporosis. Potent active site-directed inhibitors have been developed and showed variable success in clinical trials. These inhibitors block the entire activity of CatK and thus may interfere with other pathways.

Gender-Specific Molecular and Clinical Features Underlie Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive cancer that occurs more frequently in men, but is associated with longer survival in women. Insight into the survival advantage of female patients may advance the molecular understanding of MPM and identify therapeutic interventions that will improve the prognosis for all MPM patients. In this study, we performed whole-genome sequencing of tumor specimens from 10 MPM patients and matched control samples to identify potential driver mutations underlying MPM.

Mithramycin Depletes Specificity Protein 1 and Activates p53 to Mediate Senescence and Apoptosis of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Cells.

Purpose: Specificity protein 1 (SP1) is an oncogenic transcription factor overexpressed in various human malignancies. This study sought to examine SP1 expression in malignant pleural mesotheliomas (MPM) and ascertain the potential efficacy of targeting SP1 in these neoplasms.

Experimental Design: qRT-PCR, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemical techniques were used to evaluate SP1 expression in cultured MPM cells and MPM specimens and normal mesothelial cells/pleura.

Multicentre, randomized, double-blind trial of intracoronary autologous mononuclear bone marrow cell injection in non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy (the dilated cardiomyopathy arm of the MiHeart study).

Aims: Pre-clinical and few clinical studies suggest that transplantation of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMNC) improves heart function in dilated cardiomyopathies. Our objective was to determine if intracoronary injection of autologous BMNC improves the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of patients with non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM).

Methods And Results: This study was a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial with a follow-up of 12 months.

Axillary nerve position in the anterosuperior approach of the shoulder: a cadaveric study.

Objective: To determine the distance between the axillary nerve and the antero-lateral (AL) edge of the acromion, its anatomical variability and relationship to humeral length and body height.

Methods: Twenty-two shoulders were dissected. The anterosuperior (AS) approach was used; the deltoid was detached from the acromion and the distance between the AL portion and the axillary nerve was measured and submitted to statistical analysis.

Autophagy Correlates with the Therapeutic Responsiveness of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma in 3D Models.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a highly chemoresistant solid tumor. We have studied this apoptotic resistance using in vitro and ex vivo three-dimensional models, which acquire a high level of chemoresistance that can be reduced by PI3K/mTOR inhibitors. Here, we investigate the activity of GDC-0980, a novel dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor, which has been proposed to be effective in mesothelioma.

Early Surgical Outcomes of En Bloc Resection Requiring Vertebrectomy for Malignancy Invading the Thoracic Spine.

Background: En bloc vertebral resection of locally invasive T4 lung cancers led to the development of a surgical sequence for resection; posterior stabilization, reposition, thoracotomy, lobectomy, vertebrectomy, and anterior spine stabilization in 1 procedure. This technique expanded indications for vertebrectomy to selected patients with sarcoma and metastatic disease. We review our experience to identify areas for clinical improvement.

Influence of the local application of sodium alendronate gel on osseointegration of titanium implants.

The aim of this study was to perform a comparative analysis of aspects of the osseointegration of titanium implants placed with and without the local application of a bisphosphonate agent, after 28 days in vivo. The study involved the placement of 50 commercially pure titanium implants in the middle third of the tibia of 10 rabbits, with the right tibia used as the control and the left as the test site. Sodium alendronate gel was applied locally in the test group and sterile saline solution in the control group.

Predictors of Disease Recurrence and Survival in Esophageal Adenocarcinomas With Complete Response to Neoadjuvant Therapy.

Complete response to neoadjuvant therapy, determined by pathologic examination of the resection specimen (pCR), is associated with a favorable outcome in esophageal adenocarcinomas (EAC), but there is significant heterogeneity in survival reported within this group. Our aim was to determine predictors of disease recurrence (DR) and survival in EAC patients with pCR to neoadjuvant therapy. A total of 93 EAC patients with pCR to neoadjuvant therapy were identified, and a predetermined set of clinicopathologic variables was examined, including patient age, sex, tumor location, pretreatment tumor size, endoscopic ultrasound T and N stage, histologic tumor type, and grade in pretreatment biopsies.

Mitochondrial genome instability in colorectal adenoma and adenocarcinoma.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is regarded as a hallmark of cancer progression. In the current study, we evaluated mitochondrial genome instability and copy number in colorectal cancer using Next Generation Sequencing approach and qPCR, respectively. The results revealed higher levels of heteroplasmy and depletion of the relative mtDNA copy number in colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Image-guided video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (iVATS) - phase I-II clinical trial.

Purpose: To facilitate localization and resection of small lung nodules, we developed a prospective clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT01847209) for a novel surgical approach which combines placement of fiducials using intra-operative C-arm computed tomography (CT) guidance with standard thoracoscopic resection technique using image-guided video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (iVATS).

Methods: Pretrial training was performed in a porcine model using C-arm CT and needle guidance software.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Red Deer - Experimental Infection and Test Methods Performance.

The aim of this study was to evaluate a number of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) test methods for use in red deer. Ten animals were intranasally inoculated with the FMD virus (FMDV) O UKG 11/2001, monitored for clinical signs, and samples taken regularly (blood, serum, oral swabs, nasal swabs, probang samples and lesion swabs, if present) over a 4-week period. Only one animal, deer 1103, developed clinical signs (lesions under the tongue and at the coronary band of the right hind hoof).

Commercially available prognostic molecular models in early-stage lung cancer: a review of the Pervenio Lung RS and Myriad myPlan Lung Cancer tests.

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the USA. Patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer have a 5-year survival of approximately 70%. Effective, accurate and clinically relevant prognostic tests are needed to determine which patients are at high risk of disease-specific mortality after surgical resection.

Updated patterns of failure after multimodality therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Objective: We have previously described patterns of failure after extrapleural pneumonectomy and multimodality therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma and sought to update our results with a larger cohort of recent patients.

Methods: A total of 169 patients underwent extrapleural pneumonectomy without preoperative chemotherapy between 2001 and 2010. Data for treatment, recurrence, and survival were determined from medical records.

Autologous transplantation of bone marrow adult stem cells for the treatment of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: Morbimortality in patients with dilated idiopathic cardiomyopathy is high, even under optimal medical treatment. Autologous infusion of bone marrow adult stem cells has shown promising preliminary results in these patients.

Objective: Determine the effectiveness of autologous transplantation of bone marrow adult stem cells on systolic and diastolic left ventricular function, and on the degree of mitral regurgitation in patients with dilated idiopathic cardiomyopathy in functional classes NYHA II and III.

Oxidative Damage in the Aging Heart: an Experimental Rat Model.

Introduction: Several theories have been proposed to explain the cause of 'aging'; however, the factors that affect this complex process are still poorly understood. Of these theories, the accumulation of oxidative damage over time is among the most accepted. Particularly, the heart is one of the most affected organs by oxidative stress.

In vitro study of human osteoblast proliferation and morphology on orthodontic mini-implants.

Objective: To evaluate the proliferation and morphology of human osteoblasts cultured on two brands of mini-implants after 24, 48, and 72 hours, in addition to the chemical composition found on their surface.

Materials And Methods: Two brands of mini-implant (Morelli and Neodent) were evaluated; polystyrene was used as a control group (n  =  3). Osteoblasts were cultured on the surface of sterilized mini-implants in a CO2 incubator at different time periods (24, 48, and 72 hours).