Assessing Chronic Ear Symptoms in Bone-Conduction Hearing Implant (BCHI) Patients Using the Chronic Otitis Media Benefit Inventory (COMBI) Score.

Objective: This study aimed to determine improvement in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) using a validated disease-specific patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) questionnaire in patients undergoing bone-conduction hearing implant (BCHI) insertion.

Study Design: A mixed retrospective and prospective correlational study.

Setting: Single tertiary referral center in the United Kingdom.

Results of the Dutch scalp cooling registry in 7424 patients: analysis of determinants for scalp cooling efficacy.

Background: Chemotherapy-induced alopecia is a common consequence of cancer treatment with a high psychological impact on patients and can be prevented by scalp cooling (SC). With this multi-center patient series, we examined the results for multiple currently used chemotherapy regimens to offer an audit into the real-world determinants of SC efficacy.

Materials And Methods: The Dutch Scalp Cooling Registry collected data on 7424 scalp-cooled patients in 68 Dutch hospitals.

Do patients report quality of life improvements after fitting of their unilateral bone conducting hearing implant?

Objective: The audiological benefits of a bone conducting hearing implant are well documented; however, there is a paucity of literature comparing pre- and post-operative quality of life benefits. This study assessed the quality of life status before and after the device is implanted.

Methods: A prospective study was conducted of all adult bone conducting hearing implants inserted in a teaching hospital between 2012 and 2017.

Cooling-mediated protection from chemotherapy drug-induced cytotoxicity in human keratinocytes by inhibition of cellular drug uptake.

Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) represents the most distressing side-effect for cancer patients. Scalp cooling is currently the only treatment to combat CIA, yet little is known about its cytoprotective effects in human hair follicles (HF). We have previously established in vitro human keratinocyte models to study the effects of taxanes and anthracyclines routinely-used clinically and reported that cooling markedly-reduced or even completely-prevented cytotoxicity in a temperature dependent manner.

Effect of complement C1-esterase inhibitor on brain edema and inflammation after mild traumatic brain injury in an animal model.

Objective: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is characterized by damage to the blood-brain barrier, inflammation, and edema formation. In this pilot study, we aimed to investigate the effects of a complement inhibitor, C1-esterase inhibitor (C1 INH), on brain edema and inflammation in a rat model of mild TBI.

Methods: Thirty-six male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to control, TBI, or TBI plus C1 INH groups.

Structural characterisation of two medium molecular mass exopolysaccharides produced by the bacterium Lactobacillus fermentum Lf2.

Under optimized conditions, the lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus fermentum Lf2 secretes up to 2 gL of a mixture of polysaccharides into the fermentation medium when grown on sucrose. Earlier studies had shown that the mixture is biologically active and work was undertaken to characterise the polysaccharides. Preparative size exclusion chromatography was used to separate a high molecular mass β-glucan (weight average mass of 1.

Isolation and characterization of a high molecular mass β-glucan from Lactobacillus fermentum Lf2 and evaluation of its immunomodulatory activity.

When grown in a semi-defined medium, L. fermentum Lf2 synthesizes significant quantities (∼2 g/L) of two exopolysaccharides (EPS). The two EPS were separated by preparative size exclusion chromatography to give a high molecular mass β-glucan (1.

Thoracic ultrasound experiences among respiratory specialty trainees in the UK.

Achieving competence in thoracic ultrasound is a mandatory requirement for the successful completion of respiratory specialty training in the UK. We evaluated trainee competencies, access to training and confidence in thoracic ultrasound by means of a nationally distributed survey with the participation of 202 (of approximately 600) respiratory trainees. 65.

A Clinical and Biological Guide for Understanding Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia and Its Prevention.

Unlabelled: Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is the most visibly distressing side effect of commonly administered chemotherapeutic agents. Because psychological health has huge relevance to lifestyle, diet, and self-esteem, it is important for clinicians to fully appreciate the psychological burden that CIA can place on patients. Here, for the first time to our knowledge, we provide a comprehensive review encompassing the molecular characteristics of the human hair follicle (HF), how different anticancer agents damage the HF to cause CIA, and subsequent HF pathophysiology, and we assess known and emerging prevention modalities that have aimed to reduce or prevent CIA.

Commensal-derived OMVs elicit a mild proinflammatory response in intestinal epithelial cells.

Under normal physiological conditions, the intestinal immunity remains largely hyporesponsive to the commensal microbiota, yet also retains the inherent ability to rapidly respond to pathogenic antigens. However, immunomodulatory activities of extracellular products from commensal bacteria have been little studied, with previous investigations generally utilizing the live bacterium to study microbiota-epithelial interactions. In this study, we demonstrate that extracellular products of a commensal bacterium, Escherichia coli C25, elicit a moderate release of proinflammatory IL-8 and stimulate transcriptional up-regulation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in intestinal epithelial cell lines HT29-19A and Caco-2.

A Randomized Prospective Comparison of Patient-Assessed Satisfaction and Clinical Outcomes with Radioactive Seed Localization versus Wire Localization.

Radioactive seed localization (RSL) has emerged as an alternative to wire localization (WL) in patients with nonpalpable breast cancer. Few studies have prospectively evaluated patient satisfaction and outcomes with RSL. We report the results of a randomized trial comparing RSL to WL in our community hospital.

Noise exposure of commercial divers in the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea.

It is well known that exposure to high noise levels can adversely affect human hearing. Legislation exists in Europe to control or restrict the level of noise to which employees may be exposed during the course of their work. While the noise levels to which a worker may be exposed is well defined in air, human sensitivity to noise is different in high-pressure and mixed-gas conditions.

A comparison of complication rates in early-stage breast cancer patients treated with brachytherapy versus whole-breast irradiation.

Background: The adoption of breast brachytherapy into clinical practice for early-stage breast cancer has increased over the last several years. Studies evaluating complication rates following treatment with brachytherapy have shown conflicting results. We compared local toxicity in patients treated with brachytherapy with those treated with whole-breast irradiation (WBI).

Use of in vitro human keratinocyte models to study the effect of cooling on chemotherapy drug-induced cytotoxicity.

A highly distressing side-effect of cancer chemotherapy is chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA). Scalp cooling remains the only treatment for CIA, yet there is no experimental evidence to support the cytoprotective capacity of cooling. We have established a series of in vitro models for the culture of human keratinocytes under conditions where they adopt a basal, highly-proliferative phenotype thus resembling the rapidly-dividing sub-population of native hair-matrix keratinocytes.

Infrared imaging does not predict the presence of malignancy in patients with suspicious radiologic breast abnormalities.

The NoTouch BreastScan (NTBS) is a non-invasive infrared imaging device which measures thermal gradients in breasts using dual infrared cameras and computer analysis. We evaluated NTBS as a predictor of breast cancer in patients undergoing minimally invasive biopsy. In this IRB-approved prospective trial, 121 female patients underwent NTBS prior to scheduled tissue biopsy.

Effect of preoperative MRI on mastectomy and contralateral prophylactic mastectomy rates at a community hospital by a single surgeon.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) use in the preoperative evaluation of newly diagnosed breast cancer (BC) patients is rising. We evaluated MRI as a function of surgical year with respect to mastectomy and contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) rates by a single surgeon. From January 2000 to December 2010, 1,279 patients with 1,296 breast cancers were identified.

The structure and immunomodulatory activity on intestinal epithelial cells of the EPSs isolated from Lactobacillus helveticus sp. Rosyjski and Lactobacillus acidophilus sp. 5e2.

The Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) Lactobacillus acidophilus sp. 5e2 and Lactobacillus helveticus sp. Rosyjski both secrete exopolysaccharides (EPSs) into their surrounding environments during growth.

Are the American Society for Radiation Oncology guidelines accurate predictors of recurrence in early stage breast cancer patients treated with balloon-based brachytherapy?

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) consensus statement (CS) provides guidelines for patient selection for accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) following breast conserving surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate recurrence rates based on ASTRO CS groupings. A single institution review of 238 early stage breast cancer patients treated with balloon-based APBI via balloon based brachytherapy demonstrated a 4-year actuarial ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) rate of 5.

The value of 6-month interval imaging after benign radiologic-pathologic concordant minimally invasive breast biopsy.

Background: Current National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend repeat imaging 6-12 months after a benign radiologic-pathologic concordant image-guided breast biopsy. We hypothesized that interval imaging <12 months after benign concordant biopsy has a low cancer yield and increases health care costs.

Methods: An institutional review board-approved retrospective chart review identified 689 patients who underwent image-guided breast biopsy at Bryn Mawr Hospital between January and December 2010.

Breastfeeding rates and the relationship between breastfeeding and neonatal abstinence syndrome in women maintained on buprenorphine during pregnancy.

Introduction: Although a growing body of evidence suggests that buprenorphine is a safe alternative to methadone in the treatment of opioid-dependent pregnant women, little is known about breastfeeding in this population. The first objective of this study was to describe breastfeeding rates among opioid-dependent pregnant women maintained on buprenorphine in an integrated medical and behavioral health program. The second objective was to determine whether breastfeeding is related to the duration, severity, and frequency of pharmacologic treatment for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).

Exploring the immunomodulatory potential of microbial-associated molecular patterns derived from the enteric bacterial microbiota.

The human intestinal lumen represents one of the most densely populated microbial niches in the biological world and, as a result, the intestinal innate immune system exists in a constant state of stimulation. A key component in the innate defence system is the intestinal epithelial layer, which acts not only as a physical barrier, but also as an immune sensor. The expression of pattern recognition receptors, such as Toll-like receptors, in epithelial cells allows innate recognition of a wide range of highly conserved bacterial moieties, termed microbial-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs), from both pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria.

Potentiation of flagellin responses in gut epithelial cells by interferon-gamma is associated with STAT-independent regulation of MyD88 expression.

Flagellin acting via TLR5 (Toll-like receptor 5) is a key regulator of the host response to the gut microbial flora in both health and disease. The present study has investigated regulation of flagellin-TLR5 signalling in human colonocytes (HT29-19A) by IFNgamma (interferon-gamma), a cytokine released early in the inflammatory process which has multiple effects on gut epithelial function that may facilitate abnormal responses to enteric bacteria. Flagellin induced a dose-dependent secretion of chemokines CXCL8 and CCL2 in the human colonocyte line, HT29-19A.

Early molecular and functional changes in colonic epithelium that precede increased gut permeability during colitis development in mdr1a(-/-) mice.

Background: The early molecular changes preceding the onset of mucosal inflammation in colitis and their temporal relationship with gut permeability remain poorly defined. This study investigated functional and transcriptomic changes in mdr1a(-/-) mice lacking the intestinal transporter P-glycoprotein, which develop colitis spontaneously when exposed to normal enteric flora.

Methods: Mdr1a(-/-) mice were housed in specific pathogen-free conditions to slow colitis development and compared to congenic controls.

Investigation of regional mechanisms responsible for poor oral absorption in humans of a modified release preparation of the alpha-adrenoreceptor antagonist, 4-amino-6,7-dimethoxy-2-(5-methanesulfonamido-1,2,3,4 tetrahydroisoquinol-2-yl)-5-(2-pyridyl)quinazoline (UK-338,003): the rational use of ex vivo intestine to predict in vivo absorption.

Modified release (MR) formulations are used to enhance the safety and compliance of existing drugs by improving their pharmacokinetics. Predicting the likely success of MR formulations is often difficult before clinical studies. A systematic in vitro approach using mouse and human tissues was adopted to rationalize the in vivo pharmacokinetics of 9- and 15-h MR formulations of an alpha-adrenoreceptor antagonist, 4-amino-6,7-dimethoxy-2-(5-methanesulfonamido-1,2,3,4 tetrahydroisoquinol-2-yl)-5-(2-pyridyl)quinazoline (UK-338,003).