Influence of perception of colorectal cancer risk and patient bowel preparation behaviors: a study in minority populations.

Background: Large disparities exist in the utilization rates of screening modalities for colorectal cancer (CRC) in different socioeconomic areas. In this study, we evaluated whether the quality of bowel preparation differed significantly among populations with a high risk of CRC compared with that among the general population after matching for potential confounding factors.

Methods: Hispanic and African American patients who underwent routine screening or surveillance colonoscopies in an outpatient setting between 2003 and 2013 were included in this retrospective study.

Radiofrequency ablation versus resection for the treatment of early stage hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicenter Australian study.

Objectives: It remains unclear whether radiofrequency ablation (RFA) provides comparable outcomes to surgical resection (SR). We, therefore, compared survival outcomes of RFA to SR in patients with early stage and very early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: A multicenter retrospective analysis was performed in patients from five academic hospitals with Barcelona Cancer of the Liver Clinic (BCLC) stages 0-A HCC having RFA or SR as primary therapy.

Effective general practice: audit and feedback for the primary series of immunisations.

Introduction: General practice immunisation audits do not always match the national rates recorded on the New Zealand (NZ) National Immunisation Register (NIR).

Aim: To complete audits at one general practice for infants requiring the primary series of immunisations (6-week, 3-month and 5-month vaccines) over a 12-month period and compare findings with the NIR audit.

Methods: A manual and electronic practice management system (PMS) audit were compared with identical NIR audit parameters for completion of the 5-month vaccination from 1 February 2011 to 1 February 2012.

Visceral arterial aneurysms complicating endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

We report this case of a 74-year-old man with altered anatomy secondary to Billroth-II surgery who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for choledocholithiasis and subsequently developed severe diffuse abdominal pain with drop in hemoglobin. Patient was found to have hemorrhagic shock requiring aggressive resuscitative measures. Patient was found to have large peripancreatic hematoma secondary to bleeding from gastroduodenal and superior pancreaticoduodenal artery pseudoaneurysms.

Paraduodenal pancreatitis.

Paraduodenal pancreatitis is a distinct clinicopathological entity involving the duodenum and the pancreatic tissue in the vicinity of the minor papilla. Most afflicted patients are young alcoholic males who present clinically with upper abdominal pain, weight loss, nausea, and vomiting. Pancreatic tissue elements in the duodenal wall and impedance to exocrine pancreatic secretions at the minor papilla are key factors in the pathogenesis of this condition.

Acute liver injury secondary to sertraline.

Sertraline is widely prescribed to treat depression and anxiety disorders. However, hepatitis secondary to its use is a rare entity. We report the case of a 26-year-old woman in her 20th week of pregnancy presented with nausea, vomiting, malaise and dark urine.

Structural investigation of a novel N-acetyl glucosamine binding chi-lectin which reveals evolutionary relationship with class III chitinases.

The glycosyl hydrolase 18 (GH18) family consists of active chitinases as well as chitinase like lectins/proteins (CLPs). The CLPs share significant sequence and structural similarities with active chitinases, however, do not display chitinase activity. Some of these proteins are reported to have specific functions and carbohydrate binding property.

A rare coexistence: drug induced hepatitis and meningitis in association with Ibuprofen.

Ibuprofen, a commonly used NSAID is reported to be associated with drug induced liver injury. Ibuprofen is also known to be associated with drug-induced meningitis especially in patients with connective tissue disorders. However presentation of hepatitis and meningitis in association with Ibuprofen use in the same individual has never been reported.

Generation of substrate-free III-V nanodisks from user-defined multilayer nanopillar arrays for integration on Si.

High material quality InP-based multilayer nanopillar (NP) arrays are fabricated using a combination of self-assembly of silica particles for mask generation and dry etching. In particular, the NP arrays are made from user-defined epitaxial multilayer stacks with specific materials and layer thicknesses. An additional degree of flexibility in the structures is obtained by changing the lateral diameters of the NP multilayer stacks.

"Downhill" Esophageal Varices due to Dialysis Catheter-Induced Superior Vena Caval Occlusion: A Rare Cause of Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding.

"Downhill" varices are a rare cause of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Rarely these varices are reported in patients receiving hemodialysis as a complication of chronic dialysis vascular access. We present a case of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding in an individual with end-stage renal disease receiving hemodialysis.

Nucleotide oligomerization domain 1 enhances IFN-γ signaling in gastric epithelial cells during Helicobacter pylori infection and exacerbates disease severity.

Virulent Helicobacter pylori strains that specifically activate signaling in epithelial cells via the innate immune molecule, nucleotide oligomerization domain 1 (NOD1), are more frequently associated with IFN-γ-dependent inflammation and with severe clinical outcomes (i.e., gastric cancer and peptic ulceration).

Extracellular facile biosynthesis, characterization and stability of gold nanoparticles by Bacillus licheniformis.

Context: The development of a reliable, eco-friendly process for synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has gained impetus in recent years to counter the drawbacks of chemical and physical methods.

Objective: This study illustrates simple, green synthesis of AuNPs in vitro using cell lysate supernatant (CLS) of non-pathogenic bacteria and to investigate its potential antimicrobial activity.

Materials And Methods: Gold nanoparticles were synthesized by the reduction of precursor AuCl4- ions using the CLS of Bacillus licheniformis at 37°C upon 24 h of incubation.

Incidental finding of esophageal pneumatosis.

Pneumatosis of the gastrointestinal tract is a rare condition characterized by the presence of air filled cavities in the gastrointestinal tract wall. Its occurrence has been described throughout the gastrointestinal tract from the esophagus to the rectum, however it is most commonly reported in the small intestine. Despite multiple case reports in literature, its pathogenesis still remains unclear.

Prepancreatic postduodenal portal vein: a rare vascular variant detected on imaging.

Anomalous preduodenal portal vein is a rare abdominal vascular variant; even rarer is the prepancreatic postduodenal position. We report an anomalous portal vein positioned in between duodenum and pancreatic head detected on contrast enhanced computed tomography. Awareness and accurate radiological interpretation of this unique and rare vascular pattern can prevent inadvertent injury during surgical and radiological interventions.

Erythropoietin-directed erythropoiesis depends on serpin inhibition of erythroblast lysosomal cathepsins.

Erythropoietin (EPO) and its cell surface receptor (EPOR) are essential for red blood cell production and exert important cytoprotective effects on select vascular, immune, and cancer cells. To discover novel EPO action modes, we profiled the transcriptome of primary erythroid progenitors. We report Serpina3g/Spi2A as a major new EPO/EPOR target for the survival of erythroid progenitors.

IL28B genotype is not useful for predicting treatment outcome in Asian chronic hepatitis B patients treated with pegylated interferon-α.

Background And Aim: IL28B genotype predicts response to pegylated interferon (peg-IFN)-based therapy in chronic hepatitis C. However, the utility of IL28B genotyping in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) cohorts treated with peg-IFN is unclear. It was investigated whether IL28B genotype is associated with peg-IFN treatment outcomes in a predominantly Asian CHB cohort.

Epidemiology of hepatitis B-associated hepatocellular carcinoma in Victoria.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B (HBV) and cirrhosis are major risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The proportion and characteristics of cases with cirrhosis are not well documented.

Aim: Our aim was to compare demographic, viral and tumour characteristics of HBV-associated HCC in an Australian cohort, in patients with and without cirrhosis.

STAT3-driven upregulation of TLR2 promotes gastric tumorigenesis independent of tumor inflammation.

Gastric cancer (GC) is associated with chronic inflammation; however, the molecular mechanisms promoting tumorigenesis remain ill defined. Using a GC mouse model driven by hyperactivation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3 oncogene, we show that STAT3 directly upregulates the epithelial expression of the inflammatory mediator Toll-like receptor (TLR)2 in gastric tumors. Genetic and therapeutic targeting of TLR2 inhibited gastric tumorigenesis, but not inflammation, characterized by reduced proliferation and increased apoptosis of the gastric epithelium.

The role of cultural values and religion on views of body size and eating practices among adolescents from Fiji, Tonga, and Australia.

Objectives: This study investigated cultural values related to body image and eating practices in Western and non-Western societies.

Design And Methods: In total, 628 Fijian, 463 Indo-Fijian, 598 Tongan, and 534 Australian adolescents completed measures of cultural values and religious influences in relation to the ideal body and eating practices.

Results: Fijian and Tongan adolescents were more likely to value a large body.