The most frequent ED patients carry insurance and a significant burden of disease.

Study Objective: The objective of this study was to determine factors that impact emergency department (ED) utilization among the most frequent ED users.

Methods: This prospective observational study consisting of questionnaires was conducted in an urban ED with an annual census of 95000 patients. A convenience sample of the top 1% of adult frequent users (≥9 ED visits in the previous 12 months) was enrolled from February 2009 to March 2010.

Effect of mild cognitive impairment and APOE genotype on resting cerebral blood flow and its association with cognition.

Using whole-brain pulsed arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging, resting cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured in 20 mild cognitive impairment (MCI; 11 ɛ3 and 9 ɛ4) and 40 demographically matched cognitively normal (CN; 27 ɛ3 and 13 ɛ4) participants. An interaction of apolipoprotein (APOE) genotype (ɛ3 and ɛ4) and cognitive status (CN and MCI) on quantified gray-matter CBF corrected for partial volume effects was found in the left parahippocampal and fusiform gyri (PHG/FG), right middle frontal gyrus, and left medial frontal gyrus. In the PHG/FG, CBF was elevated for CN ɛ4 carriers but decreased for MCI ɛ4 carriers.

Effect of low back pain on social and professional life of drivers of Kolkata.

Abstract Occupational driving has often been associated with a high prevalence of back pain. Buses constitute the backbone of the local transportation; so many people are engaged in the profession. The present study was to investigate the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) and due to that problem whether their social and professional life hampers or not.

Microfluidic fabrication of cationic curcumin nanoparticles as an anti-cancer agent.

Curcumin nanoparticles of less than 50 nm in diameter are accessible using a continuous flow microfluidic rotating tube processor (RTP) under scalable conditions, at room temperature. A mixture of DDAB and Pluronic F127 renders higher stability of the curcumin nanoparticles in physiological pH 7.4 for up to eight hours.

An ergonomic study on musculoskeletal health hazards among sawmill workers of West Bengal, India.

The study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort among the sawmill workers of Kolkata and to identify the causative factors behind the development of such discomfort. For this study 110 male workers were randomly selected. For the symptom survey, modified Nordic questionnaire on detail discomfort feelings was performed.

Link between decisions regarding resuscitation and preferences for quality over length of life with heart failure.

Aims: Survival preferences, ascertained from time-trade-off utilities, have not been studied in heart failure patients who designate a 'do not resuscitate' (DNR) status. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the association of heart failure patients' resuscitation preferences with survival preferences and mortality in the ESCAPE trial.

Methods And Results: We analysed the association of resuscitation orders at 1 month with time-trade-off utilities and 6-month mortality.

Management of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with coexistent macular hole in the era of internal limiting membrane peeling.

Purpose: To review outcomes of vitrectomy plus or minus scleral buckling for retinal detachment (RD) attributable to peripheral break(s) with noncausal macular hole, plus or minus internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Methods: Forty-nine consecutive patients from March 1, 1998 to March 31, 2009 with RD attributable to peripheral break and macular hole were treated by vitrectomy.

Nanosized drug formulations under microfluidic continuous flow.

We present a simple method involving a rotating tube processor to fabricate ultrafine crystalline drug nanoparticles under microfluidic continuous flow with precise control over particle size, with significantly enhanced dissolution of the drug.

Transcriptional microarray analysis reveals suppression of histamine signaling by Kujin alleviates allergic symptoms through down-regulation of FAT10 expression.

Previously, we have shown that hot water extract from Kujin, the dried roots of Sophora flavescens alleviates allergic symptoms by suppressing histamine signaling at the transcription level in toluene 2,4-diisocyanate (TDI)-sensitized rats. To know more insights into the mechanism of the anti-allergic action of Kujin, we carried out the microarray analysis to explore genes that were up-regulated by treatment with TDI and also were suppressed these up-regulated gene expression by Kujin. Microarray analysis revealed the substantial up-regulation of FAT10 (also called UbD) mRNA due to TDI sensitization and Kujin extract significantly suppressed this up-regulation.

A critical analysis of the new biology and the biological revolution: their impact - from medicine to evolution.

In this article, I critically analyze the impact of the new biology and the biological revolution. I argue that indiscriminate use of the words such as 'interdisciplinary,' 'integrative,' and 'revolution' has caused only confusion when applied to biology. The recent debate, especially after the exploding field of systems biology, has brought back the controversy whether molecular biology is reductionist or holistic.

The role of the left inferior frontal gyrus in social perception: an rTMS study.

Perceiving and interpreting social information richness is something that humans do automatically whenever they engage in social interactions. Numerous studies have identified neural substrates, including mirror neurons that may enable such social perception. In this study, we temporarily disrupted activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS).

Autosomal recessive vitelliform macular dystrophy in a large cohort of vitelliform macular dystrophy patients.

Purpose: To report 11 cases of autosomal recessive vitelliform macular dystrophy and to compare their molecular findings and phenotypic characteristics with those of patients with the more common and well-described dominant form of the disease.

Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 435 unrelated individuals with a clinical diagnosis of vitelliform macular dystrophy and screened for mutations in the coding sequences of BEST1. Medical records and retinal photographs of selected patients were reviewed.

Injection practices at primary healthcare units in bangladesh: experience at six upazilla health complexes.

Background: Indiscriminate usage of injections and lack of safe practices during injection administration have been reported worldwide. Unnecessary and unsafe injection usage not only increases the financial burden but are also responsible for spreading blood borne diseases including HIV, HBV and HCV. To attain a better understanding of the situation of injection usage in Bangladesh, a study was conducted at six Upazilla Health Complexes (UHCs), which are primary healthcare units in Bangladesh.

Regulatory mechanisms of intestinal folate uptake in a rat model of folate oversupplementation.

Folic acid is essential for numerous biological functions, ranging from nucleotide biosynthesis to the remethylation of homocysteine. Folic acid is unable to cross the biological membranes by simple diffusion, so there exists a well-developed epithelial folate transport system for the regulation of normal folate homeostasis in the intestine. Any perturbances in the folate uptake system might lead to a state of folate deficiency, which in turn is strongly associated with the risk of various cancers, birth defects and CVD.

Impact of natural products in modern drug development.

Usage of natural substances as therapeutic agents in modern medicine has sharply declined from the predominant position held in the early decades of last century, but search for bioactive molecules from nature (plants, animals, microflora) continues to play an important role in fashioning new medicinal agents. With the advent of modern techniques, instrumentation and automation in isolation and structural characterisation, we have on hand an enormous repository of natural compounds. In parallel to this, biology has also made tremendous progress in expanding its frontiers of knowledge.

Incidence of endophthalmitis after 20-gauge vs 23-gauge vs 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy.

Purpose: To compare endophthalmitis rates after 20-gauge versus 23-gauge versus 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) in 2007-2008, and compare the rates with those of 2005-2006.

Methods: Multicenter study including all patients who developed endophthalmitis following PPV performed by any of the authors during 2005-2008, and all patients who developed endophthalmitis following PPV at Penn State College of Medicine and Bascom Palmer Eye Institute during 2005-2008. The endophthalmitis rates after 20-gauge, 23-gauge and 25-gauge PPV during 2007-2008 were compared to those from 2005-2006.

Genetic and clonal diversity of the endemic ant-plant Humboldtia brunonis (Fabaceae) in the Western Ghats of India.

Humboldtia brunonis (Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae) is a dominant self-incompatible ant-plant or myrmecophyte, growing as an understorey tree in high-density patches. It is endemic to the biodiversity hotspot of the southern Western Ghats of India and, besides ants, harbours many endemic invertebrate taxa, such as bees that pollinate it as well as arboreal earthworms, within swollen hollow stem internodes called domatia. Using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers, three geographically separated populations were found to be multiclonal, characterized by high levels of clonal diversity.

An unusual case of carotid dissection.

Carotid dissection is a rare, but potentially fatal, cause of ischaemic stroke in young patients. It occurs when a small tear forms in the tunica intima of the arterial wall creating a space between the inner and outer layers of the vessel where blood can enter and form a haematoma. This can cause a stenosis or complete occlusion.

Meaningful crosstalk between biologists and physical scientists is essential for modern biology to progress.

The advances in biological sciences have been phenomenal since the structure of DNA was decoded, especially if one considers the input from physical sciences, not only in terms of analytical tools, but also understanding and solving some of the key problems in biology. In this article, I trace briefly the history of this transition, from physical sciences to biology, and argue that progress in modern biology can be accelerated if there is far more meaningful crosstalk between the biologists and the physical scientists, simply because biology has become far more complex and interdisciplinary, and the need for such crosstalk cannot be overemphasized. Without a concerted effort in this area progress will be hindered, and the two camps will continue to work on their own, using their own specialized language, thus making communication highly ineffective.

Kujin suppresses histamine signaling at the transcriptional level in toluene 2,4-diisocyanate-sensitized rats.

Kujin, the dried root of Sophorae flavescensis, has been used in Chinese folklore medicine against allergy. Evaluation of its anti-allergic potential as well as its mechanism of action has rarely been established. We investigated the effect of Kujin on toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI)-induced allergic behavior and related histamine signaling including mRNA levels of histamine H(1) receptor (H1R) and histidine decarboxylase (HDC), H1R and HDC activities, and histamine content in rat nasal mucosa.

Sho-seiryu-to suppresses histamine signaling at the transcriptional level in TDI-sensitized nasal allergy model rats.

Background: The therapeutic use of Kampo medicine, Sho-seiryu-to (SST) in allergic disorders is well known. As histamine plays a central role in allergic diseases, it is possible that SST affects the allergy-related histamine signaling. In this study, we investigated the effect of SST on allergy-related histamine signaling in the nasal mucosa of toluene 2, 4-diisocyanate (TDI)-sensitized nasal allergy model rats.

Rapid detection and characterization of Chikungunya virus by RT-PCR in febrile patients from Kerala, India.

There has been a resurgence and prevalence of fever with symptoms of Chikungunya (CHIK) and increased death toll in Kerala, the southern-most state of India. The objective of this study was to develop a rapid detection method to determine the presence of CHIK- virus in the serum samples collected from febrile patients in Kerala, India. Serum specimens were analyzed for CHIK viral RNA by RT-PCR using primers specific for nsP1 and E1 genes.

Chorioretinitis and vitreitis due to Tropheryma whipplei after transplantation: case report and review.

Whipple's disease is a very rare chronic multisystemic bacterial disease characterized by diarrhea, malabsorption, fever, and polyarthritis. Ocular manifestations occur very rarely. Previous reports have suggested that the use of immunosuppressive drugs appears to accelerate or exacerbate the clinical course of Whipple's disease; however, the illness has yet to be reported in the setting of transplantation.