Painful digital infarction in a male smoker treated as Buerger's disease.

A 40-year-old male smoker presented with a 3-week history of painful digital infarction involving the hands. Histology was unhelpful, showing lichen simplex chronicus. A provisional diagnosis of a vasculitic disease was made.

Initial Australian experience with the recovery inferior vena cava filter in patients with increased risk of thromboembolic disease.

Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters are an alternative treatment in venous thromboembolism where there are contraindications to anticoagulation. There are, however, concerns about the long-term safety of permanent IVC filters. Often, the period of risk from anticoagulation therapy is short, which supports the use of non-permanent IVC filters.

Rapid evolution by positive selection and gene gain and loss: PLA(2) venom genes in closely related Sistrurus rattlesnakes with divergent diets.

Rapid evolution of snake venom genes by positive selection has been reported previously but key features of this process such as the targets of selection, rates of gene turnover, and functional diversity of toxins generated remain unclear. This is especially true for closely related species with divergent diets. We describe the evolution of PLA(2) gene sequences isolated from genomic DNA from four taxa of Sistrurus rattlesnakes which feed on different prey.

Health impact assessment of global climate change: expanding on comparative risk assessment approaches for policy making.

Climate change is projected to have adverse impacts on public health. Cobenefits may be possible from more upstream mitigation of greenhouse gases causing climate change. To help measure such cobenefits alongside averted disease-specific risks, a health impact assessment (HIA) framework can more comprehensively serve as a decision support tool.

Genetic structure in a tropical lek-breeding bird, the blue manakin (Chiroxiphia caudata) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Determining the genetic structure of tropical bird populations is important for assessing potential genetic effects of future habitat fragmentation and for testing hypotheses about evolutionary mechanisms promoting diversification. Here we used 10 microsatellite DNA loci to describe levels of genetic differentiation for five populations of the lek-mating blue manakin (Chiroxiphia caudata), sampled along a 414-km transect within the largest remaining continuous tract of the highly endangered Atlantic Forest habitat in southeast Brazil. We found small but significant levels of differentiation between most populations.

Mouth and genital ulcers with inflamed cartilage (MAGIC) syndrome complicated by aneurysmal aortitis.

"MAGIC syndrome" (Mouth And Genital ulcers with Inflamed Cartilage) has been proposed to describe patients with clinical features of both relapsing polychondritis and Behcet disease. A total of 18 cases have been reported with only 1 case associated with aneurysmal aortitis described in 1997. Herein, we describe a patient with MAGIC syndrome complicated by aneurysmal aortitis requiring cardiothoracic surgery and intensive immunosuppression.

Heart transplantation in a patient with endomyocardial fibrosis due to hypereosinophilic syndrome.

Idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES), a systemic disease that commonly involves the heart leading to progressive endomyocardial fibrosis, frequently manifests as restrictive cardiomyopathy. In this report, we describe the first case of a patient with endomyocardial fibrosis due to HES who underwent orthotopic heart transplantation at our institution. A literature review and discussion are included.

Hybridization between mtDNA-defined phylogeographic lineages of black ratsnakes (Pantherophis sp.).

Phylogeographic analyses using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have revealed many examples of apparently deep historical subdivisions ('phylogroups') within many vertebrates. It remains unclear whether these phylogroups represent independently evolving, adaptively differentiated lineages or groups that show little functional differentiation and, hence, will merge on contact. Here, we use mtDNA sequence data to evaluate the phylogeographic relationships between two of the northernmost populations of black ratsnakes (Pantherophis obsoletus complex) in Ontario, Canada and previously analysed populations in the United States.

Peripherally inserted central catheters and upper extremity deep vein thrombosis.

The purpose of the study was to determine the incidence and risk factors for venous thrombosis in patients with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC). A retrospective study of all upper extremity venous duplex scans was carried out in the Vascular Medicine department from year 2000 to 2002 inclusive. A chart review of positive scans was undertaken to identify possible thrombotic risk factors.

Venom proteomes of closely related Sistrurus rattlesnakes with divergent diets.

The protein composition of the venoms of the three subspecies of Sistrurus catenatus (S. c. catenatus, tergeminus, and edwardsii) and a basal species, Sistrurus miliarius barbouri, were analyzed by RP-HPLC, N-terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF peptide mass fingerprinting, and CID-MS/MS.

Lineage origin and expansion of a Neotropical migrant songbird after recent glaciation events.

Birds of the Northern Hemisphere often harbour the genetic signature of postglaciation expansion but analyses identifying the location of refugia and the directionality of expansions are rare. Here we explore the evolutionary history of yellow warbler lineages, focusing on how these lineages recolonized their current range. We genotyped samples from 696 yellow warblers via direct sequencing of a 333-bp control region I mitochondrial DNA fragment or lineage-specific genotyping.

Short-term effects of cycle and treadmill training on exercise tolerance in peripheral arterial disease.

Background: To explore the efficacy of cycle training in the treatment of intermittent claudication, the present study compared performance and physiologic effects of cycle training with more conventional treadmill walking training in a group of patients with claudication.

Method: Forty-two individuals with peripheral arterial disease and intermittent claudication (24 men, 18 women) were stratified by gender and the presence or absence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and then randomized to a treadmill (n = 13), cycle (n = 15), or control group (n = 14). Treadmill and cycle groups trained three times a week for 6 weeks, whereas the control group did not train during this period.

Semiconductor excitons in new light.

Excitons are quasi-particles that form when Coulomb-interacting electrons and holes in semiconductors are bound into pair states. They have many features analogous to those of atomic hydrogen. Because of this, researchers are interested in exploring excitonic phenomena, from optical, quantum-optical and thermodynamic transitions to the possible condensation of excitons into a quantum-degenerate state.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia: recent experience in a large teaching hospital.

Background: Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a potentially serious adverse reaction caused by platelet-activating antibodies.

Aim: To describe experience with HIT.

Methods: Twenty-two patients identified by laboratory records of heparin-associated antibodies with a 50% or greater decrease in platelet count were reviewed in our 600-bed metropolitan teaching hospital from 1999 to April 2005.

A hemispherical, high-solid-angle optical micro-cavity for cavity-QED studies.

We report a novel hemispherical micro-cavity that is comprised of a planar integrated semiconductor distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) mirror, and an external, concave micro-mirror having a radius of curvature 50 microm. The integrated DBR mirror containing quantum dots (QD), is designed to locate the QDs at an antinode of the field in order to maximize the interaction between the QD and cavity. The concave micro-mirror, with high-reflectivity over a large solid-angle, creates a diffraction-limited (sub-micron) mode-waist at the planar mirror, leading to a large coupling constant between the cavity mode and QD.

Biatrial or bicaval technique for orthotopic heart transplantation: which is better?

Background: Orthotopic heart transplantation was done by the biatrial technique initially and the bicaval technique has become popular recently.

Aims: This study aims to determine if bicaval technique is advantageous.

Methods: Consecutive transplants performed between 1996 and 2001 were divided into two groups-37 patients done by bicaval and 38 by biatrial technique.

Cardiac sarcoidosis: an elusive diagnosis.

The diagnosis of sarcoidosis of the heart can be elusive, and is seldom established in life. We report the case of a 43-year-old man who underwent heart transplantation for presumed idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Endomyocardial biopsy before transplantation showed only a mild infiltrate of lymphocytes.

Relatedness and helping in fish: examining the theoretical predictions.

Many studies have attempted to explain the evolution of cooperation, yet little attention has been paid to what factors control the amount or kind of cooperation performed. Kin selection theory suggests that more cooperation, or help, should be given by relatives. However, recent theory suggests that under specific ecological and demographic conditions, unrelated individuals must 'pay to stay' in the group and therefore may help more.

Global consequences of land use.

Land use has generally been considered a local environmental issue, but it is becoming a force of global importance. Worldwide changes to forests, farmlands, waterways, and air are being driven by the need to provide food, fiber, water, and shelter to more than six billion people. Global croplands, pastures, plantations, and urban areas have expanded in recent decades, accompanied by large increases in energy, water, and fertilizer consumption, along with considerable losses of biodiversity.

Multiple genotypes of Chlamydia pneumoniae identified in human carotid plaque.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is an obligate intracellular respiratory pathogen that causes 10 % of community-acquired pneumonia and has been associated with cardiovascular disease. Both whole-genome sequencing and specific gene typing suggest that there is relatively little genetic variation in human isolates of C. pneumoniae.

Transition between different coherent light-matter interaction regimes analyzed by phase-resolved pulse propagation.

We present phase-resolved pulse propagation measurements that allow us to fully describe the transition between several light-matter interaction regimes. The complete range from linear excitation to the breakdown of the photonic bandgap on to self-induced transmission and self-phase modulation is studied on a high-quality multiple-quantum-well Bragg structure. An improved fast-scanning cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating setup is applied to retrieve the pulse phase with an excellent signal-to-noise ratio.

Weak localization of light in a disordered microcavity.

We report the observation of weak localization of light in a semiconductor microcavity. The intrinsic disorder in a microcavity leads to multiple scattering and hence to static speckle. We show that averaging over realizations of the disorder reveals a coherent backscattering cone that has a coherent enhancement factor > or =2, as required by reciprocity.

Discordant detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae in patients with carotid artery disease using polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence microscopy and serological methods.

Aim: To determine the presence of Chlamydia pneumoniae in carotid plaque and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using a combination of serology, direct antigen detection by immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and to compare the results obtained from each assay.

Methods: A total of 54 atherosclerotic carotid plaques were tested for the presence of Chlamydia by PCR and IF methods. Of these 54 patients with carotid artery disease (CAD), 43 were also tested for the presence of C.