The Paradox of Palliative Care at the End of Life: Higher Rates of Aggressive Interventions in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer.

Palliative care has shown benefit in patients with cancer; however, little is known about the overall utilization of palliative care services in patients with pancreatic cancer and the impact of aggressive end-of-life interventions. This study aimed to explore the incidence of palliative care consultations (PCCs) in hospitalized patients with pancreatic cancer in the United States and the association between palliative care consultations and the use of aggressive interventions at the end of life. We conducted a retrospective study of patients hospitalized with pancreatic cancer.

Pulsed directed energy deposition-arc technology for depositing stainless steel 309L: Microstructural, elements distribution, and mechanical characteristics.

In recent years, additive manufacturing has increased in prominence as a primary method of manufacturing around the globe. Modern metal additive manufacturing presents an innovative approach to manufacturing complex structures for the aerospace, energy, and construction sectors, due to technological advancements. In the present study, the austenitic stainless steel 309L (SS-309L) thick wall component was manufactured employing pulsed current gas tungsten arc welding (PC-GTAW) WAAM technology.

Computational study for temperature distribution in ArF excimer laser corneal refractive surgeries using different beam delivery techniques.

Refractive errors are the most common causes of vision impairment worldwide and laser refractive surgery is one of the most frequently performed ocular surgeries. Clinical studies have reported that approximately 10.5% of patients need an additional procedure after the surgery.

Diablo ubiquitination analysis by sandwich immunoassay.

Ubiquitin plays an essential role in modulating protein function, and deregulation of the ubiquitin system leads to the development of a variety of human diseases. E3 Ubiquitin ligases that mediate ubiquitination and degradation of caspases prevent apoptosis, and as such belong to the family of inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs). Diablo is a substrate of IAPs but also a negative regulator of IAPs in apoptotic pathway as it blocks the interaction between IAPs and caspases.

Preoperative Computerized Tomographic Assessment of Regional Lymph Node and Extramural Vascular Invasion in Colonic Cancer.

Objective: There have been recent attempts to transfer well-established principles of rectal cancer management to colonic cancer, thereby offering neoadjuvant chemotherapy to high-risk patients at least in the trial settings. Traditionally, postoperative chemotherapy is offered to patients with colonic tumors that metastasize into regional lymph nodes and have features of extramural vascular invasion (EMVI). If the same criteria are used for the selection of patients with colonic cancer for neoadjuvant chemotherapy, then their accurate preoperative detection becomes of paramount importance.

Human CCDC47 sandwich immunoassay development with electrochemiluminescence technology.

Coiled-Coil Domain Containing 47 (CCDC47) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) transmembrane protein involved in calcium signaling through utilization of its calcium binding-acidic luminal domain. CCDC47 also interacts with ERAD (endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation) complex and is involved in ER stress relief. In this report, we developed human CCDC47 monoclonal antibodies and a sandwich immunoassay for CCDC47 measurement in biological matrices.

Colonic perforation as a late complication of self-expanding stent.

Self-expanding metal stents are used to relieve left-sided colonic obstruction either as a palliative measure or as a bridge to surgery. While there are definite advantages, the procedure does have significant complications, perforation of bowel being the most common with significant morbidity and mortality. A case of late perforation due to colonic stent erosion is presented.

Bilateral presence of two root canals in maxillary central incisors: A rare case study.

Success in root canal treatment is achieved after thorough cleaning and shaping followed by complete obturation of the canal system. Therefore, endodontic therapy requires specific and complete knowledge of the internal and external dental anatomy, and its variations in presentation. The internal anatomy of the maxillary central incisor is well-known and usually presents one root canal system.

Oral supplements of aqueous extract of tomato seeds alleviate motor abnormality, oxidative impairments and neurotoxicity induced by rotenone in mice: relevance to Parkinson's disease.

Although tomato seeds (an industrial by-product) are known to contain several bioactive compounds, studies describing their health effects are limited. Previously, we evidenced that aqueous extract of tomato seeds (TSE) markedly attenuated rotenone (ROT)-induced oxidative stress and neurotoxicity in Drosophila system. This study investigated the neuroprotective effect of TSE in a chronic ROT model of neurotoxicity in mice.

Estimation of the level of tumor necrosis factor- α in gingival crevicular fluid and serum in periodontal health & disease: A biochemical study.

Unlabelled: Tumor Necrosis Factor-α(TNF-α), a "major inflammatory cytokine" not only plays an important role in periodontal destruction, but also is extremely toxic to the host. Till date, there are not many studies comparing the levels of TNF-α in GCF and serum and its relationship to periodontal disease. aim: Hence, an attempt is made to estimate the level of TNF-α in GCF and serum, its relationship to periodontal disease, and to explore the possibility of using the level of TNF-α in GCF as a biochemical "marker" of periodontal disease.

Runx2 mediates epigenetic silencing of the bone morphogenetic protein-3B (BMP-3B/GDF10) in lung cancer cells.

Background: The Runt-related transcription factor Runx2 is essential for bone development but is also implicated in progression of several cancers of breast, prostate and bone, where it activates cancer-related genes and promotes invasive properties. The transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) family member bone morphogenetic protein-3B (BMP-3B/GDF10) is regarded as a tumor growth inhibitor and a gene silenced in lung cancers; however the regulatory mechanisms leading to its silencing have not been identified.

Results: Here we show that Runx2 is highly expressed in lung cancer cells and downregulates BMP-3B.

Ectopic runx2 expression in mammary epithelial cells disrupts formation of normal acini structure: implications for breast cancer progression.

The transcription factor Runx2 is highly expressed in breast cancer cells compared with mammary epithelial cells and contributes to metastasis. Here we directly show that Runx2 expression promotes a tumor cell phenotype of mammary acini in three-dimensional culture. Human mammary epithelial cells (MCF-10A) form polarized, growth-arrested, acini-like structures with glandular architecture.

Laparoscopic repair of diastasis recti using the 'Venetian blinds' technique of plication with prosthetic reinforcement: a retrospective study.

Background: Diastasis is a separation of the two recti due to various reasons, and can be measured as the 'inter-recti distance' (IRD). Surgery for diastasis is controversial, while laparoscopic repair has rarely been reported. We describe our method of laparoscopic plication-the 'Venetian blinds' technique combined with mesh reinforcement for patients with diastasis of the recti.

Runx2 transcriptional activation of Indian Hedgehog and a downstream bone metastatic pathway in breast cancer cells.

Runx2, required for bone formation, is ectopically expressed in breast cancer cells. To address the mechanism by which Runx2 contributes to the osteolytic disease induced by MDA-MB-231 cells, we investigated the effect of Runx2 on key components of the "vicious cycle" of transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta)-mediated tumor growth and osteolysis. We find that Runx2 directly up-regulates Indian Hedgehog (IHH) and colocalizes with Gli2, a Hedgehog signaling molecule.

Expression of conserved signalling pathway genes during spontaneous vascular differentiation of R1 embryonic stem cells and in Py-4-1 endothelial cells.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are an invaluable model for identifying subtle phenotypes as well as severe outcomes of perturbing gene function that may otherwise result in lethality. However,though ES cells of different origins are regarded as equally pluripotent,their in vitro differentiation potential varies, suggesting that their response to developmental signals is different. The R1 cell line is widely used for gene manipulation due to its good growth characteristics and highly efficient germline transmission.

Risk factors for impaired healing of the perineal wound after abdominoperineal resection of rectum for carcinoma.

Objective: Nonhealing perineal wound is an unpleasant complication of surgical excision of the rectum and anus. The aim of the study was to evaluate the risk factors for impaired perineal wound healing after abdominoperineal resection (APR) of rectum for adenocarcinoma, particularly with the increasing use of neo-adjuvant chemoradiation.

Method: The study included 38 consecutive patients (29 men, nine women; median age 66 years, range: 43-86), who underwent surgical excision of rectum and anus for adenocarcinoma from 1999 to 2004.