Intraventricular pressure gradients in left ventricular aneurysms determined by color M-mode Doppler method: an animal study.

Background: Left ventricular aneurysm (LVA) may affect diastolic intraventricular blood flow. Color M-mode (CMM) Doppler flow propagation patterns are abnormal in the presence of apical aneurysms. The aim of this study was to validate the accuracy of CMM echocardiography for assessing the existence and size of LVA and to determine the intraventricular pressure gradient in LVA.

Use of tissue Doppler imaging to guide tube current modulation in cardiac multidetector computed tomographic angiography.

In multidetector computed tomographic coronary angiography, strategies to minimize effective radiation dose (ERD) are urgently needed. Prospective tube current modulation (TCM) allows a decrease in ERD, although it may limit reconstruction options. We sought to determine if tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) by echocardiography could predict an optimal phase for multidetector computed tomography and be used to guide TCM.

Detection of transplant coronary artery disease using multidetector computed tomography with adaptative multisegment reconstruction.

Objectives: This study sought to determine whether multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) may be able to detect occlusive coronary disease in transplanted hearts.

Background: In heart transplant recipients, asymptomatic coronary disease requiring frequent surveillance commonly develops. Recent advancements in MDCT allow for noninvasive assessment of the coronary vessels.

Blockade of transforming growth factor-{beta} signaling in tumor-reactive CD8(+) T cells activates the antitumor immune response cycle.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a potent immunosuppressant. Overproduction of TGF-beta by tumor cells leads to evasion of host immune surveillance and tumor progression. Results of our early studies showed that adoptive transfer of tumor-reactive, TGF-beta-insensitive CD8(+) T cells into immunocompetent mice was able to eradicate lung metastasis of mouse prostate cancer.

Three-dimensional geometry of the tricuspid annulus in healthy subjects and in patients with functional tricuspid regurgitation: a real-time, 3-dimensional echocardiographic study.

Background: Most rings currently used for tricuspid valve annuloplasty are formed in a single plane, whereas the actual tricuspid annulus (TA) may have a nonplanar or 3-dimensional (3D) structure. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the 3D geometry of the TA in healthy subjects and in patients with functional tricuspid regurgitation (TR).

Methods And Results: This study consisted of 15 healthy subjects and 16 patients with functional TR who had real-time 3D echocardiography.

EZC-prostate models offer high sensitivity and specificity for noninvasive imaging of prostate cancer progression and androgen receptor action.

In vivo imaging advances have greatly expanded the use of animal cancer models. Herein, we describe two new models that permit prostate imaging ex vivo, in vivo, and in utero. Further, we show the use of these models for detecting small metastasis and testing reagents that modulate the androgen receptor (AR) axis.

Serving in Bosnia made me appreciate living in Bristol: stressful experiences, attitudes, and psychological needs of members of the United Kingdom Armed Forces.

Peacekeeping operations form an increasing part of the role of the U.K. Armed Forces.

MHC class I and class II molecules are expressed in both human and mouse prostate tumor microenvironment.

Background: There has been a determined search for therapies specifically aimed at eradicating tumor cells while leaving normal host cells unaffected. This goal can potentially be accomplished by engaging tumor antigen-specific T-cell repertoire to attack the tumor. A pre-requisite for a successful T-cell-mediated attack against tumors or pathogens is that the target tissues express major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules.

The health of UK military personnel who deployed to the 2003 Iraq war: a cohort study.

Background: Concerns have been raised about the mental and physical health of UK military personnel who deployed to the 2003 war in Iraq and subsequent tours of duty in the country.

Methods: We compared health outcomes in a random sample of UK armed forces personnel who were deployed to the 2003 Iraq war with those in personnel who were not deployed. Participants completed a questionnaire covering the nature of the deployment and health outcomes, which included symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, common mental disorders, general wellbeing, alcohol consumption, physical symptoms, and fatigue.

Maturational and adaptive modulation of left ventricular torsional biomechanics: Doppler tissue imaging observation from infancy to adulthood.

Background: Left ventricular (LV) torsional deformation, based in part on the helical myocardial fiber architecture, is an important component of LV systolic and diastolic performance. However, there is no comprehensive study describing its normal development during childhood and adult life.

Methods And Results: Forty-five normal subjects (25 children and 20 adults; aged 9 days to 49 years; divided into 5 groups: infants, children, adolescents, and young and middle-age adults) underwent assessment of LV torsion and untwisting rate by Doppler tissue imaging.

Enhanced ventricular untwisting during exercise: a mechanistic manifestation of elastic recoil described by Doppler tissue imaging.

Background: The cascade of events by which early diastolic left ventricular (LV) filling increases with exercise is not fully elucidated. Doppler tissue imaging (DTI) can detect myocardial motion, including torsion, whereas color M-mode Doppler (CMM) can quantify LV intraventricular pressure gradients (IVPGs).

Methods And Results: Twenty healthy volunteers underwent echocardiographic examination with DTI at rest and during submaximal supine bicycle exercise.

Targeting Aurora kinases for the treatment of prostate cancer.

Inappropriate expression of the Aurora kinases can induce aberrant mitosis, centrosome irregularities, and chromosomal instability, which lead to anueploidy and cell transformation. Here, we report that Aurora-A and Aurora-B are highly expressed in primary human and mouse prostate cancers and prostate cancer cell lines. In clinical samples, levels of Aurora-A and Aurora-B were significantly elevated in prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia lesions and prostate tumors when compared with the non-neoplastic samples.

Scaling of diastolic intraventricular pressure gradients is related to filling time duration.

In early diastole, pressure is lower in the apex than in the base of the left ventricle (LV). This early intraventricular pressure difference (IVPD) facilitates LV filling. We assessed how LV diastolic IVPD and intraventricular pressure gradient (IVPG), defined as IVPD divided by length, scale to the heart size and other physiological variables.

Pediatric telepsychiatry in ontario: Caregiver and service provider perspectives.

Families in rural areas face significant geographic and economic obstacles to obtaining pediatric mental health services. Telepsychiatry promises the possibility of extending specialized expertise into areas that have no resident psychiatrists. In this study, user perspectives and experiences of a pediatric telepsychiatry program serving rural communities in Ontario, Canada, were explored.

Induction and blockage of oligodendrogenesis by differently activated microglia in an animal model of multiple sclerosis.

The role of activated microglia (MG) in demyelinating neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis is controversial. Here we show that high, but not low, levels of IFN-gamma (a cytokine associated with inflammatory autoimmune diseases) conferred on rodent MG a phenotype that impeded oligodendrogenesis from adult neural stem/progenitor cells. IL-4 reversed the impediment, attenuated TNF-alpha production, and overcame blockage of IGF-I production caused by IFN-gamma.

Medical downgrading, self-perception of health, and psychological symptoms in the British Armed Forces.

Objective: To investigate the contribution of psychological symptoms to limited employability for medical reasons in the British Armed Forces.

Methods: A sample of 4500 military personnel was randomly selected to receive either a full or an abridged questionnaire. The questionnaires asked whether the participant was medically downgraded and if yes, the reason for it.

Immune cells contribute to the maintenance of neurogenesis and spatial learning abilities in adulthood.

Neurogenesis is known to take place in the adult brain. This work identifies T lymphocytes and microglia as being important to the maintenance of hippocampal neurogenesis and spatial learning abilities in adulthood. Hippocampal neurogenesis induced by an enriched environment was associated with the recruitment of T cells and the activation of microglia.

Planimetric assessment of anatomic valve area overestimates effective orifice area in bicuspid aortic stenosis.

Background: Although the continuity equation remains the noninvasive standard, planimetry using transesophageal echocardiography is often used to assess valve area for patients with aortic stenosis (AS). Not uncommonly, however, anatomic valve area (AVAA) obtained by planimetry overestimates continuity-derived effective valve area (AVAE) in bicuspid AS.

Methods: Transthoracic Doppler and transesophageal echocardiography were performed to obtain AVAE and AVAA in 31 patients with bicuspid AS (age 61 +/- 11 years) and 22 patients with degenerative tricuspid AS (age 71 +/- 13 years).

Recommendations for improving serum creatinine measurement: a report from the Laboratory Working Group of the National Kidney Disease Education Program.

Background: Reliable serum creatinine measurements in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimation are critical to ongoing global public health efforts to increase the diagnosis and treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We present an overview of the commonly used methods for the determination of serum creatinine, method limitations, and method performance in conjunction with the development of analytical performance criteria. Available resources for standardization of serum creatinine measurement are discussed, and recommendations for measurement improvement are given.

Relationship among diastolic intraventricular pressure gradients, relaxation, and preload: impact of age and fitness.

Diastolic intraventricular pressure gradients (IVPGs) are a measure of the ability of the ventricle to facilitate its filling using diastolic suction. We assessed 15 healthy young but sedentary subjects, aged <50 yr (young subjects; age, 35 +/- 9 yr); 13 healthy but sedentary seniors, aged >65 yr with known reductions in ventricular compliance (elderly sedentary subjects; age, 70 +/- 4 yr); and 12 master athletes, aged >65 yr, previously shown to have preserved ventricular compliance (elderly fit subjects; age, 68 +/- 3 yr). Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) and echocardiography measurements were performed at baseline, during load manipulation by lower body negative pressure at -15 and -30 mmHg, and after saline infusion of 10 and 20 ml/kg (elderly) or 15 and 30 ml/kg (young).

Establishment of a serum tumor marker for preclinical trials of mouse prostate cancer models.

Current prostate cancer research in both basic and preclinical trial studies employ genetically engineered mouse models. However, unlike in human prostate cancer patients, rodents have no counterpart of prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) for monitoring prostate cancer initiation and progression. In this study, we established a mouse serum tumor marker from a mouse homologue of human prostate secretory protein of 94 amino acids (PSP94).

Does having an occupational mental health service make any difference?

Background: The effects of mental disorder on UK's workforce are increasing, yet most occupational health (OH) providers have limited expertise in dealing with mental health issues.

Aims: To examine the effectiveness in terms of organizational and clinical outcomes, of an OH liaison psychiatry service in an inner city area.

Methods: A retrospective survey of case notes from the first 2 years of an OH liaison psychiatry service was carried out.

The accuracy of left ventricular mass determined by real-time three-dimensional echocardiography in chronic animal and clinical studies: a comparison with postmortem examination and magnetic resonance imaging.

Real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE), 2-dimensional echocardiography (2DE), and M-mode echocardiography were performed in 28 sheep with cardiac pathologies and 27 patients with heart disease to demonstrate the superiority of RT3DE over M-mode and 2DE for the determination of left ventricular mass. Postmortem examination and magnetic resonance imaging were used as a reference standard for the animal and clinical studies, respectively. In the animal study, the highest concordance correlation (0.

Infiltration of tumor-reactive transforming growth factor-beta insensitive CD8+ T cells into the tumor parenchyma is associated with apoptosis and rejection of tumor cells.

Background: TGF-beta is a potent immunosuppressant. High levels of TGF-beta produced by cancer cells have a negative inhibition effect on surrounding host immune cells and leads to evasion of the host immune surveillance and tumor progression. In the present study, we report a distinct ability of tumor reactive, TGF-beta-insensitive CD8+ T cells to infiltrate into established tumors, secrete relevant cytokines, and induce apoptosis of tumor cells.

Caseinoglycomacropeptide inhibits adhesion of pathogenic Escherichia coli strains to human cells in culture.

Caseinoglycomacropeptide (CGMP) derived from kappa-casein was investigated for its ability to inhibit the adhesion of 3 strains of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) and 3 strains of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) to human HT29 tissue cell cultures. Effects on adhesion of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, Lactobacillus pentosus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactobacillus gasseri were also investigated. Generally, CGMP exerted effective anti-adhesive properties at a dose of 2.