Functional deficiencies of subsarcolemmal mitochondria in the type 2 diabetic human heart.

The mitochondrion has been implicated in the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Examination of cardiac mitochondria is complicated by the existence of spatially distinct subpopulations including subsarcolemmal (SSM) and interfibrillar (IFM). Dysfunction to cardiac SSM has been reported in murine models of type 2 diabetes mellitus; however, subpopulation-based mitochondrial analyses have not been explored in type 2 diabetic human heart.

Leafcutter bee nests and pupae from the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits of Southern California: implications for understanding the paleoenvironment of the Late Pleistocene.

The Rancho La Brea Tar Pits is the world's richest and most important Late Pleistocene fossil locality and best renowned for numerous fossil mammals and birds excavated over the past century. Less researched are insects, even though these specimens frequently serve as the most valuable paleoenvironemental indicators due to their narrow climate restrictions and life cycles. Our goal was to examine fossil material that included insect-plant associations, and thus an even higher potential for significant paleoenviromental data.

How many of our patients can really give consent? A perspective on the relevance of the Mental Capacity Act to dentistry.

Unlabelled: The different ways that clinicians perceive adult patients with dental phobia is varied and diverse. From treating the dental phobia as a separate illness to dismissing it as a neurosis, sometimes little consequence is attached to its existence. True dental phobia is classed as a psychological illness and therefore comes under the remit and guidance of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Antenatal architecture and activity of the human heart.

We construct the components for a family of computational models of the electrophysiology of the human foetal heart from 60 days gestational age (DGA) to full term. This requires both cell excitation models that reconstruct the myocyte action potentials, and datasets of cardiac geometry and architecture. Fast low-angle shot and diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) of foetal hearts provides cardiac geometry with voxel resolution of approximately 100 µm.

Reducing time-to-treatment in underserved Latinas with breast cancer: the Six Cities Study.

Background: The interaction of clinical and patient-level challenges following a breast cancer diagnosis can be a significant source of health care disparities. Failure to address specific cultural features that create or exacerbate barriers can lead to less-than optimal navigation results, specifically in Hispanic/Latino women.

Methods: To address these disparities, the study leaders in San Antonio, Texas, and 5 other regional partners of the federally-funded Redes En Acción: The National Latino Cancer Research Network developed a culturally-tailored patient navigation intervention model for Latinas with breast cancer.

Paleoecological and taphonomic implications of insect-damaged pleistocene vertebrate remains from Rancho La Brea, southern California.

The La Brea Tar Pits, the world's richest and most important Late Pleistocene fossil locality, offers unsurpassed insights into southern California's past environments. Recent studies at Rancho La Brea document that insects serve as sensitive and valuable paleoecological and taphonomic indicators. Of the thousands of fossil bird and mammal bones recovered from the Tar Pits, insect trace damage is thus far almost exclusively confined to the foot bones of large herbivores, especially bison, camel, and horse species.

Depressive symptoms in Latina breast cancer survivors: a barrier to cancer screening.

Objective: Depressed mood limits vigilance, risk avoidance or risk reduction. This may reflect inability to follow health care provider recommendations for screening for other cancers. We determined prevalence of depressive symptoms and its role in screening for other cancers in Latina breast cancer survivors.

Biogeochemical processes controlling the mobility of major ions and trace metals in aquitard sediments beneath an oil sand tailing pond: laboratory studies and reactive transport modeling.

Increased production and expansion of the oil sand industry in Alberta are of great benefit to the economy, but they carry major environmental challenges. The volume of fluid fine tailings requiring storage is 840×10(6) m(3) and growing, making it imperative that we better understand the fate and transport of oil sand process-affected water (OSPW) seepage from these facilities. Accordingly, the current study seeks to characterize both a) the potential for major ion and trace element release, and b) the principal biogeochemical processes involved, as tailing pond OSPW infiltrates into, and interacts with, underlying glacial till sediments prior to reaching down gradient aquifers or surface waters.

Public opinion.

This opinion-based article aims to highlight the worrying decline in support for dental public health as a specialty. Not only is this specialty important for its role in commissioning services, it is crucial for the identification of vulnerable groups in society and ensuring dental services are acceptable and assessable for these populations. Dental public health also addresses the social determinants of health in its approach, acknowledging the impact of these in perpetuating inequalities and looking for multisectoral approaches to their management.

Prospective, multicenter experience with the Ventana Fenestrated System for juxtarenal and pararenal aortic aneurysm endovascular repair.

Objective: This study assessed preliminary results of the Ventana Fenestrated System (Endologix, Irvine, Calif) as an off-the-shelf integrated device for juxtarenal aortic aneurysm (JAA) or pararenal aortic aneurysm (PAA) endovascular repair.

Methods: From November 2010 to April 2012, seven centers enrolled 31 patients with JAAs or PAAs in an international clinical trial of the Ventana Fenestrated System. Clinical and laboratory evaluations were done predischarge and at 1 month, with continuing follow-up through 5 years.

Justice and NHS dental treatment--is injustice rife in NHS dentistry?

In this article the issue of injustice in NHS dental care is examined using the philosophical principles of non-ideal theory. The causes for this injustice in this context are examined as well as how injustice may be perpetuated within the NHS dental system. The focus upon targets that the current system supports contributes in shifting the focus of healthcare provision from being patient-centred to that of financial gain.

Time to definitive diagnosis of breast cancer in Latina and non-Hispanic white women: the six cities study.

Time delay after an abnormal screening mammogram may have a critical impact on tumor size, stage at diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and survival of subsequent breast cancer. This study was undertaken to evaluate disparities between Latina and non-Hispanic white (NHW) women in time to definitive diagnosis of breast cancer after an abnormal screening mammogram, as well as factors contributing to such disparities. As part of the activities of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded Redes En Acción research network, clinical records of 186 Latinas and 74 NHWs who received abnormal screening mammogram results were reviewed to determine the time to obtain a definitive diagnosis.

Spatiotemporal patterning of uterine excitation patterns in human labour.

The mechanisms leading to the initiation of normal, premature or dysfunctional human labour are poorly understood, as animal models are inappropriate, and experimental studies are limited. Computational modelling provides a means of linking non-invasive clinical data with the results of in vitro cell and tissue physiology. Nonlinear wave processes - propagation in an excitable medium - provides a quantitatively testable description of mechanisms of premature and full term labour, and a view of changes in uterine electrophysiology during gestation as a trajectory in excitation and intercellular coupling parameter space.

Initial experience with the Ventana fenestrated system for endovascular repair of juxtarenal and pararenal aortic aneurysms.

Objective: Customized fenestrated endovascular stent grafts have been investigated as an alternative to open surgery for repair of more complex juxtarenal aortic aneurysms (JAAs). The substantial time required to design and manufacture these devices has led to the desire for a standardized fenestrated endovascular system. We report the initial pilot study results of a potential "off-the-shelf" fenestrated device system to assess its initial safety and feasibility for endovascular repair of JAAs and pararenal aortic aneurysms (PAAs).

Navigating Latinas with breast screen abnormalities to diagnosis: the Six Cities Study.

BACKGROUND.: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Latinas, chiefly because of later diagnosis. The time from screening to diagnosis is critical to optimizing cancer care, yet the efficacy of navigation in reducing it is insufficiently documented.

Modeling the chronotropic effect of isoprenaline on rabbit sinoatrial node.

Introduction: β-adrenergic stimulation increases the heart rate by accelerating the electrical activity of the pacemaker of the heart, the sinoatrial node (SAN). Ionic mechanisms underlying the actions of β-adrenergic stimulation are not yet fully understood. Isoprenaline (ISO), a β-adrenoceptor agonist, shifts voltage-dependent I(f) activation to more positive potentials resulting in an increase of I(f), which has been suggested to be the main mechanism underlying the effect of β-adrenergic stimulation.

Predicting hollow viscus injury in blunt abdominal trauma with computed tomography.

Background: Evaluation of blunt abdominal trauma is controversial. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen is commonly used but has limitations, especially in excluding hollow viscus injury in the presence of solid organ injury. To determine whether CT reports alone could be used to direct operative treatment in abdominal trauma, this study was undertaken.

Beneficial effects of a combined navigator/promotora approach for Hispanic women diagnosed with breast abnormalities.

Background: Patient navigation (PN) is an emerging strategy to overcome barriers to cancer care. We evaluated the efficacy of PN in improving time of key events in cancer care, including positive screening tests, definitive diagnosis, initiation of therapy, and completion of initial therapy.

Methods: We evaluated PN in a prospective observational study of predominantly poor Hispanic women with an abnormal breast cancer screening or untreated biopsy proven breast cancer (control = 200, intervention = 260).

Hemodynamic analysis for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in the liver based on a CT-image.

In this paper, we apply a 3-D flow model and a 1-D circulation model to the hemodynamic analysis of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), the therapy for treating acute portal hypertension (PH) induced diseases. Using the 3-D model we are able to simulate the blood flow within a patient-specific TIPS system which was reconstructed from a computed tomography image, and quantify such hemodynamic data as the wall shear stress and flow velocity. The 1-D model is used for the investigation of generic TIPS-induced hepatic circulation phenomena.

Antegrade superficial femoral artery versus common femoral artery punctures for infrainguinal occlusive disease.

Purpose: To compare the outcomes of planned superficial femoral artery (SFA) and common femoral artery (CFA) antegrade punctures in patients undergoing endovascular interventions for infrainguinal occlusive arterial disease in a single center.

Materials And Methods: Between August 2010 and July 2011, consecutive patients who underwent antegrade puncture of CFA or SFA for infrainguinal occlusive disease were studied. Data including sheath size, rate of closure device usage, and complications relating to the arterial puncture were classified according to Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) classification and analyzed retrospectively.

Application of micro-computed tomography with iodine staining to cardiac imaging, segmentation, and computational model development.

Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) has been widely used to generate high-resolution 3-D tissue images from small animals nondestructively, especially for mineralized skeletal tissues. However, its application to the analysis of soft cardiovascular tissues has been limited by poor inter-tissue contrast. Recent ex vivo studies have shown that contrast between muscular and connective tissue in micro-CT images can be enhanced by staining with iodine.