Surfactant- and Aqueous-Foam-Driven Oil Extraction from Micropatterned Surfaces.

Liquid-infused surfaces are rough or patterned surfaces in which a lubricating fluid, such as oil, is infused, which exhibits various original properties (omniphobicity, biofouling, drag reduction). An outer flow in a confined geometry can entrain the oil trapped between the pattern of the surfaces by shearing the oil-water interface and cause the loss of the omniphobic properties of the interface. Starting from the theoretical analysis of Wexler et al.

Phase 2 clinical trial of sunitinib as adjunctive treatment in patients with advanced differentiated thyroid cancer.

Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of sunitinib following at least one course of radioactive iodine treatment in patients with advanced differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). The study endpoints included best response rate (including best objective response rate) and progression-free survival (PFS) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1, measurement of serum thyroglobulin (Tg), and toxicity evaluation.

Robust liquid-infused surfaces through patterned wettability.

Liquid-infused surfaces display advantageous properties that are normally associated with conventional gas-cushioned superhydrophobic surfaces. However, the surfaces can lose their novel properties if the infused liquid drains from the surface. We explore how drainage due to gravity or due to an external flow can be prevented through the use of chemical patterning.

Shear-driven failure of liquid-infused surfaces.

Rough or patterned surfaces infused with a lubricating liquid display many of the same useful properties as conventional gas-cushioned superhydrophobic surfaces. However, liquid-infused surfaces exhibit a new failure mode: the infused liquid film may drain due to an external shear flow, causing the surface to lose its advantageous properties. We examine shear-driven drainage of liquid-infused surfaces with the goal of understanding and thereby mitigating this failure mode.

Microfluidic in situ mechanical testing of photopolymerized gels.

Gels are a functional template for micro-particle fabrication and microbiology experiments. The control and knowledge of their mechanical properties is critical in a number of applications, but no simple in situ method exists to determine these properties. We propose a novel microfluidic based method that directly measures the mechanical properties of the gel upon its fabrication.

Current treatment modalities for spinal metastases secondary to thyroid carcinoma.

Background: The spine is the most common site of bone metastases due to thyroid cancer, which develop in more than 3% of patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer. Nearly half of patients with bone metastases from thyroid cancer develop vertebral metastases. Spinal metastases are associated with significantly reduced quality of life due to pain, neurological deficit, and increased mortality.

Capillary bridges between soft substrates.

A wetting droplet trapped in the thin gap between two elastic bodies will deflect the bodies towards one another. The deformation increases the total capillary adhesion force by increasing the contact radius and narrowing the gap height. For flat droplets, with a large ratio of radius to gap height, the Laplace pressure causes surface deformations that are orders of magnitude larger than those induced by a sessile droplet of the same radius.

Does lemon juice increase radioiodine reaccumulation within the parotid glands more than if lemon juice is not administered?

Objective: The protective effect of sialagogues following I therapy became controversial after a study proposed that sialagogues increase the reaccumulation of I in the parotid glands (PGs) to a level higher than when sialagogues are not administered ('rebound effect'). The present study examined PG radiopharmacokinetics within 2-4 h after radioiodine administration to evaluate whether sialagogues cause a 'rebound effect'.

Patients And Methods: This prospective study was conducted at the Medstar Washington Hospital Center.

Microfluidic ultralow interfacial tensiometry with magnetic particles.

We describe a technique that measures ultralow interfacial tensions using paramagnetic spheres in a co-flow microfluidic device designed with a magnetic section. Our method involves tuning the distance between the co-flowing interface and the magnet's center, and observing the behavior of the spheres as they approach the liquid-liquid interface-the particles either pass through or are trapped by the interface. Using threshold values of the magnet-to-interface distance, we make estimates of the two-fluid interfacial tension.

Radiation safety in the treatment of patients with thyroid diseases by radioiodine 131I : practice recommendations of the American Thyroid Association.

Background: Radiation safety is an essential component in the treatment of patients with thyroid diseases by ¹³¹I. The American Thyroid Association created a task force to develop recommendations that would inform medical professionals about attainment of radiation safety for patients, family members, and the public. The task force was constituted so as to obtain advice, experience, and methods from relevant medical specialties and disciplines.

Radiopharmacokinetics of radioiodine in the parotid glands after the administration of lemon juice.

Background: The ability of sialagogues to increase or decrease radiation induced-sialoadenitis and/or xerostomia after therapeutic administration of ¹³¹I is controversial. To evaluate this we measured the radiopharmacokinetics of ¹²³I in the parotid glands (PGs) after its administration of lemon juice (LJ).

Methods: A retrospective review was performed on all patients who had a salivary gland scan performed before ¹³¹I therapy between July 2008 and April 2009 at the Washington Hospital Center.

Graves' disease and thymic hyperplasia: the relationship of thymic volume to thyroid function.

Background: Thymic hyperplasia is associated with Graves' disease, particularly in young patients. The degree of thymic transformation is minimal in most but not all patients. In the latter group radiological measurements of thyroid size and their change with treatment have rarely been reported.

Computer-based screening of chest X-rays for vertebral compression fractures as an osteoporosis index in men.

We evaluated the recognition of osteoporosis in the veteran male population through a computer-based review of chest X-ray (CXR) reports in the Veterans Affairs Northern California Health Care System database, looking for unrecognized vertebral fractures. All CXR reports between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2001, were scanned for the terms "compression" or "wedg (where the "" indicates a wild card search encompassing such terms as "wedge" or "wedging")". During this time, 26,994 CXR examinations were performed on 18,069 patients.

Cardiovascular and mortality risk prediction and stratification using urinary albumin excretion in older adults ages 68-102: the Cardiovascular Health Study.

Background: Elevated urinary albumin excretion (UAE) is associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality. We tested the hypothesis that elevated UAE improves cardiovascular risk stratification in an elderly cohort aged 68-102 years.

Methods: We evaluated UAE in 3112 participants of the Cardiovascular Health Study who attended the 1996-1997 examination and had median follow up of 5.

Thyroid and bone.

This article provides a summary of the numerous interactions between the thyroid gland and the skeleton, in the normal state, in disorders of thyroid function and as a result of thyroid malignancy. It recaps the current understanding of bone growth and development in the endochondral growth plate and the normal mechanisms of mature bone remodeling. The actions of thyroid hormones on these processes are described, and the clinical impact of thyroid disorders and their treatments on the bone are summarized.

The stumble-from pipe cleaner to bone builder.

Objective: To review the history of the transition of bisphosphonate use from bench chemistry to clinical applications.

Methods: Pertinent medical literature, including limited-distribution as well as peer-reviewed publications, was reviewed.

Results: Bisphosphonates were originally developed to interfere with calcium deposition.

A randomized phase II trial of the matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor BMS-275291 in hormone-refractory prostate cancer patients with bone metastases.

Background: BMS-275291 is a selective matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor (MMPI) that does not inhibit sheddases implicated in the dose-limiting arthritis of older MMPIs. We conducted a randomized phase II trial of two doses of BMS-275291 (1,200 versus 2,400 mg) in hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) patients with bone metastases to probe for a dose-response relationship and to assess differential toxicities. Serial serum and urine specimens were collected to assess for markers of bone metabolism.

The association of microalbuminuria with clinical cardiovascular disease and subclinical atherosclerosis in the elderly: the Cardiovascular Health Study.

Purpose: Microalbuminuria (MA) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is not known whether this association is due to the effect of MA on the development of subclinical atherosclerosis or whether MA destabilizes subclinical atherosclerosis, leading to clinical events.

Methods: In a cross-sectional analysis we evaluated 3312 Cardiovascular Health Study participants, age >or=65 years, who had MA testing.

Use of GC clamps in DHPLC mutation scanning.

Objective: Development of a systematic mutation detection assay strategy for denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC).

Design: Adaptation of Guanine and Cytosine (GC)-clamping from denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) to DHPLC.

Methods: Three target sequences harboring known allelic variants were studied to develop a general DHPLC assay design strategy.

Simultaneous symptomatic Rathke's cleft cyst and GH secreting pituitary adenoma: a case report.

A case of symptomatic Rathke's cleft cyst and growth hormone (GH) secreting pituitary adenoma is described. A patient presented with a visual field deficit and a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study demonstrated compression of the optic chiasm by a large suprasellar cyst and a small lesion in the sellar consistent with a microadenoma. Preoperative clinical evaluation revealed mild acromegalic features, glucose intolerance, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and carpel tunnel syndrome, and blood testing confirmed an elevated insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1).