Comparing downstream consequences of normal exercise stress echocardiograms and cardiac computed tomography angiography scans in patients suspected of having of obstructive coronary artery disease: a retrospective cohort study of Tricare beneficiaries.

To compare overall number of downstream tests and total costs between negative exercise stress echocardiograms (ESE) or cardiac computed tomography angiography scans (CCTA) in symptomatic Tricare beneficiaries suspected of having coronary artery disease (CAD). This is a retrospective cohort study examining 651 propensity-matched patients who underwent ESE or CCTA with normal results between 2008 and 2014 at the United States' largest Department of Defense hospital. The total number of additional downstream tests over the next five years was determined.

Reporting the Presence of Coronary Artery Calcium in the Final Impression of Non-gated CT Chest Scans Increases the Appropriate Utilization of Statins.

Background Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring based on gated non-contrast cardiac computed tomography (CT) is a validated risk marker of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Reporting of CAC on non-gated CT chest (NGCT) scans and the impact on medical therapy is not well studied. Methods A retrospective cohort of 5,043 NGCT scans was reviewed for the presence of CAC.

Incidence and Implication of Coronary Artery Calcium on Non-gated Chest Computed Tomography Scans: A Large Observational Cohort.

Introduction  Coronary artery calcification (CAC) scoring is typically performed utilizing non-contrast, electrocardiogram- (ECG) gated CT and offers an estimation of cardiovascular (CV) prognosis and risk stratification beyond previously established cardiac risk factors. Coronary calcification can also be assessed during non-gated chest CT, which is significant given the recent recommendations for lung cancer screening by low-dose CT. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 4,953 non-contrast chest CT scans in a single, closed referral tertiary military treatment facility over an 18-month period.

Split-Night Polysomnography Overestimates Apnea-Hypopnea Index in High-Risk Professions.

Introduction: According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) guidelines, split-night polysomnography (SN-PSG) is an acceptable alternative to full-night PSG (FN-PSG) and may be considered in patients with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥20/hr within the first 2 hours of the study. While SN-PSGs are an accurate approximation of moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), there remains the potential to misclassify the severity of sleep disordered breathing. Risks associated with the misclassification of OSA severity may be significant in high-risk professions such as active duty service members (ADSMs).

Cerium(IV) fluoride and fluoride-arsenate frameworks.

Five new cerium (IV) fluoride and fluoride-arsenate framework structures have been synthesised hydrothermally using CeF(4) as a fluoride source. Cs[Ce(2)F(8)[F.H(2)O]] (I) consists of layers, formed from linked Ce(F,O)(n) polyhedra cross-linked by hydrogen bonding that defines large channels containing the caesium ions.

Controlling dimensionality in templated layer, chain and framework structures by combining metal fluorides with oxotetrahedra.

The use of metal fluorides in hydrothermal reactions with linking phosphate and arsenate groups leads to the synthesis of numerous, frequently non-centrosymmetric, structures of controlled dimensionality.

Caffeine suppresses metastasis in a transgenic mouse model: a prototype molecule for prophylaxis of metastasis.

A significant fraction of cancer patients have occult disseminated tumors at the time of primary diagnosis, which usually progress to become clinically relevant lesions. Since the majority of cancer mortality is associated with metastatic disease, the ability to inhibit the growth of the secondary tumors would significantly reduce cancer-related morbidity and mortality. We have investigated whether caffeine, which has been shown to suppress tumor cell invasiveness and experimental metastasis, can suppress metastasis in a spontaneous transgene-induced mammary tumor model.

Modifiers of mammary tumor progression and metastasis on mouse chromosomes 7, 9, and 17.

Tumor progression, the growth and dissemination of primary tumor to secondary sites, is of critical clinical importance since the vast majority of patients succumb to metastatic disease rather than to the primary tumor. Many factors are likely to influence this process, including the primary oncogenic events, environmental exposures and stress and progressive stochastic mutations. Previously, our laboratory demonstrated that an additional factor, the genetic background on which tumors arose, had a significant effect on metastatic efficiency.

A bioinformatics-based strategy identifies c-Myc and Cdc25A as candidates for the Apmt mammary tumor latency modifiers.

The epistatically interacting modifier loci (Apmt1 and Apmt2) accelerate the polyoma Middle-T (PyVT)-induced mammary tumor. To identify potential candidate genes loci, a combined bioinformatics and genomics strategy was used. On the basis of the assumption that the loci were functioning in the same or intersecting pathways, a search of the literature databases was performed to identify molecular pathways containing genes from both candidate intervals.