An unusual case of meningococcal meningitis complicated with subdural empyema in a 3 month old infant: a case report.

Subdural empyema is an unusual complication of meningococcal meningitis, and in acute cases can be rapidly fatal. We present a case of an 8 week old infant who presented with atypical Neisseria meningitis with bifrontal subdural empyema formation. Through the utilisation of modern polymerise chain reaction tests on cerebrospinal fluid samples, we were able to confirm the diagnosis and institute appropriate treatment.

Characterization of two recessive genes controlling resistance to all races of bacterial spot in peppers.

Bacterial spot, one of the most damaging diseases of pepper, is caused by Xanthomonas euvesicatoria. This pathogen has worldwide distribution and it is particularly devastating in tropical and sub-tropical regions where high temperatures and frequent precipitation provide ideal conditions for disease development. Three dominant resistance genes have been deployed singly and in combination in commercial cultivars, but have been rendered ineffectual by the high mutation rate or deletion of the corresponding cognate effector genes.

A web-based decision support system to enhance IPM programs in Washington tree fruit.

Background: Integrated pest management (IPM) decision-making has become more information intensive in Washington State tree crops in response to changes in pesticide availability, the development of new control tactics (such as mating disruption) and the development of new information on pest and natural enemy biology. The time-sensitive nature of the information means that growers must have constant access to a single source of verified information to guide management decisions.

Results: The authors developed a decision support system for Washington tree fruit growers that integrates environmental data [140 Washington State University (WSU) stations plus weather forecasts from NOAA], model predictions (ten insects, four diseases and a horticultural model), management recommendations triggered by model status and a pesticide database that provides information on non-target impacts on other pests and natural enemies.

Anatomy and landmarks for branches of the brachial plexus: a vade mecum.

Exploration and repair of the brachial plexus and its branches demands a good comprehension of its intricate anatomy. To this end, landmarks for identifying this anatomy may prove useful to the clinician and surgeon. As such, a specific collection is lacking in the literature.

Alternans in genetically modified langendorff-perfused murine hearts modeling catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia.

The relationship between alternans and arrhythmogenicity was studied in genetically modified murine hearts modeling catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) during Langendorff perfusion, before and after treatment with catecholamines and a β-adrenergic antagonist. Heterozygous (RyR2(p/s)) and homozygous (RyR2(s/s)) RyR2-P2328S hearts, and wild-type (WT) controls, were studied before and after treatment with epinephrine (100 nM and 1 μM) and propranolol (100 nM). Monophasic action potential recordings demonstrated significantly greater incidences of arrhythmia in RyR2(p/s) and RyR2(s/s) hearts as compared to WTs.

Identification of triazinoindol-benzimidazolones as nanomolar inhibitors of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis enzyme TDP-6-deoxy-d-xylo-4-hexopyranosid-4-ulose 3,5-epimerase (RmlC).

High-throughput screening of 201,368 compounds revealed that 1-(3-(5-ethyl-5H-[1,2,4]triazino[5,6-b]indol-3-ylthio)propyl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2(3H)-one (SID 7975595) inhibited RmlC a TB cell wall biosynthetic enzyme. SID 7975595 acts as a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme's substrate and inhibits RmlC as a fast-on rate, fully reversible inhibitor. An analog of SID 7975595 had a K(i) of 62nM.

Mobile patient monitoring: the MobiHealth system.

The emergence of high bandwidth public wireless networks and miniaturized personal mobile devices give rise to new mobile healthcare services. To this end, the MobiHealth system provides highly customizable vital signs tele-monitoring and tele-treatment system based on a body area network (BAN) and a mobile health care (m-health) service platform utilizing next generation public wireless networks. The developed system allows the incorporation of diverse medical sensors via wireless connections, and the live transmission of the measured vital signs to healthcare providers as well as real-time feedback to the patient.

Rapid determination of actinides in urine by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and alpha spectrometry: a hybrid approach.

A new rapid separation method that allows separation and preconcentration of actinides in urine samples was developed for the measurement of longer lived actinides by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and short-lived actinides by alpha spectrometry; a hybrid approach. This method uses stacked extraction chromatography cartridges and vacuum box technology to facilitate rapid separations. Preconcentration, if required, is performed using a streamlined calcium phosphate precipitation.

Tree fruit IPM programs in the western United States: the challenge of enhancing biological control through intensive management.

The seminal work of Stern and his coauthors on integrated control has had a profound and long-lasting effect on the development of IPM programs in western orchard systems. Management systems based solely on pesticides have proven to be unstable, and the success of IPM systems in western orchards has been driven by conservation of natural enemies to control secondary pests, combined with pesticides and mating disruption to suppress the key lepidopteran pests. However, the legislatively mandated changes in pesticide use patterns prompted by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 have resulted in an increased instability of pest populations in orchards because of natural enemy destruction.

PIN-G reporter for imaging and defining trafficking signals in membrane proteins.

The identification of motifs that control the intracellular trafficking of proteins is a fundamental objective of cell biology. Once identified, such regions should, in principle, be both necessary and sufficient to direct any randomly distributed protein, acting as a reporter, to the subcellular compartment in question. However, most reporter proteins have limited versatility owing to their endogenous expression and limited modes of detection--especially in live cells.

Assessing capacity and obtaining consent for thrombolysis for acute stroke.

When offering treatment to a patient with capacity they should be informed of the risks and benefits of therapy and consent should be obtained. For patients without capacity, treatment is given in their 'best interests'. Achieving and assessing capacity to consent for treatment in the presence of acute illness can be difficult and especially so in patients suffering with acute stroke.

Together we'll take America back.

In this excepted speech, Jones asserts that politics was realigned last year, and it was inspiring. It also was the first step in a movement. Now the struggle goes from the ballot box to the work place to devise an economy to help both people and the planet.

Impaired cell proliferation in the subventricular zone in an Alzheimer's disease model.

In mammalian central nervous system, neurogenesis occurs in the hippocampus and the subventricular zone (SVZ). We used triple transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (3 x Tg-AD) harbouring three mutant genes (beta-amyloid precursor, presenilin-1 and tau) and their controls (non-Tg) from 2 to 12 months of age to establish the link between AD and SVZ neurogenesis. We determined the number of SVZ proliferating cells by the presence of phosphorylated histone H3, and their colocalization with glial fibrillary acidic protein to exclude glial phenotype.

Malignant fungating wounds: an analysis of the lived experience.

Objective: The current understanding of living with a malignant fungating wound is derived from professionals' rather than the patient's perspective. An appreciation of the lived experience may assist in the development of more empathetic support approaches. This paper reports upon a study that aimed to illuminate the meaning and experience of living with a malignant fungating wound.

Requirement for Twist1 in frontonasal and skull vault development in the mouse embryo.

Using a Cre-mediated conditional deletion approach, we have dissected the function of Twist1 in the morphogenesis of the craniofacial skeleton. Loss of Twist1 in neural crest cells and their derivatives impairs skeletogenic differentiation and leads to the loss of bones of the snout, upper face and skull vault. While no anatomically recognizable maxilla is formed, a malformed mandible is present.

Discovery, synthesis, and biological evaluation of piperidinol analogs with anti-tuberculosis activity.

Direct anti-tuberculosis screening of commercially available compound libraries identified a novel piperidinol with interesting anti-tuberculosis activity and drug like characteristics. To generate a structure activity relationship about this hit a 22 member optimization library was generated using parallel synthesis. Products of this library 1-((R)-3-(4-chlorophenoxy)-2-hydroxypropyl)-4-(4-chloro-3-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl)piperidin-4-ol and 1-((S)-3-(4-(trifluoromethyl) phenoxy)-2-hydroxypropyl)-4-(4-chloro-3-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl) piperidin-4-ol demonstrated good anti-tuberculosis activity.

A lentivirally delivered photoactivatable GFP to assess continuity in the endoplasmic reticulum of neurones and glia.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the largest intracellular membranous organelle. Functions of the ER are many and diverse, which include various biosynthetic, transport and signalling roles, central to cellular physiology, such as the biosynthesis of membrane and secretory proteins and the regulation of intracellular calcium. Its continuous lumen also serves as a highway for the distribution of proteins and ions to different regions of the cell, independent of the cytosol.

Pulmonary resection after concurrent chemotherapy and high dose (60Gy) radiation for non-small cell lung cancer is safe and may provide increased survival.

Background: We have used doses of 60Gy or higher for neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for select patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including patients with N2 disease and those with Pancoast lesions, to avoid gaps in radiotherapy in case surgery is ultimately not offered.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study using a prospective database. Patients underwent initial staging with CT, PET/CT and lymph node biopsy (mediastinoscopy, endoscopic esophageal ultrasound and endobronchial ultrasound) and then received neoadjuvant high dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy, followed by thoracotomy with intent to cure.

Reverse portal flow after liver transplantation--ominous or acceptable?

Reversal of portal flow or hepatofugal flow after liver transplantation is a rare complication after liver transplantation. The available reports in the literature suggest that it is an ominous condition that requires immediate operative intervention, failing which prognosis would be grim. We report two children from two different centers who developed hepatofugal flow in the immediate post-operative period after liver transplantation.

A Glimpse into Urban Middle Schools on Probation for "Persistently Dangerous" Status: Identifying Malleable Predictors of Fighting.

The No Child Left Behind Act requires state boards of education to identify schools that are unsafe. Schools that are identified by measures such as suspension and expulsion rates are subsequently labeled "persistently dangerous." To our knowledge there is no published research that attempts to characterize fighting behavior among youth who may attend schools designated as "persistently dangerous.

Impact of minimally invasive surgery on the pediatric surgical profession.

We conducted a survey among pediatric surgeons to examine the impact of the advent of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) on the pediatric surgical profession with respect to job satisfaction and training challenges. An invitation to participate in a web-based questionnaire was sent out to 306 pediatric surgeons. Apart from demographic details and training recommendations, parameters relevant to job satisfaction, including patient interaction, peer pressure, ethical considerations, academic progress, ability to train residents, and financial remuneration, were studied.

Dietary pattern influences breast cancer prognosis in women without hot flashes: the women's healthy eating and living trial.

Purpose: To determine whether a low-fat diet high in vegetables, fruit, and fiber differentially affects prognosis in breast cancer survivors with hot flashes (HF) or without HF after treatment.

Patients And Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted on 2,967 breast cancer survivors, age 18 to 70 years, who were randomly assigned between 1995 and 2000 in a multicenter, controlled trial of a dietary intervention to prevent additional breast cancer events and observed through June 1, 2006. We compared the dietary intervention group with a group who received five-a-day dietary guidelines.

Development of a microtitre plate-based assay for lipid-linked glycosyltransferase products using the mycobacterial cell wall rhamnosyltransferase WbbL.

In Mycobacterium tuberculosis a rhamnosyltransferase (WbbL) catalyses the transfer of an alpha-L-Rhap residue from dTDP-L-rhamnose (dTDP-Rha) to decaprenyldiphosphoryl-alpha-D-N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc-P-P-DP) to form alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->3)-alpha-D-GlcNAc-P-P-DP, which is then further elongated with Galf and Araf units, and finally mycolylated and attached to the peptidoglycan. This enzyme is essential for M. tuberculosis viability and at the same time absent in eukaryotic cells, and is therefore a good target for the development of new antituberculosis therapeutics.