Comparison of gastrointestinal morbidity after Norwood and hybrid palliation for complex heart defects.

This study aimed to compare the incidence of gastrointestinal complications among infants with single-ventricle heart defects after three first-stage palliation strategies: Norwood-modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (mBTS), Norwood right ventricle-to-pulmonary artery conduit (Sano), and hybrid procedures. A retrospective chart review was performed in a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit at a tertiary care medical center. The subjects were 32 neonates who had undergone single-ventricle palliation including 13 Norwood-mBTS, 11 Sano, and 8 hybrid procedures.

Subclavian pseudoaneurysm repair after Blalock-Taussig shunt placement.

A 7-day-old male with tricuspid atresia, pulmonary atresia, and D-transposition of the great vessels underwent surgical placement of a modified Blalock-Taussig (mBT) shunt and was found to have a pseudoaneurysm on the follow-up echocardiogram. Surgical exploration identified a pseudoaneurysm arising from the right subclavian artery and not from the innominate artery at the site of the mBT shunt. It was concluded that this was caused by an inadvertent needlestick during central line placement.

Longitudinal variability in streamwater chemistry and carbon and nitrogen fluxes in restored and degraded urban stream networks.

Stream restoration has increasingly been used as a best management practice for improving water quality in urbanizing watersheds, yet few data exist to assess restoration effectiveness. This study examined the longitudinal patterns in carbon and nitrogen concentrations and mass balance in two restored (Minebank Run and Spring Branch) and two unrestored (Powder Mill Run and Dead Run) stream networks in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Longitudinal synoptic sampling showed that there was considerable reach-scale variability in biogeochemistry (e.

Real-time imaging of tumor progression in a fluorescent orthotopic mouse model of thyroid cancer.

There is a need for a clinically relevant mouse model of thyroid cancer that enables real-time, non-invasive monitoring of tumor growth, progression, and drug response over time. Human thyroid cancer cell lines NPA (papillary) and KAK-1 (anaplastic) were stably transfected to express either red or green fluorescent protein. Cancer cells were injected into the thyroid glands of 8-week-old athymic mice.

Urban ecological systems: scientific foundations and a decade of progress.

Urban ecological studies, including focus on cities, suburbs, and exurbs, while having deep roots in the early to mid 20th century, have burgeoned in the last several decades. We use the state factor approach to highlight the role of important aspects of climate, substrate, organisms, relief, and time in differentiating urban from non-urban areas, and for determining heterogeneity within spatially extensive metropolitan areas. In addition to reviewing key findings relevant to each state factor, we note the emergence of tentative "urban syndromes" concerning soils, streams, wildlife and plants, and homogenization of certain ecosystem functions, such as soil organic carbon dynamics.

Nicotine and periodontal tissues.

Tobacco use has been recognized to be a significant risk factor for the development and progression of periodontal disease. Its use is associated with increased pocket depths, loss of periodontal attachment, alveolar bone and a higher rate of tooth loss. Nicotine, a major component and most pharmacologically active agent in tobacco is likely to be a significant contributing factor for the exacerbation of periodontal diseases.

Fesoterodine for overactive bladder: A review of the literature.

Background: Overactive bladder (OAB) is a chronic condition affecting both men and women, with prevalence increasing with age. Antimuscarinics form the cornerstone of treatment of OAB. Fesoterodine, a nonselective muscarinic-receptor antagonist, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in late 2008 for once daily, oral administration in the treatment of OAB to relieve the symptoms of urinary urge incontinence, urgency, and frequency.

Thymic neuroendocrine tumour (carcinoid): clinicopathological features of four patients with different presentation.

Thymic carcinoids are aggressive and present at an advanced stage. This article describes the utility of (68)Gallium-1,4,7,10-traazacyclododecane-NI, NII, NIII, NIIII-tetra acetic acid-(D)-Phel1-Tyr3-octreotide positron emission tomography ((68)Ga DOTATOC PET-CT-scan) and clinicopathological features of four thymic carcinoid tumours. Two typical, one atypical, and one large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) were analysed.

A comparison of two algorithms for automated stone detection in clinical B-mode ultrasound images of the abdomen.

Ultrasound (US) imaging is an indispensible technique for detection of abdominal stones which are a serious health hazard. Segmentation of stones from abdominal ultrasound images presents a unique challenge because these images contain strong speckle noise and attenuated artifacts. In clinical situations where a large number of stones must be identified, traditional methods such as manual identification become tedious and lack reproducibility too.

Therapeutic potential of valproic acid for retinitis pigmentosa.

Background/aim: To examine the efficacy and safety of valproic acid (VPA) in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

Methods: Thirteen eyes were examined before and after brief treatment (average 4 months) with VPA. Visual fields (VF) for each eye were defined using digitised Goldmann Kinetic Perimetry tracings.

Metronomic gemcitabine in combination with sunitinib inhibits multisite metastasis and increases survival in an orthotopic model of pancreatic cancer.

Metronomic chemotherapy suppresses growth of primary tumors and established metastases. However, its effect on metastatic progression is essentially unknown. We report the treatment of a metastatically competent model of pancreatic cancer with metronomic gemcitabine and sunitinib.

Pseudopodium-enriched atypical kinase 1 regulates the cytoskeleton and cancer progression [corrected].

Regulation of the actin-myosin cytoskeleton plays a central role in cell migration and cancer progression. Here, we report the discovery of a cytoskeleton-associated kinase, pseudopodium-enriched atypical kinase 1 (PEAK1). PEAK1 is a 190-kDa nonreceptor tyrosine kinase that localizes to actin filaments and focal adhesions.

Fluorescence laparoscopy imaging of pancreatic tumor progression in an orthotopic mouse model.

Background: The use of fluorescent proteins to label tumors is revolutionizing cancer research, enabling imaging of both primary and metastatic lesions, which is important for diagnosis, staging, and therapy. This report describes the use of fluorescence laparoscopy to image green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing tumors in an orthotopic mouse model of human pancreatic cancer.

Methods: The orthotopic mouse model of human pancreatic cancer was established by injecting GFP-expressing MiaPaCa-2 human pancreatic cancer cells into the pancreas of 6-week-old female athymic mice.

Fine needle aspiration cytology of medullary carcinoma of the thyroid with a focus on rare variants: a review of 78 cases.

Background: The cytological features of variants of medullary carcinoma of the thyroid (MCT) are sparsely documented in the literature from case reports. Detailed cytomorphological analysis of MCT variants and features helping to distinguish them from usual MCT are presented here.

Materials And Methods: A total of 78 aspirates with a diagnosis of MCT over a period of 10 years were re-evaluated.

Rapamycin reduces intrahepatic alpha-1-antitrypsin mutant Z protein polymers and liver injury in a mouse model.

Alpha-1-antitrypsin (a1AT) deficiency is caused by homozygosity for the a1AT mutant Z gene and occurs in one in 2000 Americans. The Z mutation confers an abnormal conformation on the a1AT mutant Z protein, resulting in accumulation within the endoplasmic reticulum of hepatocytes and chronic liver injury. Autophagy is one of several proteolytic mechanisms activated to cope with this hepatocellular protein burden, and is likely important in disposal of the unique polymerized conformation of the a1AT mutant Z protein, which is thought to be especially injurious to the cell.

Efficacy and safety of pegylated IFN alfa 2b alone or in combination with ribavirin in thalassemia major with chronic hepatitis C.

Background: Treatment of HCV infection in patients with thalassemia major (TM) is limited by the lack of large clinical trials and concerns about ribavirin-induced hemolysis.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, randomized, open-label study to determine efficacy and tolerability of pegylated-interferon alfa 2b (1.5 microg/kg/week) alone (group A) or with ribavirin (12-15 mg/kg/day; group B) in patients with TM and chronic HCV infection.

Pattern of cutaneous manifestations in diabetes mellitus.

Background: Diabetes mellitus affects individuals of all ages and socioeconomic status. Skin is affected by the acute metabolic derangements as well as by chronic degenerative complications of diabetes.

Aims: To evaluate the prevalence of skin manifestations in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Midterm outcomes in supravalvular aortic stenosis demonstrate the superiority of multisinus aortoplasty.

Background: Surgical techniques for repair of supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS) include McGoon's one-patch, Doty's two-patch, and Brom's three-patch method. In this review we evaluated mid-term clinical outcomes of these techniques at our institution.

Methods: Our cardiac surgery database identified patients with SVAS repair from 1990 to 2008.

Nitrogen dynamics at the groundwater-surface water interface of a degraded urban stream.

Few studies have quantified the impact of urbanization on the biogeochemistry of streams at the groundwater-surface water interface, a zone that may be critical for managing nitrogen transformations. We investigated the groundwater ecosystem of Minebank Run, a geomorphically degraded urban stream near Baltimore, Maryland in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Our objectives were to identify the spatial and temporal extent of chemical, microbial, and hydrological factors known to influence denitrification, a microbial process that removes nitrate nitrogen (NO(3)(-)).

Half-antibody functionalized lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery to carcinoembryonic antigen presenting pancreatic cancer cells.

Current chemotherapy regimens against pancreatic cancer are met with little success as poor tumor vascularization significantly limits the delivery of oncological drugs. High-dose targeted drug delivery, through which a drug delivery vehicle releases a large payload upon tumor localization, is thus a promising alternative strategy against this lethal disease. Herein, we synthesize anti-carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) half-antibody conjugated lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles and characterize their ligand conjugation yields, physicochemical properties, and targeting ability against pancreatic cancer cells.

Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection: results of surgical repair of 100 patients at a single institution.

Objective: Surgical repair of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection is associated with significant mortality and morbidity, especially in patients with single-ventricle physiology. This study analyzes total anomalous pulmonary venous connection surgical repair results at one institution to identify trends and indicators of positive outcome.

Methods: Our cardiac surgery database identified 100 patients undergoing surgical repair of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (1990-2008): supracardiac (52), cardiac (15), infracardiac (23), and mixed (10).