DNA methylation signatures of duplicate gene evolution in angiosperms.

Gene duplication is a source of evolutionary novelty. DNA methylation may play a role in the evolution of duplicate genes (paralogs) through its association with gene expression. While this relationship has been examined to varying extents in a few individual species, the generalizability of these results at either a broad phylogenetic scale with species of differing duplication histories or across a population remains unknown.

Resource Utilization and Emergency Medicine Advisors' Approach to Video Interview Preparation.

Introduction The Standardized Video Interview (SVI) was a residency application component introduced by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) as a supplement to the existing process, which aimed to measure knowledge of professional behaviors and interpersonal skills. Given its novelty in both aim and execution, little advice or experience was available to inform preparation strategies. We sought to perform a cross-sectional analysis to explore advisors' practices in guiding students' preparation for the SVI.

Training for Failure: A Simulation Program for Emergency Medicine Residents to Improve Communication Skills in Service Recovery.

Objectives: Service failures such as long waits, testing delays, and medical errors are daily occurrences in every emergency department (ED). Service recovery refers to the immediate response of an organization or individual to resolve these failures. Effective service recovery can improve the experience of both the patient and the physician.

Elevated platelet P-selectin expression and platelet activation in high risk patients with uncontrolled severe hypertension.

Background: Uncontrolled severe hypertension is associated with alarming rates of cardiovascular events but the mechanisms of vascular injury are not well understood. Recent investigative interest has focused on platelet activation and platelet P-selectin (CD62P) as direct mediators of vascular inflammation and injury. We investigated the association of extreme blood pressure (BP) elevation with platelet P-selectin and fibrinolytic markers in high risk patients with severe hypertension.

Analysis of postural stability in collegiate soccer players before and after an acute bout of heading multiple soccer balls.

The aim of our study was to determine if any immediate changes in balance were discernable in college soccer players after a specially designed heading session. Eight male and two female skilled collegiate soccer players had a baseline balance pre-test using the Balance Master, followed by heading 20 balls kicked consecutively by a teammate from the touchline to a point near the goal, which was followed by a post-test using the same testing technique. Paired t-tests were used to compare balance ability between pre- and post-test conditions.

Detection of genomic polymorphisms associated with venous thrombosis using the invader biplex assay.

A multi-site study to assess the accuracy and performance of the biplex Invader assay for genotyping five polymorphisms implicated in venous thrombosis was carried out in seven laboratories. Genotyping results obtained using the Invader biplex assay were compared to those obtained from a reference method, either allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR), restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) or PCR-mass spectrometry. Results were compared for five loci associated with venous thrombosis: Factor V Leiden, Factor II (prothrombin) G20210A, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T and A1298C, and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) 4G/5G.

Early injection of high-dose recombinant factor VIIa decreases blood loss and prolongs time from injury to death in experimental liver injury.

Background: Recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa) is used for treatment of bleeding episodes in hemophilia patients who develop inhibitors to factors VIII and IX. We tested the hypothesis that administration of rFVIIa early after injury would decrease bleeding and prolong the time from injury to death after experimental hepatic trauma.

Methods: Anesthetized swine were cannulated for blood sampling and hemodynamic monitoring.

Effects of severe, uncontrolled hypertension on endothelial activation: soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and von Willebrand factor.

Objectives: The molecular mechanisms whereby severe, uncontrolled hypertension (SHT) is translated into acute vascular target organ dysfunction have not been completely defined. We sought to determine whether SHT is associated with pressure-dependent endothelial activation as assessed by soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and von Willebrand Factor (vWF).

Methods: We determined sVCAM-1, sICAM-1 and vWF in three groups: (i) untreated patients referred specifically for treatment of SHT [diastolic blood pressure (DBP) > or = 120 mm Hg; n = 24]; (ii) untreated patients with established mild hypertension (MHT; DBP 95-100 mmHg; n = 19); and (iii) normotensive volunteers (DBP < or = 90; n = 16).

Treatment of von Willebrand disease with a high-purity factor VIII/von Willebrand factor concentrate: a prospective, multicenter study.

Among patients with von Willebrand disease (VWD) who are unresponsive to desmopressin therapy, replacement with plasma-derived concentrates is the treatment of choice. Because prospective studies are lacking, such treatment has been largely empirical. A multicenter, prospective study has been conducted in 81 patients with VWD (15 patients with type 1, 34 with type 2, and 32 with type 3 disease) to investigate the efficacy of a high-purity factor VIII/von Willebrand factor (FVIII/VWF) concentrate for treatment of bleeding and surgical prophylaxis.

A multi-site study for detection of the factor V (Leiden) mutation from genomic DNA using a homogeneous invader microtiter plate fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay.

The goal of this multicenter study was to evaluate the second-generation Invader technology for detecting the factor V (Leiden) mutation directly from genomic DNA of different sample types. Invader assay results were compared with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) or allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) analysis. The Invader assay is a PCR-independent methodology that uses a microtiter plate format.

Efficacy of danazol in a patient with congenital protein-S deficiency: paradoxical evidence for decreased platelet activation with increased thrombin generation.

Danazol, a synthetic attenuated anabolic steroid, has been administered for 36 months to a 32 year old male with hereditary Protein S (PS) deficiency who had become non-compliant for warfarin therapy. The patient has an eleven year history of venous thrombosis. Since danazol therapy was initiated, the patient has not experienced a thrombotic event or adverse side-effects.

Rapid removal of platelets from plasma utilizing the Hepcheck heparin removal filter.

We investigated whether Hepcheck heparin removal filters could remove residual platelets from platelet-poor plasma (PPP) without compromising samples for lupus anticoagulant (LA) testing. Furthermore we assessed what effect, if any, plasma filtration has on various clotting tests that form the foundation for LA testing. Citrated blood was obtained from 35 normal donors.

Familial infantile thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Purpose: To further define familial infantile thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and clarify its pathophysiology, we describe a family with two infants presenting with this rare syndrome.

Results: Complete, but temporary remission followed the transfusion of whole blood in the first sibling and fresh frozen plasma (FFP) in the second. Periodic FFP transfusions have kept the surviving proband in a prolonged clinical remission.

Chemotherapy-induced hemolytic uremic syndrome: description of a potential animal model.

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is an uncommon complication of chemotherapy that contributes to the morbidity of oncology and bone marrow transplant patients. The pathogenesis is not well understood and no established clinical animal model exists. We studied four rhesus monkeys (RM) that developed fatal HUS following high-dose chemotherapy.

Homozygous protein S deficiency due to a one base pair deletion that leads to a stop codon in exon III of the protein S gene.

Homozygous protein S (PS) deficiency is a very rare disorder that causes purpura fulminans in affected newborns. This report describes the molecular genetic abnormality of a severe PS deficient child who developed purpura fulminans shortly after birth. The mutation was identified as a deletion of one adenine in codon 43 of exon III of the PROS 1 gene.

In vivo viability studies of two additive solutions in the postthaw preservation of red cells held for 3 weeks at 4 degrees C.

An optimized additive solution was developed for the postthaw preservation of red cells that contained adenine, glucose, disodium phosphate, and citrate buffer. This solution, called AS-17, was compared to AS-3 solution in a clinical trial using 40 subjects (20 in each arm). Fresh-frozen red cells were thawed and deglycerolized after 1 to 18 months and subjected to a second period of storage in either solution for up to 3 weeks at refrigerator temperatures.

New variant of von Willebrand disease type II with markedly increased levels of von Willebrand factor antigen and dominant mode of inheritance: von Willebrand disease type IIC Miami.

A variant of von Willebrand disease (vWD) was identified in six members of a kindred spanning four generations. The proband was a 46-year-old woman with a lifelong history of bleeding, a prolonged bleeding time (> 15 minutes), markedly elevated von Willebrand factor (vWF) antigen (vWF:Ag = 2.09 U/mL), slightly reduced ristocetin cofactor activity, and a plasma vWF multimer pattern similar to that of vWD type IIC.

Evaluation of methemoglobin formation during the storage of various hemoglobin solutions.

Many researchers are trying to develop a blood substitute based on chemically modified human hemoglobin. In the process of making such solutions, we were faced with the problem of determining the best storage conditions to minimize oxidation of the solutions between the time of manufacture and use. Samples of stroma-free hemoglobin, purified A0 hemoglobin, and various cross-linked hemoglobins were stored for 8-12 months at +4 degrees C -20 degrees C, and -80 degrees C and were analyzed periodically for formation of methemoglobin (MetHb).

A comparative study of three methods for the visualization of von Willebrand factor (vWF) multimers.

This study was performed to compare three visualization methods for the detection of vWF multimers: autoradiography (125I), electroblot with a horseradish peroxidase system (BLOT-HRP), and an avidin-biotin peroxidase system (AV-BIO). Each method was evaluated according to: 1) ability to visually detect bands and subbands thereby identifying von Willebrand's disease (vWD) subtypes and normals, 2) reagent availability, 3) cost, and 4) time requirements. Additionally, resolvability was evaluated utilizing low, intermediate, and high resolution gels prepared with both low and high gelling temperature agaroses with subsequent visualization by the three detecting systems.

Effects of hypertonic saline (7.5%)/dextran 70 on human red cell typing, lysis, and metabolism in vitro.

The introduction of a 7.5% hypertonic saline/6% dextran 70 (HSD) solution into clinical trials for the treatment of hypovolemic states, and the past concerns regarding the possible interference of dextran with blood serology, prompted us to investigate the effects of HSD on human red-cell typing and stability. HSD was evaluated with fresh and 35-day stored CPDA-1 red cells from 12 healthy donors.

Ascorbate-2-phosphate in red cell preservation. Clinical trials and active components.

A red cell additive solution (AS-005) containing ascorbate-2-phosphate (AsP) to maintain 2,3-diphosphoglycerate, plus adenine, phosphate, and mannitol to retain viability and reduce hemolysis, was evaluated by human clinical trials. A crossover design was used with another additive solution (Nutricel AS-3, Cutter Laboratories) serving as the control for each donor. Each additive solution was evaluated at 35 and 42 days of storage.