Laryngomalacia and swallowing function in children.

Objectives/hypothesis: 1) To determine the prevalence of dysphagia in children with laryngomalacia, 2) To ascertain whether severity of laryngomalacia influences the presence of swallowing dysfunction, and 3) To examine whether patients with medical comorbidities and laryngomalacia have a higher prevalence of swallowing dysfunction.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: All patients seen in the aerodigestive center at our institution between January 2007 and December 2012 with the diagnosis of laryngomalacia were included.

A phase II/III randomized study to compare the efficacy and safety of rigosertib plus gemcitabine versus gemcitabine alone in patients with previously untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Background: Rigosertib (ON 01910.Na), a first-in-class Ras mimetic and small-molecule inhibitor of multiple signaling pathways including polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), has shown efficacy in preclinical pancreatic cancer models. In this study, rigosertib was assessed in combination with gemcitabine in patients with treatment-naïve metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

IL-10, IL-15, IL-17, and GMCSF levels in cervical cancer tissue of Tanzanian women infected with HPV16/18 vs. non-HPV16/18 genotypes.

Background: Despite comparable screening rates for precancerous lesions, higher incidence and mortality related to cervical cancer in minority women persists. Recent evidence suggests that minority women with precancerous cervical lesions harbor a wider range of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes, many of these distinct from HPV16/18, those most commonly found in Caucasian women. The goal of the analysis was to determine if inflammatory cytokines and chemokines varied by HPV 16/18 versus other genotypes in cervical cancer tissues from Tanzanian women.

Sulf1 has ligand-dependent effects on canonical and non-canonical Wnt signalling.

Wnt signalling plays essential roles during embryonic development and is known to be mis-regulated in human disease. There are many molecular mechanisms that ensure tight regulation of Wnt activity. One such regulator is the heparan-sulfate-specific 6-O-endosulfatase Sulf1.

Examining the role of subjective and objective burden in carer health-related quality of life: the case of colorectal cancer.

Purpose: Our aim was to investigate associations between the subjective burden of care and health-related quality of life (both physical and mental) within colorectal cancer patient carers in Ireland, with supplementary analysis of carer objective factors.

Methods: Two hundred twenty-eight colorectal cancer informal carers were sent a postal questionnaire between August 2010 and March 2011 which included the Caregiver Reaction Assessment (CRA) and the SF-12v2. Multiple regression analysis assessed whether five CRA domains (family support, finances, schedule, health and esteem) predicted carer mental or physical health.

A systematic review of the supportive care needs of women living with and beyond cervical cancer.

Background: Women with cervical cancer constitute a patient population in need for ongoing, person-centred supportive care. Our aim was to synthesise current available evidence with regard to the supportive care needs of women living with and beyond cervical cancer.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA Statement guidelines.

Role of polysomnography in the development of an algorithm for planning tracheostomy decannulation.

Objective: To examine the role of polysomnography (PSG) in helping determine readiness of tracheostomized patients for decannulation.

Study Design: Case series with chart review of pediatric patients who underwent PSG with tracheostomy tube in place with the goal of decannulation.

Setting: Tertiary care pediatric center.

Chronic Esophageal Foreign Body Presenting as Wheezing and Cough in a Toddler.

The presentation, evaluation, and management of chronic esophageal foreign bodies are not well described in pediatric patients. Many patients present with ill-defined respiratory symptoms, making diagnosis challenging. We report on a 2-year-old girl who presented with several months of worsening cough and wheezing unresponsive to medical management.

Decrease of mGluR5 receptor density goes parallel with changes in enkephalin and substance P immunoreactivity in Huntington's disease: a preliminary investigation in the postmortem human brain.

Group 1 metabotropic glutamate subtype 5 receptors (mGluR5) contribute to the control of motor behavior by regulating the balance between excitation and inhibition of outputs in the basal ganglia. The density of these receptors is increased in patients with Parkinson's disease and motor complications. We hypothesized that similar changes may occur in Huntington's disease (HD) and aimed at testing this hypothesis in a preliminary experimental series in postmortem human brain material obtained from HD patients.

Development of a novel remote patient monitoring system: the advanced symptom management system for radiotherapy to improve the symptom experience of patients with lung cancer receiving radiotherapy.

Background: The use of technology-enhanced patient-reported outcome measures to monitor the symptoms experienced by people with cancer is an effective way to offer timely care.

Objective: This study aimed to (a) explore the feasibility and acceptability of the Advanced Symptom Management System with patients with lung cancer receiving radiotherapy and clinicians involved in their care and (b) assess changes in patient outcomes during implementation of the Advanced Symptom Management System with patients with lung cancer receiving radiotherapy in clinical practice.

Methods: A repeated-measures, single-arm, mixed-methods study design was used involving poststudy interviews and completion of patient-reported outcome measures at baseline and end of treatment with 16 patients with lung cancer and 13 clinicians who used this mobile phone-based symptom monitoring system.

Sulf1 influences the Shh morphogen gradient during the dorsal ventral patterning of the neural tube in Xenopus tropicalis.

Genetic studies have established that heparan sulphate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are required for signalling by key developmental regulators, including Hedgehog, Wnt/Wg, FGF, and BMP/Dpp. Post-synthetic remodelling of heparan sulphate (HS) by Sulf1 has been shown to modulate these same signalling pathways. Sulf1 codes for an N-acetylglucosamine 6-O-endosulfatase, an enzyme that specifically removes the 6-O sulphate group from glucosamine in highly sulfated regions of HS chains.

What is the value of the routine use of patient-reported outcome measures toward improvement of patient outcomes, processes of care, and health service outcomes in cancer care? A systematic review of controlled trials.

Purpose: The systematic use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) has been advocated as an effective way to standardize cancer practice. Yet, the question of whether PROMs can lead to actual improvements in the quality of patient care remains under debate. This review examined whether inclusion of PROM in routine clinical practice is associated with improvements in patient outcomes, processes of care, and health service outcomes during active anticancer treatment.

An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the lived experience of multiple concurrent symptoms in patients with lung cancer: a contribution to the study of symptom clusters.

Purpose Of The Research: To explore the lived experience of multiple concurrent symptoms in people with advanced lung cancer to contribute to the understanding of the experience of symptom clusters.

Methods And Sample: Purposive sampling recruited ten people with advanced lung cancer who were experiencing three or more concurrent symptoms, were at least 18 years of age and were able to provide written informed consent. The participants took part in two consecutive, in-depth interviews, 3-5 weeks apart.

Exercise intervention for patients surgically treated for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): a systematic review.

Background: Surgery remains the best curative option for appropriately selected patients with lung cancer. Evidence suggests that improving cardiovascular fitness and functional capacity can accelerate post-surgery recovery and reduce mortality. However, the effect of exercise intervention for patients surgically treated for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer [NCSLC] has not been fully examined.

Pyrimidone-based series of glucokinase activators with alternative donor-acceptor motif.

Glucokinase activators are a class of experimental agents under investigation as a therapy for Type 2 diabetes mellitus. An X-ray crystal structure of a modestly potent agent revealed the potential to substitute the common heterocyclic amide donor-acceptor motif for a pyridone moiety. We have successfully demonstrated that both pyridone and pyrimidone heterocycles can be used as a potent donor-acceptor substituent.

Aortopexy for innominate artery tracheal compression in children.

Objectives: (1) Evaluate the presentation, diagnostic workup, and outcomes of contemporary surgical intervention for airway obstruction from innominate artery tracheal compression in children. (2) Assess the significance of synchronous airway lesions in the treatment of innominate artery tracheal compression.

Study Design: Case series with chart review.

Lin28 proteins are required for germ layer specification in Xenopus.

Lin28 family proteins share a unique structure, with both zinc knuckle and cold shock RNA-binding domains, and were originally identified as regulators of developmental timing in Caenorhabditis elegans. They have since been implicated as regulators of pluripotency in mammalian stem cells in culture. Using Xenopus tropicalis, we have undertaken the first analysis of the effects on the early development of a vertebrate embryo resulting from global inhibition of the Lin28 family.

A systematic review of supportive care needs of people living with lung cancer.

Background And Purpose: Supportive care for people living with a diagnosis of lung cancer is paramount. The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the supportive care needs of people with lung cancer, and explore trends and gaps in the assessment of these needs emerging from this literature.

Methods: Through use of a wide range "free text" terms, a systematic search of five electronic databases (Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsychINFO and BNI) was carried out for the period between January 2000 and September 2012.

Patient-reported outcome measures for the identification of supportive care needs in people with lung cancer: are we there yet?

Background: The use of patient-reported outcome measures is a method of identifying and addressing supportive care needs (SCN) of people with lung cancer, which are often overlooked.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to identify and evaluate existing SCN tools previously used in studies with patients with lung cancer and to establish their suitability for use in research and clinical practice.

Methods: A systematic search was carried out in the MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsychINFO, and British Nursing Index databases to locate studies conducted between January 2000 and November 2010 that made use of validated self-report SCN tools with patients with lung cancer.

Early transcriptional targets of MyoD link myogenesis and somitogenesis.

In order to identify early transcriptional targets of MyoD prior to skeletal muscle differentiation, we have undertaken a transcriptomic analysis on gastrula stage Xenopus embryos in which MyoD has been knocked-down. Our validated list of genes transcriptionally regulated by MyoD includes Esr1 and Esr2, which are known targets of Notch signalling, and Tbx6, mesogenin, and FoxC1; these genes are all are known to be essential for normal somitogenesis but are expressed surprisingly early in the mesoderm. In addition we found that MyoD is required for the expression of myf5 in the early mesoderm, in contrast to the reverse relationship of these two regulators in amniote somites.

Enrichment of multilocus sequence typing clade 1 with oral Candida albicans isolates in patients with untreated periodontitis.

This study investigated the prevalence and cell density of Candida species in periodontal pockets, healthy subgingival sites, and oral rinse samples of patients with untreated periodontitis. Twenty-one periodontitis patients underwent sampling at two periodontitis sites, and 19/21 of these patients underwent sampling at one periodontally healthy site. Both paper point and curette sampling techniques were employed.

Safety, tolerability, and antibody response of active Aβ immunotherapy with CAD106 in patients with Alzheimer's disease: randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, first-in-human study.

Background: Immunotherapy targeting the amyloid β (Aβ) peptide is a potential strategy to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. We aimed to assess the safety and tolerability of CAD106, a novel active Aβ immunotherapy for patients with Alzheimer's disease, designed to induce N-terminal Aβ-specific antibodies without an Aβ-specific T-cell response.

Methods: We did a phase 1, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 52-week study in two centres in Sweden.

Quantifying phytate in dairy digesta and feces: alkaline extraction and high-performance ion chromatography.

Development of an analytical method with appropriate combination of extraction and quantification approaches for undigested phytate in ruminant feces and digesta will advance knowledge of phytate degradation in ruminants and help to reduce phosphorus excretion. Established quantification methods give satisfactory results for feedstuffs and nonruminant manure but recovery of phytate is incomplete for ruminant feces and digesta because of their complex sample matrix and low ratio of phytate to inorganic P. The objective was to develop a robust, accurate, sensitive, and inexpensive method to extract and quantify phytate in feeds, ruminant feces, and digesta.