A Literature Review of Eosinophilic Fasciitis with an Illustrative Case.

Eosinophilic fasciitis (EF), a rare connective tissue disorder, was first reported by Lawrence Shulman in 1974. Since then over 300 cases have been reported worldwide. EF has variable clinical presentations and currently does not have internationally accepted diagnostic criteria.

Loss of a Candidate Biliary Atresia Susceptibility Gene, add3a, Causes Biliary Developmental Defects in Zebrafish.

Objectives: Biliary atresia (BA) is a progressive fibroinflammatory cholangiopathy affecting the bile ducts of neonates. Although BA is the leading indication for pediatric liver transplantation, the etiology remains elusive. Adducin 3 (ADD3) and X-prolyl aminopeptidase 1 (XPNPEP1) are 2 genes previously identified in genome-wide association studies as potential BA susceptibility genes.

Benchmarking a large regional UK HER2 testing service against current practice guidelines.

Aims: To critically evaluate HER2 testing data for 3500 consecutive cases over 28 months for a single laboratory and review these findings in the light of current UK reporting guidelines.

Methods: We have reviewed all data relating to the HER2 testing service including reagents and analytical machine, HER2 immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent hybridisation (FISH) scoring profiles. We have examined the place of double counting and rapid screening of FISH and when it is and is not safe to do so.

Clinical Utility of Positron Emission Tomography Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PET-MRI) in Gastrointestinal Cancers.

Anatomic imaging utilizing both CT (computed tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) limits the assessment of cancer metastases in lymph nodes and distant organs while functional imaging like PET (positron emission tomography) scan has its limitation in spatial resolution capacity. Hybrid imaging utilizing PET-CT and PET-MRI are novel imaging modalities that are changing the current landscape in cancer diagnosis, staging, and treatment response. MRI has shown to have higher sensitivity in soft tissue, head and neck pathology, and pelvic disease, as well as, detecting small metastases in the liver and bone compared to CT.

Understanding role stressors and job satisfaction over time using adaptation theory.

In this study, we seek to highlight a potentially fundamental shift in how dynamic stressor-strain relationships should be conceptualized over time. Specifically, we provide an integrated empirical test of adaptation and role theory within a longitudinal framework. Data were collected at 3 time points, with a 6-week lag between time points, from 534 respondents.

The relationship between general health and lifestyle factors and oral health outcomes.

Aim The primary research question addressed in this paper was 'are lower than average oral health scores observed for those patients who report problems with general health and high-risk lifestyle factors?'Methods A population analysis was conducted on the first 37,330 patients, assessed by 493 dentists in the UK, to receive a Denplan PreViser Patient Assessment (DEPPA) at their dental practice. The Oral Health Score (OHS) was generated using a mixture of patient-reported factors and clinical findings and is an integrated component of DEPPA. Patients' self-reported risk factors included diabetes status, tobacco use and alcohol consumption.

Association of elevated triglycerides and acute myocardial infarction in young Hispanics.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in young patients (age <45years) is associated with a high prevalence of smoking, obesity, hyperlipidemia and single vessel coronary artery disease (CAD). Hispanics represent the largest growing ethnic minority in the United States, yet features of AMI in young Hispanics have not been described.

Methods: Patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention for AMI at Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Medical Center and Keck Medical Center were studied.

Purity of transferred CD8(+) T cells is crucial for safety and efficacy of combinatorial tumor immunotherapy in the absence of SHP-1.

Adoptive transfer of tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells is a promising advance in cancer therapy. Similarly, checkpoint inhibition has shown striking clinical results in some patients. Here we combine adoptive cell transfer with ablation of the checkpoint protein Src homology 2-domain-containing phosphatase 1 (SHP-1, Ptpn6).

Doubly ionic hydrogen bond interactions within the choline chloride-urea deep eutectic solvent.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are exemplars of systems with the ability to form neutral, ionic and doubly ionic H-bonds. Herein, the pairwise interactions of the constituent components of the choline chloride-urea DES are examined. Evidence is found for a tripodal CHCl doubly ionic H-bond motif.

Accuracy of urinary human papillomavirus testing for the presence of cervical human papillomaviruses and higher grades of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

Background: Although urine-based testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) is being explored as a practical approach for cervical cancer screening, whether the results differ by age, race, or indicators of excess body weight or in populations exposed to HPV vaccines has not been documented by previous studies. The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of urinary HPV testing for the presence of cervical HPVs and high-grade cervical intraepithelial lesions (grade 2 and 3 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN]) by the aforementioned population characteristics.

Methods: The study population consisted of 502 women diagnosed with different grades of CIN.

An examination of racial differences in 5-year survival of cervical cancer among African American and white American women in the southeastern US from 1985 to 2010.

Disparities in Cervical Cancer (CC) mortality outcomes between African American (AA) and White women have been studied for decades. However, conclusions about the effect of race on CC survival differ across studies. This study assessed differences in CC survival between AA and White women diagnosed between 1985 and 2010 and treated at two major hospitals in the southeastern US.

Same-day discharge after coronary stenting and femoral artery device closure: A randomized study in stable and low-risk acute coronary syndrome patients.

Objective: To compare same-day (SD) vs. delayed hospital discharge (DD) after single and multivessel coronary stenting facilitated by femoral closure device in patients with stable angina and low-risk acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods: University of Southern California patients were screened and coronary stenting was performed in 2480 patients.

Polythioether Particles Armored with Modifiable Graphene Oxide Nanosheets.

Facile and scalable fabrication methods are attractive to prepare materials for diverse applications. Herein, a method is presented to prepare cross-linked polymeric nanoparticles with graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets covalently attached to the surface. Alkene-modified GO serves as a surfactant in a miniemulsion polymerization, and the alkene functionalities of GO exposed to the oil-phase are incorporated into the polymer particle through thiol-ene reactions, leaving the unreacted alkene functional groups of the other face of GO available for further functionalization.

Utility of positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance imaging in musculoskeletal imaging.

Differentiation between neoplastic and nonneoplastic conditions magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has established itself as one of the key clinical tools in evaluation of musculoskeletal pathology. However, MRI still has several key limitations which require supplemental information from additional modalities to complete evaluation of various disorders. This has led to the development hybrid positron emission tomography (PET)-MRI which is rapidly evolving to address key clinical questions by using the morphological strengths of MRI and functional information of PET imaging.

Methylation Microarray Studies Highlight PDGFA Expression as a Factor in Biliary Atresia.

Biliary atresia (BA) is a progressive fibro-inflammatory disorder that is the leading indication for liver transplantation in children. Although there is evidence implicating genetic, infectious, environmental, and inflammatory causes, the etiology of BA remains unknown. We have recently reported that cholangiocytes from BA patients showed decreased DNA methylation relative to disease- and non-disease controls, supporting a potential role for DNA hypomethylation in BA etiopathogenesis.

From tokenism to empowerment: progressing patient and public involvement in healthcare improvement.

Background: There have been repeated calls to better involve patients and the public and to place them at the centre of healthcare. Serious clinical and service failings in the UK and internationally increase the urgency and importance of addressing this problem. Despite this supportive policy context, progress to achieve greater involvement is patchy and slow and often concentrated at the lowest levels of involvement.

A structural investigation of ionic liquid mixtures.

The structures of mixtures of ionic liquids (ILs) featuring a common 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium ([C4C1im](+)) cation but different anions have been investigated both experimentally and computationally. (1)H and (13)C NMR of the ILs and their mixtures has been performed both on the undiluted liquids and those diluted by CD2Cl2. These experiments have been complemented by quantum chemical density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations.

Impact of Surgical Consultation on Outcomes in Hemodynamically Supported High-Risk Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Insights From PROTECT II Randomized Study.

Background: In observational studies of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), surgical ineligibility is associated with increased mortality. Whether the use of hemodynamic support during PCI can mitigate the adverse prognostic importance of surgical ineligibility is unknown.

Methods And Results: We sought to evaluate the association between request for surgical consultation (presumed surgical ineligibility) prior to PCI and clinical outcomes in 427 patients with multivessel coronary artery disease or unprotected left main disease and severely reduced left ventricular systolic function undergoing PCI assisted by hemodynamic support (intraaortic balloon pump or Impella) from the PROTECT II randomized trial.

Brain matters: from environmental ethics to environmental neuroethics.

The ways in which humans affect and are affected by their environments have been studied from many different perspectives over the past decades. However, it was not until the 1970s that the discussion of the ethical relationship between humankind and the environment formalized as an academic discipline with the emergence of environmental ethics. A few decades later, environmental health emerged as a discipline focused on the assessment and regulation of environmental factors that affect living beings.

Daily Rhythms of Hunger and Satiety in Healthy Men during One Week of Sleep Restriction and Circadian Misalignment.

The impact of sleep restriction on the endogenous circadian rhythms of hunger and satiety were examined in 28 healthy young men. Participants were scheduled to 2 × 24-h days of baseline followed by 8 × 28-h days of forced desynchrony during which sleep was either moderately restricted (equivalent to 6 h in bed/24 h; n = 14) or severely restricted (equivalent to 4 h in bed/24 h; n = 14). Self-reported hunger and satisfaction were assessed every 2.

Reorganization of Synaptic Connections and Perineuronal Nets in the Deep Cerebellar Nuclei of Purkinje Cell Degeneration Mutant Mice.

The perineuronal net (PN) is a subtype of extracellular matrix appearing as a net-like structure around distinct neurons throughout the whole CNS. PNs surround the soma, proximal dendrites, and the axonal initial segment embedding synaptic terminals on the neuronal surface. Different functions of the PNs are suggested which include support of synaptic stabilization, inhibition of axonal sprouting, and control of neuronal plasticity.

Global cropland and greenhouse gas impacts of UK food supply are increasingly located overseas.

Producing sufficient, healthy food for a growing world population amid a changing climate is a major challenge for the twenty-first century. Agricultural trade could help alleviate this challenge by using comparative productivity advantages between countries. However, agricultural trade has implications for national food security and could displace environmental impacts from developed to developing countries.