Clinical significance of sperm DNA damage in assisted reproduction outcome.

Background: Sperm DNA damage shows great promise as a biomarker of infertility. The study aim is to determine the usefulness of DNA fragmentation (DF), including modified bases (MB), to predict assisted reproduction treatment (ART) outcomes.

Methods: DF in 360 couples (230 IVF and 130 ICSI) was measured by the alkaline Comet assay in semen and in sperm following density gradient centrifugation (DGC) and compared with fertilization rate (FR), embryo cumulative scores (ECS(1)) for the total number of embryos/treatment, embryos transferred (ECS(2)), clinical pregnancy (CP) and spontaneous pregnancy loss.

Long-term continuous sampling of ¹²CO₂, ¹³CO₂ and ¹²C¹⁸O¹⁶O in ambient air with a quantum cascade laser spectrometer.

A recently developed laser spectroscopic instrument allows real-time continuous measurements of the stable isotopologues of carbon dioxide at ambient concentrations. This compact instrument offers sufficient precision (0.2 per thousand in 1 s, 0.

Dynamics and impact of the coral disease white plague: insights from a simulation model.

Coral disease is playing a significant role in structuring today's coral reef communities. While monitoring programs document declines associated with coral disease, there is a lack of tools that can test hypotheses of disease incidence and control. Here, we describe a modeling tool developed to test hypotheses about the spread and impact of white plague disease in diverse coral populations distributed across heterogeneous reef landscapes.

Neuroligin-deficient mutants of C. elegans have sensory processing deficits and are hypersensitive to oxidative stress and mercury toxicity.

Neuroligins are postsynaptic cell adhesion proteins that bind specifically to presynaptic membrane proteins called neurexins. Mutations in human neuroligin genes are associated with autism spectrum disorders in some families. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has a single neuroligin gene (nlg-1), and approximately a sixth of C.

Synchronous deglacial overturning and water mass source changes.

Understanding changes in ocean circulation during the last deglaciation is crucial to unraveling the dynamics of glacial-interglacial and millennial climate shifts. We used neodymium isotope measurements on postdepositional iron-manganese oxide coatings precipitated on planktonic foraminifera to reconstruct changes in the bottom water source of the deep western North Atlantic at the Bermuda Rise. Comparison of our deep water source record with overturning strength proxies shows that both the deep water mass source and the overturning rate shifted rapidly and synchronously during the last deglacial transition.

Rapid axonal sprouting and pruning accompany functional reorganization in primary visual cortex.

The functional architecture of adult cerebral cortex retains a capacity for experience-dependent change. This is seen following focal binocular lesions, which induce rapid changes in receptive field size and position. To follow the dynamics of the circuitry underlying these changes, we imaged the intrinsic long-range horizontal connections within the lesion projection zone (LPZ) in adult macaque primary visual cortex.

New hemostatic agents in the combat setting.

Background: Hemorrhage is a leading cause of potentially preventable death in both civilian and military trauma patients. Animal data have shown that hemostatic bandages reduce hemorrhage and improve survival. This article reports recent clinical observations regarding the efficacy and evolution of use of two new hemostatic bandages employed in the global war on terrorism.

Disease incidence is related to bleaching extent in reef-building corals.

Recent outbreaks of coral bleaching and disease have contributed to substantial declines in the abundance of reef-building coral. Significant attention has been paid to both phenomena in order to determine their effect on reef trajectories. Although each is positively correlated with high temperatures, few studies have explored the potential links between bleaching and disease.

Pandemic influenza and major disease outbreak preparedness in US emergency departments: a survey of medical directors and department chairs.

Study Objectives: To quantify the readiness of individual academic emergency departments (EDs) in the United States for an outbreak of pandemic influenza. METHODS, DESIGN, AND SETTING: Cross-sectional assessment of influenza pandemic preparedness level of EDs in the United States via survey of medical directors and department chairs from the 135 academic emergency medicine departments in the United States. Preparedness assessed using a novel score of 15 critical preparedness indicators.

Prehospital advances in the management of severe penetrating trauma.

Background: Historic advances in combat prehospital care have been made in the last decade. Unlike other areas of critical care, most of these innovations are not the result of significant improvements in technology, but by conceptual changes in how care is delivered in a tactical setting. The new concept of Tactical Combat Casualty Care has revolutionized the management of combat casualties in the prehospital tactical setting.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D is independently associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and the metabolic syndrome in men and women.

Background: Low vitamin D status has been associated with markers of cardiovascular disease risk.

Objective: This cross-sectional study assessed the relationships between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and selected markers for cardiovascular disease risk, including metabolic syndrome and its components, in adult men and women.

Methods: Fasting blood samples, anthropometric measurements, and blood pressure were assessed in 257 men and women.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration across the mid-Pleistocene transition.

The dominant period of Pleistocene glacial cycles changed during the mid-Pleistocene from 40,000 years to 100,000 years, for as yet unknown reasons. Here we present a 2.1-million-year record of sea surface partial pressure of CO2 (Pco2), based on boron isotopes in planktic foraminifer shells, which suggests that the atmospheric partial pressure of CO2 (pco2) was relatively stable before the mid-Pleistocene climate transition.

Ethical issues in conduct of research in combat and disaster operations.

Background: The conduct of research in the combat and disaster environments shares many of the same fundamental principles and regulations that govern civilian biomedical research. However, Department of Defense research protocols stipulate additional requirements designed to preserve servicemembers' informed consent rights, uphold ethical standards, and protect sensitive or classified information. The authors reviewed studies that have been approved for the conduct of research in current combat operations and also discuss their applicability in disaster settings.

Ocular injury reduction from ocular protection use in current combat operations.

Background: The mechanisms of modern warfare unfortunately have lead to many ocular injuries. This study attempts to quantify the effect of military combat eye protection on the incidence of ocular injury among US service members engaged in current combat operations.

Methods: We retrospectively gathered data from the Joint Theater Trauma Registry from patients entering level III hospital facilities in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom from March 2003 to September 2006.

The course of delirium in acute stroke.

Background And Purpose: several studies have assessed delirium post-stroke but conflicting results have been obtained. Also, the natural history and outcome of delirium post-stroke need to be fully elucidated.

Methodology: eligible stroke patients were assessed for delirium on admission and for four consecutive weeks using the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM).

Pain management in current combat operations.

Pain management in the U.S. Military, particularly in combat, shares many of the same principles found in civilian heath care organizations and institutions.

The accuracy of portable ultrasonography to diagnose fractures in an austere environment.

Background: Previous literature has shown the ability of ultrasonography technology to accurately assess orthopedic pathology. Over the past two decades, the use of ultrasound in the prehospital setting has become an important tool for triage, diagnosis, and treatment, especially in austere and remote environments that lack appropriate radiography capability and logistical support. The purpose of our study was to assess the accuracy of ultrasound in the austere, combat environment for diagnosis of orthopedic fracture.

Needle versus tube thoracostomy in a swine model of traumatic tension hemopneumothorax.

Objective: Traumatic tension hemopneumothorax is fatal if not treated rapidly. However, whether prehospital decompression is better achieved by chest tube or needle thoracostomy is unknown. We conducted this study to compare the immediate results and prolonged effectiveness of two methods of treatment for traumatic tension hemopneumothorax in a swine model.

Does behaviour modification affect post-stroke risk factor control? Three-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Little is known about the long-term effectiveness after stroke of interventions for behaviour modification and ensuring concordance with therapies. We describe a follow-up study of a previous randomized controlled trial of a brief period of behaviour modification. The aim of this study was to determine outcomes three years after the initial intervention.

Mineralization and bone resorption are regulated by the androgen receptor in male mice.

Androgens play a key role in skeletal growth and bone maintenance; however, their mechanism of action remains unclear. To address this, we selectively deleted the androgen receptor (AR) in terminally differentiated, mineralizing osteoblasts using the Cre/loxP system in mice (osteocalcin-Cre AR knockouts [mOBL-ARKOs]). Male mOBL-ARKOs had decreased femoral trabecular bone volume compared with littermate controls because of a reduction in trabecular number at 6, 12, and 24 wk of age, indicative of increased bone resorption.

Oestradiol-induced spermatogenesis requires a functional androgen receptor.

Spermatogenesis requires androgen but, paradoxically, oestradiol (E2) treatment stimulates spermatogenic development in gonadotrophin- and androgen-deficient hypogonadal (hpg) mice. The mechanisms of E2-induced spermatogenesis were investigated by determining intratesticular E2 levels and testis cell populations in E2-treated hpg male mice, and E2 spermatogenic actions were determined in androgen receptor-knockout (ARKO) mice. Despite increased serum E2 concentrations (150-300 pmol L(-1)), intratesticular E2 concentrations declined fivefold (P < 0.

Is there one optimal medical treatment and evacuation chain for all situations: "scoop-and-run" or "stay-and-play".

In 2006, the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands initiated a targeted agenda program for the World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine in Amsterdam in 2007 (15WCDEM). The issue to be discussed was if there is one "golden" treatment and evacuation system that is applicable for different military and civilian situations. And, if there is not such a system, which parameters are important to construct the most optimal system for each different situation.

A randomized controlled trial comparing treatment regimens for acute pain for topical oleoresin capsaicin (pepper spray) exposure in adult volunteers.

Objective: Several topical therapies have been proposed to treat acute pain from exposure to oleoresin capsaicin (OC). The purpose of this study was to determine the most beneficial topical treatment for relieving contact dermatitis pain caused by OC exposure.

Methods: We performed a single-blind, randomized human experiment evaluating the effectiveness of five different regimens for the treatment of topical facial OC exposure.

Use of ultrasound to assess acute fracture reduction in emergency care settings.

Objective: There is a need to develop tools for the rapid diagnosis and treatment of fractures and intraosseous pathology in remote and austere environments. Several emergency and orthopedic studies have demonstrated ultrasound to be a reliable tool in diagnosing these conditions in both adult and pediatric patients. The purpose of this pilot study is to assess the ability of the ultrasound to assess in "real-time" the success of fracture reduction in adult patients in the emergency department (ED), in comparison with the accepted standard, plain film radiography, for the purposes of future application in austere environments.

Teleconsultation program for deployed soldiers and healthcare professionals in remote and austere environments.

Background: In April 2004, the US Army Medical Department approved the use of the Army Knowledge Online (AKO) electronic e-mail system as a teleconsultation service for remote teledermatology consultations from healthcare providers in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan to medical subspecialists in the United States. The success of the system has resulted in expansion of the telemedicine program to include 11 additional clinical specialty services: (1) burn-trauma; (2) cardiology; (3) dermatology; (4) infectious disease; (5) nephrology; (6) ophthalmology; (7) pediatric intensive care; (8) preventive and occupational medicine; (9) neurology; (10) rheumatology; and (11) toxicology. The goal of the program is to provide a mechanism for enhanced diagnosis of remote cases resulting in a better evacuation system (i.