Laryngeal electroglottography as a predictor of laryngeal electromyography.

We evaluate a group of patients who have mobile vocal folds, but have flexible laryngeal examinations suspicious for mild vocal fold paresis. The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate if electroglottography (EGG) can predict the probability of having an abnormal laryngeal electromyography (LEMG). Charts of patients evaluated and suspected of having mild vocal fold paresis between August 1, 2004 and March 30, 2006 were reviewed.

A novel lineage of proteobacteria involved in formation of marine Fe-oxidizing microbial mat communities.

Background: For decades it has been recognized that neutrophilic Fe-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) are associated with hydrothermal venting of Fe(II)-rich fluids associated with seamounts in the world's oceans. The evidence was based almost entirely on the mineralogical remains of the microbes, which themselves had neither been brought into culture or been assigned to a specific phylogenetic clade. We have used both cultivation and cultivation-independent techniques to study Fe-rich microbial mats associated with hydrothermal venting at Loihi Seamount, a submarine volcano.

Urine acidification has no effect on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling or epidermal growth factor (EGF) expression in rat urinary bladder urothelium.

We previously reported prevention of urolithiasis and associated rat urinary bladder tumors by urine acidification (via diet acidification) in male rats treated with the dual peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)alpha/gamma agonist muraglitazar. Because urine acidification could potentially alter PPAR signaling and/or cellular proliferation in urothelium, we evaluated urothelial cell PPARalpha, PPARdelta, PPARgamma, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression, PPAR signaling, and urothelial cell proliferation in rats fed either a normal or an acidified diet for 5, 18, or 33 days. A subset of rats in the 18-day study also received 63 mg/kg of the PPARgamma agonist pioglitazone daily for the final 3 days to directly assess the effects of diet acidification on responsiveness to PPARgamma agonism.

Randomized controlled trials of pediatric massage: a review.

The existing reviews of massage therapy (MT) research are either limited to infants, adults, or were conducted prior to the publication of the most recent studies using pediatric samples. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of pediatric MT are reviewed. A literature search yielded 24 RCTs of pediatric MT, defined as the manual manipulation of soft tissue intended to promote health and well-being in recipients between 2 and 19 years of age.

The accuracy of self-reported hearing loss in older Latino-American adults.

The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of self-reported hearing loss in older Latino-American adults. Fifty-nine individuals, 32 women (mean age 62.2 years) and 27 men (mean age 62.

Bacterial community in ancient Siberian permafrost as characterized by culture and culture-independent methods.

The microbial composition of ancient permafrost sediments from the Kolyma lowland of Northeast Eurasia was examined through culture and culture-independent approaches. These sediments have been continuously frozen for 5,000 to 2-3 million years. A total of 265 Bacteria 16S rRNA gene sequences were amplified from the permafrost total-community genomic DNA and screened by amplified ribosomal 16S rRNA restriction analysis.

Transradial right and left heart catheterizations: a comparison to traditional femoral approach.

Objectives: This study compares the transradial versus transfemoral approach to combined right- and left-heart catheterization.

Background: Central venous access from peripheral veins has been a historically useful technique. Although the need for right-heart catheterization has been considered an exclusion for transradial catheterization, we have combined a peripheral approach to the central venous system with radial arterial access which permits bilateral heart catheterization using a transradial approach.

Laryngeal hyperfunction during whispering: reality or myth?

For years, otolaryngologists and voice therapists have warned voice patients that whispering causes more trauma to the larynx than normal speech. However, no large series of patients has ever been examined fiberoptically during whispering to test this hypothesis. As part of our routine examination, patients are asked to count from 1 to 10 in a normal voice and in a whispered voice.

A measure of trust in insurers.

Background: Patient-centered assessments are increasingly important. Patients repeatedly emphasize the importance of trust in health care institutions and personnel.

Objectives: (1) Develop a conceptual framework for trust in health care organizations and a comprehensive, reliable measure of trust in health insurers.

Arytenoid cartilage dislocation: a 20-year experience.

Arytenoid cartilage dislocation is an infrequently diagnosed cause of vocal fold immobility. Seventy-four cases have been reported in the literature to date. Intubation is the most common origin, followed by external laryngeal trauma.

Repetitive phonatory tasks for identifying vocal fold paresis.

Vocal fold paresis may be present in patients with voice complaints. Identification of paresis is important so that appropriate neurolaryngologic evaluation can be ordered and the appropriate treatment can be offered. Repetitive phonatory tasks (RPTs) fatigue patients vocally and may elicit signs of subtle paresis.

Vectored Gag and Env but not Tat show efficacy against simian-human immunodeficiency virus 89.6P challenge in Mamu-A*01-negative rhesus monkeys.

Simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) challenge studies in rhesus macaques were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of adenovirus-based vaccines in the context of different major histocompatibility complex class I genetic backgrounds and different vaccine compositions. Mamu-A*01 allele-negative rhesus monkeys were immunized with one of the following vaccine constructs: (i) replication-defective recombinant adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) expressing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Tat (Ad5/HIVTat); (ii) Ad5 vector expressing simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) Gag (Ad5/SIVGag); (iii) Ad5 vector expressing the truncated HIV-1(jrfl) Env, gp140 (Ad5/gp140_jrfl); (iv) Ad5 vector expressing the SHIV-89.6P gp140 (Ad5/gp140_89.

The economic impact of quarantine: SARS in Toronto as a case study.

Objectives: Over time, quarantine has become a classic public health intervention and has been used repeatedly when newly emerging infectious diseases have threatened to spread throughout a population. Here, we weigh the economic costs and benefits associated with implementing widespread quarantine in Toronto during the SARS outbreaks of 2003.

Methods: We compared the costs of two outbreak scenarios: in Scenario A, SARS is able to transmit itself throughout a population without any significant public health interventions.

Expanding the role of mammographers: a training strategy to enhance mammographer-patient interaction.

The use of routine mammography screening is associated with earlier breast cancer detection and decreased mortality. Several researchers have identified mammographers as potentially effective agents for encouraging patients to engage in routine screening. Mammographers are particularly well situated within the health care system to address patients' knowledge, psychological, and cultural barriers to routine screening.

Transradial bilateral cardiac catheterization and endomyocardial bioposy: a feasibility study.

A case series and technique of transradial cardiac catheterization with cardiac biospy are described. Transradial cardiac catheterization is perceived to be limited to arterial procedures. Using the veins of the forearm, we have converted many previous femoral arterial/venous cardiac procedures to a transradial/forearm approach.

Trading health services across borders: GATS, markets, and caveats.

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is the result of an ongoing process of opening national markets to foreign health services within an international framework of trade agreements that prohibit discriminatory treatment of foreign suppliers. Developing markets are growing, as is demand for health care services, and most of this demand is being met by the private market. The globalization of health services requires the resources of the academic and corporate sectors of the developed world for equitable and sustainable growth.

Crossing the digital divide: evaluating online communication between patients and their providers.

Objective: To address provider, payer, and patient concerns about the use of online communication in healthcare settings by performing a randomized controlled trial of a Web-based patient-provider communication tool in primary care.

Subjects And Methods: Forty-one staff physicians and 91 residents in 4 primary care centers were randomized to a Web-based online communication system. Patients of intervention physicians were encouraged to communicate via the system about health issues, scheduling, prescription renewals, referrals, and billing.

Analysis of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and a receptor subtype (KDR/flk-1) in the liver of rats exposed to riddelliine: a potential role in the development of hemangiosarcoma.

Riddelliine alters hepatocellular and endothelial cell kinetics and function including stimulating an increase in hepatocytic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the absence of increased serological levels of VEGF (NYSKA et al. 2002). The objective of this study was to further assess hepatic VEGF and KDR/flk-1 synthesis and expression by hepatic cells under riddelliine treatment conditions.

The emerging role of online communication between patients and their providers.

Despite the explosion of online communication in the community, its use between patients and their health care providers remains low. However, rapidly growing patient and provider interest in using online communication has motivated organizations to consider options for deploying these new tools in clinical practice. In this paper, we describe the barriers and challenges health care providers and their organizations must address in developing and deploying these new tools.

Marinobacter alkaliphilus sp. nov., a novel alkaliphilic bacterium isolated from subseafloor alkaline serpentine mud from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1200 at South Chamorro Seamount, Mariana Forearc.

Novel alkaliphilic, mesophilic bacteria were isolated from subseafloor alkaline serpentine mud from the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Hole 1200D at a serpentine mud volcano, South Chamorro Seamount in the Mariana Forearc. The cells of type strain ODP1200D-1.5T were motile rods with a single polar flagellum.

Best practice in group-based smoking cessation: results of a literature review applying effectiveness, plausibility, and practicality criteria.

Objective: Apply a "best practices" model to evidence regarding group smoking cessation to inform organizational decisions about adopting such programs. The best-practices model attempts to integrate rigorous review of evidence with context and practical considerations important to organizations contemplating adoption.

Data Sources: First, we identified effective practices by systematic literature review with two blinded reviewers to (1) search databases (99.