Outcome of Adolescents and Young Adults Compared With Pediatric Patients With Acute Myeloid and Promyelocytic Leukemia.

Background: Studies on the outcome of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) are limited.

Methods: We compared the outcome of AYA (19-30 years) patients with AML and PML and pediatric (0-18 years) patients with AML (pAMLs) and APL (pAPLs) utilizing the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results-18 registry. Early mortality rate (EMR), defined as mortality within 1 month of diagnosis, was used as a surrogate for treatment-related mortality.

Anomaly in neural phase coherence accompanies reduced sensorimotor integration in adults who stutter.

Despite advances in our understanding of the human speech system, the neurophysiological basis of stuttering remains largely unknown. Here, it is hypothesized that the speech of adults who stutter (AWS) is susceptible to disruptions in sensorimotor integration caused by neural miscommunication within the speech motor system. Human speech unfolds over rapid timescales and relies on a distributed system of brain regions working in a parallel and synchronized manner, and a breakdown in neural communication between the putative brain regions could increase susceptibility to dysfluency.

Role of benign ovarian cysts in the development of adenomyosis.

Objectives: To assess the association of adenomyotic foci with co-existing benign ovarian cysts. 

Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study consisted of 100 consecutive hysterectomy specimens referred to Histopathology Section of Pathology Department, Peshawar Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan by its attached teaching hospitals from January 2011 to December 2012. Hematoxylin and eosin stained sections were examined for adenomyotic foci and the presence of co-existent ovarian cysts.

Recent Advances in Preventing Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting.

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) remains an important adverse effect of cancer therapy. The goal of CINV prophylaxis is to reduce the morbidity associated with nausea and vomiting, as well as to preserve quality of life, while maintaining the desired chemotherapy regimen. The US Food and Drug Administration has recently approved new therapies for prevention of CINV, including the neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor antagonist rolapitant and the fixed-dose combination of the second-generation 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 receptor antagonist palonosetron with the novel NK1 receptor antagonist netupitant.

Limits and opportunities to community health worker empowerment: A multi-country comparative study.

Background: In LMICs, Community Health Workers (CHW) increasingly play health promotion related roles involving 'Empowerment of communities'. To be able to empower the communities they serve, we argue, it is essential that CHWs themselves be, and feel, empowered. We present here a critique of how diverse national CHW programs affect CHW's empowerment experience.

Difficult Airway Management in Field Conditions: Somalia Experience.

Difficult airway is defined as having the patient's mask ventilation or difficult tracheal intubation of an experienced anaesthesiologist. A number of reasons, such as congenital or acquired anatomical anomalies, can cause difficult intubation and difficult ventilation. Keeping all equipment ready for airway management of patients will reduce mortality and complications.

Orosensory contributions to dysphagia: a link between perception of sweet and sour taste and pharyngeal delay time.

Pharyngeal delay is a significant swallowing disorder often resulting in aspiration. It is suspected that pharyngeal delay originates from sensory impairment, but a direct demonstration of a link between oral sensation and pharyngeal delay is lacking. In this study involving six patients with complaints of dysphagia, taste sensation of the oral tongue was measured and subsequently related to swallowing kinematics.

Fluoride-induced modulation of ionic transport in asymmetric nanopores functionalized with "caged" fluorescein moieties.

We demonstrate experimentally and theoretically a nanofluidic fluoride sensing device based on a single conical pore functionalized with "caged" fluorescein moieties. The nanopore functionalization is based on an amine-terminated fluorescein whose phenolic hydroxyl groups are protected with tert-butyldiphenylsilyl (TBDPS) moieties. The protected fluorescein (Fcn-TBDPS-NH2) molecules are then immobilized on the nanopore surface via carbodiimide coupling chemistry.

The reversed paradigm of chimerism induction: Donor conditioning with recipient-derived bone marrow cells as a novel approach for tolerance induction in vascularized composite allotransplantation.

Purpose: To test a new approach of donor conditioning with recipient bone marrow cells (BMC) to induce tolerance in vascularized composite allograft (VCA) transplantation.

Methods: Lewis rats' (recipients) BMC were stained with PKH-26. The ACI rats (donors) were conditioned with 80 × 10 Lewis BMC, 24 or 72 hours before VCA (groin flap) transplantation.

Label-Free Pyrophosphate Recognition with Functionalized Asymmetric Nanopores.

The label-free detection of pyrophosphate (PPi) anions with a nanofluidic sensing device based on asymmetric nanopores is demonstrated. The pore surface is functionalized with zinc complexes based on two di(2-picolyl)amine [bis(DPA)] moieties using carbodiimide coupling chemistry. The complexation of zinc (Zn(2+) ) ion is achieved by exposing the modified pore to a solution of zinc chloride to form bis(Zn(2+) -DPA) complexes.

The predictive roles of neural oscillations in speech motor adaptability.

The human speech system exhibits a remarkable flexibility by adapting to alterations in speaking environments. While it is believed that speech motor adaptation under altered sensory feedback involves rapid reorganization of speech motor networks, the mechanisms by which different brain regions communicate and coordinate their activity to mediate adaptation remain unknown, and explanations of outcome differences in adaption remain largely elusive. In this study, under the paradigm of altered auditory feedback with continuous EEG recordings, the differential roles of oscillatory neural processes in motor speech adaptability were investigated.

Designing voltage multipliers with nanofluidic diodes immersed in aqueous salt solutions.

Membranes with nanofluidic diodes allow the selective control of molecules in physiological salt solutions at ambient temperature. The electrical coupling of the membranes with conventional electronic elements such as capacitors suggests opportunities for the external monitoring of sensors and actuators. We demonstrate experimentally and theoretically the voltage multiplier functionality of simple electrical networks composed of membranes with conical nanopores coupled to load capacitors.

ICU Deaths in Patients With Advanced Cancer.

Background: A significant number of advanced cancer admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU) are inappropriate in that they do not result in prolonged survival. No clear consensus criteria for reasonable admissions of advanced cancer patients have been developed.

Method: We established four criteria for reasonable admissions to ICU in patients who suffered from advanced, incurable cancer: post procedure complication, recent notification of cancer, ECOG performance status of 0-1, and life expectancy of more than 6 months.

Immunomodulatory Effects of Different Cellular Therapies of Bone Marrow Origin on Chimerism Induction and Maintenance Across MHC Barriers in a Face Allotransplantation Model.

Many more patients would benefit from vascularized composite allotransplantation if less toxic and safer immunosuppressive protocols will become available. Tolerance induction protocols with donor cells co-transplantation are one of the promising pathways to reduce maintenance immunosupressive regimens. We investigated the role of donor bone marrow cells (BMC), mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) and in vivo created chimeric cells (CC) used as supportive therapies in a fully MHC-mismatched rat face transplantation model.

Transport properties of track-etched membranes having variable effective pore-lengths.

The transport rate of molecules through polymeric membranes is normally limited because of their micrometer-scale thickness which restricts their suitability for more practical application. To study the effect of effective pore length on the transport behavior, polymer membranes containing cylindrical and asymmetric-shaped nanopores were prepared through a two-step ion track-etching technique. Permeation experiments were performed separately to investigate the transport properties (molecular flux and selectivity) of these track-etched membranes.

High diversity and rapid diversification in the head louse, Pediculus humanus (Pediculidae: Phthiraptera).

The study analyzes sequence variation of two mitochondrial genes (COI, cytb) in Pediculus humanus from three countries (Egypt, Pakistan, South Africa) that have received little prior attention, and integrates these results with prior data. Analysis indicates a maximum K2P distance of 10.3% among 960 COI sequences and 13.

Ionic Transport through Chemically Functionalized Hydrogen Peroxide-Sensitive Asymmetric Nanopores.

We describe the fabrication of a chemical-sensitive nanofluidic device based on asymmetric nanopores whose transport characteristics can be modulated upon exposure to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). We show experimentally and theoretically that the current-voltage curves provide a suitable method to monitor the H2O2-mediated change in pore surface characteristics from the electronic readouts. We demonstrate also that the single pore characteristics can be scaled to the case of a multipore membrane whose electric outputs can be readily controlled.

Evaluation of potential drug- herb interactions among a group of Palestinian patients with chronic diseases.

Background: The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of potential drug-herb interactions in patients with chronic diseases and identify factors associated with these interactions if present.

Method: The study was a questionnaire based cross-sectional study. It was conducted at a number of governmental primary healthcare centers which include outpatient clinics for chronic diseases between July and November 2013.

Discovery of GSK2795039, a Novel Small Molecule NADPH Oxidase 2 Inhibitor.

Aims: The NADPH oxidase (NOX) family of enzymes catalyzes the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). NOX enzymes not only have a key role in a variety of physiological processes but also contribute to oxidative stress in certain disease states. To date, while numerous small molecule inhibitors have been reported (in particular for NOX2), none have demonstrated inhibitory activity in vivo.

Total Scalp Replantation: Surgical Tricks and Pitfalls.

Background: Two patients were successfully operated on for total scalp avulsions.

Methods: Ages were between 11 and 35 years, and both patients were female. Bilateral temporal artery and veins were used as the recipient pedicles.

Charging a capacitor from an external fluctuating potential using a single conical nanopore.

We explore the electrical rectification of large amplitude fluctuating signals by an asymmetric nanostructure operating in aqueous solution. We show experimentally and theoretically that a load capacitor can be charged to voltages close to 1 V within a few minutes by converting zero time-average potentials of amplitudes in the range 0.5-3 V into average net currents using a single conical nanopore.

Paederus beetles: the agent of human dermatitis.

Background: Rove beetles of the genus Paederus cause dermatitis when they come in contact with human skin. This condition is prevalent in some tropical and subtropical regions, such as in northern Pakistan, where it was recorded for the first time by US troops. Despite much research from other countries on this subject, few studies, mostly clinical, have been performed in a Pakistani context.