In Vitro Cell Culture Model for Osteoclast Activation during Estrogen Withdrawal.

Estrogen (17β-estradiol) deficiency post-menopause alters bone homeostasis whereby bone resorption by osteoclasts exceeds bone formation by osteoblasts, leading to osteoporosis in females. We established an in vitro model to examine the consequences of estrogen withdrawal (E2-WD) on osteoclasts derived from the mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cell line and utilized it to investigate the mechanism behind the enhanced osteoclast activity post-menopause.

From Habitat to Hormones: Year-around territorial behavior in rock-dwelling but not in forest and grassland lagomorphs and the role of DHEA.

Year-around defense of extremely patchy habitat may require hormones that drive territorial behavior, but have no other costly physiological effects. The American pika (Ochotona princeps), but not the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) nor the eastern cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus), exhibits this behavior. The former engages in contest competition against all individuals independent of sex to protect its territory in highly fragmented patches on mountain talus slopes; the latter in scramble competition in more continuous forests, grasslands, and shrublands.

An unusual case of orthodeoxia.

Progressive hypoxia in hospitalized patients can be due to many etiologies, especially in patients with multiple comorbidities. More unusual causes of hypoxia, such as patent foramen ovale (PFO) with a right to left shunting in the absence of elevated right atrial pressures, should be considered when workup does not reveal a specific etiology. < Hypoxemia due to a right-to-left atrial shunt with normal pulmonary arterial pressures can be seen in the aortic aneurysm patients.

Outcomes of Protocol-Driven Care of Critically Ill Severely Anemic Patients for Whom Blood Transfusion Is Not an Option.

Objective: To compare the outcomes of severely anemic critically ill patients for whom transfusion is not an option ("bloodless" patients) with transfused patients.

Design: Cohort study with propensity score matching.

Setting: ICU of a referral center.

Critical care physicians: attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge about pressure ulcers.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine critical care physicians' attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge toward pressure ulcer (PrU) prevention and treatment in critical care patients.

Design: Descriptive, correlational

Participants: 56 critical care physicians

Main Outcome Measures: Survey instrument developed to collect demographic information and information regarding attitudes and beliefs about PrUs and PrU knowledge.

Results: The majority of physicians (69%) reported poor to adequate basic medical education training on PrU prevention and treatment.

Angiotensin II stimulates alpha3(IV) collagen production in mouse podocytes via TGF-beta and VEGF signalling: implications for diabetic glomerulopathy.

Background: The podocyte is bathed in an angiotensin II (AngII)-rich ultrafiltrate, but the impact of AngII on podocyte pathobiology is not well known. Because podocytes play a direct role in the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) thickening of diabetes, the alpha3(IV) collagen chain was examined. Podocyte expression of alpha3(IV) collagen may involve the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) systems.

Interventions to prevent skin cancer by reducing exposure to ultraviolet radiation: a systematic review.

The relationship between skin cancer and ultraviolet radiation is well established. Behaviors such as seeking shade, avoiding sun exposure during peak hours of radiation, wearing protective clothing, or some combination of these behaviors can provide protection. Sunscreen use alone is not considered an adequate protection against ultraviolet radiation.

Promoting informed decisions about cancer screening in communities and healthcare systems.

Individuals are increasingly involved in decisions about their health care. Shared decision making (SDM), an intervention in the clinical setting in which patients and providers collaborate in decision making, is an important approach for informing patients and involving them in their health care. However, SDM cannot bear the entire burden for informing and involving individuals.