Does left ventricular hypertrophy affect cognition and brain structural integrity in type 2 diabetes? Study design and rationale of the Diabetes and Dementia (D2) study.

Background: Cognitive impairment is common in type 2 diabetes mellitus, and there is a strong association between type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. However, we do not know which type 2 diabetes patients will dement or which biomarkers predict cognitive decline. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is potentially such a marker.

Short-Course Radiation plus Temozolomide in Elderly Patients with Glioblastoma.

Background: Glioblastoma is associated with a poor prognosis in the elderly. Survival has been shown to increase among patients 70 years of age or younger when temozolomide chemotherapy is added to standard radiotherapy (60 Gy over a period of 6 weeks). In elderly patients, more convenient shorter courses of radiotherapy are commonly used, but the benefit of adding temozolomide to a shorter course of radiotherapy is unknown.

Identifying opportunities for nature engagement in cancer care practice and design: protocol for four-round modified electronic Delphi.

Introduction: Opportunities to engage with nature have shown relevance in experiences of health and recovery of patients with cancer and are attracting interest in cancer care practice and design. Such healthcare innovations can widen the horizon of possible supportive care solutions but require deliberate and rigorous investigation to ensure responsible action is taken and wastage avoided. This protocol outlines a study designed to solicit knowledge from relevant experts drawn from a range of healthcare practitioners, management representatives, designers and researchers to explore levels of opinion consensus for determining opportunities for, and barriers to, providing helpful nature engagement in cancer care settings.

Chronic fatigue in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome-Hypermobile type.

Chronic fatigue is an important contributor to impaired health-related quality of life in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. There is overlap in the symptoms and findings of EDS and chronic fatigue syndrome. A proportion of those with CFS likely have EDS that has not been identified.

The Canine POMC Gene, Obesity in Labrador Retrievers and Susceptibility to Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) in dogs is a common endocrinopathy with a complex genetic architecture. Disease susceptibility in several breeds is associated with polymorphisms in immune response genes, but in the Labrador retriever breed, no genetic associations with DM have been identified. A deletion in the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene in Labrador retrievers is associated with increased appetite and risk of obesity.

Cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome-Hypermobile type.

Autonomic dysfunction contributes to health-related impairment of quality of life in the hypermobile type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS). Typical signs and symptoms include tachycardia, hypotension, gastrointestinal dysmotility, and disturbed bladder function and sweating regulation. Cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction may present as Orthostatic Intolerance, Orthostatic Hypotension, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or Neurally Mediated Hypotension.

MICA Expression Is Regulated by Cell Adhesion and Contact in a FAK/Src-Dependent Manner.

MICA is a major ligand for the NKG2D immune receptor, which plays a key role in activating natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic T cells. We analyzed NKG2D ligand expression on a range of cell types and could demonstrate that MICA expression levels were closely linked to cellular growth mode. While the expression of other NKG2D ligands was largely independent of cell growth mode, MICA expression was mainly found on cells cultured as adherent cells.

Adult-onset Pompe's disease presenting with insidious hypercapnic respiratory failure.

Orthopnoea is commonly attributed to heart failure but can be caused by diaphragm weakness, which, when severe, is often associated with hypercapnic respiratory failure. Bilateral diaphragm weakness is generally due to systemic nerve or muscle disease and usually occurs in the setting of severe generalized muscle weakness, but the diaphragm can be the initial or only muscle involved. Here, we report the case of a 39-year-old female who presented with slowly progressive orthopnoea and daytime somnolence.

Managing 'shades of grey': a focus group study exploring community-dwellers' views on advance care planning in older people.

Background: Community-dwelling consumers of healthcare are increasing, many aging with life-limiting conditions and deteriorating cognition. However, few have had advance care planning discussions or completed documentation to ensure future care preferences are acted upon. This study examines the awareness, attitudes, and experiences of advance care planning amongst older people and unrelated offspring/caregivers of older people residing in the community.

Retrospective Neuropsychological Profile of Patients With Parkinson Disease Prior to Developing Visual Hallucinations.

Visual hallucinations (VH) are a common feature of Parkinson disease (PD); however, the cognitive profile preceding the onset of VH has not yet been established. The present study investigated longitudinal neuropsychological performance of patients with PD who developed VH during follow-up compared to a group who did not develop VH. The patient groups were matched for demographic and disease severity variables at their baseline assessments.

Music's Relevance for People Affected by Cancer: A Meta-Ethnography and Implications for Music Therapists.

Background: Evidence supports music-based oncologic support interventions including music therapy. By comparison, little is understood about music-based self-care. This meta-ethnography examined five published qualitative studies to extend understanding of music's relevance, including helpfulness, for people affected by cancer; including children, adolescents, and adults with cancer, carers, and the bereaved.

BMI-1 extends proliferative potential of human bronchial epithelial cells while retaining their mucociliary differentiation capacity.

Air-liquid interface (ALI) culture of primary airway epithelial cells enables mucociliary differentiation providing an in vitro model of the human airway, but their proliferative potential is limited. To extend proliferation, these cells were previously transduced with viral oncogenes or mouse + , but the resultant cell lines did not undergo mucociliary differentiation. We hypothesized that use of human alone would increase the proliferative potential of bronchial epithelial cells while retaining their mucociliary differentiation potential.

"Artificial But Better Than Nothing".

Objective: To investigate patient, staff, and carer responses to an environmental intervention in an oncology clinic waiting room and evaluate the acceptability of artificial plant materials. Design Postintervention: Cross-sectional survey study.

Setting: Oncology outpatient clinic waiting room located in a metropolitan comprehensive cancer center in Australia.

Germline polymorphisms as biomarkers of tumor response in colorectal cancer patients treated with anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Studies of germline polymorphisms as predictors of tumor response to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody agents in metastatic colorectal cancer have reported inconsistent results. We performed a systematic review of studies from 1990 to September 2015, followed by random-effects meta-analyses for polymorphisms examined in at least three studies. Of 87 studies, 40 passed the criteria for systematic review and 23 for meta-analysis.

Cancer patients' experiences with nature: Normalizing dichotomous realities.

Aims: To explore cancer patients' subjective experiences with nature in order to examine the relevance of nature-based care opportunities in cancer care contexts. The rationale was to describe the underlying mechanisms of this interaction and produce translatable knowledge.

Methods: Qualitative research design informed by grounded theory.

Co-percolation to tune conductive behaviour in dynamical metallic nanowire networks.

Nanowire networks act as self-healing smart materials, whose sheet resistance can be tuned via an externally applied voltage stimulus. This memristive response occurs due to modification of junction resistances to form a connectivity path across the lowest barrier junctions in the network. While most network studies have been performed on expensive noble metal nanowires like silver, networks of inexpensive nickel nanowires with a nickel oxide coating can also demonstrate resistive switching, a common feature of metal oxides with filamentary conduction.

Cultural issues in menopause: an exploratory qualitative study of Macedonian women in Australia.

Objective: This study explored the attitudes to, and experience of, menopause among Macedonian women living in Australia, including attitudes and responses to hormone therapy (HT) and complementary therapies, as well as related psycho-sexual, relationship and other midlife issues.

Methods: Using qualitative methodology, the study was based on seven unstructured, nondirective group discussions. Natural social groups were recruited, meeting wherever each group felt most at home.

Diffusion alterations associated with Parkinson's disease symptomatology: A review of the literature.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a heterogeneous neurological disorder with a variety of motor and non-motor symptoms. The underlying mechanisms of these symptoms are not fully understood. An increased interest in structural connectivity analyses using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in PD has led to an expansion of our understanding of the impact of abnormalities in diffusivity on phenotype.

Effective medium theory for the conductivity of disordered metallic nanowire networks.

Motivated by numerous technological applications, there is current interest in the study of the conductive properties of networks made of randomly dispersed nanowires. The sheet resistance of such networks is normally calculated by numerically evaluating the conductance of a system of resistors but due to disorder and with so many variables to account for, calculations of this type are computationally demanding and may lack mathematical transparency. Here we establish the equivalence between the sheet resistance of disordered networks and that of a regular ordered network.

SIRT2 deletion enhances KRAS-induced tumorigenesis in vivo by regulating K147 acetylation status.

The observation that cellular transformation depends on breaching a crucial KRAS activity threshold, along with the finding that only a small percentage of cellsharboring KRAS mutations are transformed, support the idea that additional, not fully uncovered, regulatory mechanisms may contribute to KRAS activation. Here we report that KrasG12D mice lacking Sirt2 show an aggressive tumorigenic phenotype as compared to KrasG12D mice. This phenotype includes increased proliferation, KRAS acetylation, and activation of RAS downstream signaling markers.

Effectiveness of peer-delivered Center for Independent Living supports for individuals with psychiatric disabilities: A randomized, controlled trial.

Objective: The goal of this study was to examine the effectiveness of peer-delivered core services of Centers for Independent Living (CILs), which include advocacy, information and referral, skills training, and peer support.

Method: Ninety-nine individuals with a schizophrenia-spectrum or affective disorder who identified at least 3 needs were recruited from mental health centers and randomly assigned to be contacted by a certified peer specialist at a local CIL (CIL condition) or services as usual (SAU condition). Data on community participation, recovery, empowerment, quality of life, and needs were obtained at baseline and 6 and 12 months postbaseline, along with responses to open-ended questions about supports received.

Significance of baseline and change in quality of life scores in predicting clinical outcomes in an international phase III trial of advanced pancreatic cancer: NCIC CTG PA.3.

Background: There is insufficient information regarding the prognostic significance of baseline and change in quality of life (QoL) scores on overall survival (OS) in advanced pancreatic cancer.

Methods: QoL was assessed prospectively using the EORTC QLQ-C30 as part of the PA.3 trial of gemcitabine + erlotinib (G + E) vs.

Hypoxia upregulates neutrophil degranulation and potential for tissue injury.

Background: The inflamed bronchial mucosal surface is a profoundly hypoxic environment. Neutrophilic airway inflammation and neutrophil-derived proteases have been linked to disease progression in conditions such as COPD and cystic fibrosis, but the effects of hypoxia on potentially harmful neutrophil functional responses such as degranulation are unknown.

Methods And Results: Following exposure to hypoxia (0.