Initiation of electron transport chain activity in the embryonic heart coincides with the activation of mitochondrial complex 1 and the formation of supercomplexes.

Mitochondria provide energy in form of ATP in eukaryotic cells. However, it is not known when, during embryonic cardiac development, mitochondria become able to fulfill this function. To assess this, we measured mitochondrial oxygen consumption and the activity of the complexes (Cx) 1 and 2 of the electron transport chain (ETC) and used immunoprecipitation to follow the generation of mitochondrial supercomplexes.

Self-reported practice patterns and knowledge of rectal cancer care among Canadian general surgeons.

Background: Our objective was to examine the knowledge and treatment decision practice patterns of Canadian surgeons who treat patients with rectal cancer.

Methods: A mail survey with 6 questions on staging investigations, management of low rectal cancer, lymph node harvest, surgical margins and use of adjuvant therapies was sent to all general surgeons in Canada. Appropriate responses to survey questions were defined a priori.

Breast and cervical cancer screening behaviours among colorectal cancer survivors in Nova Scotia.

Purpose: We analyzed patterns and factors associated with receipt of breast and cervical cancer screening in a cohort of colorectal cancer survivors.

Methods: Individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer in Nova Scotia between January 2001 and December 2005 were eligible for inclusion. Receipt of breast and cervical cancer screening was determined using administrative data.

Bcl-xL in neuroprotection and plasticity.

Accepted features of neurodegenerative disease include mitochondrial and protein folding dysfunction and activation of pro-death factors. Neurons that experience high metabolic demand or those found in organisms with genetic mutations in proteins that control cell stress may be more susceptible to aging and neurodegenerative disease. In neurons, events that normally promote growth, synapse formation, and plasticity are also often deployed to control neurotoxicity.

Is axillary sonographic staging less accurate in invasive lobular breast cancer than in ductal breast cancer?

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether axillary sonography is less accurate in invasive lobular breast cancer than in ductal breast cancer.

Methods: Patients with invasive breast cancer were retrospectively identified from histologic records from 2010 to 2012. Staging axillary sonograms from 96 patients with primary breast cancer in each of 2 subgroups, invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), were reviewed.

Multi-level factors influence the implementation and use of complex innovations in cancer care: a multiple case study of synoptic reporting.

Background: The implementation of innovations (i.e., new tools and practices) in healthcare organizations remains a significant challenge.

Acquired von Willebrand's disease associated with epithelial myoepithelial carcinoma of the parotid salivary gland.

This is the first case report of a patient with acquired von Willebrand's disease (AvWD) secondary to epithelial myoepithelial carcinoma (EMC) of the parotid salivary gland. This patient presented to haematology following an abnormal bleeding episode with von Willebrand factor Ristocetin cofactor (VWF:RCo) <5% and VWF:Ag 13%. He was diagnosed with AvWD.

Rates of breast cancer surgery in Canada from 2007/08 to 2009/10: retrospective cohort study.

Background: Surgery is a common and important component of breast cancer treatment. We assessed the rates of breast cancer surgery across Canada from 2007/08 to 2009/10.

Methods: We used hospital and day surgery data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information to assemble a cohort of women who had undergone breast cancer surgery.

Networking between community health programs: a team-work approach to improving health service provision.

Background: Networking between non-government organisations in the health sector is recognised as an effective method of improving service delivery. The Uttarakhand Cluster was established in 2008 as a collaboration of community health programs in rural north India with the aim of building capacity, increasing visibility and improving linkages with the government. This qualitative research, conducted between 2011-2012, examined the factors contributing to formation and sustainability of this clustering approach.

General practice and public health: who is my patient?

Background: General practitioners (GPs) tend to focus most of their energies on providing primary healthcare to individuals, with less attention to the overall population health issues in their community. In contrast, public health practitioners tend to focus on the health needs of entire populations, by addressing the social determinants of health, with less attention to individual patient care.

Objective: This article seeks to provide a practical approach for GPs to incorporate a public health perspective in their everyday work.

An uncoupling channel within the c-subunit ring of the F1FO ATP synthase is the mitochondrial permeability transition pore.

Mitochondria maintain tight regulation of inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) permeability to sustain ATP production. Stressful events cause cellular calcium (Ca(2+)) dysregulation followed by rapid loss of IMM potential known as permeability transition (PT), which produces osmotic shifts, metabolic dysfunction, and cell death. The molecular identity of the mitochondrial PT pore (mPTP) was previously unknown.

Survey of American and Canadian general surgeons' perceptions of margin status and practice patterns for breast conserving surgery.

Although breast conservation surgery (BCS) is commonly performed, several aspects of the procedure remain controversial. We undertook a cross-sectional survey to compare Canadian (CDN) and American (AM) general surgeons' reported BCS practice patterns to better understand the cross-border differences in early-stage breast cancer surgery care. A modified Dillman Method survey was mailed to 1,447 AM and 1,443 CDN surgeons.

CONTEXT MATTERS: FOSTERING, ORPHANHOOD AND SCHOOLING IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.

A growing body of research suggests that orphanhood and fostering might be (independently) associated with educational disadvantage in sub-Saharan Africa. However, literature on the impacts of orphanhood and fostering on school enrolment, attendance and progress produces equivocal, and often conflicting, results. This paper reports on quantitative and qualitative data from sixteen field-sites in Ghana and Malawi, highlighting the importance of historical and social context in shaping schooling outcomes for fostered and orphaned children.

The current state of pancreatic cancer in Canada: incidence, mortality, and surgical therapy.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the trends in the incidence, survival, and surgical therapy for Canadian patients affected by pancreatic cancer (PC).

Methods: The incidence, mortality, number of resections, and outcomes of patients with PC stratified by year, sex, and province were extracted from Canadian cancer databases.

Results: In 2012, PC was diagnosed in 4600 Canadians and it was responsible for 4300 deaths.

SIRT3 deficiency exacerbates ischemia-reperfusion injury: implication for aged hearts.

Ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is significantly worse in aged hearts, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Age-related damage to mitochondria may be a critical feature, which manifests in an exacerbation of IR injury. Silent information regulator of transcription 3 (SIRT3), the major mitochondrial NAD(+)-dependent lysine deacetylase, regulates a variety of functions, and its inhibition may disrupt mitochondrial function to impact recovery from IR injury.

Wideband silicon-photonic thermo-optic switch in a wavelength-division multiplexed ring network.

Using a compact (0.03 mm(2)) silicon-photonic bias-free thermo-optic cross-bar switch, we demonstrate microsecond-scale switching of twenty wavelength channels of a C-band wavelength-division multiplexed optical ring network, each carrying 10 Gbit/second data concurrently, with 15 mW electrical power consumption (no temperature control required). A convenient pulsed driving scheme is demonstrated and eye patterns and bit-error rate measurements are shown.

Improvement of performance of liquid crystal microlens with polymer surface modification.

An electrically controllable liquid crystal (LC) microlens with polymer crater, which is simply prepared by droplet evaporation, has been previously proposed as a focusing device possessing excellent characteristics in optical performance, especially for the capability of tunable focal lengths. As the alignment layer on the crater surface cannot be effectively rubbed, non-uniformly symmetrical electric fields in the LC lenses usually induce disclination lines during operation. In this paper, a polymer surface stabilization technique is applied to successfully prevent disclination lines and greatly improve the performance of the LC microlens with the polymer crater.

Hepatic arterial infusion pump chemotherapy in the management of colorectal liver metastases: expert consensus statement.

Despite significant improvements in systemic therapy for patients with colorectal liver metastases (crlms), response rates in the first-line setting are not optimal, and response rates in the second-line setting remain disappointing. Hepatic arterial infusion pump (haip) chemotherapy has been extensively studied in patients with crlms, but it remains infrequently used. We convened an expert panel to discuss the role of haip in the contemporary management of patients with crlm.

Tunable liquid crystal microlenses with crater polymer prepared by droplet evaporation.

A simple and low-cost technique is proposed to construct a tunable liquid crystal (LC) microlens with a crater polymer structure, which is prepared using micro-drop technology and 2-step UV polymerization. The dimensions and the geometric profile of the restructured polymer surface significantly depend on the volume of the micro droplet, and the UV irradiation dose. In this work, the focal length of the LC microlens is controlled electrically from infinity to 7.

Improvement of chronic osteomyelitis after granulocyte colony stimulating factor.

Background: chronic osteomyelitis represents a persistent bone and bone marrow infection easy to diagnose in the presence of pain, erythema, swelling, and a draining sinus but more difficult to detect in the absence of the preceding features and with a painful orthopaedic prosthesis.

Case Description: we report upon an elderly gentleman with myelodysplasia requiring revision surgery for a fractured prosthetic left knee. He had clinical, laboratory, and radiological features of chronic osteomyelitis that improved only with administration of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF).

Abnormal inhibition of return in mild cognitive impairment: is it specific to the presence of prodromal dementia?

Although there is some evidence that amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) can be characterized by significant deficits in visuospatial function, the cross-sectional design of the majority of these studies renders it impossible to determine whether such deficits occur in aMCI as a result of, or accompany, amnestic dysfunction per se or whether they are the result of disproportionately poorer performance in a sub-group of patients for whom aMCI represents prodromal dementia. Similarly, whether the absence of aMCI-related functional deficit stems from the masking of dementia-specific abnormality by the preserved performance of those with a different cause of aMCI cannot be ascertained. Here we report the outcome of a cross-sectional and 2.