Prdm16 determines the thermogenic program of subcutaneous white adipose tissue in mice.

The white adipose organ is composed of both subcutaneous and several intra-abdominal depots. Excess abdominal adiposity is a major risk factor for metabolic disease in rodents and humans, while expansion of subcutaneous fat does not carry the same risks. Brown adipose produces heat as a defense against hypothermia and obesity, and the appearance of brown-like adipocytes within white adipose tissue depots is associated with improved metabolic phenotypes.

The Case for Unit-Based Teams: A Model for Front-line Engagement and Performance Improvement.

Unit-based teams (UBTs)-defined as natural work groups of physicians, managers, and frontline staff who work collaboratively to solve problems, improve performance, and enhance quality-were established by the 2005 national agreement between Kaiser Permanente (KP) and the Coalition of KP Unions. They use established performance-improvement techniques and employee-engagement principles (including social-movement theory) to achieve clinical and operational goals. UBT members identify performance gaps and opportunities within their purview-issues they can address in the course of the day-to-day work, such as workflow or process improvement.

Diminutive, interradicular "hybrid" desmoplastic/acanthomatous ameloblastoma.

Ameloblastomas are benign aggressive odontogentic tumors that exhibit insidious growth rates with attainment of extensive dimesions. Because ameloblastomas are not usually symptomatic until late in their clinical course, few are detected early. This article reports an atypical case of a small, painful ameloblastoma arising between the roots of the mandibular left canine and lateral incisor in a 66-year-old female.

Inverse p16 and p63 expression in small cell carcinoma and high-grade urothelial cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder.

Small cell carcinoma (SmCC) of the urinary bladder is a rare, highly aggressive neoplasm. The diagnosis is usually made on morphologic grounds, with the help of immunohistochemistry to document neuroendocrine differentiation. However, neuroendocrine markers generally have low sensitivity, ranging between 30-70%.

The multidisciplinary tumor conference in gynecologic oncology--does it alter management?

Objective: To assess the role of the multidisciplinary tumor conference in patient management in a tertiary gynecologic oncology service.

Methods: Data were analyzed from the records of all patients presented at the gynecologic oncology tumor conferences at Auckland City Hospital from August 1, 2005, to August 1, 2006. Patient information including referral source, cancer site, stage, whether surgery had been performed before the tumor conference and if so where and by whom, and benign versus malignant was extracted from the records.

Maximizing influence propagation in networks with community structure.

We consider the algorithmic problem of selecting a set of target nodes that cause the biggest activation cascade in a network. In case when the activation process obeys the diminishing return property, a simple hill-climbing selection mechanism has been shown to achieve a provably good performance. Here we study models of influence propagation that exhibit critical behavior and where the property of diminishing returns does not hold.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia: the hypogonadal-obesity-prostate connection.

Prostatic enlargement occurs over the course of a lifetime and is associated with many risk factors. Recent observations demonstrate that valvular damage, occurring in the internal spermatic veins results in increased hydrostatic pressures that lead to venous backflow. Two consequences of venous backflow are the prolonged exposure to hydrostatic pressure and high testosterone levels that effect the prostate directly.

Precolonized human commensal Escherichia coli strains serve as a barrier to E. coli O157:H7 growth in the streptomycin-treated mouse intestine.

Different Escherichia coli strains generally have the same metabolic capacity for growth on sugars in vitro, but they appear to use different sugars in the streptomycin-treated mouse intestine (Fabich et al., Infect. Immun.

The Pic protease of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli promotes intestinal colonization and growth in the presence of mucin.

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is increasingly being recognized as a cause of diarrheal disease in diverse populations. No small animal model is currently available to study this pathogen. We report here that conventional mice orally inoculated with prototype EAEC strain 042 generally became colonized, though the abundance of organisms cultured from their stool varied substantially among individual animals.

The post-opium scenario and rubber in northern Laos: Alternative Western and Chinese models of development.

Background: In the past few years rubber planting has spread rapidly throughout northern Laos, especially in Luang Namtha province that borders China. The impetus for this boom has come partly from the spiralling demand for rubber in China (now the world's largest rubber consumer), the high world prices for rubber, and China's promotion of overseas investment through its opium-replacement policy. These economic factors have converged with the desperate need of impoverished highlanders in northern Laos to replace opium as a cash crop as a consequence of a recent opium-eradication campaign and inadequate alternative development.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium mutants unable to convert malate to pyruvate and oxaloacetate are avirulent and immunogenic in BALB/c mice.

Previously, we showed that the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium SR-11 tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle must operate as a complete cycle for full virulence after oral infection of BALB/c mice (M. Tchawa Yimga, M. P.

Coronary artery aneurysms: a review of the natural history, pathophysiology, and management.

Coronary artery aneurysms or ectasias are dilatations of arterial segments, which are typically incidentally identified at angiography. Several large clinical series have described the epidemiology and natural history of these malformations. The most common etiologic factor for coronary aneurysms is atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, but they can also be congenital or secondary to inflammatory or connective tissue disorders, with a well-known association with Kawasaki disease.

Microsurgical and endoscopic anatomy of Liliequist's membrane: a complex and variable structure of the basal cisterns.

Objective: Descriptions of Liliequist's membrane, as reported in the literature, vary considerably. In our cadaveric study of Liliequist's membrane, we attempted to clarify and define its anatomic features and boundaries, as well as its relationship with surrounding neurovascular structures. We describe the embryology of this membrane as a remnant of the primary tentorium.

Cellular program controlling the recovery of adipose tissue mass: An in vivo imaging approach.

The cellular program responsible for the restoration of adipose tissue mass after weight loss is largely uncharacterized. Leptin mRNA levels are highly correlated with adipose tissue mass, and leptin expression can thus be used as a surrogate for changes in the amount of adipose tissue. To further study the responses of adipocytes to changes in weight, we created a transgenic mouse expressing the luciferase reporter gene under the control of leptin regulatory sequences, which allows noninvasive imaging of the leptin expression of mice in vivo.

The hypoandrogenic-anabolic deficiency state: endocrine and metabolic shifts in men.

In recent years there has been increased interest in and awareness of the consequences of the male hypogonadal state which frequently occurs as one component of the androgen deficiency complex. This is important as it allows for abnormal energy partitioning which adversely alters anabolism and the maintenance of cellular and tissue biological integrity. Accumulating evidence strongly suggests that over time all forms of diminished androgen availability, in males, leads to adverse metabolic shifts that direct energy control mechanisms towards a progressive dysfunctional anabolic state.