Peer support for patients with type 2 diabetes: cluster randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To test the effectiveness of peer support for patients with type 2 diabetes.

Design: Cluster randomised controlled.

Setting: 20 general practices in the east of the Republic of Ireland.

α-Synuclein propagates from mouse brain to grafted dopaminergic neurons and seeds aggregation in cultured human cells.

Post-mortem analyses of brains from patients with Parkinson disease who received fetal mesencephalic transplants show that α-synuclein-containing (α-syn-containing) Lewy bodies gradually appear in grafted neurons. Here, we explored whether intercellular transfer of α-syn from host to graft, followed by seeding of α-syn aggregation in recipient neurons, can contribute to this phenomenon. We assessed α-syn cell-to-cell transfer using microscopy, flow cytometry, and high-content screening in several coculture model systems.

Papillary muscle involvement in myocardial infarction: initial results using multicontrast late-enhancement MRI.

We hypothesized that multicontrast late-enhancement (MCLE) MRI would improve the identification of papillary muscle involvement (PM-MI) in patients with myocardial infarction (MI), compared with conventional late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) MRI using the inversion recovery fast gradient echo (IR-FGRE) technique. Cardiac LGE-MRI studies using both MCLE and IR-FGRE pulse sequences were performed on a 1.5 Tesla (T) MRI system in 23 patients following MI.

Regulatory BC1 RNA and the fragile X mental retardation protein: convergent functionality in brain.

Background: BC RNAs and the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) are translational repressors that have been implicated in the control of local protein synthesis at the synapse. Work with BC1 and Fmr1 animal models has revealed that phenotypical consequences resulting from the absence of either BC1 RNA or FMRP are remarkably similar. To establish functional interactions between BC1 RNA and FMRP is important for our understanding of how local protein synthesis regulates neuronal excitability.

The ergonomic evaluation of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among construction labourers working in unorganized sectors in West Bengal, India.

The present study aimed at ergonomic evaluation of the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among construction labourers working in unorganized sectors in West Bengal, India. A modified Nordic questionnaire was applied to one hundred forty male and ninety female construction labourers to acquire information about musculoskeletal symptoms like pain in different body parts. Work-rest schedules of the labourers in different work activities were studied.

A case report of right ventricular mass.

Primary Cardiac tumors are uncommon during infancy and childhood. Myxomas originating in the right ventricles are even less common in paediatric patient. Our patient baby Rani, 3 months of age presented with shortness of breath and chest indrawing.

Comment on "Narrow primary feather rachises in Confuciusornis and Archaeopteryx suggest poor flight ability".

Nudds and Dyke (Reports, 14 May 2010, p. 887) reported that the primary features of the early birds Archaeopteryx and Confuciusornis were too weak to power flight. This conclusion is not supported because the authors overestimated the mass of the subjects and understated the strength of the primary shafts in at least one example.

'The real deal': a feasibility study of peer-led sex education for early school leavers.

Objectives: To explore female early school leaver's experience of sexual activity and sex education, and to assess the feasibility and potential impact of a peer-led sex education intervention.

Methods: Forty five young female early school leavers and ten peer educators participated in the study. The ten peer educators, early school leavers who were teenage mothers, were trained to deliver the peer-led education intervention.

Interpretation of arterial blood gas.

Disorders of acid-base balance can lead to severe complications in many disease states, and occasionally the abnormality may be so severe as to become a life-threatening risk factor. The process of analysis and monitoring of arterial blood gas (ABG) is an essential part of diagnosing and managing the oxygenation status and acid-base balance of the high-risk patients, as well as in the care of critically ill patients in the Intensive Care Unit. Since both areas manifest sudden and life-threatening changes in all the systems concerned, a thorough understanding of acid-base balance is mandatory for any physician, and the anesthesiologist is no exception.

Minnesota 10 by 10. Reducing morbidity and mortality in people with serious mental illnesses.

Persons with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar affective disorder in Minnesota are dying much younger than their age- and sex-matched cohorts. A new initiative, MN 10 By 10, is designed to engage key constituencies in addressing modifiable risk factors in order to lengthen these individuals' lives.

Complications of laparoscopic myomectomy: A single surgeon's series of 1001 cases.

Objective: The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate the safety, intra-operative and post-operative morbidity of laparoscopic approach for myomectomy.

Methods: The total 1001 subjects who underwent endoscopic surgery over a 16-year period were studied retrospectively. All the data were collected regarding clinical presentation, intra-operative findings, intra-operative and post-operative complications, and hospital stay, and statistically analysed.

Correlation of platelet count and acute ST-elevation in myocardial infarction.

The role of platelets in the pathogenesis of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has been substantiated by studies that demonstrated significant clinical benefits associated with antiplatelet therapy. Initial platelet counts in Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) may be a useful adjunct for identifying those patients who may or may not respond to fibrinolytic agents. Patient with acute STEMI has variable level of platelet count and with higher platelet count have poor in hospital outcome.

Thermo-physical property measurement of nano-gold dispersed water based nanofluids prepared by chemical precipitation technique.

Nano-gold dispersed water based nanofluid has been prepared following the chemical reduction method. Crystallite size, particle size/shape/morphology, and purity of the nanoparticles have been characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersion spectroscopy, respectively. The degree of thermal conductivity enhancement of the nanofluid (with respect to the base fluid) as a function of concentration and size of gold nanoparticle has been determined using the transient hot-wire technique.

Beyond co-localization: inferring spatial interactions between sub-cellular structures from microscopy images.

Background: Sub-cellular structures interact in numerous direct and indirect ways in order to fulfill cellular functions. While direct molecular interactions crucially depend on spatial proximity, other interactions typically result in spatial correlations between the interacting structures. Such correlations are the target of microscopy-based co-localization analysis, which can provide hints of potential interactions.

Specific-pathogen-free chickens vaccinated with a live FAdV-4 vaccine are fully protected against a severe challenge even in the absence of neutralizing antibodies.

By adapting a very virulent fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) to a fibroblast cell line (QT35) instead of growing the virus in chicken embryo liver cells or chicken kidney cells, it was possible to attenuate the virus. Birds infected with the attenuated virus (FAdV-4/QT35) on the first day of life expressed no adverse clinical signs and no mortality. Intramuscular challenge with the virulent virus grown on chicken embryo liver cells (FAdV-4/CEL) at 21 days of life induced high mortality in previously nonvaccinated birds, whereas none of the birds vaccinated at 1 day old with FAdV-4/QT35 died due to this challenge.

Effect of lead on oxidative stress, Na+K+ATPase activity and mitochondrial electron transport chain activity of the brain of Clarias batrachus L.

The present invivo study was designed to elucidate the toxic effect of lead on oxidative stress, Na(+)K(+)ATPase and mitochondrial electron transport chain activity of the brain of Clarias batrachus. The fish were exposed to 10 and 20% of the derived 96 h LC(50) value, 37.8 and 75.

Pre-dispositions and epigenetic inheritance in the Escherichia coli lactose operon bistable switch.

The lactose operon regulation in Escherichia coli is a primary model of phenotypic switching, reminiscent of cell fate determination in higher organisms. Under conditions of bistability, an isogenic cell population partitions into two subpopulations, with the operon's genes turned on or remaining off. It is generally hypothesized that the final state of a cell depends solely on stochastic fluctuations of the network's protein concentrations, particularly on bursts of lactose permease expression.

Catastrophic cascade of failures in interdependent networks.

Complex networks have been studied intensively for a decade, but research still focuses on the limited case of a single, non-interacting network. Modern systems are coupled together and therefore should be modelled as interdependent networks. A fundamental property of interdependent networks is that failure of nodes in one network may lead to failure of dependent nodes in other networks.

The rationale for consuming protein blends in sports nutrition.

Protein is considered by many to be the most important macronutrient for humans because of the numerous roles protein plays in the body. Protein needs have been compared across several population groups, including athletes and other exercising individuals. Many researchers have compared the effects of ingesting animal and vegetable protein sources and their implications on sports performance.

Spatial heterogeneity and functional response: an experiment in microcosms with varying obstacle densities.

Spatial heterogeneity of the environment has long been recognized as a major factor in ecological dynamics. Its role in predator-prey systems has been of particular interest, where it can affect interactions in two qualitatively different ways: by providing (1) refuges for the prey or (2) obstacles that interfere with the movements of both prey and predators. There have been relatively fewer studies of obstacles than refuges, especially studies on their effect on functional responses.

Sulfonamide antibiotics embedded in high silica zeolite Y: a combined experimental and theoretical study of host-guest and guest-guest interactions.

A combined experimental and computational study of the interactions of three sulfonamides--sulfadiazine, sulfamethazine, and sulfachloropyridazine--embedded into the cages of high silica zeolite Y is here proposed. For all host-guest systems, the close vicinity of aromatic rings with zeolite framework was evidenced by multidimensional and multinuclear ((1)H, (13)C, (29)Si) SS-NMR measurements. Host-guest and guest-guest interactions were also elucidated by in situ FTIR spectroscopy and confirmed by ab initio computational modeling.

Academic development: a survey of academic difficulties experienced by medical students and support services provided.

Background: The Academic Development Special Interest Group (ADSIG) of CGEA was formed to act as a resource for those assisting at-risk students. It is not uncommon for medical students to have varying degrees of learning and coping skills. Thus, it is important to assist students in determining their source of difficulty and provide them with resources to be successful.