Does nailfold capillaroscopy help predict future outcomes in systemic sclerosis? A systematic literature review.

Background: Nailfold capillaroscopy (NC) is an important diagnostic tool in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Confirmation of NC as a prognostic factor could facilitate earlier intervention and slow disease progression in SSc. We undertook a systematic literature review to evaluate the prognostic value of NC in predicting SSc disease progression.

Is p16-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma associated with favorable prognosis? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare the prognosis of patients with p16 expressing oropharyngeal squamous cell cancers to patients with p16 non-expressing cancers. Clinical outcomes that were evaluated included overall survival, local recurrence, disease-free survival, disease-specific survival, and event-free survival. The following electronic databases were searched: Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (via Pubmed), and Web of Science.

The evaluation of a screening tool for children with an intellectual disability: the Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire.

The study outlines the evaluation of an intellectual disability screening tool, the Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire (CAIDS-Q), with two age groups. A number of aspects of the reliability and validity of the CAIDS-Q were assessed for these two groups, including inter-rater reliability, convergent and discriminative validity. For both age groups, a significant positive relationship was found between full scale IQ and CAIDS-Q score, indicating convergent validity.

Industry liaison officers in the infected states of Australia during the 2007 equine influenza outbreak.

We describe the activities of persons who were formally employed as industry liaison officers (ILOs) in the infected states of Australia during the 2007 equine influenza outbreak. The knowledge and communication skills of ILOs allowed them to function very effectively, despite most of them having received no prior training. It is arguable, however, that if ILOs had received prior training, they would have performed more effectively sooner.

Professional composition of community learning disability teams in Scotland: implications for service provision.

A survey of all trusts in Scotland who provided specialist services to people with learning disabilities was made with a response rate of 100%. An examination was made of the professional composition of the community learning disability teams and the population covered. A disparity was found across Scottish trusts in the professions represented in the community learning disability teams with some professions having no input.

Quality here, there and everywhere: the application of a multi-dimensional learning tool to learning disability health services.

The following paper examines the applicability of Maxwell's Multi-dimensional Quality Evaluation model to community learning disability health services. The model defines seven dimensions against which the quality of any given service can be measured: effectiveness, efficiency, economy, equity, access to services, appropriateness and social acceptability. A number of examples in relation to community learning disability services are discussed.

An evaluation of community learning disability services for children with a learning disability.

This study outlines the results of a survey carried out with parents of children with a learning disability, general practitioners and community learning disability teams as to the health service needs for this client group. Overall, 40% of parents were very dissatisfied or dissatisfied with the services they received. A number of gaps in service provision were identified.

Haloperidol reduces smoking of both nicotine-containing and denicotinized cigarettes.

Rationale: Studies with laboratory animals and humans suggest that dopamine may play a role in maintaining cigarette smoking behavior via its interactions with nicotine.

Objectives: This study was designed to replicate and extend previous findings showing that the dopamine D2 antagonist, haloperidol, produces blockade of smoking reward and compensatory increases in smoking.

Methods: We studied 20 subjects in a 2x3 within-subjects design, with nicotine-containing or denicotinized cigarettes crossed with oral placebo, haloperidol 1 mg, or haloperidol 2 mg.

Intravenous dolasetron mesilate ameliorates postoperative nausea and vomiting.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of dolasetron mesilate with placebo for the treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV).

Methods: In a randomized, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled study 337 adult patients undergoing surgery with general anaesthesia received one of four single, doses of dolasetron mesilate iv (12.5, 25, 50, or 100 mg) or placebo.

Consideration of the relevance of ethological animal models for human repetitive behavioral spectrum disorders.

Treatment successes of various stereotyped behaviors in animals and humans has renewed interest in ethologic animal models for the study of psychiatric disorders. This report presents another such behavior occurring in horses to weaving. This anomalous, repetitive, and purposeless behavior draws analogies to human compulsive spectrum behaviors.

Postoperative emesis following otoplasty in children.

Sixty unpremedicated children aged between 3 and 14 years, scheduled for otoplasty, were randomly divided into one of three groups to receive either ondansetron 0.1 mg.kg-1, droperidol 75 micrograms.

Characterisation of angiotensin converting enzyme from different rat vascular beds.

The tissue renin angiotensin system may play a role in cardiovascular pathophysiology. Angiotensin converting enzyme in tissues is now a target for pharmacological inhibition. It is therefore important to determine whether ACE is evenly distributed throughout the vascular tree and whether the enzyme has the same characteristics in different vascular beds.

Haemodynamic, renal and hormonal responses to enalkiren in four patients with post-surgical oliguria.

1. The haemodynamic and hormonal responses of four patients with acute post-surgical oliguria (urine output < 0.5 mL/kg per h) were measured in response to the renin inhibitor enalkiren.

Two binding sites on angiotensin-converting enzyme: evidence from radioligand binding studies.

Purified angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) from rat lung and testis, membrane preparations of ACE from lung, kidney, and testis, and ACE from plasma were used in radioligand binding studies, to seek evidence for two binding sites in ACE of somatic origin, as predicted by molecular biology studies. 125I-Ro 31-8472, a radioiodinated hydroxy derivative of cilazaprilat, and 125I-351A, a radioiodinated p-hydroxybenzamidine analogue of lisinopril, were used as radioligands. Autoradiographic study of renal ACE using 125I-Ro 31-8472 or 125I-351A showed the same distribution of radioligand binding across kidney sections and identical radioligand binding for purified lung and testis ACE by Western blot, confirming that the same protein bound both radioligands.