Children of men with alcohol dependence: Psychopathology, neurodevelopment and family environment.

Background: Children of people with alcohol dependence (COAs) are at high risk for behavioral and cognitive problems.

Aim: Aim of this study was to compare the nature and extent of these problems in children of men with and without alcohol dependence.

Materials And Methods: 32 children (17 in study group and 15 controls) were evaluated for psychopathology, neurodevelopment, cognitive functioning and family environment.

Limitations of closing percutaneous transthoracic ventricular access ports using a commercial collagen vascular closure device.

Introduction: Closed-chest access and closure of direct cardiac punctures may enable a range of therapeutic procedures. We evaluate the safety and feasibility of closing percutaneous direct ventricular access sites using a commercial collagen-based femoral artery closure device.

Methods: Yorkshire swine underwent percutaneous transthoracic left ventricular access (n = 13).

Aortic root abscess: multimodality imaging with computed tomography and gallium-67 citrate single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography hybrid imaging.

Culture negative endocarditis and aortic root abscess can prove difficult diagnostic challenges. Computed tomography can be extremely useful in this setting. We report a case of an aortic root abscess 3 months after elective aortic valve replacement in which cardiac CT and hybrid imaging with Gallium-67 SPECT complemented workup with transesophageal echocardiography in establishing the diagnosis of an abscess.

Hyperglycemia and diabetes mellitus in children with pancreatitis.

Objective: To assess the risk factors for developing hyperglycemia and diabetes mellitus (DM) in children with pancreatitis.

Study Design: Patients (from infants to age 21 years) hospitalized with acute pancreatitis (AP), acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP), and chronic pancreatitis were studied retrospectively. Subjects with known DM or cystic fibrosis before presentation with pancreatitis were excluded.

A synthetic adjuvant to enhance and expand immune responses to influenza vaccines.

Safe, effective adjuvants that enhance vaccine potency, including induction of neutralizing Abs against a broad range of variant strains, is an important strategy for the development of seasonal influenza vaccines which can provide optimal protection, even during seasons when available vaccines are not well matched to circulating viruses. We investigated the safety and ability of Glucopyranosyl Lipid Adjuvant-Stable Emulsion (GLA-SE), a synthetic Toll-like receptor (TLR)4 agonist formulation, to adjuvant Fluzone® in mice and non-human primates. The GLA-SE adjuvanted Fluzone vaccine caused no adverse reactions, increased the induction of T helper type 1 (T(H)1)-biased cytokines such as IFNγ, TNF and IL-2, and broadened serological responses against drifted A/H1N1 and A/H3N2 influenza variants.

Fabrication of polypyrrole/ZnCoO nanohybrid systems for solar cell applications.

Hybrid solar cells employing conjugated polymers have revolutionized the photovoltaic industry by offering the prospect for large-scale energy conversion applications through cost-effective fabrication techniques. In this regard, we have demonstrated an experimental approach to fabricate polypyrrole/ZnCoO nanorod hybrid systems, using hydrothermal and electropolymerization techniques. The structural property studies on the hydrothermally synthesized Co-doped ZnO nanocrystallites revealed them to be phase pure with rod-like morphology.

Drosophila Mtm and class II PI3K coregulate a PI(3)P pool with cortical and endolysosomal functions.

Reversible phosphoinositide phosphorylation provides a dynamic membrane code that balances opposing cell functions. However, in vivo regulatory relationships between specific kinases, phosphatases, and phosphoinositide subpools are not clear. We identified myotubularin (mtm), a Drosophila melanogaster MTM1/MTMR2 phosphoinositide phosphatase, as necessary and sufficient for immune cell protrusion formation and recruitment to wounds.

Hypoxic tumor microenvironments reduce collagen I fiber density.

Although the mechanisms through which hypoxia influences several phenotypic characteristics such as angiogenesis, selection for resistance to apoptosis, resistance to radiation and chemotherapy, and increased invasion and metastasis are well characterized, the relationship between tumor hypoxia and components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is relatively unexplored. The collagen I (Col1) fiber matrix of solid tumors is the major structural part of the ECM. Col1 fiber density can increase tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis, with cancer cell invasion occurring along radially aligned Col1 fibers.

Choline kinase overexpression increases invasiveness and drug resistance of human breast cancer cells.

A direct correlation exists between increased choline kinase (Chk) expression, and the resulting increase of phosphocholine levels, and histological tumor grade. To better understand the function of Chk and choline phospholipid metabolism in breast cancer we have stably overexpressed one of the two isoforms of Chk-alpha known to be upregulated in malignant cells, in non-invasive MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Dynamic tracking of cell invasion and cell metabolism were studied with a magnetic resonance (MR) compatible cell perfusion assay.

Applying TLR synergy in immunotherapy: implications in cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Therapy of intracellular pathogens can be complicated by drug toxicity, drug resistance, and the need for prolonged treatment regimens. One approach that has shown promise is immunotherapy. Leishmaniasis, a vector-borne disease ranked among the six most important tropical infectious diseases by the World Health Organization, has been treated clinically with crude or defined vaccine preparations or cytokines, such as IFN-gamma and GM-CSF, in combination with chemotherapy.

Neoplastic transformation of breast epithelial cells by genotoxic stress.

Background: Exposure to genotoxic stresses such as radiation and tobacco smoke can cause increased cancer incidence rate as reflected in an in depth meta-analysis of data for women and breast cancer incidence. Published reports have indicated that exposures to low dose radiation and tobacco smoke are factors that contribute to the development of breast cancer. However, there is a scarcity of information on the combinatorial effects of low dose radiation and tobacco smoke on formation and progression of breast cancer.

Nrf2-deficiency creates a responsive microenvironment for metastasis to the lung.

The Nrf2 transcription factor is crucial for regulating the cellular defense against various carcinogens. However, relationship between host Nrf2 and cancer metastasis remains unexplored. To address this issue, we examined susceptibility of Nrf2-deficient mice to pulmonary cancer metastasis following implantation of the mouse Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL) cell line.

The role of adjunctive exenatide therapy in pediatric type 1 diabetes.

Objective: Exenatide improves postprandial glycemic excursions in type 2 diabetes. Exenatide could benefit type 1 diabetes as well. We aimed to determine an effective and safe glucose-lowering adjuvant exenatide dose in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

Multiple vortex vein ampulla varicosities.

Vortex vein ampulla varicosities are asymptomatic, harmless, findings in the retina. They are incidentally picked up on routine eye examination or when presenting for unrelated ocular symptoms. Clinicians and other eye care professionals unaware of this condition may be alarmed and may subject patients to unnecessary anxiety and expensive investigations.

Twist modulates breast cancer stem cells by transcriptional regulation of CD24 expression.

The cancer stem cell paradigm postulates that dysregulated tissue-specific stem cells or progenitor cells are precursors for cancer biogenesis. Consequently, identifying cancer stem cells is crucial to our understanding of cancer progression and for the development of novel therapeutic agents. In this study, we demonstrate that the overexpression of Twist in breast cells can promote the generation of a breast cancer stem cell phenotype characterized by the high expression of CD44, little or no expression of CD24, and increased aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 activity, independent of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Peptides derived from type IV collagen, CXC chemokines, and thrombospondin-1 domain-containing proteins inhibit neovascularization and suppress tumor growth in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer xenografts.

Angiogenesis or neovascularization, the process of new blood vessel formation from preexisting microvasculature, involves interactions among several cell types including parenchymal, endothelial cells, and immune cells. The formation of new vessels is tightly regulated by a balance between endogenous proangiogenic and antiangiogenic factors to maintain homeostasis in tissue; tumor progression and metastasis in breast cancer have been shown to be angiogenesis-dependent. We previously introduced a systematic methodology to identify putative endogenous antiangiogenic peptides and validated these predictions in vitro in human umbilical vein endothelial cell proliferation and migration assays.

Noninvasive multiparametric imaging of metastasis-permissive microenvironments in a human prostate cancer xenograft.

Metastasis continues to be one of the major causes of mortality from prostate cancer. Because human malignant cell lines metastasize more readily from orthotopic sites than from heterotopic sites, to identify metastasis-permissive tumor microenvironments, we used noninvasive imaging to compare the in vivo vascular, metabolic, and physiologic characteristics of a human prostate cancer xenograft implanted orthotopically in the prostate or s.c.

Vaccination with the ML0276 antigen reduces local inflammation but not bacterial burden during experimental Mycobacterium leprae infection.

Leprosy elimination has been a goal of the WHO for the past 15 years. Widespread BCG vaccination and multidrug therapy have dramatically reduced worldwide leprosy prevalence, but new case detection rates have remained relatively constant. These data suggest that additional control strategies, such as a subunit vaccine, are required to block transmission and to improve leprosy control.

Enhanced humoral and Type 1 cellular immune responses with Fluzone adjuvanted with a synthetic TLR4 agonist formulated in an emulsion.

Impairments in anti-influenza T helper 1 (Th1) responses are associated with greater risk of influenza-related mortality in the elderly. Addition of adjuvants to existing influenza vaccines could improve immune responses in the elderly. In this study, the activity of three adjuvants, an oil-in-water emulsion and a synthetic lipid A adjuvant formulated with or without the emulsion, is compared.

Mitral cerclage annuloplasty, a novel transcatheter treatment for secondary mitral valve regurgitation: initial results in swine.

Objectives: We developed and tested a novel transcatheter circumferential annuloplasty technique to reduce mitral regurgitation in porcine ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Catheter-based annuloplasty for secondary mitral regurgitation exploits the proximity of the coronary sinus to the mitral annulus, but is limited by anatomic variants and coronary artery entrapment.

Methods: The procedure, "cerclage annuloplasty," is guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) roadmaps fused with live X-ray.

Brachial neuritis caused by varicella-zoster diagnosed by changes in brachial plexus on MRI.

Brachial neuritis is a rare disorder affecting the brachial plexus. It is characterized by the acute onset of shoulder and arm pain followed by weakness, sensory loss and atrophy. Diagnosis is essentially clinical with electrophysiological investigations and imaging useful in excluding other differentials and supporting the diagnosis.

Empowering health personnel for decentralized health planning in India: The Public Health Resource Network.

The Public Health Resource Network is an innovative distance-learning course in training, motivating, empowering and building a network of health personnel from government and civil society groups. Its aim is to build human resource capacity for strengthening decentralized health planning, especially at the district level, to improve accountability of health systems, elicit community participation for health, ensure equitable and accessible health facilities and to bring about convergence in programmes and services. The question confronting health systems in India is how best to reform, revitalize and resource primary health systems to deliver different levels of service aligned to local realities, ensuring universal coverage, equitable access, efficiency and effectiveness, through an empowered cadre of health personnel.

Interleukin-6 induces an epithelial-mesenchymal transition phenotype in human breast cancer cells.

Breast tumor interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels increase with tumor grade, and elevated serum IL-6 correlates with poor breast cancer patient survival. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotypes such as impaired E-cadherin expression or aberrant Vimentin induction are associated with enhanced metastasis and unfavorable clinical outcome in breast cancer. Despite this fact, few tumor microenvironment-derived extracellular signaling factors capable of provoking such a phenotypic transition have been identified.