ABM Clinical Protocol #7: Model Maternity Policy Supportive of Breastfeeding.

A central goal of The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine is the development of clinical protocols for managing common medical problems that may impact breastfeeding success. These protocols serve only as guidelines for the care of breastfeeding mothers and infants and do not delineate an exclusive course of treatment or serve as standards of medical care. Variations in treatment may be appropriate according to the needs of an individual patient.

Both Prenatal and Postnatal Interventions Are Needed to Improve Breastfeeding Outcomes in a Low-Income Population.

Background: Breastfeeding provides many health benefits for mothers and their infants that span their life course. Despite this, national breastfeeding rates are below benchmarks set by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Breastfeeding rates in the Detroit low-income population are particularly low.

Liver test results do not identify liver disease in adults with α(1)-antitrypsin deficiency.

Background & Aims: Liver disease is a significant cause of death among adults with α(1)-antitrypsin (A-AT) deficiency. Age and male sex are reported risk factors for liver disease. In the absence of adequate risk stratification, current recommendations are to intermittently test A-AT-deficient adults for liver function.

Alpha-1-antitrypsin augmentation therapy in deficient individuals enrolled in the Alpha-1 Foundation DNA and Tissue Bank.

Introduction: Intravenous augmentation therapy with purified intravenous alpha-1 antitrypsin replaces the deficient protein and is the only currently approved treatment for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) related lung disease. While augmentation therapy has been available for more than 20 years, there are a limited number of studies evaluating the effect of augmentation on lung function.

Material And Methods: We examined the decline in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)) in patients enrolled in the Alpha-1 Foundation DNA and Tissue Bank in relation to the use or not of alpha-1 antitrypsin augmentation therapy.

Multi-criteria trajectory planning for hepatic radiofrequency ablation.

In this paper, we propose a method based on multiple criteria to assist physicians in planning percutaneous RFA on liver. We explain how we extracted information from literature and interviews with radiologists, and formalized them into geometric constraints. We expose then our method to compute the most suitable needle insertion in two steps: computation of authorized insertion zones and multi-criteria optimization of the trajectory within this zones.

Trajectory optimization for the planning of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of hepatic tumors.

Radiofrequency ablation is increasingly used in the treatment of hepatic tumors. Planning the percutaneous intervention is essential and particularly difficult. In this paper, we focus on an automated computation of optimal needle insertion in computer-assisted surgery with 3D visualization.

Precise determination of regions of interest for hepatic RFA planning.

Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation is a minimally invasive therapy for the treatment of liver tumors that consists in a destruction of tumors by heat. A correct insertion and placement of the needle inside the tumor is critical and conditions the success of the operation. We are developing a software that uses patients data to help the physician plan the operation.

Optimal trajectories computation within regions of interest for hepatic RFA planning.

Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation has become a frequently used technique for the treatment of liver cancers, but still remains very difficult to plan. In this paper, we propose a robust method to delineate on the skin of a 3D reconstructed patient the zones that are candidate for an insertion, because they allow a safe access to the tumor without meeting any organ, and to compute automatically within these zones an optimal trajectory minimizing the volume of necrosis covering the tumor.

Origin and distribution of sulphate in surface waters of the Mansfeld mining district (Central Germany)--a sulphur isotope study.

In the Mansfeld region (Central Germany) copper mining contributed to an enormous pollution of the environment. Metal- and sulphate-bearing sediments and leachates emerge from the former copper smelters and mining waste heaps, spread along local rivers and finally reach the Saale river. A sulphur isotope study on water and stream sediments was performed along the River "Böse Sieben" and from its tributaries to determine the different sulphur sources.

Reduced anterior tibial translation associated with adaptive changes in the anterior cruciate ligament-deficient joint: goat model.

Adaptive changes in the menisci and adjacent posterior capsule were documented within anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knee (stifle) joints in the goat model. These physical changes in the menisci and capsule developed over time and were associated with reduction in the initial (time zero) abnormal anterior tibial translation following transection of the anterior cruciate ligament. At 50 N of applied force, the normal goat knee joint has a total anterior-posterior translation of 0.

Musculoskeletal complications of varicella.

Varicella, commonly known as chickenpox, is a common viral infection in children. An estimated 3.5 million cases occur annually in the United States.

Increased expression of the beta 1, alpha 5, and alpha v integrin adhesion receptor subunits occurs coincident with remodeling of stress-deprived rabbit anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments.

The biomechanical, biochemical, and morphological properties of the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments are dramatically altered in response to deprivation of normal physical forces and joint motion. Integrin adhesion receptors are known to play important roles in the tissue remodeling that occurs in the course of normal wound repair. We propose that integrins play a similar role in the remodeling of the extracellular matrix in stress-deprived periarticular ligaments.

Integrin display increases in the wounded rabbit medial collateral ligament but not the wounded anterior cruciate ligament.

The differential capacities of the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments to heal may be related to differences in cellular function. This study tested the hypothesis that differential expression of integrins occurs in these ligaments after injury. The integrins are a family of cell surface receptors that mediate adhesion, migration, and other cellular functions critical to the healing of a wound.

Integrin expression by human articular chondrocytes.

Objective: To perform a comprehensive analysis of the integrin forms expressed by normal human articular chondrocytes.

Methods: Cartilage sections and collagenase-released chondrocytes were probed with a comprehensive panel of integrin isoform-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAb), using in situ immunohistochemistry techniques, indirect immunofluorescence and flow cytometry, and immunoprecipitation/sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).

Results: Chondrocytes in cartilage sections reacted with MAb specific for the alpha 5, alpha v, and beta 1 integrin subunits and the alpha v beta 3 and alpha v beta 5 heterodimers.

Immunohistochemical localization of beta 1-integrins in anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments of human and rabbit.

The integrins are a family of adhesion-mediating cell surface receptors that play critical roles in cell-extracellular matrix interactions and have been shown to be important in the healing response in several tissues. We have studied integrin expression in normal human and rabbit anterior cruciate (ACL) and medial collateral (MCL) ligaments of the knee as a preamble to studies of beta 1-integrin expression in healing ligaments. Histologic sections of human and rabbit ACL and MCL were probed for integrin expression utilizing integrin-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) followed by immunoperoxidase detection.

Immunomodulating and antimetastatic activity of 3-(p-chlorophenyl) thiazolo[3,2-a]benzimidazole-2-acetic acid (Wy-18,251, NSC 310633).

The antimetastatic activity of a thiazolobenzimidazole, Wy-18,251 was investigated using various dosage regimens in mice with implanted Lewis lung tumors. The low doses, 1 and 5 mg/kg (i.p.