A Two Stage Approach for the Automatic Detection of Insomnia.

Chronic insomnia can significantly impair an individual's quality of life leading to a high societal cost. Unfortunately, limited automated tools exist that can assist clinicians in the timely detection of insomnia. In this paper, we propose a two stage approach to automatically detect insomnia from an overnight EEG recording.

Musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders among 350 garment workers in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional pilot study.

Objective: To study the prevalence of musculoskeletal (MSK) symptoms and disorders among garment workers in Bangladesh, to look for possible relationships between pain location and type of work performed and to estimate the prevalence of rheumatological diagnoses.

Methods: A cross-sectional pilot study among 350 garment workers using the COPCORD (Community Oriented Program for Control of Rheumatic Disorders) methodology. Subjects with musculoskeletal pain were examined by rheumatologists for rheumatological diagnosis.

Pre-existing treatment with aspirin or statins influences clinical presentation, infarct size and inflammation in patients with de novo acute coronary syndromes.

Background: Influence of pre-existing treatment with aspirin and/or statins prior to a first acute coronary syndrome (ACS) on clinical presentation, infarct size and inflammation markers. We analyzed patients from the Swiss Program University Medicine ACS-cohort (SPUM-ACS; ClinicalTrials.govnumber:NCT01075867).

Targeted sequencing identifies a missense variant in the BEST3 gene associated with antihypertensive response to hydrochlorothiazide.

Chromosome 12q15 was identified in Genetic Epidemiology of Response Assessment (GERA) and replicated in Pharmacogenomic Evaluation of Antihypertensive Responses (PEAR) for its association with blood pressure (BP) response to hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ). However, the functional variant is unknown and we aimed to identify the likely functional variants through targeted sequencing. The chromosome 12q15 region was sequenced in 397 best and worst responders to HCTZ in PEAR (N=199) and GERA (N=198) hypertensive study participants.

Pharmacogenetic and clinical predictors of response to clopidogrel plus aspirin after acute coronary syndrome in Egyptians.

Objectives: Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and clopidogrel reduces the risk for recurrent cardiovascular events after acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, there is significant variation in response to DAPT that may be influenced by both genetic and nongenetic factors. This study aimed to assess the effect of genetic polymorphisms in PON-1, PEAR-1, P2Y12, CES1, and CYP2C19, along with clinical, demographic, and social factors, on variation in response to DAPT in Egyptians.

Gender Differences in Types, Frequency, Clinical Manifestations and Atherosclerotic Burden of Coronary Artery Anomalies.

Background: Although not well established; gender may play a role in the incidence, clinical manifestations, and atherosclerotic burden of Coronary Artery Anomalies (CAAS). Our aim is to investigate the impact of gender on coronary artery anomalies.

Methods: All coronary angiograms performed at the University Heart Center Zurich, Switzerland, between January 2000 and December 2016 were investigated.

Evaluation of Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern and Distribution of coa Genes in Coagulase-negative S. aureus from Ahvaz, Iran.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the important causes of clinical infections that can be more destructive by its antibiotic resistant strains.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the antibiotic susceptibility pattern and distribution of mecA and coa genes in clinical isolates of S. aureus.

Impact of gender on outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Backgound: The influence of gender on clinical outcomes following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) was considerably discrepant in previous studies. We aimed to investigate the impact of gender in our registry.

Methods: The study is a retrospective observational analysis of a prospectively designed cohort (546 consecutive patients treated at the University Hospital Zurich who were enrolled in Swiss TAVI Cohort from May 2008 to April 2014).

Blood pressure signature genes and blood pressure response to thiazide diuretics: results from the PEAR and PEAR-2 studies.

Background: Recently, 34 genes had been associated with differential expression relative to blood pressure (BP)/ hypertension (HTN). We hypothesize that some of the genes associated with BP/HTN are also associated with BP response to antihypertensive treatment with thiazide diuretics.

Methods: We assessed these 34 genes for association with differential expression to BP response to thiazide diuretics with RNA sequencing in whole blood samples from 150 hypertensive participants from the Pharmacogenomic Evaluation of Antihypertensive Responses (PEAR) and PEAR-2 studies.

A phase II evaluation of sunitinib in the treatment of persistent or recurrent clear cell ovarian carcinoma: An NRG Oncology/Gynecologic Oncology Group Study (GOG-254).

Objectives: To determine the efficacy and tolerability of sunitinib in recurrent or persistent clear cell ovarian cancer patients.

Methods: All patients had one or two prior regimens with measurable disease. Tumors were at least 50% clear cell histomorphology and negative for WT-1 antigen and estrogen receptor expression by immunohistochemistry.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinoline-4-carboxamide derivatives for the treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

No new and effective treatments have been approved for the treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in the past decade. Cisplatin and 5-fluoruracil are the most commonly used drugs for this disease. In order to develop a new class of drugs effective in our ESCC phenotypic screens, we began a systematic approach to generate novel compounds based on the 2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinoline-4-carboxamide fragment.

Minimally invasive approaches to craniosynostosis.

Craniosynostosis (CS) is defined as the premature fusion of one or more calvarial sutures. This carries several consequences, including abnormal/asymmetric cranial vault development, increased intracranial pressure, compromised neurocognitive development, and craniofacial deformity. Definitive management is surgical with the goal of protecting cerebral development by re-establishing normal cranial vault expansion and correcting cosmetic deformity.

Rotational Atherectomy in Acute STEMI with Heavily Calcified Culprit Lesion is a Rule Breaking Solution.

Background: Calcified coronary lesions represent technical challenges during percutaneous coronary intervention and are associated with a high frequency of restenosis and target lesion revascularization. Rotational atherectomy has been shown to increase procedural success in severely calcified lesions, facilitate stent delivery in undilatable lesions and ensure complete stent expansion. However, rotational atherectomy in ST-elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) is traditionally avoided given the concern for slow or no reflow and considered a contraindication in lesions with a visible thrombus by its manufacturer (Rotablator, Boston Scientific).

Outpatient spine surgery: defining the outcomes, value, and barriers to implementation.

Spine surgery is a key target for cost reduction within the United States health care system. One possible strategy involves the transition of inpatient surgeries to the ambulatory setting. Lumbar laminectomy with or without discectomy, lumbar fusion, anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, and cervical disc arthroplasty all represent promising candidates for outpatient surgeries in select populations.

Molecular characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage from hospitalized patients and medical staff in Isfahan, Iran.

Objectives: Nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been accounted as one of the main risk factors for the development of complicated nosocomial infections. The present study aimed to determine nasal carriage rate, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and molecular characteristics of MRSA isolates.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed within 6 months period from July 2015 at 3 hospitals of Isfahan, Iran.

Personalized Dosing of Dichloroacetate Using GSTZ1 Clinical Genotyping Assay.

Aims: Dichloroacetate (DCA) represents the first targeted therapy for pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency; it is metabolized by glutathione transferase zeta1 (GSTZ1). Variation in the GSTZ1 haplotype is the principal variable influencing DCA kinetics and dynamics in humans. We aimed to develop a sensitive and rapid clinical genetic screening test for determining GSTZ1 haplotype status in individuals who would be treated with DCA, and then apply the test for the investigation of the plasma pharmacokinetics (PK) of DCA as a function of GSTZ1 haplotype.

Implementation of an abdominal closure bundle to reduce surgical site infection in patients on a gynecologic oncology service undergoing exploratory laparotomy.

Objective: Surgical site infections (SSI) are associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. This study investigated whether implementation of an abdominal closure bundle reduces surgical site infection rates. We aimed to identify sub-populations that would benefit the most from this intervention.

Metabolomic association between venous thromboembolism in critically ill trauma patients and kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism.

Objective: Incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in critically ill patients remains unacceptably high despite widespread use of thromboprophylaxis. A systems biology approach may be useful in understanding disease pathology and predicting response to treatment. Metabolite profile under specific environmental conditions provides the closest link to phenotype, but the relationship between metabolomics and risk of VTE in critically ill patients is unknown.

Genome Wide Association Study Identifies the Locus to be Associated With Chlorthalidone Induced Glucose Increase in Hypertensive Patients.

Background: Thiazide and thiazide-like diuretics are first-line medications for treating uncomplicated hypertension. However, their use has been associated with adverse metabolic events, including hyperglycemia and incident diabetes mellitus, with incompletely understood mechanisms. Our goal was to identify genomic variants associated with thiazide-like diuretic/chlorthalidone-induced glucose change.

Short-Term Outcome After Left Main Interventions in Patients Presenting With Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of coronary left main (LM) disease interventions in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) as compared to those without LM coronary artery disease.

Methods: A total of 2899 patients with ACS, enrolled in the prospective Swiss Program University Medicine ACS (SPUM-ACS) cohort, were included. The primary endpoints of independently adjudicated major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular event (MACCE) and net adverse clinical event (NACE) were determined at 30-day follow-up.

Typing of staphylococcal cassette chromosome encoding methicillin resistance in isolates in Ahvaz, Iran.

Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) is a major nosocomial pathogen. We sought to determine the frequency of the different types of SCC in MRSA isolates by performing a cross-sectional study. A total of 72 isolates were collected from Imam Khomeini and Golestan hospitals and analysed for MRSA and SCC typing by multiplex PCR.

Scoliosis in Dandy-Walker syndrome: a case report and review of literature.

This submission presents a case of scoliosis in a patient with established Dandy-Walker anomaly of the brain. A retrospective review of the patient's case notes was undertaken and the limited literature on this subject reviewed. The 13-year-old girl presented with a stiff right thoracic scoliosis typical of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Inflammatory back pain and associated disease conditions among patients with chronic low back pain in Bangladesh.

Aim: Inflammatory back pain (IBP) is the earliest symptom of axial and other forms of spondyloarthritis (SpA). However, there are no published data on prevalence of IBP among patients suffering from chronic low back pain (CLBP) in Bangladesh. In this study, we estimated the prevalence of IBP and the subtypes of SpA in a tertiary hospital in Bangladesh.