Effect of exercise on biomarkers, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and depressive symptoms in older women with breast cancer receiving hormonal therapy.

Purpose/objectives: To compare the effectiveness of a prescribed home-based walking exercise intervention with usual care in older women receiving hormonal treatment for breast cancer, and to examine relationships among levels of the cortisol, serotonin, interleukin-6, and bilirubin biomarkers and fatigue, sleep disturbances, and depressive symptoms.

Design: Longitudinal randomized clinical trial.

Setting: A National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in the southeastern United States.

General and program-specific moderators of two eating disorder prevention programs.

Objective: To investigate general and program-specific factors hypothesized to moderate the effects of two eating disorder prevention programs.

Method: High-risk adolescent girls (N = 481; M age = 17) were randomized to a dissonance-based thin-ideal internalization reduction program, a healthy weight management program, an expressive-writing control condition, or an assessment-only control condition. Participants completed diagnostic interviews and surveys at pretest, post-test, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up.

Selective regulation of H1 histamine receptor signaling by G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 in uterine smooth muscle cells.

Histamine stimulates uterine contraction; however, little is known regarding the mechanism or regulation of uterine histamine receptor signaling. Here we investigated the regulation of Galpha(q/11)-coupled histamine receptor signaling in human myometrial smooth muscle cells using the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate biosensor pleckstrin homology domain of phospholipase-delta1 tagged to enhanced green fluorescent protein and the Ca(2+)-sensitive dye Fluo-4. Histamine addition caused concentration-dependent increases in inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and [Ca(2+)](i) in the ULTR human uterine smooth muscle cell line and primary human myometrial cells.

Dissonance-based Interventions for the prevention of eating disorders: using persuasion principles to promote health.

The limited efficacy of prior eating disorder (ED) prevention programs led to the development of dissonance-based interventions (DBIs) that utilize dissonance-based persuasion principles from social psychology. Although DBIs have been used to change other attitudes and behaviors, only recently have they been applied to ED prevention. This article reviews the theoretical rationale and empirical support for this type of prevention program.

The study of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene mutations in a group of patients from Romania.

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is produced by mutations in the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Gene (CFTR) gene.

Methods: One hundred twenty eight patients with CF were analysed for mutations in the CFTR gene in order to establish the frequency of CF mutations in the Romanian population. The chief methods of analysis were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of DNA extracted from blood and electrophoresis of PCR products.

Profile of the oral healthcare team in countries with emerging economies.

Health is a critical dimension of human well-being and flourishing, and oral health is an integral component of health: one is not healthy without oral health. Significant barriers exist to ensuring the world's people receive basic healthcare, including oral healthcare. Amongst these are poverty, ignorance, inadequate financial resources and lack of adequate numbers of educated and trained (oral) healthcare workers.

Dissonance and healthy weight eating disorder prevention programs: long-term effects from a randomized efficacy trial.

Adolescent girls with body dissatisfaction (N = 481, SD = 1.4) were randomized to a dissonance-based thin-ideal internalization reduction program, healthy weight control program, expressive writing control condition, or assessment-only control condition. Dissonance participants showed significantly greater decreases in thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, negative affect, eating disorder symptoms, and psychosocial impairment and lower risk for eating pathology onset through 2- to 3-year follow-up than did assessment-only controls.

A pilot study of predictive markers of chemotherapy-related amenorrhea among premenopausal women with early stage breast cancer.

Background: Premenopausal women treated for early stage breast cancer (ESBC) are at risk for chemotherapy-related amenorrhea (CRA). Prospectively-validated, predictive markers of CRA are needed.

Patients And Methods: Premenopausal women with ESBC and planned chemotherapy (>/= 25% risk of amenorrhea) were evaluated.

Prognosis and determinants of outcome following locoregional or distant recurrence in patients with cutaneous melanoma.

Objective: Information on prognosis for patients with cutaneous melanoma after locoregional or distant recurrence is sparse and controversial. The aim of this study was to analyze factors influencing outcome after the development of a first relapse.

Methods: Information was extracted from the Sydney Melanoma Unit database for 873 melanoma patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Stage I and II disease treated between 1960 and 2002 who relapsed following treatment of their primary melanoma.

Large-scale interferometric fiber sensor arrays with multiple optical amplifiers.

We report what we believe to be the first laboratory prototype of a fiber sensor array using multiple low-gain (5dB) remotely pumped amplifiers in a 10-rung ladder structure. Incorporating amplifiers improves the system noise figure to less than 20dB, compared with 32dB in an optimized passive array of the same size. Scalability to more than 300sensors per fiber pair while a high dynamic range (1microrad/ sensitivity) is maintained is demonstrated.

The vulvar dermatoses.

Introduction: Dermatologic diseases of the vulva may cause dyspareunia. These disorders may be overlooked by gynecologists and urologists because of lack of residency training experience. Dermatologists who are most familiar with these diseases are infrequently trained in vulvovaginal examination.

PERCEPTIONS OF HIV AND PREVENTION EDUCATION AMONG INMATES OF ALABAMA PRISONS.

A 3-year interactive and passive training for HIV prevention education was conducted for 2,600 prisoners; 1,404 (54%) black, 1,092 (42%) white and 204 (4%) Hispanic. Less than 520 (20%) of inmates knew all the routes of HIV transmission. A post-presentation test showed that 96% became aware of HIV/AIDS transmission and can better protect themselves.

Phase-sensitivity measurement of a 10-sensor array with erbium-doped fiber amplifier telemetry.

We report what are believed to be the first measurements of the phase sensitivity of a fiber sensor array using multiple low-gain remotely pumped amplifiers with an interferometric sensor inserted. The measured phase sensitivities for individual rungs average 5.7 microrad(rms)/ radicalHz and exhibit no dependence on rung number, in agreement with predictions.

The complex relationships between sentinel node positivity, patient age, and primary tumor desmoplasia: analysis of 2303 melanoma patients treated at a single center.

Background: Recent studies have shown that younger age is associated with a greater likelihood of positive sentinel node (SN) status in patients with localized melanoma. This is a paradoxical situation because it is well known that younger patients have a far more favorable overall survival rate than older patients. In addition, desmoplastic melanomas are associated with a lower frequency of SN positivity, although this is less well documented.

Tunable mechanically induced long-period fiber gratings.

We report the experimental characterization of mechanically induced long-period fiber gratings (LPFG's) made by pressing a plate with periodic grooves against a short length of fiber. This filter, which is simple and inexpensive, exhibits transmission spectra and temperature stability similar to those of photoinduced LPFG's. It also offers the unique advantages of being tunable, erasable, and reconfigurable.

Subungual melanoma: a study of 124 cases highlighting features of early lesions, potential pitfalls in diagnosis, and guidelines for histologic reporting.

Subungual melanoma (SUM) is an uncommon variant of melanoma that is often difficult to diagnose, both clinically and pathologically. In an attempt to provide pathologic clues to diagnosis, especially in early lesions or small biopsies, and to provide practical advice to pathologists in reporting, the clinicopathologic features of 124 cases of SUM were reviewed, the largest series reported to date. The features of 28 cases of subungual melanoma in situ (MIS), comprising 4 cases of MIS and 24 cases where areas of MIS were present adjacent to dermal-invasive SUMs, were compared with those of a similar number of acral nevi to identify useful distinguishing features.

Phase I dose escalation study of the anti insulin-like growth factor-I receptor monoclonal antibody CP-751,871 in patients with refractory solid tumors.

Purpose: This phase I study was undertaken to define the maximum tolerated dose, safety, and pharmacokinetic profile of CP-751,871.

Experimental Design: Using a rapid dose escalation design, patients with advanced nonhematologic malignancies were treated with CP-751,871 in four dose escalation cohorts. CP-751,871 was administered i.

A meta-analytic review of eating disorder prevention programs: encouraging findings.

This meta-analytic review found that 51% of eating disorder prevention programs reduced eating disorder risk factors and 29% reduced current or future eating pathology. Larger effects occurred for programs that were selected (versus universal), interactive (versus didactic), multisession (versus single session), solely offered to females (versus both sexes), offered to participants over 15 years of age (versus younger ones), and delivered by professional interventionists (versus endogenous providers). Programs with body acceptance and dissonance-induction content and without psychoeducational content and programs evaluated in trials using validated measures and a shorter follow-up period also produced larger effects.

Detection of second primary cutaneous melanomas.

Aims: There have been few studies investigating the value of follow-up in the detection of second primary melanomas (SPMs) and there is scant information on the role of self-surveillance by the patient. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of patient detection of both first primary melanomas (FPMs) and SPMs.

Patients And Methods: Patients were interviewed to determine who detected their FPM and SPM (in situ or invasive).

Adipose tissue at entheses: the innervation and cell composition of the retromalleolar fat pad associated with the rat Achilles tendon.

This study set out to determine whether the fat pad at the attachment of the Achilles tendon has features enabling it to function as an immune organ and a mechanosensory device, and to be a source of pain in insertional tendon injuries. Sections for histology and immunohistochemistry were cut from the Achilles tendon enthesis organ of 1 day old, 1 month, 4 month and 24 month old rats. For fluorescence and peroxidase immunohistochemistry, cryosections were labelled with primary antibodies directed against PGP9.

Urban high school students' perceptions of nursing as a career choice.

One hundred and fourteen high school students (n = 114) completed the Attitudes, Values, and Beliefs Questionnaire. A two-sided Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test revealed that students perceived an ideal career as having more power, more positive evaluation, and less activity than a career in nursing would. The areas of greatest perceived disparity and those that showed nursing less favorably were making decisions for one's self, always having a job, working in a safe place, making a lot of money, and earning appreciation and respect.