A novel universal DNA labeling and amplification system for rapid microarray-based detection of 117 antibiotic resistance genes in Gram-positive bacteria.

A rapid and simple DNA labeling system has been developed for disposable microarrays and has been validated for the detection of 117 antibiotic resistance genes abundant in Gram-positive bacteria. The DNA was fragmented and amplified using phi-29 polymerase and random primers with linkers. Labeling and further amplification were then performed by classic PCR amplification using biotinylated primers specific for the linkers.

Recurrent and troublesome variceal bleeding from parastomal caput medusae.

Variceal bleeding is common in chronic liver disease and is a frequent cause of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The most common site of varices is the lower oesophagus but they may occur at any location where there are portosystemic anastomoses and collateral vascular formation. Location of ectopic varices at the site of enterocutaneous stomas is rare.

Usefulness of lipid apheresis in the treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia.

Lipid apheresis is used to treat patients with severe hyperlipidemia by reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). This study examines the effect of apheresis on the lipid panel and cardiac event rates before and after apheresis. An electronic health record screen of ambulatory patients identified 11 active patients undergoing lipid apheresis with 10/11 carrying a diagnosis of FH.

Investigation of the neuroprotective impact of nimodipine on Neuro2a cells by means of a surgery-like stress model.

Nimodipine is well characterized for the management of SAH (subarachnoid hemorrhage) and has been shown to promote a better outcome and less DIND (delayed ischemic neurological deficits). In rat experiments, enhanced axonal sprouting and higher survival of motoneurons was demonstrated after cutting or crushing the facial nerve by nimodipine. These results were confirmed in clinical trials following vestibular Schwannoma surgery.

The effectiveness of self-help mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in a student sample: a randomised controlled trial.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) involves approximately twenty hours of therapist contact time and is not universally available. MBCT self-help (MBCT-SH) may widen access but little is known about its effectiveness. This paper presents a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of MBCT-SH for students.

The DNA2 nuclease/helicase is an estrogen-dependent gene mutated in breast and ovarian cancers.

Genomic instability, a hallmark of cancer, is commonly caused by failures in the DNA damage response. Here we conducted a bioinformatical screen to reveal DNA damage response genes that are upregulated by estrogen and highly mutated in breast and ovarian cancers. This screen identified 53 estrogen-dependent cancer genes, some of which are novel.

Relating therapy for voices (the R2V study): study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background: Evidence exists for the effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis with moderate effect sizes, but the evidence for cognitive behaviour therapy specifically for distressing voices is less convincing. An alternative symptom-based approach may be warranted and a body of literature has explored distressing voices from an interpersonal perspective. This literature has informed the development of relating therapy and findings from a case series suggested that this intervention was acceptable to hearers and therapists.

Viability of intraoperative auditory steady state responses during intracranial surgery.

Background: For intraoperative monitoring of auditory nerve function, the auditory steady-state response (ASSR) analysis may be an alternative to brain stem auditory evoked potentials, offering frequency specificity and short detection times. Clinical studies investigating the viability of ASSR under total intravenous anesthesia have not been performed.

Methods: During craniotomy under total intravenous anesthesia with propofol and remifentanil in 20 patients, ASSR were recorded.

Chest Compression Injuries Detected via Routine Post-arrest Care in Patients Who Survive to Admission after Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest.

Abstract Objective. To examine injuries produced by chest compressions in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients who survive to hospital admission. Methods.

Better than mermaids and stray dogs? Subtyping auditory verbal hallucinations and its implications for research and practice.

The phenomenological diversity of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) is not currently accounted for by any model based around a single mechanism. This has led to the proposal that there may be distinct AVH subtypes, which each possess unique (as well as shared) underpinning mechanisms. This could have important implications both for research design and clinical interventions because different subtypes may be responsive to different types of treatment.

Psychological therapies for auditory hallucinations (voices): current status and key directions for future research.

This report from the International Consortium on Hallucinations Research considers the current status and future directions in research on psychological therapies targeting auditory hallucinations (hearing voices). Therapy approaches have evolved from behavioral and coping-focused interventions, through formulation-driven interventions using methods from cognitive therapy, to a number of contemporary developments. Recent developments include the application of acceptance- and mindfulness-based approaches, and consolidation of methods for working with connections between voices and views of self, others, relationships and personal history.

Mindfulness-based interventions for people diagnosed with a current episode of an anxiety or depressive disorder: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Objective: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can reduce risk of depressive relapse for people with a history of recurrent depression who are currently well. However, the cognitive, affective and motivational features of depression and anxiety might render MBIs ineffective for people experiencing current symptoms. This paper presents a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of MBIs where participants met diagnostic criteria for a current episode of an anxiety or depressive disorder.

An improved Protein G with higher affinity for human/rabbit IgG Fc domains exploiting a computationally designed polar network.

Protein G is an IgG binding protein that has been widely exploited for biotechnological purposes. Rosetta protein modeling identified a set of favorable polar mutations in Protein G, at its binding interface with the Fc domain of Immunoglobulin G, that were predicted to increase the stability and tighten the binding relative to native Protein G, with only a minor perturbation of the binding mode seen in the crystal structure. This triple mutant was synthesized and evaluated experimentally.

Can mindfulness and acceptance be learnt by self-help?: a systematic review and meta-analysis of mindfulness and acceptance-based self-help interventions.

There is growing evidence that mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions have positive consequences for psychological and physical health. The most well-established of these interventions typically involve relatively large resource commitments, in terms of both the provider and participant. A number of recent studies have begun to explore whether the benefits of such interventions can be generalised to less intensive methods.

Treatment of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage in Germany: a nationwide analysis of the years 2005-2009.

Background: The aim of this study was to provide population-based nationwide rates of the different treatment modalities of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH).

Methods: German Diagnosis-Related Group data of the years 2005-2009 were used to calculate hospitalisation rates for intracranial aneurysm with aSAH. This study includes over 83 million hospitalisations.

The relationship between nervus intermedius anatomy, ultrastructure, electrophysiology, and clinical function. Usefulness in cerebellopontine microsurgery.

Background: Although previous studies have described the clinical features of the nervus intermedius (NI), no attempt has yet been made to describe the relationship between the ultrastructural and electrophysiological characteristics of the nervus intermedius and its motor competence.

Objective: In this study, we analyzed the intraoperative electrophysiological response obtained during vestibular schwannoma surgery. The ultrastructure was studied using electron microscopy.

Neuroprotective efficacy of prophylactic enteral and parenteral nimodipine treatment in vestibular schwannoma surgery: a comparative study.

Unlabelled: BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS/OBJECT: Oral nimodipine improves neurologic outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. In addition, the neuroprotective efficacy of nimodipine has been revealed following skull base, laryngeal, and maxillofacial surgery. Pharmacokinetic investigations showed nimodipine to reach higher serum levels following parenteral versus enteral administration.

A-trains for intraoperative monitoring in patients with recurrent vestibular schwannoma.

Background: Second surgery of recurrent vestibular schwannoma (VS) after previous surgery, stereotactic radiosurgery (SR) or fractionated radiotherapy (FR) carries an increased risk for deterioration of facial nerve function, e.g., due to adhesions, underlining the need for intraoperative monitoring.

Facial nerve palsy after vestibular schwannoma surgery: dynamic risk-stratification based on continuous EMG-monitoring.

Objective: A-trains are a pathological pattern in intraoperative EMG-monitoring. Traintime, a parameter calculated by automated EMG-analysis, quantifies A-train activity. Its extent is associated with the degree of postoperative facial nerve palsy.

Therapeutic anticoagulation after craniotomies: is the risk for secondary hemorrhage overestimated?

Objective: Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are major causes of postoperative morbidity and mortality in surgery. However, there is neither a standardized protocol for perioperative prevention of DVT or PE in neurosurgery nor a consensus concerning the management of postoperative DVT or PE after craniotomy in the early postoperative course.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed management and complications in a group of patients with postoperative DVT or PE after craniotomy between 2006 and 2011 to estimate the risk of secondary hemorrhage under therapeutic anticoagulation.

D-dimer plasma level: a reliable marker for venous thromboembolism after elective craniotomy.

Object: The incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) after craniotomy is reported to be as high as 50%. In outpatients, D-dimer levels of more than 0.5 mg/L indicate venous thromboembolism (VTE, which subsumes DVT and pulmonary embolism [PE]) with a sensitivity of 99.

Osteopontin and splice variant expression level in human malignant glioma: radiobiologic effects and prognosis after radiotherapy.

Background And Purpose: We investigated the role of the hypoxia-associated secreted glycoprotein osteopontin (OPN) in the response of malignant glioma to radiotherapy by characterizing OPN and its splice variants in vitro and in patient material.

Material And Methods: The effect of siRNA knockdown of OPN splice variants on cellular and radiobiologic behavior was analyzed in U251MG cells using OpnS siRNA (inhibition of all OPN splice variants) and OpnAC siRNA (knockdown only of OPNa and OPNc). OPN and splice variant mRNA levels were quantified in archival material of 41 glioblastoma tumor samples.

A randomised controlled trial of a brief online mindfulness-based intervention.

Objectives: There is growing evidence that mindfulness has positive consequences for both psychological and physical health in both clinical and non-clinical populations. The potential benefits of mindfulness underpin a range of therapeutic intervention approaches designed to increase mindfulness in both clinical and community contexts. Self-guided mindfulness-based interventions may be a way to increase access to the benefits of mindfulness.