Otosclerosis and stapedotomy: hearing improvement, complications, and analysis of potential prognostic factors in a series of 93 cases.

Background: Stapedotomy is a common treatment for conductive hearing loss in otosclerosis patients.

Aims/objectives: Results of stapedotomy were assessed in terms of hearing improvement and risk of complications. Potential prognostic factors affecting outcomes were identified.

High counts of thermophilic spore formers in dairy powders originate from persisting strains in processing lines.

During the last decades, thermophilic spore counts became a very important quality parameter for manufacturers with regard to powdered dairy products. Low-spore count powders are highly demanded but challenging to produce when high production volume and long process times are intended. In this study a detailed monitoring of microbial levels in three skim milk powder plants was conducted.

Red blood cell transfusion associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing elective open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

Background: Red blood cell (RBC) transfusions are associated with increased mortality and morbidity. The aim of this analysis was to examine the association between RBC transfusions and long-term survival for patients undergoing elective open infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair with up to 15 years of follow-up.

Methods: Prospective cohort study using data from The Danish Vascular Registry from 2000-2015.

Resistance of thermophilic spore formers isolated from milk and whey products towards cleaning-in-place conditions: Influence of pH, temperature and milk residues.

The occurrence of thermophilic spore formers in dairy powders is a major concern for producers worldwide. This study aims to investigate the resistance of thermophilic endospores towards cleaning solutions typically used for cleaning-in-place in dairy manufacturing plants. From eleven tested strains, all were able to survive an alkaline treatment (NaOH) at 65 °C for 10 min (0.

Genome organization and DNA accessibility control antigenic variation in trypanosomes.

Many evolutionarily distant pathogenic organisms have evolved similar survival strategies to evade the immune responses of their hosts. These include antigenic variation, through which an infecting organism prevents clearance by periodically altering the identity of proteins that are visible to the immune system of the host. Antigenic variation requires large reservoirs of immunologically diverse antigen genes, which are often generated through homologous recombination, as well as mechanisms to ensure the expression of one or very few antigens at any given time.

Exploiting CRISPR-Cas9 technology to investigate individual histone modifications.

Despite their importance for most DNA-templated processes, the function of individual histone modifications has remained largely unknown because in vivo mutational analyses are lacking. The reason for this is that histone genes are encoded by multigene families and that tools to simultaneously edit multiple genomic loci with high efficiency are only now becoming available. To overcome these challenges, we have taken advantage of the power of CRISPR-Cas9 for precise genome editing and of the fact that most DNA repair in the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei occurs via homologous recombination.

Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation of Heparin Coated Versus Standard Graft for Bypass Surgery in Peripheral Artery Disease Alongside a Randomised Controlled Trial.

Objective/background: Heparin coating has recently been shown to reduce the risk of graft failure in arterial revascularisation, at least transiently. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of heparin coated versus standard polytetrafluoroethylene grafts for bypass surgery in peripheral artery disease from a long-term healthcare system perspective.

Methods: Cost-effectiveness evaluation was conducted alongside the Danish part of the Scandinavian Propaten trial in which 431 patients planned for femoro-femoral or femoro-popliteal bypass surgery were randomised to either type of graft and followed for 5 years.

Thermal treatment of skim milk concentrates in a novel shear-heating device: Reduction of thermophilic spores and physical properties.

Endospores of thermophilic bacilli are a major concern for producers of dairy powders. In this study, we heat treated 10 different spore suspensions at 110 °C in skim milk and skim milk concentrate (36% dry matter) of the species Geobacillus stearothermophilus (10 min) and Anoxybacillus flavithermus (5 min) in a new shear-heating device. The highest log reduction in skim milk concentrate was 3.

GT-rich promoters can drive RNA pol II transcription and deposition of H2A.Z in African trypanosomes.

Genome-wide transcription studies are revealing an increasing number of "dispersed promoters" that, unlike "focused promoters", lack well-conserved sequence motifs and tight regulation. Dispersed promoters are nevertheless marked by well-defined chromatin structures, suggesting that specific sequence elements must exist in these unregulated promoters. Here, we have analyzed regions of transcription initiation in the eukaryotic parasite in which RNA polymerase II transcription initiation occurs over broad regions without distinct promoter motifs and lacks regulation.

Genome-wide analysis of chromatin structures in Trypanosoma brucei using high-resolution MNase-ChIP-seq.

Specific DNA-protein interactions are the basis for many important cellular mechanisms like the regulation of gene expression or replication. Knowledge about the precise genomic locations of DNA-protein interactions is important because it provides insight into the regulation of these processes. Recently, we have adapted an approach that combines micrococcal nuclease (MNase) digestion of chromatin with chromatin immunoprecipitation in Trypanosoma brucei.

Five-year outcomes following a randomized trial of femorofemoral and femoropopliteal bypass grafting with heparin-bonded or standard polytetrafluoroethylene grafts.

Background: Cohort studies suggest superior long-term patency of luminal heparin-bonded polytetrafluoroethylene (Hb-PTFE) bypass grafts compared with standard PTFE grafts. The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of Hb-PTFE grafts with those of standard PTFE grafts 5 years after a randomized trial.

Methods: Patients with intermittent claudication or critical limb ischaemia requiring femorofemoral or femoropopliteal bypass grafting were randomized in a clinical trial of Hb-PTFE versus standard PTFE in 11 Scandinavian centres between 2005 and 2009.

Moving to the executive suite ... what to know before you go.

Many imaging directors aspire to executive level positions in healthcare. This article explores the reasons why imaging directors are a natural fit for executive positions. One must also determine if they have a personality/temperament that is suited to the role of an executive.

The Americans with Disabilities Act: the impact on radiologic technologists and managers.

On July 26, 1990, President Bush signed the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. The act is being cited as one of the most extensive changes in personnel law since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law will impact hiring, promotion, and retention practices in the U.

An incentive pay program for radiology transcriptionists.

Incentive pay programs have been used by medical record departments for several years. This article describes an incentive pay program that has been designed for radiology transcriptionists. Benefits of the program include increased employee productivity and decreased report turnaround time.

Catecholamines in paraganglionic cells of the rat superior cervical ganglion: functional aspects.

In the rat SCG two types of paraganglionic cells have been identified immunohistochemically in a ratio of about 5% DBH-positive to 95% DBH-negative cells. Measurements of CAs in SIF cell clusters separated from principal neurons with the microlaser and using the technique of quantitative mass fragmentography disclosed the presence of E within paraganglionic cells, thus confirming the proposal that, besides DA, E also is stored in most cells. Following immobilization of adult rats, the majority of SIF cells revealed a time-dependent loss of formaldehyde-induced fluorescence intensity that could be ultrastructurally correlated with an increasing degranulation of small granule-containing perikarya, presumed to store DA and E.