Body mass index, sex, and cardiovascular disease risk factors among Hispanic/Latino adults: Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos.

Background: All major Hispanic/Latino groups in the United States have a high prevalence of obesity, which is often severe. Little is known about cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among those at very high levels of body mass index (BMI).

Methods And Results: Among US Hispanic men (N=6547) and women (N=9797), we described gradients across the range of BMI and age in CVD risk factors including hypertension, serum lipids, diabetes, and C-reactive protein.

A prospective, multi-institutional study of pediatric all-terrain vehicle crashes.

Background: Pediatric all-terrain vehicle (ATV) injuries have been increasing annually for more than a decade. The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate crash circumstances and clinical outcomes resulting from pediatric ATV crashes.

Methods: Three pediatric trauma centers prospectively collected data from patients during their hospitalization for injuries sustained in ATV crashes from July 2007 through June 2012.

Preventable Infections in Children with Leukodystrophy.

Children with inherited leukodystrophies have high hospitalization rates, often associated with infection. We studied whether potentially modifiable risk factors (pre-existing in-dwelling central intravenous access, urinary catheter, hardware, or mechanical ventilation; and influenza vaccine) were associated with infection-related hospitalization in children with leukodystrophy. Central intravenous access was associated with sepsis (odds ratio (OR) 9.

Identification of a duplication within the GDF9 gene and novel candidate genes for primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) by a customized high-resolution array comparative genomic hybridization platform.

Study Question: Can high-resolution array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis of DNA samples from women with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) improve the diagnosis of the condition and identify novel candidate genes for POI?

Summary Answer: A mutation affecting the regulatory region of growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) was identified for the first time together with several novel candidate genes for POI.

What Is Known Already: Most patients with POI do not receive a molecular diagnosis despite a significant genetic component in the pathogenesis.

Study Design, Size, Duration: We performed a case-control study.

CPAP, weight loss, or both for obstructive sleep apnea.

Background: Obesity and obstructive sleep apnea tend to coexist and are associated with inflammation, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and high blood pressure, but their causal relation to these abnormalities is unclear.

Methods: We randomly assigned 181 patients with obesity, moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea, and serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) greater than 1.0 mg per liter to receive treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), a weight-loss intervention, or CPAP plus a weight-loss intervention for 24 weeks.

Lifestyle intervention up-regulates gene and protein levels of molecules involved in insulin signaling in the endometrium of overweight/obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Study Question: Does lifestyle intervention aiming at weight loss influence endometrial insulin signaling in overweight/obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)?

Summary Answer: Lifestyle intervention up-regulates, both at the mRNA and protein levels, components of insulin signaling in the endometrium of overweight/obese PCOS women, in relation to an improved menstrual pattern.

What Is Known Already: PCOS is a multifactorial endocrine disorder diagnosed by two of the following three criteria: chronic anovulation, hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovaries. Many women with PCOS also have insulin resistance and obesity.

Functional roles of the nuclear localization signal of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) in osteoblastic cells.

PTHrP is an important regulator of bone remodelling, apparently by acting through several sequence domains. We here aimed to further delineate the functional roles of the nuclear localization signal (NLS) comprising the 88-107 amino acid sequence of PTHrP in osteoblasts. PTHrP mutants from a human PTHrP (-36/+139) cDNA (wild type) cloned into pcDNA3.

Feasibility and transport of packed red blood cells into Special Forces operational conditions.

Background: Transfusing packed red blood cells (PRBCs) into Special Forces may provide a survival advantage from hemorrhage-induced battlefield injuries; however, the effect of the unique operational stressors on RBC integrity is not known.

Methods: Pooled PRBCs (20 U) (7 days old), stored in Golden Hour containers, were exposed to the following simulated operational stressors: High-Altitude Low-Opening parachute descent from 30,000 ft, followed by a simulated soldier presence patrol in a climatic chamber set to 48 °C and 9% humidity for 12 hours (test). Biochemical (pH, lactate, potassium, and adenosine triphosphate) and biomechanical (percent hemolysis, deformability, and morphology) were measured to determine the integrity of PRBCs.

Efficacy and Pitfalls of FNAC of Thyroid Lesions in Children and Adolescents.

Background And Objectives: Fine-needle aspiration has proven safe and efficacious in the evaluation of nodular diseases in the adults. It has been used extensively to select patients for surgical exploration with a high degree of reliability. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of its applicability in thyroid lesions in children and adolescents, as well as to determine distribution of thyroid lesions in pediatric and adolescent patients in whom the prevalence of thyroid nodules and probability of malignancy are different.

Eccrine porocarcinoma: a case report.

Eccrine porocarcinoma is an extremely rare malignancy of the eccrine sweat gland. It is believed to arise from the intra-epithelial portion of eccrine sweat glands. It can either arise de novo or it can develop in a long standing eccrine poroma.

Continuous subcutaneous hydrocortisone infusion versus oral hydrocortisone replacement for treatment of addison's disease: a randomized clinical trial.

Context: Conventional glucocorticoid replacement therapy fails to mimic the physiological cortisol rhythm, which may have implications for morbidity and mortality in patients with Addison's disease.

Objective: The objective of the study was to compare the effects of continuous sc hydrocortisone infusion (CSHI) with conventional oral hydrocortisone (OHC) replacement therapy.

Design, Patients, And Interventions: This was a prospective crossover, randomized, multicenter clinical trial comparing 3 months of treatment with thrice-daily OHC vs CSHI.

Suboptimal psychosocial outcomes in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia: epidemiological studies in a nonbiased national cohort in Sweden.

Context: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), CYP21A2 deficiency, results in cortisol and aldosterone deficiency and increased production of androgens, with a good genotype phenotype correlation.

Objective: The objective of the investigation was to study psychosocial outcomes in relation to clinical severity, CYP21A2 genotype, in men and women.

Design: This was an epidemiological study with a matched case control design.

Ketogenic diet for adults in super-refractory status epilepticus.

Objective: To describe a case series of adult patients in the intensive care unit in super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE; refractory status lasting 24 hours or more despite appropriate anesthetic treatment) who received treatment with the ketogenic diet (KD).

Methods: We performed a retrospective case review at 4 medical centers of adult patients with SRSE treated with the KD. Data collected included demographic features, clinical presentation, diagnosis, EEG data, anticonvulsant treatment, and timing and duration of the KD.

The impact of gestational thyroid hormone concentrations on ADHD symptoms of the child.

Context: Maternal hypothyroidism during pregnancy is associated with adverse neuropsychological development in the offspring.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of maternal thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy on a child's attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms.

Design, Settings, And Participants: The prospective, population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (9362 pregnancies; 9479 infants) included analysis of maternal TSH, free T4, and thyroid-peroxidase antibodies (TPO-Abs) from early pregnancy samples (5791 women).

A pure epidural spinal cavernous hemangioma - with an innocuous face but a perilous behaviour!!

Cavernous hemangiomas occur frequently in the intracranial structures but they are rare in the spine, with an incidence of 0.22 cases/million/year, which account for 5 - 12% of the spinal vascular lesions, 51% of which are extradural. Most of the epidural hemangiomas are secondary extensions from the vertebral lesions.

Myfibroma which was Associated with A Rudimentary Eyeball, which Masqueraded as an Ocular Palpebral Cyst.

Myofibroma, a benign neoplasm of the myofibroblasts, is most commonly encountered in the head and neck region, which includes the scalp, the forehead, the parotid region and the oral cavity. It is most rarely reported in the eyelids. Ocular myofibroma typically presents during childhood and it is rare in older patients.

Ultrasound guided fnac of abdominal-pelvic masses-the pathologists' perspective.

Introduction: Fine Needle Aspiration(FNA) which is used for making a cytologic diagnosis has become an indispensable component of the work-up of many abnormalities.The objectives of this study were to adopt USG guided fine needle aspiration in the diagnosis of abdomino-pelvic masses, to assess its efficacy and to study the cytological features of abdominopelvic masses.

Materials And Methods: Hundred patients with clinically or sonologically diagnosed abdomino-pelvic masses were taken up for the study.

Nutrition, insulin-like growth factor-1 and retinopathy of prematurity.

Retinopathy of prematurity is a potentially blinding disease starting with impaired retinal vessel growth in the neonatal period. Weeks to months later, peripheral retinal hypoxia induces pathologic neovascularization that may lead to retinal detachment and blindness. Current treatment strategies target late stage disease and it would be advantageous if retinopathy of prematurity could be prevented.

Are unstained smears, effective tools in the evaluation of the cytological sample adequacy?

Background: Cytologists are often under time pressure due to a constant need and a demand for quick despatch of reports, which calls for an early assessment of sample adequacy.

Objective: To study whether unstained smears are effective in evaluation of sample adequacy of cytology aspirates.

Materials And Methods: The study had 3 groups.

Radiofrequency heating induced by 7T head MRI: thermal assessment using discrete vasculature or Pennes' bioheat equation.

Purpose: To evaluate and compare the maximum temperature (T(max) ) in the head after exposure to a 300 MHz radiofrequency (RF) field induced by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) coil using two thermal simulation methods: Pennes' bioheat equation (PBHE) and discrete vasculature (DIVA).

Materials And Methods: The electromagnetic field induced in the head by a 7T birdcage coil was simulated using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and validated by MRI. The specific absorption rate (SAR) distributions normalized to the 10-gram maximum or the whole-head average were used for PBHE and DIVA simulations.

B1(+) phase mapping at 7 T and its application for in vivo electrical conductivity mapping.

In this study, a new approach to measure local electrical conductivity in tissue is presented, which is based on the propagating B1(+) phase and the homogeneous Helmholtz equation. This new MRI technique might open future opportunities for tumor and lesion characterization based on conductivity differences, while it may also find application in radio frequency safety assessment. Prerequisites for conductivity mapping using only the B1(+) phase (instead of the complex B1(+) field) are addressed.

Correlation of Exercise and Rest Tc-99m MIBI Lung/heart Ratio at Different Areas of Lung with Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease.

Increased lung uptake of thallium-201 (Tl) and technetium-99m-methoxyisobutyl isonitrite (Tc-MIBI) in myocardial perfusion imaging has been proved as a reliable marker of left ventricular dysfunction. The goal of this study was to evaluate the lung uptake at the various areas of both the right and left lung (ie, right lung base and both lung apices) and its correlation with the left ventricular dysfunction by calculating lung-to-heart (L/H) uptake ratio in exercise and rest Tc-sestamibi myocardial perfusion. There were a total of 63 patients (10 female, 53 male: age range from 30-75 years, mean age 45.

Interaction of hydration, aging, and carbon content of soil on the evaporation and skin bioavailability of munition contaminants.

Water plays a key role in enhancing the permeability of human skin to many substances. To further understand its ability to potentially increase the bioavailability of soil contaminants, artificial sweat was applied to excised pig skin prior to dosing with munition-contaminated soils. Skin was mounted in chambers to allow simultaneous measurement of evaporation and penetration and to control air flow, which changed the dwell time of skin surface water within a l-h period post application of test materials.

Cost-utility of levonorgestrel intrauterine system compared with hysterectomy and second generation endometrial ablative techniques in managing patients with menorrhagia in the UK.

Objective: To estimate the cost-utility of levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS; Mirena) compared to second generation endometrial ablative techniques [i.e. microwave endometrial ablation (MEA) and thermal balloon endometrial ablation (TBEA)) and hysterectomy in the UK.

Dipyridamole-induced abnormal Tl-201 lung uptake in patients with normal myocardial perfusion: a marker of increased left ventricular filling pressures.

Background: The mechanism of dipyridamole-induced abnormal increased T1-201 lung uptake in patients without coronary artery disease is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relation between dipyridamole-induced abnormal T1-201 lung uptake and left ventricular (LV) diastolic indexes using Doppler, color M-mode and Tissue Doppler modalities at rest, and at dipyridamole stress echocardiograpy (DSE) in patients with normal myocardial perfusion and LV function.

Methods And Results: 18 consecutive patients (mean age 64 +/- 7 years) with normal myocardial perfusion and increased lung T1-201 uptake on dipyridamole stress-redistribution single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) were included in our study.