Anti-inflammatory approaches to ischaemic stroke prevention.

Stroke is a major cause of neurological morbidity and mortality. Atherosclerosis is a major contributor to first and recurrent stroke. A growing evidence base indicates that inflammation is a key process in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, leading to thromboembolic events.

Empathy and burnout of emergency professionals of a health region: A cross-sectional study.

The objective of this study is to assess the association between levels of empathy and burnout of emergency professionals in all the assistance levels.A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the health region of Lleida and the Pyrenees with 100 professionals from the field of Urgency. Participation reached 40.

Calcium Phosphate Product Is Associated with Subclinical Carotid Atherosclerosis in Type 2 Diabetes.

Aims: To assess whether circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and mineral metabolism-related factors (serum phosphate, calcium, and parathormone) are associated with subclinical carotid atherosclerosis (SCA), defined as the presence of carotid atherosclerotic plaques (main study outcome), in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) without kidney disease or previous cardiovascular disease.

Methods: We undertook a post hoc analysis of a cross-sectional study in adults with T2DM in whom we evaluated SCA. A total of 303 subjects with T2DM were included.

Vulvar Basal Cell Carcinoma: Four Case Reports With Immunohistochemical Study.

Basal cell carcinomas (BCC) are the most frequent tumours in humans and normally appear in photoexposed areas of the skin. It is widely accepted that BCCs originate at follicular stem cells and consequently are very rare in nonhairy areas. Here, we report 4 cases of vulvar BCC, 3 of which were located in a vulvar semimucous area, a nonphotoexposed area, and a nonhairy area.

Diagnostic accuracy of the Xpert MTB/RIF cycle threshold level to predict smear positivity: a meta-analysis.

Setting: Xpert® MTB/RIF is the most widely used molecular assay for rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). The number of polymerase chain reaction cycles after which detectable product is generated (cycle threshold value, CT) correlates with the bacillary burden.OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between Xpert CT values and smear status through a systematic review and individual-level data meta-analysis.

Soluble TWEAK and atheromatosis progression in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background And Aims: Circulating soluble TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis (sTWEAK) concentrations are related to the presence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, there are no data regarding the potential association between sTWEAK and atheromatosis progression in patients free of cardiovascular events.

Methods: Soluble TWEAK serum concentration was measured in 702 CKD patients without any previous CV event from The National Observatory of Atherosclerosis in Nephrology (NEFRONA) Study.

Biofortification of crops with nutrients: factors affecting utilization and storage.

Biofortification is an effective and economical method to improve the micronutrient content of crops, particularly staples that sustain human populations in developing countries. Whereas conventional fortification requires artificial additives, biofortification involves the synthesis or accumulation of nutrients by plants at source. Little is known about the relative merits of biofortification and artificial fortification in terms of nutrient bioaccessibility and bioavailability, and much depends on the biochemical nature of the nutrient, which can promote or delay uptake, and determine how efficiently different nutrients are transported through the blood, stored, and utilized.

A Current Estimation of the Early Risk of Stroke after Transient Ischemic Attack: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Recent Intervention Studies.

Objective: Recent studies have demonstrated that there is a decrease in the risk of subsequent stroke after transient ischemic attack (TIA) when urgent care (UC) is administered. However, no meta-analysis has been developed with contemporaneous TIA studies. We perform a systematic review and a meta-analysis to establish the risk of early stroke recurrence (SR) considering data from studies that offered UC to TIA patients.

Stem cell-like transcriptional reprogramming mediates metastatic resistance to mTOR inhibition.

Inhibitors of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) are currently used to treat advanced metastatic breast cancer. However, whether an aggressive phenotype is sustained through adaptation or resistance to mTOR inhibition remains unknown. Here, complementary studies in human tumors, cancer models and cell lines reveal transcriptional reprogramming that supports metastasis in response to mTOR inhibition.

Are the classic signs of infection in concordance with results from percutaneous aspiration to diagnose infection in pressure injuries?

Aim: To explore the concordance between the presence of classic signs of infection and the positive diagnosis identified by the microbiological culture of fluid collected by percutaneous aspiration.

Background: The classic signs of infection are commonly applied in some contexts to confirm infection in pressure injuries, but its accuracy has been questioned in chronic wounds. Little is known about the concordance of this method with others, such as the deep fluid culture from pressure injuries collected by percutaneous aspiration.

APLP2, RRM2, and PRC1: New Putative Markers for the Differential Diagnosis of Thyroid Follicular Lesions.

Background: Current methods based on fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) are not sufficient to distinguish among follicular thyroid lesions, follicular adenoma (FA), follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC), and the follicular variant of papillary thyroid cancer (FVPTC). Furthermore, none of the immunohistochemical markers currently available are sensitive or specific enough to be used in the clinical setting, necessitating a diagnostic hemithyroidectomy. The aim of this study was to identify proteins of value for differential diagnosis between benign and malignant thyroid follicular lesions.

Validation and comparison of imaging-based scores for prediction of early stroke risk after transient ischaemic attack: a pooled analysis of individual-patient data from cohort studies.

Background: Identification of patients at highest risk of early stroke after transient ischaemic attack has been improved with imaging based scores. We aimed to compare the validity and prognostic utility of imaging-based stroke risk scores in patients after transient ischaemic attack.

Methods: We did a pooled analysis of published and unpublished individual-patient data from 16 cohort studies of transient ischaemic attack done in Asia, Europe, and the USA, with early brain and vascular imaging and follow up.

The Diagnostic Value of Serum C-Reactive Protein for Identifying Pneumonia in Hospitalized Patients with Acute Respiratory Symptoms.

Background. The clinical diagnosis of pneumonia is sometimes difficult since chest radiographs are often indeterminate. In this study, we aimed to assess whether serum C-reactive protein (CRP) could assist in identifying patients with pneumonia.

Mineral metabolism factors predict accelerated progression of common carotid intima-media thickness in chronic kidney disease: the NEFRONA study.

Background: The leading cause of premature death in chronic kidney disease (CKD) is cardiovascular disease (CVD), but risk assessment in renal patients is challenging. The aim of the study was to analyse the factors that predict accelerated progression of common carotid intima-media thickness (CCIMT) in a CKD cohort after 2 years of follow-up (2010-12).

Methods: The study included 1152 patients from the NEFRONA cohort with CKD stages 3-5D and without a clinical history of CVD.

EndoG Knockout Mice Show Increased Brown Adipocyte Recruitment in White Adipose Tissue and Improved Glucose Homeostasis.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a central role in the regulation of whole-body energy and glucose homeostasis owing to its elevated capacity for lipid and glucose oxidation. The BAT thermogenic function, which is essential for the defense of body temperature against exposure to low environmental temperatures, relies on the expression in the inner membrane of brown adipocyte's mitochondria of uncoupling protein-1, a protein that uncouples substrate oxidation from oxidative phosphorylation and leads to the production of heat instead of ATP. BAT thermogenesis depends on proper mitochondrial biogenesis during the differentiation of brown adipocytes.

Global Assessment of the Impact of Type 2 Diabetes on Sleep through Specific Questionnaires. A Case-Control Study.

Abstract: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is an independent risk factor for sleep breathing disorders. However, it is unknown whether T2D affects daily somnolence and quality of sleep independently of the impairment of polysomnographic parameters.

Material And Methods: A case-control study including 413 patients with T2D and 413 non-diabetic subjects, matched by age, gender, BMI, and waist and neck circumferences.

Economic evaluation of the breast cancer screening programme in the Basque Country: retrospective cost-effectiveness and budget impact analysis.

Background: Breast cancer screening in the Basque Country has shown 20 % reduction of the number of BC deaths and an acceptable overdiagnosis level (4 % of screen detected BC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the breast cancer early detection programme in the Basque Country in terms of retrospective cost-effectiveness and budget impact from 1996 to 2011.

Methods: A discrete event simulation model was built to reproduce the natural history of breast cancer (BC).

Malignant pleural effusion: from bench to bedside.

Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is a common but serious condition that is related with poor quality of life, morbidity and mortality. Its incidence and associated healthcare costs are rising and its management remains palliative, with median survival ranging from 3 to 12 months. During the last decade there has been significant progress in unravelling the pathophysiology of MPE, as well as its diagnostics, imaging, and management.

Prevalence of Diabetic Foot Disease in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus under Renal Replacement Therapy in Lleida, Spain.

Aim. To assess the prevalence of diabetic foot and other associated conditions in patients with diabetes mellitus under renal replacement in the region of Lleida, Spain. Methods.

Factors influencing pleural drainage in parapneumonic effusions.

Objective: The identification of parapneumonic effusions (PPE) requiring pleural drainage is challenging. We aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of radiological and pleural fluid findings in discriminating between PPE that need drainage (complicated PPE (CPPE)) and those that could be resolved with antibiotics only (uncomplicated PPE (UPPE)).

Subjects And Methods: A retrospective review of 641 consecutive PPE, of which 393 were categorized as CPPE and 248 as UPPE.

Malignant pleural effusions because of lung cancer.

Purpose Of Review: The discovery of a pleural effusion in the setting of lung cancer has diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic challenges, some of which are addressed in this review.

Recent Findings: Around 20% of patients with lung cancer have minimal pleural effusions, which are not amenable to a diagnostic thoracentesis. These patients have a poorer overall survival (∼7.

A Stress-Resistant Lipidomic Signature Confers Extreme Longevity to Humans.

Plasma lipidomic profile is species specific and an optimized feature associated with animal longevity. In the present work, the use of mass spectrometry technologies allowed us to determine the plasma lipidomic profile and the fatty acid pattern of healthy humans with exceptional longevity. Here, we show that it is possible to define a lipidomic signature only using 20 lipid species to discriminate adult, aged and centenarian subjects obtaining an almost perfect accuracy (90%-100%).

Redox proteomic profiling of neuroketal-adducted proteins in human brain: Regional vulnerability at middle age increases in the elderly.

Protein lipoxidation was assessed in the parietal cortex (PC), frontal cortex (FC), and cingulate gyrus (CG) in middle-aged and old-aged individuals with no clinical manifestations of cognitive impairment, in order to increase understanding of regional brain vulnerability to oxidative damage during aging. Twenty-five lipoxidized proteins were identified in all the three regions although with regional specificities, by using redox proteomics to detect target proteins of neuroketals (NKT) adduction. The number of cases with NKT-adducted proteins was higher in old-aged individuals but most oxidized proteins were already present in middle-aged individuals.

Identifying Thoracic Malignancies Through Pleural Fluid Biomarkers: A Predictive Multivariate Model.

The diagnosis of malignant pleural effusions may be challenging when cytological examination of aspirated pleural fluid is equivocal or noncontributory. The purpose of this study was to identify protein candidate biomarkers differentially expressed in the pleural fluid of patients with mesothelioma, lung adenocarcinoma, lymphoma, and tuberculosis (TB).A multiplex protein biochip comprising 120 biomarkers was used to determine the pleural fluid protein profile of 29 mesotheliomas, 29 lung adenocarcinomas, 12 lymphomas, and 35 tuberculosis.