Tailoring Health-promoting Programs for Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Research on dietary and lifestyle modifications to decrease cardiovascular risk and slow disease progression has been limited to patients in the later stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Studies on the effectiveness of stage-of-change-tailored interventions on lifestyle modifications for individuals with early stage CKD are limited. Using random assignment, 60 patients with early stage CKD who received up to six tailored intervention visits over 30 months were compared to 60 usual care patients on physical indicators, lifestyle behaviors, and quality of life.

Comparison of cardiorespiratory fitness between preschool children with normal and excess body adipose ~ An observational study.

Objective: Overweight and obesity in preschoolers might develop into childhood and even adulthood obesity. Overweight and obesity have been shown to be negatively related with cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in children and adults but few studies did among preschoolers. We aimed to evaluate whether excess body adipose is negatively associated with CRF in both the submaximal and maximal effort of preschool children in exercise testing and to examine if there is difference to achieve maximal effort during exercise testing between preschoolers with normal and excess body adipose.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for retained hemothorax in blunt chest trauma.

Purpose Of Review: In the last decade, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has become a popular method in diagnosis and treatment of acute chest injuries. Except for patients with unstable vital signs who require larger surgical incisions to check bleeding, this endoscopic surgery could be employed in the majority of thoracic injury patients with stable vital signs.

Recent Findings: In the past, VATS was used to evacuate traumatic-retained hemothorax.

The investigation and comparison of the underlying needs of common disruptive behaviours in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Management of the disruptive behaviours is one of the most challenging aspects of caring for patients with Alzheimer's dementia (PwAD). The underlying needs of disruptive behaviours in PwAD had rarely been studied, especially the comparison of the underlying needs of disruptive behaviours in PwAD have never been mentioned.

Aims And Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the underlying needs of five common disruptive behaviours including hoarding, aggressive behaviour, repetitive behaviour, altered eating behaviour and delusion in PwAD, as perceived by family caregivers, and to relate these needs from the perspective of Maslow's hierarchy.

Production and characterization of active recombinant interleukin-12/eGFP fusion protein in stably-transfected DF1 chicken cells.

The adjuvant activity of chicken interleukin-12 (chIL-12) protein has been described as similar to that of mammalian IL-12. Recombinant chIL-12 can be produced using several methods, but chIL-12 production in eukaryotic cells is lower than that in prokaryotic cells. Stimulating compounds, such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), can be added to animal cell cultures to overcome this drawback.

Effects of targeted interventions on lifestyle modifications of chronic kidney disease patients: randomized controlled trial.

Targeting interventions to an individual's readiness to modify lifestyle factors, specifically diet and exercise behaviors, may delay chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression. This study examined the effects of a targeted Lifestyle Modification Program based on the readiness to change health-promotion lifestyle behaviors, renal protection knowledge, and physical indicators of patients with early CKD. A repeated-measures design randomized 160 CKD patients from four southern Taiwan outpatient nephrology clinics into control and intervention groups.

Micronucleus scoring in liver fine needle aspiration cytology.

Objective: This study evaluated the role of the micronucleus (MN) in liver fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology.

Methods: Histological features of 75 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), of which 25 were well differentiated, 37 moderately differentiated and 13 poorly differentiated, and 58 benign hepatic lesions (total, 133 cases) were correlated with MN expression observed in FNA smears reported as benign (n =40), atypical (n = 14), suspicious (n = 30) and malignant (n =49).

Results: Stepwise increases in the MN score (0.

Lipopolysaccharide-stimulated leukocytes contribute to platelet aggregative dysfunction, which is attenuated by catalase in rats.

Endotoxemia causes several hematological dysfunctions, including platelet degranulation or disseminated intravascular coagulation, which lead to thrombotic and hemorrhagic events. Here, we tested the hypothesis that bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated leukocytes contribute to platelet aggregative dysfunction, and this function is attenuated by antioxidants. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) was prepared from whole blood of normal and endotoxemic rats.

Proximal femoral megaprosthesis for failed total hip arthroplasty.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical outcome and complications of megaprostheses for massive proximal femoral bone loss after failed total hip arthroplasty.

Methods: Between June 1997 and December 2002, 12 patients (12 hips) with massive proximal femoral deficiencies had reconstruction of the hip using proximal femoral megaprostheses. The average age of the patients was 59 years (range 25 to 75).

Crigler-Najjar syndrome type 2.

Crigler-Najjar syndrome is a rare disorder of bilirubin metabolism with two distinct forms: type 1 and type 2. We report three patients with Crigler-Najjar syndrome type 2 (CN-2). All patients had serum bilirubin values higher than 171 micromol/L and deep yellow skin color.

Evaluation of perforated and nonperforated appendicitis with CT.

Fifty-three patients with 38 cases of perforated appendicitis and 15 cases of appendicitis without perforation were evaluated based on the computed tomography (CT) appearances of appendiceal diameter, phlegmon, abscess, extraluminal air, appendiceal wall enhancement, lateroconal fascial thickening, appendicolith, bowel wall thickening, ascites, ileal wall enhancement, peritoneal enhancement, periappendiceal fluid, omental haziness, retrocecal appendix, intraluminal air, and the combination of intraluminal air and appendicolith. The result of appendiceal diameter was compared using two-sample Student's t test, and the other CT findings were analyzed by Fisher's Exact Test. Our results showed that appendix was larger in caliber in perforated appendix (P< .

Horseradish peroxidase localization of sympathetic postganglionic and parasympathetic preganglionic neurons innervating the monkey heart.

The localization of the sympathetic postganglionic and parasympathetic preganglionic neurons innervating the monkey heart were investigated through retrograde axonal transport with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). HRP (4 mg or 30 mg) was injected into the subepicardial and myocardial layers in four different cardiac regions. The animals were euthanized 84-96 hours later and fixed by paraformaldehyde perfusion via the left ventricle.

CT evaluation of gastrointestinal tract perforation.

The purpose of this study is to review the computed tomography (CT) appearance of gastrointestinal tract (GI) perforation. Forty-two patients with 10 cases of proximal GI perforation and 32 cases of distal GI perforation were evaluated based on the CT findings of extraluminal air (which was subdivided into the CT-falciform ligament sign crossing the midline and scattered pockets of air), bowel wall thickening (>8 mm in gastroduodenal wall, >3 mm in the small bowel wall, >6 mm in the caliber of the appendix and >5 mm in the colonic wall), associated abscess formation, ascites and adjacent fat stranding. The results were compared using Fisher's Exact Test.

Interaction of reactive fronts during transport in a homogeneous porous medium with initial small non-uniformity.

A reactive fluid circulating within a porous medium can dissolve minerals with which it is out of equilibrium and modify the porosity and permeability. The positive feedback between fluid transport and mineral dissolution causes complex reaction front morphologies such as fingers or wormholes. This study presents a numerical model to investigate reaction front instability, temporal aquifer porosity, and species concentration evolution during reactive transport in a homogeneous porous medium with two small, initially local non-uniformities.

A review of factors predicting children's pain experiences.

Despite decades of research, hospitalized children continue to suffer from unrelieved pain. Failure to apply state-of-the-art knowledge to clinical practice has been termed one of the greatest paradoxes in modern medicine (Kenny, 2001). Clearly, effective pain management requires state-of-the-art knowledge about the pain experience.