Dental Impacts on Health-related Quality of Life of Children with Orofacial Clefts.

Purpose: Children with orofacial clefts experience risks for psychosocial and behavioral problems, making it important to evaluate for negative impacts on health-related quality of life. The purpose of this study was to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and surgical history to determine if these measures correlated with caries and/or behavior during dental treatment.

Methods: Data for this retrospective study were obtained for children encountered between March 2011 and August 2013.

The current state of cancer genetic counseling access and availability.

Purpose: Genetic risk assessment and counseling by a qualified genetics professional are recommended to ensure high-quality care for individuals at risk of hereditary cancer. Timely access to genetic services provided by a genetic counselor (GC) is essential, especially in cases where genetic testing results may affect impending surgical decisions.

Methods: A survey of GCs who specialize in cancer genetics was performed to assess service delivery models and ability to accommodate urgent cases.

Downstaging hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review and pooled analysis.

Downstaging can facilitate liver transplantation (LT) for patients outside of Milan criteria with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, the optimal protocol and downstaging outcomes are poorly defined. We aimed to characterize rates of successful downstaging to within Milan criteria and post-LT recurrence and survival among patients who underwent downstaging. We performed a systematic literature review using the MEDLINE and Embase databases from January 1996 through March 2015 and a search of national meeting abstracts from 2010 to 2014.

Depletion of the cereblon gene activates the unfolded protein response and protects cells from ER stress-induced cell death.

Previous studies showed that cereblon (CRBN) binds to various cellular target proteins, implying that CRBN regulates a wide range of cell responses. In this study, we found that deletion of the Crbn gene desensitized mouse embryonic fibroblast cells to various cell death-promoting stimuli, including endoplasmic reticulum stress inducers. Mechanistically, deletion of Crbn activates pathways involved in the unfolded protein response prior to ER stress induction.

Encephalopathy following melphalan administration.

Objective: To describe a rare case of encephalopathy following melphalan administration. Presentation and intervention:: A 59-year-old female with multiple myeloma developed encephalopathy following administration of melphalan. After ruling out other aetiologies, we hypothesized elevated cytokines from systemic inflammatory response to melphalan as the likely aetiology.

Grey matter reduction associated with posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic stress.

In recent decades, many imaging studies have reported brain structural alterations in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, due to differences in the selection of control subjects, it is difficult to conclude whether the observed alterations were related to disease or traumatic stress. The present study was to provide a quantitative voxelwise meta-analysis of grey matter (GM) changes in PTSD relative to either trauma-exposed controls without PTSD (TEC) or non-traumatised healthy controls (HC) separately and to conduct a systematic review of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies that compared trauma-exposed individuals with HC to explore the effect of traumatic stress.

A Novel Organo-Selenium Bandage that Inhibits Biofilm Development in a Wound by Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Wound Pathogens.

Biofilm formation in wounds is a serious problem which inhibits proper wound healing. One possible contributor to biofilm formation in a wound is the bacteria growing within the overlying bandage. To test this mechanism, we used bandages that contained a coating of organo-selenium that was covalently attached to the bandage.

Otopalatodigital syndrome type 2 in a male infant: A case report with a novel sequence variation.

We report a male infant with typical clinical, pathological and radiological features of otopalatodigital syndrome type 2 (OPD 2) with a novel sequence variation in the FLNA gene. His clinical manifestations include typical craniofacial features, cleft palate, hearing impairment, omphalocele, bowing of the long bones, absent fibulae and digital abnormalities consistent with OPD 2. Two hemizygous sequence variations in the FLNA gene were identified.

14th International Workshop on Ataxia-Telangiectasia ATW2012.

The fourteenth international Ataxia-Telangiectasia Workshop 2012 (ATW2012) (www.atw2012.com) on ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) and the role of the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene in DNA repair, neurological disease, cancer and related topics was held from February 07 to 11, 2012 in Delhi, India.

Pneumothorax following feeding tube placement: precaution and treatment.

Nasojejunal feeding tubes are being used at an increased frequency, but it is not without complications that could be life-threatening. We report two cases of pneumothorax following small-bore feeding tube insertion into the pleural cavity, resulting in pneumothorax. We further discuss the potential measures that can be taken to prevent and treat this serious complication.

The safety and tolerability of newer antiepileptic drugs in children and adolescents.

Childhood epilepsy continues to be intractable in more than 25% of patients diagnosed with epilepsy. The introduction of new anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) provides more options for treatment of children with epilepsy. We review the safety and tolerability of seven new AEDs (levetiracetam, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, rufinamide, topiramate, vigabatrin and zonisamide) focusing on their side effect profiles and safety in children and adolescents.

Addictive-like behaviours to ultraviolet light among frequent indoor tanners.

Background: Frequent, purposeful exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light may induce a compulsive desire to tan despite the negative consequences being known, suggesting a behavioural complex similar to addictive disorders.

Aim: To assess the presence of addictive-like behaviours in subjects using indoor tanning salons.

Methods: Subjects (n = 100) were surveyed by two questionnaires: a modified CAGE questionnaire to assess behaviours consistent with problem tanning and a modified Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) ('substance dependence' criteria) to assess behaviours consistent with a dependence-like disorder.

Vibrio VopQ induces PI3-kinase-independent autophagy and antagonizes phagocytosis.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a Gram-negative bacterium responsible for gastroenteritis acquired from the consumption of contaminated shellfish. This bacterium harbours two type III secretion systems, one on each chromosome. The type III secretion system on chromosome I induces cell death by a temporally controlled sequence of events that is caspase-independent and first involves induction of autophagy, followed by cellular rounding, and finally cellular lysis.

Spatial relationship between the ventricular septal defect and the anomalous muscle bundle in a double-chambered right ventricle.

Background: The hemodynamic profile and surgical approach to a double-chambered right ventricle (RV) are influenced by the position of a ventricular septal defect (VSD) in relation to the obstructing muscle bundle. This relationship, however, has not been systematically evaluated, with available literature yielding conflicting results. The objective of this study was to describe this relationship in a series of consecutive patients.

Construction and evaluation of an automated light directed protein-detecting microarray synthesizer.

We have designed, constructed, and evaluated an automated instrument that has produced high-density arrays with more than 30 000 peptide features within a 1.5 cm(2) area of a glass slide surface. These arrays can be used for high throughput library screening for protein binding ligands, for potential drug candidate molecules, or for discovering biomarkers.

An evaluation of the T-Line Tensymeter continuous noninvasive blood pressure device during induced hypotension.

A new continuous noninvasive blood pressure measurement device, the T-Line Tensymeter TL100 (Tensys Medical Inc., San Diego, CA, USA) which enables avoidance of arterial cannulation has been developed. We compared the values obtained using the T-Line values to simultaneous arterial line measurements in patients undergoing general anaesthesia with induced hypotension.

Evaluation of costs and morbidity associated with laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation and laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for treating small renal tumours.

Objective: To compare the costs and morbidity of laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation (LRFA) and laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) for treating small localized renal tumours.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analysed the outcomes of 88 patients treated at our institution for a renal tumour either by LPN (50) or LRFA (38) between March 2000 and May 2006. Patients with multiple tumours, combined LRFA and LPN, and those who had other simultaneous surgical procedures were excluded.

A randomized comparison of conventional vs articulating laparoscopic needle-drivers for performing standardized suturing tasks by laparoscopy-naive subjects.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of conventional and articulating laparoscopic needle-drivers for performing standardized laparoscopic tasks by medical students with no previous surgical experience.

Subjects And Methods: Twenty medical students with no surgical experience were randomly assigned to two equal groups, one using a conventional laparoscopic needle-holder (Karl Storz, Tuttlingen, Germany) and the other using a first-generation articulating laparoscopic needle-holder (Cambridge Endo, Framingham, MA, USA). Each student performed a series of four standardized laparoscopic tasks, during which speed and accuracy were assessed.

The benign prostatic hyperplasia registry and patient survey: study design, methods and patient baseline characteristics.

Objective: To describe the design and baseline cohort characteristics of the Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) Registry and Patient Survey, an ongoing, prospective, observational, disease registry documenting management practices and patient outcomes in men in the USA with lower urinary tract symptoms associated with BPH (LUTS/BPH) in actual clinical practice settings.

Patients And Methods: Men with LUTS/BPH who were either untreated or treated with alpha(1)-adrenergic blockers (ABs), 5alpha-reductase inhibitors (5ARIs), a combination of these medications, or anticholinergics, and who met selection criteria, were enrolled at sites throughout the USA. At each visit, standardized forms and validated questionnaires were completed to assess the physicians' management practices and patients' clinical characteristics, sexual function, and health-related quality of life.

Long-term behavioural and molecular alterations associated with maternal separation in rats.

In this study we addressed whether certain behavioural measures, endocrine levels and specific stress-related proteins exhibit long-term alterations in adult rats following repeated postnatal maternal separation. Rats were subjected to daily maternal separation for 15 min (HMS15) or 180 min (HMS180) from postnatal day 2-14. Adult HMS180 animals were hypoactive and had increased levels of stereotypy compared to HMS15 and normal animal facility-reared (AFR) animals.

Local thermal injury elicits immediate dynamic behavioural responses by corneal Langerhans cells.

Langerhans cells (LCs) represent a special subset of immature dendritic cells (DCs) that reside in epithelial tissues at the environmental interfaces. Although dynamic interactions of mature DCs with T cells have been visualized in lymph nodes, the cellular behaviours linked with the surveillance of tissues for pathogenic signals, an important function of immature DCs, remain unknown. To visualize LCs in situ, bone marrow cells from C57BL/6 mice expressing the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) transgene were transplanted into syngeneic wild-type recipients.