Using mutagenesis and structural biology to map the binding site for the Plasmodium falciparum merozoite protein PfRh4 on the human immune adherence receptor.

To survive and replicate within the human host, malaria parasites must invade erythrocytes. Invasion can be mediated by the P. falciparum reticulocyte-binding homologue protein 4 (PfRh4) on the merozoite surface interacting with complement receptor type 1 (CR1, CD35) on the erythrocyte membrane.

Fate of the adult revision spinal deformity patient: a single institution experience.

Study Design: Retrospective case series.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the revision rates for all revision spinal deformity (SD) surgical procedures performed at a single center and to investigate the changes in measures of HRQL in these patients.

Summary Of Background Data: Reported revision rates for primary adult spinal fusion surgical procedures have been in the range of 9% to 45%, but to our knowledge, the revision rate after revision SD surgery has not been reported.

Engraftment of insulin-producing cells from porcine islets in non-immune-suppressed rats or nonhuman primates transplanted previously with embryonic pig pancreas.

Transplantation therapy for diabetes is limited by unavailability of donor organs and outcomes complicated by immunosuppressive drug toxicity. Xenotransplantation is a strategy to overcome supply problems. Implantation of tissue obtained early during embryogenesis is a way to reduce transplant immunogenicity.

Unjustified increase in cost of care resulting from U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Makena (17α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate).

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of 17α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate for the indication of decreasing the risk of preterm delivery in those high-risk patients who previously had spontaneous preterm birth has come at considerable cost to the health care system.

ALS-linked mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) alters mitochondrial protein composition and decreases protein import.

Mutations in superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) cause familial ALS. Mutant SOD1 preferentially associates with the cytoplasmic face of mitochondria from spinal cords of rats and mice expressing SOD1 mutations. Two-dimensional gels and multidimensional liquid chromatography, in combination with tandem mass spectrometry, revealed 33 proteins that were increased and 21 proteins that were decreased in SOD1(G93A) rat spinal cord mitochondria compared with SOD1(WT) spinal cord mitochondria.

Changes in knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and human papillomavirus among women with human immunodeficiency virus.

Objective: To estimate changes in high-risk women's knowledge of cervical cancer prevention, human papillomavirus (HPV), and HPV vaccination since introduction and marketing of HPV vaccines.

Methods: At study visits in 2007 and 2008-2009, women with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and at-risk comparison women in a multicenter U.S.

Histologic correlates of glandular abnormalities in cervical cytology among women with human immunodeficiency virus.

Objective: To estimate the frequency and histologic correlates of glandular abnormalities in cervical cytology among women with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and to compare findings with those of women without HIV.

Methods: In a cohort study of HIV-infected and uninfected women followed between 1994 and 2007, Pap tests were obtained every 6 months. Glandular abnormalities, including atypical glandular cells (AGC), adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), and adenocarcinoma, were identified and correlated with biopsy histology.

Expression of p16 in benign and malignant cystic squamous lesions of the neck.

Metastatic cystic squamous cell carcinomas of the neck often harbor human papillomavirus 16 and, in turn, overexpress p16. P16 immunohistochemistry could be useful in the evaluation of patients who present with cystic squamous lesions of the neck, particularly when the distinction between a benign lymphoepithelial cyst and a metastatic squamous cell carcinoma cannot be easily resolved on clinical or pathologic grounds. Implementation of this strategy, however, awaits a description of p16 expression in benign lymphoepithelial cysts.

Prophylactic antibiotics do not affect cultures in the treatment of an infected TKA: a prospective trial.

Unlabelled: Prophylactic antibiotics are frequently withheld until cultures are obtained in revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We undertook a prospective study to determine whether prophylactic preoperative intravenous antibiotics would affect the results of cultures obtained intraoperatively. We enrolled 25 patients with 26 infected TKAs, a known preoperative infecting organism, and no recent antibiotic therapy.

Binge drinking among youths and young adults in the United States: 1979-2006.

Objective: To evaluate trends in the past 30-day prevalence of binge drinking by age, sex, and student status, among youths and young adults in the United States between 1979 and 2006, a period that encompasses the federally mandated transition to a uniform legal drinking age of 21 years, and other policy changes aimed at curbing underage drinking.

Method: Data were analyzed from 20 administrations of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, yielding a pooled sample of more than 500,000 subjects. Trends in relative risk for four different age groups, stratified by sex, relative to the 24- to 34-year-old reference group were calculated.

Rates of follow-up and repeat pregnancy in the 12 months after first-trimester induced abortion.

Objective: To estimate the proportion of women who returned for a routine follow-up visit after elective abortion and to identify factors associated with repeat pregnancy in the subsequent year.

Methods: We performed a historical cohort study of 865 women who underwent first-trimester surgical abortion at a hospital-based family planning clinic between March 2003 and February 2004. We collected demographic and clinical data from procedure notes and a computerized hospital patient database.

Successful management of second-trimester postabortion hemorrhage with an intrauterine tamponade balloon.

Background: Legally induced abortion is a safe procedure. However, hemorrhage is a significant cause of abortion-related morbidity and mortality. We describe a case in which a uterine tamponade balloon was successfully used to control a second-trimester postabortion hemorrhage.

Enhanced susceptibility to chemical induction of ovarian tumors in mice with a germ line p53 mutation.

Mice with a germ line p53 mutation (p53(Ala135Val/wt)) display increased susceptibility to lung, skin, and colon carcinogenesis. Here, we show that p53(Ala135Val/wt) mice developed ovarian tumors significantly more rapidly than their wild-type littermates after 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) treatment. Approximately 50% of the ovarian tumors in p53(wt/wt) mice and 23% in p53(Ala135Val/wt) mice are adenocarcinomas and the remaining tumors were adenocarcinoma mixed with sarcoma or ovarian sarcomas.

Transport, monitoring, and successful brain MR imaging in unsedated neonates.

Neonatal cerebral MR imaging is a sensitive technique for evaluating brain injury in the term and preterm infant. In term encephalopathic infants, MR imaging reliably detects not only the pattern of brain injury but might also provide clues about the timing of injury. In premature infants, MR imaging has surpassed US in the detection of white matter injury, a common lesion in this population.

Preoperative osseous dysmorphology in unilateral complete cleft lip and palate: a quantitative analysis of computed tomography data.

Background: The purpose of this study was to quantitate preoperative osseous dysmorphology in a homogeneous group of 3-month-old infants with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate.

Methods: High-resolution computed tomography scans of 28 infants with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate were the basis for study. Coordinate data from 43 landmarks on the skull were collected using surface-rendered reconstructions of scan data.

Pharmacokinetics of Drug Entry into Cochlear Fluids.

The inner ear is exposed to aminoglycosides or other drugs either intentionally or as a side effect of clinical treatments directed at other regions of the body. An understanding of the effects of drugs on the inner ear requires knowledge of the pharmacokinetics of the drug once it reaches the cochlear fluids, specifically how much of it reaches different parts of the ear and how long it stays there before disappearing. Accumulating data show that drug distribution in the inner ear is complex, especially for drugs applied locally to the ear's round window membrane.

Accuracy in identification of patients with 22q11.2 deletion by likely care providers using facial photographs.

Numerous facial characteristics are associated with velocardiofacial syndrome. Care providers may use these facial characteristics to identify patients who may benefit from fluorescence in situ hybridization genetic testing to determine the presence of the 22q11.2 deletion.

A protocol for treatment of unstable ankle fractures using transarticular fixation in patients with diabetes mellitus and loss of protective sensibility.

Background: Surgical treatment of ankle fractures in patients with diabetes mellitus is associated with a high complication rate. Diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy are a particularly difficult group to treat because of their inability to sense deep infection, repeat trauma, and wound complications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a protocol that included transarticular fixation and prolonged, protected weightbearing in the treatment of unstable ankle fractures in diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy and loss of protective sensibility.

The stiff total knee arthroplasty: evaluation and management.

Arthrofibrosis after total knee arthroplasty is a relatively common complication. A variety of modalities have been employed to treat this problem, including physical therapy, injections, and manipulations. We examined a group of consecutive posterior stabilized total knee arthroplasties to determine the prevalence of arthrofibrosis, as defined by flexion <90 degrees, and the effect of manipulation under anesthesia on outcome.

Suppression of beta-catenin inhibits the neoplastic growth of APC-mutant colon cancer cells.

Mutations involving the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressorgene/beta-catenin signaling pathway have been identified in the majority of colon carcinomas. However, the role of aberrant beta-catenin signaling in the neoplastic growth of APC-mutant colon cancer cells has not been directly studied. To address this question, antisense oligonucleotides have been used to specifically down-regulate beta-catenin expression in APC-mutant human colon carcinoma cells.