Structure of the TPR Domain of AIP: Lack of Client Protein Interaction with the C-Terminal alpha-7 Helix of the TPR Domain of AIP Is Sufficient for Pituitary Adenoma Predisposition

PMCID: PMC3534021This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Please understand when I cry out in pain: women's accounts of maternity services during labour and delivery in Ghana

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to investigate women's accounts of interactions with health care providers during labour and delivery and to assess the implications for acceptability and utilisation of maternity services in Ghana. METHODS: Twenty-one individual in-depth interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted with women of reproductive age who had delivered in the past five years in the Greater Accra Region. The study investigated women's perceptions and experiences of care in terms of factors that influenced place of delivery, satisfaction with services, expectations of care and whether they would recommend services. RESULTS: One component of care which appeared to be of great importance to women was staff attitudes. This factor had considerable influence on acceptability and utilisation of services. Otherwise, a successful labour outcome and non-medical factors such as cost, perceived quality of care and proximity of services were important. Our findings indicate that women expect humane, professional and courteous treatment from health professionals and a reasonable standard of physical environment. Women will consciously change their place of delivery and recommendations to others if they experience degrading and unacceptable behaviour. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that inter-personal aspects of care are key to women's expectations, which in turn govern satisfaction. Service improvements which address this aspect of care are likely to have an impact on health seeking behaviour and utilisation. Our findings suggest that user-views are important and warrant further investigation. The views of providers should also be investigated to identify channels by which service improvements, taking into account women's views, could be operationalised. We also recommend that interventions to improve delivery care should not only be directed to the health professional, but also to general health system improvements

Growth of a human mammary tumor cell line is blocked by galangin, a naturally occurring bioflavonoid, and is accompanied by down-regulation of cyclins D3, E, and A

INTRODUCTION: This study was designed to determine if and how a non-toxic, naturally occurring bioflavonoid, galangin, affects proliferation of human mammary tumor cells. Our previous studies demonstrated that, in other cell types, galangin is a potent inhibitor of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), an environmental carcinogen-responsive transcription factor implicated in mammary tumor initiation and growth control. Because some current breast cancer therapeutics are ineffective in estrogen receptor (ER) negative tumors and since the AhR may be involved in breast cancer proliferation, the effects of galangin on the proliferation of an ER(-), AhR(high )line, Hs578T, were studied. METHODS: AhR expression and function in the presence or absence of galangin, a second AhR inhibitor, α-naphthoflavone (α-NF), an AhR agonist, indole-3-carbinol, and a transfected AhR repressor-encoding plasmid (FhAhRR) were studied in Hs578T cells by western blotting for nuclear (for instance, constitutively activated) AhR and by transfection of an AhR-driven reporter construct, pGudLuc. The effects of these agents on cell proliferation were studied by (3)H-thymidine incorporation and by flow cytometry. The effects on cyclins implicated in mammary tumorigenesis were evaluated by western blotting. RESULTS: Hs578T cells were shown to express high levels of constitutively active AhR. Constitutive and environmental chemical-induced AhR activity was profoundly suppressed by galangin as was cell proliferation. However, the failure of α-NF or FhAhRR transfection to block proliferation indicated that galangin-mediated AhR inhibition was either insufficient or unrelated to its ability to significantly block cell proliferation at therapeutically relevant doses (IC(50 )= 11 μM). Galangin inhibited transition of cells from the G(0)/G(1 )to the S phases of cell growth, likely through the nearly total elimination of cyclin D3. Expression of cyclins A and E was also suppressed. CONCLUSION: Galangin is a strong inhibitor of Hs578T cell proliferation that likely mediates this effect through a relatively unique mechanism, suppression of cyclin D3, and not through the AhR. The results suggest that this non-toxic bioflavonoid may be useful as a chemotherapeutic, particularly in combination with agents that target other components of the tumor cell cycle and in situations where estrogen receptor-specific therapeutics are ineffective

SAfety of Fondaparinux in transoesophageal echocardiography-guided Electric cardioversion of Atrial Fibrillation (SAFE-AF) study: A pilot study

International audienceBACKGROUND:Current guidelines recommend unfractionated heparin (UFH) or low-molecular-weight heparin plus an oral anticoagulant for the prevention of thromboembolism in patients undergoing electric cardioversion of atrial fibrillation (AF). Selective factor Xa inhibitors, such as fondaparinux, which has a favourable benefit-risk profile in the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism and the management of acute coronary syndromes, have not been systematically evaluated in this setting.AIM:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of fondaparinux versus standard treatment in patients undergoing echocardiographically-guided cardioversion of AF.METHODS:In this multicentre, randomized, open-label, controlled, two-parallel-group, phase II pilot study, patients with AF undergoing electric cardioversion following transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) were randomized to fondaparinux or standard therapy (UFH plus vitamin K antagonist [VKA]). Patients showing an atrial thrombus in the first TEE (clot-positive) were randomized to treatment with fondaparinux or standard care for 4 weeks before cardioversion.RESULTS:The primary endpoint (combined rate of cerebral neurological events, systemic thromboembolism, all-cause death and major bleeding events) occurred in 3 of 174 (1.7%) patients on fondaparinux and 2 of 170 (1.2%) patients on UFH+VKA. The rate of thrombus disappearance among clot-positive patients was higher in the fondaparinux arm (11 of 14; 78.6%) than in the UFH+VKA arm (7 of 14; 50.0%). Incidences of adverse events were similar (45.4% with fondaparinux and 46.5% with UFH+VKA).CONCLUSION:In this pilot study in patients with TEE-guided cardioversion, the use of fondaparinux appeared to be well tolerated, with similar efficacy to UFH+VKA. Furthermore, a trend to greater thrombus resolution was observed

Efficacy of diagnostic tools for detecting cardiac arrhythmias: systematic literature search

Background/objectives Symptoms suggestive of cardiac arrhythmias are a challenge to the diag nosis Physical examination and a 12-lead ECG are of limited value, as rhythm disturbances are frequently of a paroxysmal nature New tech nologies facilitate a more accurate diagnosis The objective of this study was to review the medical literature in an effort to define a guide to rational diagnostic testing Methods Primary studies on the use of a diagnostic tool in the evaluation of palpitations were searched in MEDLINE, and EMBASE with an additional reference check Results Two types of studies were found descriptive and experimental studies, which compared the yield of two or more devices or diagnostic strategies Holter monitors seemed to have less diagnostic yield (33 to 35%) than event recorders Automatically triggered recorders detect more arrhythmias (72 to 80%) than patient-triggered devices (17 to 75%) Implantable devices are used for prolonged monitoring periods in patients with infrequent symptoms or unexplained syncope Conclusion The choice of the device depends on the characteristics of the symptoms and the patient Due to methodological shortcomings of the included studies no evidence-based diagnostic strategy can be proposed (Neth Heart J 2010,18 543-51