Bronchial stump reinforcement with an azygous vein flap

Bronchial stump reinforcement has been shown to significantly reduce the incidence of bronchopleural fistulas. Various coverage techniques have been described in the literature. While the azygous vein flap is an easy, safe and effective reinforcement option for right-sided bronchial stumps, the flap is not widely adopted, with little mention in the literature, partly due to surgeons' uneasiness with the technique. In this report, we describe an easy-to-adopt approach to azygous vein bronchial reinforcement

5-arylaminouracil derivatives as potential dual-action agents

Several 5-aminouracil derivatives that have previously been shown to inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth at concentrations of 5-40 μg/mL are demonstrated to act also as noncompetitive non-nucleoside inhibitors of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase without causing toxicity in vitro (McyrillicT-4 cells) and ex vivo (human tonsillar tissue)

Relation of Sources of Systemic Fluoride to Prevalence of Dental Fluorosis

The prevalence of dental fluorosis in a nonfluoridated area was determined and related to the reported fluoride ingestion histories of the children examined. A convenience sample of 543 schoolchildren in rural areas of Michigan was examined for fluorosis using the Tooth Surface Index of Fluorosis. Questionnaires that asked about previous use of fluorides were sent to parents of all children examined. The response rate was 76 percent (412 usable questionnaires). A criterion for inclusion in the data analysis stipulated that only fluorosed surfaces that occurred bilaterally would be included. Fluorosis was found on 7 percent of all tooth surfaces and only in the mild form. Twenty-two percent of the subjects were classified as having fluorosis. Dietary supplement was the only fluoride that was found to be significantly related to the occurrence of fluorosis. A greater proportion of the subjects with fluorosis fisted physicians, rather than dentists, as the source of fluoride prescriptions. The results demonstrate similarities to the fluorosis reported in other studies in non-fluoridated areas, but also suggest the need to minimize the occurrence of fluorosis through proper assessment of a child's fluoride exposure and the judicious use of additional fluoride.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65695/1/j.1752-7325.1989.tb02030.x.pd

The role of social networks in students’ learning experiences

The aim of this research is to investigate the role of social networks in computer science education. The Internet shows great potential for enhancing collaboration between people and the role of social software has become increasingly relevant in recent years. This research focuses on analyzing the role that social networks play in students’ learning experiences. The construction of students’ social networks, the evolution of these networks, and their effects on the students’ learning experience in a university environment are examined

The course of pain drawings during a 10-week treatment period in patients with acute and sub-acute low back pain

BACKGROUND: Pain drawings are widely used as an assessment of patients' subjective pain in low back pain patients being considered for surgery. Less work has been done on primary health care patients. Moreover, the possible correlation between pain drawing modalities and other pain assessment methods, such as pain score and functional variables needs to be described. Thus, the objectives were to describe the course of pain drawings during treatment in primary health care for low back pain patients. METHODS: 160 primary health care outpatients with acute or sub-acute low back pain were studied during 10 weeks of a stay active concept versus manual therapy in addition to the stay active concept. The patients filled out 3 pain drawings each, at baseline and after 5 and 10 weeks of treatment. In addition the patients also reported pain and functional variables during the 3 measurement periods. RESULTS: The proportion of areas marked, the mean number of areas marked (pain drawing score), mean number of modalities used (area score), and the proportion of patients with pain radiation all decreased during the 10-week treatment period. Most of the improvement occurred during the first half of the period. The seven different pain modalities in the pain drawing were correlated to pain and functional variables. In case of no radiation some modalities were associated with more pain and disability than others, a finding that grew stronger over time. For patients with pain radiation, the modality differences were smaller and inconsistent. CONCLUSION: Pain modalities are significantly correlated with pain and functional variables. There is a shift from painful modalities to less painful ones over time

Amblyopia and quality of life: a systematic review

Background/Aims Amblyopia is a common condition which can affect up to 5% of the general population. The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) implications of amblyopia and/or its treatment have been explored in the literature. Methods A systematic literature search was undertaken (16th-30th January 2007) to identify the HRQoL implications of amblyopia and/or its treatment. Results A total of 25 papers were included in the literature review. The HRQoL implications of amblyopia related specifically to amblyopia treatment, rather than the condition itself. These included the impact upon family life; social interactions; difficulties undertaking daily activities; and feelings and behaviour. The identified studies adopted a number of methodologies. The study populations included; children with the condition; parents of children with amblyopia; and adults who had undertaken amblyopia treatment as a child. Some studies developed their own measures of HRQoL, and others determined HRQoL through proxy measures. Conclusions The reported findings of the HRQoL implications are of importance when considering the management of cases of amblyopia. Further research is required to assess the immediate and long-term effects of amblyopia and/or its treatment upon HRQoL using a more standardised approach

Novel thoracoscopic approach to posterior mediastinal goiters: report of two cases

Trans-cervical resection of posterior mediastinal goiters is usually very difficult, requiring a high thoracotomy. Until recently, using conventional video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery to resect such tumors has been technically difficult and unsafe. By virtue of 3 dimensional visualization, greater dexterity, and more accurate dissection, the Da Vinci robot, for the first time, enables a completely minimally invasive approach to the posterior superior mediastinum

Primary health care services for the aged in the United Arab Emirates: a comparison of two models of care

Aim: To compare the quality of aged care provided by two different models of primary health care services in the United Arab Emirates. Methods: Cross sectional survey by chart review of 200 consecutive people aged 65 years and over attending two primary health care centers located in adjacent suburbs and serving populations with similar characteristics; a resource intensive center (RIC) and the other a resource thrifty center (RTC). Quality indicators were blood pressure levels in hypertensives and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels in diabetics. Results: There was no variation in age, sex or number of visits per year between the clinics. Osteoarthritis, hypertension, and diabetes were the most common diagnoses at both. The people attending the RIC had a substantially higher level of comorbidity (RIC=1.19±1.18, RTC=0.63 ± 0.68, p < 0.001), the average systolic and diastolic blood pressure for those diagnosed with hypertension was in the normal range at the RIC (138.5 ± 19.8/77.1 ± 9.9), whereas it was significantly higher and in the elevated range at the RTC (149.5 ± 17.7/85.2 ± 9.1, p < 0.001) and the HbA1c was significantly lower at the RIC (7.7 ± 1.4) than at the RTC (9.5 ± 2.0, p < 0.001). Conclusions:The quality of health outcomes for the two chronic diseases, hypertension and diabetes, appeared significantly higher at the RIC, when compared with the RTC. However, there may have been significant selection bias. Further studies are needed to determine if the RIC improves quality measures in other aspects of chronic disease care and provides a more cost effective health care service

A mineralogical study in contrasts: highly mineralized whale rostrum and human enamel

The outermost enamel of the human tooth and the rostrum of the whale Mesoplodon densirostris are two highly mineralized tissues that contain over 95wt.% mineral, i.e., bioapatite. However, the same mineral type (carbonated hydroxylapatite) does not yield the same material properties, as revealed by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis, and synchrotron X-ray diffraction analysis. Overall, the outermost enamel of a tooth has more homogeneous physical and chemical features than the rostrum. Chemical comparison of rostrum and enamel shows bioapatite in the rostrum to be enriched in Na, Mg, CO3, and S, whereas the outermost enamel shows only a slightly enriched Cl concentration. Morphologically, mineral rods (at tens of μm scale), crystallites and prisms (at μm and sub-μm scale), and platelets (at tens of nm scale) all demonstrate less organized texture in the rostrum than in enamel. Such contrasts between two mineralized tissues suggest distinct pathways of biomineralization, e.g., the nature of the equilibrium between mineral and body fluid. This study illustrates the remarkable flexibility of the apatite mineral structure to match its chemical and physical properties to specific biological needs within the same animal or between species.The work was partially funded by NIH grant 1R21AR055184-01A2 and SRF for ROCS, SEM

The epidemiology of atopic dermatitis in older adults: A population-based study in the United Kingdom

Background Atopic dermatitis is known to be common among children, but there are few studies examining the epidemiology across the life course. In particular, there is a paucity of data on atopic dermatitis among older adults. Objective To evaluate participant characteristics, patterns of disease activity and severity, and calendar trends in older adult atopic dermatitis in comparison to other age groups in a large population-based cohort. Methods This was a cohort study of 9,154,936 individuals aged 0-99 years registered in The Health Improvement Network, a database comprised of electronic health records from general practices in the United Kingdom between 1994 and 2013. Atopic dermatitis was defined by a previously validated algorithm using a combination of at least one recorded atopic dermatitis diagnostic code in primary care and two atopic dermatitis therapies recorded on separate days. Cross-sectional analyses of disease prevalence were conducted at each age. Logistic mixed effect regression models were used to identify predictors of prevalent disease over time among children (0-17 years), adults (18-74 years), and older adults (75-99 years). Results Physician-diagnosed atopic dermatitis was identified in 894,454 individuals with the following proportions in each age group: 18.3% of children, 7.7% of adults, and 11.6% of older adults. Additionally, atopic dermatitis prevalence increased across the 2-decade period (beta from linear regression test for trend in the change in proportion per year = 0.005, p = 0.044). In older adults, atopic dermatitis was 27% less common among females (adjusted OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.70-0.76) and was more likely to be active (59.7%, 95% CI 59.5-59.9%) and of higher severity (mean annual percentage with moderate and severe disease: 31.8% and 3.0%, respectively) than in other age groups. Conclusion In a large population-based cohort, the prevalence of physician-diagnosed atopic dermatitis has increased throughout adulthood and was most common among males age 75 years and above. Compared to children ages 0-17 and adults ages 18-74, older adult atopic dermatitis was more active and severe. Because the prevalence of atopic dermatitis among older adults has increased over time, additional characterization of disease triggers and mechanisms and targeted treatment recommendations are needed for this population