An evaluation of the utility of routine laboratory monitoring of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): a retrospective review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>No consensus evidence-based guidelines for the routine laboratory monitoring of children with JIA receiving non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) exist. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical utility of routine laboratory monitoring of hemoglobin, transaminases, blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, and urinalysis in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) receiving NSAIDs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The medical records of 91 children with JIA followed between 1996 and 2006 were retrospectively reviewed for laboratory results and clinically significant adverse effects attributed to NSAID use. Laboratory abnormalities were documented, with potential adverse clinical sequelae, including if NSAID use was discontinued.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Abnormal laboratory results were recorded for 24 of 91 patients. Nearly all abnormalities were mild and not associated with adverse clinical sequelae. All patients but one continued to receive NSAID therapy after the abnormality was detected.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although detection of abnormal laboratory values occurred while on NSAIDs, these abnormalities did not correlate with adverse clinical signs and symptoms. The routine monitoring of laboratory tests in asymptomatic children treated with NSAIDs is of questionable utility.</p

Old(er) Care home residents and sexual/intimate citizenship

Sexuality and intimacy in care homes for older people are overshadowed by concern with prolonging physical and/or psychological autonomy.When sexuality and intimacy have been addressed in scholarship, this can reflect a sexological focus concerned with howto continue sexual activitywithreduced capacity.We reviewthe (Anglophone) academic and practitioner literatures bearing on sexuality and intimacy in relation to older care home residents (though much of this applies to older people generally).We highlight how ageism (or ageist erotophobia), which defines older people as post-sexual, restricts opportunities for the expression of sexuality and intimacy. In doing so, we draw attention to more critical writing that recognises constraints on sexuality and intimacy and indicates solutions to some of the problems identified. We also highlight problems faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGB&T) residents who are doubly excluded from sexual/intimate citizenship because of ageism combined with the heterosexual assumption. Older LGB&T residents/individuals can feel obliged to deny or disguise their identity. We conclude by outlining an agenda for research based on more sociologically informed practitioner-led work

Grandchild Care, Intergenerational Transfers, and Grandparents’ Labor Supply

Published in Review of Economics of the Household https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-013-9221-x</p

Anaerobic consortia of fungi and sulfate reducing bacteria in deep granite fractures

The deep biosphere is one of the least understood ecosystems on Earth. Although most microbiological studies in this system have focused on prokaryotes and neglected microeukaryotes, recent discoveries have revealed existence of fossil and active fungi in marine sediments and sub-seafloor basalts, with proposed importance for the subsurface energy cycle. However, studies of fungi in deep continental crystalline rocks are surprisingly few. Consequently, the characteristics and processes of fungi and fungus-prokaryote interactions in this vast environment remain enigmatic. Here we report the first findings of partly organically preserved and partly mineralized fungi at great depth in fractured crystalline rock (-740 m). Based on environmental parameters and mineralogy the fungi are interpreted as anaerobic. Synchrotron-based techniques and stable isotope microanalysis confirm a coupling between the fungi and sulfate reducing bacteria. The cryptoendolithic fungi have significantly weathered neighboring zeolite crystals and thus have implications for storage of toxic wastes using zeolite barriers

Large-scale transcriptome analyses reveal new genetic marker candidates of head, neck, and thyroid cancer

A detailed genome mapping analysis of 213,636 expressed sequence tags (EST) derived from nontumor and tumor tissues of the oral cavity, larynx, pharynx, and thyroid was done. Transcripts matching known human genes were identified; potential new splice variants were flagged and subjected to manual curation, pointing to 788 putatively new alternative splicing isoforms, the majority (75%) being insertion events. A subset of 34 new splicing isoforms (5% of 788 events) was selected and 23 (68%) were confirmed by reverse transcription-PCR and DNA sequencing. Putative new genes were revealed, including six transcripts mapped to well-studied chromosomes such as 22, as well as transcripts that mapped to 253 intergenic regions. in addition, 2,251 noncoding intronic RNAs, eventually involved in transcriptional regulation, were found. A set of 250 candidate markers for loss of heterozygosis or gene amplification was selected by identifying transcripts that mapped to genomic regions previously known to be frequently amplified or deleted in head, neck, and thyroid tumors. Three of these markers were evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR in an independent set of individual samples. Along with detailed clinical data about tumor origin, the information reported here is now publicly available on a dedicated Web site as a resource for further biological investigation. This first in silico reconstruction of the head, neck, and thyroid transcriptomes points to a wealth of new candidate markers that can be used for future studies on the molecular basis of these tumors. Similar analysis is warranted for a number of other tumors for which large EST data sets are available.Univ São Paulo, Fac Med, Inst Psiquiatria, Neurosci Lab,Dept Psiquiatria, BR-05403010 São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Bioquim, BR-05403010 São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Fac Med, Lab Bioinformat, Inst Quim, BR-05403010 São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Fac Med, Disciplina Oncol, Dept Radiol, BR-05403010 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Mol Endocrinol Lab, Dept Med & Morfol, São Paulo, BrazilHosp Canc AC Camargo, Dept Cirurg Cabeca & Pescoco & Otorrinolaringolog, São Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Genet & Evolucao, Lab Biol Mol & Genom Hemoctr, Campinas, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Genet & Evolucao, Lab Genom & Expressao, Campinas, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, Dept Biol, Inst Biociencias, Araraquara, SP, BrazilFac Med Sao Jose Rio Preto, Dept Biol Mol, Sao Jose de Rio Preto, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, Escola Farm, Dept Ciencias Biol, Araraquara, SP, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Mol Endocrinol Lab, Dept Med & Morfol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc