Acute changes in clinical breast measurements following bra removal:implications for surgical practice

AbstractBackgroundStable measurement of breast position is crucial for objective pre-operative planning and post-operative evaluation. In clinical practice, breast measures are often taken immediately following bra removal. However, research shows that restrictive clothing (such as a bra) can cause acute anatomical changes, leading to the hypothesis that clinical breast measures may change over time following bra removal. This cross-sectional observational study aimed to provide simple clinical guidelines for the measurement of breast position which account for any acute changes in breast position following bra removal.MethodsThirteen participants of varying breast sizes had markers attached to their thorax and nipples to determine clinical measures of sternal notch to nipple distance, internipple distance, breast projection, and vertical nipple position. The positions of these landmarks were recorded using a motion capture system during 10 min of controlled sitting following bra removal.ResultsInternipple distance and breast projection remained unchanged over 10 min, while the resultant sternal notch to nipple distance extended by 2.8 mm in 299 s (right) and 3.7 mm in 348 s (left). The greatest change occurred in the vertical nipple position, which migrated an average of 4.1 mm in 365 s (right) and 6.6 mm in 272 s (left), however, for one participant vertical migration was up to 20 mm.ConclusionsInternipple distance and breast projection can be measured first following bra removal, followed by sternal notch to nipple distance, any measures associated with the vertical nipple position should be made more than 6 min after bra removal. These guidelines have implications for breast surgery, particularly for unilateral reconstruction based on the residual breast position

Unburnable Carbon 2013: Wasted Capital and Stranded Assets

This report examines CO2 budgets and the growing 'carbon bubble', as well as its effects on the economy and global warming. It includes chapters on the global CO2 budget, global listed coal oil and gas reserves and resources, evolving the regulation of markets for climate risk, implications for equity valuation and credit ratings, implications for investors, and suggestions for navigating the road ahead

Bioengineering bacterial outer membrane vesicles as delivery system for RNA therapeutics targeted to lung epithelial cytosols

Intact epithelia lining the airways and alveoli in the lung are essential to maintain lung function. Structural or functional damage of epithelial cells leads in severe diseases, including COPD/emphysema, ibrosis or ALI/ARDS. This central role of epithelia in pulmonary diseases identifies these cells as primary candidates for targeted therapy. With the exception of surface-expressed molecules, however, targeting intracellular components is severely restricted due to poor delivery. We aim to overcome this obstacle using topically administered, bioengineered, biocompatible bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) as recombinant drug delivery systems for novel biopharmaceuticals. Engineering recombinant surface expression of eukaryotic receptor ligands in ClearColi®, a commercial E.coli BL21 (DE3) strain deficient in lipopolysaccharide production, we have used red fluorescent protein reporters to track OMV loading, transgene expression, and eukaryotic cell trafficking. We demonstrate statistically significant differences in the levels of over 700 proteins between differentially engineered and purified OMV preps with additional differences in transcriptome and lipidome consistency. We also characterised visual and particle size differences observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). Here we report early bioadhesion and culture of re-differentiated lung epithelia. This project aims to bridge the biotechnological gap in the intracellular biopharmaceutics drug delivery challenge for respiratory epithelia through highly controlled, and scalable bio-nanotechnology process. If successful, our work will unlock intracellular imaging and therapeutics research for respiratory diseases with a significant epithelial component, paving the way for other targeting ligands and potentially non-respiratory indications. cellular uptake results in A549 culture as well as air-liquid interface

A high-throughput screening method for determining the substrate scope of nitrilases

Nitrile compounds are intermediates in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals such as atorvastatin. We have developed a chromogenic reagent to screen for nitrilase activity as an alternative to Nessler's reagent. It produces a semi-quantifiable blue colour and hydrolysis of 38 nitrile substrates by 23 nitrilases as cell-free extracts has been shown

Is breast pain greater in active females compared to the general population in the UK?

Cyclic and noncyclic breast pain effect up to 60% of women, decreasing the quality of life. In addition, exercise-induced breast pain (thought to be caused by tension on breast skin and fascia during breast motion) is reported in up to 72% of exercising females. These forms of breast pain may be experienced concurrently; therefore, it is hypothesized that this compound effect may cause higher breast pain prevalence and severity in active populations. This study investigated the prevalence and severity of breast pain in an active cohort, compared to a random cohort. A random sample of 234 UK females completed a self-administered survey reporting physical activity history, prevalence, severity and frequency of breast pain, breast support habits, bra satisfaction, occurrence of bra-related issues, and demographics. This sample was age-matched to a sample of active females (n = 234) from a cross-sectional survey of 1,285 female marathon runners who completed a similar survey. Breast pain prevalence was significantly lower in the active cohort (32.1%) compared to the random cohort (43.6%), however, the severity and frequency of breast pain was similar in both cohorts. Females in the active cohort undertook significantly more physical activity, were lighter, had greater nulliparous rates, greater adherence to sports bra use, but less adherence to professional bra fitting. With lower breast pain rates in the active cohort the hypothesis of a compound effect of multiple forms of breast pain causing an increase in prevalence and severity is rejected. The lower prevalence may be related to increased physical activity, reduced body mass, and increased sports bra use. Sports bra use is already recommended in the literature for symptomatic women, however, this is the first study to report that increased physical activity and weight loss may be an appropriate life style choice to reduce the prevalence of breast pain