Preserving ovarian function in patients receiving cyclophosphamide

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68327/2/10.1191_096120399678847335.pd

Can Ambient Scent Enhance the Nightlife Experience?

Ever since smoking was prohibited in restaurants, bars, and clubs, undesirable smells that were previously masked by cigarette smoke became noticeable. This opens up opportunities to improve the dance club environment by introducing pleasant ambient scents that mask the unwanted odors and to allow competing clubs to differentiate themselves. A field study was conducted at three dance clubs using a 3 × 3 Latin square design with pre- and post-measurements of no-scent control conditions. The three scents tested were orange, seawater, and peppermint. These scents were shown to enhance dancing activity and to improve the evaluation of the evening, the evaluation of the music, and the mood of the visitors over no added scent. However, no significant differences were found between the three scents

Simultaneous Identification of DNA and RNA Viruses Present in Pig Faeces Using Process-Controlled Deep Sequencing

Background: Animal faeces comprise a community of many different microorganisms including bacteria and viruses. Only scarce information is available about the diversity of viruses present in the faeces of pigs. Here we describe a protocol, which was optimized for the purification of the total fraction of viral particles from pig faeces. The genomes of the purified DNA and RNA viruses were simultaneously amplified by PCR and subjected to deep sequencing followed by bioinformatic analyses. The efficiency of the method was monitored using a process control consisting of three bacteriophages (T4, M13 and MS2) with different morphology and genome types. Defined amounts of the bacteriophages were added to the sample and their abundance was assessed by quantitative PCR during the preparation procedure. Results: The procedure was applied to a pooled faecal sample of five pigs. From this sample, 69,613 sequence reads were generated. All of the added bacteriophages were identified by sequence analysis of the reads. In total, 7.7 % of the reads showed significant sequence identities with published viral sequences. They mainly originated from bacteriophages (73.9%) and mammalian viruses (23.9%); 0.8 % of the sequences showed identities to plant viruses. The most abundant detected porcine viruses were kobuvirus, rotavirus C, astrovirus, enterovirus B, sapovirus and picobirnavirus. In addition, sequences with identities to the chimpanzee stool-associated circular ssDNA virus were identified. Whole genome analysis indicates that this virus, tentatively designated as pig stool-associated circular ssDNA virus (PigSCV), represents a novel pi

Helicobacter pylori's Unconventional Role in Health and Disease

The discovery of a bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, that is resident in the human stomach and causes chronic disease (peptic ulcer and gastric cancer) was radical on many levels. Whereas the mouth and the colon were both known to host a large number of microorganisms, collectively referred to as the microbiome, the stomach was thought to be a virtual Sahara desert for microbes because of its high acidity. We now know that H. pylori is one of many species of bacteria that live in the stomach, although H. pylori seems to dominate this community. H. pylori does not behave as a classical bacterial pathogen: disease is not solely mediated by production of toxins, although certain H. pylori genes, including those that encode exotoxins, increase the risk of disease development. Instead, disease seems to result from a complex interaction between the bacterium, the host, and the environment. Furthermore, H. pylori was the first bacterium observed to behave as a carcinogen. The innate and adaptive immune defenses of the host, combined with factors in the environment of the stomach, apparently drive a continuously high rate of genomic variation in H. pylori. Studies of this genetic diversity in strains isolated from various locations across the globe show that H. pylori has coevolved with humans throughout our history. This long association has given rise not only to disease, but also to possible protective effects, particularly with respect to diseases of the esophagus. Given this complex relationship with human health, eradication of H. pylori in nonsymptomatic individuals may not be the best course of action. The story of H. pylori teaches us to look more deeply at our resident microbiome and the complexity of its interactions, both in this complex population and within our own tissues, to gain a better understanding of health and disease

Combined low initial DNA damage and high radiation-induced apoptosis confers clinical resistance to long-term toxicity in breast cancer patients treated with high-dose radiotherapy

Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't;BACKGROUND. Either higher levels of initial DNA damage or lower levels of radiation-induced apoptosis in peripheral blood lymphocytes have been associated to increased risk for develop late radiation-induced toxicity. It has been recently published that these two predictive tests are inversely related. The aim of the present study was to investigate the combined role of both tests in relation to clinical radiation-induced toxicity in a set of breast cancer patients treated with high dose hyperfractionated radical radiotherapy. METHODS. Peripheral blood lymphocytes were taken from 26 consecutive patients with locally advanced breast carcinoma treated with high-dose hyperfractioned radical radiotherapy. Acute and late cutaneous and subcutaneous toxicity was evaluated using the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group morbidity scoring schema. The mean follow-up of survivors (n = 13) was 197.23 months. Radiosensitivity of lymphocytes was quantified as the initial number of DNA double-strand breaks induced per Gy and per DNA unit (200 Mbp). Radiation-induced apoptosis (RIA) at 1, 2 and 8 Gy was measured by flow cytometry using annexin V/propidium iodide. RESULTS. Mean DSB/Gy/DNA unit obtained was 1.70 ± 0.83 (range 0.63-4.08; median, 1.46). Radiation-induced apoptosis increased with radiation dose (median 12.36, 17.79 and 24.83 for 1, 2, and 8 Gy respectively). We observed that those "expected resistant patients" (DSB values lower than 1.78 DSB/Gy per 200 Mbp and RIA values over 9.58, 14.40 or 24.83 for 1, 2 and 8 Gy respectively) were at low risk of suffer severe subcutaneous late toxicity (HR 0.223, 95%CI 0.073-0.678, P = 0.008; HR 0.206, 95%CI 0.063-0.677, P = 0.009; HR 0.239, 95%CI 0.062-0.929, P = 0.039, for RIA at 1, 2 and 8 Gy respectively) in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS. A radiation-resistant profile is proposed, where those patients who presented lower levels of initial DNA damage and higher levels of radiation induced apoptosis were at low risk of suffer severe subcutaneous late toxicity after clinical treatment at high radiation doses in our series. However, due to the small sample size, other prospective studies with higher number of patients are needed to validate these results.This work was subsidized by a grant from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (CICYT: SAF 2004-00889) and Fundación del Instituto Canario de Investigación del Cáncer (FICIC).Yes2011-0

Primitive layered gabbros from fast-spreading lower oceanic crust

Three-quarters of the oceanic crust formed at fast-spreading ridges is composed of plutonic rocks whose mineral assemblages, textures and compositions record the history of melt transport and crystallization between the mantle and the sea floor. Despite the importance of these rocks, sampling them in situ is extremely challenging owing to the overlying dykes and lavas. This means that models for understanding the formation of the lower crust are based largely on geophysical studies and ancient analogues (ophiolites) that did not form at typical mid-ocean ridges. Here we describe cored intervals of primitive, modally layered gabbroic rocks from the lower plutonic crust formed at a fast-spreading ridge, sampled by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program at the Hess Deep rift. Centimetre-scale, modally layered rocks, some of which have a strong layering-parallel foliation, confirm a long-held belief that such rocks are a key constituent of the lower oceanic crust formed at fast-spreading ridges. Geochemical analysis of these primitive lower plutonic rocks-in combination with previous geochemical data for shallow-level plutonic rocks, sheeted dykes and lavas-provides the most completely constrained estimate of the bulk composition of fast-spreading oceanic crust so far. Simple crystallization models using this bulk crustal composition as the parental melt accurately predict the bulk composition of both the lavas and the plutonic rocks. However, the recovered plutonic rocks show early crystallization of orthopyroxene, which is not predicted by current models of melt extraction from the mantle and mid-ocean-ridge basalt differentiation. The simplest explanation of this observation is that compositionally diverse melts are extracted from the mantle and partly crystallize before mixing to produce the more homogeneous magmas that erupt

Attachment, infidelity, and loneliness in college students involved in a romantic relationship: the role of relationship satisfaction, morbidity and prayer for partner

This study examined the mediating effects of relationship satisfaction, prayer for a partner, and morbidity in the relationship between attachment and loneliness, infidelity and loneliness, and psychological morbidity and loneliness, in college students involved in a romantic relationship. Participants were students in an introductory course on family development. This study examined only students (n = 345) who were involved in a romantic relationship. The average age of participants was 19.46 (SD = 1.92) and 25 % were males. Short-form UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-8), (Hays and DiMatteo in J Pers Assess 51:69–81, doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa5101_6, 1987); Relationship Satisfaction Scale (Funk and Rogge in J Fam Psychol 21:572–583, doi:10.1037/0893-3200.21.4.572, 2007); Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (De Haes et al. in Measuring the quality of life of cancer patients with the Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL): a manual, Northern Centre for Healthcare Research, Groningen, 1996); Prayer for Partner Scale, (Fincham et al. in J Pers Soc Psychol 99:649–659, doi:10.1037/a0019628, 2010); Infidelity Scale, (Drigotas et al. in J Pers Soc Psychol 77:509–524, doi:10.1037/0022-3514.77.3.509, 1999); and the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale-short form (Wei et al. in J Couns Psychol 52(4):602–614, doi:10.1037/0022-0167.52.4.602, 2005). Results showed that relationship satisfaction mediated the relationship between avoidance attachment and loneliness and between infidelity and loneliness. Physical morbidity mediated the relationship between anxious attachment and psychological morbidity. Psychological morbidity mediated the relationship between anxious attachment and physical morbidity. The present results expand the literature on attachment by presenting evidence that anxious and avoidant partners experience loneliness differently. Implications for couple’s therapy are addressed. Future research should replicate these results with older samples and married couples.Acknowledgments This research was supported by Grant Number 90FE0022 from the United States Department of Health and Human Services awarded to the last author