Sex and Reproduction in the Transmission of Infectious Uveitis

Current data permit only speculations regarding sex differences in the prevalence of infectious uveitis between women and men because uveitis case surveys do not uniformly report gender data. Differences in prevalence that are reported in the literature could relate to simple differences in the number of women and men at risk for infection or to biological differences between men and women. Compared to other types of uveitis, infectious uveitis may be directly related to occupational exposures or sexual behaviors, which differ between women and men, and may mask actual biological differences in susceptibility to ocular manifestations of the infection and its prognosis. In infectious uveitis for which there is no element of sexual transmission and data is available, prevalence of ocular disease is roughly equal between women and men. Women also have a unique relationship with infectious uveitis in their role as mothers. Vertical transmission of infections such as herpes simplex, toxoplasmosis, and cytomegalovirus can produce severe chorioretinitis in neonates

Moxifloxacin and bilateral acute iris transillumination

Recent publications have alerted clinicians to a syndrome of uveitic transilluminating iris depigmentation associated with systemic fluoroquinolones and other antibiotics. Bilateral acute iris transillumination, which is associated with loss of the iris pigment epithelium and results in iris transillumination, differs from the previously described bilateral acute depigmentation of the iris, which is associated with atrophy of the iris stroma without transillumination. We present a case of fluoroquinolone-associated uveitis with anterior segment optical coherence tomography imaging to highlight some observations about this syndrome. We interpret pharmacokinetic data to help explain why oral, but not topical, moxifloxacin may cause fluoroquinolone-associated uveitis

Establishment of \u3ci\u3eListeria monocytogenes\u3c/i\u3e in the Gastrointestinal Tract

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram positive foodborne pathogen that can colonize the gastrointestinal tract of a number of hosts, including humans. These environments contain numerous stressors such as bile, low oxygen and acidic pH, which may impact the level of colonization and persistence of this organism within the GI tract. The ability of L. monocytogenes to establish infections and colonize the gastrointestinal tract is directly related to its ability to overcome these stressors, which is mediated by the efficient expression of several stress response mechanisms during its passage. This review will focus upon how and when this occurs and how this impacts the outcome of foodborne disease

Vascular co-option in lung cancer metastatic to the eye after treatment with bevacizumab

Abstract Background Chemotherapy with bevacizumab alters the angiogenic environment, and therefore, the growth and spread of metastases. We present a patient with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma to the eye with findings suggestive of retinal vascular co-option. Methods Case report. Results A 57-year-old male, receiving systemic bevacizumab for metastatic lung adenocarcinoma, presented with vitreous opacities and clumped deposits adherent to the retinal vessels. No choroidal metastases were present. Diagnostic vitrectomy yielded cellular evidence of adenocarcinoma, with thyroid transcription factor-1 staining confirming a lung primary. Conclusion The perivascular growth of small foci of metastatic vitreous cells suggests vascular co-option from the native retinal circulation. Similar modification of metastatic disease by bevacizumab has been observed in animal models and selected human cases

The construction and evaluation of tests to determine the ability of fifth and sixth grade pupils to select relevant materials in the social studies

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

Location-specific cutaneous electrical stimulation of the footsole modulates corticospinal excitability to the plantarflexors and dorsiflexors during standing

Non-noxious electrical stimulation to distinct locations of the foot sole evokes location-specific cutaneous reflex responses in lower limb muscles. These reflexes occur at latencies that may enable them to be mediated via a transcortical pathway. Corticospinal excitability to the plantarflexors and dorsiflexors was measured in 16 participants using motor evoked potentials (MEPs). Spinal excitability was measured in eight of the original participants using cervicomedullary motor evoked potentials (CMEPs). Measurements were collected with and without preceding cutaneous stimulus to either the heel (HEEL) or metatarsal (MET) locations of the foot sole, and evoked potentials were elicited to coincide with the arrival of the cutaneous volley at either the motor cortex or spinal cord. Plantarflexor MEPs and CMEPs were facilitated with cutaneous stimulation to the HEEL for MEPs (soleus p = 0.04, medial gastrocnemius (MG) p = 0.017) and CMEPs (soleus p = 0.047 and MG p = 0.015), but they were unchanged following MET stimulation for MEPs or CMEPs. Dorsiflexor MEPs were unchanged with cutaneous stimulation at either location, but dorsiflexor CMEPs increased with cutaneous stimulation (p = 0.05). In general, the increase in CMEP amplitudes was larger than the increase in MEP amplitudes, indicating that an increase in spinal excitability likely explains most of the increase in corticospinal excitability. The larger change observed in the CMEP also indicates that excitability from supraspinal sources likely decreased, which could be due to a net change in the excitability of intracortical circuits. This study provides evidence that cutaneous reflexes from foot sole skin are likely influenced by a transcortical pathway

Assessing Local Health Department Performance in Diabetes Prevention and Control — North Carolina, 2005

Introduction: To improve the public health system's ability to prevent and control chronic diseases, we must first understand current practice and develop appropriate strategies for measuring performance. The objectives of this study were to measure capacity and performance of local health departments in diabetes prevention and control and to investigate characteristics associated with performance. Methods: In 2005, we conducted a cross-sectional mailed survey of all 85 North Carolina local health departments to assess capacity and performance in diabetes prevention and control based on the 10 Essential Public Health Services and adapted from the Local Public Health System Performance Assessment Instrument. We linked survey responses to county-level data, including data from a national survey of local health departments. Results: Local health departments reported a median of 0.05 full-time equivalent employees in diabetes prevention and 0.1 in control. Performance varied across the 10 Essential Services; activities most commonly reported included providing information to the public and to policy makers (76%), providing diabetes education (58%), and screening (74%). The mean score on a 10-point performance index was 3.5. Characteristics associated with performance were population size, health department size and accreditation status, and diabetes-specific external funding. Performance was not better in localities where the prevalence of diabetes was high or availability of primary care was low. Conclusion: Most North Carolina local health departments had limited capacity to conduct diabetes prevention or control programs in their communities. Diabetes is a major cause of illness and death, yet it is neglected in public health practice. These findings suggest opportunities to enhance local public health practice, particularly through targeted funding and technical assistance

Listeria Occurrence In Poultry Flocks: Detection and Potential Implications

Foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, and Listeria are a major concern within the food industry due to their pathogenic potential to cause infection. Of these, Listeria monocytogenes, possesses a high mortality rate (approximately 20%) and is considered one of the most dangerous foodborne pathogens. Although the usual reservoirs for Listeria transmission have been extensively studied, little is known about the relationship between Listeria and live poultry production. Sporadic and isolated cases of listeriosis have been attributed to poultry production and Listeria spp. have been isolated from all stages of poultry production and processing. Farm studies suggest that live birds may be an important vector and contributor to contamination of the processing environment and transmission of Listeria to consumers. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to highlight the occurrence, incidence, and potential systemic interactions of Listeria spp. with poultry

Migraine in postmenopausal women and the risk of invasive breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The frequency of migraine headache changes at various times of a woman's reproductive cycle. Menarche, menses, pregnancy, and perimenopause may carry a different migraine risk conceivably because of fluctuating estrogen levels, and in general, migraine frequency is associated with falling estrogen levels. Given the strong relationship between endogenous estrogen levels and breast cancer risk, migraine sufferers may experience a reduced risk of breast cancer. METHODS: We combined data from two population-based case-control studies to examine the relationship between migraine and risk of postmenopausal invasive breast cancer among 1,199 ductal carcinoma cases, 739 lobular carcinoma cases, and 1,474 controls 55 to 79 years of age. Polytomous logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: Women who reported a clinical diagnosis of migraine had reduced risks of ductal carcinoma (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.54-0.82) and lobular carcinoma (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.52-0.90). These associations were primarily limited to hormone receptor-positive tumors as migraine was associated with a 0.65-fold (95% CI, 0.51-0.83) reduced risk of estrogen receptor-positive (ER+)/progesterone receptor-positive (PR+) ductal carcinoma. The reductions in risk observed were seen among migraine sufferers who did and did not use prescription medications for their migraines. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that a history of migraine is associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer, particularly among ER+/PR+ ductal and lobular carcinomas. Because this is the first study to address an association between migraine history and breast cancer risk, additional studies are needed to confirm this finding

Integrating and streamlining electronic resources workflows via Innovative’s Electronic Resource Management

This is a preprint of an article that has been accepted for publication in The Serials Librarian, v. 47, no. 4.Publisher links: http://www.taylorandfrancisgroup.com/ ; http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/0361526X.aspLibraries have been grappling with the management of the growing number of electronic resources, such as e-journals and electronic article indexes, for the last decade especially after the availability of many of these resources on the World Wide Web. The integrated library system wasn’t originally designed to accommodate many of these functions. In 2002, Innovative Interfaces, Inc. partnered with several of their customer libraries to develop a module to manage electronic resources based on the work of the Digital Library Federation’s Electronic Resources Management Initiative. The result of this partnership is a module that addresses functions such as tracking trial access, license negotiations, maintenance, troubleshooting as well as integration into the online catalog