Una combinación nueva en Erica (Ericaceae).

[EN] A new nomenclatural status and combination is proposed for Erica cinerea var. numidica. New data about the morphology, chorology and ecology of this taxon are given.[ES] Una combinación nueva en Erica (Ericaceae).- Se propone un nuevo estatus y combinación nomenclatural para Erica cinerea var. numidica. Se aportan nuevos datos sobre la morfología, corología y ecología de este taxón.This work has been supported by “Ajuts a grups de recerca consolidats: 2005SGR00344 and 2009SGR0439, Generalitat de Catalunya” and "Proyectos Intramurales de Incorporación del CSIC: 2009930I161".Peer reviewe

Pilot Study of Urinary Biomarkers of Phytoestrogens, Phthalates, and Phenols in Girls

BACKGROUND: Hormonally active environmental agents have been measured among U.S. children using exposure biomarkers in urine. However, little is known about their variation by race, age, sex, and geography, and no data exist for newly developed biomarkers. OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to characterize relevant, prevalent exposures for a study of female pubertal development. METHODS: In a pilot study among 90 girls from New York City, New York, Cincinnati, Ohio, and northern California, we measured 25 urinary analytes representing 22 separate agents from three chemical families: phytoestrogens, phthalates, and phenols. Exposures occur chiefly from the diet and from household or personal care products. RESULTS: Participants represented four racial/ethnic groups (Asian, black, Hispanic, white), with mean age of 7.77 years. Most analytes were detectable in > 94% of samples. The highest median concentrations for individual analytes in each family were for enterolactone (298 μg/L), monoethylphthalate (MEP; 83.2 μg/L), and benzophenone-3 (BP3; 14.7 μg/L). Few or no data have been reported previously for four metabolites: mono(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate, triclosan, bisphenol A (BPA), and BP3; these were detected in 67–100% of samples with medians of 1.8–53.2 μg/L. After multivariate adjustment, two analytes, enterolactone and BPA, were higher among girls with body mass index < 85th reference percentile than those at or above the 85th percentile. Three phthalate metabolites differed by race/ethnicity [MEP, mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, and mono-3-carboxypropylphthalate]. CONCLUSIONS: A wide spectrum of hormonally active exposure biomarkers were detectable and variable among young girls, with high maximal concentrations (> 1,000 μg/L) found for several analytes. They varied by characteristics that may be relevant to development

The complementary roles of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT for imaging of carotid atherosclerosis

Inflammation and neovascularization in vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques are key features for severe clinical events. Dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI and FDG PET are two noninvasive imaging techniques capable of quantifying plaque neovascularization and inflammatory infiltrate, respectively. However, their mutual role in defining plaque vulnerability and their possible overlap has not been thoroughly investigated. We studied the relationship between DCE-MRI and [supersript 18]F-FDG PET data from the carotid arteries of 40 subjects with coronary heart disease (CHD) or CHD risk equivalent, as a substudy of the dal-PLAQUE trial (NCT00655473)

Neighborhood Environment and Adiposity among Older Adults: the Cardiovascular Health of Seniors and the Built Environment Study

Background. Individual neighborhood factors are associated with obesity-related health behaviors and rates; however, there remains a paucity of information characterizing whole environments in these relationships and limited information on the effect for older adults. Methods. Adults, aged 60 or older living in New York City, were enrolled into the Cardiovascular Health of Seniors and the Built Environment between January 2009 and June 2011. Walking audits of all streets within 300-meter buffer zones around residential addresses were conducted resulting in the assessment of 34 different neighborhood features hypothesized to be associated with obesity through physical activity and diet. Outcomes included objective measures of body fat mass (FM), waist circumference (WC), and body mass index (BMI). Stratified linear regression models were used to calculate geographic differences in associations between neighborhood resources and adiposity by gender and age categories in areas where Black, White and Latino residents lived. Results. For women 60-69 years of age living in black areas, neighborhood features resulted in a higher FM than the average Brooklyn neighborhood (Difference (D) =2.15, 95% CI [1.15, 3.15]). Conversely, for women of the same age living in white and Latino areas, a lower prevalence of FM was observed: white areas: (D= -2.01, 95% CI [-3.62, -0.40]); Latino areas: (D= -1.43, 95% CI [-2.72, -0.14]). The direction of the effects remained similar for other age groups, although the estimates were less precise. Estimates of FM were inconsistent across age groups for men living in each of the areas. Other measurements of adiposity showed similar results. Conclusions. The composition of neighborhood features in white and Latino residential areas is protective of adiposity, whereas features located in black areas appear to place residents at greater risk

Conducting Molecular Epidemiological Research in the Age of HIPAA: A Multi-Institutional Case-Control Study of Breast Cancer in African-American and European-American Women

Breast cancer in African-American (AA) women occurs at an earlier age than in European-American (EA) women and is more likely to have aggressive features associated with poorer prognosis, such as high-grade and negative estrogen receptor (ER) status. The mechanisms underlying these differences are unknown. To address this, we conducted a case-control study to evaluate risk factors for high-grade ER- disease in both AA and EA women. With the onset of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, creative measures were needed to adapt case ascertainment and contact procedures to this new environment of patient privacy. In this paper, we report on our approach to establishing a multicenter study of breast cancer in New York and New Jersey, provide preliminary distributions of demographic and pathologic characteristics among case and control participants by race, and contrast participation rates by approaches to case ascertainment, with discussion of strengths and weaknesses

Low-Cost High-Resolution Microendoscopy for the Detection of Esophageal Squamous Cell Neoplasia: An International Trial

Background & Aims: Esophageal squamous cell neoplasia has a high mortality rate as a result of late detection. In high-risk regions such as China, screening is performed by Lugol’s chromoendoscopy (LCE). LCE has low specificity, resulting in unnecessary tissue biopsy with a subsequent increase in procedure cost and risk. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of a novel, low-cost, high-resolution microendoscope (HRME) as an adjunct to LCE. Methods: In this prospective trial, 147 consecutive high-risk patients were enrolled from 2 US and 2 Chinese tertiary centers. Three expert and 4 novice endoscopists performed white-light endoscopy followed by LCE and HRME. All optical images were compared with the gold standard of histopathology. Results: By using a per-biopsy analysis, the sensitivity of LCE vs LCE + HRME was 96% vs 91% (P = .0832), specificity was 48% vs 88% (P < .001), positive predictive value was 22% vs 45% (P < .0001), negative predictive value was 98% vs 98% (P = .3551), and overall accuracy was 57% vs 90% (P < .001), respectively. By using a per-patient analysis, the sensitivity of LCE vs LCE + HRME was 100% vs 95% (P = .16), specificity was 29% vs 79% (P < .001), positive predictive value was 32% vs 60%, 100% vs 98%, and accuracy was 47% vs 83% (P < .001). With the use of HRME, 136 biopsies (60%; 95% confidence interval, 53%–66%) could have been spared, and 55 patients (48%; 95% confidence interval, 38%–57%) could have been spared any biopsy. Conclusions: In this trial, HRME improved the accuracy of LCE for esophageal squamous cell neoplasia screening and surveillance. HRME may be a cost-effective optical biopsy adjunct to LCE, potentially reducing unnecessary biopsies and facilitating real-time decision making in globally underserved regions. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT 01384708