Pathophysiology, Clinical, and Therapeutic Aspects of Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a lifelong sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucination, and sleep paralysis. The exact cause remains unknown, but there is significant evidence that hypocretin deficiency plays an integral role. There have been advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis of narcolepsy. It has a negative effect on the quality of life and can restrict the patients from certain careers and activities. Diagnosis relies on patient history and objective data gathered from polysomnography and multiple sleep latency testing. Treatment focuses on symptom relief through medication, education, and behavioral modification. Both classic pharmacological treatments as well as newer options have significant problems, especially because of side effects and abuse potential. Some novel modalities are being examined to expand options for treatment. In this review, the pathophysiological, clinical, and pharmacotherapeutic aspects of narcolepsy are discussed. [Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry 2014; 6(3.000): 271-283

Determination of lethal concentration (LC50) values of Cinnamomum zeylanicum hydrosol on carp fish

In this study, lethal concentration (LC50) values of cinnamon hydrosol (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) on carp (Cyprinus carpio) were investigated. In practice, experimental setup was constituted 30 fish (a total of 180 fish with 30 control fish) to be placed in three replicates. Hydrosol was added into aquariums at the doses of 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10% and determined mortality times of carp exposed to these concentrations. Percentage death of fish calculated in these concentrations. Mortality was observed at all treatments exception of dose of 0.5 %. The results indicate that the hydrosol had swimming changes, lethargy, lack of breath and leaning to the depth of the aquariums at all of the concentrations. The results of regression analysis indicated that the mortality rate (Y) is positively correlated the concentration (X) having a regression coefficient (R) close to one in each case. While the 1 h LC50 value (with 95% confidence limits) of the safe dose of C. zeylanicum hydrosol was estimated at LC50=4.39%, 2 h LC50 value=2.629%, and 12 h LC50 value= 1.027%

I-124 Imaging and Dosimetry

Although radioactive iodine imaging and therapy are one of the earliest applications of theranostics, there still remain a number of unresolved clinical questions as to the optimization of diagnostic techniques and dosimetry protocols. I-124 as a positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer has the potential to improve the current clinical practice in the diagnosis and treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer. The higher sensitivity and spatial resolution of PET/computed tomography (CT) compared to standard gamma scintigraphy can aid in the detection of recurrent or metastatic disease and provide more accurate measurements of metabolic tumor volumes. However the complex decay schema of I-124 poses challenges to quantitative PET imaging. More prospective studies are needed to define optimal dosimetry protocols and to improve patientspecific treatment planning strategies, taking into account not only the absorbed dose to tumors but also methods to avoid toxicity to normal organs. A historical perspective of I-124 imaging and dosimetry as well as future concepts are discussed

A Concise Atlas of Thyroid Cancer Next-Generation Sequencing Panel ThyroSeq v.2

The next-generation sequencing technology allows high out-put genomic analysis. An innovative assay in thyroid cancer, ThyroSeq® was developed for targeted mutation detection by next generation sequencing technology in fine needle aspiration and tissue samples. ThyroSeq v.2 next generation sequencing panel offers simultaneous sequencing and detection in >1000 hotspots of 14 thyroid cancer-related genes and for 42 types of gene fusions known to occur in thyroid cancer. ThyroSeq is being increasingly used to further narrow the indeterminate category defined by cytology for thyroid nodules. From a surgical perspective, genomic profiling also provides prognostic and predictive information and closely relates to determination of surgical strategy. Both the genomic analysis technology and the informatics for the cancer genome data base are rapidly developing. In this paper, we have gathered existing information on the thyroid cancer-related genes involved in the initiation and progression of thyroid cancer. Our goal is to assemble a glossary for the current ThyroSeq genomic panel that can help elucidate the role genomics play in thyroid cancer oncogenesis

Proliferative and Glycolytic Assessment of the Whole-Body Bone Marrow Compartment

Objective: Quantitative assessment of active bone marrow (BM) in vivo is yet to be well-defined. This study aims to compare total body BM volume estimations obtained from use of both18F-FLT PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT in order to consolidate higher cellular proliferation rates with imaging the highly active red BM in pancreatic cancer. Methods: This phase I pilot study includes seven patients with pancreatic cancers who underwent both 18F-FLT and 18F-FDG imaging each acquired within a week’s duration. A CT-based classifier is used for segmenting bone into cortical and trabecular regions. The total BM volume is determined through statistical thresholding on PET activity found within the trabecular bone. Results: Results showed that 18F-FLT measures of red BM volume (RBV) were higher than those obtained from 18F-FDG (∆=89.21 ml). RBV obtained using 18F-FLT in males were found to have high correlation with measured weight (R2=0.61) and BMI (R2=0.70). The red BM fraction obtained from 18F-FLT was significantly different between males and females, with females showing much higher red bone matter within the trabecular bone (p<0.05). In contrast to 18F-FLT, 18F-FDG BM measurements showed that RBV was significantly different between males and females (p<0.05). Results also show that spinal activity SUV threshold for red BM segmentation is significantly different between 18F-FLT PET and 18F-FDG PET (p<0.05). Conclusion: By combining 18F-FLT-PET and 18F-FDG-PET, this study provides useful insights for in vivo BM estimation through its proliferative and glycolytic activitie

Çok gövdeli sistemlerde hareket analizi

Çok göovdeli sistemlerin hareket analizi son yıllarda önemli bir araştırma konusu haline gelmiştir. Bunun sebebi performans analizi, otomatik güvenlik ve izleme sistemlerinin gerçeklenmesi, gerçekçi insan-makine arayüzlerinin oluşturulması, içerik tabanlı imge depolanması ve erişimi gibi motive edici uygulama alanlarının varlığıdır. Bu alanda çok sayıda çalışma yayınlanmış olsa da bu araştırmanın henüz geliştirilebilecek yönleri vardır. Bu çalışmada, çok gövdeli bir sistemin hareketini, sistemi her biri birer robotik kol şeklindeki çok sayıda alt sisteme ayrıştırarak incelemeyi öneriyoruz. Çok gövdeli bir sistemin hareketini tanımak için her bir robotik kolun eklemlerinden gelecek algılayıcı bilgisini, yani eklem açılarını kullanıyoruz. Önerilen yöntem herbir ayrıştırılmış parçanın periyodik hareketini analiz etmek için eklem açılarının birbirine göre çizdirilmesiyle elde edilen imza eğrilerini kullanmaktadır. Akt¨or ayırt etme ve aksaklık tesbiti örnekleri sunulmuş ve önerilen yöntem benzetimlerle doğrulanmıştır

Evaluating Services for Bhutanese Elders at the Champlain Senior Center

Introduction: •Bhutanese refugees have been living in Vermont since 2008. They constitute a vulnerable population due to lack of language skills, increased health care requirements and lack of access to transportation. The Champlain Senior Center (CSC) provides services and a community space for Bhutanese refugee elders (older than 55 years). We aimed to determine the necessity for the CSC in the elders’ wellbeing and to demonstrate that services are crucial to ensure this New American elderly population’s needs are being met.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1209/thumbnail.jp

Violence as a Vicious Cycle

Since the conclusion that the violence as a behavior is not (cannot be) determined within an absolute genetic determinism has been reached for long years, environmental factors are increasingly examined. We witness that human behavior in society can easily convert into coping with stressful events with violence. Individual or social violence as a behavior has a similar pattern with violence committed in primitive society and by children. After a brief review of violence, its description, etiological theories and types, this article majorly focuses on children and their early and late response to violence. The purpose here is to draw attention to the individuals who were previously exposed to violence (either directly or indirectly) resort to violence, perpetuating a vicious cycle