Urinary antigene and PCR can both be used to detect Legionella pneumophila in childrens hospital-acquired pneumonia

Legionella pneumophila is the causative agent of more than 95 cases of severe Legionella pneumonia. Nosocomial pneumonias in different hospital wards is an important medical and pharmaceutical concern. This study aimed to detect Legionella with two methods: polymerase chain reaction PCR and detection of urine antigenic test UAT in patients suffering from nosocomial pneumonia admitted to pediatric intensive care unit PICU of children hospitals. This study was conducted in PICU wards of Rasool Akram and Bahrami children hospitals, Tehran, Iran during 2013- 2014. In patients diagnosed with hospital-acquired pneumonia, intratracheal secretion samples for PCR and urine sample for urinary antigen test UTA were taken. Simultaneously, PCR and urinary antigen test were conducted using commercial kits. The results of urinary antigen test and PCR were analyzed by SPSS v.19 for statistical comparison. In this study, 96 patients aging 2.77 years on average with two age peaks of less than 1 year and 7-8 year were enrolled. More than half of the patients were under 1 year old. The most common underlying diseases were seizure, Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma, Down syndrome and metabolic syndromes. The positivity rate of Legionella urinary antigen test was 16.7% and positivity rate of PCR test was 19.8%. There were no significant associations between the results obtained by both assays with age, gender or underlying diseases. In conclusion, PCR is a better detection method for Legionella infection than urinary antigen test, but the difference between the two methods was not significant. © 2019 PAGEPress Publications. All rights reserved

Positron emission tomography imaging of coronary atherosclerosis

Inflammation has a central role in the progression of coronary atherosclerosis. Recent developments in cardiovascular imaging with the advent of hybrid positron emission tomography have provided a window into the molecular pathophysiology underlying coronary plaque inflammation. Using novel radiotracers targeted at specific cellular pathways, the potential exists to observe inflammation, apoptosis, cellular hypoxia, microcalcification and angiogenesis in vivo. Several clinical studies are now underway assessing the ability of this hybrid imaging modality to inform about atherosclerotic disease activity and the prediction of future cardiovascular risk. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing coronary atherosclerosis may be the first step toward offering patients a more stratified, personalized approach to treatment

Comparison of MRI findings with traditional criteria in diagnosis of Pendred syndrome

Pendred syndrome, defined as the constellation of goiter, sensori-neural hearing loss, and positive perchlorate discharge test, is the most frequent cause of congenital deafness. Newly introduced diagnostic approaches to the disease are rather expensive and complicated, therefore we evaluated the value of MRI as the sole, or adjunctive diagnostic approach, and compared it with the traditional ones. Presuming the classic triad as the gold standard, we compared MRI findings in six such defined patients with six cases having goiter, hearing loss, and normal perchlorate discharge test. Our results indicated that MRI was 83.6 sensitive and 66.7 specific in patients fulfilling all three criteria (complete), while in the 'partial' group the sensitivity and specificity were 66.7 and 100 respectively. In conclusion, MRI, although impressive as an adjunctive diagnostic tool, may not replace the holistic approach, and the latter may be more convenient, cheaper, and still more accurate. However in 'partial' cases with equivocal findings, and in relatives of the patients, MRI may be a valuable diagnostic adjunct. © 2007 British Society of Audiology, International Society of Audiology, and Nordic Audiological Society

Analysis of Tp53 Codon 72 Polymorphisms, Tp53 Mutations, and HPV Infection in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Non-melanoma skin cancers are one of the most common human malignancies accounting for 2-3% of tumors in the US and represent a significant health burden. Epidemiology studies have implicated Tp53 mutations triggered by UV exposure, and human papilloma virus (HPV) infection to be significant causes of non-melanoma skin cancer. However, the relationship between Tp53 and cutaneous HPV infection is not well understood in skin cancers. In this study we assessed the association of HPV infection and Tp53 polymorphisms and mutations in lesional specimens with squamous cell carcinomas.We studied 55 cases of histologically confirmed cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and 41 controls for the presence of HPV infection and Tp53 genotype (mutations and polymorphism).We found an increased number of Tp53 mutations in the squamous cell carcinoma samples compared with perilesional or control samples. There was increased frequency of homozygous Tp53-72R polymorphism in cases with squamous cell carcinomas, while the Tp53-72P allele (Tp53-72R/P and Tp53-72P/P) was more frequent in normal control samples. Carcinoma samples positive for HPV showed a decreased frequency of Tp53 mutations compared to those without HPV infection. In addition, carcinoma samples with a Tp53-72P allele showed an increased incidence of Tp53 mutations in comparison carcinomas samples homozygous for Tp53-72R.These studies suggest there are two separate pathways (HPV infection and Tp53 mutation) leading to cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas stratified by the Tp53 codon-72 polymorphism. The presence of a Tp53-72P allele is protective against cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, and carcinoma specimens with Tp53-72P are more likely to have Tp53 mutations. In contrast Tp53-72R is a significant risk factor for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and is frequently associated with HPV infection instead of Tp53 mutations. Heterozygosity for Tp53-72R/P is protective against squamous cell carcinomas, possibly reflecting a requirement for both HPV infection and Tp53 mutations

Statistical and integrative system-level analysis of DNA methylation data

Epigenetics plays a key role in cellular development and function. Alterations to the epigenome are thought to capture and mediate the effects of genetic and environmental risk factors on complex disease. Currently, DNA methylation is the only epigenetic mark that can be measured reliably and genome-wide in large numbers of samples. This Review discusses some of the key statistical challenges and algorithms associated with drawing inferences from DNA methylation data, including cell-type heterogeneity, feature selection, reverse causation and system-level analyses that require integration with other data types such as gene expression, genotype, transcription factor binding and other epigenetic information

Association of Researchers in Construction Management

Built environment is subject to many risks due to the unique features of construction tasks, such as long lead item procurement, complicated design processes, safety, quality and environment, financial intensity, dynamic organization structures and natural disasters. Natural disasters are becoming more frequent, expensive and devastating globally. They also jeopardize society, performance of economy, built environment, and other socio-economic and physical conditions. While natural disasters cannot be eliminated, successful construction projects are those where natural disasters are effectively managed by stakeholders. Little is known about environment. Furthermore, past theories on shaping sta natural disasters have been shown to be inadequate in terms of their ability to represent realHence, the aim of this paper is to develop a theoretical f approaches towards natural disasters that integrates four theories, namely: (i) stakeholder theory; (ii) macroeconomic theory; (iii) disaster management theory and (iv) decision making theory. With disaster risk management theory providing the practical backbone of the theoretical framework, the other three theories are able to making process. Through disaster risk management theory, we are able to support the reactive or proactive approaches of stakeholders before, during and after natural disasters. Macroeconomic theory plays crucial role to choose the appropriate socioeconomic variables in natural disaster management process. Decision making theory and stakeholder theory altogether pave the way to select the pivotal stakeholders and to manage their behavioural patterns against natural disasters. The paper concludes the anticipated benefits of proposed theoretical framework as (i) direct comparison of built environment; (ii) high-level disaster management planning decisions; (iii) contemplating disaster risk analysis and disaster risk response simultaneously