106 research outputs found

    Cardiac Procedures among American Indians and Alaska Natives compared to Non-Hispanic Whites Hospitalized with Ischemic Heart Disease in California

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    BackgroundAmerican Indians/Alaska Natives (AIAN) experience a high burden of cardiovascular disease with rates for fatal and nonfatal heart disease approximately twofold higher than the U.S. population.ObjectiveTo determine if disparities exist in cardiac procedure rates among AIAN compared to non-Hispanic whites hospitalized in California for ischemic heart disease defined as acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina.DesignCross-sectional study. EVENTS: A total of 796 ischemic heart disease hospitalizations among AIAN and 90971 among non-Hispanic whites in 37 of 58 counties in California from 1998-2002.MeasurementsCardiac catheterization, percutaneous cardiac intervention, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery procedure rates from hospitalization administrative data.Main resultsAIAN did not have lower cardiac procedure rates for cardiac catheterization and percutaneous cardiac intervention compared to non-Hispanic whites (unadjusted OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.87-1.16 and OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.90-1.20, respectively). Adjustment for age, sex, comorbidities, and payer source did not alter the results (adjusted OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.82-1.10 and OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.85-1.14, respectively). We found higher odds (unadjusted OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.09-1.70) for receipt of coronary artery bypass graft surgery among AIAN hospitalized for ischemic heart disease compared to non-Hispanic whites which after adjustment attenuated some and was no longer statistically significant (adjusted OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.00-1.58).ConclusionAIAN were not less likely to receive cardiac procedures as non-Hispanic whites during hospitalizations for ischemic heart disease. Additional research is needed to determine whether differences in specialty referral patterns, patients' treatment preferences, or outpatient management may explain some of the health disparities due to cardiovascular disease that is found among AIAN

    Superoxide dismutase A antigens derived from molecular analysis of sarcoidosis granulomas elicit systemic Th-1 immune responses

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic granulomatous disease with pathologic and immunologic features similar to tuberculosis. Routine histologic staining and culture fail to identify infectious agents. An alternative means for investigating a role of infectious agents in human pathogenesis involves molecular analysis of pathologic tissues for microbial nucleic acids, as well as recognition of microbial antigens by the host immune system. Molecular analysis for superoxide dismutase A (sodA) allows speciation of mycobacteria. SodA is an abundantly secreted virulence factor that generates cellular immune responses in infected hosts. The purpose of this study is to investigate if target antigens of the sarcoidosis immune response can be identified by molecular analysis of sarcoidosis granulomas.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We detected sodA amplicons in 12 of 17 sarcoidosis specimens, compared to 2 of 16 controls (p = 0.001, two-tailed Fisher's exact test), and 3 of 3 tuberculosis specimens (p = 0.54). Analysis of the amplicons revealed sequences identical to <it>M. tuberculosis </it>(MTB) complex, as well as sequences which were genetically divergent. Using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 12 of the 17 sarcoidosis subjects, we performed enzyme-linked immunospot assay (ELISPOT) to assess for immune recognition of MTB sodA peptides, along with PBMC from 26 PPD- healthy volunteers, and 11 latent tuberculosis subjects.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Six of 12 sarcoidosis subjects recognized the sodA peptides, compared to one of 26 PPD- controls (p = 0.002), and 6/11 PPD+ subjects (p = .68). Overall, 10 of the 12 sarcoidosis subjects from whom we obtained PBMC and archival tissue possessed molecular or immunologic evidence for sodA.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Dual molecular and immunologic analysis increases the ability to find infectious antigens. The detection of Th-1 immune responses to sodA peptides derived from molecular analysis of sarcoidosis granulomas reveals that these are among the target antigens contributing to sarcoidosis granulomatous inflammation.</p

    In-reach specialist nursing teams for residential care homes : uptake of services, impact on care provision and cost-effectiveness

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    Background: A joint NHS-Local Authority initiative in England designed to provide a dedicated nursing and physiotherapy in-reach team (IRT) to four residential care homes has been evaluated.The IRT supported 131 residents and maintained 15 'virtual' beds for specialist nursing in these care homes. Methods: Data captured prospectively (July 2005 to June 2007) included: numbers of referrals; reason for referral; outcome (e.g. admission to IRT bed, short-term IRT support); length of stay in IRT; prevented hospital admissions; early hospital discharges; avoided nursing home transfers; and detection of unrecognised illnesses. An economic analysis was undertaken. Results: 733 referrals were made during the 2 years (range 0.5 to 13.0 per resident per annum)resulting in a total of 6,528 visits. Two thirds of referrals aimed at maintaining the resident's independence in the care home. According to expert panel assessment, 197 hospital admissions were averted over the period; 20 early discharges facilitated; and 28 resident transfers to a nursing home prevented. Detection of previously unrecognised illnesses accounted for a high number of visits. Investment in IRT equalled £44.38 per resident per week. Savings through reduced hospital admissions, early discharges, delayed transfers to nursing homes, and identification of previously unrecognised illnesses are conservatively estimated to produce a final reduction in care cost of £6.33 per resident per week. A sensitivity analysis indicates this figure might range from a weekly overall saving of £36.90 per resident to a 'worst case' estimate of £2.70 extra expenditure per resident per week. Evaluation early in implementation may underestimate some cost-saving activities and greater savings may emerge over a longer time period. Similarly, IRT costs may reduce over time due to the potential for refinement of team without major loss in effectiveness. Conclusion: Introduction of a specialist nursing in-reach team for residential homes is at least cost neutral and, in all probability, cost saving. Further benefits include development of new skills in the care home workforce and enhanced quality of care. Residents are enabled to stay in familiar surroundings rather than unnecessarily spending time in hospital or being transferred to a higher dependency nursing home setting

    We can guide search by a set of colours, but are reluctant to do it.

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    For some real-world color searches, the target colours are not precisely known, and any item within a range of color values should be attended. This, a target representation that captures multiple similar colours would be advantageous. If such multicolour search is possible, then search for two targets (e..g Stroud, Menneer, Cave and Donnelly, 2012) might be guided by a target representation that included the target colours as well as the continuum of colours that fall between the targets within a contiguous region of color space. Results from Stroud et al (2012) suggest otherwise, however. The current set of experiments show that guidance for a set of colours that are from a single region of color space can be effective if targets are depicted as specific discrete colours. Specifically, Experiments 1-3 demonstrate that a search can be guided by four and even eight colours given the appropriate conditions. However, Experiment 5 gives evidence that guidance is sometimes sensitive to how informative the target preview is to search. Experiments 6 and 7 show that a stimulus showing a continuous range of target colours is not translated into a search target representation. Thus, search can be guided by multiple discrete colours that are from a single region in color space, but this approach was not adopted in a search for two targets with intervening distractor colours

    The Effect of Thermal Reduction on the Photoluminescence and Electronic Structures of Graphene Oxides

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    [[abstract]]Electronic structures of graphene oxide (GO) and hydro-thermally reduced graphene oxides (rGOs)processed at low temperatures (120–1806C) were studied using X-ray absorption near-edge structure XANES), X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). C K-edge XANES spectra of rGOs reveal that thermal reduction restores C 5 C sp2 bonds and removes some of the oxygen and hydroxyl groups of GO, which initiates the evolution of carbonaceous species. The combination of C K-edge XANES and Ka XES spectra shows that the overlapping p and p* orbitals in rGOs and GO are similar to that of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), which has no band-gap. C Ka RIXS spectra provide evidence that thermal reduction changes the density of states (DOSs) that is generated in the p-region and/or in the gap between the p and p* levels of the GO and rGOs. Two-dimensional C Ka RIXS mapping of the heavy reduction of rGOs further confirms that the residual oxygen and/or oxygen-containing functional groups modify the p and s features, which are dispersed by the photon excitation energy. The dispersion behavior near the K point is approximately linear and differs from the parabolic-like dispersion observed in HOPG.[[notice]]補正完畢[[journaltype]]國外[[incitationindex]]SCI[[ispeerreviewed]]Y[[booktype]]電子版[[countrycodes]]GB

    Applications of microarray technology in breast cancer research

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    Microarrays provide a versatile platform for utilizing information from the Human Genome Project to benefit human health. This article reviews the ways in which microarray technology may be used in breast cancer research. Its diverse applications include monitoring chromosome gains and losses, tumour classification, drug discovery and development, DNA resequencing, mutation detection and investigating the mechanism of tumour development

    A model of collaborative innovation between local government and tourism operators

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    [EN] This research proposes a framework for collaborative innovation in a public private partnership by applying techniques that combine quantitative data collection and qualitative depth. It proposes a collaborative model that looks to provide competitive advantage by improving tourist services from two perspectives: from the core of public administration, and from the private tourist sector perspective.Pons Morera, C.; Canós Darós, L.; Gil Pechuán, I. (2017). A model of collaborative innovation between local government and tourism operators. SERVICE BUSINESS. AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL. 1-26. doi:10.1007/s11628-017-0341-xS126Anderberg MR (1973) Cluster analysis for applications. Academic Press, New YorkAugustyn K (2000) Performance of tourism partnerships: a focus on York. Tour Manag 2:341–351Aziri B, Nedelea A (2013) Business strategies in tourism. Ecoforum 2(1):9Baglieri D, Consoli R (2009) Collaborative innovation in tourism: managing virtual communities. 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    Intracellular coexpression of CXC- and CC– chemokine receptors and their ligands in human melanoma cell lines and dynamic variations after xenotransplantation

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    BackgroundChemokines have been implicated in tumor progression and metastasis. In melanoma, chemokine receptors have been implicated in organ selective metastasis by regulating processes such as chemoattraction, adhesion and survival.MethodsIn this study we have analyzed, using flow cytometry, the systems formed by the chemokine receptors CXCR3, CXCR4, CXCR7, CCR7 and CCR10 and their ligands in thirteen human melanoma cell lines (five established from primary tumors and eight established from metastasis from different tissues). WM-115 and WM-266.4 melanoma cell lines (obtained from a primary and a metastatic melanoma respectively) were xenografted in nude mice and the tumors and cell lines derived from them were also analyzed.ResultsOur results show that the melanoma cell lines do not express or express in a low degree the chemokine receptors on their cell surface. However, melanoma cell lines show intracellular expression of all the aforementioned receptors and most of their respective ligands. When analyzing the xenografts and the cell lines obtained from them we found variations in the intracellular expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors that differed between the primary and metastatic cell lines. However, as well as in the original cell lines, minute or no expression of the chemokine receptors was observed at the cell surface.ConclusionsCoexpression of chemokine receptors and their ligands was found in human melanoma cell lines. However, this expression is intracellular and receptors are not found at the cell membrane nor chemokines are secreted to the cell medium. The levels of expressed chemokine receptors and their ligands show dynamic variations after xenotransplantation that differ depending on the origin of the cell line (from primary tumor or from metastasis)

    Electromagnetic Field Effect or Simply Stress? Effects of UMTS Exposure on Hippocampal Longterm Plasticity in the Context of Procedure Related Hormone Release

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    Harmful effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on cognitive and behavioural features of humans and rodents have been controversially discussed and raised persistent concern about adverse effects of EMF on general brain functions. In the present study we applied radio-frequency (RF) signals of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) to full brain exposed male Wistar rats in order to elaborate putative influences on stress hormone release (corticosteron; CORT and adrenocorticotropic hormone; ACTH) and on hippocampal derived synaptic long-term plasticity (LTP) and depression (LTD) as electrophysiological hallmarks for memory storage and memory consolidation. Exposure was computer controlled providing blind conditions. Nominal brain-averaged specific absorption rates (SAR) as a measure of applied mass-related dissipated RF power were 0, 2, and 10 W/kg over a period of 120 min. Comparison of cage exposed animals revealed, regardless of EMF exposure, significantly increased CORT and ACTH levels which corresponded with generally decreased field potential slopes and amplitudes in hippocampal LTP and LTD. Animals following SAR exposure of 2 W/kg (averaged over the whole brain of 2.3 g tissue mass) did not differ from the sham-exposed group in LTP and LTD experiments. In contrast, a significant reduction in LTP and LTD was observed at the high power rate of SAR (10 W/kg). The results demonstrate that a rate of 2 W/kg displays no adverse impact on LTP and LTD, while 10 W/kg leads to significant effects on the electrophysiological parameters, which can be clearly distinguished from the stress derived background. Our findings suggest that UMTS exposure with SAR in the range of 2 W/kg is not harmful to critical markers for memory storage and memory consolidation, however, an influence of UMTS at high energy absorption rates (10 W/kg) cannot be excluded

    Neural Substrate of Cold-Seeking Behavior in Endotoxin Shock

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    Systemic inflammation is a leading cause of hospital death. Mild systemic inflammation is accompanied by warmth-seeking behavior (and fever), whereas severe inflammation is associated with cold-seeking behavior (and hypothermia). Both behaviors are adaptive. Which brain structures mediate which behavior is unknown. The involvement of hypothalamic structures, namely, the preoptic area (POA), paraventricular nucleus (PVH), or dorsomedial nucleus (DMH), in thermoregulatory behaviors associated with endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide [LPS])-induced systemic inflammation was studied in rats. The rats were allowed to select their thermal environment by freely moving in a thermogradient apparatus. A low intravenous dose of Escherichia coli LPS (10 µg/kg) caused warmth-seeking behavior, whereas a high, shock-inducing dose (5,000 µg/kg) caused cold-seeking behavior. Bilateral electrocoagulation of the PVH or DMH, but not of the POA, prevented this cold-seeking response. Lesioning the DMH with ibotenic acid, an excitotoxin that destroys neuronal bodies but spares fibers of passage, also prevented LPS-induced cold-seeking behavior; lesioning the PVH with ibotenate did not affect it. Lesion of no structure affected cold-seeking behavior induced by heat exposure or by pharmacological stimulation of the transient receptor potential (TRP) vanilloid-1 channel (“warmth receptor”). Nor did any lesion affect warmth-seeking behavior induced by a low dose of LPS, cold exposure, or pharmacological stimulation of the TRP melastatin-8 (“cold receptor”). We conclude that LPS-induced cold-seeking response is mediated by neuronal bodies located in the DMH and neural fibers passing through the PVH. These are the first two landmarks on the map of the circuitry of cold-seeking behavior associated with endotoxin shock
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