Sentinel Node Detection in Patients with Thyroid Carcinoma: A Meta-analysis

Objective: This study was designed to review the diagnostic performance of sentinel node (SN) detection for assessment of the nodal status in thyroid carcinoma patients and to determine the technique (using blue dye or Technetium-99m colloid

Transport and recombination through weakly coupled localized spin pairs in semiconductors during coherent spin excitation

Semi-analytical predictions for the transients of spin-dependent transport and recombination rates through localized states in semiconductors during coherent electron spin excitation are made for the case of weakly spin-coupled charge carrier ensembles. The results show that the on-resonant Rabi frequency of electrically or optically detected spin-oscillation doubles abruptly as the strength of the resonant microwave field gamma B_1 exceeds the Larmor frequency separation within the pair of charge carrier states between which the transport or recombination transition takes place. For the case of a Larmor frequency separation of the order of gamma B_1 and arbitrary excitation frequencies, the charge carrier pairs exhibit four different nutation frequencies. From the calculations, a simple set of equations for the prediction of these frequencies is derived

Investigations on nucleophilic layers made with a novel plasma jet technique

In this work a novel plasma jet technique is used for the deposition of nucleophilic films based on (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane at atmospheric pressure. Film deposition was varied with regard to duty cycles and working distance. Spectral ellipsometry and chemical derivatization with 4-(trifluoromethyl)benzaldehyde using ATR- FTIR spectroscopy measurements were used to characterize the films. It was found that the layer thickness and the film composition are mainly influenced by the duty cycle

Efficacy of different doses and time intervals of oral vitamin D supplementation with or without calcium in elderly nursing home residents

Summary: The effect of equivalent oral doses of vitamin D3 600 IU/day, 4200 IU/week and 18,000 IU/month on vitamin D status was compared in a randomized clinical trial in nursing home residents. A daily dose was more effective than a weekly dose, and a monthly dose was the least effective. Introduction: It is assumed that equivalent daily, weekly or monthly doses of vitamin D3 equally influence vitamin D status. This was investigated in a randomized clinical trial in nursing home residents. Methods: The study was performed in ten nursing homes including 338 subjects (76 male and 262 female), with a mean age of 84 (± SD 6.3 years). They received oral vitamin D3 either 600 IU/day, or 4200 IU/week, or 18,000 IU/month or placebo. After 4 months, calcium was added during 2 weeks, 320 mg/day or 640 mg/day or placebo. Outcome: serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and bone turnover markers. Statistical approach: linear multilevel analysis. Results: At baseline, mean serum 25(OH)D was 25.0 nmol/L (SD 10.9), and in 98%, it was lower than 50 nmol/L. After 4 months, mean serum 25(OH)D levels increased to 62.5 nmol/L (after daily vitamin D3 69.9 nmol/L, weekly 67.2 nmol/L and monthly 53.1 nmol/L, P<0.001 between groups). Median serum PTH levels decreased by 23% (p<0.001). Bone turnover markers did not decrease. Calcium supplementation had no effect on serum PTH and bone turnover. Conclusion: Daily vitamin D was more effective than weekly, and monthly administration was the least effective. © 2007 International Osteoporosis Foundation and National Osteoporosis Foundation

Impact of prevalent and incident vertebral fractures on utility: results from a patient-based and a population-based sample

Data are scarce on the impact of vertebral fractures (VFX) on utility. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of prevalent and incident VFX on utility in both a patient-based and population-based sample. Data from the Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation (MORE) study (n = 550 for prevalent VFX and n = 174 for incident VFX) and the European Prospective Osteoporosis Study (EPOS) (n = 236) were used. Utility was assessed by the index score of the EQ-5D. In the MORE study, highly statistically significant associations were found between utility and the presence of prevalent VFX (p < 0.001), number of prevalent VFX (p < 0.001), severity of prevalent VFX (p < 0.001), the combination of number and severity of prevalent VFX (p = 0.001) and location of prevalent VFX (p = 0.019). The mean utility was significantly lower among women who suffered an incident VFX (utility = 0.67) than among women who did not (utility = 0.77) (p = 0.005), although utility loss was not significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.142). In EPOS, the combination of number and severity of incident VFX was significantly related to utility (p = 0.030). In conclusion, utility is lower among persons with prevalent and incident VFX, especially in a patient-based sample. Utility loss was not significantly different between women without and with incident VFX

Reproducibility of bone mineral density measurement in daily practice.

BACKGROUND: Bone mineral density (BMD) measurements are frequently performed repeatedly for each patient. Subsequent BMD measurements allow reproducibility to be assessed. OBJECTIVE: To examine the reproducibility of BMD by dual energy x ray absorptiometry (DXA) and to investigate the practical value of different measures of reproducibility in a group of postmenopausal women. METHODS: Ninety five women, mean age 59.9 years, underwent two subsequent BMD measurements of spine and hip. Reproducibility was expressed as smallest detectable difference (SDD), coefficient of variation (CV), and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Sources of variation were investigated by multilevel analysis. RESULTS: The median interval between measurements was 0 days (range 0-45). The mean difference (SD) between the measurements (g/cm(2)) was -0.001 (0.02) and -0.0004 (0.02) at L1-4 and the total hip, respectively. At L1-4 and the total hip, SDD (g/cm(2)) was +/-0.05 and +/-0.04 and CV (%) was 1.92 and 1.59, respectively. The ICC at spine and hip was 0.99. CONCLUSIONS: Reproducibility in the postmenopausal women studied was good. In a repeated DXA scan a BMD change exceeding 2 radical 2CV (%), the least significant change (LSC), or the SDD should be regarded as significant. Use of the SDD is preferable to use of the CV and LSC (%) because of its independence from BMD and its expression in absolute units. Expressed as SDD, a BMD change of at least +/-0.05 g/cm(2) at L1-4 and +/-0.04 g/cm(2) at the total hip should be considered significant

SorCS2 facilitates release of endostatin from astrocytes and controls post-stroke angiogenesis

SorCS2 is an intracellular sorting receptor of the VPS10P domain receptor gene family recently implicated in oxidative stress response. Here, we interrogated the relevance of stress-related activities of SorCS2 in the brain by exploring its role in ischemic stroke in mouse models and in patients. Although primarily seen in neurons in the healthy brain, expression of SorCS2 was massively induced in astrocytes surrounding the ischemic core in mice following stroke. Post-stroke induction was likely a result of increased levels of transforming growth factor β1 in damaged brain tissue, inducing Sorcs2 gene transcription in astrocytes but not neurons. Induced astrocytic expression of SorCS2 was also seen in stroke patients, substantiating the clinical relevance of this observation. In astrocytes in vitro and in the mouse brain in vivo, SorCS2 specifically controlled release of endostatin, a factor linked to post-stroke angiogenesis. The ability of astrocytes to release endostatin acutely after stroke was lost in mice deficient for SorCS2, resulting in a blunted endostatin response which coincided with impaired vascularization of the ischemic brain. Our findings identified activated astrocytes as a source for endostatin in modulation of post-stroke angiogenesis, and the importance of the sorting receptor SorCS2 in this brain stress response

Sunlight exposure or vitamin D supplementation for vitamin D-deficient non-western immigrants: a randomized clinical trial

Summary: Vitamin D deficiency is very common in non-western immigrants. In this randomized clinical trial, vitamin D 800 IU/day or 100,000 IU/3 months were compared with advised sunlight exposure. Vitamin D supplementation was more effective than advised sunlight exposure in improving vitamin D status and lowering parathyroid hormone levels. Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]<25 nmol/l) is common among non-western immigrants. It can be treated with vitamin D supplementation or sunlight exposure. Methods: To determine whether the effect of vitamin