1,099 research outputs found
Assessment of cyst content using mean gray value for discriminating endometrioma from other unilocular cysts in premenopausal women
Objective To assess whether the analysis of cyst content
using mean gray value (MGV) can discriminate ovarian
endometriomas from other unilocular ovarian cysts in
premenopausal women.
Methods Stored three-dimensional (3D) volumes from 54
unilocular ovarian cysts diagnosed in 50 premenopausal
women (mean age, 37 (range, 22–50) years) were
analyzed to calculate the MGV from cyst content. Cysts
with solid components or septations were excluded.
MGV was calculated in all cases with the Virtual
Organ Computer-aided AnaLysisTM technique. The Bmode
presumptive diagnosis based on the examiner’s
subjective impression was also recorded.
Results Sixteen of the cysts resolved spontaneously and
were given a final clinical diagnosis of hemorrhagic
functional cyst, while 38 cysts were removed surgically
(diagnosed histologically as seven simple cysts, three
hemorrhagic cysts, 20 endometriomas, five mucinous
cysts and three paraovarian cysts). B-mode diagnoses
were as follows: seven simple cysts, 18 hemorrhagic
cysts, 24 endometriomas, three mucinous cysts and two
paraovarian cysts. MGV was significantly higher in
ovarian endometrioma when compared with all other
kinds of cyst. The receiver–operating characteristics
curve showed that using an MGV cut-off ≥15.560
had a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 76.5%
for diagnosing ovarian endometrioma (area under the
curve, 0.831; 95% CI, 0.718–0.944). These figures were
similar to those for B-mode diagnosis (sensitivity, 90%;
specificity, 82%) (McNemar test, P = 1.000). Combining
B-mode and MGV gave a sensitivity of 80% and a
specificity of 91%.
Conclusion Cyst content MGV is higher in ovarian
endometrioma than it is in other unilocular ovarian cysts.
The diagnostic performance of MGV is similar to that of
the examiner’s subjective impression. The combination of
both criteria achieves the highest specificit
Recombinant Human Erythropoietin for the Treatment of Anemia in Children With Solid Malignant Tumors
Cancer is often associated with chronic anemia which frequently requires blood transfusions. This study was performed to assess the efficacy and safety of r-HuEPO therapy in children with cancer.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-five patients under 18 years of age with solid malignant tumors were treated with 150 U/kg/day of r-HuEPO 5 times weekly for 12 weeks. Response was defined as an increase of the baseline hemoglobin level by at least 2 g/dl. r-HuEPO patients were compared to 25 matched historical controls.
RESULTS: Response was achieved in 72% of r-HuEPO patients. Hemoglobin level increased from 9.8 +/- 0.6 g/dl at baseline to 12.4 +/- 1.7 g/dl at the end of treatment in the r-HuEPO group and increased from 9.5 +/- 0.7 g/dl to 9.6 +/- 1.4 g/dl in the control group (P < .001, Student's t-test). Only 16% of patients receiving r-HuEPO required blood transfusions vs 96% of control patients (P < .001, Student's t-test), with mean units of blood transfused per patient being 0.35 in the r-HuEPO group and 3.56 in controls (P < .001, Student's t-test). There was a statistically significance improvement in Karnofsky's index in r-HuEPO patients. No adverse reaction related to r-HuEPO therapy was observed.
CONCLUSIONS: r-HuEPO is a safe and effective means of increasing hemoglobin level and reducing blood requirements in children with solid malignant tumors receiving chemotherapy
A novel sequencing-based vaginal health assay combining self-sampling, HPV detection and genotyping, STI detection, and vaginal microbiome analysis
The composition of the vaginal microbiome, including both the presence of pathogens involved in sexually transmitted infections (STI) as well as commensal microbiota, has been shown to have important associations for a woman´s reproductive and general health. Currently, healthcare providers cannot offer comprehensive vaginal microbiome screening, but are limited to the detection of individual pathogens, such as high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV), the predominant cause of cervical cancer. There is no single test on the market that combines HPV, STI, and microbiome screening. Here, we describe a novel inclusive vaginal health assay that combines self-sampling with sequencing-based HPV detection and genotyping, vaginal microbiome analysis, and STI-associated pathogen detection. The assay includes genotyping and detection of 14 hrHPV types, 5 low-risk HPV types (lrHPV), as well as the relative abundance of 31 bacterial taxa of clinical importance, including Lactobacillus, Sneathia, Gardnerella, and 3 pathogens involved in STI, with high sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility. For each of these taxa, reference ranges were determined in a group of 50 self-reported healthy women. The HPV sequencing portion of the test was evaluated against the digene High-Risk HPV HC2 DNA test. For hrHPV genotyping, agreement was 95.3% with a kappa of 0.804 (601 samples); after removal of samples in which the digene hrHPV probe showed cross-reactivity with lrHPV types, the sensitivity and specificity of the hrHPV genotyping assay were 94.5% and 96.6%, respectively, with a kappa of 0.841. For lrHPV genotyping, agreement was 93.9% with a kappa of 0.788 (148 samples), while sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 92.9%, respectively. This novel assay could be used to complement conventional cervical cancer screening, because its self-sampling format can expand access among women who would otherwise not participate, and because of its additional information about the composition of the vaginal microbiome and the presence of pathogens.Fil: Bik, Elisabeth M.. Ubiome;Fil: Bird, Sara W.. Ubiome;Fil: Bustamante, Juan Pablo. Universidad Nacional de Entre RÃos. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en BioingenierÃa y Bioinformática - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en BioingenierÃa y Bioinformática; ArgentinaFil: Leon, Luis E.. Ubiome
Modified bacterial cellulose scaffolds for localized doxorubicin release in human colorectal HT-29 cells
Bacterial cellulose (BC) films modified by the in situ method with the addition of alginate (Alg) during the microbial cultivation of Gluconacetobacter hansenii under static conditions increased the loading of doxorubicin by at least three times. Biophysical analysis of BC-Alg films by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry, X-ray diffraction and FTIR showed a highly homogeneous interpenetrated network scaffold without changes in the BC crystalline structure but with an increased amorphous phase. The main molecular interactions determined by FTIR between both biopolymers clearly suggest high compatibility. These results indicate that alginate plays a key role in the biophysical properties of the hybrid BC matrix. BC-Alg scaffold analysis by nitrogen adsorption isotherms revealed by the Brunauer?Emmett?Teller (BET) method an increase in surface area of about 84% and in pore volume of more than 200%. The Barrett?Joyner?Halenda (BJH) model also showed an increase of about 25% in the pore size compared to the BC film.Loading BC-Alg scaffolds with different amounts of doxorubicin decreased the cell viability of HT-29 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line compared to the free Dox from around 95?53% after 24 h and from 63% to 37% after 48 h. Dox kinetic release from the BC-Alg nanocomposite displayed hyperbolic curves related to the different amounts of drug payload and was stable for at least 14 days. The results of the BC-Alg nanocomposites show a promissory potential for anticancer therapies of solid tumors.Fil: Cacicedo, Maximiliano Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; ArgentinaFil: Leon, Ignacio Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de QuÃmica Inorgánica ; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Jimena Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y TecnologÃa de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de IngenierÃa. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y TecnologÃa de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Porto, Luismar M.. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Alvarez, Vera Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y TecnologÃa de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de IngenierÃa. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y TecnologÃa de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Castro, Guillermo Raul. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; Argentin
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Supramolecular threading of peptide hydrogel fibrils
There is an increasing demand for biocompatible materials in biomedical applications. Herein, we report a modified α-helical decapeptide segment from the cardiac troponin C, which self-assembles into fibers with a secondary β-sheet structure. These fibers cross-link via a novel supramolecular threading mechanism which results in an atypical stiff hydrogel (G′ ≈ 13 kPa). In this work, we provide a first insight into the understanding of such remarkable cross-linking mechanism, which will aid in the development of new biomaterials with unique properties
A Survey of Proper Motion Stars. XVII. A Deficiency of Binary Stars on Retrograde Galactic Orbits and the Possibility that omega Centauri is Related to the Effect
We find a deficiency of binary stars moving on strongly retrograde Galactic
orbits. No binary deficiencies are seen for U or W velocities, however. From
theoretical analyses, we rule out preferential disruption of pre-existing
binary stars due to encounters with massive perturbers. We also rule out
globular clusters as the source of the effect since prograde motions are more
likely to create such an effect. We search for star streams and find one
possible candidate, but it is not on a retrograde orbit and probably represents
the remains of a cluster that has passed too near the Galactic center. Based on
a very small number of stars, we find that about the right fraction of stars on
retrograde Galactic orbits share some chemical similarities to the cluster
omega Cen, suggesting that its parent galaxy could be the explanation.Comment: To appear in the Astronomical Journal (March 2005 issue
Foliar C, N, and P stoichiometry characterize successful plant ecological strategies in the Sonoran Desert
Ecological processes are centered to water availability in drylands; however, less known nutrient stoichiometry can help explain much of their structure and ecological interactions. Here we look to the foliar stoichiometry of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) of 38 dominant plant species from the Sonoran Desert, grouped in four different functional types to describe ecological characteristics and processes. We found that foliar N, C:N, C:P, and N:P stoichiometric ratios, but not P, were higher than those known to most other ecosystems and indicate P but not N limitations in leaves. Biological N fixers (BNF) had even higher leaf N concentrations, but bio-elemental concentrations and stoichiometry ratios were not different to other non-N-fixing legume species which underscores the need to understand the physiological mechanisms for high N, and to how costly BNF can succeed in P-limiting drylands environments. Stoichiometry ratios, and to lesser extent elemental concentrations, were able to characterize BNF and colonizing strategies in the Sonoran Desert, as well as explain leaf attribute differences, ecological processes, and biogeochemical niches in this dryland ecosystem, even when no direct reference is made to other water-limitation strategies
Sneddon syndrome a case report and literature review
Sneddon’s syndrome (SS) is characterized by livedo racemosa (LR) or reticularis and recurrent ischemic strokes. At the skin and brain level a non-inflammatory thrombotic vasculopathy is observed. Almost 80% of cases are women around 40 years old. The most accepted etiological proposal is an autoimmune and inflammatory mechanism versus the presence of thrombophilia. Neurological manifestations occur in 3 phases: prodromal symptoms (headache, dizziness, and vertigo), recurrent strokes, and early-onset dementia. Livedo racemosa has been reported to precede strokes by more than 10 years. Treatment is mainly based on secondary prophylaxis preventing a stroke with antiplatelet and antithrombotic agents. The neuropsychiatric prognosis is relatively poor with deficits in concentration, attention, visual perception, and visuospatial skills
Accelerating to Zero: Strategies to Eliminate Malaria in the Peruvian Amazon.
AbstractIn February 2014, the Malaria Elimination Working Group, in partnership with the Peruvian Ministry of Health (MoH), hosted its first international conference on malaria elimination in Iquitos, Peru. The 2-day meeting gathered 85 malaria experts, including 18 international panelists, 23 stakeholders from different malaria-endemic regions of Peru, and 11 MoH authorities. The main outcome was consensus that implementing a malaria elimination project in the Amazon region is achievable, but would require: 1) a comprehensive strategic plan, 2) the altering of current programmatic guidelines from control toward elimination by including symptomatic as well as asymptomatic individuals for antimalarial therapy and transmission-blocking interventions, and 3) the prioritization of community-based active case detection with proper rapid diagnostic tests to interrupt transmission. Elimination efforts must involve key stakeholders and experts at every level of government and include integrated research activities to evaluate, implement, and tailor sustainable interventions appropriate to the region
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