When the environment and mutations affect organ systems

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is a rare thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) with a genetic predisposition. Like other TMAs, it presents clinically with thrombocytopenia and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, which is accompanied by disruption of at least one organ system. We present a case of a 42-year-old female who presented with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. She had hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia and acute kidney injury suggestive of TMA.Includes bibliographical reference

Solution for intra/inter-cluster event-reporting problem in cluster-based protocols for wireless sensor networks

In recent years, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been considered one of the important topics for researchers due to their wide applications in our life. Several researches have been conducted to improve WSNs performance and solve their issues. One of these issues is the energy limitation in WSNs since the source of energy in most WSNs is the battery. Accordingly, various protocols and techniques have been proposed with the intention of reducing power consumption of WSNs and lengthen their lifetime. Cluster-oriented routing protocols are one of the most effective categories of these protocols. In this article, we consider a major issue affecting the performance of this category of protocols, which we call the intra/inter-cluster event-reporting problem (IICERP). We demonstrate that IICERP severely reduces the performance of a cluster-oriented routing protocol, so we suggest an effective Solution for IICERP (SIICERP). To assess SIICERP’s performance, comprehensive simulations were performed to demonstrate the performance of several cluster-oriented protocols without and with SIICERP. Simulation results revealed that SIICERP substantially increases the performance of cluster-oriented routing protocols

Searching for cures: Inner-city and rural patients' awareness and perceptions of cancer clinical trials

Fewer than 5% of cancer patients participate in clinical trials, making it challenging to test new therapies or interventions for cancer. Even within that small number, patients living in inner-city and rural areas are underrepresented in clinical trials. This study explores cancer patients' awareness and perceptions of cancer clinical trials, as well as their perceptions of patient-provider interactions related to discussing cancer clinical trials in order to improve accrual in cancer clinical trials. Interviews with 66 former and current in inner-city and rural cancer patients revealed a lack of awareness and understanding about clinical trials, as well as misconceptions about what clinical trials entail. Findings also revealed that commercials and television shows play a prominent role in forming inner-city and rural patients' attitudes and/or misconceptions about clinical trials. However, rural patients were more likely to hold unfavorable views about clinical trials than inner-city patients. Patient-provider discussions emerged as being crucial for increasing awareness of clinical trials among patients and recruiting them to trials. Findings from this study will inform communication strategies to enhance recruitment to cancer clinical trials by increasing awareness and countering misconceptions about clinical trials