Induction of hyperammonia in irradiated hepatoma cells: a recapitulation and possible explanation of the phenomenon

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What's in a name; Genetic structure in Solanum section Petota studied using population-genetic tools

Background - The taxonomy and systematic relationships among species of Solanum section Petota are complicated and the section seems overclassified. Many of the presumed (sub)species from South America are very similar and they are able to exchange genetic material. We applied a population genetic approach to evaluate support for subgroups within this material, using AFLP data. Our approach is based on the following assumptions: (i) accessions that may exchange genetic material can be analyzed as if they are part of one gene pool, and (ii) genetic differentiation among species is expected to be higher than within species. Results - A dataset of 566 South-American accessions (encompassing 89 species and subspecies) was analyzed in two steps. First, with the program STRUCTURE 2.2 in an 'unsupervised' procedure, individual accessions were assigned to inferred clusters based on genetic similarity. The results showed that the South American members of section Petota could be arranged in 16 clusters of various size and composition. Next, the accessions within the clusters were grouped by maximizing the partitioning of genetic diversity among subgroups (i.e., maximizing Fst values) for all available individuals of the accessions (2767 genotypes). This two-step approach produced an optimal partitioning into 44 groups. Some of the species clustered as genetically distinct groups, either on their own, or combined with one or more other species. However, accessions of other species were distributed over more than one cluster, and did not form genetically distinct units. Conclusions - We could not find any support for 43 species (almost half of our dataset). For 28 species some level of support could be found varying from good to weak. For 18 species no conclusions could be drawn as the number of accessions included in our dataset was too low. These molecular data should be combined with data from morphological surveys, with geographical distribution data, and with information from crossing experiments to identify natural units at the species level. However, the data do indicate which taxa or combinations of taxa are clearly supported by a distinct set of molecular marker data, leaving other taxa unsupported. Therefore, the approach taken provides a general method to evaluate the taxonomic system in any species complex for which molecular data are available

Starreveld scoring method in diagnosing childhood constipation

Four scoring methods exist to assess severity of fecal loading on plain abdominal radiographs in constipated patients (Barr-, Starreveld-, Blethyn- and Leech). So far, the Starreveld score was used only in adult patients. To determine accuracy and intra- and inter-observer agreement of the Starreveld scoring method in the diagnosis of functional constipation among pediatric patients. In addition, we compared the Starreveld with the Barr scoring method. Thirty-four constipated and 34 non-constipated children were included. Abdominal radiographs, obtained before treatment, were rated (Starreveld- and Barr) by 4 observers. A second observation after 4 weeks was done by 3 observers. Cut-off level for the Starreveld score, accuracy as measured by the area under the receiver operator characteristics curve, and inter- and intra-observer agreement were calculated. Cut-off value for the Starreveld score was 10. AUC for Starreveld score was 0.54 and for Barr score 0.38, indicating poor discriminating power. Inter-observer agreement was 0.49-0.52 4 (Starreveld) and 0.44 (Barr), which is considered moderate. Intra-observer agreement was 0.52-0.71 (Starreveld) and 0.62- 0.76 (Barr). The Starreveld scoring method to assess fecal loading on a plain abdominal radiograph is of limited value in the diagnosis of childhood constipatio

The cost-effectiveness of increasing alcohol taxes: a modelling study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Excessive alcohol use increases risks of chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease and several types of cancer, with associated losses of quality of life and life-years. Alcohol taxes can be considered as a public health instrument as they are known to be able to decrease alcohol consumption. In this paper, we estimate the cost-effectiveness of an alcohol tax increase for the entire Dutch population from a health-care perspective focusing on health benefits and health-care costs in alcohol users.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The chronic disease model of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment was used to extrapolate from decreased alcohol consumption due to tax increases to effects on health-care costs, life-years gained and quality-adjusted life-years gained, A Dutch scenario in which tax increases for beer are planned, and a Swedish scenario representing one of the highest alcohol taxes in Europe, were compared with current practice in the Netherlands. To estimate cost-effectiveness ratios, yearly differences in model outcomes between intervention and current practice scenarios were discounted and added over the time horizon of 100 years to find net present values for incremental life-years gained, quality-adjusted life-years gained, and health-care costs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the Swedish scenario, many more quality-adjusted life-years were gained than in the Dutch scenario, but both scenarios had almost equal incremental cost-effectiveness ratios: €5100 per quality-adjusted life-year and €5300 per quality-adjusted life-year, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Focusing on health-care costs and health consequences for drinkers, an alcohol tax increase is a cost-effective policy instrument.</p

Cost-Effectiveness of an Opportunistic Screening Programme and Brief Intervention for Excessive Alcohol Use in Primary Care

Effective prevention of excessive alcohol use has the potential to reduce the public burden of disease considerably. We investigated the cost-effectiveness of Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) for excessive alcohol use in primary care in the Netherlands, which is targeted at early detection and treatment of ‘at-risk’ drinkers.We compared a SBI scenario (opportunistic screening and brief intervention for ‘at-risk’ drinkers) in general practices with the current practice scenario (no SBI) in the Netherlands. We used the RIVM Chronic Disease Model (CDM) to extrapolate from decreased alcohol consumption to effects on health care costs and Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) gained. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was employed to study the effect of uncertainty in the model parameters. In total, 56,000 QALYs were gained at an additional cost of €298,000,000 due to providing alcohol SBI in the target population, resulting in a cost-effectiveness ratio of €5,400 per QALY gained.Prevention of excessive alcohol use by implementing SBI for excessive alcohol use in primary care settings appears to be cost-effective

Aortic valvuloplasty of calcific aortic stenosis with monofoil and trefoil balloon catheters: practical considerations

In order to evaluate the relation between balloon design (monofoil, trefoil) and valvular configuration, experimental aortic valvuloplasty was performed in four post-mortem hearts with calcific aortic sten

Gene expression profile of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma

BACKGROUND: Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) is a proliferation of aberrant vascular structures lined by spindle cells, and is caused by a gammaherpes virus (HHV8/KSHV). Its course is aggravated by co-infection with HIV-1, where the timing of infection with HIV-1 and HHV8 is important for the clinical outcome. METHODS: In order to better understand the pathogenesis of KS, we have analysed tissue from two AIDS-KS lesions, and from normal skin by serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE). Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was then used to validate the results. RESULTS: The expression profile of AIDS-related KS (AIDS-KS) reflects an active process in the skin. Transcripts of HHV8 were found to be very low, and HIV-1 mRNA was not detected by SAGE, although it could be found using RT-PCR. Comparing the expression profile of AIDS-KS tissue with publicly available SAGE libraries suggested that AIDS-KS mRNA levels are most similar to those in an artificially mixed library of endothelial cells and leukocytes, in line with the description of KS lesions as containing spindle cells with endothelial characteristics, and an inflammatory infiltrate. At least 64 transcripts were found to be significantly elevated, and 28 were statistically downregulated in AIDS-KS compared to normal skin. Five of the upregulated mRNAs, including Tie 1 and sialoadhesin/CD169, were confirmed by semi-quantitative PCR to be elevated in additional AIDS-KS biopsies. Antibodies to sialoadhesin/CD169, a known marker of activated macrophages, were shown to specifically label tumour macrophages. CONCLUSION: The expression profile of AIDS-KS showed 64 genes to be significantly upregulated, and 28 genes downregulated, compared with normal skin. One of the genes with increased expression was sialoadhesin (CD169). Antibodies to sialoadhesin/CD169 specifically labelled tumour-associated macrophages, suggesting that macrophages present in AIDS-KS lesions belong to a subset of human CD169+ macrophages