Is aspirin effective for primary prevention of colon cancer?

Aspirin probably shouldn't be used for routine prevention because of its potential risks (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, systematic review of inconsistent evidence). However, aspirin is likely to be effective for secondary prevention of colorectal adenomas (SOR: A, systematic review)

Isomerisation of cis-9 trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) to trans-9 trans-11 CLA during acidic methylation can be avoided by a rapid base catalysed methylation of milk fat

This study investigated the evolution of trans-9 trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) from cis-9 trans-11 CLA during methylation and its avoidance through a rapid base methylation of milk fat. The study examined three conditions shown to result in loss of cis-9 trans-11 CLA during methylation namely: temperature, methylation time, water contamination in old reagents and acidic conditions. Three techniques currently used for the conversion of milk fat into fatty acid methyl esters for analysis of CLA content by gas liquid chromatography and a fourth procedure designed to eliminate acidic conditions and to limit methylation temperature and time were used. The four methods were: (i) acidic methylation (AM); (ii) acidic and basic bimethylation with fresh reagents (FBM); (iii) acidic and basic bimethylation with pre-prepared reagents (PBM) and (iv) basic methylation (BM). Each regime was carried out on six milk samples over two periods and methylated 1 ml freeze-dried milk (n=12 per regime). Total CLA was not different across methylation regimes (0.30 mg/ml). Isomer cis-9 trans-11 was higher (P <0.01) with BM than the other regimes and lowest with AM: 21.2, 17.8, 18.8 and 14.7 mg/100 ml for BM, FBM, PBM and AM, respectively. The inverse relationship was shown for trans-9 trans-11 with higher (P <0.001) amounts with AM than the other regimes and lowest with BM: 0.57, 2.55, 2.36 and 3.69 mg/100 ml for BM, FBM, PBM and AM, respectively. The trans-10 cis-12 isomer was also shown to alter with methylation procedure being higher (P <0.001) with AM than the other regimes: 0.43, 0.47, 0.29 and 1.20 mg/100 ml for BM, FBM, PBM and AM, respectively. Validation with known CLA free fatty acid and triacylglycerol standards confirmed that AM resulted in conversion of cis-9 trans-11 to trans-9 trans-11, and also elevated trans-10 cis-12 whilst BM of triacylglycerol CLA did not isomerise cis-9 trans-11 and was comparable to FBM

Does DTC advertising affect physician prescribing habits?

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) is associated with both higher fidelity to minimum treatment recommendations for depression and higher prescribing levels of antidepressants for depression and adjustment disorder (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, small randomized controlled trial [RCT]). DTCA is also associated with higher prescribing rates for osteoarthritis, allergies, and hyperlipidemia (SOR: C, time-series analyses). No changes in prescribing rates have been noted for hypertension and benign prostatic hyperplasia (SOR: C, time-series analyses). Physicians often accommodate requests for DTCA medications (SOR: C, 4 surveys). In some cases, they wouldn't have considered such prescriptions for other similar patients (SOR: C, 3 surveys)

An \u3cem\u3eIn Vitro\u3c/em\u3e Investigation of Forage Factors Which Affect the Production of Conjugated Linoleic Acid and \u3cem\u3eTrans\u3c/em\u3e Vaccenic Acid in the Rumen. II. Wilting & Cell Damage

Previous studies have shown that cis 9 trans 11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) concentrations are higher for summer milk produced from cows grazing fresh pastures than for winter milk when conserved forages are fed (Jahreis et al., 1997). Furthermore, Offer (2003) showed that a similar depression in milk fat CLA occurred if grass was simply cut and fed after a short wilt. This experiment investigated the effect of wilting on the production of CLA and trans vaccenic acid (TVA) in an in vitro rumen simulation, and whether any differences could be related to changes in plant structure. It was hypothesised that fresh turgid grass may have a greater propensity for cell damage during mastication than the much more flaccid wilted grass, which in turn may increase microbial metabolism of the grass lipid

Sussing merger trees: the Merger Trees Comparison Project

Merger trees follow the growth and merger of dark-matter haloes over cosmic history. As well as giving important insights into the growth of cosmic structure in their own right, they provide an essential backbone to semi-analytic models of galaxy formation. This paper is the first in a series to arise from the Sussing Merger Trees Workshop in which 10 different tree-building algorithms were applied to the same set of halo catalogues and their results compared. Although many of these codes were similar in nature, all algorithms produced distinct results. Our main conclusions are that a useful merger-tree code should possess the following features: (i) the use of particle IDs to match haloes between snapshots; (ii) the ability to skip at least one, and preferably more, snapshots in order to recover subhaloes that are temporarily lost during merging; (iii) the ability to cope with (and ideally smooth out) large, temporary fluctuations in halo mass. Finally, to enable different groups to communicate effectively, we defined a common terminology that we used when discussing merger trees and we encourage others to adopt the same language. We also specified a minimal output format to record the results

Promising New Assays and Technologies for the Diagnosis and Management of Infectious Diseases

Recent advancements in technology have led to the development of new techniques that hold promise for improved diagnosis and management of infectious diseases. Here, we review new assays that help better identify pathogens and tailor antibiotic therapy to patients' need