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Spinal epidural hematoma (SEH) is a rare cause of nerve root or cord compression; its pathogenesis is not always clearly recognizable. The aim of this paper was to investigate possible etiopathological factors in a consecutive series of patients affected by traumatic SEH treated at our institution. Seven patients with neurologic impairment due to traumatic SEH were retrospectively analyzed after diagnosis and surgical treatment. Thoracic localization was found in 5 cases, and lumbar and cervical localization were found in 1 patient each...

OBJECTIVE: There is conflicting and limited literature on the effect of intraoperative resident involvement on surgical outcomes. Our study assessed effects of resident involvement on outcomes in patients undergoing neurosurgery. METHODS: We identified 33,977 adult neurosurgical cases from 374 hospitals in the 2006-2012 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, a prospectively collected national database with established reproducibility and validity. Outcomes were compared according to resident involvement before and after 1:1 matching on procedure and perioperative risk factors...

BACKGROUND: Compressed-sensing (CS) accelerated 3D MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) could be acquired in both navigator-triggered (NT) and breath-hold (BH) mode, but the latter has been considered inferior in depicting pancreatic duct and diagnosing pancreatic duct-related diseases. PURPOSE: To prospectively evaluate the clinical feasibility of a modified 3D BH-CS-MRCP prototype protocol with small field-of-view (FOV) and higher spatial resolution, and to compare its performance to the original BH-CS-MRCP and NT-CS-MRCP...

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a malignant hematopoietic stem cell disorder that frequently evolves into acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Patients with MDS are prone to infectious complications, in part due to the presence of severe neutropenia and/or neutrophil dysfunction. However, not all patients with neutropenia become infected, suggesting that other immune cells may compensate in these patients. Monocytes are also integral to immunologic defense; however, much less is known about monocyte function in patients with MDS...

We propose a regenerative solution in the treatment of critical limb ischemia. Poly-lactic/glycolic acid (PLGA) microcarriers were prepared and coated with laminin to be sterilized through γ-irradiation of 25 kGy at low temperature. Stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells were extracted through enzymatic digestion of adipose tissue. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice underwent arteriotomy and received an administration of SVF cells combined or not with biomimetic microcarriers. Functional evaluation of the ischemic limb was then reported and tissue reperfusion was evaluated through fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT)...

INTRODUCTION: Sucroferric oxyhydroxide (SFOH) is a non-calcium, iron-based phosphate binder that demonstrated sustained serum phosphorus (sP) control, good tolerability, and lower pill burden, vs. sevelamer carbonate ("sevelamer"), in a Phase 3 study conducted in dialysis patients with hyperphosphatemia. This analysis evaluates the efficacy and safety of SFOH and sevelamer among African American (AA) patients participating in the trial. METHODS: Post hoc analysis of a 24-week, Phase 3, open-label trial (NCT01324128) and its 28-week extension study (NCT01464190)...

INTRODUCTION: Cadaveric studies provide a means of safely assessing new technologies and optimizing scanning prior to clinical validation. Reducing radiation exposure in a clinical setting can entail incremental dose reductions to avoid missing important clinical findings. The use of cadavers allows assessment of the impact of more substantial dose reductions on image quality. Our aim was to identify a suitable low-dose abdominopelvic CT protocol for subsequent clinical validation. METHODS: Five human cadavers were scanned at one conventional dose and three low-dose settings...

The murine maternal immune activation (MIA) offspring model enables longitudinal studies to explore aberrant social behaviors similar to those observed in humans. High levels of cytokines, chemokines and cell adhesion molecules (CAM) have been found in the plasma and/or brains of psychiatric patients. We hypothesized that up-regulation of the systemic or brain immune response has an augmenting effect by potentially increasing the interplay between the neuronal and immune systems during the growth of the MIA offspring...

OBJECTIVES: A measure used for assessing the effectiveness of HIV care and comparing clinical centres is the proportion of people starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) with viral suppression (VS) after 1 year. We propose a method that adjusts for patients' demographic characteristics, and visually compares this measure between different sites accounting for centre size. METHODS: We analysed viral load measurements for UK Collaborative HIV Cohort (UK CHIC) patients starting ART between 2006 and 2013...

BACKGROUND: Correct staging and treatment initiation in malignant lymphoma depends on accurate lymph node characterization. However, nodal assessment based on conventional and diffusion-weighted (DWI) MRI remains challenging, particularly in smaller nodes. PURPOSE: To evaluate first-order apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) texture parameters compared to mean ADC for lymph node characterization in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) using whole-body DWI (WB-DWI). STUDY TYPE: Retrospective...

Certain pathogenic bacteria and yeast form biofilms on biotic and abiotic surfaces including medical devices and implants. Hence, the development of antibiofilm coating materials becomes relevant. The virulence of those colonizing pathogens can be reduced by inhibiting biofilm formation rather than killing pathogens using excessive amounts of antimicrobials, which is touted as one of the main reasons for the development of drug resistance. Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen, and the transition of yeast cells to hyphal cells is believed to be a crucial virulence factor...

Three different extracts of Matricaria chamomilla L. were evaluated for their antihypertensive activity, these extracts were total alcohol extract (Extract 1), oil extracted (Extract 2), and water lifted after oil extraction (Extract 3). Quantitative and Qualitative analyses were carried out for all extracts. The 3 extracts were proved to be safe for human use. A single oral administration of the plant extracts (200 mg/kg) decreases both systolic and diastolic blood pressure of normotensive rats after 1, 1...

Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) have been studied in efficacy and effectiveness trials, but little is known about how parents perceive the products and their effects. In a randomised trial in Ghana, efficacy of SQ-LNS provided to women during pregnancy and the first 6 months postpartum and to their children from 6 to 18 months of age was assessed by comparison with iron-folic acid (IFA) capsules and multiple micronutrient (MMN) capsules provided to women. In a follow-up study conducted when the index children from the original trial were between 4 and 6 years of age, we used survey-based methods to assess retrospective and current parental perceptions of nutrient supplements generally and of SQ-LNS and their effects compared with perceptions IFA and MMN capsules...

BACKGROUND: New cosmetic products should undergo clinical evaluation for skin sensitization potential. OBJECTIVES: To assess the irritation and sensitization potential of a moisturizer containing lamellar structured lipids after repeated patch application in humans, using human repeated insult patch test methodology. METHODS: This 6-week, single-center, open-label study compared a lamellar moisturizer with negative saline control in human subjects aged 18-70 years and skin phototype (Fitzpatrick) classification I-IV...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine rural-urban differences in utilization and expenditures in the last 6 months of life for patients with breast, lung, or colorectal cancer. METHODS: The study used a 5% sample of the 2013 Medicare Research Identifiable Files to study utilization and expenditures for beneficiaries with breast, lung, or colorectal cancer during the last 6 months before death (n = 6,214). End of life expenditures were calculated as the sum of total Medicare expenditures for inpatient, outpatient, physician, home health, hospice, and skilled nursing facility costs during the last 6 months of life...

PURPOSE: To examine variables that affect publication of ACVO meeting abstracts in peer-reviewed journals and compare results to ECVO publication rate (PR). METHODS: Published papers were identified via online searches for abstracts from 2008 to 2012 ACVO/ECVO meetings. Variables analyzed (via Pearson's chi-Squared test) included the following: oral presentation/poster, type of abstract (clinical/basic science/case report), species, ocular tissue, nationality, funding, first/last/any author a diplomate, resident as first author, and author affiliation (private practice/university)...

NEW FINDINGS: What is the central question of this study? What are the initial metabolic and molecular events that underpin bed rest-induced skeletal muscle deconditioning, and what is the contribution of energy balance? What is the main finding and its importance? A single day of bed rest, irrespective of energy balance, did not lead to overt changes in skeletal muscle gene expression or insulin sensitivity. More than one day of physical inactivity is required to observe the insulin resistance and robust skeletal muscle transcriptional responses associated with bed rest and consequent alterations in energy balance...

INTRODUCTION: The multi-phase or four-dimensional computed tomography (4D CT) has emerged as a promising technique for preoperative localization of parathyroid lesions in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), but little is known about its accuracy in patients with normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism (NPHPT). METHODS: A total of 18 patients diagnosed with PHPT underwent three methods of preoperative localization (4D CT, TC-99-Sestamibi scintigraphy and ultrasonography)...

BACKGROUND: Bed bugs, Cimex lectularius L., have become one of the most difficult urban pests to control. Steam treatment is reported to be an effective method to kill bed bugs and is considered to be an important component of bed bug integrated pest management (IPM). We evaluated and compared the efficacy of two affordable consumer-grade commercial steamers to a commonly used professional-grade steamer for killing bed bugs. RESULTS: In laboratory experiments, the consumer-grade steamer at an affordable price achieved the same high control efficacy as the professional-grade steamer for treating bed bugs exposed on mattresses (100% bed bug mortality), located beneath a fabric cover (>89% bed bug mortality), or hiding in cracks (100% bed bug mortality)...

Research characterizing transport of nutrients and waste in tissue engineering scaffolds has led to the study of scaffold properties that contribute to permeability and porosity of the scaffold. Both permeability and porosity contribute to the transport properties of the scaffold; however, permeability relates to the degree to which pores are interconnected within the scaffold. This work evaluated permeability for woven polymer fiber scaffolds by modulating the following scaffold parameters: material combination, weave configuration, and fiber geometry...