Heterozygous, germline mutations of the NBS1 gene are associated

Heterozygous, germline mutations of the NBS1 gene are associated with an increased risk of tumours. Thus, common polymorphism and Selleck NCT-501 haplotypes of NBS1 may contribute to the risk of cancer. This study verified whether polymorphisms of the NBS1 gene may influence susceptibility to the development of childhood acute leukaemia. We genotyped six polymorphisms of the NBS1 gene in 157 children with acute leukaemia

and 275 controls. The TT genotype of c.2071-30A > T polymorphism was higher in leukaemia patients than in controls. Genotyping data from the six polymorphic loci in NBS1 in leukaemia patients and controls were used to impute haplotypes. Two of the evaluated haplotypes were associated with significantly increased leukaemia risk (P = 0.0038 and P < 0.0001). Our results suggest that some specific haplotypes of the NBS1 gene may be associated with childhood leukaemia. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Background: Pneumonia is one of the most common complications in children hospitalized with influenza. We describe hospitalized children with influenza-associated Ulixertinib solubility dmso pneumonia and associated risk indicators.\n\nMethods: Through Emerging Infections Program Network

population-based surveillance, children aged <18 years hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza with a chest radiograph during hospitalization were identified during the 2003-2008 influenza seasons. A case with radiologically confirmed influenza-associated pneumonia was defined as a child from the surveillance area hospitalized with: (1) laboratory-confirmed influenza and (2) evidence of new pneumonia on chest radiograph during hospitalization. Hospitalized children with pneumonia were compared with those without pneumonia by univariate and multivariate analysis.\n\nResults: Overall, 2992 hospitalized children with influenza with a chest radiograph were identified; AZD6094 Protein Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor 1072 (36%) had influenza-associated pneumonia. When compared with children hospitalized with influenza without pneumonia, hospitalized children with influenza-associated pneumonia were more likely to require intensive care unit admission (21% vs. 11%, P < 0.01), develop respiratory failure

(11% versus 3%, P < 0.01), and die (0.9% vs. 0.3% P = 0.01). In multivariate analysis, age 6 to 23 months (adjusted OR: 2.1, CI: 1.6-2.8), age 2 to 4 years (adjusted OR: 1.7, CI: 1.3-2.2), and asthma (adjusted OR: 1.4, CI: 1.1-1.8) were significantly associated with influenza-associated pneumonia.\n\nConclusions: Hospitalized children with influenza-associated pneumonia were more likely to have a severe clinical course than other hospitalized children with influenza, and children aged 6 months to 4 years and those with asthma were more likely to have influenza-associated pneumonia. Identifying children at greater risk for influenza-associated pneumonia will inform prevention and treatment strategies targeting children at risk for influenza complications.

4%) to either chest radiograph (25 5%) or sputum smear (25 5%) T

4%) to either chest radiograph (25.5%) or sputum smear (25.5%). These sensitivities did not differ by HIV status. Bcl-xL apoptosis Presence of one or more elements of the symptom trio and/or new radiological abnormality substantially increased sensitivity to 49.0%. Specificity of the symptom trio was higher in HIV-uninfected (91.8%) than in HIV-infected persons (88.2%; P = 0.018). Specificity of chest radiography

and smear were similar (98.7% and 99.0%, respectively) and did not differ by HIV status (both P values > 0.8).\n\nConclusions: In a population of gold miners who undergo regular radiological screening, the addition of chest radiography to symptom screening substantially improved the sensitivity and positive predictive value. HIV infection did not alter the sensitivity of the screening tool.”
“To our knowledge, there are no universally accepted, evidence-based guidelines for how to resolve ALK inhibitor cancer the HER2 status of tumors demonstrating equivocal amplification. The present study was based on 17 breast core biopsy specimens demonstrating invasive carcinoma with equivocal HER2 amplification, defined as an HER2/chromosome 17 centromere ratio of 1.8 to 2.2. Each case had a corresponding resection specimen, on which

HER2 immunohistochemical and repeated fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses were performed. A definitive change in HER2 status based on the resection specimen occurred in 10 (59%) of 17 cases, with 4 patients (24%) becoming eligible for trastuzumab therapy and 6 (35%) triaged as ineligible. These results suggest that genetic and protein expression heterogeneity exists in tumors that show low-level HER2 gene copy numbers. For the purposes of uniform clinical management, HER2 status should be evaluated on a larger tumor sample if the core biopsy specimen demonstrates an equivocal result. These results support the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists recommendations for further testing in cases with equivocal HER2 results.”
“Objective: Hirsutism may be a symptom of androgen excess but

there is still no clear definition and criterion for its clinical evaluation. The aims of the present selleck chemicals study were to develop a simpler diagnostic method for assessment of hirsutism which examines fewer body areas and to evaluate its sensitivity and specificity in among a general population of Iranian women.\n\nStudy design: The study was conducted among 1000 reproductive-age women recruited from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study, using random systematic sampling. It had two phases: (1) the discovery phase, which aimed at developing a simpler method according to the modified Ferriman-Gallwey (mFG) system and a new cut-off point to assess hirsutism, and (2) the validation phase, aimed at assessing the sensitivity and specificity of the simplified method in a non-dependent study, the Iranian PCOS Prevalence Study.\n\nResults: The sensitivity and specificity of the subset of lip, abdomen and thighs (cut-off point 4) were 91.

We speculate that practice-related gray matter signal changes in

We speculate that practice-related gray matter signal changes in MRI are primarily related to synaptic remodeling within specific processing areas.”
“The ability of primate embryonic stem (ES) cells to differentiate into dopamine (DA)-synthesizing neurons has raised hopes of creating novel cell therapies for Parkinson’s disease (PD). As the primary

purpose of cell transplantation in PD is restoration of dopaminergic neurotransmission in the striatum, in vivo assessment of DA function after grafting is necessary to achieve better therapeutic effects. A chronic model of PD was produced in two cynomolgus monkeys (M-1 and M-2) by systemic administration GSK2879552 datasheet of neurotoxin. Neural stem cells (NSCs) derived from cynomolgus ES cells were implanted unilaterally

in the putamen. To evaluate DA-specific functions, we used multiple [(11)C]-labeled positron emission tomography SU5402 chemical structure (PET) tracers, including [beta-(11)C]L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-[beta-(11)C]DOPA, DA precursor ligand), [(11)C]-2 beta-carbomethoxy3 beta-(4-fluorophenyl)tropane ([(11)C]beta-CFT, DA transporter ligand) and [(11)C]raclopride (D(2) receptor ligand). At 12 weeks after grafting NSCs, PET demonstrated significantly increased uptake of L-[beta-(11)C]DOPA (M-1:41%, M-2:61%) and [(11)C]beta-CFT (M-1:31%, M-2:36%) uptake in the grafted putamen. In addition, methamphetamine challenge in M-2 induced reduced [(11)C]raclopride binding (16%) in the transplanted putamen, suggesting release of DA. These results show that transplantation of NSCs derived from cynomolgus monkey ES cells can restore DA function in the putamen of a primate model of PD. PET with multitracers is useful for functional studies in developing cell-based therapies against PD. Synapse 63:541-548, 2009. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.”
“Objective. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence and factors associated with the performance of minimal beneficial leisure-time physical activity in the first half of pregnancy according to the criteria of the American College of Sport and Medicine (ACSM) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Material and methods. This was a cross-sectional

study carried out at the Maternal and Neonatal University Hospital in Granada, which services the whole population of the hospital reference area. We studied 1,175 healthy pregnant women aged over 18 years. Information URMC-099 about sociodemographics, lifestyles, obstetric antecedents and anthropometric variables were collected. The amount of leisure-time physical activity was quantified by assigning metabolic equivalents to each activity. The ACSM and ACOG criteria were used to define optimal physical activity in the first half of pregnancy. The frequency of compliance for both criteria was estimated. Multiple logistic regression models were fitted to study the factors associated with the recommendations. Results. Only 20.3% (95% confidence interval 15.50-26.10) of the women complied with ACOG criteria.

Real-time RT-PCR and western blot analysis showed that the BCR/AB

Real-time RT-PCR and western blot analysis showed that the BCR/ABL levels in miR-23-atransfected cells were lower than those in the control groups. Ectopic expression of miR-23a in K562 cells led to cellular senescence. Moreover, when K562 cells were treated with 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine, a DNA methylation inhibitor, BCR/ABL expression was upregulated, which indicates epigenetic silencing of miR-23a in leukemic cells. BCR/ABL and miR-23a expressions were inversely related to CML, and BCR/ABL expression was regulated by miR-23a in

leukemic cells. The epigenetic silencing of miR-23a led to derepression of BCR/ABL expression, and consequently contributes FGFR inhibitor to CML development and progression.”
“Background: Porphyromonas gingivalis has been implicated as a major pathogen in the development and progression of chronic periodontitis. P. gingivalis biofilm formation in the subgingival crevice plays an important role in the ability of the bacteria to tolerate stress signals outside the cytoplasmic membrane. Some bacteria use a distinct subfamily of sigma factors to regulate their extracytoplasmic functions (the ECF subfamily). The objective

of this study was to determine if P. gingivalis ECF sigma factors affect P. gingivalis biofilm formation. Methods: To elucidate the role of ECF sigma factors in P. gingivalis, chromosomal mutants carrying a disruption of each ECF sigma factor-encoding gene were constructed. Bacterial check details growth curves were measured by determining the turbidity of bacterial cultures. The quantity of biofilm growing on plates was evaluated by crystal violet staining. Results: Comparison of the growth curves of wild-type P. gingivalis strain 33277 and the ECF mutants indicated that the growth rate of the mutants was slightly lower than that of the wild-type strain. The PGN_0274- and PGN_1740-defective mutants had increased biofilm formation compared with the wild-type (p smaller than 0.001); however, the other ECF sigma factor mutants or the complemented strains did not enhance

biofilm formation. Conclusion: These results suggest that PGN_0274 and PGN_1740 play a key role in biofilm formation by P. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/blz945.html gingivalis.”
“. This paper aims to demonstrate that knowledge-based hybrid learning algorithms are positioned to offer better performance in comparison with purely empirical machine learning algorithms for the automatic classification task associated with the diagnosis of a medical condition described as pulmonary embolism (PE). The main premise is that there exists substantial and significant specialized knowledge in the domain of PE, which can readily be leveraged for bootstrapping a knowledge-based hybrid classifier that employs both the explanation-based and the empirical learning.

g , hypoxia as potential risk factors for developing prominent ag

g., hypoxia as potential risk factors for developing prominent aging WML.</.”
“The purpose of this systematic literature review was to describe the empirical findings on health literacy in adults 65 and older. A systematic search for research studies from 1999 to early 2010 was conducted in MEDLINE and CINAHL databases. Articles were analyzed using the following check details foci: skills and health knowledge, functional health literacy, and health behaviors and health outcomes. Findings indicated that advancing age resulted in a significant increase in prevalence of inadequate health literacy. Further research is needed

to develop evidence-based, culturally congruent interventions to improve health literacy among older adults.”
“Experimental models for cartilage and bone development have been studied in order to understand the biomechanical and biological parameters that regulate skeletal tissue formation. We have previously described that when mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were cultured in a three-dimensional (3D)-soft self-assembling peptide nanofiber, the system engaged in a spontaneous process of cartilage-like formation evidenced by the expression of Sox9, Collagen type Stattic cell line II, and proteoglycans. In the present work, we studied the influence that matrix mechanical properties have in modulating lineage commitment in an in vitro model of chondrogenesis.

This effect was observed only when MEFs were cultured at low elastic

modulus values (similar to 0.1 kPa). Interestingly, under these conditions, the system expressed the chondrogenic inductor BMP4 and its antagonist Noggin. On the other hand, at higher elastic modulus values (similar to 5 kPa), the system expressed Noggin but not BMP4, and did not engage in chondrogenesis, which suggest that the balance between bone morphogenetic protein/Noggin could be implicated in the chondrogenic process. Finally, no evidence of hypertrophy was detected under the conditions tested (by assessing expression of Collagen type X and Runx2) unless we challenged the system by co-culturing it with endothelial cells. Importantly, under these Prexasertib new conditions, the system underwent spontaneous matrix calcium mineralization. These results suggest that the 3D-system described here is sensitive to respond to environmental changes such as biomechanical and biological cues.”
“The antioxidative action of fullerenes has received much attention, but their reaction mechanism toward lipid-derived peroxyl radicals has not been well elucidated. In this study, the reaction products of [60]fullerene (C-60) during the autoxidation of methyl linoleate (MeL) were isolated and their structures were characterized. MeL containing 0.1 mol% C-60 was autoxidized at 60 degrees C in bulk phase and two reaction products of C-60, 1 and 2, were obtained.

These data suggest that ox-LDL may be related to the pathogenesis

These data suggest that ox-LDL may be related to the pathogenesis of arterial stiffness. (Hypertension.

2009; 53: 846-852.)”
“Considering the importance of the development of powerful green catalysts and the omnipresence of amide bonds in natural and synthetic compounds, we report here on reactions between alcohols see more and amines for amide bond formation in which heterogeneous gold and gold/iron, -nickel, or -cobalt nanopartides are used as catalysts and molecular oxygen is used as terminal oxidant. Two catalysts show excellent activity and selectivity, depending on the type of alcohols used. A wide variety of alcohols and amines, including aqueous ammonia and amino acids, can be used for the amide synthesis. Furthermore, the catalysts can be recovered and reused several times without loss of activity.”
“In order to compare polymorphism resulting from monomeric prolamine and hordein, 63 genotypes of hulless barley from ICARDA were investigated. Also, to compare the patterns observed in the analyses of storage proteins and their relation with morphologic and phenologic traits,

20 agromorphological traits were recorded. In the analysis of the hordeins, no polymorphism was observed in the area D hordein. However, 10 patterns in the area C hordein, and 13 patterns selleckchem in the area B hordein were observed; and in total 32 bands and 32 patterns were observed. The average genetic diversity index for these proteins was calculated as H = 0.866. In the analysis of the monomeric prolamins, which was performed with the Acid-PAGE method, 15, 9, 24, and 20 patterns were observed for the , , , and areas, respectively. The average of the genetic diversity index for these proteins was H = 0.889, and in total 33 bands as well as 57 patterns were observed. In the analysis

of the monomeric prolamins, 51 genotype having unique patterns were identifiable while in the analysis of the hordeins, only 18 samples were identified. With regard to the fact that monomeric prolamins enjoy a selleck screening library greater diversity than hordeins and are more powerful in identifying samples and regarding the simple, in addition to the low cost of conducting the analysis, it can be used in a variety of genetic studies such as genetic diversity assessment, identifying genotypes and determining the phylogenic relations in barley. In the analysis of hordeins, one pattern was found among the patterns of area B hordein that was related to the traits of days to heading and days to maturity.”
“Synthesis of a series of urea and thiourea derivatives of glycine and proline conjugated to 2,3-dichlorophenyl piperazine has been reported. The structures were confirmed by physical and spectroscopical measurements followed by characterization of antiglycation activity. All synthesized compounds were able to inhibit protein glycation, particularly halogen containing derivatives without preference of oxygen or sulphur at the urea function.

Methods: The anxiolytic activity was evaluated with the adult mic

Methods: The anxiolytic activity was evaluated with the adult mice by hole board test, and the light-dark

box test, and motor coordination with the rota rod test. The efficacy of the plant extract (100-400 mg/kg) was compared with the standard anxiolytic drug diazepam (1 mg/kg i.p.) Results: The extract increased the time spent in the brightly-lit chamber of the light/dark box, as well as in the number of times the animal crossed from one compartment to the other. Performance on the rota rod was unaffected. In the hole Repotrectinib nmr board test, the extract significantly increased both head-dip counts and head-dip duration. Urtica urens, in contrast to diazepam, had no effect on locomotion. Conclusions: These results provides support for anxiolytic activity Fedratinib nmr of Urtica urens, in line with its medicinal traditional use, and may also suggest a better side-effect profile of Urtica urens relative to diazepam.”
“The aim of the study is to investigate transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1)-induced responses in the vasculature and on blood pressure and heart rate (HR), in response to TRPA1 agonists using wild-type (WT) and TRPA1 knockout (KO) mice.\n\nTRPA1 agonists allyl isothiocyanate and

cinnamaldehyde (CA) significantly increased blood flow in the skin of anaesthetized WT, but not in TRPA1 KO mice. CA also induced TRPA1-dependent relaxation of mesenteric arteries. Intravenously injected CA induced a transient hypotensive response accompanied by decreased HR that was, depending on genotype and dose, followed by a more sustained dose-dependent pressor response (10-320 Etomoxir cell line mu mol/kg). CA (80 mu mol/kg)

induced a depressor response that was significantly less in TRPA1 KO mice, with minimal pressor effects. The pressor response of a higher CA dose (320 mu mol/kg) was observed in WT but not in TRPA1 KO mice, indicating involvement of TRPA1. Experiments using TRP vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) KO and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) KO mice provided little evidence for the involvement of TRPV1 or CGRP, nor did blocking substance P receptors affect responses. However, the cholinergic antagonist atropine sulphate (5 mg/kg) significantly inhibited the depressor response and slowed HR with CA (80 mu mol/kg), but had no effect on pressor responses. The pressor response remained unaffected, even in the presence of the ganglion blocker hexamethonium bromide (1 mg/kg). The alpha-adrenergic blocker prazosin hydrochloride (1 mg/kg) significantly inhibited both components, but not slowed HR.\n\nTRPA1 is involved in mediating vasodilation. TRPA1 can also influence changes in blood pressure of possible relevance to autonomic system reflexes and potentially to vasovagal/neurocardiogenic syncope disorders.”
“Ants of the tribe Attini are characterized by their obligate cultivation of symbiotic fungi.

All hypotheses performed better than H-0, but H-3 largely outperf

All hypotheses performed better than H-0, but H-3 largely outperformed all other alternative hypotheses, indicating that environmental features of islands play an additive effect to ontogenetic, biogeographic and genetic factors in defining variation in head shape sexual dimorphism. Our results support the hypothesis of a context-dependent sexual dimorphism in common wall lizards.(c) 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society,

2015, 114, 552-565.”
“Subjects with autism often show language difficulties, but it is unclear how they relate to neurophysiological anomalies of cortical speech processing. We used combined EEG and fMRI in 13 subjects with autism and 13 control participants

and show that in autism, gamma and theta cortical activity do not engage synergistically in response to speech. Theta activity in left auditory cortex fails to track speech GSK923295 in vitro modulations, and to down regulate gamma Screening Library oscillations in the group with autism. This deficit predicts the severity of both verbal impairment and autism symptoms in the affected sample. Finally, we found that oscillation-based connectivity between auditory and other language cortices is altered in autism. These results suggest that the verbal disorder in autism could be associated with an altered balance of slow and fast auditory oscillations, and that this anomaly could compromise the mapping between sensory input and higher-level cognitive representations.”
“Few studies have investigated long-term CX-6258 manufacturer odor recognition memory, although some early observations suggested that the forgetting rate of olfactory representations is slower than

for other sensory modalities. This study investigated recognition memory across 64 days for high and low familiar odors and faces. Memory was assessed in 83 young participants at 4 occasions; immediate, 4, 16, and 64 days after encoding. The results indicated significant forgetting for odors and faces across the 64 days. The forgetting functions for the 2 modalities were not fundamentally different. Moreover, high familiar odors and faces were better remembered than low familiar ones, indicating an important role of semantic knowledge on recognition proficiency for both modalities. Although odor recognition was significantly better than chance at the 64 days testing, memory for the low familiar odors was relatively poor. Also, the results indicated that odor identification consistency across sessions, irrespective of accuracy, was positively related to successful recognition.”
“The rough type lipopolysaccharide isolated from Shewanella spp. strain MR-4 was analyzed using NMR, mass spectroscopy, and chemical methods. Two structural variants have been found, both contained 8-amino-3,8-dideoxy-D-rnanno-octulosonic acid and lacked L-glycero-D-manno-heptose. A minor variant of the LPS contained phosphoramide substituent. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd.

RNA-fluorescence in situ hybridization results demonstrate that p

RNA-fluorescence in situ hybridization results demonstrate that poly(A)(+) RNA species accumulate in the nucleolar regions Dinaciclib purchase of red5-deficient cells. Moreover, Red5 genetically interacts with several mRNA export factors. Unexpectedly, three components of the nuclear pore complex also suppress a specific set of meiotic mRNAs. These results indicate that Red5 function is important to meiotic mRNA degradation;

they also suggest possible connections among selective mRNA decay, mRNA export and the nuclear pore complex in vegetative fission yeast.”
“Various nitric oxide modulators (NO donors – SNP, GSNO, DEA NONOate and scavengers – PTIO, cPTIO) were tested to highlight the role of NO under Cd excess in various ontogenetic stages of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla). Surprisingly, compared to Cd alone, SNP

and PTIO elevated Cd uptake (confirmed also by PhenGreen staining) but depleted glutathione (partially ascorbic acid) and phytochelatins PC2 and PC3 in both older plants (cultured hydroponically) and seedlings (cultured in deionised water). Despite these anomalous MK-4827 supplier impacts, fluorescence staining of NO and ROS confirmed predictable assumptions and revealed reciprocal changes (decrease in NO but increase in ROS after PTIO addition and the opposite after SNP application). Subsequent tests using alternative modulators and seedlings confirmed changes to NO and ROS after application of GSNO and DEA NONOate as mentioned above for SNP while cPTIO altered only NO level (depletion). On the contrary to SNP and PTIO, GSNO, DEA NONOate and cPTIO did not elevate Cd content and phytochelatins (PC2, PC3) were rather elevated. These data provide evidence that various NO modulators are useful in terms of NO and ROS manipulation but interactions with intact plants affect metal uptake and must therefore be used with caution. In this view, cPTIO and DEA NONOate revealed Vorinostat the less pronounced side impacts and are recommended as suitable NO scavenger/donor in plant physiological studies under Cd

excess.”
“Background: The epigenetic plasticity hypothesis indicates that pregnancy exposure may result in adult-onset diseases, including hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, in offspring. In a previous study, we discovered that prenatal exposure to inflammatory stimulants, such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS), could lead to hypertension in adult rat offspring. In the present study, we further demonstrate that maternal inflammation induces cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction via ectopic over-expression of nuclear transcription factor kappa B (NF-kappa B), and pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) can protect cardiac function by reducing maternal inflammation.\n\nMethods: Pregnant SD rats were randomly divided into three groups and intraperitoneally injected with a vehicle, LPS (0.79 mg/kg), or LPS (0.

5% of HC Patients with the IFN type I signature

showed:

5% of HC. Patients with the IFN type I signature

showed: (a) higher EULAR Sjogren’s Syndrome Disease Activity Index scores; higher anti-Ro52, anti-Ro60 and anti-La autoantibodies; higher rheumatoid factor; higher serum IgG; lower C3, lower absolute lymphocyte and neutrophil counts; (b) higher BAFF gene expression in monocytes. In addition, serum of signature-positive patients induced BAFF gene expression in monocytes.\n\nConclusions The monocyte IFN type I signature identifies a subgroup of patients with pSS with a higher clinical disease activity together with higher BAFF mRNA expression. Such patients might benefit from treatment blocking IFN type I production or activity.”
“Background/Objectives: There is strong evidence for the beneficial effects of perioperative nutrition in patients undergoing major surgery. We aimed to evaluate implementation of current guidelines in Switzerland and Austria.\n\nSubjects/Methods: A survey was conducted in 173 Swiss and this website Austrian surgical departments. We inquired about nutritional screening, perioperative nutrition

and estimated clinical significance.\n\nResults: The overall response rate was 55%, having 69% (54/78) responders in Switzerland and 44% (42/95) in Austria. Most centres were aware of reduced complications (80%) and shorter hospital stay CH5183284 nmr (59%). However, only 20% of them implemented routine nutritional screening. Non-compliance was because of financial (49%) and logistic restrictions (33%). Screening was mainly performed in the outpatient’s clinic (52%) or during admission (54%). The nutritional risk score selleck products was applied by 14% only; instead, various clinical (78%) and laboratory parameters (56%) were used. Indication for perioperative nutrition was based on preoperative screening in 49%. Although 23% used preoperative nutrition, 68% applied nutritional support pre- and postoperatively. Preoperative nutritional treatment ranged from 3 days (33%), to 5 (31%) and even 7 days (20%).\n\nConclusions: Although malnutrition is a well-recognised risk factor for poor post-operative outcome, surgeons remain reluctant to implement

routine screening and nutritional support according to evidence-based guidelines. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2011) 65, 642-647; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2011.13; published online 23 February 2011″
“3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a widely abused illicit drug that can cause severe and even fatal adverse effects. However, interest remains for its possible clinical applications in posttraumatic stress disorder and anxiety treatment. Preclinical studies to determine MDMA’s safety are needed. We evaluated MDMA’s pharmacokinetics and metabolism in male rats receiving 2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg s.c. MDMA, and the associated pharmacodynamic consequences. Blood was collected via jugular catheter at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, and 24 hours, with simultaneous serotonin (5-HT) behavioral syndrome and core temperature monitoring.