Hamrickflanagan9700

OBJECTIVES Most of cardiac dedicated CZT-SPECT systems are not equipped with CT, whereas PET systems are. We evaluated the impact of AC correction on CZT-SPECT myocardial blood flow (MBF) and myocardial flow reserve (MFR) measurements. METHODS 104 patients were included. SPECT data were acquired on cadmium zinc telluride (CZT)-based pinhole cardiac camera in listmode using a stress (250 ± 17 MBq)/rest (511 ± 23 MBq) 1-day Tc-99m-tetrofosmin protocol. Low-dose CT was acquired on another SPECT/CT camera in the same position. All analysis was performed using Corridor4DM. RESULTS Stress and rest MBF were significantly lower when AC was applied (P 0.25 at least). Mean global LV MFR was 2.43 ± 0.87 and 2.33 ± 0.89, respectively, for NAC and AC measurements. Using a threshold of 2, 86 patients (83%) remained classified as normal and abnormal regarding global LV MFR whether AC was applied or not. Mean difference between NAC and AC values for the 18 other patients was 0.3. CONCLUSION AC correction does not significantly affect MFR measurement both in regional and global LV analyses.PURPOSE Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is one of the most malignant cancers in the gynecologic system. Many patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage with disseminated intra-peritoneal metastases. EOC spreads via both direct extension and trans-coelomic spread. However, the interplay between human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMCs) and EOC cells is still ambiguous. We hypothesize that integrins (ITG) in HPMCs may play important roles in EOC metastasis. METHODS The expression of different integrin subtypes from HPMCs was assessed using Western blotting. The expression of integrin α5β1 (ITGA5B1) and its co-localization with asparaginyl endopeptidase (AEP) in HPMCs derived from EOC patients (EOC-HPMCs) were assessed using immunofluorescence. The role and mechanism of the exosomal ITGA5B1/AEP complex in HPMCs was assessed using both in vitro and in vivo assays. A retrospective study involving 234 cases was carried out to assess ITGA5B1 and AEP levels in circulating sera and ascites of EOC patients, as well as associations between ITGA5B1/AEP expression and overall survival. RESULTS We found that ITGA5B1was highly expressed and co-localized with AEP in EOC cells, and that the exosomal ITGA5B1/AEP complex secreted by EOC cells played an important role in the proliferation and migration of HPMCs. High levels of exosomal ITGA5B1/AEP were also found in circulating sera and ascites of EOC patients, and the expression of ITGA5B1/AEP in EOC tissues was found to be negatively associated with overall survival. CONCLUSIONS Our data indicate that EOCs may regulate the function of HPMCs through exosomal ITGA5B1/AEP, which may be crucial for peritoneal metastasis.BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of preoperative sarcopenia with regard to postoperative morbidity and long-term survival in patients with peritoneal metastasis from colorectal cancer treated with cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). METHODS A longitudinal cohort study was conducted on patients with peritoneal metastases of colorectal origin treated with CRS-HIPEC between 2008 and 2018. Data on patient demographics, body mass index, operative characteristics, perioperative morbidity and survivorship status and oncological follow-up were obtained from the hospital registry. Sarcopenia was assessed using preoperative computed tomography (CT) findings. RESULTS Sixty-five patients [mean (SD) age 54.4 (13.4) years, 64.6% females] were included in the study. Sarcopenia was evident in 30.8% of patients, while mortality rate was 66.2% with median survival time of 33.6 months. Presence of sarcopenia was associated with older age (59.6 (9.2) vs. 52.1 (14.4) years, p = 0.038), higher likelihood of morbidity (70.0% vs. 35.6%, p = 0.015) and mortality (90.0% vs. 55.6%, p = 0.010) and shorter survival time (17.7 vs. 37.9 months, p = 0.005). Cox regression analysis revealed that the presence of sarcopenia (HR 2.245, 95% CI 0.996-5.067, p = 0.050) was a significant predictor of increased likelihood of mortality. CONCLUSIONS Preoperative sarcopenia is an independent prognostic factor of postoperative morbidity and shorter survival in CRC peritoneal metastasis patients treated with CRS-HIPEC. Our findings support the importance of preoperative screening for sarcopenia as part of preoperative risk assessment for better selection of CRS-HIPEC candidates or treatment modifications in CRC patients with peritoneal metastasis.Outbreaks of diseases in farmed fish remain a recurring problem despite the development of vaccines and improved hygiene standards on aquaculture farms. One commonly observed bacterial disease in tropical aquaculture of the South-East Asian region is tenacibaculosis, which is attributed to members of the genus Tenacibaculum (family Flavobacteriaceae, phylum Bacteroidetes), most notably Tenacibaculum maritimum. The impact of tenacibaculosis on the fish microbiota remains poorly understood. In this study, we analysed the microbiota of different tissues of commercially reared Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) that showed symptoms of tenacibaculosis and compared the microbial communities to those of healthy and experimentally infected fish that were exposed to diseased farmed fish. The relative abundance of Tenacibaculum species in experimentally infected fish was significantly lower than in commercially reared diseased fish and revealed a higher prevalence of different Tenacibaculum species. One isolated strain, TLL-A2T, shares 98.7% 16S rRNA gene identity with Tenacibaculum mesophilum DSM 13764T. The genome of strain TLL-A2T was sequenced and compared to that of T. Staurosporine research buy mesophilum DSM 13764T. Analysis of average nucleotide identity and comparative genome analysis revealed only 92% identity between T. mesophilum DSM 13764T and strain TLL-A2T and differences between the two strains in predicted carbohydrate activating enzymes respectively. Phenotypic comparison between strain TLL-A2T and T. mesophilum DSM 13764T indicated additional differences, such as growth response at different salt concentrations. Based on molecular and phenotypic differences, strain TLL-A2T (=DSM 106434T, KCTC 62393T) is proposed as the type strain of Tenacibaculum singaporense sp. nov.OBJECTIVES The clinical benefit of bariatric surgery in patients with severe obesity and established coronary artery disease (CAD) is unclear. We aimed to compare the cardiovascular outcomes of severely obese CAD patients with and without bariatric surgery. METHODS Patients with a history of myocardial revascularization documented prior to bariatric surgery were identified from a dedicated database with prospectively collected outcomes. These patients were matched 1 to 1 with CAD patients who had prior revascularization but who did not undergo bariatric surgery. The primary outcomes were death (cardiac and non-cardiac) and major adverse cardio-cerebral events (MACCE), including death, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and repeat myocardial revascularization throughout follow-up. RESULTS After propensity score matching, 116 bariatric patients were matched with 116 control patients. Ninety-eight had a history of coronary artery bypass surgery and 134 had a previous percutaneous coronary intervention. After a median follow-up of 8.9 (6.3-14.2) years, MACCE was significantly lower in the bariatric group (HR 0.65; 95% CI 0.42-1.00; P = 0.049) driven by a significant reduction in non-cardiac mortality (HR 0.49; 95% CI 0.23-1.00; P = 0.049). There was no significant difference in the rates of all-cause death (HR 0.58; 95% CI 0.33-1.01; P = 0.056), cardiovascular death (HR 0.77; 95% CI 0.31-1.85; P = 0.55), MI (HR 1.09; 95% CI 0.47-2.58; P = 0.85), stroke (HR 1.47; 95% CI 0.24-11.2; P = 0.67), and repeat myocardial revascularization (HR 0.56; 95% CI 0.27-1.13; P = 0.11). CONCLUSION Although bariatric surgery in obese CAD patients may reduce the composite MACCE endpoint during long-term follow-up, this effect seems unrelated to cardiovascular outcomes.BACKGROUND Cancer-related sleep disturbance is common and can adversely affect physical and mental health. Bright light (BL) therapy is a novel intervention that targets sleep by promoting circadian regulation. Emerging evidence suggests BL can improve sleep disturbance, symptom burden, and health-related quality of life in cancer and other populations; however, this research is limited. The present two-phase pilot study assessed the feasibility and preliminary intended effects of BL therapy on sleep in ovarian and endometrial cancer survivors, and explored biologic and chronobiologic factors that may underlie intervention effects. METHODS In phase I, focus groups were conducted with 12 survivors and 9 gynecologic oncology clinicians to evaluate and gather feedback about the proposed study. In phase II, a pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted with 18 ovarian or endometrial cancer survivors who were randomized 11 to receive 45 min of BL or dim light (DL) for 4 weeks. Participants wore wrist actigraphs; completed sleep diaries and self-report questionnaires; and provided blood, saliva, and urine samples at baseline (T1), post-intervention (T2), and 3-month follow-up (T3). RESULTS Study procedures were modified according to focus group results. Enrollment, retention, and adherence were all ≥ 80%. Mixed-model ANOVAs demonstrated that the number of nighttime awakenings per actigraphy, and sleep quality and depression per self-report, trended toward improvements in the BL condition compared to the DL condition. These variables improved from T1 to T2 before returning to baseline at T3. Effect sizes were generally medium to large. CONCLUSIONS Study findings suggest that BL therapy is feasible among ovarian and endometrial cancer survivors. It may be an effective, non-pharmacological approach to reduce sleep disturbance and symptom burden in this population.Ketogenic diets have been proposed as a non-pharmacological strategy for the management of several chronic conditions. Their efficacy and safety have been evaluated in the field of neurology, oncology and endocrinology for disorders including cancer, dementia, drug-resistant epilepsy, migraines, obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The nutritional requirements of these subjects are expected to differ significantly. Indeed, although all ketogenic diets restrict carbohydrates, each intervention is characterized by a specific daily calorie intake, macronutrient composition and duration. However, the adopted nomenclature was often unclear to the general reader; also, the same abbreviations for different protocols were used. This possibly resulted in mistakes in the interpretation of the available evidence and limited the impact of studies on the topic in the clinical practice. Adopting a clear and consistent vocabulary is key in any context. Here, we present a practical and clinically-based proposal for the classification and abbreviation of ketogenic diets.The extensively branched vascular network within the placenta is vital for materno-fetal exchange, and inadequate development of this network is implicated in the pregnancy disorder fetal growth restriction (FGR), where babies are born pathologically small. Placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (pMSCs) and placental macrophages both reside in close proximity to blood vessels within the placenta, where they are thought to promote angiogenesis via paracrine mechanisms. However, the relationship between pMSCs, macrophages and placental vascular development has not yet been examined. We aimed to determine if inadequate paracrine stimulation of placental vascular development by pMSCs and macrophages during pregnancy may contribute to the inadequate vascularisation seen in FGR. Media conditioned by MSCs from FGR placentae significantly inhibited endothelial tube formation, compared to conditioned media derived from normal pMSCs. Similarly, macrophages exposed to media conditioned by FGR pMSCs were less able to stimulate endothelial tube formation in comparison to macrophages exposed to media conditioned by normal pMSCs.