Articles: human.
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Published structural neuroimaging studies of prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) in humans have yielded somewhat inconsistent results, with several studies reporting no significant differences in brain structure between exposed subjects and controls. Here, we sought to clarify some of these discrepancies by applying methodologies that allow for the detection of subtle alterations in brain structure. ⋯ Prenatal cocaine exposure may lead to subtle and regionally specific patterns of regional dysmorphology in the striatum and volumetric changes in the frontal lobes. The localized and bidirectional nature of effects may explain in part the contradictions in the existing literature.
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Background Prostate cancer screening using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing remains controversial. Trade-offs between the potential benefits and downsides of screening must be weighed by men deciding whether to participate in prostate cancer screening; little is known about benefit:harm trade-offs men are willing to accept. Methods/Design The Community Preferences for Prostate Cancer Screening (COMPASs) Study examines Australian men's preferences for prostate cancer screening using PSA testing. The aims are to (1) determine which factors influence men's decision to participate in prostate cancer screening or not and (2) determine the extent of trade-offs between benefits and harms that men are willing to accept in making these decisions. ⋯ A mixed logit model will be used; model results will be expressed as parameter estimates (β) and the odds of choosing screening over no screening. Trade-offs between attributes will also be calculated. Ethics and Dissemination The COMPASs study has been approved by the University of Sydney, Human Research Ethics committee (Protocol number 13186). The results will be published in internal reports, in peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as via conference presentations.
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Alarm fatigue from high false alarm rate is a well described phenomenon in the intensive care unit (ICU). Progress to further reduce false alarms must employ a new strategy. Highly sensitive alarms invariably have a very high false alarm rate. Clinically useful alarms have a high Positive-Predictive Value. Our goal is to demonstrate one approach to suppressing false alarms using an algorithm that correlates information across sensors and replicates the ways that human evaluators discriminate artifact from real signal. ⋯ Correlation of information across alarms can suppress artifact, increase the positive predictive value of alarms, and can employ more sophisticated definitions of alarm events than present single-sensor based systems.
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Can J Infect Dis Med · Jan 2012
The use of antiviral drugs for influenza: Guidance for practitioners 2012/2013.
The present article addresses the use of antiviral drugs in the management of seasonal influenza illness for the 2012/2013 season. It updates the previous document published in 2011 (1). Noteworthy guidance updates since 2011 include the following: Seasonal influenza in 2012/2013 is predicted to be caused by two human influenza A and one influenza B strain, all of which are anticipated to remain generally susceptible to oseltamivir. ⋯ It is still considered that initiation of antiviral therapy more than 36 h to 48 h after onset of symptoms is beneficial in patients hospitalized with complicated influenza and severe illness. Oseltamivir continues to be recommended for the treatment of influenza in pregnant women. The use of antiviral drugs among measures to control outbreaks of influenza in closed facilities such as correctional institutions is now included in the present document.
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Organic cation transporters (OCTs) determine not only physiological processes but are also involved in the cellular uptake of anticancer agents. Based on microarray analyses in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), SLC22A1/OCT1 mRNA seems to be downregulated, but systematic protein expression data are currently missing. Moreover, the underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for altered SLC22A1 expression in HCC are not fully understood. Therefore, we investigated the role of DNA methylation in the transcriptional regulation of the family members SLC22A1/OCT1, SLC22A2/OCT2 and SLC22A3/OCT3 in HCC. ⋯ DNA methylation of SLC22A1 is associated with downregulation of SLC22A1 in HCC and might be a new biomarker for HCC diagnosis and prognosis. Moreover, targeting SLC22A1 methylation by demethylating agents may offer a novel strategy for anticancer therapy of HCC.