Background
The association between birthweight and asthma, eczema and rhinoconjunctivitis is conflicting.
Aims
To examine the association between birthweight and symptoms of asthma, eczema and ...rhinoconjunctivitis.
Methods
Parents or guardians of children aged 6–7 yr completed written questionnaires about symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema, and several risk factors, including birthweight.
Results
There were 162,324 children from 60 centres in 26 countries. Low birthweight (<2.5 kg) was associated with an increased risk of symptoms of asthma (current wheeze odds ratio = 1.20; 95% confidence interval = 1.12–1.30). Low birthweight was associated with a lower risk of eczema ever. Low birthweight was not associated with rhinoconjunctivitis. Large babies (birthweight ≥4.5 kg) were not associated with any of these outcomes.
Conclusions
This study has confirmed that low birthweight is a risk factor for symptoms of asthma, but not for rhinoconjunctivitis. The findings for eczema are equivocal.
Background and Aim Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is now the accepted therapy for end‐stage chronic liver disease. Long‐term survival is now expected in the majority of patients and, ...consequently, disease recurrence has emerged as a major concern. Our aim was to document the rate of disease recurrence after liver transplantation for conditions other than hepatitis C, in patients followed up by the Western Australian Liver Transplant Service (WALTS).
Methods The case notes of all post‐OLT patients followed up by WALTS were reviewed. Patients were excluded if survival was less than 3 months post‐OLT; OLT was performed for hepatitis C alone or follow up was unavailable. Detection and definition of disease recurrence depended on pretransplant diagnosis, and were based on patient interview, biochemical, immunological and serological tests. Radiological and histological confirmation were obtained where clinically indicated.
Results Eighty‐seven patients were identified (89 OLTs performed). The overall rate of recurrence was 10%. Recurrence rates by disease were: primary sclerosing cholangitis (17%), primary biliary cirrhosis (12%), autoimmune hepatitis (17%), hepatitis B (40%) and alcoholic liver disease (4%). Alcohol use relapse after transplantation occurred in 25%. The overall survival post‐OLT was 87%, with a mean follow up of 53 months. Survival in patients with recurrent disease was 89%.
Conclusions Disease recurrence after OLT does occur, but overall, it is relatively uncommon. Recurrence rates vary significantly and depend, in part, on indication for OLT. With medium‐term follow up, recurrent disease does not have an effect on mortality.
To compare number of cycles to failure for palmarodorsal 4-point bending of a modified 5.5 mm broad locking compression plate (M5.5-LCP) fixation with a 5.5 mm broad LCP (5.5-LCP) fixation used to ...repair osteotomized equine third metacarpal (MC3) bones. In vitro biomechanical testing. Adult equine cadaveric MC3 bones (n=6 pairs). An 8-hole, M5.5-LCP, obtained by having a 1.0 mm thickness removed from the bone contact portion of the 5.5-LCP, was applied to the dorsal surface of 1 randomly selected MC3 from each pair, and an 8-hole, 5.5-LCP was applied dorsally to the contralateral bone from each pair using a combination of cortical and locking screws. Plates and screws were applied using standard ASIF techniques to MC3 bones with a mid-diaphyseal osteotomy. MC3 constructs had palmarodorsal 4-point bending cyclic fatigue testing. Mean cycles to failure for each method were compared using a paired t-test within each group. Significance was set at P<.05. Mean±SD cycles to failure of the M5.5-LCP fixation (188,641±17,971) was significantly greater than that of the 5.5-LCP fixation (166,497±15,539). M5.5-LCP fixation was superior to 5.5-LCP fixation of osteotomized equine MC3 bones in resisting cyclic fatigue under palmarodorsal 4-point bending. This suggests that biological plate fixation is not the ideal choice for osteotomized equine MC3 bones.
Lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) is a rare, clinically aggressive neoplasm of the young that frequently involves the bone marrow (BM) and/or central nervous system. Because LBL is similar to acute ...lymphoblastic leukemia, some centers prefer allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (SC) transplantation to autologous SC transplantation. We retrospectively analyzed outcomes for patients who underwent autologous (auto, n = 128) or HLA-identical sibling (allo, n = 76) SC transplantations from 1989 to 1998 and were reported to International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry (IBMTR) or Autologous Blood and Marrow Transplant Registry (ABMTR). Allo stem cell transplant (SCT) recipients had higher treatment-related mortality (TRM) at 6 months (18% versus 3%,P= .002), and this disadvantage persisted at 1 and 5 years. Early relapse rates after alloSC transplantation and autoSC transplantation were similar, but significantly lower relapse rates were observed in alloSCT recipients at 1 and 5 years (32% versus 46%,P= .05; and 34% versus 56%,P= .004, respectively). No differences were noted in lymphoma-free survival rates between alloSC transplantations and autoSC transplantations (5-year rates 36% versus 39%,P= .82). AutoSCT recipients had higher overall survival at 6 months (75% versus 59%,P= .01), but survival did not significantly differ between the 2 groups at 1 and 5 years (60% versus 49%,P= .09; 44% versus 39%,P= .47, respectively). Multivariate analyses to account for confounding factors confirmed these results. Independent of SCT type, BM involvement at the time of transplantation and disease status more advanced than first complete remission were associated with inferior outcomes. In summary, alloSC transplantation for LBL is associated with fewer relapses than with autoSC transplantation, but higher TRM offsets any potential survival benefit.
To compare monotonic biomechanical properties and fatigue life of a 5.5 mm broad limited-contact dynamic compression plate (5.5-LC-DCP) fixation with a 4.5 mm broad LC-DCP (4.5-LC-DCP) fixation to ...repair osteotomized equine third metacarpal (MC3) bones. In vitro biomechanical testing of paired cadaveric equine MC3 with a mid-diaphyseal osteotomy, stabilized by 1 of 2 methods for fracture fixation. Adult equine cadaveric MC3 bones (n=18 pair). MC3 were divided into 3 test groups (6 pairs each) for: (1) 4-point bending single cycle to failure testing; (2) 4-point bending cyclic fatigue testing; and (3) torsional single cycle to failure testing. The 8-hole, 5.5 mm broad LC-DCP (5.5-LC-DCP) was applied to the dorsal surface of 1 randomly selected bone from each pair. One 8-hole, 4.5 mm broad LC-DCP (4.5-LC-DCP) was applied dorsally to the contralateral bone from each pair. Plates and screws were applied using standard ASIF techniques. All MC3 bones had mid-diaphyseal osteotomies. Mean test variable values for each method were compared using a paired t-test within each group. Significance was set at P<.05. Mean yield load, yield bending moment, composite rigidity, failure load and failure bending moment under 4-point bending, single cycle to failure, of the 5.5-LC-DCP fixation were significantly greater (P<.024) than those of the 4.5-LC-DCP fixation. Mean cycles to failure for 4-point bending was significantly (P<.05) greater for the 4.5-LC-DCP fixation compared with the 5.5-LC-DCP fixation. Mean yield load, mean composite rigidity, and mean failure load in torsion for the 5.5-LC-DCP fixation was not significantly different (P>.05) than those with the 4.5-LC-DCP fixation. 5.5-LC-DCP fixation was superior to 4.5-LC-DCP fixation in resisting the static overload forces under palmarodorsal 4-point bending. There was no significant difference between 5.5-LC-DCP fixation and 4.5-LC-DCP fixation in resisting static overload forces under torsion; however, the 5.5-LC-DCP offers significantly less stability (80% of that of the 4.5-LC-DCP) in cyclic fatigue testing. The results of this in vitro study may provide information to aid in the selection of a biological plate for long bone fracture repair in horses.
To assess the number of laser burns applied to the peripheral retina to treat retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in a recent population of patients and to compare that number with historical data.
The ...authors performed a retrospective chart review of all patients treated for ROP within a single practice from 2002-2004. There were 183 eyes from 93 patients. Sufficient data for analysis were available on 112 eyes from 57 patients. Data from these patients were compared to those of patients reported upon in 1991.
The average number of laser burns applied to the 112 eyes was 2163. Eyes with zone 1 disease had an average of 3077 spots and those with zone 2 disease had an average of 2072 spots. Greater than three months follow-up was available on 42 eyes from 21 patients. Of those eyes, 90% had complete regression of ROP. In an initial report of laser treatment for ROP by several of the same authors in 1991, the average number of laser burns applied for treatment of ROP was 816. There was a 265% increase in the average number of laser applications from the early study to the present.
The data indicate that there has been a trend towards more confluent laser treatment to the avascular zone in ROP.
•
Premise of the study:
Microsatellite markers were developed for
Clianthus puniceus
using a shotgun sequencing library and tested for cross amplification in the closely related
C. maximus
to inform ...population management of these two endangered species.
•
Methods and Results:
We constructed a shotgun sequencing library using a Roche 454 sequencer and searched the resulting data set for putative microsatellite regions. We optimized 12 of these regions to produce polymorphic markers for
Clianthus
. We tested these markers on four populations of
C. maximus
and on four
C. puniceus
individuals of known provenance. Alleles per locus ranged from two to nine, while observed and expected heterozygosities per locus ranged from 0.000 to 1.000 and 0.178 to 0.600, respectively.
•
Conclusions:
These markers will be valuable for ongoing monitoring of the genetic variation in naturally occurring populations of
Clianthus
and for the selection of individuals for revegetation projects in the species’ former range.
Bleomycin (BLM) induction of lung fibrosis in mice is an established model to study the mechanism of pulmonary fibrosis. Cytokine secretion has been implicated as a fundamental component of the lung ...fibrotic process observed in response to BLM. Among the cytokines implicated in lung fibrosis, Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha has been considered to play a fundamental role. In the present study, we characterized the cellular sources of TNF during BLM-induced lung injury and examined the importance of TNF receptors in this process. To characterize the expression of TNF, we utilized two strains of mice, one sensitive (C57BL/6) and one resistant (BALB/c) to BLM-induced lung injury. Mice received BLM (120 mg/kg total) or saline, as control, by multiple subcutaneous injections. BLM induced the development of inflammation in subpleural areas only in the lungs of BLM-sensitive mice. These subpleural areas were characterized by infiltration of CD68-positive macrophages and increased collagen deposition. BLM enhanced the expression of TNF mRNA in BLM-sensitive, but not in BLM-resistant, mice. In situ hybridization studies localized the expression of TNF in the areas of BLM-induced inflammation in 6% and 27% of macrophages at 14 and 21 days post BLM treatment. In addition to TNF, BLM exposure resulted in the upregulated expression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, but not interleukin (IL)-1, mRNA in the lungs of both murine strains at 14 and 21 days. This upregulated expression of TGF-β1 mRNA was greater in the lungs of BLM-sensitive mice. In separate experiments, double TNF receptor knockout mice were exposed to BLM. These animals demonstrated an increased expression of TNF, but not TGF-β1, mRNA in response to BLM and did not exhibit histologic evidence of lung injury following BLM exposure. In summary, the upregulation of TNF mRNA in macrophages correlated with the appearance of inflammation following BLM exposure and was limited to the BLM-sensitive strain. Furthermore, in addition to the release of the TNF ligand, it appears that the presence of TNF receptors is necessary for the development of BLM-induced lung injury, and signaling through these receptors may contribute to the regulation of the TGF-β1 mRNA expression observed in response to bleomycin. These results provide further support for a role of macrophages and TNF in the induction of lung inflammation
Keywords for Disability Studiesaims to broaden and define the conceptual framework of disability studies for readers and practitioners in the field and beyond. The volume engages some of the most ...pressing debates of our time, such as prenatal testing, euthanasia, accessibility in public transportation and the workplace, post-traumatic stress, and questions about the beginning and end of life.
Each of the 60 essays inKeywords for Disability Studiesfocuses on a distinct critical concept, including "ethics," "medicalization," "performance," "reproduction," "identity," and "stigma," among others. Although the essays recognize that "disability" is often used as an umbrella term, the contributors to the volume avoid treating individual disabilities as keywords, and instead interrogate concepts that encompass different components of the social and bodily experience of disability. The essays approach disability as an embodied condition, a mutable historical phenomenon, and a social, political, and cultural identity.
An invaluable resource for students and scholars alike,Keywords for Disability Studiesbrings the debates that have often remained internal to disability studies into a wider field of critical discourse, providing opportunities for fresh theoretical considerations of the field's core presuppositions through a variety of disciplinary perspectives.
Visit keywords.nyupress.org for online essays, teaching resources, and more.
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