The relation between caffeinated coffee consumption and heart disease morbidity and mortality is of great interest given the extensive use of this beverage. A recent prospective epidemiologic study ...found a strong protective association in elderly subjects without moderate to severe hypertension in the NHANES. To test this association in the Framingham Heart Study population, in which cardiovascular risk factors and health behaviors were carefully documented, Cox regression analyses were conducted for 1,354 subjects aged 65.4 to 96.6 years at study entry. There were 210 deaths from cardiovascular disease and 118 from coronary heart disease (CHD) during 10.1 years of follow-up. A significant negative association between caffeinated coffee consumption and CHD mortality was observed for subjects with systolic blood pressure (BP) <160 mm Hg and diastolic BP <100 mm Hg. The decrease in risk of CHD mortality for any caffeinated coffee versus none was 43% (95% confidence interval 9 to 64). This decreased risk appeared to be caused primarily by an inverse prospective relation between caffeinated coffee consumption and the development or progression of heart valve disease. The decrease in risk of heart valve disease for subjects with systolic BP <160 mm Hg and diastolic BP <100 mm Hg for any caffeinated coffee versus none was 43% (95% confidence interval 4 to 66). In conclusion, caffeinated coffee consumption was associated with lower risk of CHD mortality and heart valve disease development or progression in older Framingham subjects without moderate or severe hypertension.
Most major medical organizations recommend routine screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. Screening can lead to early detection of these cancers, resulting in reduced mortality. Yet, ...not all people who should be screened are screened regularly or, in some cases, ever. This report presents results of systematic reviews of effectiveness, applicability, economic efficiency, barriers to implementation, and other harms or benefits of provider reminder/recall interventions to increase screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. These interventions involve using systems to inform healthcare providers when individual clients are due (reminder) or overdue (recall) for specific cancer screening tests. Evidence in this review of studies published from 1986 through 2004 indicates that reminder/recall systems can effectively increase screening with mammography, Pap, fecal occult blood tests, and flexible sigmoidoscopy. Additional research is needed to determine if provider reminder/recall systems are effective in increasing colorectal cancer screening by colonoscopy. Specific areas for further research are also suggested.
Objectives/Hypothesis
To quantify the degree of color match achieved during microvascular facial reconstruction, and to describe a novel technique for improving reconstructive skin color match. We ...hypothesize that split‐thickness skin grafts (STSG) placed atop de‐epithelialized free tissue produces better facial skin color match than free tissue with intact epithelium.
Study Design
Cross sectional photographic study of reconstructed facial skin color match.
Methods
Sixty‐eight adults, who underwent head and neck reconstructive surgery, were divided into six categories based on cutaneous reconstructive technique: cervicofacial flap, radial forearm free flap (RFFF), fibula free flap, anterolateral thigh free flap (ALT), STSG over adiopofascial flap (STAFF), and STSG over myogenous flap (STMF). Averaged color samplings of the reconstructed defect and adjacent normal skin were taken from digital photographs. The color difference was calculated using the delta‐E calculation. Blinded expert observers also rated the degree of color match. Nonparametric cohort contrast and correlation statistical analyses were performed.
Results
The mean delta‐E's and 10‐point Likert ratings for the ALT, fibula, RFFF, STAFF, STMF, and cervicofacial flaps were 11.6, 10.0, 7.7, 6.3, 8.8, and 4.7, and 5.1, 6.4, 2.4, 3.2, 2.7, and 1.1, respectively. Likert scale inter‐rater correlation was strong, with coefficient = 0.80.
Conclusions
On average, STSG over de‐epithelialized myogenous and adipofascial free tissue transfers produced a better color match than the skin paddles of donor sites, with the exception of the radial forearm donor site. Delta‐E values obtained from photos correlated well with expert ratings of color match. This reliable technique for quantifying color match may be used in future studies.
Level of Evidence
3 Laryngoscope, 132:1753–1759, 2022
Pyrolysis of solid fuels such as coal, peat and biomass enables conversion into solid and liquid products, with noncondensable gas being a by-product. The present study evaluates conversion ...characteristics of Brazilian coal, peat and biomass samples using vacuum pyrolysis techniques. Feedstock and their respective solid residues (chars) and pyrolytic liquids obtained under vacuum pyrolysis conditions were characterized by proximate and ultimate analyses, gross calorific value, petrographic analyses, reactivity to CO2, Raman spectroscopy and organic geochemical methods (extraction, liquid chromatography). Chemical and physical properties in the feedstock samples and solid residues are highly variable. In the coals mean vitrinite reflectances ranged from 0.44% to 1.18% Rrandom indicating a rank range from subbituminous to high volatile/medium volatile bituminous coal. Reflectance measurements obtained from vitrinoid particles identified in solid residues from coal, peat and biomass varied from 2.10% to 10.64% Rrandom. Analyses of the liquid products indicate a tendency of the aliphatic fraction to increase in most of the samples during the pyrolysis process, as well as the predominant formation of polar compounds in the condensable liquids. The results of this study suggest that among the coal samples investigated major conversion to liquids and gases (29.7%–33.2%) occurs in the high volatile bituminous coals from Santa Catarina, whereas in the biomass samples Mamona (Castor Beans), wood chips (Eucalyptus), wooden bars (pinus) and signal grass have all conversion rates > 60%. The conversion rates for the peat samples varied between 32.5 and 46.6%. Reflectance values determined on vitrinoid biomass chars indicate a potential use in soil amendment.
Frequent claims are made for the importance of the hospitality industry, and wider tourism sector, as potential and actual creators of employment. Many of these claims emanate from industry ...representative and advocacy organizations, often as part of their legitimate efforts to lobby governments for favourable treatment of their sectors. Good quality universal statistical data on employment in hospitality are noticeable by their absence, although information collected by bodies such as the International Labour Organization is extensive. This paper reviews the current state of data availability on global hospitality employment (with a primary focus on commercial hospitality operations) and seeks to employ these secondary sources in investigating the question as to whether we can in fact make plausible statements about the extent of such employment. This exercise is important both to contextualizing claims made for the employment generating capacity of the hospitality industry and to shedding light on the degree of seriousness with which data might be treated in wider policy contexts. The paper concludes, with cautious optimism, that commercial hospitality is a significant global employer and that the claims made for this employment by representative and advocacy organizations are plausible if treated with circumspection.
Abstract Objective Enteric microbiota has been shown to be associated with various pathological conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study aimed to determine the ...anti-inflammatory colonic effects of blueberries and broccoli in mdr1a−/− mice (IBD mouse model) through modification of microbiota composition in the gastrointestinal tract. Methods The mdr1a−/− mice were fed either a control diet or the control diet supplemented with either 10% blueberry or broccoli for 21 wk. We investigated the influence of these diets on cecal microbiota and organic acids, colon morphology, and bacterial translocation to mesenteric lymph nodes. Results In comparison to mice fed the control diet, blueberry and broccoli supplementation altered cecum microbiota similarly with the exception of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii , which was found to be significantly lower in broccoli-fed mice. High concentrations of butyric acid and low concentrations of succinic acid were observed in the cecum of broccoli-fed mice. Blueberry- and broccoli-supplemented diets increased colon crypt size and the number of goblet cells per crypt. Only the broccoli-supplemented diet significantly lowered colonic inflammation compared to mice fed the control diet. Translocation of total microbes to mesenteric lymph nodes was lower in broccoli-fed mice compared to blueberry and control diet groups. Conclusion Dietary blueberries and/or broccoli altered the composition and metabolism of the cecal microbiota and colon morphology. Overall, these results warrant further investigation through clinical studies to establish whether the consumption of blueberries and/or broccoli is able to alter the composition and metabolism of large intestine microbiota and promote colon health in humans.
Zinc(II) phthalocyanine (ZnPc) was conjugated with doxorubicin (Dox) through an acid‐cleavable hydrazone linker, and the resulting conjugate was encapsulated into mesoporous silica nanoparticles. ...Upon internalization into cancer cells, Dox was released after acidic cleavage of the hydrazone linker. The synergistic effect of the chemocytotoxic agent and the singlet oxygen generated upon irradiation of the encapsulated ZnPc killed the cells efficiently. These nanoparticles thus exhibit dual functionality as nanophotosensitizers for photodynamic therapy and as nanoplatforms for pH‐controlled drug release. More information can be found in the Full Paper by D. K. P. Ng, P.‐C. Lo et al. on page 16505.
In placental mammals, estradiol levels are chronically elevated during pregnancy, but quickly drop to prepartum levels following birth. This may produce an “estrogen withdrawal” state that has been ...linked to changes in affective states in humans and rodents during the postpartum period. The neural mechanisms underlying these affective changes, however, are understudied. We used a hormone-simulated pseudopregnancy (HSP), a model of postpartum estrogen withdrawal, in adult female C57BL/6 mice to test the impact of postpartum estradiol withdrawal on several behavioral measures of anxiety and motivation. We found that estradiol withdrawal following HSP increased anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze, but not in the open field or marble burying tests. Although hormone treatment during HSP consistently increased sucrose consumption, sucrose preference was generally not impacted by hormone treatment or subsequent estradiol withdrawal. In the social motivation test, estradiol withdrawal decreased the amount of time spent in proximity to a social stimulus animal. These behavioral changes were accompanied by changes in the expression of ∆FosB, a transcription factor correlated with stable long-term plasticity, in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Specifically, estrogen-withdrawn females had higher ∆FosB expression in the nucleus accumbens core, but ∆FosB expression did not vary across hormone conditions in the nucleus accumbens shell. Using transgenic reporter mice, we found that this increase in ∆FosB occurred in both D1- and D2-expressing cells in the NAc core. Together, these results suggest that postpartum estrogen withdrawal impacts anxiety and motivation and increases ∆FosB in the NAc core.
•Estrogen withdrawal after a simulated pregnancy increases anxiety behavior in mice.•Estrogen withdrawal after a simulated pregnancy decreases social motivation in mice.•These behavior changes are concurrent with increased ΔFosB in the nucleus accumbens core.•Increased ΔFosB is found in both D1 and D2 medium spiny neurons.
PDF
