#Stupidcancer: Exploring a Typology of Social Support and the Role of Emotional Expression in a Social Media Community

Social network sites (SNSs) like Twitter continue to attract users, many of whom turn to these spaces for social support for serious illnesses like cancer. Building on literature that explored the functionality of online spaces for health-related social support, we propose a typology that situates this type of support in an SNS-based open cancer community based on the type (informational or emotional) and the direction (expression or reception) of support. A content analysis applied the typology to a 2-year span of Twitter messages using the popular hashtag “#stupidcancer.” Given that emotions form the basis for much of human communication and behavior, including aspects of social support, this content analysis also examined the relationship between emotional expression and online social support in tweets about cancer. Furthermore, this study looked at the various ways in which Twitter allows for message sharing across a user’s entire network (not just among the cancer community). This work thus begins to lay the conceptual and empirical groundwork for future research testing the effects of various types of social support in open, interactive online cancer communities.     

Stabilization Mechanism of Roxithromycin Tablets Under Gastric pH Conditions

Macrolide antibiotics are widely used at clinical sites. Clarithromycin (CAM), a 14-membered macrolide antibiotic, was reported to gelate under acidic conditions. Gelation allows oral administration of acid-sensitive CAM without enteric coating by hindering the penetration of gastric fluid into CAM tablets. However, it is unknown whether this phenomenon occurs in other macrolide antibiotics. In this study, we examined the gelation ability of 3 widely used macrolide antibiotics, roxithromycin (RXM), erythromycin A, and azithromycin. The results indicated that not only CAM but also RXM gelated under acidic conditions. Erythromycin A and azithromycin did not gelate under the same conditions. Gelation of RXM delayed the disintegration of the tablet and release of RXM from the tablet. Disintegration and release were also delayed in commercial RXM tablets containing disintegrants. This study showed that 2 of the 4 macrolides gelated, which affects tablet disintegration and dissolution and suggests that this phenomenon might also occur in other macrolides.     

Dermoid cyst of the floor of the mouth in an infant. (Case report).

Dermoid cysts of the floor of the mouth in the infant are rarely encountered although the aetiology is mainly embryological. Meyer proposes the classification of the cysts based on the histological differentiation of the elements of the cyst wall. A case is reported which shows differences in the epithelial lining of the cysts found followed by the differential diagnosis and treatment.     

Long-term PM2.5 exposure before diagnosis is associated with worse outcome in breast cancer

Breast Cancer Research and Treatment - Many patients seek breast reconstruction following mastectomy. Debate exists regarding the best reconstructive option. The authors evaluate outcomes comparing...     

Efficacy of Single and Combined Antibiotic Treatments of Anthrax in Rabbits

Respiratory anthrax is a fatal disease in the absence of early treatment with antibiotics. Rabbits are highly susceptible to infection with Bacillus anthracis spores by intranasal instillation, succumbing within 2 to 4 days postinfection. This study aims to test the efficiency of antibiotic therapy to treat systemic anthrax in this relevant animal model. Delaying the initiation of antibiotic administration to more than 24 h postinfection resulted in animals with systemic anthrax in various degrees of bacteremia and toxemia. As the onset of symptoms in humans was reported to start on days 1 to 7 postexposure, delaying the initiation of treatment by 24 to 48 h (time frame for mass distribution of antibiotics) may result in sick populations. We evaluated the efficacy of antibiotic administration as a function of bacteremia levels at the time of treatment initiation. Here we compare the efficacy of treatment with clarithromycin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (Augmentin), imipenem, vancomycin, rifampin, and linezolid to the previously reported efficacy of doxycycline and ciprofloxacin. We demonstrate that treatment with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, imipenem, vancomycin, and linezolid were as effective as doxycycline and ciprofloxacin, curing rabbits exhibiting bacteremia levels of up to 10⁵ CFU/ml. Clarithromycin and rifampin were shown to be effective only as a postexposure prophylactic treatment but failed to treat the systemic (bacteremic) phase of anthrax. Furthermore, we evaluate the contribution of combined treatment of clindamycin and ciprofloxacin, which demonstrated improvement in efficacy compared to ciprofloxacin alone.     

MR imaging of hepatocellular carcinoma

MR imaging is useful in the diagnosis and early detection of HCC. Characteristic findings for overt HCC, a pseudocapsule and an intratumoral mosaic pattern, are better demonstrated on MR imaging than by other imaging modalities such as ultrasound and CT scanning. Signal intensity on T2-weighted images is useful in evaluating the grade of malignancy of hepatocytic nodular lesions. Hyperintensity on T1-weighted MR imaging is almost always seen in precancerous hepatocellular lesions and in about one third of overt HCC tumors, whereas other hepatic tumors show hypointensity on T1-weighted MR imaging. In evaluating tumor vascularity, gadolinium-enhanced dynamic MR imaging is an essential and powerful tool.     

Air Pollution and Serum Glucose Levels: A Population-Based Study

Recent studies demonstrated an adverse effect of chronic exposure to air pollution (AP) on metabolic syndrome and its components. In a population-based study, we investigated the association between exposure to ambient AP and serum glucose (SG), among subjects with normal glucose, impaired fasting glucose (IFG), and diabetes mellitus (DM).We included 1,063,887 SG tests performed in 131,882 subjects (years 2001–2012). Exposure data included daily levels of SO₂, NO₂ and other pollutants of industrial, traffic, and nonanthropogenic sources. Demographical, clinical, and medications purchase data were assessed. Log-transformed SG levels were analyzed by linear mixed models adjusted for seasonal variables and personal characteristics.SG increases (%increase [95% CI]), among subjects with normal glucose, IFG, and DM, respectively, were associated with 6.36 ppb increase of NO₂ measured 24 to 72 hours before the test (0.40% [0.31%; 0.50%], 0.56% [0.40%; 0.71%], and 1.08% [0.86%; 1.29%]); and with 1.17 ppb increase of SO₂ measured 24 hours before the test (0.29% [0.22%; 0.36%], 0.20% [0.10%; 0.31%], and 0.33% [0.14%; 0.52%]). Among DM population, weakest association was observed among patients treated with Metformin (0.56% increase in SG [0.18%; 0.95%]).In conclusion, NO₂ and SO₂ exposure is associated with small but significantly increased levels of SG. Although DM patients were found to be more susceptible to the AP induced SG variations, Metformin treatment seem to have a protective effect. Given the chronic lifetime exposure to AP and the broad coverage of the population, even small associations such as those found in our study can be associated with detrimental health effects and may have profound public health implications.     

Cognitive-Functional (Cog-Fun) Dyadic Intervention for Children with ADHD and Their Parents: Impact on Parenting Self-Efficacy

Aim: The family context of children with ADHD plays a role in intervention outcomes, especially when parents are involved in treatment. Parental participation in evidence-based treatment for ADHD may play a role in improving their own parenting self-efficacy (PSE) as well as child outcomes. This study examined the impact of Cognitive-Functional (Cog-Fun) intervention in occupational therapy (OT) for school-aged children with ADHD, on PSE. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial with crossover design, 107 children were allocated to intervention and waitlist control groups. Intervention participants (n = 50) received Cog-Fun after baseline assessment and waitlist controls (n = 49) received treatment 3 months later. Intervention participants received 3-month follow-up assessment. Treatment included 10 parent-child Cog-Fun weekly sessions. PSE was assessed with the Tool to measure Parenting Self-Efficacy (TOPSE). Results: All children who began treatment completed it. Mixed ANOVA revealed significant Time x Group interaction effects on TOPSE scales of Play and Enjoyment, Control, Self-Acceptance, Knowledge and Learning and Total score, which showed significant improvement with moderate treatment effects for the intervention group. Results were replicated in the control group after crossover. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that Cog-Fun OT intervention may be effective for improving aspects of PSE among parents of children with ADHD.     

The occupation of intestinal epithelium by Trichinella spiralis in BALB/C mice is not associated with local manifestation of apoptosis related factors

Trichinella spiralis actively passes through the epithelial cells of the intestinal mucosa but morphologically, these cells do not manifest apparent damage. The possible activation of apoptotic mechanisms in the small intestine mucosa after infection with larvae and adults of Trichinella spiralis was explored by immunohistochemistry. Sporadic individual cells of normal intestinal epithelium showed activation of caspase-3, increased expression AIF, or Bax. The larval stage of intestinal trichinellosis was characterized by distortion of cells on the villus tips that were strongly reactive to caspase-3, Bax, and survivin antibodies. There was a transient loss of the survivin expression on the brush border of the epithelial cells at 15-h post infection, which reappeared on the fifth day. Bcl-2 changed its normal apical distribution and re-localized to the basal part of the epithelial cells. No significant changes of expression of the selected apoptosis-related proteins were observed in the intestinal epithelial cells immediately surrounding the worms. The presence of Trichinella affects intestinal epithelial cells, but unlike in muscle cells, invading them does not initiate apoptotic factors activation.