Genetic variants of GPX1 and SOD2 and breast cancer risk at the Ontario site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry.

There are several genes that code for enzymes, including various forms of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, that protect the cell against oxidative damage that, in turn, can lead to carcinogenesis. There are a few common genetic polymorphisms in these genes that lead to altered proteins. Three that have been identified are SOD2 Val-9Ala, GPX1 Pro198Leu, and the GPX1 GCG repeat (three alleles with four, five, or six repeats). The SOD2 variant has been associated with increased breast cancer risk in two studies. The GPX1 variants have not been studied with respect to breast cancer, but Pro198Leu has been associated with lung cancer. We conducted a case-control study of these three polymorphisms in incident, invasive breast cancer in Caucasian women under 55. There were 399 cases and 372 controls genotyped, of whom 488 were premenopausal, 208 postmenopausal, and 75 of unknown menopausal status. We were unable to replicate the previously observed association with SOD2 Val-9Ala and also found no association between breast cancer and GPX1 Pro198Leu. However, the allele of GPX1 containing four GCG repeats was significantly associated with breast cancer risk in premenopausal women (odds ratio, 1.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-2.30 for carriers versus noncarriers). There is a significant trend of increasing risk with increasing number of alleles with four GCG repeats (P = 0.03). This variant has not previously been reported to be associated with breast cancer.     

Dieulafoy’s disease of the lung: a report of three cases with review of pathological aspects

Dieulafoy’s disease of the lung is one of the causes of cryptogenic hemoptysis often massive and recurrent, caused by dysplastic superficially located arteries in the bronchial wall. Being a rare condition, available literature on this condition is limited to a few case reports and series. We report three such cases presenting with severe hemoptysis uncontrolled by bronchial artery embolization who subsequently underwent resection of the involved lobe of the lung. The clinical, radiological, bronchoscopic, and pathological features are discussed with emphasis on the gross and microscopic characteristics that aid in the pathological diagnosis in the resected specimens.     

Nanometers-Thick Ferromagnetic Surface Produced by Laser Cutting of Diamond

In this work, we demonstrate that cutting diamond crystals with a laser (532 nm wavelength, 0.5 mJ energy, 200 ns pulse duration at 15 kHz) produced a ≲20 nm thick surface layer with magnetic order at room temperature. We measured the magnetic moment of five natural and six CVD diamond crystals of different sizes, nitrogen contents and surface orientations with a SQUID magnetometer. A robust ferromagnetic response at 300 K was observed only for crystals that were cut with the laser along the (100) surface orientation. The magnetic signals were much weaker for the (110) and negligible for the (111) orientations. We attribute the magnetic order to the disordered graphite layer produced by the laser at the diamond surface. The ferromagnetic signal vanished after chemical etching or after moderate temperature annealing. The obtained results indicate that laser treatment of diamond may pave the way to create ferromagnetic spots at its surface.     

Investigating the Efficacy of Web-Based Transfer Training on Independent Wheelchair Transfers Through Randomized Controlled Trials

Objectives

To determine the efficacy of a web-based transfer training module at improving transfer technique across 3 groups: web-based training, in-person training (current standard of practice), and a waitlist control group (WLCG); and secondarily, to determine subject factors that can be used to predict improvements in transfer ability after training.

Preferential incorporation of trans,trans-conjugated linoleic acid isomers into the liver of suckling rats

The present study was designed to compare the conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomeric distribution pattern in the liver of suckling rats in relation to those in the milk and maternal diet. Silver-ion HPLC was used to separate individual CLA isomers. It was found that the isomeric distribution pattern in the milk was very similar to that in the maternal dietary fat. However, the CLA isomeric distribution patterns in the liver phospholipids (PL) and triacylglycerols were different from those in the diet and milk. In the liver PL, total cisltrans isomers accounted for 63.6-63.9% of total CLA, which was in contrast to the values of 88.1-89.1% in the milk and diet. In the liver PL, total transltrans isomers were 20.6-20.8% of the total CLA isomers whereas they were only 2.6-3.7% in the milk and diet. It is concluded that trans/trans-CLA were preferentially incorporated into the liver whereas for the incorporation of cis/trans-CLA there was partial discrimination.     

Interdisciplinary preoperative patient education in cardiac surgery

Patient education in cardiac surgery is complicated by the fact that cardiac surgery patients meet a lot of different health care providers. Little is known about education processes in terms of interdisciplinary tuning. In this study, complete series of consecutive preoperative consultations of 51 cardiac surgery patients with different health care providers (physicians, nurses and health educators) were videotaped. The information exchange between patients and providers was analyzed directly from the video recordings by using an adaptation of the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) and a checklist of relevant informational topics. Results pointed to overlaps and gaps as well as to a lack of a patient-centered approach. The physicians were mostly overlapped by the nurses, who spent almost 30% of the time on talking about medical issues. Gaps were found in giving psycho-educational information and emotional support, needed to establish effective patient education. The findings provided a sound basis for developing guidelines and changes in the organization of the education process.     

Does continuous positive airway pressure compensate for loss of glottic function during tracheal intubation?

Adult patients with acute lung injury (ALI) exhibit increased PaO2 when receiving continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Some have increased PaO2 after extubation. To determine the role a competent glottis played in improving gas exchange, we anesthetized seven rabbits and inserted central venous and carotid artery catheters. After recovery from anesthesia, ALI was induced with oleic acid (0.08 ml/kg). Twenty-four hours later, the animals were sedated and placed in a sling. The pHa and blood gas tensions were measured. The animals were placed supine and were given inhalation anesthesia to facilitate tracheal intubation. A polyethylene catheter was placed slightly distal to the tracheal tube outlet to measure tracheal pressure (PT). Intubated rabbits were repositioned in the sling and were given either zero end-expiratory pressure (ZEEP) or 5 cm H2O CPAP, alternately. After the animals had breathed room air for 60 min, pHa and blood gas tensions were again measured, and PT was recorded. Animals were extubated, but the PT catheter was left in place. Data were collected again 60 min later, the catheter was removed, and the animals were returned to their cages. Forty-eight hours after onset of ALI, the protocol was repeated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)