Practical issues about use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and biopsy for prostate cancer screening

For the quantitative tests, a custom app was written using the Android Developer Tools in Java and installed on a Google Nexus 7 device running Android version 4.4.3. The app uses a weighted average grayscale (luminosity) based on the RGB color mode41,

Bouhidel, J. O., Wang, P., Li, Q. & Cai, H. Pharmacological postconditioning treatment of myocardial infarction with netrin-1. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 19, 566–570 (2014).

Nurmagomedov climbed over the cage and scuffled with a fighter in McGregor’s corner after McGregor (21-4) tapped out during a chokehold by Nurmagomedov (27-0) in the fourth round of UFC 229. Video showed McGregor both trying to climb the cage to apparently join fighting outside and attempting to strike another person doing the same.

© 2018 American College of Chest Physicians Background: Acute bronchiolitis is common in young children, and some children develop chronic cough after their bronchiolitis. We thus… [more]

© 2017 Baines et al. Background: Exacerbations of asthma and COPD are a major cause of morbidity and mortality and are responsible for significant health care costs. This study further investigates interleukin (IL)-1 pathway activation and its relationship with exacerbations of asthma and COPD. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 95 participants with stable asthma (n=35) or COPD (n=60) were recruited and exacerbations recorded over the following 12 months. Gene expressions of IL-1 pathway biomarkers, including the IL-1 receptors (IL1R1, IL1R2, and IL1RN), and signaling molecules (IRAK2, IRAK3, and PELI1), were measured in sputum using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Mediators were compared between the frequent (2 exacerbations in the 12 months) and infrequent exacerbators, and the predictive relationships investigated using receiver operating characteristic curves and area under the curve (AUC) values. Results: Of the 95 participants, 89 completed the exacerbation follow-up, where 30 participants (n=22 COPD, n=8 asthma) had two or more exacerbations. At the baseline visit, expressions of IRAK2, IRAK3, PELI1, and IL1R1 were elevated in participants with frequent exacerbations of both asthma and COPD combined and separately. In the combined population, sputum gene expression of IRAK3 (AUC=75.4%; P,0.001) was the best predictor of future frequent exacerbations, followed by IL1R1 (AUC=72.8%; P,0.001), PELI1 (AUC=71.2%; P,0.001), and IRAK2 (AUC=68.6; P=0.004). High IL-1 pathway gene expression was associated with frequent prior year exacerbations and correlated with the number and severity of exacerbations. Conclusion: The upregulation of IL-1 pathway mediators is associated with frequent exacerbations of obstructive airway disease. Further studies should investigate these mediators as both potential diagnostic biomarkers predicting at-risk patients and novel treatment targets.

Platelia Toxo IgM (Bio-Rad) is a qualitative test used for the detection of IgM antibodies against T. gondii via capture of IgM in the solid phase (the microplate wells are coated with anti-human μ chains). A mixture of antigens and the monoclonal anti-T. gondii antibody labeled with peroxidase is used as the conjugate. In the present study, values ranging from >0.8 to <1 were considered equivocal, while values of ≥1 were considered positive according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Objective Maternal asthma is the most common chronic disease complicating pregnancy and is a risk factor for bronchiolitis in infancy. Recurrent episodes of bronchiolitis are stro… [more]

Smith, Z. J. et al. Cell-phone based platform for biomedical device development and education applications. PLoS ONE 6, e17150 (2011).

This can mean that men without cancer may have abnormal results and get tests that are not necessary.

© 2016 by the American Thoracic Society. The larynxis one of the most highly innervate dorgansinhumansand serves a number of vitally important, complex, and highly evolved biological functions. On a day-to-day basis, the larynx functions autonomously, addressing several roles including airway protection, swallowing, and phonation. In some situations the larynx appears to adopt a functional state that could be considered maladaptive or "dysfunctional." This laryngeal dysfunction can underpin and account for a number of respiratory symptoms that otherwise appear incongruous with a clinical disease state and/or contribute to the development of symptoms that appear "refractory" to treatment. These include conditions associated with a heightened tendency for inappropriate laryngeal closure (e.g., inducible laryngeal obstruction), voice disturbance, and chronic cough. Recognition of laryngeal dysfunction is important to deliver targeted treatment and failure to recognize the condition can lead to repeated use of inappropriate treatment. Diagnosis is not straightforward, however, and many patients appear to present with symptoms attributable to laryngeal dysfunction, but in whom the diagnosis has been overlooked in clinical work-up for some time. This review provides an overview of the current state of knowledge in the field of laryngeal dysfunction, with a focus on pragmatic clinical assessment and management.

Matsui, M. et al. Small molecules that inhibit Vif-induced degradation of APOBEC3G. Virol J. 11, 122 (2014).