Correlation of the hypotonic shock response and extent of shape change with the new ThromboLUX ™.

ThromboLUX (TLX)-Score was compared with hypotonic shock response (HSR) and extent of shape change (ESC) in 99 samples from 42 platelet concentrates. Tests were performed in parallel and duplicate. Mean values for TLX Score, HSR and ESC were 30.3 ± 3.8%, 69.0 ± 12.2% and 23.2 ± 4.9%, respectively. We found no significant correlation between TLX Score and HSR or ESC (r = -0.158, P = 0.118 and r = -115, P = 0.255, respectively), whereas HSR and ESC correlated significantly (r = 0.351, P < 0.001). As TLX Score did not show significant correlation with HSR and ESC, the value of TLX for platelet quality testing remains unclear. Studies comparing these parameters with transfusion outcome are needed.

The influence of four different anticoagulants on dynamic light scattering of platelets.

For testing of dynamic light scattering of platelets with ThromboLUX (TLX) in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) derived from venous whole blood (vWB), anticoagulation is needed. We compared TLX score in PRPs containing citrate, ethylene-diamine-tetraacetic-acid (EDTA), citrate-phosphate-dextrose-adenine (CPDA) or citrate-theophylline-adenosine-dipyridamole. Initial and late TLX scores were measured after 30-120 min or four to six hours, respectively. Compared with citrate, mean differences in initial TLX score were only significant for CPDA. Also, mean differences between initial and late TLX scores were only significant for CPDA. TLX failed to detect EDTA-induced platelet alterations. The clinical relevance of TLX needs further studies.

The Transcriptome Analysis and Comparison Explorer--T-ACE: a platform-independent, graphical tool to process large RNAseq datasets of non-model organisms.

MOTIVATION: Next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies allow a rapid and cost-effective compilation of large RNA sequence datasets in model and non-model organisms. However, the storage and analysis of transcriptome information from different NGS platforms is still a significant bottleneck, leading to a delay in data dissemination and subsequent biological understanding. Especially database interfaces with transcriptome analysis modules going beyond mere read counts are missing. Here, we present the Transcriptome Analysis and Comparison Explorer (T-ACE), a tool designed for the organization and analysis of large sequence datasets, and especially suited for transcriptome projects of non-model organisms with little or no a priori sequence information. T-ACE offers a TCL-based interface, which accesses a PostgreSQL database via a php-script. Within T-ACE, information belonging to single sequences or contigs, such as annotation or read coverage, is linked to the respective sequence and immediately accessible. Sequences and assigned information can be searched via keyword- or BLAST-search. Additionally, T-ACE provides within and between transcriptome analysis modules on the level of expression, GO terms, KEGG pathways and protein domains. Results are visualized and can be easily exported for external analysis. We developed T-ACE for laboratory environments, which have only a limited amount of bioinformatics support, and for collaborative projects in which different partners work on the same dataset from different locations or platforms (Windows/Linux/MacOS). For laboratories with some experience in bioinformatics and programming, the low complexity of the database structure and open-source code provides a framework that can be customized according to the different needs of the user and transcriptome project.

Mutations in the keratin 9 gene in Pakistani families with epidermolytic palmoplantar keratoderma.

BACKGROUND: Keratins are heteropolymeric proteins that form the intermediate filament cytoskeleton in epithelial cells. The common basic structure of all keratins is organized in a central α-helical rod domain flanked by nonhelical, variable head and tail regions. Most mutations in keratins are found in the central α-helical rod domain. Keratin 9 (K9) is expressed only in the suprabasal layers of palmoplantar epidermis. Mutations in the keratin 9 gene (KRT9) have been shown to cause epidermolytic palmoplantar keratoderma (EPPK; OMIM 144200), an autosomal dominant genodermatosis characterized clinically by diffuse hyperkeratosis limited to the palms and soles, and histologically by epidermolysis in suprabasal layers of the epidermis. AIM: To elucidate the genetic basis of EPPK in five Pakistani families. METHODS: Using microsatellite markers localized to the areas around the type I keratin gene cluster on chromosome 17q21, genotyping of these families was performed, followed by sequencing of the KRT9 gene. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in the identification of two novel (p.M157K and p.Y454H) and two recurrent (p.M157T and p.R163Q) mutations in the KRT9 of all five families. All mutations occurred within the highly conserved helix initiation or termination motif of K9. CONCLUSIONS: The affected members of all five families possess mutations in the KRT9 gene that severely affect heterodimer formation with the type II keratin partner. The results of our study further underscore the crucial role of K9 protein in the palmoplantar epidermis.

[Preanalytical variability of parathyroid hormone measurement in dialysis patients; application to Elecsys 2010 (Roche) automate]. / Variabilité préanalytique du dosage de la parathormone chez le patient dialysé; application à l'automate Elecsys 2010 (Roche).

The working group PTH-Vitamin D of the SFBC recently underlined the great intertechnic variability of parathormone (PTH) assays. At the same time, the data of the literature showed an impact of the preanalytic stage, significant and variable according to the automat used. We worked on the automat Roche Elecsys. On quickly centrifuged and decanted samples, the small difference in results between serum and plasma EDTA (6%) is compatible with an indifferent use of the two samples for dialysed patients. The reputation of greater stability on plasma EDTA seems primarily based on studies after decantation of plasma. The extension to a non decanted sample, maintained on primary tube for deferred shipping to the laboratory would require verification. Concerning the serum, on tube with serum separator, after early centrifugation, we checked the stability of the PTH measurement for a delay lower than or equal to 4 hours. For an extrahospital structure of dialysis, in the conditions of an early and an on site centrifugation, this delay allows to defer the transport of the primary closed tube to the laboratory. Contrary to plasma EDTA, the serum also allows simultaneous measurements of other parameters used for the care of the dialysed patients.

Perioperative artificial nutrition in elective surgery: an impact study of French guidelines.

OBJECTIVE: In France, the consensus conference, held on 16 December 1994, produced guidelines on perioperative artificial nutrition (AN) use in patients undergoing elective surgery. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of these guidelines on practice patterns. METHODS: The study was a practice pattern study with a 'before-after' design and a control group in England. A retrospective cross-sectional sample of adult patients undergoing elective resection of the digestive tract was collected in France and England before and after the consensus conference. RESULTS: Malnourished patients received postoperative AN in 94% of 'before' cases and 82% 'after' but inadequate preoperative AN (40% 'before' and 26% 'after'). Postoperative AN appeared to be over-prescribed in non-malnourished patients without prolonged postoperative fasting (70% 'before' and 65% 'after'). In the English sample there was no significant variation in AN use between 'before' and 'after' periods. CONCLUSION: This study shows that clinical guidelines disseminated by consensus conference had a low impact on practice patterns in France and thus confirms the need to enforce the dissemination of the guidelines.

Epidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection in seven European Union countries: a critical analysis of the literature. HENCORE Group. (Hepatitis C European Network for Co-operative Research.

Hepatitis C is now recognized as the most common infection causing chronic liver disease in the European population. Our aim was to assess the prevalence of the antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV), and the incidence of HCV seroconversion in the general population and the main risk groups, namely intravenous drug users, haemodialysis and transfused patients, in seven countries of the European Union, by carrying out a critical analysis of the literature. Data sources used were the Medline database and a manual search using the key words: hepatitis C, prevalence, incidence, transmission, risk factors and epidemiology. Articles published between January 1990 and March 1997 were reviewed. Articles were reviewed according to a critical analysis method regarding title, type of article, study design, period and population, tests, results and their consistency with data. The tests performed were mainly second- or third-generation serological tests. The average prevalence rate in blood donors was 1%, with a north-south gradient ranging from 0.04% to 2%. Prevalence varied from 20% to 30% in haemodialysis patients. The incidence in transfused patients was less than 1% after 1991. The prevalence in intravenous drug users was about 80%. Multicentre studies conducted in larger samples are needed to obtain more accurate and reliable results, in particular. However, the epidemiological studies available allowed us to assess the magnitude of HCV infection in Europe.

Transatlantic cooperation: using a consortial approach to enhance health professions education and practice.

In summary, consortial arrangements are excellent mechanisms to centralize operations, serve as a central clearinghouse for international information, increase communication, and create greater efficiencies in the exchange process. The outcomes of our initial experiences with the consortial arrangement indicate a great deal of satisfaction among students and faculty.

Research productivity of allied health faculty in academic health centers.

As colleges of allied health become a more integral part of the academic community, faculty will increasingly be expected to contribute to the research mission of their respective institutions. The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics associated with research productivity of allied health faculty. A survey was mailed to 1444 full-time faculty members in 50 academic health centers nationwide, representing 10 of the most prevalent allied health fields. Research productivity was defined as the total number of publications produced by a faculty member over his/her academic career. Data from 579 respondents (40%) were analyzed. Results of the regression analysis showed that 44% of the variance in total publications was explained by an earned doctorate, hours spent in research, and salary. As a group, the study results showed that allied health faculty were not prolific researchers and did not publish extensively. Although faculty distributed their time among teaching, research, service, consulting, and practice, the greater percentage of faculty time was spent in teaching and service.

Role conflicts in nursing and allied health: a comparison of professional and organizational commitment.

Role compatibility and conflict between organizational and professional commitment for nurses, high school teachers, college faculty, and social workers have been the focus of several studies over the past two decades. The typical view has been that the professional employee must choose between the profession and the employing organization, since the values of each conflict. Primarily, studies have shown a basic incompatibility between professionals and organizations: the professional is seen as responding to authority based on expertise, while the organization is characterized by authority based on hierarchical position. Since a study of this type has not been conducted in allied health specifically, the purpose of this study was to examine whether bureaucratic and professional role concepts conflict with the allied health professional. Recent graduates and graduates with two years of employment experience representing nursing and four allied health disciplines at one institution were surveyed. Results of the study indicated that the respondents were able to maintain a high degree of professional commitment without perceiving undue conflict from the demands of the organization. Based on the findings, allied health educators are encouraged to examine the curriculum to ensure graduates are prepared for the realities of employment as well as committed to their respective professions.

Impact of faculty and work role models on the professional socialization of dental hygienists.

The purpose of this study was to identify and assess the degree of influence dental hygiene role models in education and practice have on the professional socialization of recent dental hygiene graduates. Professional socialization was measured by two constructs: attitudes toward professionalism and interpersonal values. This study compared responses on attitudes and values scales of 1985 dental hygiene graduates who indicated they did or did not identify with a dental hygiene role model in school and at work. A comparison of responses on five other control variables also was assessed in relation to attitudes and values. Results showed that those respondents who identified with a role model in school held significantly stronger attitudes on the professional organization as major referent variable. However, graduates who did not identify with a faculty role model held stronger values on independence. Respondents who identified with a dental hygiene role model in practice held stronger values on benevolence but those who did not have a role model at work held stronger values on independence. There were no statistically significant differences between groups with or without a work role model on the attitudes scales.

An educational model for preparing dental hygiene students in the treatment of periodontal diseases.

Inflammatory periodontal disease is the leading cause of tooth loss. Experts agree that prevention is crucial, with frequent and through plaque removal being the simplest and most effective method for preventing inflammatory periodontal disease. Since it is often the dental hygienist who plays the major role in providing such care, it is imperative that dental hygiene programs educate students in the prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases and provide necessary breadth and depth in theory and clinical experience in the curriculum. The purpose of this paper is to describe an educational model designed to enhance the treatment phase of the periodontal component of the curriculum for dental hygiene students. Both the didactic and clinical components of the periodontics courses are built upon a program-planning model: students assess, plan, implement, and evaluate the periodontal needs of all patients. Case presentations permit students to assimilate and analyze clinical data while internalizing the importance of comprehensive care and adequate follow-up. In general, the program-planning model in periodontics incorporates the application of theory to practice and enhances clinical decision-making skills needed for graduates to meet the complexity of periodontal health needs.

Reaching consensus on the National Dental Hygiene Research Agenda: a Delphi study. American Dental Hygienists Association Council on Research.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to achieve consensus on specific research topics under the national dental hygiene research agenda categories developed by the ADHA Council on Research. METHODS: A Delphi technique was used to survey a group of 48 dental hygiene experts to gain consensus about the appropriateness of topics for dental hygiene research. The study was carried out in three phases: a development and pilot-testing phase and two rounds of mailed surveys. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Instrument reliability was analyzed using the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient and Cronbach's Alpha for internal consistency. RESULTS: Sixty-six topics reflective of the research agenda categories were identified through the first phase. Return rates of 100% and 94% were achieved for the two survey rounds. Instrument reliability was established at .91 and internal consistency at .94. After two rounds, consensus was reached on 37 of the 66 topics. CONCLUSIONS: Each of the categories comprising the ADHA national dental hygiene research agenda was well represented by the 37 topics. This finding provided evidence that there was consensus on the national agenda. However, reaching consensus is just the first step in the development of a long-range plan to guide research efforts and to promote depth in the development of a body of knowledge based on scientific inquiry.

Age-dependent expression of stress and antimicrobial genes in the hemocytes and siphon tissue of the Antarctic bivalve, Laternula elliptica, exposed to injury and starvation.

Increasing temperatures and glacier melting at the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) are causing rapid changes in shallow coastal and shelf systems. Climate change-related rising water temperatures, enhanced ice scouring, as well as coastal sediment runoff, in combination with changing feeding conditions and microbial community composition, will affect all elements of the nearshore benthic ecosystem, a major component of which is the Antarctic soft-shelled clam Laternula elliptica. A 454-based RNA sequencing was carried out on tissues and hemocytes of L. elliptica, resulting in 42,525 contigs, of which 48 % was assigned putative functions. Changes in the expression of putative stress response genes were then investigated in hemocytes and siphon tissue of young and old animals subjected to starvation and injury experiments in order to investigate their response to sedimentation (food dilution and starvation) and iceberg scouring (injury). Analysis of antioxidant defense (Le-SOD and Le-catalase), wound repair (Le-TIMP and Le-chitinase), and stress and immune response (Le-HSP70, Le-actin, and Le-theromacin) genes revealed that most transcripts were more clearly affected by injury rather than starvation. The upregulation of these genes was particularly high in the hemocytes of young, fed individuals after acute injury. Only minor changes in expression were detected in young animals under the selected starvation conditions and in older individuals. The stress response of L. elliptica thus depends on the nature of the environmental cue and on age. This has consequences for future population predictions as the environmental changes at the WAP will differentially impact L. elliptica age classes and is bound to alter population structure.

Prior PCB exposure suppresses hypoxia-induced up-regulation of glycolytic enzymes in Fundulus heteroclitus.

Increased activity of the glycolytic enzymes is a conserved feature of the cellular response to hypoxia, and may represent a protective mechanism by which cells can survive short-term hypoxic exposure. Gene induction by hypoxia involves a dimer of the hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1 alpha and the nuclear cofactor HIF-1 beta, also called the aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT), which is also involved in induction of genes in response to aryl hydrocarbon exposure. To assess the possibility of interaction between these pathways, we examined changes in the activity of the glycolytic enzymes in response to hypoxia and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure in the liver of a teleost fish, Fundulus heteroclitus. After 3 days of hypoxic exposure (dissolved oxygen levels between 1.5 and 2.0 mg/L), there were significant increases in the activity of six glycolytic enzymes (PGI, ALD, TPI, PGK, PGM and LDH). In contrast, intraperitoneal injection of 1 microg/g body weight of PCB #77 (3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl) caused significant decreases in glycolytic enzyme activity after 7 days of exposure. When fish were injected with PCB #77 and then (4 days later) exposed to hypoxia for 3 days as before, we observed no induction of the glycolytic enzymes. This suggests that there is an antagonistic interaction between exposure to PCBs and hypoxia in F. heteroclitus. Prior PCB exposure could make these fish less tolerant of environmental hypoxia.

Wound infection in open versus laparoscopic appendectomy. A meta-analysis.

The authors performed a meta-analysis to determine whether open or laparoscopic appendectomy would reduce wound infection incidence in adult patients with acute appendicitis. The meta-analysis included nine of seven patients from eight randomized controlled trials. Data were analyzed using the fixed effect-model method of Mantel-Haenszel. Wound infection incidence was lower in the laparoscopic group.

Genotype/phenotype association in cystic fibrosis: analyses of the delta F508, R553X, and 3905insT mutations.

A striking clinical phenomenon of cystic fibrosis is the heterogeneous disease expression. It must therefore be assumed that the nature of the mutations associated with cystic fibrosis might partly determine the phenotypic manifestations. The relation between the cystic fibrosis mutations delta F508, R553X, and 3905insT and clinical parameters such as sweat test electrolytes, age at chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization, Chrispin-Norman x-ray scores, and relative underweight have been investigated in 45 patients homozygous for delta F508 (delta F2), in 12 compound heterozygotes for delta F508/R553X (delta F1/RX1), in three R553X homozygotes (RX2), and in 13 patients compound heterozygous for delta F508/3905insT (delta F16). We have found significant differences between the genetically defined subgroups concerning the mean age at onset and the cumulative incidence of chronic P. aeruginosa colonization and Chrispin-Norman x-ray scores. The significant results as well as some trends regarding the relative underweight demonstrate a milder clinical course in R553X heterozygotes and more severe disease in the delta F16 group compared to delta F508 homozygotes. The three patients homozygous for R553X presented with a two-stage course showing mild progression before P. aeruginosa infection and as severe a course as the delta F16 patients after P. aeruginosa colonization at the age of 12 y. The findings presented here indicate that specific mutations can influence the severity and progression of the disease, implicating the importance of mutation and haplotype analyses. However, wide variations within the genetically homogeneous subgroups illustrate that other determinants of the clinical status do exist.

Sensitivity and specificity of third-generation hepatitis C virus antibody detection assays: an analysis of the literature.

This study assessed the sensitivity and specificity of third-generation serological hepatitis C diagnostic tests from an analysis of the literature. The literature analysis was run using criteria from McMaster University for the assessment of diagnostic tests. The selected studies were grouped according to the type of population at high and low risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and to the type of reference test. The homogeneity of the sensitivity and the specificity was tested in each group using a Fisher's exact test. Of 132 studies, 10 were selected. When the estimates were homogeneous, summary point estimates and confidence intervals were computed; when the estimates were heterogeneous, subgroup analysis was performed. The sensitivity of third-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA3) was estimated at 98.9% (95% CI: 94-100%) in patients with chronic liver disease and at 97.2% (95% CI: 92-99%) in panels of sera. ELISA3 specificity was found at 100% in patients with chronic liver disease. The sensitivity of the third generation recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA3) was assessed at 78.8% (95% CI: 65-89%) in haemodialysed patients. This analysis provides evidence for the good sensitivity and specificity of ELISA3 assays particularly in high risk patient groups and confirms their use for screening in these populations. Further studies are needed to assess properly RIBA3 in general population and in risk patients.