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Selected AbstractsComplementary and alternative medicine use in families of children with cerebral palsyDEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 6 2003Edward A Hurvitz MD In order to assess patterns of usage of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in families of children with cerebral palsy (CP), 213 families with a child (0 to 18 years) with CP were recruited at the university medical center in Ann Arbor, MI, USA as part of a descriptive survey. Two hundred and thirty-five surveys were distributed. Mean age of the child was 8 years 6 months (SD 4y: 9mo) and 56% of the sample was male with 35% full-time independent ambulators, while the rest used an assistive device or a wheelchair. Fifty-four percent were in special education classrooms. Families were given a survey on functional status of the child with CP, CAM usage of the child and the parent, factors influencing the decision to use CAM, demographics, and clinical information. Of the families, 56%, used one or more CAM techniques. Massage therapy (25%) and aquatherapy (25%) were the most common. Children of families that used CAM were significantly younger (7y: 9mo, SD 4y: 7mo) than non-users (9y: 6mo, SD 4y: 6mo: t -test p < 0.01 two-tailed). Children with quadriplegic CP, with spasticity, and those who could not walk independently were more commonly exposed to CAM (Pearson's X2 [PX2] p=0.01 two-tailed; for mobility, odds ratio [OR] of 2.5 with regression). Mothers with a college degree had a greater tendency to use CAM for their child than those without (PX2p=0.01 two-tailed). Fathers of children who used CAM were older than fathers of those who did not (37y: 9mo versus 33y: 2mo, p=0.04 two-tailed). There was no significant difference between groups for mother's age, father's education, income, or for population of home town. Parents who used CAM for themselves were more likely to try CAM for their child (70% versus 47%, OR 2.1), and were much more likely to be pleased with the outcome (71% versus 42%, OR 3.5). Child's age (younger), lack of independent mobility, and parental use of CAM were the most significant predictive factors identified via logistic regression. [source] Lifetime depression and diabetes self-management in women with Type 2 diabetes: a case,control studyDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 6 2010J. A. Wagner Diabet. Med. 27, 713,717 (2010) Abstract Aims, Little is known about the association between lifetime history of major depressive disorder (L-MDD) and diabetes self-management, particularly when depression is remitted. We examined the association between L-MDD and diabetes self-management in women with Type 2 diabetes who were not depressed at the time of assessment. Methods, L-MDD was assessed with structured psychiatric interview. Participants completed paper-and-pencil measures of demographics, diabetes-related distress, self-care behaviours, healthcare utilization and diabetes self-efficacy. Results, One-hundred and fifty-three women participated; 41% had L-MDD. Compared with their never-depressed counterparts, women with L-MDD had more diabetes distress, reported lower overall rates of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) and greater tendency to skip SMBG, had lower diet adherence and were less likely to have seen a primary care provider in the past year. Diabetes self-efficacy mediated the relationship between L-MDD and self-management. Conclusions, Interventions to promote self-management for patients with L-MDD may be warranted. [source] The effect of a pathogen epidemic on the genetic structure and reproductive strategy of the crustacean Daphnia magnaECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 9 2004Suzanne E. Mitchell Abstract Host,parasite coevolution is potentially of great importance in producing and maintaining biological diversity. However, there is a lack of evidence for parasites directly driving genetic change. We examined the impact of an epidemic of the bacterium Pasteuria ramosa on a natural population of the crustacean Daphnia magna through the use of molecular markers (allozymes) and laboratory experiments to determine the susceptibility of hosts collected during and after the epidemic. Some allozyme genotypes were more heavily infected than others in field samples, and the population genetic structure differed during and after the epidemic, consistent with a response to parasite-mediated selection. Laboratory studies showed no evidence for the evolution of higher resistance, but did reveal an intriguing life-history pattern: host genotypes that were more susceptible also showed a greater tendency to engage in sex. In light of this, we suggest a model of host,parasite dynamics that incorporates the cycles of sex and parthenogenesis that Daphnia undergo in the field. [source] Seasonal dynamics of macrophytes and phytoplankton in shallow lakes: a eutrophication-driven pathway from plants to plankton?FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010CARL D. SAYER Summary 1. Seasonal relationships between macrophyte and phytoplankton populations may alter considerably as lakes undergo eutrophication. Understanding of these changes may be key to the interpretation of ecological processes operating over longer (decadal-centennial) timescales. 2. We explore the seasonal dynamics of macrophytes (measured twice in June and August) and phytoplankton (measured monthly May,September) populations in 39 shallow lakes (29 in the U.K. and 10 in Denmark) covering broad gradients for nutrients and plant abundance. 3. Three site groups were identified based on macrophyte seasonality; 16 lakes where macrophyte abundance was perennially low and the water generally turbid (,turbid lakes'); 7 where macrophyte abundance was high in June but low in August (,crashing' lakes); and 12 where macrophyte abundance was high in both June and August (,stable' lakes). The seasonal behaviour of the crashing and turbid lakes was extremely similar with a consistent increase in nutrient concentrations and chlorophyll- a over May,September. By contrast in the stable lakes, seasonal changes were dampened with chlorophyll- a consistently low (<10,15 ,g L,1) over the entire summer. The crashing lakes were dominated by one or a combination of Potamogeton pusillus, Potamogeton pectinatus and Zannichellia palustris, whereas Ceratophyllum demersum and Chara spp. were more abundant in the stable lakes. 4. A long-term loss of macrophyte species diversity has occurred in many shallow lakes affected by eutrophication. One common pathway is from a species-rich plant community with charophytes to a species-poor community dominated by P. pusillus, P. pectinatus and Z. palustris. Such compositional changes may often be accompanied by a substantial reduction in the seasonal duration of plant dominance and a greater tendency for incursions by phytoplankton. We hypothesise a slow-enacting (10,100 s years) feedback loop in nutrient-enriched shallow lakes whereby increases in algal abundance are associated with losses of macrophyte species and hence different plant seasonal strategies. In turn such changes may favour increased phytoplankton production thus placing further pressure on remaining macrophytes. This study blurs the distinction between so-called turbid phytoplankton-dominated and clear plant-dominated shallow lakes and suggests that plant loss from them may be a gradual process. [source] Knowledge transfer in project reviews: the effect of self-justification bias and moral hazardACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 1 2009Mandy M. Cheng M40 Abstract In this study, we examine two factors that impact managers' willingness to share private information during the project review stage of capital budgeting. Drawing on the cognitive dissonance theory and the agency theory, we find that both high perceived personal responsibility and the use of project reviews for performance evaluation result in a greater tendency for managers to withhold negative private information. However, we do not find an interaction between these two factors. Our study makes a contribution to both the academic literature investigating factors affecting project reviews and the practitioner literature looking at design and implementation of effective project reviews. [source] Psychiatric morbidity and people's experience of and response to social problems involving rightsHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 6 2010Nigel J. Balmer BSc PhD Abstract Psychiatric morbidity has been shown to be associated with the increased reporting of a range of social problems involving legal rights (,rights problems'). Using a validated measure of psychiatric morbidity, this paper explores the relationship between psychiatric morbidity and rights problems and discusses the implications for the delivery of health and legal services. New representative national survey data from the English and Welsh Civil and Social Justice Survey (CSJS) surveyed 3040 adults in 2007 to explore the relationship between GHQ-12 scores and the self reported incidence of and behaviour surrounding, rights problems. It was found that the prevalence of rights problems increased with psychiatric morbidity, as did the experience of multiple problems. It was also found the likelihood of inaction in the face of problems increased with psychiatric morbidity, while the likelihood of choosing to resolve problems without help decreased. Where advice was obtained, psychiatric morbidity was associated with a greater tendency to obtain a combination of ,legal' and ,general' support, rather than ,legal' advice alone. The results suggest that integrated and ,outreach' services are of particular importance to the effective support of those facing mental illness. [source] Impact of aboriginal ethnicity on HCV core-induced IL-10 synthesis: Interaction with IL-10 gene polymorphismsHEPATOLOGY, Issue 3 2007Koko Bate Aborsangaya The host immune response is a critical determinant in viral infection outcome. Epidemiological studies indicate that North American indigenous peoples are more resistant to chronic HCV infection than other populations. Due to the prominence of IL-10 in chronic HCV infection, we investigated the genetic tendency to produce IL-10 in Caucasian (CA) and First Nation (FN) populations. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from CA subjects had a greater tendency to produce IL-10 defined by allelic polymorphisms, as well as genotypes and haplotypes, at the -1082, -819, and -592 positions of the IL-10 promoter. More importantly, we directly evaluated the influence of ethnicity on the ability of HCV core protein to induce IL-10 synthesis and found significantly higher IL-10 production by PBMCs isolated from healthy CA subjects compared with FN subjects. Further examination of the underlying relationship between core-induced IL-10 with the high, intermediate, and low phenotypes at the -1082, -819, and -592 position revealed that spontaneous and core-induced IL-10 synthesis tended to interact negatively with defined polymorphisms. This was particularly evident for the FN cohort, in which the relationship was strengthened by a stronger interaction of core with the low,IL-10,producing phenotypes. As with previous studies, concanavalin A induced IL-10 synthesis from the CA cohort positively associated with defined genetic phenotypes. Conclusion: Cells from FN subjects had a reduced capacity to produce IL-10 in response to HCV core protein, suggesting that reduced susceptibility of FN immunity to virally induced IL-10 synthesis might contribute to epidemiological observations of enhanced HCV clearance. (HEPATOLOGY 2007;45:623,630.) [source] Homelessness in the US and Germany: a cross-national analysis,JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2003Carolyn J. Tompsett Abstract A public opinion survey was administered by telephone to nationally representative samples in the US and Germany to assess prevalence of homelessness as well as attitudes, opinions and knowledge regarding homelessness. Lower prevalence rates were found in Germany as compared with the US. German respondents demonstrated higher levels of general compassion, greater support for the public rights of the homeless, a greater tendency to view the homeless as trustworthy, and were more likely to view economic factors and less likely to view personal failings as integral to the problem of homelessness. Respondent age, gender, and political affiliation predicted many public opinion variables. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Spousal relations and well-being: A comparative analysis of Jewish and Arab dual-earner families in IsraelJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2003Liat Kulik The study examined differences in division of household tasks and spousal support among a sample of educated dual-earner families from two national groups in Israel: Jews (n = 116), and Arabs (n = 163). The contribution of the spousal interaction variables (household roles and spousal support) toward explaining two dimensions of psychological well-being (burnout and life satisfaction) was also examined. The research findings indicate that in general, the Arabs maintain a more traditional orientation toward gender roles than their Jewish counterparts. Arab men showed a greater tendency to perform outside tasks than their Jewish counterparts who participate more in domestic chores. By contrast, no differences were found between the two groups with regard to the mutual support provided by spouses. Gender role attitudes were found to be a key predictor of the two psychological well-being dimensions in both national groups. Regarding sex differences, men of both nationalities were more likely than women to report that they perform all types of household tasks. Concomitantly, the women reported higher levels of burnout, while no differences between the sexes were found with respect to life satisfaction. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Identification and characterization of a novel endogenous murine parkin mutationJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 2 2010Chenere P. Ramsey J. Neurochem. (2010) 113, 402,417. Abstract Various mutations in the PARK2 gene which encodes the protein, parkin, are causal of a disease entity-termed autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism. Parkin can function as an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase, mediating the ubiquitination of specific targeted proteins and resulting in proteasomal degradation. Parkin is thought to lead to parkinsonism as a consequence of a loss in its function. In this study, immunoblot analyses of brain extracts from Balb/c, C57BL/6, C3H, and 129S mouse strains demonstrated significant variations in immunoreactivity with anti-parkin monoclonal antibodies (PRK8, PRK28, and PRK109). This resulted partly from differences in the steady-state levels of parkin protein across mouse strains. There was also a complete loss of immunoreactivity for PRK8 and PRK28 antibodies in C3H mice due to was because of a homologous nucleotide mutation resulting in an E398Q amino acid substitution. In cultured cells, parkin harboring this mutation had a greater tendency to aggregate, exhibited reduced interaction with the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes, UbcH7 and UbcH8, and demonstrated loss-of-function in promoting the proteosomal degradation of a specific putative substrate, synphilin-1. In situ, C3H mice displayed age-dependent increased levels of brain cortical synphilin-1 compared with C57BL/6, suggesting that E398Q parkin in these mice is functionally impaired and that C3H mice may be a suitable model of parkin loss-of-function similar to patients with missense mutations. [source] A theoretical study of pentacyclo-undecane cage peptides of the type [Ac-X-Y-NHMe]JOURNAL OF PEPTIDE SCIENCE, Issue 2 2006Krishna Bisetty Abstract The conformational preferences of peptides of the type, Ac-X-Y-NHMe, where X and Y = Ala, cage and Pro, were studied by means of computational techniques within the framework of a molecular mechanics approach. For each of the eight peptide analogues, extensive conformational searches were carried out using molecular dynamics (MD) and simulated annealing (SA) protocols in an iterative fashion. Both results are in good agreement and complement each other. The conformational search indicates that the cage residue restricts the conformational freedom of the dipeptide considerably in comparison with the other model residues used. This study revealed that proline exhibits a greater tendency in promoting reverse-turn characteristics in comparison to the cage peptides, which show promising ,-turn characteristics. It was also found that 300,500 K is not sufficient to overcome rotational barriers for cage peptides. In all cases, the low-energy conformers have a tendency to form bent structures. Copyright © 2005 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Role of Personality in Social Identity: Effects of Field-Dependence and Context on Reactions to Threat to Group DistinctivenessJOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 5 2007Yonat Tamir ABSTRACT This article examines the role of personality dispositions as determinants of people's reactions to threats to social identity. It is argued that since individuals characterized as high field-dependents have a greater tendency to anchor their identity in the social group than low field-dependents, they will be more affected by threats to social identity, especially when the context is framed as an intergroup context. Threat to social identity was manipulated by inducing intergroup similarity, and intergroup differentiation was measured. The first experiment assessed the hypothesis with minimal groups. The second experiment assessed it with real groups (two rival schools). Findings provided support for the hypotheses. The discussion centers on the role of personality dispositions in the social identity perspective. [source] Characterization of amorphous API:Polymer mixtures using X-ray powder diffractionJOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 11 2008Ann Newman Abstract Recognizing limitations with the standard method of determining whether an amorphous API,polymer mixture is miscible based on the number of glass transition temperatures (Tg) using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements, we have developed an X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) method coupled with computation of pair distribution functions (PDF), to more fully assess miscibility in such systems. The mixtures chosen were: dextran,poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and trehalose,dextran, both prepared by lyophilization; and indomethacin,PVP, prepared by evaporation from organic solvent. Immiscibility is detected when the PDF profiles of each individual component taken in proportion to their compositions in the mixture agree with the PDF of the mixture, indicating phase separation into independent amorphous phases. A lack of agreement of the PDF profiles indicates that the mixture with a unique PDF is miscible. In agreement with DSC measurements that detected two independent Tg values for the dextran,PVP mixture, the PDF profiles of the mixture matched very well indicating a phase separated system. From the PDF analysis, indomethacin,PVP was shown to be completely miscible in agreement with the single Tg value measured for the mixture. In the case of the trehalose,dextran mixture, where only one Tg value was detected, however, PDF analysis clearly revealed phase separation. Since DSC can not detect two Tg values when phase separation produces amorphous domains with sizes less than approximately 30 nm, it is concluded that the trehalose,dextran system is a phase separated mixture with a structure equivalent to a solid nanosuspension having nanosize domains. Such systems would be expected to have properties intermediate to those observed for miscible and macroscopically phase separated amorphous dispersions. However, since phase separation has occurred, the solid nanosuspensions would be expected to exhibit a greater tendency for physical instability under a given stress, that is, crystallization, than would a miscible system. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 97:4840,4856, 2008 [source] Solvent-induced self-organization approach for polymeric architectures of micropores, hexagons and spheres based on polyurethanes prepared via novel melt transurethane methodologyJOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE (IN TWO SECTIONS), Issue 12 2007P. Deepa Abstract Solvent-induced self-organization approach was developed, for the first time, to produce polyurethane microporous templates and higher ordered morphologies such as micro or nanometer-sized polymeric hexagons and spheres. A novel melt transurethane methodology was designed and developed for synthesizing new class of cycloaliphatic polyurethanes under nonisocyanate and solvent-free conditions. In this new process, a diurethane monomer was polycondensed with equimolar amounts of diol in presence of Ti(OBu)4 as catalyst with the removal of low boiling alcohol from the equilibrium. The hydrogen bonding of the polyurethanes are very unique to their chemical structure and they undergo selective phase-separation process in solution to produce hexagonally packed microporous templates. The increase of water content in the polymer solution enhances the phase-separation process and the micro pores coalesce to isolate the encapsulated polymer matrix into polymeric hexagons or densely packed solid spheres. The concentration-dependent solution FTIR and 1H NMR of the polyurethanes revealed that the polymers possessing higher H-bonding association constants (K) have greater tendency to undergo solvent-induced self-organization phenomena. The mechanism of solvent-evaporation process indicated that only microporous polyurethanes have tendency to form higher ordered hexagons and spheres whereas others failed to show any new morphology. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 2351,2366, 2007 [source] Korean 4- to 11-year-old student conceptions of heat and temperatureJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 2 2007Seoung-Hey Paik The aim of the present study is to shed light on the conceptions that young students have of heat and temperature, concepts that are both important in school science curricula and closely related to daily life. The subjects of the study were students from a rural district in South Korea and they ranged in age from 4 to 11 years. Interviews were conducted with each student on the basis of questions on temperature, thermal insulation, and heat equilibrium. After calculating the frequency and percentage of student responses and analyzing the rationale for their answers, it was found that younger students tended to view temperature as "size" or a "summation of numbers." This tendency gradually diminished in older students. Most students had alternative conceptions of thermal insulation regardless of age; however, reasoning differed according to age. Younger students displayed a greater tendency to view insulation as a material property, whereas older students showed a greater tendency toward rational heat and temperature conceptions. Most students did not have clear concepts of heat equilibrium regardless of age, but possessed numerous alternative conceptions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 284,302, 2007 [source] Evidence for the involvement of lipoxygenase in the oxidative processes associated with the appearance of green staining alteration in the Gordal oliveJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 14 2003Lourdes Gallardo-Guerrero Abstract Lipoxygenase (LOX) activity and chloroplast pigment content were monitored during fruit growth in Gordal and Manzanilla olive varieties (Olea europaea regalis and Olea europaea pomiformis respectively). At all growth stages, LOX activity was greater in Gordal than in Manzanilla, and in both varieties, enzymatic activity peaks coincided with the maximum presence of oxidised chlorophyll pigments in the fruits. The higher lipid peroxidation potential measured directly in vitro and indirectly in vivo in the Gordal variety and its correspondence with higher contents of oxidised catabolites of chlorophyll suggested a greater tendency and sensitivity of this variety to oxidative processes. This could also explain the high organelle disorganisation levels reached during industrial processing of the fruit, allowing the formation of copper,chlorophyll complexes associated with the green staining alteration that affects Gordal olives. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Chemotherapy with Cyclophosphamide, Vincristine, and Prednisolone (COP) in Cats with Malignant Lymphoma: New Results with an Old ProtocolJOURNAL OF VETERINARY INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 2 2002Erik Teske This retrospective study in 61 cats with malignant lymphomas examined the efficacy of a well-established chemotherapy protocol (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisolone [COP]) in the Netherlands, a country with a low prevalence of feline leukemia virus (FeLV). Twenty-two cats (36.1%) had mediastinal lymphoma, 11 (18.0%) had alimentary lymphoma, 7 (11.5%) had peripheral lymphoma, 8 (13.1%) had nasal lymphoma, and 13 (21.3%) had miscellaneous lymphoma (including renal lymphoma in 2 [3.3%]). Of the 54 cats that were tested, only 4 (7.4%) were FeLV positive. Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 46 of the 61 cats (75.4%). The estimated 1- and 2-year disease-free periods (DFPs) in the 46 cats with CR were 51.4 and 37.8%, respectively, whereas the median duration of remission was 251 days. The overall estimated 1-year survival rate in all cats was 48.7%, and the 2-year survival rate was 39.9%, with a median survival of 266 days. The median survival time and the 1-year survival rate for mediastinal lymphoma were 262 days and 49.4%, respectively. Siamese cats had a more favorable prognosis for survival and remission than other breeds. Response to therapy in this study was shown to be a significant prognostic indicator. CR is necessary for long-term survival. Cats that did not achieve CR had little chance of survival for longer than 1 year. Young Siamese cats in this study had a greater tendency to develop mediastinal malignant lymphoma at a young age, and all were FeLV negative. In comparison with results reported in other studies with different combination chemotherapy protocols, these are among the highest percentages of remission and the longest survival rates for cats with malignant lymphoma. [source] Interfacial instabilities in coextrusion flows of low-density polyethylenes: Experimental studiesPOLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 5 2000Costas Tzoganakis A fundamental investigation into the interfacial instability phenomenon was performed. Coextrusion experiments were carried out using well-characterized low-density (LDPE) resins in an effort to gain a better understanding of interfacial instability phenomena. The resins used were chosen carefully and included materials of high and low viscosity as well as broad and narrow molecular weight distributions (MWD). The experiments involved the coextrusion of either the same material in both layers or various combinations of the four materials and the focus of the work was to elucidate the effects of flow rates, molecular weight (MW) and MWD on interfacial instability. The effect of the geometry at the point where the materials merged was also investigated. It was concluded that there are essentially two types of interfacial instabilities and that the MW had the strongest effect on the occurrence of the "zig-zag" instability due to high interfacial stress while the breadth of the MWD had a strong effect on the appearance of the "wave" instability. Broad MWD materials had a greater tendency to exhibit interfacial instability, which is more due to layer ratio than processing conditions or die geometries. The results suggest that the origin of the "wave" type of interfacial instability is due to an extreme extensional deformation of the minor layer at the merge point and that the viscoelastic properties of adjacent layers determine the instability development. [source] Is There Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma?AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2008The Case of Combat Veterans' Children This article is a review of the literature on intergenerational transmission of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from fathers to sons in families of war veterans. The review addresses several questions: (1) Which fathers have a greater tendency to transmit their distress to their offspring? (2) What is transmitted from father to child? (3) How is the distress transmitted and through which mechanisms? And finally, (4) Which children are more vulnerable to the transmission of PTSD distress in the family? Whereas the existing literature deals mainly with fathers' PTSD as a risk for increased emotional and behavior problems among the children, this review also highlights the current paucity of knowledge regarding family members and extrafamilial systems that may contribute to intergenerational transmission of PTSD or to its moderation. Little is also known about resilience and strengths that may mitigate or prevent the risk of intergenerational transmission of trauma. [source] Candida glabrata, an emerging fungal pathogen, exhibits superior relative cell surface hydrophobicity and adhesion to denture acrylic surfaces compared with Candida albicansAPMIS, Issue 9 2002G. Luo Oral candidosis is a common opportunistic infection in debilitated individuals and Candida glabrata is the second most frequently isolated species from this condition, after Candida albicans. Candidal adherence to various biological or non-biological surfaces is considered a prerequisite for colonization, and pathogenesis of candidal infections, and their relative cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) is likely to be a possible contributory force involved in this process. Whereas a large body of data on the latter features of C. albicans is available, there is surprisingly little information on C. glabrata. As a comprehensive database on the relative adhesion and CSH of Candida spp. is instructive and useful, we investigated in vitro the latter attributes of 34 oral isolates of C. glabrata and 15 isolates of C. albicans. There were remarkable intraspecies differences in both the CSH and the adhesive ability of C. glabrata strains (p<0.001). Compared with C. albicans, C. glabrata demonstrated a four-fold greater CSH value (30.63±11.20% vs 7.23±3.56%, p<0.0001) and a two-fold greater tendency to adhere to denture acrylic surfaces (75.18±39.96 vs 30.36±9.21, p<0.0001). A significant positive correlation between CSH and adhesion was also noted for both C. glabrata (r=0.674, p<0.0001) and C. albicans (r=0.636, p<0.05). When the effect of different incubation conditions on the relative CSH and adherence of C. glabrata was examined, CSH and the adherence to acrylic surfaces of four of six C. glabrata isolates were significantly affected by a reduction of the culture temperature (from 37 °C to 25 °C). A positive relationship also emerged when the temperature-induced variations in the adherence values were correlated with their relative CSH. These data provide hitherto unavailable archival information on important pathogenic attributes of the two most common oral Candida species that may help explain their predominance in this milieu. [source] A comparison of the pathology of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and upper urinary tractBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 6 2005Grant D. Stewart OBJECTIVE To clarify the histopathological patterns of upper and lower urinary tract transitional cell carcinomas (TCCs), as previous reports suggest that upper urinary tract TCCs have a greater tendency towards high-grade disease than bladder TCCs, of which most are low-grade and low-stage tumours. PATIENTS AND METHODS All patients presenting with TCC of bladder or upper urinary tract between February 1991 and December 2001 at one institution were identified. Further patient information was obtained from the hospital database and case-note review. RESULTS In all, 164 patients with upper urinary tract TCC and 2197 with bladder TCC were identified. There was a correlation between grade and stage of both upper urinary tract and bladder TCCs. 35% of the upper tract TCCs were classified as grade 2 and 44% as grade 3, while for bladder TCCs, 31% of lesions were classified as grade 2 and 35% as grade 3 (P = 0.003). Of the upper urinary tract lesions 33% were stage pT2,T4, compared with only 20% of bladder TCCs (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Upper urinary tract TCC is a higher grade and stage disease than bladder cancer, a finding that emphasizes the need for aggressive treatment of upper urinary tract TCC. If endourological management of upper urinary tract TCC is considered, histopathological determination of tumour grade before treatment is essential. [source] |