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Background: Skills such as planning and problem solving that are required in self‐determination can be cognitively demanding. It has not yet been examined whether executive functions and intelligence are associated with levels of self‐determination in individuals with intellectual disability (ID), and how that is related to quality of life (QoL). This study examined the associations among executive functions, intelligence, self‐determination, and QoL in adolescents with ID. Methods: Seventy‐nine adolescents aged between 17 and 20 years with mild ID participated in the study. Executive functions were assessed by experimental tasks. Non‐verbal IQ and survey data regarding QoL and self‐determination capacity were collected from the participants. Results: In a regression model with QoL as the dependent variable, only executive planning and self‐determination capacity (but not working memory, inhibition and IQ) were significant predictors of QoL. Two mediation models were tested based on the hypotheses, literature and current findings. Model 1 revealed that executive planning had a negative direct effect on QoL when the mediator, self‐determination capacity, was held constant. Model 2 indicated that the significant association between self‐determination and QoL was not mediated by executive planning. Conclusions: The findings highlighted the crucial significance of self‐determination, in comparison with executive functions and intelligence, for improving the QoL in adolescents with ID. Importantly, higher executive planning skill was even associated with lower QoL if self‐determination was not concurrently strengthened. These findings carry implications for the design of education and intervention programmes aimed at improving QoL of adolescents with ID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors report a case of persistent endometrial stromal tumour during two consecutive pregnancies. The diagnosis of endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS) is difficult by fragmented tissue. There were a total of 19 reported cases of pregnancy after conservative management of endometrial stromal sarcoma. Monitoring of disease during pregnancy is challenging, although most patients remain in a stable condition with a follow-up duration of 2-60 months. Although the present patient had a favorable disease outcome despite having co-existing ESS sustained throughout two term pregnancies, the current evidence on the safety of this approach is still scarce and thorough counseling is mandatory if any young patients wish to retain their fertility potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Cats with higher body condition score were at increased risk of urethral obstruction. • After accounting for body condition score, bodyweight was not an important risk factor for urethral obstruction. • Pedigree cats and old cats were at decreased risk of urethral obstruction. • Owners should ensure their cat's body condition score is not high. Abstract Identifying potential risk factors for urethral obstruction in male cats may help in disease prevention. The aims of this study were to assess whether breed, pedigree status, age, bodyweight and body condition score (BCS) are risk factors for urethral obstruction in castrated male cats using a primary care population. Within this, a specific question was whether any increase in rate of urethral obstruction in male cats due to excess body condition is because of higher bodyweight. A retrospective hospital-based matched case-control study was performed using 195 cases of urethral obstruction in castrated male cats and 195 control consultations for cats presenting to a feline-only first opinion veterinary practice in Brisbane, Australia. The incidence rate of urethral obstruction did not vary significantly with bodyweight but increased with BCS (incidence rate ratio 1.6; 95% CI 1.2–2.1; P < 0.001). The effect of BCS was not due to high BCS cats having higher bodyweights. The incidence was lower in Burmese cats compared to Domestic shorthair cats (incidence rate ratio 0.1; 95% CI 0.0–0.4; P = 0.001), and higher in non-pedigree cats compared to pedigree cats (incidence rate ratio 2.8; 95% CI 1.7–4.6; P < 0.001). Incidence rate ratios increased with age to 2 to 4 years (the ages with highest incidences) then progressively declined with each additional year of age. Further research is needed to define why there is a positive association between BCS and rate of urethral obstruction. In the interim, clinicians should encourage owners of castrated male pet cats to ensure their cat's BCS is not high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We recruited 144 women of whom 131 underwent scheduled caesarean section and were allocated to intrathecal bupivacaine without (46) or with (47) morphine and postoperative rectus sheath bupivacaine; or intrathecal bupivacaine with morphine and postoperative rectus sheath saline (38). We measured postoperative pain with a 10-point numeric rating scale. The mean (SD) areas under the curve for pain on movement during 48 postoperative hours were 273.5 (63.6), 223.8 (80.7) and 223.8 (80.7), respectively, p = 0.008. There was no difference between women who had intrathecal morphine with or without rectus sheath bupivacaine, p = 1. The equivalent values for pain at rest were 160.8 (64.7), 85.8 (79.4) and 82.8 (74.3), respectively, p < 0.001. There was no difference between women who had intrathecal morphine with or without rectus sheath bupivacaine, p = 0.98. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that examined the standing-spin-wave resonance (SSWR) modes in antiferromagnetic thin films of manganese-iron alloy. Analysis of the pinning of the spin-wave modes; Determination of the spin-wave stiffness constant; Background on the occurrence of SSWR in ferromagnetic thin films.

Background This study elucidated the association between histopathological factors and the prognosis of oral carcinoma. As the histopathological factors were determined from the surgical specimen and this can only be used for the choices of postoperative regimens, this study also investigated the linkage between prognostic factors and the expression of key molecules to examine the feasibility of markers as predictors. Methods Clinicopathological factors of 101 oral carcinomas were cross-analyzed with disease-free survival. The expression of nerve growth factor ( NGF) and its receptor, tyrosine kinase A receptor, was assayed with immunohistochemistry. Results Nodal metastasis was the most crucial clinical predictor for disease-free survival. Perineural invasion ( PNI) was an independent histopathological predictor for both nodal metastasis ( P = 0.004) and disease-free survival ( P = 0.019). Patients with advanced tumor and PNI exhibited the high hazard for tumor progression and poor disease-free survival. NGF immunoreactivity in tumors was correlated with PNI ( P = 0.005) and neck lymph node metastasis ( P = 0.036). Conclusion Perineural invasion is the indicator of worst prognosis. As NGF immunoreactivity was found to be associated with PNI and nodal metastasis, the NGF immunoreactivity of oral carcinoma revealed by diagnostic biopsy suggests that alternative therapeutic approaches might be appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: End-stage kidney disease registry data have reported increased mortality in patients with diabetes as compared with those without. Here we examine whether diabetes is independently associated with an increased risk of major cardiovascular events and death in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods: Data from 315 participants with CKD in the Atherosclerosis and Folic Acid Supplementation Trial (ASFAST) were assessed. Primary end-points were fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction, stroke, unstable angina, coronary revascularisation and peripheral vascular events assessed both jointly and separately using Cox-proportional hazard models. Results: Twenty-three per cent reported diabetes. Median follow up was 3.6 years. In those with diabetes, an increased risk for major cardiovascular events was observed, crude hazard ratio (HR) 2.87 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.11-3.90). After adjustment for age, gender, smoking, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, past ischaemic heart disease and use of preventive therapies, diabetes was associated with an HR of 1.83 (1.28-2.61) for major cardiovascular events. The risk for peripheral vascular events was also increased, adjusted HR 6.31 (2.61-15.25). For all-cause death, major coronary and stroke events, the risk in those with diabetes was not significantly increased (all-cause death, adjusted HR 1.31 (95% CI 0.80-2.14); major coronary events, adjusted HR 1.26 (95% CI 0.64-2.49); and major stroke events, adjusted HR 1.28 (95% CI 0.55-2.99)). Conclusions: Diabetes significantly increases the risk of major cardiovascular events, especially peripheral vascular events in patients with advanced CKD. Trials of multifactorial management of cardiovascular risk factors are required to determine if outcomes for this population may be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The concentration of MICA in serum seems be a good candidate marker in cancer. Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that the polymorphic MIC gene may confer a risk for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The study investigated the expression levels of MICA and MICB of OSCC patients and cancer cell lines. Material and methods: We used RT-PCR to analyze the mRNA expression of MICA and MICB in four oral cancer cell lines compared with three normal human oral keratinocyte (NHOK) cell lines and in tissues from 36 patients with OSCC comparing tumor tissue with non-cancerous matched tissue (NCMT). Results: Endogenous MICB mRNA expression in OSCC cell lines was significantly higher than that in NHOK (1.40 +/- 0.27 vs. 0.40 +/- 0.16; P = 0.04). In 20 of 36 sets of tissue from patients with OSCC, MICB mRNA expression was higher in the cancerous tissue than in the NCMT. The mean MICB mRNA expression in OSCC tissues was significantly higher than in NCMT (0.39 +/- 0.08 vs. 0.14 +/- 0.03, P = 0.009, paired t-test). A significantly lower MICA mRNA was found in patients who chewed areca nut compared with those who did not use areca ( P = 0.001) and in patients with well-differentiated tumors compared with those with less well-differentiated tumors ( P = 0.02). Conclusion: MICA and MICB mRNA expression may be increased in OSCC but there appears to be individual variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4), a structural homologue of CD28, has been reported to be an important negative regulator of autoimmune diseases. Recent studies showed that CTLA-4 gene polymorphism was associated with several kinds of human autoimmune diseases, suggesting that CTLA-4 gene is probably a general susceptibility gene to autoimmune disease. The present study was conducted in Chinese to determine whether there is any association of the CTLA-4 gene polymorphism with the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). CTLA-4 gene polymorphism in promoter and exon 1 was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method in 81 patients with SLE and 81 normal controls. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences in both exon 1 and promoter gene polymorphism between SLE patients and normal controls. The preliminary study does not suggest an association of the known polymorphism in exon 1 and promoter of CTLA-4 gene with Chinese SLE. However, SLE is a very heterogeneous syndrome and CTLA-4 gene polymorphism might correlate with some specific clinical features. To exploring this possibility, subgroup analysis in more patients needs to be performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Sexual Health Clinic (SHC) offered by our prostate cancer (PC) supportive care program delivers sexual health care for PC patients and their partners. Over a two-year period, patients receive seven appointments in which different options for sexual satisfaction are explored, including intracavernosal/penile injection therapy (ICI). Since April 2020, sexual health clinicians have provided virtual and in-person ICI training appointments. Before each appointment, patients are instructed to review educational material, including an educational video, an ICI instruction booklet, and ICI dosing handout. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of ICI training presented virtually compared to in-person by comparing clinical and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in each group. Methods: All patients who received ICI training between January 2019 and April 2023 were included in this retrospective chart review. PROs from the SHC were obtained prospectively during service as part of usual clinical care. Results: Over 4.3 years, 74 patients received ICI training, 54 virtually and 24 in-person. All patients were in heterosexual relationships and rated their pre-treatment erectile function as a median of 9 on a scale of 0-10, with 10 being the highest level of erectile function. In contrast, the median erectile function for all patients was 0 after PC treatment. At the time of attending the SHC, most patients expressed 'resume intercourse' as their goal of treatment. Table 1 shows that the demographics of each group are similar with respect to age, education level, ethnicity, and partner information. The use of erectile aids after PC therapy is shown in Table 2. Most patients had not attempted ICI before enrollment in the SHC and were not satisfied with other options offered by the SHC. Details of ICI treatments and response to therapy are shown in Table 3. Overall outcomes and satisfaction rates were similar between groups. Conclusions: Overall, clinical outcomes with ICI training in the virtual format do not appear to differ from that done in person. Patient satisfaction with ICI is better than other erectile aid options in each group but is still low. In the future, we will prospectively assess ICI usage and outcomes at 3, 6, and 12 months after ICI training to determine treatment adherence, complications, and long-term patient satisfaction with ICI training across the different delivery methods. Disclosure: No. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The main cause of treatment failure in resectable oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is metastasis. E-cadherin (E-cad) plays a principal role in cell adhesion and motility, and is associated with OSCC progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of E-cad expression in OSCC with lymph node metastasis which had radical neck dissection done.METHOD: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect E-cad expression in normal oral mucosa (NOM) (n = 10), oral precancerous lesions (OPLs) (n = 20), primary OSCC (n = 45), and their paired metastatic lesions (n = 45). E-cad immunoreactivity correlated with the clinicopathologic features.RESULTS: E-cadherin immunoreactivity was progressively reduced in the NOM followed by OPLs and primary OSCC (58%). It decreased significantly in the advanced stages of OSCC. However, the increase in E-cad immunoreactivity was observed in the majority (60%) of metastatic lesions in relation to primary OSCC. Patients with such increased or positive immunoreactivity of E-cad in metastatic lesions exhibited worse prognosis.CONCLUSION: The findings suggested a dynamic change in E-cad immunoreactivity during tumorigenesis and metastasis of OSCC. In a multivariate analysis, E-cad immunoreactivity in metastasis lesions (odds ratio 3.74, 95% CI 1.15-14.67; P = 0.040) implied the potential role of mortality predictors for OSCC cases with nodal involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The main cause of treatment failure in resectable oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is metastasis. E-cadherin (E-cad) plays a principal role in cell adhesion and motility, and is associated with OSCC progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of E-cad expression in OSCC with lymph node metastasis which had radical neck dissection done. Method: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect E-cad expression in normal oral mucosa (NOM) ( n = 10), oral precancerous lesions (OPLs) ( n = 20), primary OSCC ( n = 45), and their paired metastatic lesions ( n = 45). E-cad immunoreactivity correlated with the clinicopathologic features. Results: E-cadherin immunoreactivity was progressively reduced in the NOM followed by OPLs and primary OSCC (58%). It decreased significantly in the advanced stages of OSCC. However, the increase in E-cad immunoreactivity was observed in the majority (60%) of metastatic lesions in relation to primary OSCC. Patients with such increased or positive immunoreactivity of E-cad in metastatic lesions exhibited worse prognosis. Conclusion: The findings suggested a dynamic change in E-cad immunoreactivity during tumorigenesis and metastasis of OSCC. In a multivariate analysis, E-cad immunoreactivity in metastasis lesions (odds ratio 3.74, 95% CI 1.15–14.67; P = 0.040) implied the potential role of mortality predictors for OSCC cases with nodal involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Insertion/deletion (-1171 5A-->6A) polymorphisms in the promoter region of matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3) gene result in different transcriptional activities. MMP3 is able to degrade collagens types II, V, IX, and X, and other extracellular matrix. The functional promoter polymorphism of MMP3 has been related to the susceptibility in some inflammatory diseases and metastasis of cancers. METHODS: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are prevalent among Asian areca users. In this study, genomic DNA obtained from the blood of OSCC (n = 150), OSF (n = 71), and control non-diseased areca user (n = 98) in male were subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based genotyping of MMP3. RESULTS: The 5A genotype in MMP3 promoter was observed more frequently in OSF group than in control group (P = 0.01). No significant difference was noted between OSCC and control groups on the 5A genotype frequency (P = 0.18). No association was found between 5A genotype in MMP3 promoter and site or lymph node metastasis and stage of OSCC. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that the 5A genotype of MMP3 promoter was associated with the risk of OSF but not OSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Insertion/deletion (−1171 5A→6A) polymorphisms in the promoter region of matrix metalloproteinase 3 ( MMP3) gene result in different transcriptional activities. MMP3 is able to degrade collagens types II, V, IX, and X, and other extracellular matrix. The functional promoter polymorphism of MMP3 has been related to the susceptibility in some inflammatory diseases and metastasis of cancers. Methods: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are prevalent among Asian areca users. In this study, genomic DNA obtained from the blood of OSCC ( n = 150), OSF ( n = 71), and control non-diseased areca user ( n = 98) in male were subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based genotyping of MMP3. Results: The 5A genotype in MMP3 promoter was observed more frequently in OSF group than in control group ( P = 0.01). No significant difference was noted between OSCC and control groups on the 5A genotype frequency ( P = 0.18). No association was found between 5A genotype in MMP3 promoter and site or lymph node metastasis and stage of OSCC. Conclusion: The results indicated that the 5A genotype of MMP3 promoter was associated with the risk of OSF but not OSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between quality of life and psychiatric impairment in a Taiwanese community located near the epicenter of the 1999 earthquake, as assessed four to six months after the natural catastrophe. Trained assistants interviewed the 4223 respondents using the disaster-related psychological screening test (DRPST), an instrument specifically designed and validated by senior psychiatrists for assessment of psychiatric impairment after natural catastrophe. Additionally, the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used to evaluate quality of life. The collected results were analyzed using Windows SPSS 10.0 software. Psychiatric impairment rated moderate to severe was assessed for 1448 (34.3%) of the responding residents. The 4223 respondents were divided into 4 psychiatric-impairment groups based on DPRST score: healthy (n = 952); mild impairment (n = 1823); moderate impairment (n = 1126); and, severe impairment (n = 322). The four groups were compared for a number of salient factors, including gender, age, current marital status and psychiatric-impairment score, to determine impact on quality of life. Respondents assessed as psychiatrically impaired tended to be older, female, divorced/widowed, and less educated, and they were more likely to have experienced major familial financial loss as an immediate consequence of the earthquake. Further, the greater the severity of the psychiatric impairment, the lower the scores for quality of life, for both the physical and mental aspects of this important general indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of nitric oxide (NO) on human sperm activity, human sperm-oocyte fusion and mouse embryonic development. Results showed that various concentrations of NO synthase blocker, N ω -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, did not affect sperm cell motility at 0, 1, 2 or 4 hr, respectively. In contrast, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) significantly inhibited sperm cell motility and caused apoptosis. The adversely dose-dependent effect was only observed if SNP was freshly prepared. Adenosine triphosphate reversed the hazardous effect of SNP on sperm activity/viability. Hemoglobin neutralized the adverse effect of SNP. In hemi-zona sperm fusion test, the number of sperm bound to the zona in the presence of 10 -4 M SNP was significantly less than the control group. SNP at 10 -4 M caused all mouse embryonic development arrest. 46% and 56% of zygote reached the blastocyst stage with the treatment of 10 -6 M and 10 -8 M SNP, respectively, while the control reached 70%. NO adversely affected human sperm activity, human sperm-zona binding and embryonic development. It would appear that high concentration of NO may potentially decrease fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies protein kinases which stimulates accumulation of phosphatidylinositol trisphosphate in their target cells. Known regulatory adaptors; Utilization of several overlapping fragments derived from cDNA libraries; Description in platelets of a Gbeta gamma-sensitive P13K activity as recognizable by a delta p85 antibodies.

Congenital midline cervical cleft (CMCC) is an uncommon malformation. We report a case of a baby girl aged 3 days with a CMCC associated with a cyst reported as a bronchogenic cyst (BC). The pathology is not specific. The association of BC and CMCC is extremely rare and only five cases have been found in the literature. We report our case and review the relevant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positron lifetime, photoluminescence (PL), and Hall measurements were performed to study undoped p-type gallium antimonide materials. A 314 ps positron lifetime component was attributed to Ga vacancy (V[sub Ga]) related defect. Isochronal annealing studies showed at 300 °C annealing, the 314 ps positron lifetime component and the two observed PL signals (777 and 797 meV) disappeared, which gave clear and strong evidence for their correlation. However, the hole concentration (∼2 × 10[sup 17] cm[sup -3]) was observed to be independent of the annealing temperature. Although the residual acceptor is generally related to the V[sub Ga] defect, at least for cases with annealing temperatures above 300°C, V[sub Ga] is not the acceptor responsible for the p-type conduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the effects of silicon movement on the electrical properties of inverted aluminum indium arsenide-gallium indium arsenide modulation doped structures. Reduction of the electron mobility in the dimensional electron gases; Effects of substrate temperature on modulation doped samples electrical properties; Impact of space thickness increase on mobility degradation.