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Gas station workers are exposed to chemicals known to be carcinogenic, especially benzene. The objective was to analyze the health problems of female gas station workers by means of sociodemographic and clinical questionnaires, and laboratorial exams. We performed the genotyping of the polymorphisms BRCA1/P871L and BRCA1/Q356R by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism, and of variant allele BRCA2/N372H through direct sequencing. The female workers showed a higher concentration of monocytes ( P = 0.039); a greater number of spontaneous abortions ( P = 0.025, OR = 4.977, 95% CI = 1.135-30.669); higher tobacco consumption ( P = 0.013); and higher alcohol consumption ( P = 0.05). The statistical analysis of the polymorphisms associated with the variables monocyte concentration and miscarriage number did not reveal a significant relationship, and smoking and spontaneous abortion were not statistically associated either. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 58:730-734, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aims Among people with diabetes, 10-25% will experience a foot ulcer. Research has shown that supplementation with arginine, glutamine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate may improve wound repair. This study tested whether such supplementation would improve healing of foot ulcers in persons with diabetes. Methods Along with standard of care, 270 subjects received, in a double-blinded fashion, (twice per day) either arginine, glutamine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate or a control drink for 16 weeks. The proportion of subjects with total wound closure and time to complete healing was assessed. In a post-hoc analysis, the interaction of serum albumin or limb perfusion, as measured by ankle-brachial index, and supplementation on healing was investigated. Results Overall, there were no group differences in wound closure or time to wound healing at week 16. However, in subjects with an albumin level of ≤ 40 g/l and/or an ankle-brachial index of < 1.0, a significantly greater proportion of subjects in the arginine, glutamine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate group healed at week 16 compared with control subjects ( P = 0.03 and 0.008, respectively). Those with low albumin or decreased limb perfusion in the supplementation group were 1.70 (95% CI 1.04-2.79) and 1.66 (95% CI 1.15-2.38) times more likely to heal. Conclusions While no differences in healing were identified with supplementation in non-ischaemic patients or those with normal albumin, addition of arginine, glutamine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate as an adjunct to standard of care may improve healing of diabetic foot ulcers in patients with risk of poor limb perfusion and/or low albumin levels. Further investigation involving arginine, glutamine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate in these high-risk subgroups might prove clinically valuable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. Although randomized trials suggest a survival benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy (XRT) for gastric adenocarcinoma, its use in patients who undergo an extended lymphadenectomy is less clear. The purpose of this study was to determine if a survival benefit exists in gastric cancer patients who receive adjuvant XRT following resection with extended lymphadenectomy. Methods. The SEER registry was queried for records of patients with resected gastric adenocarcinoma from 1988 to 2007. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to assess independent prognostic factors affecting overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). Results. Of 15,060 patients identified, 3,208 (21%) received adjuvant XRT. Adjuvant XRT was independently associated with improved OS (HR 0.67, CI 0.64-0.71) and DSS (HR 0.69, CI 0.65-0.73) in stages IB through IV (M0). This OS and DSS benefit persisted regardless of the extent of lymphadenectomy. Furthermore, lymphadenectomy with >25 LN resected was associated with improved OS and DSS compared with <15 LN or 15-25 LN. Conclusion. This population based study shows a survival benefit of adjuvant XRT following gastrectomy that persists in patients who have an extended lymphadenectomy. Furthermore, removal of >25 LNs results in improved OS and DSS compared with patients who have fewer LNs resected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The (1- x) PbTiO3- xBiMeO3 (Me = Fe, In, Sc) solid solutions were prepared and investigated using high-temperature X-ray diffraction for the B-site dopant effect on their thermal expansion behaviors. Compared with PbTiO3, the negative thermal expansion of (1- x) PbTiO3- xBiFeO3 was enhanced, whereas that of (1- x) PbTiO3- xBiInO3 was a little weakened and was much weakened in (1- x) PbTiO3- xBiScO3. An empirical linear correlation between the average effective radius of the B-site cations and the unit cell volumes at Curie point of the solid solutions was concluded. The relationship was also observed in other PbTiO3-BiMeO3-type solid solutions and was supposed to be widely useful in predicting the thermal expansion coefficient of compounds of this sort. Above the Curie point, the unit cell volumes of the compounds were determined by the radii of the doped B-site cations. The weaking and vanishing of the lattice distortion caused by spontaneous polarization displacements was proved by Raman scatting spectrum, which supported the relationship in the lattice dynamic aspect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, of metformin, and of the combination of the two agents, on incretin hormone concentrations. Active and inactive (or total) incretin plasma concentrations, plasma DPP-4 activity, and preproglucagon (GCG) gene expression were determined after administration of each agent alone or in combination to mice with diet-induced obesity (DIO) and to healthy human subjects. In mice, metformin increased Gcg expression in the large intestine and elevated the plasma concentrations of inactive glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) (9-36) and glucagon. In healthy subjects, a DPP-4 inhibitor elevated both active GLP-1 and glucose dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), metformin increased total GLP-1 (but not GIP), and the combination resulted in additive increases in active GLP-1 plasma concentrations. Metformin did not inhibit plasma DPP-4 activity either in vitro or in vivo. The study results show that metformin is not a DPP-4 inhibitor but rather enhances precursor GCG expression in the large intestine, resulting in increased total GLP-1 concentrations. DPP-4 inhibitors and metformin have complementary mechanisms of action and additive effects with respect to increasing the concentrations of active GLP-1 in plasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the significance of the combination of dissipation method and surface renewal (SR) analysis to estimate scalar surfaces over open water in California. The author claims that dissipation method and SR analysis are closely related because of its usage in agronomy. As a result, new dissipation-SR analysis expression for estimating scalar surface fluxes was derived. In addition, he adds that the combination has contributed to the better understanding of hydrological processes and water requirements by providing an effective, alternative method to indirectly estimate evapotranspiration as the residual of the energy balance equation.

Background: Patients require accurate information about their illness to make informed decisions. Many sources of information exist, although reliability is variable. Our objective was to investigate information seeking behaviour and attitudes toward health-related information from the Internet in a sample of Australian oncology patients. Method: During their outpatient attendance, 109 patients completed a self-administered paper–pen format questionnaire. They were required to have a recent cancer diagnosis (<6 months ago) adequate English and no cognitive impairment. Results: Seventy-four per cent of questionnaires were returned. The majority of patients (78%) wanted as much information about their cancer diagnosis as possible and 90% reported receiving adequate information from their treating team. Despite this, more than half actively searched for additional information, with 77% using the Internet. Patients were trusting of information obtained from the Internet. More than half of information searchers discussed information obtained in their search with a health professional. The majority of patients did not believe that information searching adversely affected the doctor–patient relationship. Conclusion: Information searching is common in ambulatory Australian oncology patients, with the Internet being a frequently used resource. To ensure patients find reliable and relevant information and to minimize the risk of harm, health professionals involved in treating oncology patients should provide guidance in finding information sources and assistance in interpreting the information obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes two approaches for estimating sensible heat flux, using surface renewal and similarity concepts. One approach depends on a temperature structure function parameter and is valid in the inertial sublayer. The other approach depends on the temperature standard deviation and operates when measurements are made above the canopy top, either in the roughness or inertial sublayer. The approaches were tested over grass, rangeland grass, wheat, grape vineyard, and nectarine and olive orchards. It is shown that the free convection limit expression for the standard deviation method holds for slightly unstable conditions. When surface homogeneity and fetch requirements are not fully met in the field, the results show that the equations based on surface renewal principles are more robust and accurate than equations exclusively based on similarity backgrounds. It is likely that the two methods are less sensitive to site-specific adjustment of the similarity relationships unless the canopy is rather heterogeneous. Under unstable conditions, the free convection limit equation, which depends on the temperature standard deviation, can provide online sensible heat flux estimates using affordable battery-powered data logger with temperature data as the only input. The approach performed well when measuring above the canopy in the roughness and inertial sublayers, thus suggesting that the method is useful for long-term monitoring over growing vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Breast cancer is a common disease in the community. Its incidence is increasing but its mortality is falling. New therapeutic approaches based on a biological understanding of the disease are being investigated to improve the outcome. These include the areas of chemo­prevention and therapy in the adjuvant and advanced settings, and some derive from a better understanding of the biology of breast cancer. New prognostic indicators are being studied to enable adjuvant chemotherapy to be directed towards those most likely to benefit. Trastuzumab was the first of the new targeted therapies to be introduced into routine practice. Several other agents targeting a variety of receptors and cell pathways, such as the epidermal growth factor receptor, the vascular epithelial growth factors and various intracellular tyrosine kinase mediated pathways, are under investigation. Increasing attention is being placed on evidence-based supportive care, both for control of symptoms such as hot flushes and for psychosocial problems such as anxiety and depression. (Intern Med J 2004; 34: 266−269) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the accuracy of quantitative X-ray diffractometry analysis for the determination of the atomic ratio of calcium and phosphorus in calcium phosphates. Measurement of accuracy using Carp values; Accuracy of diffractometry compared to classical wet methods.

Demonstrates the use of maximum likelihood estimation method (MLE) for x-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis. Details of substitutional chemistries; Calculations for cubic and tetragonal systems; Evaluation of the standard deviations of the lattice parameters; Advantage of MLE over other methods; Link between the output of a commercial software and standard deviation.

The relationship between various stressful stimulus conditions, measures of anxiety, and altered esophageal motility was investigated in two experiments employing normal adult volunteers. In Experiment 1. subjects were administered separately 100dB continuous white noise and a cold presser task. In Experiment 2, subjects were administered in a counterbalanced order intermittent and unpredictable bursts of 100dB white noise and a cognitive task consisting of solvable and unsolvable discrimination problems. Results of both experiments showed that the amplitudes of peristaltic esophageal contractions and levels of state anxiety self-reports were significantly higher during periods of stress than during preceding baseline periods. Furthermore, in Experiment 2, esophageal contraction velocities and anxiety-related behaviors were significantly greater during stress periods than during baselines. Contrary to previous studies, few abnormal tertiary esophageal contractions were elicited by stress. The present results identify increased amplitude of the peristaltic contractions as the primary esophageal response to stress. Technological and methodological differences between this study and previous investigations of affective disturbance among patients with chronic esophageal chest pain also are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In boron carbide, the dependence of EPR line width (ΔB) with g = 2.0028 on the contents of free carbon, cC, is used to determine the surface-to-volume ratio (S/V) of free carbon inclusions. Consecutive reduction of cC was conducted by a method of low-vacuum oxidation at a range of temperatures. The amount of a free carbon (a graphite phase) in samples was measured by X-ray. Analysis of changes in ΔB (cC) has shown that free carbon inclusions at the surface layer of polycrystalline boron carbide particles has S/V two times smaller than that of free carbon inclusions in the interior of polycrystalline boron carbide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]