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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Adult skeletal muscle mass (SMM) protects against type 2 diabetes, but little is known about its developmental antecedents. We examined whether pace of early weight gain predicted adult SMM in a birth cohort from Cebu City, Philippines. In addition, we examined whether increases in SMM associated with adult muscle-building exercise varied according to the early growth. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Data came from 1472 participants of the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey. Weight was measured at birth and at 6-month intervals through the age of 24 months. Adult SMM was estimated from anthropometric measurements when participants were 20-22-years old. Interviews provided the information on adult exercise/lifestyle habits. RESULTS: SMM (mean ± s.d.) was 20.8 ± 3.9 kg (men) and 13.6 ± 3.4 kg (women). Faster early weight gain predicted a higher adult SMM. After adjustment for height and lifestyle factors, strongest associations with SMM were found for 6-12 months growth in men (P = 0.17, P = 0.001) and for birth weight in women (P = 0.14, P = 0.001). Individuals who had grown slowly displayed greater SMM in association with adult weightlifting, basketball playing and physically demanding forms of employment (men) or household chores (women). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest heightened sensitivity of activity-induced muscle hypertrophy among the adults who were born light or who gained weight slowly as infants. Future research should test this finding by comparing responses of muscle mass to an intervention in slow vs fast early growers. Findings suggest that adults who display a reduced SMM following suboptimal early growth may be good candidates for new anti-diabetes interventions that promote muscle-building activities. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2015) 69, 1350-1355; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2015.18; published online 18 March 2015, INTRODUCTION Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) is a global health crisis increasing in prevalence worldwide. Peripheral insulin resistance is a key driver of type 2 diabetes. It is among [...]

To demonstrate an approach to laparoscopic wedge resection of a cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP). Video abstract. Tertiary care Centre. This case is of a 40-year-old G6P3, with 3 prior cesarean sections who was referred with a possible ectopic pregnancy at 8+3 weeks gestation after presenting with cramping and irregular bleeding. Following admission to hospital, transvaginal ultrasound revealed a CSP and a type 1 placenta percreta with no bladder involvement. The patient wished for fertility-sparing management which was planned to include pre-operative intragestational methotrexate and uterine artery embolization followed by laparoscopic wedge resection. Before pre-operative interventions could be done, the patient experienced acute vaginal bleeding and she was taken urgently for surgical management. Laparoscopic wedge resection of the CSP. Laparoscopy revealed bladder adhesions high over the lower uterine segment and the CSP. Wedge resection of the CSP was successfully achieved with restoration of normal anatomy using a systematic approach to lysis of adhesions as well as intraoperative vascular control using dilute vasopressin and pre-emptive skeletonization of the uterine vessels. Surgical blood loss was 100mL. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications, and the patient was discharged home post-operative day 1. The patient's beta HCG levels returned to normal within one month. CSPs account for approximately 4% of all ectopic pregnancies. Management is individualized and often requires a multi-modal approach. This case demonstrates a safe and successful approach to fertility-sparing laparoscopic wedge resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pacific salmon ( Oncorhynchus) use a variety of rearing environments prior to seaward migration, yet large river habitats and their use have not been well defined, particularly at the southernmost salmon range where major landscape-level alterations have occurred. We explored juvenile Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead ( Oncorhynchus mykiss) presence along the river continuum and in main-channel and off-channel habitats of a regulated California Mediterranean-climate river. Over an 8-year period, off-channels of the lower Mokelumne River exhibited slower and warmer water than the main-channel. Probability of salmonid presence varied by stream reach and habitat types. Steelhead and Chinook salmon both demonstrated transitional responses to the dry season, with juveniles leaving off-channels by midsummer. This corresponded to flow recession, increasing water temperatures, salmonid growth and end of emigration period. Main-channel steelhead observations continued until the following storm season, which brought cool flood flows to reconnect off-channels and the next juvenile cohort of both species to the river. Within arid climates, low-gradient off-channels appear more transiently used than in cooler and more northern humid climate systems. Within a highly regulated Mediterranean-climate river, off-channel habitats become increasingly scarce, disconnected or temperature limiting in low-gradient reaches both seasonally and due to anthropogenic modifications. These observations may provide guidance for future management within large salmon streams. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work was to develop the foundation for an interactive corrosion risk management tool for assessing the probability of failure of equipment/infrastructure as a function of threats (such as pitting corrosion and coating degradation) and mitigation schemes (such as inhibitors and coatings). The application of this work was to assist with corrosion management and maintenance planning of equipment/infrastructure given dynamic changes in environmental conditions. Markov models are developed to estimate pitting damage accumulation density distributions as a function of input parameters for pit nucleation and growth rates. The input parameters are selected based upon characterization with experimental or field observations over a sufficiently long period of time. Model predictions are benchmarked against laboratory pitting corrosion tests and long-term atmospheric exposure data for aluminum alloys, obtained from the literature. The models are also used to examine hypothetical scenarios for the probability of failure in pipeline systems subject to sudden, gradual, and episodic events that change the corrosive conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As globalisation continues concurrent with mergers and acquisitions, transnational organisations are increasingly turning to the use of virtual teams in which members collaborate through technology-mediated interaction. Although collocated teams and virtual teams share many common characteristics including performance measures, the nature of the environments differ along several dimensions. In particular, members of virtual teams cooperate on global projects while resident in their home geographies and cultures and using various technologies to facilitate. From that context, this field study investigated virtual team performance using organisational culture as a framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there typically is little additive genetic variation for fluctuating asymmetry (FA), or variation in nondirectional differences between left and right sides of bilateral characters, several investigators have hypothesized that FA may have an epistatic genetic basis. We tested this hypothesis by conducting a whole genome scan of FA of size and shape of the mandibular molars in house mice from an F2 intercross population generated from crossing the Large (LG/J) and Small (SM/J) inbred strains. Although no individual genes (QTLs=quantitative trait loci) on any of the 19 autosomes significantly affected FA for centroid size, and only two affected shape FA, a number of pairwise combinations of QTLs exhibited significant epistasis for FA in both molar size and shape. The QTLs involved in these interactions differed for FA in molar size versus FA in molar shape, but their epistatic contributions to the total variance was nearly the same (about 20%) for FA in both molar characters. It was noted that the genetic architecture of FA in the molar characters, consisting of little or no additive genetic variance but an abundance of epistatic genetic variance, is consistent with that of other typical fitness components such as litter size.Heredity (2005) 94, 316-325. doi:10.1038/sj.hdy.6800637 Published online 19 January 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes several screening methods and treatments for patients with breast cancer in the U.S. Effectiveness of the methods to increase the longevity of the patient; Factors contributing to the improvement of survival rates among breast cancer patients; Types of breast cancer; Signs and symptoms of the illness.

Copyright of American Potato Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of American Potato Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of American Potato Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of American Potato Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Focuses on adoptive immunotherapy as a treatment for cancer. Goal of adoptive immunotherapy; Use of a special leukapheresis pump/sorter; Comparison of adoptive immunotherapy with radiation immunology and chemotherapy.

The authors report the case of a patient who developed hyperammonemia and coma during therapy with valproic acid for affective disorder. Onset of the coma was gradual and initially interpreted as a therapeutic reduction in the patient's anxiety. In a psychiatric setting, treatment of hyperammonemia may be delayed if a patient's increasing lethargy is interpreted as a therapeutic response. Staff may need to be educated about the potential for hyperammonemia, and patients whose tolerance for valproic acid is unknown may need to be monitored for liver function and blood levels of urea and ammonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]