Impact Of New Advances Research Articles

Vibrational Biospectroscopy in the Clinical Setting: Exploring the Impact of New Advances in the Field of Immunology

The investigation of pathological diseases largely relies on laboratory examinations. The ability to identify and characterise cells is an essential process for clinicians to reach an accurate diagnosis and inform appropriate treatments. There is currently a gap between the advancement of scientific knowledge on cellular and molecular pathways and the development of novel techniques capable of detecting subtle cellular changes associated with disease. Biospectroscopy is the use of spectroscopy techniques to investigate biological materials. Within a biological sample, important molecules such as lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and proteins are held together by chemical bonds; these bonds will vibrate following excitation with infrared light. By measuring the vibrational energy of each molecule present in a biological sample, a unique spectrum, known as the “molecular fingerprint” is generated. As disease-related changes in biological samples will be reflected in the molecular fingerprint, biospectroscopy is a well-placed candidate for the investigation of disease. Biospectroscopy has been gaining wider acceptance and application in the clinical setting over the past decade; however, it has yet to reach diagnostic laboratories and healthcare clinics as a routine platform for clinical assessment. Immunological disorders are complex, often demonstrating interaction across multiple molecular pathways which results in delayed diagnosis. Vibrational spectroscopy is being applied in many fields, and here we present a review of its use in cellular immunology. Potential benefits, including an enhanced definition of molecular processes and the use of spectroscopy in disease diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment response, are discussed. The translation of vibrational spectroscopic techniques into clinical practice offers rapid, noninvasive, and inexpensive methods to obtain information on the molecular composition of biological samples. The potential clinical benefits of biospectroscopy include providing a more prompt and accurate disease diagnosis, thus improving patient care and resulting in better health outcomes.

Disappearing liver metastases from colorectal cancer: impact of modern imaging modalities

BackgroundChemotherapy is often used before a resection for colorectal liver metastases. After chemotherapy, metastases may disappear on cross sectional imaging but residual metastatic disease may still exist. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the impact of new advancements in imaging technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with liver specific contrast (Gd EOB DTPA) and contrast enhanced intra operative ultrasound (CE IOUS) on disappearing liver metastases (DLM). MethodsTwenty nine patients with one or more DLM undergoing surgical exploration were included. Pre operative imaging consisted of contrast enhanced multi detector computed tomography (MDCT) and/or MRI with liver specific contrast. At surgery, CE IOUS was used when tumours known from pre chemotherapy imaging were not found by inspection or intra operative ultrasound. ResultsPatients presented 66 DLM. At surgical exploration, 42 DLM were identified and treated (64%). CE IOUS detected one additional DLM not found by intra operative ultrasound. For metastases ≤10 mm on histological analysis, imaging sensitivities for MRI and MDCT before surgery but after chemotherapy were 26/49 (53%) and 24/66 (36%), respectively. ConclusionA majority of DLM are identified during surgery using intra operative ultrasound, with only little additional value of CE IOUS. The sensitivities of post chemotherapy imaging modalities for small metastases are low in the setting of DLM. For surgical planning, an optimized pre chemotherapy imaging is essential.

An odyssey in the space of molecules, genes, biology and brain: an interview with Sabine Cordes.

Sabine Cordes is currently Senior Investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, where she studies the genes involved in craniofacial and neuronal development and psychiatric disorders. Although now renowned as an excellent mouse geneticist and neurobiologist, she is actually a biochemist by training. Indeed, she started her career at the Department of Biochemistry at Berkeley, University of California, studying ethylene-induced gene expression during tomato fruit ripening with Robert L. Fischer. She then became fascinated by brain development and decided to join Greg Barsh’s lab at Stanford University to work specifically on hindbrain segmentation. Her interest in psychiatric disorders was, in her own words, ‘accidental’. In this interview, Sabine recounts the interesting steps that took her from the study of chemistry and molecules to that of genes and mouse genetics, to researching on neurodevelopment and mood disorders. She also shares with us her personal forward-looking view of biomedical science, based on her own experience and on the impact of new advances that are revolutionising our understanding of cell biology and neurobiology.

The history and evolution of immigration medical screening for tuberculosis

Identifying and managing TB in immigrating populations has been an important aspect of immigration health for over a century, with the primary aim being protecting the host population by preventing the import of communicable diseases carried by the arriving migrants. This review describes the history and development of screening for TB and latent TB infection in the immigration context (describing both screening strategies and diagnostic tests used over the last century), outlining current practices and considering the future impact of new advances in screening. The recent focus of the WHO, regarding their elimination strategy, is further increasing the importance of diagnosing and treating latent TB infection. The last section of this review discusses the latest public health developments in the context of TB screening in immigrant populations.

Cell Culture Models of Oxidative Stress and Injury in the Central Nervous System

Constantly growing body of evidence suggests that hallmarks of oxidative stress are present in various central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Technological advantages in cell culturing made it possible to use neural cell/tissue cultures as experimental models for investigation of molecular mechanisms which underlie the development of oxidative stress condition, damage and adaptive responses to oxidative insults. This review is focused on the application of cell culture methodology for studies of oxidative stress condition in the brain. The review describes studies of biomarkers of oxidative stress-dependent cell damage and adaptive responses in various kinds of brain cell culture models. It discusses the use of cell/tissue culture models for elucidation of the role and pathogenesis of oxidative stress in neurodegenerative brain disorders, AIDS-associated brain pathology, drug abuse, and aging. The review underscores the importance of cell/tissue-based studies for testing of new antioxidants and development of therapeutic strategies for amelioration of oxidative damage in the CNS. The impact of new advances in gene and protein expression analysis on the cell/tissue culture-based research of oxidative stress in the CNS is also discussed.

Impact of new advances in seismology and geotechnical engineering on structural design since the Northridge earthquake

AbstractThe Northridge earthquake has brought a decade of change in the practice of engineering for all structures, and for tall buildings in particular. With the earlier Loma Prieta earthquake in Northern California, there was already some impetus and momentum to improve seismic safety and reduce risks from seismic hazards. However, the extensive damage and economic losses from the Northridge earthquake fueled greater public will to meet the challenges and provide programs for the reduction of losses and human casualties. In the geotechnical engineering discipline, many of the advances involved a more consistent application of seismic risk across the United States in dealing with strong ground motions. Initiatives were set in place to develop seismic hazard models of the possible earthquake sources that affect the country and to use these models in developing design criteria for seismic design in all regions of the United States, not just in California. These ground motion estimates are now accounted for in the latest design guidelines and building codes; however, the treatments in these documents is simplified and not always tied to reality. Ground motions are complex and advances are being made to understand the complexities and explain the variations. Great advances in seismology have occurred in the 10 years since Northridge, and these advances will be incorporated into building design and analysis with time. Other advances have been made in the area of defining seismic hazards that result from ground failures in California. The Northridge and earlier earthquakes demonstrated that ground failures (especially related to soil liquefaction and landsliding) can present a significant risk and result in large losses. In the decade since the Northridge earthquake, structural analysis has advanced with leaps and bounds due to advances in computer software and hardware. Complex three‐dimensional analyses in the time domain once relegated to only large mainframe computers can now be performed on desktop computers in most structural engineering offices. To model the seismic behavior of structures more accurately, better modeling of the soil–structure interface as well as the soil has become necessary. Models incorporating the appropriate soil behavior provide for better understanding of the forces and displacements of the structures under seismic loading and possibly avoid overconservatism by not accounting for the soil behavior. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders in liver transplantation: a 20-year experience.

To evaluate the incidence of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) and the risk factors and the impact of this complication on survival outcomes in a large cohort of liver transplant recipients at a single institution. Liver transplantation has been accepted as a therapeutic option for patients with end-stage liver disease since 1983, in large part due to the availability and reliance on the use of nonspecifically directed immunosuppression. However, as predicted and subsequently verified in 1968, an increased incidence of certain de novo malignancies has been observed, particularly with regards to lymphoid neoplasms. While many reports have confirmed and clarified the nature of PTLD, the literature is fraught with conflicting experience and outcomes with PTLD. Four thousand consecutive patients who underwent liver transplants between February 1981 and April 1998 were included in this analysis and were followed to November 2001. The effect of recipient age at the time of transplant, recipient gender, diagnosis, baseline immunosuppression, grading of PTLD, and association with Epstein-Barr virus were compared. The causes of death were also examined. Treatment for PTLD varied over the 20-year period, but all included massive reduction or elimination of baseline immunosuppression. The 1-year patient survival for liver transplant patients with PTLD was 85%, while the overall patient survival for the entire cohort was 53%. The actuarial 20-year survival was estimated at 45%. The overall median time to PTLD presentation was 10 months, and children had an incidence of PTLD that was threefold higher than adults. Patient survival was better in children, in patients transplanted in the era of tacrolimus immunosuppression, in patients with polymorphic PTLD, and in those with limited disease. Interestingly, neither the presence or absence of Epstein-Barr virus nor the timing of PTLD presentation appeared to influence overall patient survival. Patients transplanted for alcohol-related liver disease had a similar incidence of PTLD but had a higher risk of mortality. While PTLD continues to pose problems in patients receiving liver transplants, improvements in patient survival have been observed over time. While it is too early to assess the impact of new advances in prophylaxis, diagnosis, and treatment, such approaches are based on an increased knowledge of the pathophysiology of PTLD.

The Impact of New Advances in Treatment on HIV Prevention

SUMMARY This paper i examines the impact of new advances in treatment on HIV prevention targeting men who have sex with men. A period of uncertainty, with new questions and complex issues, is predicted. HIV prevention is rapidly changing, a result of such factors as: the introduction of protease inhibitors and other new medications, improvements in HIV detection and testing technologies, the confusion about sub-detectable viral load levels, funding dilemmas, divergence of rich and poor both within countries and between countries, anti-retroviral prophylaxis following occupational and possibly sexual exposure, and the emergence of black markets. The emergence of the new AIDS poorand the changing epidemic profile of HIV will mean significant challenges for AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs). The behavioral labelling of men who have sex with men and the focus of prevention on anal intercourse impacts our sense of gay, bisexual and queer identities. The challenges of this new HIV prevention era: for prevention workers to become familiar with new information about medications and virology, for social science research to become more interdisciplinary, and for information dissemination to become more efficient and broad. We have entered a period of many new questions with few answers, necessitating HIV prevention to become informed, flexible and united.

Mother‐Son Intimacy and the Dual View of Woman in Andalusia: Analysis Through Oral Poetry

Mediterranean ethnography is coming of age. Following the comparative thrust introduced by Davis (1977) and Herzfeld (1980, 1984), Mediterraneanists are identifying many provocative areas conducive to crossnational research. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the study of sexual politics. Receiving most attention is the honor/shame syndrome (Pitt-Rivers 1977; Herzfeld 1980), but there are many other striking parallels in domestic organization, sexual morality, and in sex role and gender relations (Boissevain 1979; Saunders 1981). One theme stands out here as a near universal in the Mediterra-

Overview: the impact of new advances in sex research on psychoanalytic theory.

This overview describes five concepts of sexuality that run through Freud's writings—bisexuality, infantile sexuality and the Oedipus complex, libido theory, the primacy of the penis, and conflict—and tests each against recent advances in sex research.