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Corticosteroids shorten the period of functional impairment following relapses in optic neuritis and multiple sclerosis (MS); however they have not, thus far, been shown to affect the final level of [...]

Background: Fine needle aspiration biopsy represents the critical initial diagnostic test used for evaluation of thyroid nodules. Our objectives were to determine the cytological distribution, the utility of clinicopathologic characteristics for predicting malignancy and the true proportion of cancer among individuals who presented with indeterminate cytology and had undergone thyroid surgery for suspicion of cancer.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 1040 consecutive primary thyroid operations carried out over an 8-year period at a tertiary care endocrine referral centre. Follicular neoplasm (FN), Hürthle cell neoplasm (HN), neoplasms suspicious for but not diagnostic of papillary carcinoma (IP) and neoplasms with cellular atypia (IA) were reviewed.Results: In all, 380 individuals presented with cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules. Of these, 252 (66%) patients had FN, 47 (12%) HN, 44 (12%) IP, 26 (7%) IA and 11 (4%) had mixed diagnoses. Biopsied lesions were found to be malignant on pathological evaluation in 102 (27%) patients: 49 (19%) with FN, 11 (23%) HN, 28 (64%) IP and 9 (35%) with IA. Hemithyroidectomy was adequate definitive treatment in 196 of 225 (87%) patients with FN and 39 of 42 (93%) with HN. Significant associations with a cancer diagnosis were identified for smaller tumour size in patients with FN (p = 0.004) and right thyroid lobe location in patients with IP (p = 0.012), although these factors were nonsignificant in the corrected analyses for multiple comparisons.Conclusion: In a review of the experience at a Canadian centre, 4 operations were carried out to identify each cancer, and hemithyroidectomy was the optimal initial and definitive surgical approach for most patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White mould caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is one of the most damaging diseases of bean worldwide. High incidence of white mould can lead to complete crop loss through rejection by processors. Since 2004, in Australia, white mould is managed by the prophylactic application of the fungicide, boscalid during flowering. The sensitivity of S. sclerotiorum isolates (n =150) was tested using a mycelial growth assay. The effective concentration of boscalid required to reduce mycelial growth by 50% (EC50) was calculated using probit analysis. The frequency distribution of EC50 values was unimodal and similar to that of 11 non-exposed isolates collected from other crops or obtained from culture collections. No evidence of resistance or reduced sensitivity was found within the tested S. sclerotiorum population from Australian bean fields. This study provides valuable baseline data for monitoring changes in sensitivity to this fungicide. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: We investigated whether having a policy regarding the availability of sweetened beverages in school was associated with children's purchase and total weekly and daily consumption of sweetened beverages.Design: Data were obtained from 10 719 children aged 9-13 years and 2065 elementary schools in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten cohort. Multilevel logistic regression was used to determine the magnitude and significance of relationships between the availability of different beverages and purchase of sweetened beverages at school and overall consumption of beverages.Results: The purchase of sweetened beverages by children in school was strongly associated with the administrative policy of sweetened beverage availability. Compared with children in schools without an administrative policy that allowed sweetened beverages, children in schools with the policy were three times more likely to be either occasional or frequent consumers of sweetened beverages.Conclusions: A policy of availability of sweetened beverages makes an independent contribution to children's purchase and consumption of sweetened beverages in the 5th grade year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the effects of a death sentence and execution on the children of the accused. Insight into the unique bereavement of this population is provided, while contributing to the literature on death and dying. The experience of losing a father to death row and eventual execution is compared to the wider population of children with incarcerated parents and it is determined that children of death row inmates contend with a much more complicated grief process, one that has gone largely unstudied. This article contains a brief discussion of disenfranchised grief and nonfinite loss, two theories that, we argue, shape the children's grief process. The results section of the article uses qualitative data gathered from 19 children to explore the role that nonfinite loss and disenfranchised grief share in the nature of their bereavement. Our discussion focuses on the impact of stigma and violence on the grieving process. Following a discussion of the unique challenges confronting the children of death row inmates is a discussion of the implications that their experience has for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cross-sectional data indicate that a relationship between household food insecurity and overweight exists among women in the USA. Cross-sectional data cannot determine if food insecurity leads to overweight as some have hypothesised. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship of food insecurity with subsequent weight gain in women using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID).Design, Setting and Subjects: Panel data from the 1999 and 2001 PSID, a nationally representative sample of households, were analysed using multivariate regression procedures.Results: Average weight gain among all women (n = 5595) was 1.1 kg on average over the two years. There were no significant differences in the percentages of women who gained a clinically significant amount (2.3 kg) by food insecurity status. Overweight women who were on a weight-gain trajectory during the 2-year period gained less if they were food-insecure. This relationship was not observed among healthy-weight or obese women.Conclusions: Overall, food insecurity does not appear to be strongly associated with subsequent weight gain in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The families of death row inmates experience grief and loss issues that have been neglected by scholars and clinicians alike. The issues found in this population are unique and require our understanding. The present study uses the concepts of disenfranchised grief and nonfinite loss to uncover the pain experienced by the children and other family members who have a loved one on death row. Kenneth Doka's (1989) concept of disenfranchised grief is utilized to bring attention to the ways in which the circumstances surrounding an execution leave the family members of those condemned to death outside of the 'grieving rules' that exist in the United States. Family members are disenfranchised from their grief, as society does not socially validate their pain. The loss that they feel is also nonfinite (Bruce & Schultz, 2001) in that it is continuous and denies the families all of the hopes, dreams, and expectations that they had for their loved one who now sits on death row. The qualitative interview method was utilized by the authors of this study to gather data from 26 family members of death row inmates who are incarcerated along the East Coast of the United States. The reactions of this group of family members are varied and complex, yet they include the following common responses: social isolation due to stigma and their own feelings of criminalization, intensified family conflict between family members who grieve differently from one another, diminished self-esteem, shame, diffused and specific feelings of guilt, and a chronic state of despair. This study explores virtually untapped terrain. An examination of the microlevel effects of the death penalty on families provides insight in to the area of death and dying, especially as it is related to disenfranchised loss and nonfinite grief. In addition, this study provides insight into the death penalty and its effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIM: To determine whether local politicians influence the distribution of traffic calming measures. METHODS: Longitudinal ecological study in two UK cities. Local political constituencies were categorized by representation by members of the cabinet structure as a marker of influence. The density of traffic calming features per political area, adjusted for the historical pattern of road injuries, was compared between cabinet represented and non-represented areas. RESULTS: Traffic calming density was significantly associated with cabinet representation status, adjusted for historical collision risk (risk ratio 2.77, 95% confidence interval 1.37 to 5.61). CONCLUSION: These results support the hypothesis that senior local politicians are effective advocates for enhancing safety in their areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EBNA 2 is one of only five viral genes essential for the infection and immortalization of human B cells by the cancer-associated virus Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). EBNA 2 activates cellular and viral transcription and associates with components of the basal transcription apparatus and a number of coactivators. We provide the first evidence to show that the mechanism of transcriptional activation by EBNA 2 also involves phosphorylation of the C-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II (pol II). We found that transcriptional activation by EBNA 2 was inhibited by a dominant-negative mutant of the pol II CTD kinase, CDK9, and by low concentrations of the CDK9 inhibitor 5, 6-dichloro-1-β-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole. Moreover, using chromatin immunoprecipitation assays we demonstrated that EBNA 2 stimulates both pol II recruitment and pol II phosphorylation on serine 5 of the CTD in vivo. These results identify a new step in the transcription cycle that is subject to regulation by a key EBV-encoded transcription factor and highlight CDK9 inhibitors as potential anti-EBV agents.Oncogene (2006) 25, 1775–1785. doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1209205; published online 28 November 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of children aged 8 to 14 years attending a three-day football clinic was undertaken to examine the relative impact of different sponsorship strategies used to promote health messages. It was found that promotional clothing worn by role models was an effective method for promoting a specific health message (i.e., 'Smoking? No Way!'). Personal endorsement of the health message by an external role model and, to a lesser extent, personal endorsement by clinic leaders and promotional clothing worn by clinic leaders and external role models were also effective in promoting a general health message (i.e., 'Don't smoke'). The implications for health sponsorship and the promotion of commercial products to children are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine whether narrative information in emergency department surveillance systems can be systematically interrogated to improve our understanding of the causes of injury. METHODS: Screening algorithms for location, intent, and activity were developed from structured analysis of narrative data from 98999 records. The algorithms were then tested on a 50000 record database containing entries in both of the two narrative fields. A proxy gold standard was defined as the total extract using both code and narrative. Sensitivity and specificity of the emergency department coding and narrative algorithms was calculated. RESULTS: The proportion of records carrying an informative emergency department code was higher in records containing narrative-the percentage of causes coded 'not know' dropped by 28.3%. The sensitivity of coded data varied from 42% to 98 % and from 33% to 99% for narrative data. Narrative analysis increased the percentage of home injuries identified by 19%, assaults by 26%, and rugby injuries by 137%. CONCLUSIONS: Using a small amount of narrative is a practical and effective means of developing more informative injury causation data in an emergency department based surveillance system. It allows for internal validation of the codes and for the identification of emerging hazards without adding more 'tick boxes' or further burdening data entry clerks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]