Helicobacter pylori genotyping from positive clotests in patients with duodenal ulcer

Even though the seroprevalence of H. pylori may be high in the normal population, a minority develops peptic ulcer. Colonization of the gastric mucosa by more pathogenic vacA strains of H. pylori seems to be associated with enhanced gastric inflammation and duodenal ulcer. H. pylori genotyping from positive CLOtests was developed to determine the vacA genotypes and cagA status in 40 duodenal ulcer patients and for routine use. The pathogenic s1b/ m1/ cagA genotype was the most frequently occurring strain (17/42.5%); only two (5%) patients presented the s2/ m2 genotype, the less virulent strain. Multiple strains were also detected in 17 (42.5%) patients. Multiple strains of H. pylori colonizing the human stomach have been underestimated, because genotyping has been performed from cultures of H. pylori. We concluded that genotyping of H. pylori from a positive CLOtest had the advantages of reducing the number of biopsies taken during endoscopy, eliminating the step of culturing H. pylori, and assuring the presence of H. pylori in the specimen being processed.

Conization, frozen section examination, and planned hysterectomy in the treatment of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

PURPOSE: We tested the role of frozen section examination of the cone specimen in the evaluation of the resection margin status and to rule out invasion in patients with high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia underwent conization followed by frozen section examination and planned hysterectomy. The results of the definitive paraffin exam were compared with frozen section examination. RESULTS: In the evaluation of the margins by frozen section examination, 16 patients (64%) had positive cone margins and 9 (36%) had negative margins. The definitive paraffin examination of margin status was concordant in all the cases. Intraoperative diagnosis of invasion was made in 5 cases, and 1 of these was microinvasive. Among the remaining 20 cases, we detected 2 additional microinvasive carcinomas after paraffin study, so the diagnosis of the frozen section examination was concordant with the paraffin sections in 23/25 cases (92%). Two cases of microinvasive carcinoma were diagnosed as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia by frozen section examination and had less than 2 mm stromal invasion. CONCLUSIONS: In high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, frozen section examination can provide immediate and precise evaluation of the cone margin status in high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. It can identify frank invasion and permit adequate treatment in a one-stage procedure. In early microinvasive disease, frozen section examination fails to detect the area of invasion but reliably detects clear resection margins.

The determinants of net interest margins & net interest spreads in the Russian & Japanese Commercial Banking sectors

This study presents an empirical investigation of the determinants of net interest margins and spreads in the Russian and Japanese banking sectors with a particular focus on commercial banks. Net interest mar-gins and spreads serve as indicators of financial intermediation efficiency. This paper employed a bank-level unbalanced panel dataset prolonging from 2005 to 2014. My main empirical results show that bank characteristics explain the most of the variation in not only net interest margins but also in spreads. Capi-talization, liquidity risk, inflation, economic growth, private and government debt are important determi-nants of margin in Russia. In Japan to the contrary loan and deposit market concentration along with bank size do predominate. Common significant variables in both countries are the substitution effect, cost effi-ciency and profitability. Turning to net interest spreads, micro- and macro-specific variables are the main significant drivers in Russia. I reach the conclusion that there are no significant determinants of net interest spreads in Japan within the original selection of variables, but operating efficiency and deposits to total funding seem to prevail. In both countries, there are solid differences in the net interest margins as well as spreads once the pre- and the post-crisis periods are considered.

Attachment style impacts behavior and early oculomotor response to positive, but not negative, pictures

The present study investigated whether oculomotor behavior is influenced by attachment styles. The Relationship Scales Questionnaire was used to assess attachment styles of forty-eight voluntary university students and to classify them into attachment groups (secure, preoccupied, fearful, and dismissing). Eye-tracking was recorded while participants engaged in a 3-seconds free visual exploration of stimuli presenting either a positive or a negative picture together with a neutral picture, all depicting social interactions. The task consisted in identifying whether the two pictures depicted the same emotion. Results showed that the processing of negative pictures was impermeable to attachment style, while the processing of positive pictures was significantly influenced by individual differences in insecure attachment. The groups highly avoidant regarding to attachment (dismissing and fearful) showed reduced accuracy, suggesting a higher threshold for recognizing positive emotions compared to the secure group. The groups with higher attachment anxiety (preoccupied and fearful) showed differences in automatic capture of attention, in particular an increased delay preceding the first fixation to a picture of positive emotional valence. Despite lenient statistical thresholds induced by the limited sample size of some groups (p < 0.05 uncorrected for multiple comparisons), the current findings suggest that the processing of positive emotions is affected by attachment styles. These results are discussed within a broader evolutionary framework.

TP perturbation of TN matrices and totally positive directions

Here, we define and consider (linear) TP-directions and TP-paths for a totally nonnegative matrix, in an effort to more deeply understand perturbation of a TN matrix to a TP matrix. We give circumstances in which a TP-direction exists and an example to show that they do not always exist. A strategy to give (nonlinear) TP-paths is given (and applied to this example). A long term goal is to understand the sparsest TP-perturbation for application to completion problems.

Clinical characteristics of women diagnosed with carcinoma who tested positive for cervical and anal high-risk human papillomavirus DNA and E6 RNA

High-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) is an essential cause of cervical carcinoma and is also strongly related to anal cancer development. The hrHPV E6 oncoprotein plays a major role in carcinogenesis. We aimed to evaluate the frequency of hrHPV DNA and E6 oncoprotein in the anuses of women with cervical carcinoma. We analyzed 117 women with cervical cancer and 103 controls for hrHPV and the E6 oncogene. Positive test results for a cervical carcinoma included 66.7 % with hrHPV-16 and 7.7 % with hrHPV-18. One case tested positive for both HPV variants (0.9 %). The samples from the anal canal were positive for HPV-16 in 59.8 % of the cases. Simultaneous presence of HPV in the cervix and anal canal was found in 53.8 % of the cases. Regarding expression of E6 RNA, positivity for HPV-16 in the anal canal was found in 21.2 % of the cases, positivity for HPV-16 in the cervix was found in 75.0 %, and positivity for HPV-18 in the cervix was found in 1.9 %. E6 expression in both the cervix and anal canal was found in 19.2 % of the cases. In the controls, 1 % tested positive for HPV-16 and 0 % for HPV-18. Anal samples from the controls showed a hrHPV frequency of 4.9 % (only HPV16). The presence of hrHPV in the anal canal of women with cervical cancer was detected at a high frequency. We also detected E6 RNA expression in the anal canal of women with cervical cancer, suggesting that these women are at risk for anal hrHPV infection.

The positive effect on ketamine as a priming adjuvant in antidepressant treatment.

Ketamine is an anesthetic with antidepressant properties. The rapid and lasting effect of ketamine observed in preclinical and clinical research makes it a promising therapeutic to improve current major depression (MD) treatment. Our work intended to evaluate whether the combined use of classic antidepressants (imipramine or fluoxetine) and ketamine would improve the antidepressant response. Using an animal model of depressive-like behavior, we show that the addition of ketamine to antidepressants anticipates the behavioral response and accelerates the neuroplastic events when compared with the use of antidepressants alone. In conclusion, our results suggest the need for a reappraisal of the current pharmacological treatment of MD.

Our place in history: young feminists at the margins

Feminisms in Portugal, as elsewhere, have been shaped historically. From the revolutions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which ended monarchy and established a republican system, women have taken a stand. In the late 1970s, after 48 years of dictatorship during which feminist issues were effectively silenced, feminist groups began to appear in Portugal. It was then, in 1976, that UMAR (Unia˜o de Mulheres Alternativa e Resposta [‘Union of Women for Alternatives and Answers’]) began its fight against discrimination and violence against women.

Doppler echocardiographic evaluation of HIV-positive patients in different stages of the disease

OBJETIVE: To evaluate by Doppler echocardiography (DE) early abnormalities of ventricular function in HIV-positive patients, as well as other cardiac abnormalities that can be detected by this method, with special emphasis on mitral valve flow. METHODS: 84 HIV- positive patients, 59 with CD4 cell count >500/mm³ (Group A) and 25 with CD4 cell count <500/mm³ (Group B), were analyzed. CD4 cells were counted and matched with structural data and systolic and diastolic function of the left ventricle (LV), as analyzed by DE. The results were compared with those obtained in 47 healthy individuals (Group C). RESULTS: 8% of patients in Group B had mild pericardial effusion; 31.5% showed decreased systolic function of the LV, and 12% had moderate mitral regurgitation. A wave velocity from the mitral inflow was different among the 3 groups, being higher in Group B, where the deceleration time of the E wave of the mitral inflow and the E/A ratio were significantly lower with a normal value of the isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT). CONCLUSION: HIV-positive patients with a CD4 cell count >500/mm³ had no abnormalities by DE. Patients with a more advanced infection (those with a CD4 cell count <500/mm³), had a significantly abnormal LV systolic function and a higher incidence of pericardial effusion and mitral regurgitation. Mitral valve inflow by Doppler did not indicate diastolic dysfunction.

Oxygen therapy, continuous positive airway pressure, or noninvasive bilevel positive pressure ventilation in the treatment of acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of 3 types of noninvasive respiratory support systems in the treatment of acute pulmonary edema: oxygen therapy (O2), continuous positive airway pressure, and bilevel positive pressure ventilation. METHODS: We studied prospectively 26 patients with acute pulmonary edema, who were randomized into 1 of 3 types of respiratory support groups. Age was 69±7 years. Ten patients were treated with oxygen, 9 with continuous positive airway pressure, and 7 with noninvasive bilevel positive pressure ventilation. All patients received medicamentous therapy according to the Advanced Cardiac Life Support protocol. Our primary aim was to assess the need for orotracheal intubation. We also assessed the following: heart and respiration rates, blood pressure, PaO2, PaCO2, and pH at begining, and at 10 and 60 minutes after starting the protocol. RESULTS: At 10 minutes, the patients in the bilevel positive pressure ventilation group had the highest PaO2 and the lowest respiration rates; the patients in the O2 group had the highest PaCO2 and the lowest pH (p<0.05). Four patients in the O2 group, 3 patients in the continuous positive pressure group, and none in the bilevel positive pressure ventilation group were intubated (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Noninvasive bilevel positive pressure ventilation was effective in the treatment of acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema, accelerated the recovery of vital signs and blood gas data, and avoided intubation.

The Youth Discourses on EU-ropeanization in the New European Countries and the Margins of Europe (Working paper) 

სტატია მომზადდა ევროაკადემიის მეორე გლობალური კონფერენციისთვის „ევროპა შიგნით და გარეთ: მრავალრიცხოვანი დამკვირვებლების თვალით დანახული ევროპა და ევროპელები"

The Western Imaginary and the Imagined Strategies against it in the New European Countries and the Margins of Eastern Europe (Working paper) 

სტატია მომზადდა ევროაკადემიის საერთაშორისო კონფერენციისთვის „აღმოსავლეთ ევროპის ხელახლა გამოგონება"

Ocean margins program / edited by R. Jahnke and P. Verity.

Scientific Framework

Ocean margins program / edited by R. Jahnke and P. Verity.

Phase I