Citations

ABSTRACT A 65-year-old male with known hypertension and hypercholesterolemia sought medical attention because of a 3-month history of skin swelling on his upper back. Histopathology and molecular techniques were employed and identified an organism in the Onchocerca genus. This represents a very uncommon example of cutaneous infection by a zoonotic Onchocerca species.

Abstract Background: Individuals with a strong family history of colorectal cancer have significant risk for colorectal cancer, although adherence to colonoscopy screening in these groups remains low. This study assessed whether a tailored telephone counseling intervention can increase adherence to colonoscopy in members of high-risk families in a randomized, controlled trial. Methods: Eligible participants were recruited from two national cancer registries if they had a first-degree relative with colorectal cancer under age 60 or multiple affected family members, which included families that met the Amsterdam criteria for hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC), and if they were due for colonoscopy within 24 months. Participants were randomized to receive a tailored telephone intervention grounded in behavioral theory or a mailed packet with general information about screening. Colonoscopy status was assessed through follow-up surveys and endoscopy reports. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess intervention effect. Results: Of the 632 participants (ages 25–80), 60% were female, the majority were White, non-Hispanic, educated, and had health insurance. Colonoscopy adherence increased 11 percentage points in the tailored telephone intervention group, compared with no significant change in the mailed group. The telephone intervention was associated with a 32% increase in screening adherence compared with the mailed intervention (HR, 1.32; P = 0.01). Conclusions: A tailored telephone intervention can effectively increase colonoscopy adherence in high-risk persons. This intervention has the potential for broad dissemination to healthcare organizations or other high-risk populations. Impact: Increasing adherence to colonoscopy among persons with increased colorectal cancer risk could effectively reduce incidence and mortality from this disease. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(4); 601–10. ©2014 AACR.

A rapid method for measuring nicotine concentration in serum and urine is described. Deuterated nicotine is used as an internal standard. Nicotine and deuterated nicotine are extracted using a copolymeric-bonded phase silica column. The extract is analysed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) operating in selected ion monitoring mode. The method has a lower limit of detection of approximately 2 μg/L and is linear to at least 2000 μg/L. Within-run percentage coefficients of variation (% CV) are < 4 in both assays over a nicotine concentration range of 10–2000 μg/L. Between-run %CV in the serum assay are 5.4, 5.2, 4.8 and 5.9, respectively, at nicotine concentrations of 10, 15, 25, and 50 μg/L. Between-run %CV in the urine assay are 5.9, 4.5, 2.7 and 5.2, respectively, at nicotine concentrations of 100, 250, 500, and 2000 μg/L. The absolute recovery of nicotine is 61±+6% (mean±SD) over the range of 10–250 μg/L. The assay has been used to measure serum nicotine concentrations and 24-h urinary excretion of nicotine to monitor the extent of replacement in subjects receiving transdermal nicotine therapy for smoking cessation.

Purpose To evaluate the feasibility of using three‐dimensional (3D) MR elastography (MRE) to determine the stiffness of the pancreas in healthy volunteers. Materials and Methods Twenty healthy volunteers underwent 1.5 Tesla MRE exams using an accelerated echo planar imaging (EPI) pulse sequence with low‐frequency vibrations (40 and 60 Hz). Stiffness was calculated with a 3D direct inversion algorithm. The mean shear stiffness in five pancreatic subregions (uncinate, head, neck, body, and tail) and the corresponding liver stiffness were calculated. The intrasubject coefficient of variation (CV) was calculated as a measure of the reproducibility for each volunteer. Results The mean shear stiffness (average of values obtained in different pancreatic subregions) was (1.15 ± 0.17) kPa at 40 Hz, and (2.09 ± 0.33) kPa at 60 Hz. The corresponding liver stiffness was higher than the pancreas stiffness at 40 Hz ([1.60 ± 0.21] kPa, mean pancreas‐to‐liver stiffness ratio: 0.72), but similar at 60Hz ([2.12 ± 0.23) kPa, mean ratio: 0.95). The mean intrasubject CV for each pancreatic subregion was lower at 40 Hz than 60 Hz ( P < 0.05 for all subregions, range: 11.9–15.7% at 40 Hz and 16.5–19.6% at 60 Hz). Conclusion The 3D pancreatic MRE can provide promising and reproducible stiffness measurements throughout the pancreas, with more consistent data acquired at 40 Hz. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2015;41:369–375. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc .