An Objective Analysis of Quality and Readability of Online Information for Patients seeking Cosmetic Surgery Abroad.

Increasing numbers of patients are travelling abroad to undergo cosmetic surgery. This is associated with complications that often become the responsibility of clinicians in the patients' home countries. While seemingly lower cost treatments abroad may seem attractive, prospective patients should be made aware of the hidden costs of postoperative complications and their associated morbidity. Many internet sources of information regarding these procedures originate from commercial providers in the form of advertisements, which may not highlight the potential complications to prospective patients. Our study aims to perform an objective analysis of the quality and readability of online information for patients seeking cosmetic surgery abroad using tools such as JAMA and DISCERN scores. We found that the majority of online information available to prospective and current patients regarding travelling abroad for cosmetic surgery is unregulated, distributed by commercial providers and often lacking relevant and reliable information. Due to the strong influence that the internet can have on patients' decision making, it is important that reputable, informative online material is circulated regarding these procedures. Further work needs to be done by professional bodies and medical professionals in the plastic surgery community to improve patient education in this area.

Lhermitte-Duclos disease (dysplastic cerebellar gangliocytoma) in the setting of cowden syndrome: a case report and literature review on COLD syndrome.

Lhermitte-Duclos Disease is a rare clinical entity involving a dysplastic lesion of the cerebellum. The dysplastic cerebellar ganglioblastoma is often seen in association with Cowden Syndrome, an autosomal dominant disorder consisting of a mutation in the phosphatase and homologous tensin (PTEN) gene. Characteristic findings on neuroimaging allow for a pre-operative diagnosis to be made, which guides further management of the condition. This report describes the diagnosis and management of Lhermitte-Duclos Disease in a 51-year-old lady, spanning a period of almost seven years. The characteristic radiological and histological findings are presented, along with the clinical features associated with Cowden Syndrome. This patient ultimately underwent surgical intervention for symptomatic relief, which is described here.

Advanced chemical stability diagrams to predict the formation of complex zinc compounds in a chloride environment.

A chemical stability map is advanced by incorporating ion complexation, solubility, and chemical trajectories to predict ZnO, Zn(OH)2, ZnCO3, ZnCl2, Zn5(CO3)2(OH)6, and Zn5(OH)8Cl2·H2O precipitation as a function of the total Zn content and pH of an NaCl solution. These calculations demonstrate equilibrium stability of solid Zn products often not considered while tracking the consumed and produced aqueous Zn ion species concentrations through chemical trajectories. The effect of Cl-based ligand formation is incorporated into these stability predictions, enabling enhanced appreciation for the local corrosion conditions experienced at the Zn surface in chloride-containing environments. Additionally, the complexation of Cl- with Zn2+ is demonstrated to compete with the formation of solid phases, making precipitation more difficult. The present work also extends the chemical stability diagram derivations by incorporating a Gibbs-Thompson curvature relation to predict the effect of nanoscale precipitate phase formation on species solubility. These thermodynamic predictions correlate well with experimental results for Zn corrosion in full and alternate NaCl immersion, and have far-reaching utility in a variety of fields requiring nanoscale, semiconductor, and/or structural materials.

Dynamics of double and single Wolbachia infections in Drosophila simulans from New Caledonia.

The bacterial symbiont Wolbachia can cause cytoplasmic incompatibility in Drosophila simulans flies: if an infected male mates with an uninfected female, or a female with a different strain of Wolbachia, there can be a dramatic reduction in the number of viable eggs produced. Here we explore the dynamics associated with double and single Wolbachia infections in New Caledonia. Doubly infected females were compatible with all males in the population, explaining the high proportion of doubly infected flies. In this study, males that carry only wHa or wNo infections showed reduced incompatibility when mated to uninfected females, compared with previous reports. These data suggest that either the DNA of these bacterial isolates have diverged from those previously collected, or the genetic background of the host has lead to a reduction in the phenotype of incompatibility. Mitochondrial sequence polymorphism at two sites within the host genome was assayed to investigate population structure related to infection types. There was no correlation between sequence polymorphism and infection type suggesting that double infections are the stable type, with singly infected and uninfected flies arising from stochastic segregation of bacterial strains. Finally, we discuss the nomenclature of Wolbachia strain designation.

Tandemly arranged variant 5S ribosomal RNA genes in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Most of the ribosomal RNA genes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are about 9 kilobases (kb) in size and encode both the 35S rRNA (processed to produce the 25S, 18S, and 5.8S species) and 5S rRNA. These genes are arranged in a single tandem array of 100 repeats. Below, we present evidence that at the centromere-distal end of this array is a tandem arrangement of a different type of rRNA gene. Each of these repeats is 3.6 kb in length and encodes a single 5S rRNA. The coding sequence of this gene is different from that of the "normal" 5S gene in three positions located at the 3' end of the gene.

Binding of spermidine to transfer ribonucleic acid.

The binding of spermidine to yeast tRNAPhe and Escherichia coli tRNAGlu2 at low and high ionic strength was studied by equilibrium dialysis. Once corrected for the expected Donnan effect, the binding at low ionic strength obeys the simple relationship of equivalent binding sites, and cooperative binding of spermidine to tRNA could not be detected. At low ionic strength (0.013 M Na+ ion), tRNAPhe (yeast) has 13.9 +/- 2.3 strong spermidine binding sites per molecule with Kd = 1.39 X 10(-6) M and a few weak spermidine binding sites which were inaccessible to experimentation; tRNAGlu2 (E. coli) has 14.8 +/- 1.6 strong spermidine binding sites and 4.0 +/- 0.1 weak spermidine binding sites with Kd = 1.4 X 10(-6) M and Kd = 1.23 X 10(-4) M, respectively. At high ionic strength (0.12 M monovalent cation) and 0.01 M Mg2+, tRNAPhe (yeast) has approximately 13 strong spermidine binding sites with an apparent Kd = 3.4 X 10(-3) M while the dimeric complex tRNAPhe X tRNAGlu2 has 10.4 +/- 1.2 strong spermidine binding sites per monomer with an apparent Kd = 2.0 X 10(-3) M. In the presence of increasing Na+ ion or K+ ion concentration, spermidine binding data do not fit a model for competitive binding to tRNA by monovalent cations. Rather, analysis of binding data by the Debye-Hückel approximation results in a good fit of experimental data, indicating that monovalent cations form a counterion atmosphere about tRNA, thus decreasing electrostatic interactions. On the basis of equilibrium binding analyses, it is proposed that the binding of spermidine to tRNA occurs predominantly by electrostatic forces.

Changes in transfer ribonucleic acid population of Acanthamoeba castellanii during growth and encystment.

Fifteen aminoacyl-transfer ribonucleic acids (tRNA's) from vegetative cells (trophozoites) and mature cysts of Acanthamoeba castellanii were compared by reversed-phase 5 chromatography. Little or no differences were detected in reversed-phase 5 chromatography elution profiles of alanyl-, arginyl-, isoleucyl-, phenylalanyl-, prolyl-, seryl-, threonyl-, tryptophanyl- and valyl-tRNA's. Significant differences in the relative proportions of isoaccepting species of leucyl-, lysyl-, methionyl-, aspartyl-, histidyl-, and tyrosyl-tRNA's were observed. Based upon the criterion of cyanogen bromide reactivity with the modified nucleoside queuosine, the content of queuosine in aspartyl-tRNA of A, castellanii is significantly greater in mature cysts than in trophozoites. The similarity of change in reversed-phase 5 chromatography elution profiles of aspartyl-, histidyl-, and tyrosyl-tRNA suggests that a common mechanism is responsible for alterations in the chromatographic patterns.

Deterioration of high-moisture corn.

Two small, leaky silos were filled with normal high-moisture corn (HMC), and two with HMC severely infested by Helminthosporium maydis. Counts of mesophilic bacteria, lactobacilli, coliforms, yeasts, and molds were made on corn samples as received and periodically thereafter during 220 days of storage. Temperature and gas levels also were monitored. Sequential changes in the populations of lactobacilli, yeasts, and molds were determined during spoilage of HMC. These population changes were compared on the basis of the variables encountered in the present study as well as with the results of previous studies conducted on normal HMC stored under adequate conditions. Heavy infestation by H. maydis had no appreciable effect on HMC preservation.