International Organization of Psychophysiology

Publication date: May 2018
Source:International Journal of Psychophysiology, Volume 127





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Editorial Board

Publication date: May 2018
Source:International Journal of Psychophysiology, Volume 127





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How to get the most out of costly Barrett’s oesophagus surveillance

Current endoscopic surveillance protocols for Barrett's oesophagus have several limitations, mainly the poor cost-effectiveness and high miss rate. However, there is sufficient evidence that patients enrolled in a surveillance program have better survival chances of oesophageal cancer due to earlier tumor stages at diagnosis compared to patients with de novo diagnosed oesophagus cancer. Risk stratifications aim to identify patients at highest risk of developing adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus; most of them base on the length of the Barrett's segment and the presence of dysplasia.

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Impact of age at diagnosis on natural history of patients with elderly-onset ulcerative colitis: a French population-based study

Recent population-based study of elderly-onset Crohńs disease patients reported age-related differences in disease phenotype and outcome.

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Evaluation of ballooned hepatocytes as a risk factor for future progression of fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract

Background

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has increased. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) shows progression of liver fibrosis in NAFLD. It remains unclear which patients with NAFLD will show progression of liver fibrosis. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the risk factor associated with the progression of liver fibrosis among patients with NAFLD.

Methods

This observational study enrolled 157 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD. Thirty-two patients were excluded because of lack of data. The accuracy of the formulae for estimating liver fibrosis, i.e., the FIB-4 index, APRI, and Forns index, was compared. Using serial changes of the best formula for liver fibrosis, we identified factors associated with the progression of liver fibrosis. Histological liver fibrosis was quantified using the Brunt stage.

Results

Sixty-three patients were diagnosed as having NASH. The FIB-4 index provided the best diagnostic accuracy for liver fibrosis [Brunt stage 0 versus 1–4, areas under the curve (AUC) 0.74; 0–1 versus 2–4, AUC 0.77; 0–2 versus 3–4, AUC 0.78; and 1–3 versus 4, AUC 0.87]. The association between body mass index, sex, observation period, and histological findings (liver fat content, bridging fibrosis, and hepatocyte ballooning) with the change in the FIB-4 index was evaluated among patients with NASH, using multivariate analysis. Among these factors, hepatocyte ballooning was associated with an increase in the FIB-4 index.

Conclusion

The FIB-4 index was the best formula for estimating liver fibrosis in patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD, and the presence of ballooned hepatocytes was a risk factor for the progression of liver fibrosis.

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The second case of a young man with l -arginine-induced acute pancreatitis

Abstract

Background

Dietary supplementation of arginine has been used by numerous world-class athletes and professional bodybuilders over the past 30 years. l-Arginine indeed enhances muscular power and general performance via maintaining ATP level. However, l-arginine is also known to induce acute pancreatitis in murine models.

Case report

We report the case of young man presenting with upper abdominal pain and increased serum lipase levels. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography confirms a mild acute pancreatitis. Common etiologies have been ruled out and toxicological anamnestic screening reveals the intake of protein powder. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the second case in human of arginine-induced acute pancreatitis.

Conclusion

This case report suggests that every patient presenting with acute pancreatitis without obvious etiology should be evaluated for the intake of toxics other than alcohol, including l-arginine.

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Time-calibrated phylogenomics of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus: genome-wide insights into the spatio-temporal dynamics

Abstract

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), the causative agent of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), has led to tremendous economic losses in the global swine industry. Although the phylogeny of PEDV has been investigated extensively at the molecular level, there was no time-calibrated phylogenomic study on the virus. To improve insight into this topic, we analyzed 138 published genome sequences using the Bayesian coalescent analyses as well as Bayesian inferences and maximum likelihood methods. All of the global PEDV isolates were divided into six groups, except for one unclassified isolate. Of the six groups, Groups 1–5 comprised pandemic viruses while the remaining Group 6 contained classical isolates. Interestingly, the two clades, both pandemic and classical, consisted of clade-specific amino acid sequences in five genes: ORF1a, ORF1b, S, ORF3, and N. Within the pandemic clade, Group 1 and Group 2 originated from North America, whereas Group 3–Group 5 were derived from Asia. In Group 2, there was a common origin of S INDEL isolates. Within each group, there was no apparent association between temporal or geographic origin and heterogeneity of PEDVs. Our findings also showed that the PEDV virus evolved at a rate of 3.38 × 10⁻⁴ substitutions/site/year, and the most recent common ancestor of the virus emerged 75.9 years ago. Our Bayesian skyline plot analysis indicated that the PEDV had maintained constant effective population size excluding only a short period, around 2012, when a valley shaped decline in the effective number of infections occurred.

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