Since the introduction of volumetric chemical dosimetry with Fricke gel dosimeters in the 1980s, three-dimensional (3D) dosimetry has been a promising technique for the clinic, since it provides a unique methodology for 3D dose measurement of the complex conformal dose distributions achieved by modern techniques such as Intensity Modulated and Volumetric Arc Radiation Therapy. In the last decad...

We conducted a prospective study to assess the risk factors, molecular epidemiology and outcome of bloodstream infection (BSI) due to Enterococcus faecium in hospitalized cancer patients. Between 2006 and 2012, a significant increase in vancomycin-susceptible E. faecium BSI was observed among cancer patients. Comparison of 54 episodes of BSI due to E. faecium with 38 episodes of BSI due to E. f...

BACKGROUND Up to 12% of beryllium-exposed American workers would test positive on beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT) screening, but the implications of sensitization remain uncertain. METHODS Seventy two current and former employees of a beryllium manufacturer, including 22 with pathologic changes of chronic beryllium disease (CBD), and 50 without, with a confirmed positive test ...

The narrow concept of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as an early form of Alzheimer s disease has been broadened by research that established the existence of alternative forms of the condition that may presage other forms of dementia. The research presented here was a naturalistic, cross-sectional study of patients in a community referral clinic-patients with MCI and mild dementia-compared to ...

This article celebrates with obvious joy the role automated reasoning now plays for mathematics and logic. Simultaneously, this article evidences the realization of a dream thought impossible just four decades ago by almost all. But there were believers, including Joerg Siekmann to whom this article is dedicated in honor of his sixtieth birthday. Indeed, today (in the year 2001) a researcher ca...

Parkinson disease (PD) and Alzheimer disease (AD), the two most common neurodegenerative disorders in American adults, are of purely genetic origin in a minority of cases and appear in most instances to arise through interactions among genetic and environmental factors. In this article we hypothesize that environmental exposures in early life may be of particular etiologic importance and review...

B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL) has been described as the progressive accumulation of mature-appearing B cells in peripheral blood and bone marrow, resulting from failed apoptosis rather than from alterations in cell cycle regulation. Recent investigations suggest that high WBC and lymphocyte counts result not only from defects in apoptosis, but also from cell proliferation. In thi...

This study was undertaken to develop molecular tools to assess water quality using diatoms as the biological model. Molecular approaches were designed following the development of a rapid and easy RNA extraction method suited to diatoms and the sequencing of genes involved in mitochondrial and photosystem metabolism. Secondly the impact of cadmium was evaluated at the genetic level by q-PCR on ...

The lipopeptide daptomycin is a member of the newest FDA-approved antimicrobial class, exhibiting potency against a broad range of Gram-positive pathogens with only rare incidences of clinical resistance. Environmental bacteria harbor an abundance of resistance determinants orthologous to those in pathogens and thus may serve as an early-warning system for future clinical emergence. A collectio...

A midsized broad beam Optical-CT scanner is being developed for collaborative research between Duke and the Radiological Physics Center (RPC). The Duke Midsized Optical-CT Scanner (DMOS-RPC) is designed to be compatible with several of the RPC phantoms, including the head and neck, stereotactic SRS, and lung phantoms. Preliminary data investigating the basic performance of the scanner is descri...