Methods: Eighty patients with BD were diagnosed according to the International Study Group Criteria for BD at our hospital. Sixteen patients (20%, including 11 men and five women) had evidence of and fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for NBD. These patients underwent laboratory and imaging investigations, including human leukocyte antigen-typing, lumbar puncture, electroencephalographic studies, and computed tomography scanning.

Results: Fourteen of the 16 patients received high-dose steroids, and four of these 14 patients were treated with a combination of steroids and cytotoxic agents. Relief was observed in 14 of 16

patients (87.5%). The remaining two patients were untreated HDAC inhibitor males who suffered severe brainstem lesions, and later died.

Conclusion: In contrast with previous reports of a poor prognosis with NBD, our study shows that early aggressive intervention with corticosteroids and cytotoxic agents may ameliorate the prognosis in these patients, and can diminish and stabilize the negative effect of neurologic involvement.”
“The relation between lifestyles and gastric cancer has been investigated thoroughly; however few studies have addressed the impact of these exposures on prognosis. Therefore, we quantified the association between prediagnosis smoking, alcohol intake

and other dietary exposures and the survival of gastric HIF inhibitor cancer patients through a systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched Pubmed and EMBASE up to April 2011 and computed summary hazard ratio estimates and respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) through a random-effects meta-analysis (DerSimonian and Laird). Heterogeneity was quantified using the I-2 statistic. Seven articles, providing data from 6856 cases evaluated in seven countries (Canada, Japan, Italy, USA, Korea, Iran and Sweden), were eligible for meta-analysis. The summary hazard ratio was 1.08 (95% CI: 0.90-1.30) for smoking

(current vs. never smokers, seven studies; I-2 = 56.2%) and 1.13 (95% CI: 1.00-1.28) for alcohol consumption TPX-0005 (drinkers vs. nondrinkers, five studies; I-2 = 13.2%). Only two studies assessed the effect of other dietary factors. This study summarizes the best evidence available on the relation between prediagnosis lifestyles and the survival of gastric cancer patients. Alcohol drinkers have lower survival, but results on the effect of smoking lack consistency and there is almost no information on the effects of dietary factors. European Journal of Cancer Prevention 21:449-452 (C) 2012 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.”
“Morbidly obese patients due to high incidence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are predisposed to opioid induced airway obstruction and thus frontline high ceiling analgesics (opioids) have concerns based on safety in their liberal use.

001), and postpartum perineal mobility was associated with delivery mode (P = 0.015). A significant correlation

was found between these outcome measures and levator hiatal area on Valsalva, both before and after delivery. Perineal trauma, episiotomy, epidural block, augmentation of labor, and length of first and second stage of labor were not associated with postpartum mobility of perineal body and anorectal junction.

Vaginal delivery increases the mobility of perineal body and anorectal junction. Perineal mobility may be partly determined by distensibility AZD6738 concentration of the levator hiatus.”
“Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) has been reported in Eurasia and attributed mainly to Borrelia persica, although other entities have also been described. Ornithodoros tholozani is the most important tick vector, found in India

and Kashmir, the southern countries of the former USSR, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, and Cyprus. It inhabits caves, ruins, and burrows of rodents and small mammals. In the northern countries, O. tholozani also lives in houses and cowsheds. In Israel, 30-60% of caves were found to be infested. PCR studies of Borrelia infection of O. tholozani ticks collected in caves showed very variable rates, ranging from less than 2% to Selleckchem HDAC inhibitor 40%. The number of human cases reported varies among countries, from eight cases per year in Israel to 72 cases per year in Iran. The incubation period is 5-9 days. The fever attacks last from several hours to 4 days, and are accompanied by chills, headache, nausea and vomiting, sweating, abdominal pain, arthralgia, and cough; AZD1152 mouse complications are rare.

Other described Borrelia species are Borrelia caucasica, Borrelia latyschewii, Borrelia microtii, and Borrelia baltazardi. The classic taxonomy based on the co-speciation concept is very complex and very confusing. For this reason, 16S rRNA and flaB genes were used for taxonomic clarification. Sequencing of Israeli TBRF flaB genes, from human and tick samples, has demonstrated a third cluster corresponding to the Eurasia strains, in addition to both New World and Old World clusters. Thin and thick blood smears remain the most frequently used methods for laboratory diagnosis, with a sensitivity of 80%. PCR-based diagnosis is the most sensitive method, and has the advantage of allowing species identification.”
“Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the activity of prescription and over-the-counter antimicrobial compounds against planktonic and biofilm forms of Candida albicans isolated from cases of oral candidiasis in vitro.

Study design. The efficacy of azoles, polyenes, an echinocandin, and 4 over-the-counter mouthwashes were tested against C. albicans-derived planktonic and biofilm cells.

Results. Planktonic cells were shown to be highly sensitive to all of the antifungal agents tested.

HPMC K 4M and Carbopol 934P were taken as the independent variables. Contour plots were drawn and optimum formulations were selected by feasibility and grid searches.

Results: The tablets showed excellent bioadhesive strength which varied from 7.6 to 21 g. Both 5-Fluoracil clinical trial polymers had effect

on the bioadhesive strength of the tablets and maximum bioadhesion was observed at the highest level of both the polymers. The drug release from the formulation varied from 79.74 to 94.54 % in 12 h. The diffusion exponent (n) of Korsmeyer-Peppas model ranged from 0.491 to 0.658 which indicates the mechanism of drug release was anomalous transport; the diffusion exponent (n) increased with increase in the amount of either polymer in the bioadhesive tablet.

Conclusion: Floating bioadhesive tablets of diltiazem hydrochloride with good bioadhesion and controlled release characteristics is feasible.”
“Objective: The purpose of this study was to construct reference limits for cerebellar vermis (CV) dimensions measured

on images selleck screening library reconstructed from three-dimensional (3D) ultrasonography and to evaluate these measurements reproducibility. Methods: 3D ultrasound volumes were acquired transabdominally from an axial view of the fetal head in 342 fetuses cross-sectionally studied between 18 to 32 weeks of gestation. Offline analysis of fetal brain midsagittal plane was used to evaluate length and area of CV. The agreement between two-dimensional

(2D) and 3D measurements as well as the interobserver variability in 3D measurements were assessed by interclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Results: Adequate visualization of the midsagittal plane was obtained in 96.7% of the fetuses. CV length (r = 0.89, p < 0.0001) and CV area (r = 0.93, p < 0.0001) showed a significant linear growth with gestation. A good agreement was found between measurements from either 2D or 3D ultrasound views (CV length ICC 0.943, CV area ICC 0.940) as well as between measured Panobinostat nmr obtained by different observers (CV length ICC 0.965, CV area ICC 0.905). Conclusions: Measurements of the CV can be obtained from the midsagittal plane of fetal brain reconstructed from 3D volumes acquired transabdominally. The constructed nomograms may facilitate the diagnosis of cerebellar abnormalities.”
“Mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow are a well characterized population of adult stem cells that can be maintained and propagated in culture for a long time with the capacity to form a variety of cell types. Reports have shown that murine and human embryonic stem cells can differentiate into primordial germ cells and then to early gametes. Evidence has indicated that some adult stem cells also have the potential to differentiate into germ cells. Currently, there are no reports on directed differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells into genii cells.

The SDRs-mediated posttranscriptional processing events including cis- and trans-actions were experimentally detected in majority of the predicted candidates. Extensive sequence analysis demonstrates several types of SDR-associated

splicing peculiarities including partial exon deletion, exon fragment repetition, exon fragment scrambling and trans-splicing that result in either loss of partial exon or unusual exonic sequence Selleck SB203580 rearrangements within or between RNA molecules. In addition, we show that the paired presence of SDR is necessary but not sufficient in SDR-mediated splicing in transient expression and stable transformation systems. We also show prokaryote is incapable of SDR-mediated premRNA splicing.”
“Objectives Few studies have focused on the psychological impact of postoperative complications after breast reconstruction (BR). Baf-A1 mouse As postoperative

complications after BR usually lead to a prolonged recovery time and sometimes require additional surgery, the short-term impact on distress was investigated. Methods Pre- and postoperatively, psychological questionnaires were sent to 152 women who underwent either implant BR or deep inferior epigastric artery perforator flap BR (DIEPBR). In addition, patients and physicians’ reports of postoperative complications during the first 46 weeks after Rabusertib cost BR were scored. The course of anxiety, depression and cancer-specific distress, and the effect of complications on distress were investigated. Results Implant BR patients reported decreased anxiety after surgery, and both groups reported reduced cancer-specific distress after surgery. However, depressive symptoms tended to increase after DIEPBR. If complications occurred, both reconstruction

groups reported increased depressive and anxiety symptoms, and DIEPBR patients even had depressive symptoms of clinical concern. A significant number of patients with complications reported alarming levels of distress. Timing and laterality were not significantly correlated with distress. Conclusions Complications after BR have a significant impact on emotional well-being shortly after surgery. As distress affects quality of life and health outcomes, it is of great importance to offer psychological support to these patients. Distress can be evaluated by monitoring the emotional impact of BR during post-surgery consults, or with the standard use of short psychological questionnaires that patients can complete at home. Copyright (c) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.”
“Renin-angiotensin system blockade retards the progression of diabetic and non-diabetic chronic kidney disease of the native kidneys.

The recipient of a single kidney was rapidly transplantectomized and treated with actinomycin. At 2 years, she remains in remission. Liver recipient showed intestinal metastasis and died from digestive hemorrhage after an initial response to chemotherapy. Heart recipient had an initial remission under EMA-CO, but at the last report, he showed diffuse metastasis. PND-1186 ic50 Published reports on CC transmission are rare. The long-lasting remission of our pancreas-kidney recipient and her good outcome after

2 years make our observation original. Moreover, the high rate of transmission demonstrates the high malignant potential of CC in immunosuppressed patients. Chemotherapy combined or not with transplantectomy in case of nonvital organ, should be discussed.”
“Objective: To assess the safety and efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) for treating radiation cystitis a long-term follow-up study was done in patients with prostate cancer, the second most PF-04929113 Cytoskeletal Signaling inhibitor common malignancy in Japan. Patients and Methods: A total of 38 patients at an age of 68 +/- 8 years with radiation cystitis following irradiation of prostate cancer were treated with HBO at 2 absolute atmospheric pressures for 90 min daily. The average number of HBO treatment sessions in each patient was 62 +/- 12. The follow-up period was 11.6 +/- 3.7 years. We evaluated objective and subjective symptoms periodically with special

reference to the initiation timing of HBO therapy. Results: High efficacy ratios

of objective and subjective findings were obtained at 2 and 4 (79-95%) years, respectively. After 7 years’ follow-up, these ratios decreased slightly (72-83%) but still remained stable thereafter (75-88%) without any serious accident. Comparison of late morbidity scores before and 11.6 years after HBO therapy showed significant improvement (p < 0.0005). Twenty-eight patients (74%) obtained nonrecurrent outcome. They had received 18% lower AR-13324 Cell Cycle inhibitor (p < 0.001) radiation dosage than recurrent patients. The interval between the onset of hematuria and start of HBO treatment in nonrecurrent patients was 30% shorter (p < 0.001) than that of recurrent patients. Conclusions: We elucidated the long-term safety and beneficial effect of HBO therapy of radiation cystitis in patients with prostate cancer. Early application of HBO treatment after the onset of hematuria appears to produce favorable outcome. Copyright (c) 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel”
“A 15-year-old female presented to a pediatric emergency department with glycosuria, ketonuria, and hyperglycemia and was admitted with a presumed diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. The patient required no insulin therapy and only minor dietary modification to maintain euglycemia. Clinical examination and laboratory findings revealed a primary diagnosis of Graves’ hyperthyroidism with associated impaired glucose tolerance.

stirring rate 300 rpm, extraction temperature 70 degrees C, liquid to solid ratio 5.2:1 and extraction time 52 min. The physicochemical properties were determined to evaluate the quality of seed oil. The chemical composition of extracted seed oil was analyzed by GC-MS. This novel extraction technique provided high throughput and high quality oil. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Background and objective: Recently, angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) was identified

as a ligand of the endothelial receptor tyrosine kinase, Tie-2. Ang-2 is an angiopoietin-1 antagonist that plays a role in vascular destabilization and remodelling, which may increase in some diseases. However, serumAng-2 levels have not been evaluated in patients YAP-TEAD Inhibitor 1 with COPD. In this study, we examined Navitoclax price serum Ang-2 concentrations in patients experiencing COPD exacerbations and in patients with stable COPD.

Methods: Serum samples were obtained from 49 patients experiencing COPD exacerbations, 22 patients with stable COPD and 18 healthy control subjects. Serum Ang-2 concentrations were measured by ELISA.

Results:

Serum Ang-2 concentrations were significantly higher in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD than in those with stable COPD or control subjects, and were significantly positively correlated with serum CRP levels but inversely correlated with PaO(2) in patients with exacerbations. In addition, Ang-2 levels decreased significantly after clinical recovery from the acute see more exacerbation.

Conclusions: Serum Ang-2 levels are significantly elevated during acute exacerbations of COPD, as compared with stable COPD.”
“Hypertension is the most-prevalent modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. Hypertension is highly prevalent among older adults (>= 65 years), and aging of the population will substantially increase the prevalence of this condition. Age-related endothelial dysfunction and increased arterial stiffness contribute to the increased prevalence of hypertension, particularly systolic hypertension, among the elderly.

The incidence of some forms of secondary hypertension also increases with age, mainly owing to the use of drugs (especially NSAIDs that have pressor effects) and the presence of chronic kidney disease, obstructive sleep apnea, and renal artery stenosis. Guidelines differ in thresholds and goals for antihypertensive drug therapy in the elderly because of a paucity of high-level evidence from randomized controlled trials and inconsistencies in the definition of ‘elderly’. Medical treatment of hypertension reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the elderly, and all guidelines recommend lifestyle modifications and medical treatment for elderly patients whose blood pressure exceeds prescribed thresholds and who are at moderate or high cardiovascular disease risk.

8% of overall physical activity energy expenditure. Levels

of nonexercise physical activity were inversely associated with circulating concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 (P-trend=0.004), IL-1 (P-trend=0.03) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-) (P-trend=0.01). Multivariable-adjusted concentrations of these cytokines were 28.2% for IL-6, 22.1% for IL-1, and 15.9% for TNF- lower in the highest quartile of nonexercise physical activity compared with the lowest selleck screening library quartile. Similar inverse associations were found for two major components of nonexercise physical activity, walking and biking for transportation, and household activity. No significant associations were observed between nonexercise physical activity and oxidative stress markers. Conclusion: Daily nonexercise physical activity is associated with lower levels of systemic inflammation. This finding may have important public health implications because this type of activity is the main contributor to overall physical activity among middle-aged and elderly women.”
“The palliative therapy effect by docetaxel for CRPC patients makes it urgent to improve the therapy. It was suggested that PI3K and androgen receptor-directed combination therapy may be effective for prostate cancer (PCa) patients PTEN negative. However, for those patients

PTEN positive, the mechanism of anti-apoptosis survival of cancer cells is not yet well defined. Amplification of AURKA has been detected in 5% of PCa. In this work, Du145, a PTEN positive PCa cell model, was employed to investigate the role of aurora kinase a (AURKA) on cell BEZ235 in vivo growth. Inhibition of AURKA expression by shRNA markedly reduced prostate cancer cell viability. Furthermore, we demonstrate that AURKA inhibition induced a remarkable downregulation of AKT activity Fer-1 manufacturer and Bax induction. Moreover, specific inhibition of the activity of AURKA, but not other aurora family members, by small molecular chemical inhibitors induced significant cell killing effects. Notably, AURKA inhibition sensitized prostate cancer cells to docetaxel treatment. Our work suggests that AURKA-directed monotherapy or combination therapy with docetaxel could be a potent

treatment for PCa patients in future.”
“Objective: To review the effectiveness of alpha-glucosidase inhibitor (AGI) therapy in the treatment of hypoglycemia after Roux-en-y gastric surgery.

Methods: Retrospective case review.

Results: Four patients who previously underwent Roux-en-y gastric bypass were evaluated because of severe symptomatic postprandial hypoglycemia that was unresponsive to a low-carbohydrate diet. Mixed-meal testing confirmed hyperinsulinemia. Other causes of hypoglycemia were ruled out by a combination of clinical examination, endocrine testing, and computed tomography imaging. Symptomatic hypoglycemia resolved in all 4 patients after AGI therapy was started. One patient could not tolerate long-term therapy because of a rash.

In a person with suggestive histological features, this finding should

prompt testing for DSAs. Even in the absence of typical histological features of AMR, the combined presence of DSAs and diffuse C4d positivity is associated with more frequent or severe acute and chronic rejection, which may also warrant treatment with antibody-depleting Selleck AR-13324 immunosuppression.”
“Aims

In human urinary bladder, beta3-ARs play an important role in promoting detrusor relaxation during the storage phase of the micturition cycle. The present study investigated whether a Trp64Arg polymorphism of the gene encoding the beta3-AR is associated with overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome.

Methods

This study involved 100 women with OAB and 101 healthy control women without OAB. Hair root samples were obtained from all subjects and used for beta3-AR gene analysis. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction

fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was performed to analyze a polymorphism in the gene of Trp64Arg.

Results

The overall frequency of the 64Arg variant (heterozygous plus homozygous) in OAB patients was 47% and significantly higher than the frequency of 22.8% found in non-OAB control women. Within OAB patients, numbers of micturitions per day, urgency episodes per day, and urgency incontinence episodes per day in the 64Arg variant carriers were not significantly different from those in the normal Thiazovivin cell line gene carriers.

Conclusions

This study shows that LY2090314 purchase the Trp64Arg polymorphism in the beta3-AR gene is weakly but significantly associated with OAB syndrome. Neurourol. Urodynam. 33:400-402, 2014. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.”
“Purpose of review

Cases of de-novo autoimmune hepatitis/plasma cell hepatitis ( PCH) are increasingly being diagnosed by liver transplant centers. Its pathogenesis is poorly understood but this entity appears to be a variant of rejection. Herein, we review recent clinical reports of patients developing PCH.

Recent findings

Histologically, PCH is a challenging diagnosis, especially in the setting of

recurrent hepatitis C and, in some cases, can be mistaken for acute cellular rejection. Recent case reports and case-control studies have shown that interferon appears to trigger PCH in hepatitis C posttransplant patients. Optimization of the immunosuppression regimen was found to prevent the development of PCH. In the nonhepatitis C posttransplant patient, tacrolimus-based immunosuppression appears to have some protective effect from PCH development. A combination therapy of cyclosporine and everolimus has also been shown to be effective in treating PCH.

Summary

PCH is a variant of rejection and is a cause of late graft loss post liver transplantation, especially in patients with hepatitis C.

Methods: The focus group selleck compound met during the opening of a new CKD outpatient facility. It consisted of 12 patients with long-term experience of CKD,

dialysis and transplantation; they had been followed previously by the senior physician, who moderated the discussion. The discussion was tape-recorded and the results were summarized and approved by all participants.

Results: The group made 10 major suggestions: 1. Therapeutic continuity in all disease phases, from pre-dialysis to transplantation; 2. Possibility to choose the reference physician; 3. Strict integration with the nursing activities; 4. Organizational flexibility, to adapt to the needs of daily life; 5. To be “”fully”" taken care of, with organizational support for blood tests, imaging and consultations; 6. Need for time with the reference physician in critical phases of the disease; 7. Identification of a network of consultants, in keeping with the need for continuity of care; 8. Educational sessions; 9. Meetings for critical discussion of organizational performances; BEZ235 solubility dmso 10. As a setting: a home for the disease

and not a disease to take home.

Conclusion: Continuity of care and flexibility of organization, allowing time for education and discussion, are the quality requirements of our CKD patients.”
“A pair of novel tetrahydrobenzofuran-2,5-dione derivatives with a unique C-18 carbon skeleton, panamonon A (1) and B (2), was isolated from the leaves and twigs of Litsea panamonja (Nees) Hook. f. These new compounds contain an unprecedented C-18 carbon skeleton consisting of a characteristic tetrahydrobenzofuran-2,5(3H,6H)-dione ALK inhibitor core with a biosynthetically extended geranyl side chain, designated

as “”panamonane”". Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic analyses. A plausible biosynthetic pathway for 1 and 2 is discussed. The isolates were evaluated for cytotoxic activities against human tumor cell lines HL-60, SMMC-7721, A-549, MCF-7, and SW480. (C) 2012 Phytochemical Society of Europe. Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.”
“In addition to known dibenzofuran derivatives such as (-)-usnic acid, (-)-isousnic acid and (-)-placodiolic acid, a Leprocaulon microscopicum acetone extract yielded a new compound, (+/-)-9-O-methylplacodiolic acid in a keto-enol equilibrium focused on the C-ring. Structures were established using mass spectrometry and combination of 1D and 2D NMR spectral data. C-13 assignments of placodiolic acid were revised. Tautomers of the (+/-)-9-O-methylplacodiolic acid were only separated by GC and a thorough fragmentation study confirmed the structural features. To complete the study, evaluation of antiproliferative effects on HT-29 human colorectal cancer cells showed moderate activity for (-)-usnic acid only. (C) 2012 Phytochemical Society of Europe. Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Using the principle of Hausdorff distance to examine phase-to-phase regional endocardial displacement, dyskinetic/akinetic areas were identified

at the instant of peak basal contraction velocity. Using a three-dimensional (3D) surface clipping tool, the maximally scarred, dyskinetic or akinetic LV antero-apical areas were virtually resected and a new apex was created. A virtual rectangular patch AC220 manufacturer was created upon the clipped surface LV model by 3D Delaunay triangulation. Presurgical endocardial mechanical function quantified from cine cardiac magnetic resonance, using a technique of spherical harmonics (SPHARM) surface parameterization, was applied onto the virtually clipped and patched LV surface model. Finally, the in silico model of post-SVR LV shape was analysed for quantification of regional left ventricular volumes (RLVVs) and function. This was tested in 2 patients with post-myocardial infarction antero-apical LV aneuryms. Left ventricular mechanical dysynchrony was evaluated by RLVV analysis of pre-SVR, in silico post-SVR and actual post-SVR LV endocardial surface data.

Following exclusion of the scarred areas, the virtual resected LV model demonstrated significantly

lesser areas of akinesia. The decreases in regional LV volumes in the in silico modelling this website were significant and comparable with the actual decreases following SVR. Both the regional end diastolic volume (EDV) and end systolic volume (ESV) at the apex decreased significantly

corresponding to greater reductions in apical volumes by the technique of rectangular patch plasty (apical EDV 2.1607 +/- 0.20577 to 0.4774 +/- 0.1775 ml, P = 0.007; apical ESV 1.9708 +/- 0.36451 to 0.442 +/- 0.047 ml, P = 0.013).

This pilot study was done using novel in silico techniques for virtual surgical modelling, which helped in accurate estimation and planning of optimal LV restoration by SVR.”
“Aims To evaluate bladder vascular resistance before and after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). Methods Thirty-three patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic obstruction were prospectively studied. We analyzed correlations Captisol purchase of bladder vascular resistance with various factors including age, vascular risk factors, symptom score, prostate volume (PV), and urodynamic parameters before and 3 months after TURP. Using contrast-enhanced color Doppler ultrasonography for measuring bladder vascular resistance, resistive index (RI) of vesical arteries was calculated. Results Compared with healthy young male (n?=?10) and age-matched controls (n?=?10), the study patients had a higher preoperative RI (0.403 +/- 0.100, 0.436 +/- 0.042, and 0.561 +/- 0.089, respectively; P?<?0.01). Preoperative RI was significantly higher in patients with PV?=?60?ml versus <60?ml (0.604 +/- 0.078 vs. 0.525 +/- 0.082; P?<?0.01), and in patients with severe obstruction versus mild/moderate obstruction (0.615 +/- 0.087 vs. 0.