title stringlengths 0 901 | abstract stringlengths 3 9.89k | PMID int64 22 25.3M | embedding listlengths 768 768 |
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Complete mitochondrial genome of the yellow-banded sweetlips Plectorhinchus lineatus (Perciformes: Haemulidae). | The complete mitochondrial genome of yellow-banded sweetlips Plectorhinchus lineatus was determined in this study. The genome was 16,548 bp in length and consisted of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and one non-coding control region. The overall base composition was estimated to be A, 28.2%; T, 24.8%; C, 30.7% and G, 16.2% with AT bias of 53.0%. All protein-coding genes used ATG as a start codon except for COI, which started with GTG. Six protein-coding genes ended with termination codon TAA, one ended with AGG, the remaining genes had incomplete stop codons TA or T. The genomic composition, organization, and gene order of P. lineatus was similar to most of vertebrates. | 25,162,454 | [
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A preliminary study on methylphenidate-regulated gene expression in lymphoblastoid cells of ADHD patients. | Methylphenidate (MPH) is a commonly used stimulant medication for treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Besides inhibiting monoamine reuptake there is evidence that MPH also influences gene expression directly. We investigated the impact of MPH treatment on gene expression levels of lymphoblastoid cells derived from adult ADHD patients and healthy controls by hypothesis-free, genome-wide microarray analysis. Significant findings were subsequently confirmed by quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT PCR) analysis. The microarray analysis from pooled samples after correction for multiple testing revealed 138 genes to be marginally significantly regulated due to MPH treatment, and one gene due to diagnosis. By qRT PCR we could confirm that GUCY1B3 expression was differential due to diagnosis. We verified chronic MPH treatment effects on the expression of ATXN1, HEY1, MAP3K8 and GLUT3 in controls as well as acute treatment effects on the expression of NAV2 and ATXN1 specifically in ADHD patients. Our preliminary results demonstrate MPH treatment differences in ADHD patients and healthy controls in a peripheral primary cell model. Our results need to be replicated in larger samples and also using patient-derived neuronal cell models to validate the contribution of those genes to the pathophysiology of ADHD and mode of action of MPH. | 25,162,476 | [
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Single CuO(x) nanowire memristor: forming-free resistive switching behavior. | CuOx nanowires were synthesized by a low-cost and large-scale electrochemical process with AAO membranes at room temperature and its resistive switching has been demonstrated. The switching characteristic exhibits forming-free and low electric-field switching operation due to coexistence of significant amount of defects and Cu nanocrystals in the partially oxidized nanowires. The detailed resistive switching characteristics of CuOx nanowire systems have been investigated and possible switching mechanisms are systematically proposed based on the microstructural and chemical analysis via transmission electron microscopy. | 25,162,489 | [
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VEGFR1-positive macrophages facilitate liver repair and sinusoidal reconstruction after hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury. | Liver repair after acute liver injury is characterized by hepatocyte proliferation, removal of necrotic tissue, and restoration of hepatocellular and hepatic microvascular architecture. Macrophage recruitment is essential for liver tissue repair and recovery from injury; however, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Signaling through vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR1) is suggested to play a role in macrophage migration and angiogenesis. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of VEGFR1 in liver repair and sinusoidal reconstruction after hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). VEGFR1 tyrosine kinase knockout mice (VEGFR1 TK-/- mice) and wild-type (WT) mice were subjected to hepatic warm I/R, and the processes of liver repair and sinusoidal reconstruction were examined. Compared with WT mice, VEGFR1 TK-/- mice exhibited delayed liver repair after hepatic I/R. VEGFR1-expressing macrophages recruited to the injured liver showed reduced expression of epidermal growth factor (EGF). VEGFR1 TK-/- mice also showed evidence of sustained sinusoidal functional and structural damage, and reduced expression of pro-angiogenic factors. Treatment of VEGFR1 TK-/- mice with EGF attenuated hepatoceullar and sinusoidal injury during hepatic I/R. VEGFR1 TK-/- bone marrow (BM) chimeric mice showed impaired liver repair and sinusoidal reconstruction, and reduced recruitment of VEGFR1-expressing macrophages to the injured liver. VEGFR1-macrophages recruited to the liver during hepatic I/R contribute to liver repair and sinusoidal reconstruction. VEGFR1 activation is a potential therapeutic strategy for promoting liver repair and sinusoidal restoration after acute liver injury. | 25,162,491 | [
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Gynecologic disorders diagnosed during deployment to Southwest/Central Asia, active component females, U.S. Armed Forces, 2008-2013. | Service women in the U.S. Armed Forces face unique challenges that may lead to or exacerbate gynecologic disorders - particularly during deployment. This report documented that approximately one in 10 military women who served in Southwest/Central Asia were diagnosed with a gynecologic disorder at least once during deployment. In addition, gynecologic disorders accounted for approximately one of every 20 medical evacuations of female service members from the war zone. A majority of clinically significant gynecologic disorder cases were attributable to irregular menstruation/bleeding or unspecified inflammation or pain of the female genital organs. Incidence rates of gynecologic disorder diagnoses were higher among black, non-Hispanic service women, among younger women, and among those in the Army and in motor transport and communications/intelligence occupations. Approximately 50% of gynecologic disorder cases had received gynecologic care within 6 months prior to deployment and nearly 90% had received care within 2 years of deployment. Despite pre-deployment care, it is apparent from this report that service women need continuous access to gynecologic care during deployment, particularly if conditions during deployment lead to and exacerbate gynecologic disorders. | 25,162,497 | [
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Update: Routine screening for antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus, civilian applicants for U.S. military service and U.S. Armed Forces, active and reserve components, January 2009-June 2014. | This report contains an update through June 2014 of the results of routine screening for antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among civilian applicants for military service and among members of the active and reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces. Seroprevalences among civilian applicants in 2013 and the first half of 2014 (0.19 and 0.15 per 1,000 tested, respectively) were markedly lower than in 2012 (0.27 per 1,000 tested). In nearly every component of every service, seroprevalences in 2013 and 2014 were either similar or lower than in prior years; however, in the Army National Guard, seroprevalences increased each year and approximately doubled from 2010 (0.18 per 1,000 tested) to 2013-2014 (0.35-0.41 per 1,000 tested). Among active and reserve component service members, seroprevalences continue to be higher among Army and Navy members and males than their respective counterparts. | 25,162,499 | [
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The complete mitochondrial genome of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). | The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) was determined to be 15,883 bp (GenBank accession No. KM009121), which contains 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA genes and a major non-coding A + T-rich region. It has the typical gene organization and order of mitogenomes from ancestral insects. The nucleotide composition was also biased toward A + T nucleotides (71.72%) and the AT skew of this mitogenome was slightly positive. All of the 22 tRNA genes displayed a typical clover-leaf structure, with the exception of trnS1 (AGN). Thirteen PCGs were initiated by ATN codons, except for cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene which was initiated by AAT. Eight of the 13 PCGs harbor the incomplete termination codon by T or TA. The A + T-rich region of the mitogenome was 1237 bp in length and the A + T content was 82.30%. | 25,162,515 | [
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Hemagglutinin 222D/G polymorphism facilitates fast intra-host evolution of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza A viruses. | The amino acid substitution of aspartic acid to glycine in hemagglutinin (HA) in position 222 (HA-D222G) as well as HA-222D/G polymorphism of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza viruses (A(H1N1)pdm09) were frequently reported in severe influenza in humans and mice. Their impact on viral pathogenicity and the course of influenza has been discussed controversially and the underlying mechanism remained unclarified. In the present study, BALB/c mice, infected with the once mouse lung- and cell-passaged A(H1N1)pdm09 isolate A/Jena/5258/09 (mpJena/5258), developed severe pneumonia. From day 2 to 3 or 4 post infection (p.i.) symptoms (body weight loss and clinical score) continuously worsened. After a short disease stagnation or even recovery phase in most mice, severity of disease further increased on days 6 and 7 p.i. Thereafter, surviving mice recovered. A 45 times higher virus titer maximum in the lung than in the trachea on day 2 p.i. and significantly higher tracheal virus titers compared to lung on day 6 p.i. indicated changes in the organ tropism during infection. Sequence analysis revealed an HA-222D/G polymorphism. HA-D222 and HA-G222 variants co-circulated in lung and trachea. Whereas, HA-D222 variant predominated in the lung, HA-G222 became the major variant in the trachea after day 4 p.i. This was accompanied by lower neutralizing antibody titers and broader receptor recognition including terminal sialic acid α-2,3-linked galactose, which is abundant on mouse trachea epithelial cells. Plaque-purified HA-G222-mpJena/5258 virus induced severe influenza with maximum symptom on day 6 p.i. These results demonstrated for the first time that HA-222D/G quasispecies of A(H1N1)pdm09 caused severe biphasic influenza because of fast viral intra-host evolution, which enabled partial antibody escape and minor changes in receptor binding. | 25,162,520 | [
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Medical management of children after liver transplantation. | Successful outcomes in patient, graft survival, and quality of life depend on the prevention, early detection, and treatment of possible complications. The aim of the study was to highlight the common outcomes focusing on the unique features in children. Medical follow-up of children after liver transplantation includes monitoring of surgical complications: biliary and vascular, rejection, infections, posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease, other malignancies, recurrent disease, graft function, hypertension, diabetes, renal failure, among other conditions. The goal is to maintain normal graft function on minimal immunosuppression to avoid medication-induced side-effects. Recent findings include the importance of meticulous follow-up of Epstein-Barr virus and Cytomegalic virus viral load, leading to early diagnosis and improved prognosis, increased prevalence of renal toxicity, cognitive dysfunction, autoimmune, atopic and eosinophilic disease, oral hygiene and chronic hepatitis, and fibrosis of allografts. Caring for children after liver transplantation is extremely rewarding; however, careful attention must be paid to a variety of systems with understanding of the distinctiveness of pediatrics to assure optimal outcomes. | 25,162,538 | [
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Clinical characteristics of the inhabitants of an internally displaced persons camp in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo after the arms dump blast on March 4, 2012. | On March 4, 2012, an arms dump exploded in a densely populated area in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. At least 250 people were killed, 2,500 wounded, and 13,800 left homeless, of which 5,000 were relocated to a newly constructed internally displaced person (IDP) camp. To describe the medical complaints of persons presenting to the IDP camp for medical evaluation. All patients seen and treated by the Belgian First Aid and Support Team (B-FAST) in the IDP camp on March 10 and 11, 2012 were included. A unique number, age, gender, and inventory of complaints were registered on standard World Health Organization (WHO) forms. Out of 245 presenting patients, 242 files were processed. One in two patients were minors (<18 years-old), the male/female ratio was 50/50 in minors and 28/72 in adults; median (range) age in minors was three years (0-17) and for adults was 32.5 years (18-68). Twenty percent of the children were determined to be malnourished. Signs and symptoms related to infectious diseases were present in 75% of minors and 53% of adults. Trauma was present in 12% of minors and 21% of adults. One week following the disaster event, after people had relocated to IDP camps, infectious diseases became the predominate reason for seeking medical evaluation. Less than one in five people presenting to the medical post had injuries directly related to the event. Demographic data showed that around 50% of people in the IDP camp presenting for medical care were children, of which one in five was malnourished. | 25,162,541 | [
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Cephalometric effects of the Jones Jig appliance followed by fixed appliances in Class II malocclusion treatment. | The aim of this study was to cephalometrically assess the skeletal and dentoalveolar effects of Class II malocclusion treatment performed with the Jones Jig appliance followed by fixed appliances. The sample comprised 25 patients with Class II malocclusion treated with the Jones Jig appliance followed by fixed appliances, at a mean initial age of 12.90 years old. The mean time of the entire orthodontic treatment was 3.89 years. The distalization phase lasted for 0.85 years, after which the fixed appliance was used for 3.04 years. Cephalograms were used at initial (T1), post-distalization (T2) and final phases of treatment (T3). For intragroup comparison of the three phases evaluated, dependent ANOVA and Tukey tests were used. Jones Jig appliance did not interfere in the maxillary and mandibular component and did not change maxillomandibular relationship. Jones Jig appliance promoted distalization of first molars with anchorage loss, mesialization and significant extrusion of first and second premolars, as well as a significant increase in anterior face height at the end of treatment. The majority of adverse effects that occur during intraoral distalization are subsequently corrected during corrective mechanics. Buccal inclination and protrusion of mandibular incisors were identified. By the end of treatment, correction of overjet and overbite was observed. Jones Jig appliance promoted distalization of first molars with anchorage loss represented by significant mesial movement and extrusion of first and second premolars, in addition to a significant increase in anterior face height. | 25,162,565 | [
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Phase conversion from hexagonal CuS(y)Se(1-y) to cubic Cu(2-x)S(y)Se(1-y): composition variation, morphology evolution, optical tuning, and solar cell applications. | In this work, we report a simple and low-temperature approach for the controllable synthesis of ternary Cu-S-Se alloys featuring tunable crystal structures, compositions, morphologies, and optical properties. Hexagonal CuS(y)Se(1-y) nanoplates and face centered cubic (fcc) Cu(2-x)S(y)Se(1-y) single-crystal-like stacked nanoplate assemblies are synthesized, and their phase conversion mechanism is well investigated. It is found that both copper content and chalcogen composition (S/Se atomic ratio) of the Cu-S-Se alloys are tunable during the phase conversion process. Formation of the unique single-crystal-like stacked nanoplate assemblies is resulted from oriented stacking coupled with the Ostwald ripening effect. Remarkably, optical tuning for continuous red shifts of both the band-gap absorption and the near-infrared localized surface plasmon resonance are achieved. Furthermore, the novel Cu-S-Se alloys are utilized for the first time as highly efficient counter electrodes (CEs) in quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs), showing outstanding electrocatalytic activity for polysulfide electrolyte regeneration and yielding a 135% enhancement in power conversion efficiency (PCE) as compared to the noble metal Pt counter electrode. | 25,162,581 | [
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Membrane type 1-matrix metalloproteinase/Akt signaling axis modulates TNF-α-induced procoagulant activity and apoptosis in endothelial cells. | Membrane type 1-matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) functions as a signaling molecule in addition to a proteolytic enzyme. Our hypothesis was that MT1-MMP cooperates with protein kinase B (Akt) in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-induced signaling pathways of vascular responses, including tissue factor (TF) procoagulant activity and endothelial apoptosis, in cultured human aortic endothelial cells (ECs). TNF-α (10 ng/mL) induced a decrease in Akt phosphorylation within 60 minutes in ECs. A chemical inhibitor of MMP, TIMP-2 and selective small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated suppression of MT1-MMP reversed TNF-α-triggered transient decrease of Akt phosphorylation within 60 minutes, suggesting that MT1-MMP may be a key regulator of Akt phosphorylation in TNF-α-stimulated ECs. In the downstream events, TNF-α increased TF antigen and activity, and suppressed the expression of thrombomodulin (TM) antigen. Inhibition of Akt markedly enhanced TNF-α-induced expression of TF antigen and activity, and further reduced the expression of TM antigen. Silencing of MT1-MMP by siRNA also reversed the changed expression of TF and TM induced by TNF-α. Moreover, TNF-α induced apoptosis of ECs through Akt- and forkhead box protein O1 (FoxO1)-dependent signaling pathway and nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) activation. Knockdown of MT1-MMP by siRNA reversed apoptosis of ECs by inhibiting TNF-α-induced Akt-dependent regulation of FoxO1 in TNF-α-stimulated ECs. Immunoprecipitation demonstrated that TNF-α induced the changes in the associations between the cytoplasmic fraction of MT1-MMP and Akt in ECs. In conclusion, we show new evidence that MT1-MMP/Akt signaling axis is a key modifier for TNF-α-induced signaling pathways for modulation of procoagulant activity and apoptosis of ECs. | 25,162,582 | [
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Current perspectives on the therapeutic aspects of chronic myelogenous leukemia. | Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder arising from the malignant transformation of normal myeloid cells. Its genetic hallmark is the presence of Philadelphia chromosome translocation which results in fusion of the breakpoint cluster region and abelson genes. The study aims to evaluate the current therapeutic practices used through tyrosine kinase inhibitors, as well as the novel methods underlined by nucleotide- and mAb-based therapies. It is followed by a thorough review on recent research developments for each of the anti-CML-based therapeutic approaches, their drawbacks and latest research especially to overcome drug resistance problems. The detailed analysis of specific granted patents highlighting different claims and downstream applications is also presented. In the current scenario, the targeted therapy based on small molecules, mAbs, nucleic acid and nanoparticles have been formulated but optimization and improvement of the approaches are required to overcome the risks and obstacles in anti-CML-based therapy. The current research is paving the way for combinatorial approaches to address the problems of efficacy, toxicity and drug resistance. | 25,162,589 | [
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Impact of physical manipulation on in vitro and in vivo release profiles of oxycodone DETERx®: an extended-release, abuse-deterrent formulation. | In vitro: To assess the effect of common crushing techniques on particle size reduction (PSR) and in vitro drug-release kinetics of oxycodone DETERx® (herein DETERx) and of a commercially available oxycodone extended-release (ER) tablet. In vivo: To evaluate the impact of the most effective manipulation method identified in the in vitro study and the effect of chewing on the pharmacokinetics (PK) of DETERx relative to oxycodone solution. In vitro: Mechanical manipulation of dosage forms using common household utensils. In vivo: Open-label, randomized, active-controlled, crossover PK study. In vivo: Forty-four healthy male and female volunteers. In vitro: DETERx capsule contents and marketed comparator tablets were subjected to manipulation (crushing) using 10 different household utensils. Particle size and dissolution analysis were conducted. In vivo: Subjects were randomly assigned to receive DETERx 40-mg capsules intact, crushed, or chewed or oxycodone solution. Serial blood samples were drawn for PK assessment. In vitro: The utensils used to manipulate DETERx capsule contents were either ineffective in reducing the particle size or produced only a small change in the median particle size and dissolution rate relative to the marketed comparator. In vivo: DETERx intact capsules provided significantly lower Cmax and longer Tmax values than oxycodone solution. Manipulation of DETERx by crushing (using the most effective method established in vitro) or chewing resulted in bioequivalent plasma concentration-time profiles to the intact dosage form. These mechanical manipulation and PK studies demonstrated that DETERx beads retained their ER properties after mechanical tampering and chewing by study subjects. | 25,162,603 | [
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Remifentanil target-controlled infusion: a safe rescue protocol for unexpected severe postoperative pain. | Three cases are reported here in which remifentanil administered as a target-controlled infusion (TCI) was used in Post Anesthesia Care Unit as a fast rescue treatment for acute and unexpected severe postoperative pain, allowing subsequent clinical evaluation and rational titration of analgesia with longer acting opioids. It illustrates the efficacy of this technique to titrate and compensate for variability in opioid requirements. However, its safety requires full knowledge of TCI technique, continuous monitoring of respiratory function, and assisted ventilation equipment immediately available. | 25,162,608 | [
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Introducing sexual orientation and gender identity into the electronic health record: one academic health center's experience. | Many U.S. populations experience significant health disparities. Increasing health care providers' awareness of and education about sexual orientation (SO) and gender identity (GI) diversity could help reduce health disparities among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients. The authors share the University of California, Davis, Health System's (UCDHS's) experience as it became the first U.S. academic health center to formally introduce patient SO/GI demographic data into its electronic health record (EHR) as a step toward reducing LGBT health disparities. Adding these data to the EHR initially met with resistance. The authors, members of the UCDHS Task Force for Inclusion of SO/GI in the EHR, viewed this resistance as an invitation to educate leaders, providers, and staff about LGBT health disparities and to expose providers to techniques for discussing SO/GI with patients. They describe the strategies they employed to effect institutional culture change, including involvement of senior leadership, key informant interviews, educational outreach via grand rounds and resident workshops, and creation of a patient safety net through inviting providers to self-identify as welcoming LGBT patients. The ongoing cultural change process has inspired spin-off projects contributing to an improved climate for LGBT individuals at UCDHS, including an employee organization supporting SO/GI diversity, support for and among LGBT medical learners through events and listservs, development and implementation of an LGBT health curriculum, and creation of peer navigator programs for LGBT patients with cancer. The authors reflect on lessons learned and on institutional pride in and commitment to providing quality care for LGBT patients. | 25,162,618 | [
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Upregulation of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) during the early stage of optic nerve regeneration in zebrafish. | Fish retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) can regenerate their axons after optic nerve injury, whereas mammalian RGCs normally fail to do so. Interleukin 6 (IL-6)-type cytokines are involved in cell differentiation, proliferation, survival, and axon regrowth; thus, they may play a role in the regeneration of zebrafish RGCs after injury. In this study, we assessed the expression of IL-6-type cytokines and found that one of them, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), is upregulated in zebrafish RGCs at 3 days post-injury (dpi). We then demonstrated the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), a downstream target of LIF, at 3-5 dpi. To determine the function of LIF, we performed a LIF knockdown experiment using LIF-specific antisense morpholino oligonucleotides (LIF MOs). LIF MOs, which were introduced into zebrafish RGCs via a severed optic nerve, reduced the expression of LIF and abrogated the activation of STAT3 in RGCs after injury. These results suggest that upregulated LIF drives Janus kinase (Jak)/STAT3 signaling in zebrafish RGCs after nerve injury. In addition, the LIF knockdown impaired axon sprouting in retinal explant culture in vitro; reduced the expression of a regeneration-associated molecule, growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43); and delayed functional recovery after optic nerve injury in vivo. In this study, we comprehensively demonstrate the beneficial role of LIF in optic nerve regeneration and functional recovery in adult zebrafish. | 25,162,623 | [
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Funding infectious disease research: a systematic analysis of UK research investments by funders 1997-2010. | Research investments are essential to address the burden of disease, however allocation of limited resources is poorly documented. We systematically reviewed the investments awarded by funding organisations to UK institutions and their global partners for infectious disease research. Public and philanthropic investments for the period 1997 to 2010 were included. We categorised studies by infectious disease, cross-cutting theme, and by research and development value chain, reflecting the type of science. We identified 6165 funded studies, with a total research investment of UK £2.6 billion. Public organisations provided £1.4 billion (54.0%) of investments compared with £1.1 billion (42.4%) by philanthropic organisations. Global health studies represented an investment of £928 million (35.7%). The Wellcome Trust was the leading investor with £688 million (26.5%), closely followed by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) with £673 million (25.9%). Funding over time was volatile, ranging from ∼£40 million to ∼£160 million per year for philanthropic organisations and ∼£30 million to ∼£230 million for public funders. Infectious disease research funding requires global coordination and strategic long-term vision. Our analysis demonstrates the diversity and inconsistent patterns in investment, with volatility in annual funding amounts and limited investment for product development and clinical trials. | 25,162,631 | [
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Guidelines for the management of asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism: summary statement from the Fourth International Workshop. | Asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is routinely encountered in clinical practices of endocrinology throughout the world. This report distills an update of current information about diagnostics, clinical features, and management of this disease into a set of revised guidelines. Participants, representing an international constituency, with interest and expertise in various facets of asymptomatic PHPT constituted four Workshop Panels that developed key questions to be addressed. They then convened in an open 3-day conference September 19-21, 2013, in Florence, Italy, when a series of presentations and discussions addressed these questions. A smaller subcommittee, the Expert Panel, then met in closed session to reach an evidence-based consensus on how to address the questions and data that were aired in the open forum. Preceding the conference, each question was addressed by a relevant, extensive literature search. All presentations and deliberations of the Workshop Panels and the Expert Panel were based upon the latest information gleaned from this literature search. The expert panel considered all the evidence provided by the individual Workshop Panels and then came to consensus. In view of new findings since the last International Workshop on the Management of Asymptomatic PHPT, guidelines for management have been revised. The revised guidelines include: 1) recommendations for more extensive evaluation of the skeletal and renal systems; 2) skeletal and/or renal involvement as determined by further evaluation to become part of the guidelines for surgery; and 3) more specific guidelines for monitoring those who do not meet guidelines for parathyroid surgery. These guidelines should help endocrinologists and surgeons caring for patients with PHPT. A blueprint for future research is proposed to foster additional investigation into issues that remain uncertain or controversial. | 25,162,665 | [
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Does primary care mental health resourcing affect the use and costs of secondary psychiatric services? | Collaborative care models for treatment of depression and anxiety disorders in primary care have been shown to be effective. The aim of this study was to investigate at the municipal level to what extent investment in mental health personnel at primary care health centres in the study area is reflected in the costs and use of secondary psychiatric services. Furthermore, we analysed whether the service provision and use of secondary psychiatric care correlates with the socioeconomic indicators of need. We found significant variation in the amount of mental health personnel provided at the health centres, uncorrelated with the indicators of need nor with the costs of secondary psychiatric care. The amount of mental health nurses at the health centres correlated inversely with the number of secondary psychiatric outpatient visits, whereas its relation to inpatient days and admission was positive. The costs of secondary psychiatric care correlated with level of psychiatric morbidity and socioeconomic indicators of need. The results suggest that when aiming at equal access of care and cost-efficiency, the primary and secondary care should be organized and planned with integrative collaboration. | 25,162,710 | [
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A refined technique to calculate finite helical axes from rigid body trackers. | Finite helical axes (FHAs) are a potentially effective tool for joint kinematic analysis. Unfortunately, no straightforward guidelines exist for calculating accurate FHAs using prepackaged six degree-of-freedom (6 DOF) rigid body trackers. Thus, this study aimed to: (1) describe a protocol for calculating FHA parameters from 6 DOF rigid body trackers using the screw matrix and (2) to maximize the number of accurate FHAs generated from a given data set using a moving window analysis. Four Optotrak® Smart Markers were used as the rigid body trackers, two moving and two fixed, at different distances from the hinge joint of a custom-machined jig. 6D OF pose information was generated from 51 static positions of the jig rotated and fixed in 0.5 deg increments up to 25 deg. Output metrics included the FHA direction cosines, the rotation about the FHA, the translation along the axis, and the intercept of the FHA with the plane normal to the jig's hinge joint. FHA metrics were calculated using the relative tracker rotation from the starting position, and using a moving window analysis to define a minimum acceptable rotational displacement between the moving tracker data points. Data analysis found all FHA rotations calculated from the starting position were within 0.15 deg of the prescribed jig rotation. FHA intercepts were most stable when determined using trackers closest to the hinge axis. Increasing the moving window size improved the FHA direction cosines and center of rotation accuracy. Window sizes larger than 2 deg had an intercept deviation of less than 1 mm. Furthermore, compared to the 0 deg window size, the 2 deg window had a 90% improvement in FHA intercept precision while generating almost an equivalent number of FHA axes. This work identified a solution to improve FHA calculations for biomechanical researchers looking to describe changes in 3D joint motion. | 25,162,715 | [
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Evaluation of tensile retention of Y-TZP crowns cemented on resin composite cores: effect of the cement and Y-TZP surface conditioning. | This study evaluated the effect of the cement type (adhesive resin, self-adhesive, glass ionomer, and zinc phosphate) on the retention of crowns made of yttria-stabilized polycrystalline tetragonal zirconia (Y-TZP). Therefore, 108 freshly extracted molars were embedded in acrylic resin, perpendicular to their long axis, and prepared for full crowns: the crown preparations were removed and reconstructed using composite resin plus fiber posts with dimensions identical to the prepared dentin. The preparations were impressed using addition silicone, and Y-TZP copings were produced, which presented a special setup for the tensile testing. Cementation was performed with two adhesive resin cements (Multilink Automix, Ivoclar-Vivadent; RelyX ARC, 3M ESPE, St Paul, MN, USA), one self-adhesive resin cement (RelyX U100, 3M ESPE), one glass ionomer based cement (RelyX Luting, 3M ESPE), and one zinc phosphate cement (Cimento de Zinco, SS White, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). For the resin cement groups, the inner surfaces of the crowns were subjected to three surface treatments: cleaning with isopropyl alcohol, tribochemical silica coating, or application of a thin low-fusing glass porcelain layer plus silanization. After 24 hours, all groups were subjected to thermocycling (6000 cycles) and included in a special device for tensile testing in a universal testing machine to test the retention of the infrastructure. After testing, the failure modes of all samples were analyzed under a stereomicroscope. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed that the surface treatment and cement type (α=0.05) affected the tensile retention results. The Multilink cement presented the highest tensile retention values, but that result was not statistically different from RelyX ARC. The surface treatment was statistically relevant only for the Multilink cement. The cement choice was shown to be more important than the crown surface treatment for cementation of a Y-TZP crown to a composite resin substrate. | 25,162,722 | [
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Multiple intrinsically identical single-photon emitters in the solid state. | Emitters of indistinguishable single photons are crucial for the growing field of quantum technologies. To realize scalability and increase the complexity of quantum optics technologies, multiple independent yet identical single-photon emitters are required. However, typical solid-state single-photon sources are inherently dissimilar, necessitating the use of electrical feedback or optical cavities to improve spectral overlap between distinct emitters. Here we demonstrate bright silicon vacancy (SiV(-)) centres in low-strain bulk diamond, which show spectral overlap of up to 91% and nearly transform-limited excitation linewidths. This is the first time that distinct single-photon emitters in the solid state have shown intrinsically identical spectral properties. Our results have impact on the application of single-photon sources for quantum optics and cryptography. | 25,162,729 | [
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Physicochemical properties of some bottled water brands in Alexandria Governorate, Egypt. | Many people use bottled water instead of tap water for many reasons such as taste, ease of carrying, and thinking that it is safer than tap water. Irrespective of the reason, bottled water consumption has been steadily growing in the world for the past 30 years. In Egypt, this is still increasing to reach 3.8 l/person/day, despite its high price compared with tap water. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical quality of some bottled water brands and to compare the quality with that reported on manufacture's labeling, Egyptian, and International standards. Fourteen bottled water brands were selected from the local markets of Alexandria city. Three bottles from each brand were randomly sampled, making a total sample size of 42 bottles. Sampling occurred between July 2012 and September 2012. Each bottle was analyzed for its physicochemical parameter and the average was calculated for each brand. The results obtained were compared with the Egyptian standard for bottled water, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and with bottled water labels. In all bottles in the study, pH values ranged between 7.21 and 8.23, conductivity ranged between 195 and 675 μs/cm, and total dissolved solids, sulfate, chloride, and fluoride were within the range specified by the FDA. Calcium concentrations ranged between 2.7373 and 29.2183 mg/l, magnesium concentrations ranged between 5.7886 and 17.6633 mg/l, sodium between 14.5 and 205.8 mg/l, and potassium between 6.5 and 29.8 mg/l. For heavy metals such as iron, zinc, copper, and manganese, all of them were in conformity with the Egyptian standards and FDA, but nickel concentration in 11 brands was higher than the Egyptian standards. Twelve brands were higher than the Egyptian standards in cadmium concentration, but on comparison with FDA there were only five brands exceeding limits. Lead concentrations were out of range for all brands. On comparison with the labeled values, the quality of bottled water was not complying with labeled values. Physicochemical parameters in all bottled water examined brands were consistent with the Egyptian Standard and FDA, except for total dissolved solids, nickel, cadmium, and lead. Statistical analysis showed that there was significant difference (P<0.05) in all parameters tested between different brands. Values on the bottled water labels were not in agreement with analytical results. | 25,162,736 | [
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Skin deposition and permeation of finasteride in vitro: effects of propylene glycol, ethanol and sodium lauryl sulfate. | The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of propylene glycol (PG), ethanol (EtOH) and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) on the in vitro deposition and permeation of finasteride (FNS). A side-by-side diffusion cell mounted with a pig ear skin and a saturated solution of FNS in PG (10, 20% v/v), EtOH (10, 20% v/v) or SLS (0.5, 1% w/v) vehicles were used. Incorporation of PG, EtOH or SLS caused a significant increase in FNS solubility both in the solution and on the skin with SLS > EtOH > PG. The results obtained from skin deposition studies showed that the FNS deposition rate and time increased in the same order as that of the solubility. The deposition kinetics of FNS solubilized in PG, EtOH and SLS vehicles followed either zero-order, square-root-of-time or pseudo-first-order kinetic models depending on the type and concentration of the enhancer. The permeation studies demonstrated that FNS permeation fluxes were enhanced only by EtOH vehicles. These results suggest that PG and SLS could be used as deposition enhancers, while EtOH could be the effective permeation enhancer of FNS. The obtained results can be used as the considerable insights for formulating the topical and transdermal products of FNS. | 25,162,771 | [
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Healthcare costs for Crohn's disease patients treated with infliximab: a propensity weighted comparison of the effects of treatment adherence. | The objective for the research was to evaluate the direct healthcare costs for Crohn's disease (CD) patients categorized by adherence status. Adult patients with ≥1 claim for infliximab and ≥2 claims for CD who were continuously insured for 12 months before and after their first infliximab infusion (index date) were identified in a 2006-2009 US managed care database. Patients were excluded if they had rheumatoid arthritis claims, received infliximab billed as a pharmacy benefit, or received another biologic drug. Patients were categorized as being either adherent or intermittently adherent to infliximab using a pre-defined algorithm. Total and component direct costs, CD-related costs, rates of surgery, and days of hospitalization were estimated for the 360-day post-index period. Propensity weighted generalized linear models were used to adjust the cost estimates for potential confounding variables. The total propensity weighted cost for infliximab adherent patients was $40,425 (95% CI = [$38,686, $42,242]), compared to $41,082 (95% CI = [$38,163, $44,223]) for the intermittently adherent (p = 0.71). However, adherent patients had lower total direct medical costs, exclusive of infliximab, that were $13,097 (95% CI = [$12,141, $14,127]) compared with $20,068 (95% CI = [$17,676, $22,784]) for intermittently adherent patients as a result of substantially lower hospital and outpatient costs (p < 0.0001). Greater drug-related costs for infliximab adherent patients were offset by lower costs from hospitalization and outpatient visits. These findings indicate that adherent patients have improved clinical outcomes, at a similar aggregate cost, than patients who are only intermittently adherent to therapy. | 25,162,777 | [
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The impact of vulvar lichen sclerosus on sexual dysfunction. | Lichen sclerosus (LS) is a chronic inflammatory condition that is known to arise on the vulva. Many women with LS report vulvar pain, often affecting a patient's quality of life. In this study, the sexual function of LS patients, with and without pain, was compared to control populations. A case-control study to examine the relationship between LS and sexual dysfunction was conducted. A total of 335 women presenting to the gynecology clinic were included in the study: 197 women with biopsy confirmed LS were compared to two control groups (95 asymptomatic women were "healthy" controls and 43 women had vulvovaginal candidiasis) on self-reported current health complaints, medical and surgical history and current symptoms such as pain and itching, type and frequency of sexual activity, and satisfaction with sexual activity. Women with LS reported less frequent sexual activity than healthy controls (p=0.007) and Candida controls (p=0.04). Currently sexually active women with LS were significantly less likely to report vaginal intercourse (71.6%) than healthy controls (89.0%, p=0.003) or Candida controls (100%, p=0.0003), even though similar proportions of all three groups reported that vaginal intercourse was important. Satisfaction towards the quality of current sexual activity was significantly lower among women with LS compared with both the healthy and Candida control groups. 23.7% of women with LS reported that sexual activity was rarely or never satisfactory as compared with 0% of healthy controls (p<0.0001) and 6.5% of Candida controls (p=0.03). Women with LS have less frequent sexual activity and less satisfying sexual activity when compared with controls. | 25,162,790 | [
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Influence of transportation cost on long-term retention in clinic for HIV patients in rural Haiti. | With improved access to antiretroviral therapy in resource-constrained settings, long-term retention in HIV clinics has become an important means of reducing costs and improving outcomes. Published data on retention in HIV clinics beyond 24 months are, however, limited. In our clinic in rural Haiti, we hypothesized that individuals residing in locations with higher transportation costs to clinic would have poorer retention than those who had lower costs. We used a retrospective cohort design to evaluate potential predictors of HIV clinic retention. Patient information was abstracted from the electronic medical records. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identify independent predictors of 4-year clinic retention. There were 410 patients in our cohort, 266 (64.9%) females and 144 (35.1%) males. Forty-five (11%) patients lived in locations with transportation costs >$2. Males were 1.5 times more likely to live in municipalities with transportation costs to clinic of >$2. Multivariate analysis suggested that age <30 years, male gender, and transportation cost were independent predictors of loss to follow-up (LTFU): risk ratio of 2.98, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.73 to 4.96, P < 0.001; 1.71, CI: 1.08 to 2.70, P = 0.02; and 1.91, CI: 1.08 to 3.36, P = 0.02, respectively. Patients with transportation costs greater than $2 were 1.9 times more likely to be lost to care compared with those who paid less for transportation. HIV treatment programs in resource-constrained settings may need to pay closer attention to issues related to transportation cost to improve patient retention. | 25,162,815 | [
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Raltegravir pharmacokinetics during pregnancy. | We evaluated the pharmacokinetics (PK) of raltegravir in HIV-infected women during pregnancy and postpartum. International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials 1026s is an ongoing prospective study of antiretroviral PK during pregnancy (NCT00042289). Women receiving 400 mg raltegravir twice daily in combination antiretroviral therapy had intensive steady-state 12-hour PK profiles performed during pregnancy and at 6- to 12-week postpartum. Targets were trough concentration above 0.035 μg/mL, the estimated 10th percentile in nonpregnant historical controls. Median raltegravir area under the curve was 6.6 μg·h/mL for second trimester (n = 16), 5.4 μg·h/mL for third trimester (n = 41), and 11.6 μg·h/mL postpartum (n = 38) (P = 0.03 postpartum vs second trimester, P = 0.001 pp vs third trimester). Trough concentrations were above the target in 69%, 80%, and 79% of second trimester, third trimester, and postpartum subjects, respectively, with wide variability (<0.010-0.917 μg/mL), and no significant difference between third trimester and postpartum trough concentrations was detected. The median ratio of cord blood/maternal raltegravir concentrations was 1.5. HIV RNA levels were <400 copies per milliliter in 92% of women at delivery. Adverse events included elevated liver transaminases in 1 woman and vomiting in 1. All infants with known status are HIV uninfected. Median raltegravir area under the curve was reduced by approximately 50% during pregnancy; trough concentrations were frequently below target both during late pregnancy and postpartum. Raltegravir readily crossed the placenta. High rates of viral suppression at delivery and the lack of a clear relationship between raltegravir concentration and virologic effect in nonpregnant adults suggest that despite the decreased exposure during pregnancy, a higher dose is not necessary. | 25,162,818 | [
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Treatment of severe chronic graft-versus-host disease with decidual stromal cells and tracing with (111)indium radiolabeling. | Decidual stromal cells (DSCs) isolated from fetal membranes of term placentas are easily expanded and are highly immunosuppressive in vitro. These cells express high levels of integrins that are of importance in homing to inflamed tissues. In this study, we investigated DSCs as a cellular therapy for chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD), a severe complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Subsequent to transplantation, three patients developed severe extensive cGvHD and were treated with DSCs (1-2.8 × 10(6) cells/kg). One-third of the DSCs administered to two patients were labeled with (111)Indium, and the in vivo distribution was tracked for 48 h. The (111)In-labeled DSCs were initially located in the lungs, followed by dissemination to the liver and spleen. The DSCs induced a partial response in two of the patients. Blood samples from the patients were extensively evaluated by flow cytometry, luminex, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The nonresponder had the highest proportion of T-cells with Th17 and Th2 phenotypes and the highest median plasma concentrations of IL-17 and IL-4. The same patient also had high frequencies of HLA-DR(+) T-cells and regulatory T-cells. To conclude, DSCs are safe to infuse with no adverse effects. We determined how stromal cells are distributed in vivo after infusion in a cGvHD setting. The methods established for analysis of blood samples will be useful in determining the effect of DSCs in a study comprising a larger patient material. This pilot study may provide a basis for further controlled investigations with DSCs in a clinical setting. | 25,162,829 | [
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Aluminum triflate catalyzed tandem reactions of D-galactal: toward chiral benzopyrans, chromenes, and chromans. | 3,4,6-Tri-O-acetyl-D-galactal is selectively converted into 1-O-aryl-2-deoxy derivatives or chiral bridged benzopyrans under Al(OTf)3 catalysis, depending on reaction conditions. The benzopyrans react with Al(OTf)3/acetic anhydride in ring-opening reactions in the absence or presence of acetic acid to selectively produce chiral chromenes or chromans, respectively, in high yields. | 25,162,834 | [
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Separation from supported employment: a retrospective chart review study. | The objective of this study was to examine job separations from supported employment (SE). The aim was to identify the types and nature of separations and precipitating events leading to the separation. A retrospective chart review methodology was utilized. The study was conducted in a metropolitan area in the Southeast United States by a university-based SE program. Participants were 47 SE clients who had been placed into and separated from 67 jobs. Using a coding form, information regarding the type of separation and issues that preceded the separation were recorded. Data were aggregated using descriptive statistics. The largest number of separations was due to termination, followed by resignation and mutual consent of the employer and employee. The mean number of issues leading to the separation was 2.2, ranging from one to five. Only eight positive issues were found (compared to 116 negative and 20 neutral), the most prevalent being entry into an educational or training program. Common negative issues included poor work performance, attendance and punctuality problems, conflicts with the supervisor, and social and behavioral issues. The findings of this study illustrate the need to address job retention issues during the job development process, finding the most appropriate person-job fit and workplace culture for each client. The findings also support the need for vigilant and regular communication between the SE program and employers to intervene quickly when problems arise. Separation from Supported Employment (SE) SE is an evidence-based employment practice that has been shown effective across multiple disability groups. Studying job separations can provide valuable information for improving service. Locating the best person-job fit, as well as frequent contract with employers, can help prevent unnecessary job loss. | 25,162,839 | [
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Suicide terrorism and post-mortem benefits. | Lankford claims that suicide terrorists are suicidal, but that their suicidal tendencies are often frustrated by injunctive social norms. Martyrdom represents a solution, and terrorist organizations exploit this. In this commentary, we claim that this argument has not been fully made and that such ideation in itself does not explain a willingness to engage in punitive actions against an enemy. We suggest the psychology of kinship as a possible missing factor. | 25,162,847 | [
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Large-scale societal changes and intentionality - an uneasy marriage. | Our commentary focuses on juxtaposing the proposed science of intentional change with facts and concepts pertaining to the level of large populations or changes on a worldwide scale. Although we find a unified evolutionary theory promising, we think that long-term and large-scale, scientifically guided - that is, intentional - social change is not only impossible, but also undesirable. | 25,162,863 | [
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Evolutionary processes and mother-child attachment in intentional change. | Behavioral change may occur through evolutionary processes such as running stochastic evolutionary algorithms, with a fitness function to determine a winning solution from many. A science of intentional change will therefore require identification of fitness functions - causal mechanisms of adaptation - that can be acquired only with analytical approaches. Fitness functions may be subject to early-life experiences with parents, which influence some of the very same brain circuits that may mediate behavioral change through interventions. | 25,162,871 | [
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Domain-general mechanisms: what they are, how they evolved, and how they interact with modular, domain-specific mechanisms to enable cohesive human groups. | Domain-general mechanisms are evolutionarily ancient, resulting from the evolution of affective cues signaling the attainment of evolutionary goals. Explicit processing is a particularly important set of domain-general mechanisms for constructing human groups - enabling ideologies specifying future goal states and rationalizing group aims, enabling knowledge of others' reputations essential to cooperation, understanding the rights and obligations of group membership, monitoring group members, and providing appropriate punishments to those who deviate from group aims. | 25,162,875 | [
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Conservation combats exploitation: choices within an evolutionary framework. | Intentional change when viewed as making a risky or intertemporal choice with evolutionary relevance helps us understand its successes and its failures. To promote future-oriented ecological rationality requires establishing a linkage between nongenetic, cultural, and symbolic selections and genetic adaptations. Coupled with biophilic instinct, intentional conservation is more likely to prevail against evolved desires of environmental exploitation. | 25,162,882 | [
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Automated classification of optical coherence tomography images for the diagnosis of oral malignancy in the hamster cheek pouch. | Most studies evaluating the potential of optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the diagnosis of oral cancer are based on visual assessment of OCT B-scans by trained experts. Human interpretation of the large pool of data acquired by modern high-speed OCT systems, however, can be cumbersome and extremely time consuming. Development of image analysis methods for automated and quantitative OCT image analysis could therefore facilitate the evaluation of such a large volume of data. We report automated algorithms for quantifying structural features that are associated with the malignant transformation of the oral epithelium based on image processing of OCT data. The features extracted from the OCT images were used to design a statistical classification model to perform the automated tissue diagnosis. The sensitivity and specificity of distinguishing malignant lesions from benign lesions were found to be 90.2% and 76.3%, respectively. The results of the study demonstrate the feasibility of using quantitative image analysis algorithms for extracting morphological features from OCT images to perform the automated diagnosis of oral malignancies in a hamster cheek pouch model. | 25,162,909 | [
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Biomechanics of the canine mandible during bone transport distraction osteogenesis. | This study compared biomechanical patterns between finite element models (FEMs) and a fresh dog mandible tested under molar and incisal physiological loads in order to clarify the effect of the bone transport distraction osteogenesis (BTDO) surgical process. Three FEMs of dog mandibles were built in order to evaluate the effects of BTDO. The first model evaluated the mandibular response under two physiological loads resembling bite processes. In the second model, a 5.0 cm bone defect was bridged with a bone transport reconstruction plate (BTRP). In the third model, new regenerated bony tissue was incorporated within the defect to mimic the surgical process without the presence of the device. Complementarily, a mandible of a male American foxhound dog was mechanically tested in the laboratory both in the presence and absence of a BTRP, and mechanical responses were measured by attaching rosettes to the bone surface of the mandible to validate the FEM predictions. The relationship between real and predicted values indicates that the stress patterns calculated using FEM are a valid predictor of the biomechanics of the BTDO procedures. The present study provides an interesting correlation between the stiffness of the device and the biomechanical response of the mandible affected for bone transport. | 25,162,918 | [
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Pruritus in pediatric burn survivors: defining the clinical course. | Pruritus is a frequent and severe symptom and a significant cause of distress for adult burn patients. Its effects in children are largely unstudied. The aim of this study is to characterize postburn itch in the pediatric population. This is a retrospective review from 2006 to 2013 for pediatric burn survivors who were enrolled in a longitudinal multicenter outcomes study. Demographic data, injury characteristics, associated symptoms (skin-related problems, pain, and sleep), and incidence and intensity (Numerical Rating Scale) of itch were examined. Measures were completed at hospital discharge and at 6, 12, and 24 months after injury. Spearman's correlations were used to examine the correlation between itch intensity and associated symptoms. Multivariate regression analyses examined the impact of associated symptoms on itch intensity. There were 430 pediatric burn survivors with a mean age of 7.8 years and a mean TBSA of 40.8%. Pruritus is present in most children (93%) and is of moderate intensity (5.7 ± 3.1) at discharge. The frequency and intensity of pruritus decreases over time; a majority of children continue to report symptoms at 2 years (63%). Itch was significantly correlated with associated symptoms. Regression analyses showed a correlation between itch intensity and pain at each time point. There was no association between itch intensity and burn etiology, age, gender, or burn size. Pruritus is a frequent complication that lasts for at least 2 years after injury in a majority of pediatric burn survivors. This information will enable better tracking of outcomes and will serve as a baseline for assessing interventions. | 25,162,949 | [
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Synthesis and cytotoxic evaluation of a series of 2-amino-naphthoquinones against human cancer cells. | The cytotoxicity of a series of aminonaphthoquinones resulting from the reaction of suitable aminoacids with 1,4-naphthoquinone was assayed against SF-295 (glioblastoma), MDAMB-435 (breast), HCT-8 (colon), HCT-116 (colon), HL-60 (leukemia), OVCAR-8 (ovarian), NCI-H358M (bronchoalveolar lung carcinoma) and PC3-M (prostate) cancer cells and also against PBMC (peripheral blood mononuclear cells). The results demonstrated that all the synthetic aminonaphthoquinones had relevant cytotoxic activity against all human cancer lines used in this experiment. Five of the compounds showed high cytotoxicity and selectivity against all cancer cell lines tested (IC50 = 0.49 to 3.89 µg·mL-1). The title compounds were less toxic to PBMC, since IC50 was 1.5 to eighteen times higher (IC50 = 5.51 to 17.61 µg·mL-1) than values shown by tumour cell lines. The mechanism of cell growth inhibition and structure-activity relationships remains as a target for future investigations. | 25,162,959 | [
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Adverse events, length of stay, and readmission after surgery for tibial plateau fractures. | To identify factors that are associated with short-term outcomes after open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) for tibial plateau fracture. Patients who underwent ORIF for tibial plateau fracture from 2009 to 2012 were identified in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Patient characteristics were tested for association with any adverse event (AAE), severe adverse events (SAEs), infectious complications, extended length of stay (LOS), and readmission within 30 days. A total of 519 tibial plateau fracture patients met inclusion criteria. Ten percent had AAE, 7% had SAEs, and 4% had an infectious complication. Extended LOS was defined as LOS >3 days (75th percentile LOS). Four percent of patients were readmitted. AAE was associated with increased American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class [relative risk (RR) = 3.8] and history of pulmonary disease (RR = 2.1) on multivariate analysis. SAE was associated with male sex (RR = 2.2) and increased ASA class (RR = 3.6). Infectious complications were associated with male sex (RR = 3.0), increased ASA class (RR = 3.3), smoking (RR = 2.8), pulmonary disease (RR = 2.9), and bicondylar fracture (RR = 2.7). Extended LOS was associated with increased age (RR = 2.1), increased ASA class (RR = 2.0), diabetes (RR = 1.6), pulmonary disease (RR = 1.8), bicondylar fracture (RR = 1.6), and increased operative time (RR = 1.6). Readmission was associated with increased ASA class (RR = 3.9), diabetes (RR = 2.9), dependent functional status (RR = 8.1), and discharge to home (RR = 5.7). The above-identified factors associated with outcomes after ORIF for tibial plateau fracture may be useful for patient counseling. Prognostic level II. See Instructions for authors for a complete description of levels of evidence. | 25,162,975 | [
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Patient characteristics upon initial presentation to chiropractic teaching clinics: A descriptive study conducted at one university. | Objective : The purpose of this study was to compare demographics and chief complaints of the new patient population at our institution's fee-for-service clinics to the patient population of practicing chiropractors in the United States. We also compared the prevalence of obesity and hypertension to reference standards for the adult population. Methods : Patient data were obtained from the electronic health records. All records identified as new patients during October 2013 were included. Variables of interest were clinic site, patient demographics, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), chief complaint, and ICD-9 codes. Descriptive statistics were computed and compared to reference standards from previous reports. Results : During October 2013, there were 224 new patients that entered the clinics. The average patient was a 31- to 50-year-old white male. Our clinic patients differed from those seen by US chiropractors in the distribution of all demographic variables. For adult patients, 31.4% were overweight, 29% were obese, and 8% stage 1 or 2 hypertension. Conclusion : New patients in the fee-for-service teaching clinics appear to be dissimilar to those of US practicing chiropractors in several important demographics, characteristics, and types of complaints. The new patients had lower levels of overweight, obesity, and hypertension compared to US reference standards. | 25,162,982 | [
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Heterogeneous vascular responses to lifestyle intervention in obese Latino adolescents. | Among adolescents, obesity may increase the risk for premature cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lifestyle interventions may prevent or delay the onset of CVD through improvements in vascular health. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 12-week lifestyle intervention on markers of vascular health in obese Latino youth. Fifteen obese Latino adolescents [body mass index (BMI) percentile=96.3±1.1%, 15.0±1.0 year, 8 females and 7 males] participated in a 12-week lifestyle intervention consisting of nutrition education and physical activity. Markers of vascular health included oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), and soluble endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 (sE-Selectin). Relative to baseline data, the intervention resulted in lower oxLDL (-21.8%, P=0.001) and sE-Selectin (-13.3%, P=0.008) concentrations; sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 did not change significantly. When examining overall responsiveness to change for each marker, oxLDL was reduced in 93.3%, sE-Selectin was reduced in 78.6%, and sICAM-1 was reduced in 71.4% of participants, respectively, whereas sVCAM-1 was reduced in only 42.9% of participants following lifestyle. Using a composite change score (summed change in four markers) for each participant there was an improvement in at least three of four markers among 64% of participants; this was confirmed by principal component analysis. Therefore, although improvements in the vascular health of obese youth were observed, the vascular response to lifestyle intervention may be heterogeneous. Further investigation into the mechanisms mediating the heterogeneity in vascular response to lifestyle intervention is warranted. | 25,162,989 | [
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Activators of AMPK: not just for type II diabetes. | Recent discoveries of AMPK activators point to the large number of therapeutic candidates that can be transformed to successful designs of novel drugs. AMPK is a universal energy sensor and influences almost all physiological processes in the cells. Thus, regulation of the cellular energy metabolism can be achieved in selective tissues via the artificial activation of AMPK by small molecules. Recently, special attention has been given to direct activators of AMPK that are regulated by several nonspecific upstream factors. The direct activation of AMPK, by definition, should lead to more specific biological activities and as a result minimize possible side effects. | 25,163,002 | [
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Overexpression of the HspL Promotes Agrobacterium tumefaciens Virulence in Arabidopsis Under Heat Shock Conditions. | Agrobacterium tumefaciens transfers a specific DNA fragment from the resident tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmid and effector virulence (Vir) proteins to plant cells during infection. A. tumefaciens VirB1-11 and VirD4 proteins assemble as the type IV secretion system (T4SS), which mediates transfer of the T-DNA and effector Vir protein into plant cells, thus resulting in crown gall disease in plants. Previous studies revealed that an α-crystallin-type, small heat-shock protein (HspL) is a more effective VirB8 chaperone than three other small heat-shock proteins (HspC, HspAT1, and HspAT2). Additionally, HspL contributes to efficient T4SS-mediated DNA transfer and tumorigenesis under room-temperature growth. In this study, we aimed to characterize the impact of HspL on Agrobacterium-mediated transformation efficiency under heat-shock treatment. During heat shock, transient transformation efficiency and VirB8 protein accumulation were lower in the hspL deletion mutant than in the wild type. Overexpression of HspL in A. tumefaciens enhanced the transient transformation efficiency in root explants of both susceptible and recalcitrant Arabidopsis ecotypes. In addition, the reduced transient transformation efficiency during heat stress was recovered by overexpression of HspL in A. tumefaciens. HspL may help maintain VirB8 homeostasis and elevate Agrobacterium-mediated transformation efficiency under both heat-shock and nonheat-shock growth. | 25,163,013 | [
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Migraine in students of a US medical school. | The study's aim was to determine migraine prevalence, severity, and educational impact in medical students. A 23-item survey of all medical students of one US medical school addressed migraine frequency, triggers, pattern and severity of symptoms, medication use, impact on educational activities and career choices. The response rate was 48% (359 students). Eighty-nine (24.8%) self-reported migraine, and all were confirmed by reported symptoms. Of these students, 54% had a physician-confirmed diagnosis. Migraine prevalence was 35% in women and 14.1% in men. About half of migraineurs reported one or more attacks monthly. Stress and sleep disturbances were the most common triggers. Pain severity was rated 7 or higher on a 10-point scale by 73%. NSAIDs were the most common medications used. Only 13% used prophylaxis. More than 80% reported reduced productivity during migraine, but 76% felt obliged to attend educational activities despite symptoms. A total of 81% of students did not endorse informing faculty about migraine status, and 95% would not disclose it in residency application. Migraine was not a factor in choice of medical specialty or specific residency program. Migraine is common in medical students, especially women. Only half have consulted a physician for migraine, and students may be using suboptimal treatments. Although more than half experience severe symptoms that impair performance, the majority attend educational sessions during migraine attacks, and they believe this is expected. Students are unwilling to disclose migraine status to faculty or during application to residency. Migraine does not influence career choices. | 25,163,040 | [
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Early Index for Detection of Pediatric Emergency Department Crowding. | When epidemics occur, such as is the case for bronchiolitis in the Pediatric Emergency Department (ED), the patient flow in the ED incontestably increases and can lead to crowding. We bypassed this difficulty of forecasting patient flow with aggregated weekly or monthly data by tackling the problem from a different point of view. We used daily data to build a multiperiod Serfling-based model. This model is hereinafter assimilated to normal ED flow. We then used the fourth-order moment of distribution of the time series, obtained from the difference between the estimated model and the real data, to provide an early index announcing abnormal ED patient flow. This index is parameter-dependent and we provide criterion to assist in selecting the optimal parameters. A simple program based on this methodology has been developed and has been given to the pediatric physicians for testing. Thanks to this index, the Pediatric ED was able to anticipate crowding almost three weeks before the height of the bronchiolitis epidemic. | 25,163,075 | [
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Biomarkers of cerebral injury in cardiac surgery. | The present study aims to reveal the changing patterns of cerebral biomarkers and the underlying predictive factors as a consequence of cardiac surgery. Literature retrieval of articles on S100 and S100B of recent 20 years were made in the MEDLINE database, Highwire Press and Google search. Quantitative data of S100 and S100B along with neuron-specific enolase were carefully screened, collected and statistically analyzed. The biomarkers appeared earlier and lasted longer in the cerebrospinal fluid than in the serum. All three biomarkers exhibited a similar kinetic trend in the bloodstream, reaching a peak value at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). In adults, serum biomarkers may recover to normal earlier than in pediatrics undergoing a cardiac surgery. The patients undergoing off-pump surgery had the minimal elevations of cerebral biomarkers comparing to all other cardiac surgeries under CPB, low core temperature and/or hypothermic circulatory arrest. In patients with pre- or postoperative neurological disorders, the biomarkers in the serum elevated even before operation and persisted longer time than those without neurological disorders. The serum concentrations of the biomarkers showed direct correlation with CPB duration and core temperature. Cardiac operations may lead to cerebral damage and blood-brain barrier changes, as a consequence of CPB and low core temperature. The cerebral biomarkers including S100, S100B and neuron-specific enolase may precisely reflect the cerebral damages in cardiac surgery. Attention has to be paid to the attenuations of cerebral damage by modifying the surgical conditions of CPB and core temperature. | 25,163,078 | [
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Grass invasion increases top-down pressure on an amphibian via structurally mediated effects on an intraguild predator. | Plants serve as both basal resources and ecosystem engineers, so plant invasion may exert trophic influences on consumers both via bottom-up processes and by altering the environmental context in which trophic interactions occur. To determine how these mechanisms affect a native predator we used a mark-recapture study in eight pairs of 58-m2 field enclosures to measure the influence of Japanese stilt grass invasion on 3200 recently metamorphosed American toads. Toad survivorship was lower in invaded habitats despite abiotic effects that favor amphibians. Prey densities were also lower in invaded habitats, but growth was unaffected. Frequent spider predation events in invaded habitats led us to use factorial field cage manipulations of stilt grass and lycosid spiders to determine if invasion increases predation rates. Spiders persisted at higher densities in the presence of stilt grass, and toad survival was lowest in cages with both grass and spiders. Invasion alone did not significantly reduce toad survival. Our results demonstrate that despite prey reductions and abiotic effects, it is increased spider persistence that reduces toad survival in invaded habitats. Invasion therefore affects resident forest floor consumers by modifying trophic interactions between native species, causing structurally mediated reductions in intraguild predation rates among spiders, with cascading implications for toad survival. | 25,163,106 | [
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Granivory of invasive, naturalized, and native plants in communities differentially susceptible to invasion. | Seed predation is an important biotic filter that can influence abundance and spatial distributions of native species through differential effects on recruitment. This filter may also influence the relative abundance of nonnative plants within habitats and the communities' susceptibility to invasion via differences in granivore identity, abundance, and food preference. We evaluated the effect of postdispersal seed predators on the establishment of invasive, naturalized, and native species within and between adjacent forest and steppe communities of eastern Washington, USA that differ in severity of plant invasion. Seed removal from trays placed within guild-specific exclosures revealed that small mammals were the dominant seed predators in both forest and steppe. Seeds of invasive species (Bromus tectorum, Cirsium arvense) were removed significantly less than the seeds of native (Pseudoroegneria spicata, Balsamorhiza sagittata) and naturalized (Secale cereale, Centaurea cyanus) species. Seed predation limited seedling emergence and establishment in both communities in the absence of competition in a pattern reflecting natural plant abundance: S. cereale was most suppressed, B. tectorum was least suppressed, and P. spicata was suppressed at an intermediate level. Furthermore, seed predation reduced the residual seed bank for all species. Seed mass correlated with seed removal rates in the forest and their subsequent effects on plant recruitment; larger seeds were removed at higher rates than smaller seeds. Our vegetation surveys indicate higher densities and canopy cover of nonnative species occur in the steppe compared with the forest understory, suggesting the steppe may be more susceptible to invasion. Seed predation alone, however, did not result in significant differences in establishment for any species between these communities, presumably due to similar total small-mammal abundance between communities. Consequently, preferential seed predation by small mammals predicts plant establishment for our test species within these communities but not between them. Accumulating evidence suggests that seed predation can be an important biotic filter affecting plant establishment via differences in consumer preferences and abundance with important ramifications for plant invasions and in situ community assembly. | 25,163,110 | [
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Ephemeral disturbances have long-lasting impacts on forest invasion dynamics. | Ephemeral disturbances are common in many systems. Often, these brief events are assumed to be a nuisance with little long-term ecological impact. We quantified the impact of the ephemeral forest disturbance caused by gypsy moth canopy defoliation on exotic plant invasion in eight hardwood forests in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, USA. Six years following the gypsy moth disturbance, we were able to predict 59% of the increase in Alliaria petiolata abundance and 42% of the increase in Microstegium vimineum abundance with models incorporating an interaction between disturbance severity and propagule pressure. In addition, we found that the disturbance timing had substantial impacts on the invasion dynamics of Alliaria petiolata. Our results suggest that ephemeral disturbances can have important and long-lasting impacts on plant communities, and highlight the need to account for variations in disturbance characteristics and the role of propagule pressure in determining the disturbance-invasion relationship. | 25,163,111 | [
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Context-dependent effects of nutrient loading on the coral-algal mutualism. | Human-mediated increases in nutrient availability alter patterns of primary production, impact species diversity, and threaten ecosystem function. Nutrients can also alter community structure by disrupting the relationships between nutrient-sharing mutualists that form the foundation of communities. Given their oligotrophic nature and the dependence of reef-building corals on symbiotic relationships, coral reefs may be particularly vulnerable to excess nutrients. However, individual studies suggest complex, even contradictory, relationships among nutrient availability, coral physiology, and coral growth. Here, we used meta-analysis to establish general patterns of the impact of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) on coral growth and photobiology. Overall, we found that over a wide range of concentrations, N reduced coral calcification 11%, on average, but enhanced metrics of coral photobiology, such as photosynthetic rate. In contrast, P enrichment increased average calcification rates by 9%, likely through direct impacts on the calcification process, but minimally impacted coral photobiology. There were few synergistic impacts of combined N and P on corals, as the nutrients impact corals via different pathways. Additionally, the response of corals to increasing nutrient availability was context dependent, varying with coral taxa and morphology, enrichment source, and nutrient identity. For example, naturally occurring enrichment from fish excretion increased coral growth, while human-mediated enrichment tended to decrease coral growth. Understanding the nuances of the relationship between nutrients and corals may allow for more targeted remediation strategies and suggest how other global change drivers such as overfishing and climate change will shape how nutrient availability impacts corals. | 25,163,130 | [
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Public-private interactions in global food safety governance. | In response to an apparent decline in global food safety, numerous public and private regulatory initiatives have emerged to restore public confidence. This trend has been particularly marked by the growing influence of private regulators such as multinational food companies, supermarket chains and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who employ private standards, certification protocols, third-party auditing, and transnational contracting practices. This paper explores how the structure and processes of private food safety governance interact with traditional public governance regimes, focusing on Global Good Agricultural Practices (GlobalGAP) as a primary example of the former. Due to the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of public regulation in the face of global problems, private governance in food safety has gradually replaced states' command-and-control regulation with more flexible, market-oriented mechanisms. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of constructive regime interaction instead of institutional boundary building to global food safety governance. Public and private ordering must each play a role as integral parts of a larger, dynamic and evolving governance complex. | 25,163,209 | [
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Origins of the prohibition against off-label promotion. | The statute and regulations administered by the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") do not explicitly prohibit the promotion of drugs and medical devices for unapproved uses, yet the government has collected billions of dollars in penalties for such "off-label" promotion. The statutory interpretations and regulatory provisions relied on by the government to take enforcement action against off-label promotion are the incidental by-products of initiatives undertaken by FDA through administrative action and litigation early in its implementation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The actions were designed to obtain FDA authority over therapeutic claims made in advertising, even though Congress had assigned authority over advertising to the Federal Trade Commission, and to establish a prescription-only drug system, even though FDA lacked statutory authority for such a system. The principal purpose of both efforts was to prevent inappropriate self-medication. This article describes the history of those strategies, including expansion of the definition of the term "labeling" to encompass matter that was initially regarded as advertising; creation of the rule that the labeling of drugs must have adequate directions for all "intended" uses; and construction of the prescription-only drug system in a manner that allowed FDA to use the statutory requirement for labeling to have "adequate directions for use" to prohibit the off-label promotion of prescription drugs. | 25,163,210 | [
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The influence of patronage nurses on breastfeeding. | The aim of this review was to estimate the influence of patronage nurses on breastfeeding. A retrospective research was conducted in the form of telephone questionnaire on a total of 25 subjects. Eighteen (72%) mothers had previous experience with breastfeeding, while 7 (28%) had no such experience. In 18 (72%) mothers, patronage nurses assessed the technique of breastfeeding because of difficulties with breastfeeding and examined breasts in 13 (52%) women. Exclusive breastfeeding was recommended to 21 (84%) mothers, while in 4 (16%) cases giving water and/or tea to the child was suggested. Breastfeeding on demand was recommended in 14 (56%) and breastfeeding by schedule in 4 (16%) cases. Advice about maternal nutrition during breastfeeding was given in 21 (84%) cases, while this type of advice was not necessary in only 4 (16%) cases. Patronage nurses helped the mothers with breastfeeding in 12 (48%) cases, had no influence on breastfeeding in 9 (36%) cases, and hindered breastfeeding in 4 (16%) cases. Patronage service has a relevant role in the preventive health sector. Patronage nurses should have better collaboration with maternity and pediatric care centers, so they can provide up to date breastfeeding education and thus offer their professional support. | 25,163,236 | [
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[Effect of new oral antimicrobial agents in outpatient treatment of pneumonia in children]. | In November 2004, "Guidelines for the Management of Respiratory Infectious Diseases in Children in Japan" was published ahead of the rest of the world, by Japanese Society of Pediatric Pulmonology/Japanese Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases, based on the data on causative organisms in the lower respiratory tract. In its 2011 version, classification of the severity of pneumonia was renewed based on the latest information. As a result, many types of pneumonia in children are now classified as mild or moderate. This means that many patients who might have conventionally required hospital treatment can now be managed on an outpatient basis. The reason for realization of the wider range of outpatient treatment is the availability of two new oral antimicrobial agents, tebipenem pivoxil and tosufloxacin tosilate hydrate, for the treatment of infections in children. Analysis of data on medical expenses shows a decreased rate of hospitalization due to pneumonia year by year after launch of these two drugs, suggesting that these drugs have contributed to wider range of outpatient treatment. This manuscript discusses the effect of tebipenem pivoxil and tosufloxacin tosilate hydrate in the treatment of pneumonia. | 25,163,249 | [
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[Plasminogen activation and regulation of fibrinolysis]. | Plasminogen activator-plasmin system is the central role for thrombus degradation. The system is finely tuned to allow healing of a blood vessel lesion without compromising the stability of the fibrin thrombus, and to localize fibrinolytic activity to the damaged area. There is a dynamic balance between fibrinolytic factors (plasminogen activators and plasmin) and inhibitory proteins (PAL-1, alpha2-plasmin inhibitor, and TAFIa). An alternative pathway for fibrinolysis that comprises leukocyte elastase and its interaction with the plasminogen activator-plasmin system has been suggested. | 25,163,311 | [
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[Cardiac graft allocation]. | Until 2004, French rules for cardiac graft allocation were aimed at ensuring uniform organ distribution on the national scale, while logically giving priority to local teams. The allocation was center-based, with transplant MDs choosing the most suitable recipient from the local waiting list. In 2004, two national priority lists were added to the French cardiac graft allocation system. High Emergency 1 (HE1) is for patients with unstable hemodynamic status (on inotropes or ECMO), while High Emergency 2 (HE2) is for patients who develop complications during long-term circulatory support. Data from the French Biomedicines Agency show significantly poorer survival for HE1 patients than for HE2 patients. However, this should not lead to the conclusion that HE2 is a better strategy, as mortality during long-term circulatory support is not taken into account, and it is well known that the survival benefit of transplantation is significantly better in HE1 patients. Furthermore, the risk related to the quality of the cardiac graft must be taken into account. Indeed, the decision to transplant or not to transplant an HE1 patient with a given graft will impact not only the survival of the patient concerned, but also the waiting time of the other patients on the list, independently of allocation rules. This is also true for the criteria used to place a patient on the waiting list. Each cardiac transplantation team considers the level of risk before adding a patient to the waiting list, and this will impact not only the individual candidate but also the entire waiting list. Thus, even if allocation rules aim to provide all patients with the same chance of being transplanted across the entire country, the medical decision to accept a cardiac graft and to register a patient on the waiting list will make this process somewhat heterogeneous. This allows cardiac transplantation to be adapted to each individual case, independently of the rules. However, a multidisciplinary decision process is necessary to ensure fairness. | 25,163,343 | [
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[A 25-year study (1983-2008) of children's health outcomes after hyperbaric oxygen therapy for carbon monoxide poisoning in utero]. | Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning during pregnancy can be fatal for the fetus, or cause bone malformations or encephalopathy, depending on the stage of pregnancy at which the poisoning occurs. Fewer cases of death and encephalopathy have been reported since the adoption of maternal hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy in this setting, but these children's long-term psychomotor development and growth remains to be documented. A prospective single-center cohort study spanning 25 years (1983 - 2008) included all pregnant women living in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France who received HBO for CO poisoning and who gave birth to a living child. A descriptive analysis of the women and children was performed first. A control group of children was created by matching with anonymous files from local authorities. The results of the children's compulsory health & development assessments were used to compare the two groups. 406 women were included in the study, of whom 6 were expecting twins. The psychomotor development of 412 children was monitored, up to the day 8 assessments in 388 cases, the year 2 assessments in 276 cases, and the year 6 assessments in 232 cases. Sixty children have not yet reached the age of 6 years. No significant differences in psychomotor or height/weight criteria (p > 0.05 for both) were found between the exposed and unexposed children. No malformations were reported. These findings support the use of HBO therapy for all expectant mothers exposed to CO poisoning. No specific follow-up of the children is necessary if their neonatal status is normal. | 25,163,349 | [
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Carybdea marsupialis (Cubozoa) in the Mediterranean Sea: the first case of a sting causing cutaneous and systemic manifestations. | A woman stung by the box jellyfish Carybdea marsupialis (Cnidaria, Cubozoa) at a Spanish Mediterranean beach showed systemic manifestations over several months [pain far from the inoculation point, arthralgia, paresthesia, hyperesthesia, increase in eosinophils and immunoglobulin E (IgE)] in addition to the skin condition. | 25,163,356 | [
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Content analysis of Australian direct-to-consumer websites for emerging breast cancer imaging devices. | To describe the nature and frequency of information presented on direct-to-consumer websites for emerging breast cancer imaging devices. Content analysis of Australian website advertisements from 2 March 2011 to 30 March 2012, for three emerging breast cancer imaging devices: digital infrared thermal imaging, electrical impedance scanning and electronic palpation imaging. Type of imaging offered, device safety, device performance, application of device, target population, supporting evidence and comparator tests. Thirty-nine unique Australian websites promoting a direct-to-consumer breast imaging device were identified. Despite a lack of supporting evidence, 22 websites advertised devices for diagnosis, 20 advertised devices for screening, 13 advertised devices for prevention and 13 advertised devices for identifying breast cancer risk factors. Similarly, advertised ranges of diagnostic sensitivity (78%-99%) and specificity (44%-91%) were relatively high compared with published literature. Direct comparisons with conventional screening tools that favoured the new device were highly prominent (31 websites), and one-third of websites (12) explicitly promoted their device as a suitable alternative. Australian websites for emerging breast imaging devices, which are also available internationally, promote the use of such devices as safe and effective solutions for breast cancer screening and diagnosis in a range of target populations. Many of these claims are not supported by peer-reviewed evidence, raising questions about the manner in which these devices and their advertising material are regulated, particularly when they are promoted as direct alternatives to established screening interventions. | 25,163,383 | [
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Dimensional analysis yields the general second-order differential equation underlying many natural phenomena: the mathematical properties of a phenomenon's data plot then specify a unique differential equation for it. | This study uses dimensional analysis to derive the general second-order differential equation that underlies numerous physical and natural phenomena described by common mathematical functions. It eschews assumptions about empirical constants and mechanisms. It relies only on the data plot's mathematical properties to provide the conditions and constraints needed to specify a second-order differential equation that is free of empirical constants for each phenomenon. A practical example of each function is analyzed using the general form of the underlying differential equation and the observable unique mathematical properties of each data plot, including boundary conditions. This yields a differential equation that describes the relationship among the physical variables governing the phenomenon's behavior. Complex phenomena such as the Standard Normal Distribution, the Logistic Growth Function, and Hill Ligand binding, which are characterized by data plots of distinctly different sigmoidal character, are readily analyzed by this approach. It provides an alternative, simple, unifying basis for analyzing each of these varied phenomena from a common perspective that ties them together and offers new insights into the appropriate empirical constants for describing each phenomenon. | 25,163,387 | [
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Structures affecting recovery of macular function in patients with age-related macular degeneration after intravitreal ranibizumab. | To determine the retinal structures affecting the recovery of macular function in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treated with intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR). Thirty eyes of 30 patients with exudative AMD who were treated with IVR at monthly intervals for 3 months were studied. Focal macular electroretinograms (fmERGs) and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) were performed before and 3 months after beginning the IVR injections. The fmERGs were elicited by a 15° white stimulus spot centered on the fovea. The thickness of different retinal layers, presence of a serous retinal detachment (SRD), and presence of a pigment epithelial detachment (PED) at the fovea was determined in the SD-OCT images. Measurements were made of the inner, middle, and outer layers of the retina and also of the SRD and PED in the horizontal and vertical meridians at 1.2 mm from the fovea (parafoveal regions). The significance of the correlations between these structural parameters and the a-wave amplitude of the fmERG was determined. There was no significant correlation between the structural parameters of the fovea and the a-wave amplitude. In the parafoveal regions, the thickness of the outer retinal layer was significantly correlated with an increase of the a-wave amplitude (R = 0.56, P = 0.001). In addition, the SRD thickness was negatively and significantly correlated with the a-wave amplitude (R = -0.54, P = 0.002). The change in the parafoveal SRD thickness after IVRs was the only independent determinant of recovery of the a-wave amplitude after the treatments (P < 0.05). The macular function measured by the fmERGs was determined by the parafoveal outer layer and SRD thickness in patients with exudative AMD. Of these, changes in the SRD thickness by IVRs most strongly affected the recovery of macular function. | 25,163,415 | [
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Do cities simulate climate change? A comparison of herbivore response to urban and global warming. | Cities experience elevated temperature, CO2 , and nitrogen deposition decades ahead of the global average, such that biological response to urbanization may predict response to future climate change. This hypothesis remains untested due to a lack of complementary urban and long-term observations. Here, we examine the response of an herbivore, the scale insect Melanaspis tenebricosa, to temperature in the context of an urban heat island, a series of historical temperature fluctuations, and recent climate warming. We survey M. tenebricosa on 55 urban street trees in Raleigh, NC, 342 herbarium specimens collected in the rural southeastern United States from 1895 to 2011, and at 20 rural forest sites represented by both modern (2013) and historical samples. We relate scale insect abundance to August temperatures and find that M. tenebricosa is most common in the hottest parts of the city, on historical specimens collected during warm time periods, and in present-day rural forests compared to the same sites when they were cooler. Scale insects reached their highest densities in the city, but abundance peaked at similar temperatures in urban and historical datasets and tracked temperature on a decadal scale. Although urban habitats are highly modified, species response to a key abiotic factor, temperature, was consistent across urban and rural-forest ecosystems. Cities may be an appropriate but underused system for developing and testing hypotheses about biological effects of climate change. Future work should test the applicability of this model to other groups of organisms. | 25,163,424 | [
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Xylem sap in cotton contains proteins that contribute to environmental stress response and cell wall development. | The xylem sap of a plant is primarily responsible for transporting molecules from the underground root system to the aboveground parts of the plant body. In order to understand the role that roots play in cotton growth and development, the components present in xylem sap must be elucidated. In this study, we used a shotgun HPLC-ESI-MS/MS proteomics approach to identify 455 peptides from the xylem sap of field-grown cotton plants at peak blooming stage. Of these peptides, 384 (84.4%) were found to be secreted proteins and 320 (70.3%) had special molecular functions. Based on Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, 348 peptides were annotated in terms of molecular function, biological process, and cellular localization, with 46.9 and 45.1% being related to catalytic activity and binding activity, respectively. Many xylem sap-containing proteins were predicted to be involved in different phases of xylem differentiation including cell wall metabolism, secondary cell wall development and patterning, and programmed cell death. The identification of starch and sucrose hydrolyzing enzymes implicated the interaction between roots and aboveground parts on the aspect of carbohydrate metabolism. Many of the proteins identified in this study are involved in defense mechanisms including pathogen-related proteins, such as peroxidases, chitinases, and germin-like proteins, proteases involved in disease resistance, and phytoalexin phenylpropanoid synthesis-related proteins. The majority of identified signaling proteins were fasciclin-like arabinogalactan proteins and kinases. The results of this study provide useful insight into the communication mechanisms between cotton roots and the rest of the cotton plant. | 25,163,431 | [
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Model drug as pore former for controlled release of water-soluble metoprolol succinate from ethylcellulose-coated pellets without lag phase: opportunities and challenges. | The objective of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of using model drug metoprolol succinate (MS) as a pore former to modify the initial lag phase (i.e., a slow or non-release phase in the first 1-2 h) associated with the drug release from coated pellets. MS-layered cores with high drug-layering efficiency (97% w/w) were first prepared by spraying a highly concentrated drug aqueous solution (60% w/w, 70°C) on non-pareils without using other binders. The presence of MS in ethylcellulose (EC) coating solution significantly improved the coating process by reducing pellets sticking, which often occurs during organic coating. There may be a maximum physical compatibility of MS with EC, and the physical state of the drug in the functional coating layer of EC/MS (80:20) was simultaneously crystalline and non-crystalline (amorphous or solid molecule solution). The lag phase associated with hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) as a pore former was not observed when MS was used as a pore former. The drug release from EC/MS-coated pellets was pH independent, inversely proportional to the coating levels, and directly related to the pore former levels. The functional coating layer with MS as a pore former was not completely stabilized without curing. Curing at 60°C for 1 day could substantially improve the stability of EC/MS-coated pellets. The physical state of the drug in the free film of EC/MS (85:15) changed partially from amorphous to crystal when cured at 60°C for 1 day, which should be attributed to the incompatibility of the drug with EC. | 25,163,432 | [
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Primary stabbing headache in adults and pediatrics: a review. | Primary stabbing headache (PSH) is an under-recognized primary headache disorder, which often goes undiagnosed. It is mainly characterized by its ultrashort stabbing quality and can be easily overlooked both by patients and providers as it is often not severe enough to interfere significantly with daily life. However, PSH may be severe and require therapy, and it is important for providers to recognize this headache type, both in adult and pediatric populations, as well as to be able to distinguish it from secondary headache disorders. PSH also may be more common than previously thought. | 25,163,436 | [
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Sufficiency and necessity in migraine: how do we figure out if triggers are absolute or partial and, if partial, additive or potentiating? | Migraine is, to a great extent, a genetically determined disorder and once it has manifested itself, it generally continues for years if not for decades. While the migraine is active, headaches can seemingly occur spontaneously but are often reportedly precipitated by events or factors, known as migraine triggers, the interplay of which is the topic of this paper. Among migraine triggers, the menstrual cycle is an important one that probably accounts for much of the excess of migraine in women compared with men. Much has also been written about stress as a trigger of migraine, with headache occurring after rather than during stress, when relaxation occurs. Stress is also 1 of the 4 most often acknowledged headache triggers in general, the others being fatigue, not eating on time, and lack of sleep. Singularly, the triggers are generally necessary but not sufficient, ie, not powerful enough to bring on headache by themselves and, hence, compounding of those triggers is usually required. There is evidence to suggest that the premenstrual phase has a magnifying effect on the stress-headache interaction. The same is true for low-sleep duration with the (predictive) model fitting best when stress and low-sleep duration are considered additive. Menstruation has been identified as possibly the only absolute trigger of headache that is both necessary and sufficient. The scientific study of migraine triggers requires knowledge not just of how often in an individual a trigger is followed by migraine headache but also of how often it is not. Having identified trigger-headache associations, it needs to be determined which triggers are causative in the individual, either singly or in combination with others. This requires running an experiment with the individual that involves behavioral intervention to change exposure to a given trigger and determine whether that improves migraine. The ubiquitous adoption of the smart phone as a personal-data entry device, along with the possibility of bringing the results of sophisticated statistical analysis into the hands of patients and physicians, may well provide us with an important set of tools that will finally allow the unravelling of the age-old migraine-trigger puzzle. | 25,163,437 | [
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The rules of information aggregation and emergence of collective intelligent behavior. | Information is a peculiar quantity. Unlike matter and energy, which are conserved by the laws of physics, the aggregation of knowledge from many sources can in fact produce more information (synergy) or less (redundancy) than the sum of its parts. This feature can endow groups with problem-solving strategies that are superior to those possible among noninteracting individuals and, in turn, may provide a selection drive toward collective cooperation and coordination. Here we explore the formal properties of information aggregation as a general principle for explaining features of social organization. We quantify information in terms of the general formalism of information theory, which also prescribes the rules of how different pieces of evidence inform the solution of a given problem. We then show how several canonical examples of collective cognition and coordination can be understood through principles of minimization of uncertainty (maximization of predictability) under information pooling over many individuals. We discuss in some detail how collective coordination in swarms, markets, natural language processing, and collaborative filtering may be guided by the optimal aggregation of information in social collectives. We also identify circumstances when these processes fail, leading, for example, to inefficient markets. The contrast to approaches to understand coordination and collaboration via decision and game theory is also briefly discussed. | 25,163,449 | [
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Oral toxicity evaluation of thiodiglycol in Sprague-Dawley rats. | Thiodiglycol (TDG) is the main product of sulfur mustard hydrolysis and is an environmental contaminant. Subacute and subchronic oral toxicity studies with TDG were conducted in Sprague-Dawley rats. Neat TDG was administered by gavage at doses of 157, 313, 625, 1250, 2500, 5000, and 9999 mg/kg/d, 5 days per week, for 14 days. In the 14-day study, decreased body weight and food consumption were observed at 5000 mg/kg/d. In the 90-day study, rats received neat TDG at doses of 50, 500, or 5000 mg/kg/d for 5 days per week. A fourth group served as a sham control. Individual body weight and food consumption were measured weekly. At termination of the experiment, urine, blood, and tissue samples were collected. Rats displayed significant decreased body weight with no effect on food consumption following administration of TDG at 5000 mg/kg/d. Both male and female rats showed significant increased kidney weights at 5000 mg/kg/d. The organ to body weight ratios increased significantly for liver, kidneys, testes, and brain in males and adrenals in females for 5000 mg/kg/d. At all doses of TDG, hematological and clinical parameters and tissue histopathology remained unaltered. The no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) for oral subchronic toxicity was 500 mg/kg/d. Benchmark dose (BMD) was derived from the decreased gain in body weight that was seen in male rats. A BMD based on a 10% decrease in body weight was 1704 mg/kg/d, and the lower confidence limit on the dose BMD, the BMDL, was 372 mg/kg/d. | 25,163,473 | [
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Human extravillous trophoblast invasion: intrinsic and extrinsic regulation. | During the establishment of pregnancy, a human blastocyst implants into the uterine endometrium to facilitate the formation of a functional placenta. Implantation involves the blastocyst adhering to the uterine luminal epithelium before the primitive syncytiotrophoblast and subsequently specialised cells, the extravillous trophoblast (EVT), invade into the decidua in order to engraft and remodel uterine spiral arteries, creating the placental blood supply at the end of the first trimester. Defects in EVT invasion lead to abnormal placentation and thus adverse pregnancy outcomes. The local decidual environment is thought to play a key role in regulating trophoblast invasion. Here we describe the major cell types present in the decidua during the first trimester of pregnancy and review what is known about their regulation of EVT invasion. Overall, the evidence suggests that in a healthy pregnancy almost all cell types in the decidua actively promote EVT invasion and, further, that reduced EVT invasion towards the end of the first trimester is regulated, in part, by the reduced invasive capacity of EVTs shown at this time. | 25,163,485 | [
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A point mutation in cpsE renders Streptococcus pneumoniae nonencapsulated and enhances its growth, adherence and competence. | The polysaccharide capsule is a major virulence factor of the important human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. However, S. pneumoniae strains lacking capsule do occur. Here, we report a nasopharyngeal isolate of Streptococcus pneumoniae composed of a mixture of two phenotypes; one encapsulated (serotype 18C) and the other nonencapsulated, determined by serotyping, electron microscopy and fluorescence isothiocyanate dextran exclusion assay.By whole genome sequencing, we demonstrated that the phenotypes differ by a single nucleotide base pair in capsular gene cpsE (C to G change at gene position 1135) predicted to result in amino acid change from arginine to glycine at position 379, located in the cytoplasmic, enzymatically active, region of this transmembrane protein. This SNP is responsible for loss of capsule production as the phenotype is transferred with the capsule operon. The nonencapsulated variant is superior in growth in vitro and is also 117-fold more adherent to and more invasive into Detroit 562 human epithelial cells than the encapsulated variant.Expression of six competence pathway genes and one competence-associated gene was 11 to 34-fold higher in the nonencapsulated variant than the encapsulated and transformation frequency was 3.7-fold greater. We identified a new single point mutation in capsule gene cpsE of a clinical S. pneumoniae serotype 18C isolate sufficient to cause loss of capsule expression resulting in the co-existence of the encapsulated and nonencapsulated phenotype. The mutation caused phenotypic changes in growth, adherence to epithelial cells and transformability. Mutation in capsule gene cpsE may be a way for S. pneumoniae to lose its capsule and increase its colonization potential. | 25,163,487 | [
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Direct in vivo electrochemical detection of haemoglobin in red blood cells. | The electrochemical behavior of iron ion in haemoglobin provides insight to the chemical activity in the red blood cell which is important in the field of hematology. Herein, the detection of haemoglobin in human red blood cells on glassy carbon electrode (GC) was demonstrated. Red blood cells or raw blood cells was immobilized on a glassy carbon electrode surface with Nafion films employed to sandwich the layer of biological sample firmly on the electrode surface. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) analyses revealed a well-defined reduction peak for haemoglobin at about -0.30 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) at the red blood cell (GC-Nf-RBC-3Nf) and blood (GC-Nf-B-3Nf) film modified GCE in a pH 3.5 phosphate buffer solution. We further demonstrated that the complex biological conditions of a human red blood cell displayed no interference with the detection of haemoglobin. Such findings shall have an implication on the possibilities of studying the electrochemical behaviour of haemoglobin directly from human blood, for various scientific and clinical purposes. | 25,163,492 | [
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Clinicopathologial features of gastric hepatoid adenocarcinoma. | Gastric hepatoid adenocarcinoma (GHA), a rare type of primary gastric cancer, is characterized by hepatocellular carcinoma-like histology. As details of this disease remain unknown, the aim of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological features of GHA. From January 2001 to December 2010, 4563 patients were diagnosed with primary gastric cancer at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Medical Center. Ten (0.22%) of these patients were diagnosed with GHA. The clinicopathological characteristics of these patients were collected retrospectively. The median age at diagnosis was 65.5 years, and six patients (60%) were male. Seven patients had lymph node metastasis and five had distant metastasis, with the liver as the most common site (four cases). Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels were elevated in seven of eight patients (median: 359.2 ng/ml; range: 4.3-6535.6 ng/ml). Endoscopically, six tumors were classified as Borrmann's type III cancer with the appearance of fungating mass lesion with a purple, berry-like surface. Of the five patients without distant metastasis, all received curative-intent surgery and four received adjuvant chemotherapy. Four patients with distant metastasis received either palliative operation or chemotherapy, and one patient received neither operation nor chemotherapy due to a poor performance status. The median survival time was 7.2 months (range: 0.7-131.8 months), and the 5-year survival rate was 20%. There was survival benefit in the chemotherapy groups. GHA is a rare subtype of gastric cancer which is prone to lymph node and liver metastasis. Most GHAs appear as Borrmann's type III fungating mass lesion with a purple, berry-like surface. Although the prognosis of advanced stage GHA is poor, chemotherapy might provide some benefit. | 25,163,499 | [
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HLA-G in human early pregnancy: control of uterine immune cell activation and likely vascular remodeling. | Despite a number of controversies, the functional importance of human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) in early human pregnancy is now sustained by a large amount of sound data. Membrane-bound and soluble HLA-G isoforms, either as β2-microglobulin-free or -associated as monomers or dimers, are expressed by different trophoblast subpopulations, the only fetal-derived cells that are directly in contact with maternal cells (maternal-fetal interfaces). Trophoblast HLA-G is the specific ligand of multiple cellular receptors present in maternal immune and non-immune cells, including CD8, leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor (LILR) B1, LILRB2, killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) 2DL4, and possibly CD160. Trophoblast HLA-G specific engagement of these cellular receptors triggers either inhibitory or activating signals in decidual CD8 + T cells, CD4 + T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, or endothelial cells. Such HLA-G-receptor specific interactions first contribute to limit potentially harmful maternal anti-paternal immune response by impairment of decidual NK cell cytotoxicity, inhibition of CD4 + and CD8 + T-cell and B-cell proliferation, and induction of apoptosis of activated CD8 + T cells. Second, these HLA-G specific interactions contribute to stimulate placental development through secretion of angiogenic factors by decidual NK cells and macrophages, and to provide a protective effect for the outcome of pregnancy by the secretion of interleukin (IL)-4 by decidual trophoblast antigen-specific CD4 + T cells. | 25,163,504 | [
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Endothelial-mesenchymal transition in normal human esophageal endothelial cells cocultured with esophageal adenocarcinoma cells: role of IL-1β and TGF-β2. | Endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) has been recognized as a key determinant of tumor microenvironment in cancer progression and metastasis. Endothelial cells undergoing EndoMT lose their endothelial markers, acquire the mesenchymal phenotype, and become more invasive with increased migratory abilities. Early stages of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) are characterized by strong microvasculature whose impact in tumor progression remains undefined. Our aim was to determine the role of EndoMT in EAC by investigating the impact of tumor cells on normal primary human esophageal microvascular endothelial cells (HEMEC). HEMEC were either cocultured with OE33 adenocarcinoma cells or treated with IL-1β and transforming growth factor-β2 (TGF-β2) for indicated periods and analyzed for EndoMT-associated changes by real-time PCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence staining, and functional assays. Additionally, human EAC tissues were investigated for detection of EndoMT-like cells. Our results demonstrate an increased expression of mesenchymal markers [fibroblast-specific protein 1 (FSP1), collagen1α2, vimentin, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and Snail], decreased expression of endothelial markers [CD31, von Willebrand factor VIII (vWF), and VE-cadherin], and elevated migration ability in HEMEC following coculture with OE33 cells. The EndoMT-related changes were inhibited by IL-1β and TGF-β2 gene silencing in OE33 cells. Recombinant IL-1β and TGF-β2 induced EndoMT in HEMEC. Although the level of VEGF expression was elevated in EndoMT cells, the angiogenic property of these cells was diminished. In vivo, by immunostaining EndoMT-like cells were detected at the invasive front of EAC. Our findings underscore a significant role for EndoMT in EAC and provide new insights into the mechanisms and significance of EndoMT in the context of tumor progression. | 25,163,519 | [
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First report on two-fold classification of Plasmodium falciparum carbonic anhydrase inhibitors using QSAR modeling approaches. | Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR)-based classification approach is one of the important chemometric tools in drug discovery process for categorizing the target protein inhibitors into more active and less active classes. In this background, we have presented here a novel approach of two-fold QSAR-based classification modeling for the Plasmodium falciparum carbonic anhydrase (PfCA) inhibitors using 2D-QSAR and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) methods. The logic of applying this concept is to ensure more accurate classification of compounds and to draw some concrete conclusion about structure-activity relations for further work, in absence of 3D-protein structure and lack of sufficient experimental data using the PfCA target. The 2D-QSAR modeling analysis suggested the importance of electrotopological, electronic, extended topochemical atom, and spatial (Jurs) indices for modeling the inhibitory activity against PfCA. The LDA model analysis showed that spatial (Jurs), electrotopological and thermodynamic indices were the discriminating features to differentiate the inhibitors into more active and less active groups. The classification ability of both the models for training and test sets was checked by different qualitative validation parameters such as sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, recall, precision, F-measure and G-means. The classification results revealed that the developed models were significant in classifying the more active inhibitors as compared to the less active inhibitors of both training and test sets. The structural features unveiled from these two models could be utilized for the selection of more active compounds against PfCA in the database screening process. | 25,163,527 | [
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Sources of perceived social support associated with reduced psychological distress at 1 year after the Great East Japan Earthquake: Nationwide cross-sectional survey in 2012. | Lack of social support has been associated with a higher level of psychological distress after disasters, but its relative associations with sources of support such as neighbors, friends, family, and others, are underreported. The present study assessed the associations of social support with psychological distress according to support source among the general population 1 year after the Great East Japan Earthquake. An online survey was completed by a Japanese national sample of 10 469 participants in 2012, from which 8777 were analyzed. Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6), and the associations between social support from family, friends, or neighbors and psychological distress score were estimated using a proportional odds model. This model was separately fitted for house-damage certification from the disaster (573 participants were certified, 8204 were uncertified). Prevalence of K6 ≥ 13 points was 8.4% for house-damage certified and 9.0% for uncertified participants. K6 ≥ 5 points was observed among 49.9% of the house-damaged certified group and in 47.7% of the uncertified group. Lack of support from family, friends, and neighbors was similarly associated with higher K6 score among house-damage certified and uncertified participants. Similar patterns were observed from participants who received house-damage certificates and those who did not experience damage to their homes. Enhancing perceived sources of social support among the general population, not limited to people with house damage, can be an effective way to reduce psychological distress following a disaster. | 25,163,533 | [
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Factors affecting the accumulation of perfluoroalkyl substances in human blood. | The aim of this study is to evaluate the presence of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the blood of 46 residents from Barcelona and to study the factors that affect exposure. Compounds analysed included perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS), perfluorooctanoate acid (PFOA) and perfluorononanoate acid (PFNA). Blood was liquid-liquid extracted and PFASs were determined by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Good recoveries (between 97 ± 14 and 105 ± 13 %) were obtained and method detection limits were from 0.03 to 0.07 ng mL(-1). ΣPFASs ranged from 0.11 to 4.37 ng mL(-1). PFOS was the main compound detected at 0.09-3.35 ng mL(-1), followed by PFOA and PFHxS. PFBS and PFNA were seldom detected. Working conditions, smoking and gender did not cause any significant differences among ΣPFASs levels in the blood while age and parity produced decreased concentrations. On the other hand, laboratory working conditions produced significant higher PFOA levels compared to the general population. Compared to other studies, the PFASs levels in blood from Barcelona residents is low (mean ΣPFASs of 1.67 ± 0.88 ng mL(-1)) and with little variation among the studied population. | 25,163,560 | [
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Characterization of bacteria isolated from palaeoproterozoic metasediments for sequestration of carbon dioxide and formation of calcium carbonate. | Bacterial community of palaeoproterozoic metasediments was enriched in the chemostat in the presence of different concentrations of NaHCO3. Six bacterial isolates were isolated from the chemostat on nutrient agar plates on the basis of distinct morphology. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) proved the presence of six operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at 50 and 100 mM NaHCO3. The OTU was reduced to three and one at enrichment concentration of 150 and 200 mM NaHCO3 respectively. These six isolates were tested for sequestration of carbon dioxide by (14)C metabolic labeling of NaH(14)CO3. Among the six isolates, one of the bacterium showed better potency to fix radiolabeled NaH(14)CO3. The isolate (ISTD04) was identified as Serratia sp. by 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) sequence analysis and was found to be same as the DGGE OTU sequence at 200-mM NaHCO3 concentration. The bacterium was tested for product formation in form of calcite crystals in presence of 5 % CO2. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of product formed by the bacterium revealed defined faceted rhombohedral structure which resembled calcite and vaterite phases of the crystal. Formation of calcium carbonate crystals was further confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as carbonate group showing strong vibration at 1,456 cm(-1). Major calcite phase diffraction peaks were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis showed the presence of CaO (72 %) and carbon (18 %). Bacterium use bicarbonate as carbon source for their growth as well as by-product formation in form of calcite shows carbon circulation and storage. | 25,163,561 | [
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Toxicity of sediment cores from Yangtze River estuary to zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. | Toxicity evaluation is an important segment in sediment quality monitoring in order to protect aquatic organisms and human health. The purpose of this study is to assess the toxicity of sediments from three sediment cores in Yangtze River Estuary, China, using the zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo tests. Fertilized zebrafish eggs were exposed to both whole sediments and sediment organic extracts prepared from collected sediments, in order to provide a comprehensive and realistic insight into the bioavailable toxicity potential of the sediments. As end points, development parameters (mortality, hatching rate, and abnormality) in the developing embryos were recorded during the 96-h exposure. The results showed that some samples increased mortality, inhibited the hatching of embryos, and induced morphological abnormalities. The embryonic toxicities presented serrated changes and irregular distribution with depth, which may be related to hydrodynamic effect and unstable environmental input. However, lethal and sub-lethal effects were more significant at the sub-surface sediments (10∼40 cm), which indicated that the pollution is more serious in recent decades. | 25,163,567 | [
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Effect of age on the pharmacokinetics of busulfan in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation; an alliance study (CALGB 10503, 19808, and 100103). | Older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome have often been excluded from myeloablative-conditioning regimens containing busulfan because of non-disease-related morbidity and mortality. We hypothesized that busulfan clearance (BuCL) in older patients (>60 years) would be reduced compared to that in younger patients, potentially explaining observed differences in busulfan tolerability. AML patients in three CALGB hematopoietic cell transplantation studies were treated with a conditioning regimen using IV busulfan, dosed at 0.8 mg/kg. Plasma busulfan concentrations were determined by LC-MS and analyzed by non-compartmental methods. BuCL was normalized to actual (ABW), ideal (IBW), or corrected (CBW) body weight (kg). Differences in BuCL between age groups were examined using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. One hundred and eighty-five patients were accrued; 174 provided useable pharmacokinetic data. Twenty-nine patients ≥ 60 years old (median 66; range 60-74) had a significantly higher BuCL versus those <60 years old (median 50; range 18-60): BuCL 236 versus 168 mL/min, p = 0.0002; BuCL/ABW 3.0 versus 2.1 mL/min/kg, p = 0.0001; BuCL/IBW 3.8 versus 2.6 mL/min/kg, p = 0.0035; BuCL/CBW 3.4 versus 2.6 mL/min/kg, p = 0.0005. Inter-patient variability in clearance (CV %) was up to 48 % in both age groups. Phenytoin administration, a potential confounder, did not affect BuCL, regardless of weight normalization (p > 0.34). Contrary to our hypothesis, BuCL was significantly higher in older patients compared to younger patients in these studies and does not explain the previously reported increase in busulfan toxicity observed in older patients. | 25,163,570 | [
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[Pollen dispersion of cryptmeria japonica in the autumn at the Oita University Faculty of Medicine Complex]. | It has been reported that Japanese cedar pollinosis patients develop symptoms in the autumn. We investigated the atmospheric Japanese cedar pollen dispersion in the autumn at the Oita University Faculty of Medicine Complex. We set up a Durham sampler on the roof (30 m from the ground) of the Oita University Faculty of Medicine complex and investigated atmospheric pollen counts every day from October 1 to December 31, from 2003 through 2012. The total pollen counts in the autumn per year ranged from 5.4 to 52.2 (/cm2). The maximum pollen counts per day ranged from 0.6 to 9.6 (/cm2). The number of days with pollen dispersion ranged from 14 to 46 days. Although there was no correlation between the total pollen counts in the autumn and the those of the next spring, there was a significant correlation between the total pollen counts in the autumn and the meteorological conditions in July. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, the month, temperature, low humidity and wind speed were independently associated with the day of pollen dispersion. A small amount of Japanese cedar pollen was detected during the period from October to December at our institute. It was thought that some of the male flowers formed during the summer bloomed and scattered pollen in the autumn. As the pollen counts in the autumn were low, we need careful studies to determine whether patients with Japanese cedar pollinosis show symptoms in the autumn. | 25,163,578 | [
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The evaluation of Zataria multiflora Boiss. essential oil effect on biogenic amines formation and microbiological profile in Gouda cheese. | The effect of Zataria multiflora Boiss. (Z. multiflora) essential oils (EO) on biogenic amines (BAs) production and microbial counts in Gouda cheese has been investigated. Zataria multiflora was added to milk in different concentrations (0·05, 0·1, 0·2 and 0·4% (v/v)). The BAs (tyramine and histamine) were measured by RP-HPLC, following extraction from the cheese. Various microbiological analyses (aerobic mesophilic bacteria, enterococci, mesophilic lactobacilli, Enterobacteriaceae, lactococci and yeasts) were performed during ripening using the viable plate count method on specific culture media. The overall acceptability of cheeses was investigated by seven panellists. All the samples containing different concentrations of EO were acceptable to the panellists. Also, Gouda cheeses with 0·2% Z. multiflora EO showed the highest acceptability among all the samples. At the end of maturation period, 0·1, 0·2 and 0·4% Z. multiflora EO reduced tyramine and histamine significantly to 5%, 22% and 44% for tyramine and 14%, 29% and 46% for histamine, respectively, when compared to the control group. The increase of Z. multiflora EO concentrations led to further decrease in BAs content and microbial counts. The maximum microbiological reduction was observed in yeasts, and minimum microbiological reduction was seen in Enterobacteriaceae counts. Zataria multiflora EO could be used for reduction of BAs and also as a flavouring agent in Gouda cheese and could contribute to consumers' health. The presence of biogenic amines in cheese has a serious impact on public health. Besides, there is growing concern about the use of chemical preservatives and the food industry is looking for new natural preservation methods. Zataria multiflora Boiss. essential oil is well known for its antimicrobial effects, and we attempted to reduce biogenic amines formation in Gouda cheese using Z. multiflora Boiss. essential oil as a natural additive. Furthermore, the desirable organoleptic qualities such as flavour, odour, texture and colour were achieved by adding Z. multiflora Boiss. to cheese. | 25,163,583 | [
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Systematic Epstein-Barr virus-positive T-cell lymphoproliferative disease presenting as a persistent fever and cough: a case report. | Systemic Epstein-Barr virus-positive T-cell lymphoproliferative childhood disease is an extremely rare disorder and classically arises following primary acute or chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection. It is characterized by clonal proliferation of Epstein-Barr virus-infected T-cells with an activated cytotoxic phenotype. This disease has a rapid clinical course and is more frequent in Asia and South America, with relatively few cases being reported in Western countries. The clinical and pathological features of the disease overlap with other conditions including infectious mononucleosis, chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and natural killer cell malignancies. We describe the rare case of systemic Epstein-Barr virus-positive T-cell lymphoproliferative childhood disease in a 16-year-old Malay boy. He presented with a six-month history of fever and cough, with pulmonary and mediastinal lymphadenopathy and severe pancytopenia. Medium- to large-sized, CD8+ and Epstein-Barr virus-encoded RNA-positive atypical lymphoid cells were present in the bone marrow aspirate. He subsequently developed fatal virus-associated hemophagocytic syndrome and died due to sepsis and multiorgan failure. Although systemic Epstein-Barr virus-positive T-cell lymphoproliferative childhood disease is a disorder which is rarely encountered in clinical practice, our case report underlines the importance of a comprehensive diagnostic approach in the management of this disease. A high level of awareness of the disease throughout the diagnosis process for young patients who present with systemic illness and hemophagocytic syndrome may be of great help for the clinical diagnosis of this disease. | 25,163,591 | [
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Prevalence of neutralising antibodies against adenoviruses in lizards and snakes. | Adenoviruses (AdVs) are relatively common in lizards and snakes, and several genetically distinct AdVs have been isolated in cell culture. The aims of this study were to examine serological relationships among lizard and snake AdVs and to determine the frequency of AdV infections in these species. Isolates from a boa constrictor (Boa constrictor), a corn snake (Pantherophis gutattus) and a central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps), and two isolates from helodermatid lizards (Heloderma horridum and H. suspectum) were used in neutralisation tests for the detection of antibodies in plasma from 263 lizards from seven families (including 12 species) and from 141 snakes from four families (including 28 species) from the USA and Europe. Most lizard and snake samples had antibodies against a range of AdV isolates, indicating that AdV infection is common among these squamates. Neutralisation tests with polyclonal antibodies raised in rabbits demonstrated serological cross-reactivity between both helodermatid lizard isolates. However, squamate plasma showed different reactions to each of these lizard isolates in neutralisation tests. | 25,163,614 | [
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Controlling a robot with intention derived from motion. | We present a novel, sophisticated intention-based control system for a mobile robot built from an extremely inexpensive webcam and radio-controlled toy vehicle. The system visually observes humans participating in various playground games and infers their goals and intentions through analyzing their spatiotemporal activity in relation to itself and each other, and then builds a coherent narrative out of the succession of these intentional states. Starting from zero information about the room, the rules of the games, or even which vehicle it controls, it learns rich relationships between players, their goals and intentions, probing uncertain situations with its own behavior. The robot is able to watch people playing various playground games, learn the roles and rules that apply to specific games, and participate in the play. The narratives it constructs capture essential information about the observed social roles and types of activity. After watching play for a short while, the system is able to participate appropriately in the games. We demonstrate how the system acts appropriately in scenarios such as chasing, follow-the-leader, and variants of tag. | 25,163,625 | [
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Use of a vacuum-assisted closure system for the management of enteroatmospheric fistulae. | The aim of this study was to analyze the management of enteroatmospheric fistulae (EAF) in an open abdomen using vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy. Eighteen patients (ten male/eight female) were treated in our surgical department for the management of EAF. VAC therapy was used to manage both complex and open abdominal wounds and for effluent control in all patients except one until definitive surgery could be performed or spontaneous closure of the EAF occurred. The median age of the patients was 61.1 years (range 29-84 years). Their average hospital stay was 88.89 days (range 22-129 days). The median number of VAC applications was 22.5, and the median duration of VAC applications was 43.6 days (range 14-114 days). Non-surgical spontaneous closure of the fistulae with negative pressure wound therapy could be achieved in four patients. In the other six patients, after the EAF were controlled with VAC therapy, definitive surgery was performed. Primary fascial repair was performed in two patients, and the component separation technique was synchronously performed in another two patients. Ventral hernia repair using polypropylene mesh was performed in a patient 1 year after discharge from the hospital. One patient was discharged with skin grafting plus ileostomy after the EAF was managed with VAC therapy. Eight patients (44.4%) died due to intraabdominal infections and sepsis, which could not be controlled despite all precautions. No VAC-related complications were observed in this study. A VAC system can be successfully used for wound management in the control of fistula effluent in patients with an EAF in an open abdomen until spontaneous fistula closure occurs or definitive fistula surgery can be performed. | 25,163,660 | [
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Utilization of by-products derived from bioethanol production process for cost-effective production of lactic acid. | The by-products of bioethanol production such as thin stillage (TS) and condensed distillers solubles (CDS) were used as a potential nitrogen source for economical production of lactic acid. The effect of those by-products and their concentrations on lactic acid fermentation were investigated using Lactobacillus paracasei CHB2121. Approximately, 6.7 g/L of yeast extract at a carbon source to nitrogen source ratio of 15 was required to produce 90 g/L of lactic acid in the medium containing 100 g/L of glucose. Batch fermentation of TS medium resulted in 90 g/L of lactic acid after 48 h, and the medium containing 10 % CDS resulted in 95 g/L of lactic acid after 44 h. Therefore, TS and CDS could be considered as potential alternative fermentation medium for the economical production of lactic acid. Furthermore, lactic acid fermentation was performed using only cassava and CDS for commercial production of lactic acid. The volumetric productivity of lactic acid [2.94 g/(L·h)] was 37 % higher than the productivity obtained from the medium with glucose and CDS. | 25,163,666 | [
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Noise in hospital rooms and sleep disturbance in hospitalized medical patients. | Hospitalized patients are vulnerable to sleep disturbances because of environmental stresses including noise. While most previous studies on hospital noise and sleep have been performed for medical machines in intensive care units, there is a limited data for patients hospitalized in medical wardrooms. The purpose of present study was to measure noise level of medical wardrooms, identify patient-perceived sources of noise, and to examine the association between noise levels and sleep disturbances in hospitalized patients. Noise dosimeters were used to measure noise level in 29 inpatient wardrooms at a university hospital. Sleep pattern and disturbance were assessed in 103 hospitalized patients, using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire. The mean equivalent continuous noise level for 24 hours was 63.5 decibel A (dBA), which was far higher than 30 dBA recommended by the World Health Organization for hospital wardrooms. Other patients sharing a room were perceived as the most common source of noise by the patients, which was usually preventable. Of the patients in the study, 86% had bad sleep as assessed by the PSQI. The sleep disturbance was significantly correlated with increasing noise levels in a dose response manner. Systemic organizational interventions are needed to keep wardrooms private and quiet to reduce sleep disturbance. | 25,163,680 | [
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Impact of RNA-guided technologies for target identification and deconvolution. | For well over a decade, RNA interference (RNAi) has provided a powerful tool for investigators to query specific gene targets in an easily modulated loss-of-function setting, both in vitro and in vivo. Hundreds of publications have demonstrated the utility of RNAi in arrayed and pooled-based formats, in a wide variety of cell-based systems, including clonal, stem, transformed, and primary cells. Over the years, there have been significant improvements in the design of target-specific small-interfering RNA (siRNA) and short-hairpin RNA (shRNA), expression vectors, methods for mitigating off-target effects, and accurately interpreting screening results. Recent developments in RNAi technology include the Sensor assay, high-efficiency miR-E shRNAs, improved shRNA virus production with Pasha (DRGC8) knockdown, and assessment of RNAi off-target effects by using the C9-11 method. An exciting addition to the arsenal of RNA-mediated gene modulation is the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9 (CRISPR/Cas) system for genomic editing, allowing for gene functional knockout rather than knockdown. | 25,163,683 | [
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Calcyclin-binding protein/Siah-1-interacting protein as a regulator of transcriptional responses in brain cells. | The calcyclin-binding protein/Siah-1-interacting protein (CacyBP/SIP) is highly expressed in the brain and has been shown to regulate β-catenin-driven transcription in thymocytes. Therefore, we investigated whether CacyBP/SIP plays a role as a transcriptional regulator in brain cells. In brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)- and forskolin-stimulated rat primary cortical neurons, overexpression of CacyBP/SIP enhanced transcriptional activity of the cAMP-response element (CRE). In addition, overexpressed CacyBP/SIP enhanced BDNF-mediated activation of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) but not the serum response element (SRE). These stimulatory effects required an intact C-terminal domain of CacyBP/SIP. Moreover, in C6 rat glioma cells, the overexpressed CacyBP/SIP enhanced activation of CRE and NFAT following forskolin and serum stimulation, respectively. Conversely, knockdown of endogenous CacyBP/SIP reduced activation of CRE and NFAT but not of SRE. Taken together, these results indicate that CacyBP/SIP is a novel regulator of CRE- and NFAT-driven transcription. | 25,163,685 | [
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The influence of relative body breadth on the diaphyseal morphology of the human lower limb. | Variation in relative body breadth between individuals is potentially a significant influence on the biomechanical loading placed upon the lower limb. This study investigates the influence of relative body breadth on the periosteal geometry of the diaphyses of the limb bones among individuals from a broad range of human populations. This study applies a 3D laser scanning approach to the extraction and analysis of periosteal cross-sectional properties throughout the diaphyses of the femur and tibia to test for influences of body shape on diaphyseal morphology throughout the lower limb. Analyses are based on data collected from seven populations, encompassing a broad range of modern human variation in body shape. Hypertrophy of the proximal end of the femur diaphysis in wider bodied individuals is observed and appears to extend at least as far as the femur midshaft, while the mid diaphyseal region of the tibia is the least influenced by body shape. However correlations with relative body breadth were also observed towards the distal end of the femur diaphysis and towards both ends of the tibial diaphysis, especially among females. Relative body breadth is correlated with the periosteal geometry of the lower limb bones, particularly towards the proximal end of the femur diaphysis, but correlations in other regions also suggest integration of the diaphyseal geometry with epiphyseal dimensions. | 25,163,696 | [
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-... |
Biomarkers for radiographic progression in rheumatoid arthritis. | Treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is rarely personalized, since predictors of disease course are lacking. The severity of RA can be measured objectively by radiographic progression. The most reliable way to measure radiographic progression is in a longitudinal cohort with serial time points, scoring on a quantitative scale, with a validated scoring method and trained readers. Current models used to predict radiographic progression are based on C-reactive protein and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies. Other biomarkers could increase the prognostic ability of these models. In this review, we evaluated the published (and partly nonpublished) data on genetic, serologic, and imaging biomarkers for the severity of joint destruction in RA. We evaluated variants in 10 genes (CD40, IL2RA, IL4R, IL15, OPG, DKK1, SOST, GRZB, MMP9, and SPAG16). In 5 variants (IL2RA, DKK1, GRZB, MMP9, and SPAG16), we found evidence of an association at the functional level. We evaluated several serological biomarkers, namely, autoantibodies (RF, ACPA, anti-CarP), markers related to inflammation (ESR, CRP), and proteinases or components of the extracellular matrix of bone and cartilage (MMP3, CTX-I, CTX-II, COMP, TIMP1, PYD, RANKL/OPG, CXCL13). Finally, we evaluated markers that can be visualized by ultrasound or MRI, including erosions, bone marrow edema, synovitis, and tenosynovitis. Several studies showed that bone marrow edema and synovitis on MRI are robust predictors of radiographic progression. Some studies showed that inflammation detected with ultrasound predicted radiographic progression. Future studies will reveal whether adding and combining all these different biomarkers will increase the accuracy of risk models predicting radiographic progression in RA. | 25,163,742 | [
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0.274689,
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-0.13... |
Effects of a single course versus repeated courses of antenatal corticosteroids on fetal growth, placental morphometry and the differential regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor. | To investigate the impact of antenatal exposure to a single course or repeated courses of dexamethasone (DEX) on neonatal anthropometrics, placental morphometry and potential effect on maternal plasma levels and placental expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Pregnant women between 27 and 32 weeks of gestation who delivered between 28 and 40 weeks and received a single course (n = 38) or repeated courses (n = 33) of DEX were compared to gestational age-matched controls (n = 30). Maternal blood samples were obtained, and placental biopsy was taken. Area percent of VEGF immunostaining and villous capillarization index were evaluated using image analysis. Infants exposed to repeated courses of DEX were significantly associated with decreased birthweight, body length, head circumference and placental weight compared with controls (P = 0.011, P < 0.001, P = 0.004, P < 0.001, respectively) and with the group that received a single course of DEX (P = 0.021, P = 0.020, P = 0.049, P = 0.010, respectively). There was a significant decrease in maternal VEGF plasma levels and percentage of VEGF immunostained area after repeated courses of DEX compared with controls (P < 0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively) or a single course (P = 0.028 and P = 0.002, respectively). Notably, repeated courses of DEX impaired normal increase in villous capillarization index compared with controls or a single course (P = 0.001 and P = 0.041, respectively). Repeated antenatal courses of DEX compromised fetal and placental growth compared with a single course of DEX, and these effects were potentially mediated by altered maternal plasma levels and placental expression of VEGF with consequent decrease in placental vascularization. Because of continuing uncertainties, several key messages for clinicians are provided. | 25,163,747 | [
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0.4290299,
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Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use in chronic pain conditions with special emphasis on the elderly and patients with relevant comorbidities: management and mitigation of risks and adverse effects. | Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most frequently used drugs, and this widespread use is complicated by safety issues. A Literature review was conducted. NSAIDs are a leading cause of drug-related morbidity, especially in the elderly and patients with comorbidities. Most adverse effects are related to generalized inhibition of the major targets of NSAIDs: cyclooxygenases I and II. These enzymes are not only involved in pain and inflammation pathogenesis but are also required in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract for mucosal protection and gut motility, and in the kidneys for functional integrity. Thus, the mechanisms of NSAID toxicity are well understood, but the consequences are largely uncontrolled in clinical practice. GI ulcers, including bleeding ulcers, may occur in several percent of all chronic unprotected, high-dose NSAID users. Renal side effects may precipitate renal failure, resulting in acute dialysis and chronic retention. This includes sodium retention, resulting in arterial hypertension, heart failure, and atherosclerotic events. Cardiovascular risk may be tripled by chronic high-dose NSAID use in long-term clinical trials though "real-life studies" indicate lower risk ratios. Off-target side effects include allergic reactions, drug-induced liver injury, and central nervous system effects. Management of pain and inflammation must consider those risks and find alternative drugs or approaches to limit the negative impact of NSAIDs on mortality and morbidity. Alternative drugs, low-dose/short-term use, but especially non-pharmacologic approaches, such as physiotherapy, exercise, neurophysiologic measures, and local therapies, need to be further utilized. The appalling equation "less pain-more deaths/morbidity" ultimately necessitates treatment optimization in the individual patient. | 25,163,793 | [
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0.1382642,
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... |
Modulation of stem cell differentiation by the influence of nanobiomaterials/carriers. | Stem cells, either neural [NSCs] or mesenchymal [MSCs], possess tremendous untapped potential for cell therapy. Unlike the NSCs, MSCs are multi-potent and they have high self-renewal capability and broad tissue distribution. Since they do not produce significant immune rejection on post-transplantation; they are better suited for cell-based therapies. However, several critical issues need to be addressed to maximize stem cell-derived therapeutic effects. The key factor affecting the therapeutic application of stem cells is exposure to hostile conditions in vivo such as oxidative stress, which results in considerably low survival rate of these cells at transplanted sites, thereby reducing the therapeutic efficiency. Such limitation has led scientists to design clinically relevant, innovative and multifaceted solutions including the use of nanobiomaterials. Use of cytocompatible nanobiomaterials holds great promise and has gained attention of researchers, worldwide. Various nanobiomaterials are being explored to increase the survival efficiency and direct differentiation of stem cells to generate tissue-specific cells for biomedical research and futuristic therapies. These materials have superior cytocompatability, mechanical, electrical, optical, catalytic and magnetic properties. Non-invasive visualization of the biological system has been developed using magnetic nanoparticles and magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] approaches. Apart from viral vectors, non-viral carriers such as DNA nano carriers, single stranded RNA nanoparticles, liposomes and carbon nanotubes/wires are being exploited for gene delivery into stem cells. This article reviews potential application of various biocompatible nanomaterials in stem cell research and development. | 25,163,795 | [
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-0.001960641,
-0.3697011,
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0.06935631,
0.1266902,
0.2407652,
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0.1630222,
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0.01482933,
0.110891,
0.1096395,
-0.05935866... |
Triplet sensitized photolysis of a vinyl azide: direct detection of a triplet vinyl azide and nitrene. | Photolysis of vinylazide 1, which has a built-in acetophenone triplet sensitizer, in argon-saturated toluene results in azirine 2, whereas irradiation in oxygen-saturated toluene yields cyanide derivatives 3 and 4. Laser flash photolysis of azide 1 in argon-saturated acetonitrile shows formation of vinylnitrene 1c, which has a λmax at ∼300 nm and a lifetime of ∼1 ms. Vinylnitrene 1c is formed with a rate constant of 4.25 × 10(5) s(-1) from triplet 1,2-biradical 1b. Laser flash photolysis of 1 in oxygen-saturated acetonitrile results in 1c-O (λmax = 430 nm, τ ≈ 420 μs acetonitrile). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to aid in the characterization of the intermediates formed upon irradiation of azide 1 and to validate the proposed mechanism for its photoreactivity. | 25,163,813 | [
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0.3442493,
0.2438515,
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0.08... |
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