title stringlengths 0 901 | abstract stringlengths 3 9.89k | PMID int64 22 25.3M | embedding listlengths 768 768 |
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2-[(4,6-Di-amino-pyrimidin-2-yl)sulfan-yl]-N-(2-methyl-phen-yl)acetamide. | In the title compound, C13H15NOS, the plane of the pyrimidine ring makes a dihedral angle of 54.73 (9)° with that of the o-tolyl ring. The mol-ecule adopts an extended conformation, which is evident from the C-C(=O)-N-Car (ar = aromatic) torsion angle of 178.42 (15)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked via pairs of N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming inversion dimers with an R (2) 2(8) ring motif. The dimers are linked by N-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, with the O atom accepting three such interactions, forming sheets parallel to (100). | 25,249,901 | [
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4-(2-Nitro-benz-yl)-3-phenyl-3,4-di-hydro-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-2-ol. | The title compound, C21H18N2O4, crystallizes with two independent mol-ecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit. In both mol-ecules the oxazine ring has an envelope conformation with the hydroxyl-substituted C atom as the flap. The nitro-benzyl ring and the phenyl ring are almost normal to the mean plane of the benzooxazine ring system with dihdral angles of 85.72 (15) and 82.69 (15)°, respectively, in mol-ecule A, and 85.79 (15) and 87.72 (15)°, respectively, in mol-ecule B. The main difference in the conformation of the two mol-ecules concerns the dihedral angle between the nitro-benzyl ring and the phenyl ring, viz. 79.67 (18) in mol-ecule A and 71.13 (18)° in mol-ecule B. In the crystal, the A and B mol-ecules are linked by an O-H⋯O hydrogen bond. These units are then linked via C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming sheets lying parallel to (010). Further C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the sheets to form a three-dimensional network. There are also O-H⋯π and C-H⋯π inter-actions present, reinforcing the three-dimensional structure. | 25,249,912 | [
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Methyl 4-amino-2-chloro-pyrimidine-5-carboxyl-ate. | In the title compound, C6H6ClN3O2, all non-H atoms are approximately coplanar [maximum deviation = 0.012 (4) Å]; an intra-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bond occurs between the amino group and the carbonyl group. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds into supra-molecular chains propagated along [101]. | 25,249,916 | [
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C1-Inhibitor protects from focal brain trauma in a cortical cryolesion mice model by reducing thrombo-inflammation. | Traumatic brain injury (TBI) induces a strong inflammatory response which includes blood-brain barrier damage, edema formation and infiltration of different immune cell subsets. More recently, microvascular thrombosis has been identified as another pathophysiological feature of TBI. The contact-kinin system represents an interface between inflammatory and thrombotic circuits and is activated in different neurological diseases. C1-Inhibitor counteracts activation of the contact-kinin system at multiple levels. We investigated the therapeutic potential of C1-Inhibitor in a model of TBI. Male and female C57BL/6 mice were subjected to cortical cryolesion and treated with C1-Inhibitor after 1 h. Lesion volumes were assessed between day 1 and day 5 and blood-brain barrier damage, thrombus formation as well as the local inflammatory response were determined post TBI. Treatment of male mice with 15.0 IU C1-Inhibitor, but not 7.5 IU, 1 h after cryolesion reduced lesion volumes by ~75% on day 1. This protective effect was preserved in female mice and at later stages of trauma. Mechanistically, C1-Inhibitor stabilized the blood-brain barrier and decreased the invasion of immune cells into the brain parenchyma. Moreover, C1-Inhibitor had strong antithrombotic effects. C1-Inhibitor represents a multifaceted anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic compound that prevents traumatic neurodegeneration in clinically meaningful settings. | 25,249,935 | [
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Transcription factors Foxa1 and Foxa2 are required for adult dopamine neurons maintenance. | The proteins Foxa1 and Foxa2 belong to the forkhead family of transcription factors and are involved in the development of several tissues, including liver, pancreas, lung, prostate, and the neural system. Both Foxa1 and Foxa2 are also crucial for the specification and differentiation of dopamine (DA) neurons during embryonic development, while about 30% of mice with an embryonic deletion of a single allele of the Foxa2 gene exhibit an age-related asymmetric loss of DA neurons and develop locomotor symptoms resembling Parkinson's disease (PD). Notably, both Foxa1 and Foxa2 factors continue to be expressed in the adult dopamine system. To directly assess their functions selectively in adult DA neurons, we induced genetic deletions of Foxa1/2 transcription factors in mice using a tamoxifen inducible tissue-specific CreERT2 recombinase expressed under control of the dopamine transporter (DAT) promoter (DATCreERT2). The conditional DA neurons-specific ablation of both genes, but not of Foxa2 alone, in early adulthood, caused a decline of striatal dopamine and its metabolites, along with locomotor deficits. At early pre-symptomatic stages, we observed a decline in aldehyde dehydrogenase family 1, subfamily A1 (Aldh1a1) protein expression in DA neurons. Further analyses revealed a decline of aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) and a complete loss of DAT expression in these neurons. These molecular changes ultimately led to a reduction of DA neuron numbers in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) of aged cFoxa1/2 (-/-) mice, resembling the progressive course of PD in humans. Altogether, in this study, we address the molecular, cellular, and functional role of both Foxa1 and Foxa2 factors in the maintenance of the adult dopamine system which may help to find better approaches for PD treatment. | 25,249,938 | [
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The left side of motor resonance. | Motor resonance is defined as the internal activation of an observer's motor system, specifically attuned to the perceived movement. In social contexts, however, different patterns of observed and executed muscular activation are frequently required. This is the case, for instance, of seeing a key offered with a precision grip and received by opening the hand. Novel evidence suggests that compatibility effects in motor resonance can be altered by social response preparation. What is not known is how handedness modulates this effect. The present study aimed at determining how a left- and a right-handed actor grasping an object and then asking for a complementary response influences corticospinal activation in left- and right-handers instructed to observe the scene. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-induced motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were thus recorded from the dominant hands of left- and right-handers. Interestingly, requests posed by the right-handed actor induced a motor activation in the participants' respective dominant hands, suggesting that left-handers tend to mirror right-handers with their most efficient hand. Whereas requests posed by the left-handed actor activated the anatomically corresponding muscles (i.e., left hand) in all the participants, right-handers included. Motor resonance effects classically reported in the literature were confirmed when observing simple grasping actions performed by the right-handed actor. These findings indicate that handedness influences both congruent motor resonance and complementary motor preparation to observed actions. | 25,249,966 | [
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Synaptic bouton properties are tuned to best fit the prevailing firing pattern. | The morphology of presynaptic specializations can vary greatly ranging from classical single-release-site boutons in the central nervous system to boutons of various sizes harboring multiple vesicle release sites. Multi-release-site boutons can be found in several neural contexts, for example at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) of body wall muscles of Drosophila larvae. These NMJs are built by two motor neurons forming two types of glutamatergic multi-release-site boutons with two typical diameters. However, it is unknown why these distinct nerve terminal configurations are used on the same postsynaptic muscle fiber. To systematically dissect the biophysical properties of these boutons we developed a full three-dimensional model of such boutons, their release sites and transmitter-harboring vesicles and analyzed the local vesicle dynamics of various configurations during stimulation. Here we show that the rate of transmission of a bouton is primarily limited by diffusion-based vesicle movements and that the probability of vesicle release and the size of a bouton affect bouton-performance in distinct temporal domains allowing for an optimal transmission of the neural signals at different time scales. A comparison of our in silico simulations with in vivo recordings of the natural motor pattern of both neurons revealed that the bouton properties resemble a well-tuned cooperation of the parameters release probability and bouton size, enabling a reliable transmission of the prevailing firing-pattern at diffusion-limited boutons. Our findings indicate that the prevailing firing-pattern of a neuron may determine the physiological and morphological parameters required for its synaptic terminals. | 25,249,970 | [
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Object recognition with hierarchical discriminant saliency networks. | The benefits of integrating attention and object recognition are investigated. While attention is frequently modeled as a pre-processor for recognition, we investigate the hypothesis that attention is an intrinsic component of recognition and vice-versa. This hypothesis is tested with a recognition model, the hierarchical discriminant saliency network (HDSN), whose layers are top-down saliency detectors, tuned for a visual class according to the principles of discriminant saliency. As a model of neural computation, the HDSN has two possible implementations. In a biologically plausible implementation, all layers comply with the standard neurophysiological model of visual cortex, with sub-layers of simple and complex units that implement a combination of filtering, divisive normalization, pooling, and non-linearities. In a convolutional neural network implementation, all layers are convolutional and implement a combination of filtering, rectification, and pooling. The rectification is performed with a parametric extension of the now popular rectified linear units (ReLUs), whose parameters can be tuned for the detection of target object classes. This enables a number of functional enhancements over neural network models that lack a connection to saliency, including optimal feature denoising mechanisms for recognition, modulation of saliency responses by the discriminant power of the underlying features, and the ability to detect both feature presence and absence. In either implementation, each layer has a precise statistical interpretation, and all parameters are tuned by statistical learning. Each saliency detection layer learns more discriminant saliency templates than its predecessors and higher layers have larger pooling fields. This enables the HDSN to simultaneously achieve high selectivity to target object classes and invariance. The performance of the network in saliency and object recognition tasks is compared to those of models from the biological and computer vision literatures. This demonstrates benefits for all the functional enhancements of the HDSN, the class tuning inherent to discriminant saliency, and saliency layers based on templates of increasing target selectivity and invariance. Altogether, these experiments suggest that there are non-trivial benefits in integrating attention and recognition. | 25,249,971 | [
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Short-term dynamics of causal information transfer in thalamocortical networks during natural inputs and microstimulation for somatosensory neuroprosthesis. | Recording the activity of large populations of neurons requires new methods to analyze and use the large volumes of time series data thus created. Fast and clear methods for finding functional connectivity are an important step toward the goal of understanding neural processing. This problem presents itself readily in somatosensory neuroprosthesis (SSNP) research, which uses microstimulation (MiSt) to activate neural tissue to mimic natural stimuli, and has the capacity to potentiate, depotentiate, or even destroy functional connections. As the aim of SSNP engineering is artificially creating neural responses that resemble those observed during natural inputs, a central goal is describing the influence of MiSt on activity structure among groups of neurons, and how this structure may be altered to affect perception or behavior. In this paper, we demonstrate the concept of Granger causality, combined with maximum likelihood methods, applied to neural signals recorded before, during, and after natural and electrical stimulation. We show how these analyses can be used to evaluate the changing interactions in the thalamocortical somatosensory system in response to repeated perturbation. Using LFPs recorded from the ventral posterolateral thalamus (VPL) and somatosensory cortex (S1) in anesthetized rats, we estimated pair-wise functional interactions between functional microdomains. The preliminary results demonstrate input-dependent modulations in the direction and strength of information flow during and after application of MiSt. Cortico-cortical interactions during cortical MiSt and baseline conditions showed the largest causal influence differences, while there was no statistically significant difference between pre- and post-stimulation baseline causal activities. These functional connectivity changes agree with physiologically accepted communication patterns through the network, and their particular parameters have implications for both rehabilitation and brain-machine interface SSNP applications. | 25,249,973 | [
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Maternally sequestered therapeutic polypeptides - a new approach for the management of preeclampsia. | The last several decades have seen intensive research into the molecular mechanisms underlying the symptoms of preeclampsia. While the underlying cause of preeclampsia is believed to be defective placental development and resulting placental ischemia, it is only recently that the links between the ischemic placenta and maternal symptomatic manifestation have been elucidated. Several different pathways have been implicated in the development of the disorder; most notably production of the anti-angiogenic protein sFlt-1, induction of auto-immunity and inflammation, and production of reactive oxygen species. While the molecular mechanisms are becoming clearer, translating that knowledge into effective therapeutics has proven elusive. Here we describe a number of peptide based therapies we have developed to target theses pathways, and which are currently being tested in preclinical models. These therapeutics are based on a synthetic polymeric carrier elastin-like polypeptide (ELP), which can be synthesized in various sequences and sizes to stabilize the therapeutic peptide and avoid crossing the placental interface. This prevents fetal exposure and potential developmental effects. The therapeutics designed will target known pathogenic pathways, and the ELP carrier could prove to be a versatile delivery system for administration of a variety of therapeutics during pregnancy. | 25,249,978 | [
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The relationship between nature connectedness and happiness: a meta-analysis. | Research suggests that contact with nature can be beneficial, for example leading to improvements in mood, cognition, and health. A distinct but related idea is the personality construct of subjective nature connectedness, a stable individual difference in cognitive, affective, and experiential connection with the natural environment. Subjective nature connectedness is a strong predictor of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors that may also be positively associated with subjective well-being. This meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between nature connectedness and happiness. Based on 30 samples (n = 8523), a fixed-effect meta-analysis found a small but significant effect size (r = 0.19). Those who are more connected to nature tended to experience more positive affect, vitality, and life satisfaction compared to those less connected to nature. Publication status, year, average age, and percentage of females in the sample were not significant moderators. Vitality had the strongest relationship with nature connectedness (r = 0.24), followed by positive affect (r = 0.22) and life satisfaction (r = 0.17). In terms of specific nature connectedness measures, associations were the strongest between happiness and inclusion of nature in self (r = 0.27), compared to nature relatedness (r = 0.18) and connectedness to nature (r = 0.18). This research highlights the importance of considering personality when examining the psychological benefits of nature. The results suggest that closer human-nature relationships do not have to come at the expense of happiness. Rather, this meta-analysis shows that being connected to nature and feeling happy are, in fact, connected. | 25,249,992 | [
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The componential processing of fractions in adults and children: effects of stimuli variability and contextual interference. | Recent studies have indicated that people have a strong tendency to compare fractions based on constituent numerators or denominators. This is called componential processing. This study explored whether componential processing was preferred in tasks involving high stimuli variability and high contextual interference, when fractions could be compared based either on the holistic values of fractions or on their denominators. Here, stimuli variability referred to the fact that fractions were not monotonous but diversiform. Contextual interference referred to the fact that the processing of fractions was interfered by other stimuli. To our ends, three tasks were used. In Task 1, participants compared a standard fraction 1/5 to unit fractions. This task was used as a low stimuli variability and low contextual interference task. In Task 2 stimuli variability was increased by mixing unit and non-unit fractions. In Task 3, high contextual interference was created by incorporating decimals into fractions. The RT results showed that the processing patterns of fractions were very similar for adults and children. In task 1 and task 3, only componential processing was utilzied. In contrast, both holistic processing and componential processing were utilized in task 2. These results suggest that, if individuals are presented with the opportunity to perform componential processing, both adults and children will tend to do so, even if they are faced with high variability of fractions or high contextual interference. | 25,249,995 | [
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Investigating executive functions in children with severe speech and movement disorders using structured tasks. | Executive functions are the basis for goal-directed activity and include planning, monitoring, and inhibition, and language seems to play a role in the development of these functions. There is a tradition of studying executive function in both typical and atypical populations, and the present study investigates executive functions in children with severe speech and motor impairments who are communicating using communication aids with graphic symbols, letters, and/or words. There are few neuropsychological studies of children in this group and little is known about their cognitive functioning, including executive functions. It was hypothesized that aided communication would tax executive functions more than speech. Twenty-nine children using communication aids and 27 naturally speaking children participated. Structured tasks resembling everyday activities, where the action goals had to be reached through communication with a partner, were used to get information about executive functions. The children (a) directed the partner to perform actions like building a Lego tower from a model the partner could not see and (b) gave information about an object without naming it to a person who had to guess what object it was. The executive functions of planning, monitoring, and impulse control were coded from the children's on-task behavior. Both groups solved most of the tasks correctly, indicating that aided communicators are able to use language to direct another person to do a complex set of actions. Planning and lack of impulsivity was positively related to task success in both groups. The aided group completed significantly fewer tasks, spent longer time and showed more variation in performance than the comparison group. The aided communicators scored lower on planning and showed more impulsivity than the comparison group, while both groups showed an equal degree of monitoring of the work progress. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that aided language tax executive functions more than speech. The results may also indicate that aided communicators have less experience with these kinds of play activities. The findings broaden the perspective on executive functions and have implications for interventions for motor-impaired children developing aided communication. | 25,249,999 | [
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The lethal cargo of Myxococcus xanthus outer membrane vesicles. | Myxococcus xanthus is a bacterial micro-predator known for hunting other microbes in a wolf pack-like manner. Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are produced in large quantities by M. xanthus and have a highly organized structure in the extracellular milieu, sometimes occurring in chains that link neighboring cells within a biofilm. OMVs may be a vehicle for mediating wolf pack activity by delivering hydrolytic enzymes and antibiotics aimed at killing prey microbes. Here, both the protein and small molecule cargo of the OMV and membrane fractions of M. xanthus were characterized and compared. Our analysis indicates a number of proteins that are OMV-specific or OMV-enriched, including several with putative hydrolytic function. Secondary metabolite profiling of OMVs identifies 16 molecules, many associated with antibiotic activities. Several hydrolytic enzyme homologs were identified, including the protein encoded by MXAN_3564 (mepA), an M36 protease homolog. Genetic disruption of mepA leads to a significant reduction in extracellular protease activity suggesting MepA is part of the long-predicted (yet to date undetermined) extracellular protease suite of M. xanthus. | 25,250,022 | [
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Injury and immune response: applying the danger theory to mosquitoes. | The insect immune response can be activated by the recognition of both non-self and molecular by-products of tissue damage. Since pathogens and tissue damage usually arise at the same time during infection, the specific mechanisms of the immune response to microorganisms, and to tissue damage have not been unraveled. Consequently, some aspects of damage caused by microorganisms in vector-borne arthropods have been neglected. We herein reassess the Anopheles-Plasmodium interaction, incorporating Matzinger's danger/damage hypothesis and George Salt's injury assumptions. The invasive forms of the parasite cross the peritrophic matrix and midgut epithelia to reach the basal lamina and differentiate into an oocyst. The sporozoites produced in the oocyst are released into the hemolymph, and from there enter the salivary gland. During parasite development, wounds to midgut tissue and the basement membrane are produced. We describe the response of the different compartments where the parasite interacts with the mosquito. In the midgut, the response includes the expression of antimicrobial peptides, production of reactive oxygen species, and possible activation of midgut regenerative cells. In the basal membrane, wound repair mainly involves the production of molecules and the recruitment of hemocytes. We discuss the susceptibility to damage in tissues, and how the place and degree of damage may influence the differential response and the expression of damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Knowledge about damage caused by parasites may lead to a deeper understanding of the relevance of tissue damage and the immune response it generates, as well as the origins and progression of infection in this insect-parasite interaction. | 25,250,040 | [
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Use of Caenorhabditis elegans as a model to study Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. | Advances in research and technology has increased our quality of life, allowed us to combat diseases, and achieve increased longevity. Unfortunately, increased longevity is accompanied by a rise in the incidences of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD is the sixth leading cause of death, and one of the leading causes of dementia amongst the aged population in the USA. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by the prevalence of extracellular Aβ plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles, derived from the proteolysis of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the hyperphosphorylation of microtubule-associated protein tau, respectively. Despite years of extensive research, the molecular mechanisms that underlie the pathology of AD remain unclear. Model organisms, such as the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, present a complementary approach to addressing these questions. C. elegans has many advantages as a model system to study AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. Like their mammalian counterparts, they have complex biochemical pathways, most of which are conserved. Genes in which mutations are correlated with AD have counterparts in C. elegans, including an APP-related gene, apl-1, a tau homolog, ptl-1, and presenilin homologs, such as sel-12 and hop-1. Since the neuronal connectivity in C. elegans has already been established, C. elegans is also advantageous in modeling learning and memory impairments seen during AD. This article addresses the insights C. elegans provide in studying AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. Additionally, we explore the advantages and drawbacks associated with using this model. | 25,250,042 | [
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Shunt malfunction presenting with symptomatic syringomyelia: Demonstrated on contrast ventriculogram. | Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt malfunction commonly presents as raised intracranial pressure. Rarely, when the central canal of the spinal cord communicates with the 4(th) ventricle, shunt malfunction can present as an expanding syrinx. The diagnosis is often delayed, resulting in severe morbidity. Some of these patients undergo repeated syrinx surgeries without much benefits. We report a case of chronic tuberculous meningitis with shunt malfunction presenting as an expanding spinal canal syrinx and quadriparesis. Fourth ventricular communication with syrinx was demonstrated with the help of a contrast ventriculogram. After shunt revision, syrinx resolved completely and the patient made significant improvement in his neurological deficits. The present case illustrates that a historical and rarely used investigation like contrast ventriculogram aids in the diagnosis and management even in the current neurosurgical practice. All patients with late onset syrinx and a previous VP shunt need to be investigated for shunt malfunction before considering syrinx surgery. A simple shunt revision resolves the syrinx in such conditions and avoids more complex procedures like Foramen magnum decompression. Relevant literature has been reviewed; pathophysiology and management options have been discussed. | 25,250,067 | [
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Rare association of spondylo costal dysostosis with split cord malformations type II: A case report and a brief review of literature. | Spondylo costal dysostosis (SCD) is a genetic skeletal disorder characterized by a variety of costo-vertebral malformations. SCD with type I split cord malformation (SCM) have been reported in the literature. We report an unusual association of SCD with type II SCM. Imaging studies revealed multiple vertebral segmentations, rib malformations, spina bifida and low lying cord with type II SCM at the D12-L3 level. She underwent detethering of the cord. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the association of SCD with type II SCM. | 25,250,070 | [
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Fatal intratumoral hemorrhage in tectal plate glioblastoma multiforme following ventriculoperitoneal shunt. | Ventriculo-peritoneal (V-P) shunting is an accepted procedure before a direct approach to large tumors producing obstructive hydrocephalus. However, it has been associated with some complications. Intratumoral hemorrhage is an uncommon but fatal complication of V-P shunt insertion. The exact mechanism of this complication is unknown, but several mechanisms have been proposed including rapid lowering of intracranial pressure following V-P shunt placement or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage and sudden decrease in CSF volume and pressure after V-P shunting. We report an 8-year-old girl who presented with severe headache, double vision, and bilateral papilledema. Brain magnetic resonance imaging with and without gadolinium administration revealed a large tectal plate tumor compressing the aqueduct which caused hydrocephalus. Due to progressive decline in consciousness level, an emergency CSF diversion was planned and she underwent left side posterior parietal V-P shunt placement. Eight hours after V-P shunt insertion, she suddenly developed tonic-clonic seizures and collapsed into deep coma with dilated pupils and stopped breathing and died 1-day later. Histological examination of the autopsy specimen showed the tumor was a glioblastoma multiforme with massive intratumoral hemorrhage. The possible pathophysiological mechanisms of this fatal complication are discussed here and the pertinent literature is reviewed. It seems that endoscopic third ventriculostomy is the procedure of choice for CSF diversion in patients with tectal plate gliomas and decreases the occurrence of intratumoral hemorrhage. | 25,250,086 | [
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Evaluation of hemodynamic properties of cerebral venous drainage in patients with multiple sclerosis: a case-control study. | The purpose of this study was to compare patients with multiple sclerosis and healthy control subjects as regards hemodynamics of cerebral venous drainage. Between December 2012 and May 2013, 44 consecutive patients with multiple sclerosis and 44 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects underwent the B-mode, color Doppler, and duplex Doppler evaluations of the internal jugular vein (IJV) and vertebral vein. The following four parameters were investigated: IJV stenosis, reversal of postural control of the cerebral venous outflow pathways, absence of detectable blood flow in the IJVs and/or vertebral veins, and reflux in the IJVs and/or vertebral veins in the sitting or supine position. In the study group, IJV stenosis, postural control reversal of the cerebral venous outflow pathways, and absence of flow in the IJVs and/or vertebral veins were found in 3 (6.8%), 2 (4.5%), and 3 (6.8%) patients, respectively. In the control group, IJV stenosis (P=0.12), postural control reversal of the cerebral venous outflow pathways (P=0.50), and absence of flow (P=0.12) were not detected. Abnormal reflux was found neither in multiple sclerosis patients nor in healthy subjects. No significant difference in the cerebral venous drainage through the IJV or vertebral vein was found between patients with multiple sclerosis and healthy subjects within any of the investigated ultrasonographic parameters. | 25,250,100 | [
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Hedgehog signalling pathway: carcinogenesis and targeted therapy. | Hedgehog signalling pathway has not only a critical role in cell proliferation,differentiation and tissue polarity at embryonic period but also has a vital role in stem cell proliferation, tissue healing and carcinogenesis. Recent research has increased our understanding of this pathway and its relation to other signalling pathways. In addition, a large number of studies confirmed the alteration of Hh signalling pathway in various types of human malignancies including basal cell carcinomas, medulloblastomas, lung, gastrointestinal, ovarian, breast, prostate cancers and leukemia. More than 50 small biomolecules have been introduced which have inhibitory effects on Hh signalling pathway. Although, in many tumors some acceptable results have been showed in phase I clinical trial, closer studies are required to improve drug bioavailability, to decrease the side effects and to find the right small molecules for specific types of cancers, considering patients overall benefits as well. | 25,250,108 | [
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Assessment of Genotoxicity Among Rubber Industry Workers Occupationally Exposed to Toxic Agents Using Micronucleus Assay. | Occupational and environmental exposures mostly represent complexmixture of genotoxic agents, however there is a wide variation in the specificity of biomarkers. Exploration of correlations among biomarkers contributes to the further progress of molecular cancer epidemiology and to the selection of the optimal biomarkers for the investigation of human exposure to carcinogens. The aim of this study was to assess the potential cytogenetic damage associated with occupational exposure to toxic agents among rubber industry workers by using Micronucleus (MN) assay. In the present study 35 occupationally exposed rubber industry workers and 30 controls were investigated for genetic damage. Both the exposed and control individuals were selected from rural areas of South India. Exfoliated Buccal cells were collected from the study population and examined for the presence of MN. Rubber industry workers showed a significant increase in micronucleated cells when compared to controls with respect to their smoking and drinking habits (P< 0.05). The present study suggested that occupational exposure to toxic chemicals in rubber industry can cause genetic damage. MN formation reflects genetic changes and/or events associated with carcinogenesis. Therefore the results of this study indicate that rubber industry workers may be at the risk of cancer. Therefore, it is important to take appropriate measures to protect the workers from occupational hazards. | 25,250,114 | [
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Virotherapy in cancer. | New cancer therapies with novel mechanisms and functions are needed to treatpatients with different cancers. Virotherapy is a good scenario for such treatment. The advantages of virotherapy include the potential lack of cross resistance with standard therapies and the ability to cause tumor destruction by numerous mechanisms. Oncolytic virus not only possesses unique mechanisms of action that are distinct from other treatment modalities, its self-perpetuating nature provides an ideal platform for therapeutic transgenic insertion. In this review article, a variety of oncolytic viruses in cancer gene therapy will be described. | 25,250,118 | [
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The Estimation of Survival Function for Colon Cancer Data in Tehran Using Non-parametric Bayesian Model. | Colon cancer is the third cause of cancer deaths. Although colon cancer survival time has increased in recent years, the mortality rate is still high. The Cox model is the most common regression model often used in medical research in survival analysis, but most of the time the effect of at least one of the independent factors changes over time, so the model cannot be used. In the current study, the survival function for colon cancer patients in Tehran is estimated using non-parametric Bayesian model. In this survival study, 580 patients with colon cancer who were recorded in the Cancer Research Center of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences since April 2005 to November 2006 were studied and followed up for a period of 5 years. Survival function was plotted with non-parametric Bayesian model and was compared with the Kaplan-Meier curve. Of the total of 580 patients, 69.9% of patients were alive. 45.9% of patients were male and the mean age of cancer diagnosis was 65.12 (SD= 12.26) and 87.7 of the patients underwent surgery. There was a significant relationship between age at diagnosis and sex and the survival time while there was a non-significant relationship between the type of treatment and the survival time. The survival functions corresponding to the two treatment groups cross, in comparison with the patients who had no surgery in the first 30 months, showed a higher level of risk in the patients who underwent a surgery. After that, the survival probability for the patients undergoing a surgery has increased. The study showed that survival rate has been higher in women and in the patients who were below 60 years at the time of diagnosis. | 25,250,124 | [
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Translation Elongation Rate Measurement of Epstein-Barr Virus Strain GD1. | Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) has a great co relationship with human malignancies such as gastric carcinoma. Synonymous codon investigations in viruses could help designing vaccine, to generate immunity. Codon Adaptation Index (CAI) has measured translation elongation rate, among the highly expressed genes. The aim of this study was: usage of "CAI" to measure translation efficiency to know how fast EBV-GD1 could produce its proteins. The complete genomic sequences of human herpes virus 4 strain GD1 have retrieved from <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/gquery> (GenBank accession no. AY961628) to extract all protein-coding genes. The sequences have analyzed with DAMBE software. The results have shown that CAI values for the EBV-GD1 genes were 0.76356 ± 0.02957. The highest and lowest CAI values were 0.82233 and 0.68321 respectively. The results have shown that highly expressed genes mostly had more codon usage bias than low expressed genes. The results provide and introduce not only a system, but also the principles in order to understand the pathogenesis and evolution of EBV-GD1, to open a window, in order to make a better product or vaccine to challenge with the virus. | 25,250,137 | [
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Epidemiological characteristics of head and neck cancers in southeast of iran. | The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological aspects of malignant tumors of head and neck in southeast of Iran, with a view toward analyzing the age, gender and site distribution and histological types. All cases with malignant tumor of the head and neck region from 1999 to 2009 were retrieved from the records of cancer registry center of Kerman University of medical sciences and all pathology laboratories of Kerman province. A total of 1604 cases were recruited during the study period. The mean age of patients was 53.03 years (standard deviation: 17.18, range: 2 to 95 years). Patients with a diagnosis of carcinoma were older than those with sarcoma and lymphoma (p<0.01). 18.4% of patients were below the age of 41 years. The overall male to female ratio was 2.74:1. Larynx was the most commonly affected site (46.76%) followed by oral cavity (15.9%). Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common diagnoses (77.5%), followed by lymphoma (9.4%). The higher incidence of laryngeal cancer in the head and neck region in southeast of Iran is in agreement with findings of the other parts of Iran. Also, occurrence of head and neck cancer under 41 year olds is greater than what is reported for some countries. | 25,250,154 | [
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Cluster and Principal Component Analysis of Human Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) Tumor Proteome. | Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) or grade IV astrocytoma is the most common and lethal adult malignant brain tumor. Several of the molecular alterations detected in gliomas may have diagnostic and/or prognostic implications. Proteomics has been widely applied in various areas of science, ranging from the deciphering of molecular pathogen nests of discuses. In this study proteins were extracted from the tumor and normal brain tissues and then the protein purity was evaluated by Bradford test and spectrophotometry. In this study, proteins were separated by 2-Dimensional Gel (2DG) electrophoresis method and the spots were then analyzed and compared using statistical data and specific software. Protein clustering analysis was performed on the list of proteins deemed significantly altered in glioblastoma tumors (t-test and one-way ANOVA; P< 0.05). The 2D gel showed totally 876 spots. We reported, 172 spots were exhibited differently in expression level (fold > 2) for glioblastoma. On each analytical 2D gel, an average of 876 spots was observed. In this study, 188 spots exhibited up regulation of expression level, whereas the remaining 232 spots were decreased in glioblastoma tumor relative to normal tissue. Results demonstrate that functional clustering (up and down regulated) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has considerable merits in aiding the interpretation of proteomic data. 2D gel electrophoresis is the core of proteomics which permitted the separation of thousands of proteins. High resolution 2DE can resolve up to 5,000 proteins simultaneously. Using cluster analysis, we can also form groups of related variables, similar to what is practiced in factor analysis. | 25,250,155 | [
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Hepatitis-C Infection Incidence Among the non-Hodgkin's B-cell Lymphoma Patients in the Northeast of Iran. | Various infectious agents like Ebstein Barr Virus (EBV), HTLV-1 and Helicobacter pylori have known as etiologic factors in different sub-types of lymphoma. Although Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has not only been important for its hepatotropism and hepatitis development, but also in recent years its association with some forms of non- Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), especially B cell NHL, has reported.In some countries, the rate of B cell NHL development in HCV infected patients was four times more than general population, and then association between HCV infection and B-NHL has proposed in many studies. To assess this relationship in our geographic region, in a descriptive study; we have evaluated patients with B-NHL in an oncology center in northeast of Iran for HCV infection. Out of 128 B-NHL patients, HCV Antibody test (with third generation ELISA method) was positive in only one patient, which confirmed with Nested PCR technique. Then the frequency of HCV infection in our patients was 0.7%. Respecting to the incidence of HCV infection in general population in Iran, which is between 0.5-1%, we couldn't show higher prevalence of HCV infection in NHL patients than general population, and hence couldn't confirm relation between HCV infection and B-NHL in our region. | 25,250,166 | [
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Component resolved diagnosis: when should it be used? | The knowledge on molecular allergy diagnosis is continuously evolving. It is now time for the clinician to integrate this knowledge and use it when needed to improve the accuracy of diagnosis and thus provide more precise therapeutic and avoidance measures. This review does not intend to comprehensively analyze all the available allergen molecules, but to provide some practical clues on use and interpretation of molecular allergy diagnosis. The potential role of component resolved diagnosis in circumstances such as the indication of allergen immunotherapy, pollen polysensitization, food allergy, latex allergy or anaphylaxis, is assessed. Interpreting the information provided by molecular allergy diagnosis needs a structured approach. It is necessary to evaluate single positivities and negativities, but also to appraise "the big picture" with perspective. | 25,250,172 | [
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Arterial Tortuosity Syndrome: An Approach through Imaging Perspective. | This pictorial illustration demonstrates various aspects of arterial tortuosity syndrome (ATS) obtained predominantly from a multiple detector computed tomography (MDCT) examination of a patient. In addition, a comprehensive review of typical multi-modality imaging observations in patients with ATS is presented along with a description of a few imaging signs. Non-invasively obtained, conclusive information is required in patients with ATS in view of the fragile vascular structures involved. An amazing wealth of information can be obtained by reviewing the volumetric data sets of MDCT examination. In the context of incomplete clinical information or remote reading of radiographic examination with inadequate clinical details, ability to "image data mine" the hidden, unexplored information may be vastly useful. The role of MDCT as a single modality of evaluation in ATS is highlighted. | 25,250,193 | [
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Comparative performance of PET tracers in biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer: a critical analysis of literature. | Positron emission tomography (PET) with a number of tracers targeted to particular biological features of cancer has been explored for the imaging evaluation of patients with biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer after curative primary treatment. However, these reports are often heterogeneous in study design, patient cohorts, standards of reference for the imaging findings, data analysis, and data reporting. The aim of our study was to address these limitations by extracting and re-analyzing the PET detection data only from studies that satisfied pre-defined sets of patient selection criteria and verification standards. Our investigation analyzed the effects of 5 tracers ((18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), (11)C-acetate (ACET), (11)C- or (18)F-choline (CHOL), anti-1-amino-3-(18)F-fluorocyclobutane-1-carboxylic acid (FACBC), and radiolabeled ligand targeted to prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)), 2 treatment types (radical prostatectomy and radiation therapy), and whether the detected disease was local or metastatic, including lesion type (bone, lymph node, soft tissue). FDG exhibited the lowest detection rate for any suspected disease. ACET tended to be advantageous over CHOL in detecting local recurrence and lymph node lesions, even though the difference was not statistically significant. FACBC had greater likelihood of detecting local recurrence, when compared to CHOL, though this difference was not statistically significant. PSMA tended to show a higher proportion of patients with suspected disease compared to the other four tracers. Patients treated with radiation therapy had greater odds of displaying local recurrence on PET than those treated with radical prostatectomy. We also provide suggestions for future investigations that facilitate communication and the impact of the findings. | 25,250,207 | [
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Modelling foraging movements of diving predators: a theoretical study exploring the effect of heterogeneous landscapes on foraging efficiency. | Foraging in the marine environment presents particular challenges for air-breathing predators. Information about prey capture rates, the strategies that diving predators use to maximise prey encounter rates and foraging success are still largely unknown and difficult to observe. As well, with the growing awareness of potential climate change impacts and the increasing interest in the development of renewable sources it is unknown how the foraging activity of diving predators such as seabirds will respond to both the presence of underwater structures and the potential corresponding changes in prey distributions. Motivated by this issue we developed a theoretical model to gain general understanding of how the foraging efficiency of diving predators may vary according to landscape structure and foraging strategy. Our theoretical model highlights that animal movements, intervals between prey capture and foraging efficiency are likely to critically depend on the distribution of the prey resource and the size and distribution of introduced underwater structures. For multiple prey loaders, changes in prey distribution affected the searching time necessary to catch a set amount of prey which in turn affected the foraging efficiency. The spatial aggregation of prey around small devices (∼ 9 × 9 m) created a valuable habitat for a successful foraging activity resulting in shorter intervals between prey captures and higher foraging efficiency. The presence of large devices (∼ 24 × 24 m) however represented an obstacle for predator movement, thus increasing the intervals between prey captures. In contrast, for single prey loaders the introduction of spatial aggregation of the resources did not represent an advantage suggesting that their foraging efficiency is more strongly affected by other factors such as the timing to find the first prey item which was found to occur faster in the presence of large devices. The development of this theoretical model represents a useful starting point to understand the energetic reasons for a range of potential predator responses to spatial heterogeneity and environmental uncertainties in terms of search behaviour and predator-prey interactions. We highlight future directions that integrated empirical and modelling studies should take to improve our ability to predict how diving predators will be impacted by the deployment of manmade structures in the marine environment. | 25,250,211 | [
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The impact of horizontal gene transfer on the adaptive ability of the human oral microbiome. | The oral microbiome is composed of a multitude of different species of bacteria, each capable of occupying one or more of the many different niches found within the human oral cavity. This community exhibits many types of complex interactions which enable it to colonize and rapidly respond to changes in the environment in which they live. One of these interactions is the transfer, or acquisition, of DNA within this environment, either from co-resident bacterial species or from exogenous sources. Horizontal gene transfer in the oral cavity gives some of the resident bacteria the opportunity to sample a truly enormous metagenome affording them considerable adaptive potential which may be key to survival in such a varying environment. In this review the underlying mechanisms of HGT are discussed in relation to the oral microbiome with numerous examples described where the direct acquisition of exogenous DNA has contributed to the fitness of the bacterial host within the human oral cavity. | 25,250,243 | [
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Habitual dislocation of the hip: a rare case report. | Habitual dislocation of the hip (HDH) in children is a rare entity and can be a causative factor for popping or snapping hip which is a common problem in children with good prognosis. We report a case of HDH in a 9 year old girl who was suffering from frequent snapping hip at night, its course and treatment process. | 25,250,256 | [
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Double-balloon Enteroscopy: The results of a new experience in Iran. | Approach to the small intestine has been difficult even with newer methods. Double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) has been created for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in diseases of the small intestine. Small intestinal diseases have different etiologies in each country. The DBE has been introduced in recent years in Iran. Our aim was to study the indications and results of DBE in some academic centers in Iran. Fifty-five patients with symptoms and signs related to small intestine without definitive diagnosis but with previous workup were enrolled in the study. The DBE was performed in three different medical universities in Iran. The mean age of the patients that underwent the DBE was 47.2 ± 17.3 years. Abdominal pain (54.5%) and occult gastrointestinal bleeding (23.6%) were the most common presentations. Small bowel lesions were detected in 26 patients (47.3%); the most common lesions were ulcer (46.2%) and polyps (19.2%). Crohn's disease (12.7%) was the commonest diagnosis found in DBE procedure. Patients presenting with abdominal pain orl ower hemoglobin level were more likely to be diagnosed (both p≤ 0.05). Small intestinal diseases were ultimately diagnosed in 47.3% of the patients. Twenty percent of the patients had another disease outside the small bowel. DBE is an effective and relatively safe diagnostic and therapeutic option for small bowel evaluations. Accurate selection of patients and more experience technicians and physicians will improve the efficacy of this procedure in Iran. | 25,250,264 | [
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Effect of nebulized budesonide in preventing postextubation complications in critically patients: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. | The efficacy of steroid administration in the prevention of postextubation complications in critical care remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to determine whether administration of nebulized budesonide in critically ill patients reduces the occurrence of postextubation airway complications. This was a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. We prospectively followed up 70 adult patients in the intensive care unit who were intubated for more than 48 h. Patients received either nebulized budesonide (1 mg every 12 h; n = 35) or placebo (normal saline; n = 35) until 48 h after extubation. Then, the postextubation complications were assessed and recorded within 48 h of extubation. The incidence of respiratory distress was lower in budesonide group (8.6% vs. 31.4%, P = 0.017). Reintubation with mechanical support was necessary in 8.6% (3.35) of patients in the budesonide group and 31.4% (11.35) of patients in the placebo group (P = 0.017). Nebulized budesonide after extubation is effective in reducing the incidence of reintubation and respiratory distress in adult patients. | 25,250,296 | [
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Ergovaline stability in tall fescue based on sample handling and storage methods. | Ergovaline is an ergot alkaloid produced by the endophyte Neotyphodium coenophialum (Morgan-Jones and Gams) found in tall fescue [Schedonorus arundinacea (Schreb.) Dumort.] and blamed for a multitude of livestock disorders. Ergovaline is known to be unstable and affected by many variables. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of sample handling and storage on the stability of ergovaline in tall fescue samples. Fresh tall fescue was collected from a horse farm in central Kentucky at three harvest dates and transported on ice to the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Plant material was frozen in liquid nitrogen, milled and mixed before being allocated into different sub-samples. Three sub-samples were assigned to each of 14 sample handling or storage treatments. Sample handling included increased heat and UV light to simulate transportation in a vehicle and on ice in a cooler per standard transportation recommendations. Storage conditions included storage at 22°C, 5°C, and -20°C for up to 28 days. Each sub-sample was then analyzed for ergovaline concentration using HPLC with fluorescence detection and this experiment was repeated for each harvest date. Sub-samples exposed to UV light and heat lost a significant fraction of ergovaline in 2 h, while sub-samples stored on ice in a cooler showed no change in ergovaline in 2 h. All sub-samples stored at 22°C, 5°C, and -20°C lost a significant fraction of ergovaline in the first 24 h of storage. There was little change in ergovaline in the freezer (-20°C) after the first 24 h up to 28 days of storage but intermittent losses were observed at 22°C and 5°C. To obtain results that most closely represent levels in the field, all samples should be transported on ice to the laboratory immediately after harvest for same day analysis. If immediate testing is not possible, samples should be stored at -20°C until analysis. | 25,250,308 | [
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Anticancer activities of citrus peel polymethoxyflavones related to angiogenesis and others. | Citrus is a kind of common fruit and contains multiple beneficial nutrients for human beings. Flavonoids, as a class of plant secondary metabolites, exist in citrus fruits abundantly. Due to their broad range of pharmacological properties, citrus flavonoids have gained increased attention. Accumulative in vitro and in vivo studies indicate protective effects of polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) against the occurrence of cancer. PMFs inhibit carcinogenesis by mechanisms like blocking the metastasis cascade, inhibition of cancer cell mobility in circulatory systems, proapoptosis, and antiangiogenesis. This review systematically summarized anticarcinogenic effect of citrus flavonoids in cancer therapy, together with the underlying important molecular mechanisms, in purpose of further exploring more effective use of citrus peel flavonoids. | 25,250,322 | [
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Are applied growth factors able to mimic the positive effects of mesenchymal stem cells on the regeneration of meniscus in the avascular zone? | Meniscal lesions in the avascular zone are still a problem in traumatology. Tissue Engineering approaches with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) showed successful regeneration of meniscal defects in the avascular zone. However, in daily clinical practice, a single stage regenerative treatment would be preferable for meniscus injuries. In particular, clinically applicable bioactive substances or isolated growth factors like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or bone morphogenic protein 7 (BMP7) are in the focus of interest. In this study, the effects of PRP and BMP7 on the regeneration of avascular meniscal defects were evaluated. In vitro analysis showed that PRP secretes multiple growth factors over a period of 8 days. BMP7 enhances the collagen II deposition in an aggregate culture model of MSCs. However applied to meniscal defects PRP or BMP7 in combination with a hyaluronan collagen composite matrix failed to significantly improve meniscus healing in the avascular zone in a rabbit model after 3 months. Further information of the repair mechanism at the defect site is needed to develop special release systems or carriers for the appropriate application of growth factors to support biological augmentation of meniscus regeneration. | 25,250,325 | [
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Clinical nonlinear laser imaging of human skin: a review. | Nonlinear optical microscopy has the potential of being used in vivo as a noninvasive imaging modality for both epidermal and dermal imaging. This paper reviews the capabilities of nonlinear microscopy as a noninvasive high-resolution tool for clinical skin inspection. In particular, we show that two-photon fluorescence microscopy can be used as a diagnostic tool for characterizing epidermal layers by means of a morphological examination. Additional functional information on the metabolic state of cells can be provided by measuring the fluorescence decay of NADH. This approach allows differentiating epidermal layers having different structural and cytological features and has the potential of diagnosing pathologies in a very early stage. Regarding therapy follow-up, we demonstrate that nonlinear microscopy could be successfully used for monitoring the effect of a treatment. In particular, combined two-photon fluorescence and second-harmonic generation microscopy were used in vivo for monitoring collagen remodeling after microablative fractional laser resurfacing and for quantitatively monitoring psoriasis on the basis of the morphology of epidermal cells and dermal papillae. We believe that the described microscopic modalities could find in the near future a stable place in a clinical dermatological setting for quantitative diagnostic purposes and as a monitoring method for various treatments. | 25,250,337 | [
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Information-seeking behavior of cardiovascular disease patients in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences hospitals. | Patients, as one of the most prominent groups requiring health-based information, encounter numerous problems in order to obtain these pieces of information and apply them. The aim of this study was to determine the information-seeking behavior of cardiovascular patients who were hospitalized in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences hospitals. This is a survey research. The population consisted of all patients with cardiovascular disease who were hospitalized in the hospitals of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences during 2012. According to the statistics, the number of patients was 6000. The sample size was determined based on the formula of Cochran; 400 patients were randomly selected. Data were collected by researcher-made questionnaire. Two-level descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used for analysis. The data showed that the awareness of the probability to recover and finding appropriate medical care centers were the most significant informational needs. The practitioners, television, and radio were used more than the other informational resources. Lack of familiarity to medical terminologies and unaccountability of medical staff were the major obstacles faced by the patients to obtain information. The results also showed that there was no significant relationship between the patients' gender and information-seeking behavior, whereas there was a significant relationship between the demographic features (age, education, place of residence) and information-seeking behavior. Giving information about health to the patients can help them to control their disease. Appropriate methods and ways should be used based on patients' willingness. Despite the variety of information resources, patients expressed medical staff as the best source for getting health information. Information-seeking behavior of the patients was found to be influenced by different demographic and environmental factors. | 25,250,349 | [
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The effects of applying information technology on job empowerment dimensions. | Information Technology (IT) is known as a valuable tool for information dissemination. Today, information communication technology can be used as a powerful tool to improve employees' quality and efficiency. The increasing development of technology-based tools and their adaptation speed with human requirements has led to a new form of the learning environment and creative, active and inclusive interaction. These days, information is one of the most important power resources in every organization and accordingly, acquiring information, especially central or strategic one can help organizations to build a power base and influence others. The aim of this study was to identify the most important criteria in job empowerment using IT and also the advantages of assessing empowerment. This study was a narrative review. The literature was searched on databases and journals of Springer, Proquest, PubMed, science direct and scientific information database) with keywords including IT, empowerment and employees in the searching areas of titles, keywords, abstracts and full texts. The preliminary search resulted in 85 articles, books and conference proceedings in which published between 1983 and 2013 during July 2013. After a careful analysis of the content of each paper, a total of 40 papers and books were selected based on their relevancy. According to Ardalan Model IT plays a significant role in the fast data collection, global and fast access to a broad range of health information, a quick evaluation of information, better communication among health experts and more awareness through access to various information sources. IT leads to a better performance accompanied by higher efficiency in service providing all of which will cause more satisfaction from fast and high-quality services. | 25,250,350 | [
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Comparison on information-seeking behavior of postgraduated students in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and University of Isfahan in writing dissertation based on Kuhlthau model of information search process. | Information-seeking behaviors have been one of the main focuses of researchers in order to identify and solve the problems users face in information recovery. The aim of this research is Comparative on Information-Seeking Behavior of the Postgraduate Students in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Isfahan University in Writing Dissertation based on Kuhlthau Model of Information Search Process in 2012. The research method followed is survey and the data collection tool is Narmenji questionnaire. Statistical population was all postgraduate students in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Isfahan University. The sample size was 196 people and sampling was stratified randomly. The type of statistical analyses were descriptive (mean and frequency) and inferential (independent t test and Pearson's correlation) and the software used was SPSS20. The findings showed that Isfahan Medical Sciences University followed 20% of the order steps of this model and Isfahan University did not follow this model. In the first stage (Initiation) and sixth (Presentation) of feelings aspects and in actions (total stages) significant difference was found between students from the two universities. Between gender and fourth stage (Formulation) and the total score of feelings the Kuhlthau model there has a significant relationship. Also there was a significant and inverse relationship between the third stage (Exploration) of feelings and age of the students. The results showed that in writing dissertation there were some major differences in following up the Kuhlthau model between students of the two Universities. There are significant differences between some of the stages of feelings and actions of students' information-seeking behavior from the two universities. There is a significant relationship between the fourth stage (Formulation) of feelings in the Kuhlthau Model with gender and third stage of the Feelings (Exploration) with age. | 25,250,354 | [
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The effective factors on library anxiety of students in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. | The efficient use of libraries can be an important factor in determining the educational quality of Universities. Therefore, investigation and identification of factors affecting library anxiety becomes increasingly necessary. The purpose of this research is to determine the factors effecting library anxiety of students in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. This was an applied survey research using Bostick's Library Anxiety questionnaire as data gathering tool. The statistical population consisted of all students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (15011 students) with the sample size of 375 using stratified random sampling. The validity of data gathering tool was confirmed by experts in the library and information science and its reliability was determined by Cronbach's alpha (r = 0.92). Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (t-test and ANOVA) were used for data analysis using SPSS 18 software. Findings showed that the mean of library anxiety score was 2.68 and 2.66 for students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences respectively which is above average (2.5). Furthermore, age and gender had no meaningful effect on the library anxiety of students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, but gender had a meaningful effect on library anxiety of students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences while age had no such effect. The results showed that the mean of factors effecting library anxiety in students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences is higher than average and therefore not satisfactory and only factors relating to feeling comfortable in the library is lower than average and somewhat satisfactory. | 25,250,358 | [
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A study on scientific collaboration and co-authorship patterns in library and information science studies in Iran between 2005 and 2009. | Scientific collaboration is among the most important subjects in scientometrics, and many studies have investigated this concept to this day. The goal of the current study is investigation of scientific collaboration and co-authorship patterns of researchers in the field of library and information science in Iran between years 2005 and 2009. The current study uses scientometrics method. The statistical population consists of 942 documents published in Iranian library and information science journals between years 2005 and 2009. Collaboration coefficient, collaboration index (CI), and degree of collaboration (DC) were used for data analysis. The findings showed that among 942 investigated documents, 506 documents (53.70%) was created by one individual researcher and 436 documents (46.30%) were the result of collaboration between two or more researchers. Also, the highest rank of different authorship patterns belonged to National Journal of Librarianship and Information Organization (code H). The average collaboration coefficient for the library and information science researchers in the investigated time frame was 0.23. The closer this coefficient is to 1, the higher is the level of collaboration between authors, and a coefficient near zero shows a tendency to prefer individual articles. The highest collaboration index with an average of 1.92 authors per paper was seen in year 1388. The five year collaboration index in library and information science in Iran was 1.58, and the average degree of collaboration between researchers in the investigated papers was 0.46, which shows that library and information science researchers have a tendency for co-authorship. However, the co-authorship had increased in recent years reaching its highest number in year 1388. The researchers' collaboration coefficient also shows relative increase between years 1384 and 1388. National Journal of Librarianship and Information Organization has the highest rank among all the investigated journals based on collaboration coefficient, collaboration index (CI), and degree of collaboration (DC). | 25,250,365 | [
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Evaluation of growth and development pattern in normal, low and very low birth weight neonates at 18 months of age. | Growth and development monitoring could lead to general judgment about children's health. With advances in NICUs establishment, the survival rate of very low birth weight (VLBW) neonates has increased in many countries including Iran. Because of the lack of studies about growth and development pattern of low birth weight (LBW) and VLBW neonates in Iran, the present study aimed to compare growth and development of normal, low and very low birth weight neonates at 18 months of age. In a cross- sectional descriptive study, 214 children with age 18 months were enrolled (90 LBW, 90 LBW and 34 VLBW) and their growth and development were assessed. Data gathering tool was a researcher made questionnaire including anthropometrics measures and developmental key points. Data analyzed by descriptive (mean and SD) and inferential (ANOVA) tests using SPSS version 15. There were significant differences in the mean of anthropometric indexes between three groups. Majority of subjects in three groups had normal weight growth trend. Mean scores of gross motor and fine motor development indexes had significant association with birth weight. Meanwhile, there was no significant association between mean scores of social/cognitive and also language developmental aspects and birth weight. Findings revealed that in LBW and VLBW children, growth indexes at the age of 18 months are so far from those of NBW neonates. Further nationwide prospective studies, with a longer period of time is needed to estimate when Iranian LBW children reach at the levels of NBW ones. | 25,250,368 | [
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A multianalyzer machine learning model for marine heterogeneous data schema mapping. | The main challenges that marine heterogeneous data integration faces are the problem of accurate schema mapping between heterogeneous data sources. In order to improve the schema mapping efficiency and get more accurate learning results, this paper proposes a heterogeneous data schema mapping method basing on multianalyzer machine learning model. The multianalyzer analysis the learning results comprehensively, and a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation system is introduced for output results' evaluation and multi factor quantitative judging. Finally, the data mapping comparison experiment on the East China Sea observing data confirms the effectiveness of the model and shows multianalyzer's obvious improvement of mapping error rate. | 25,250,372 | [
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A method of extracting ontology module using concept relations for sharing knowledge in mobile cloud computing environment. | In mobile cloud computing environment, the cooperation of distributed computing objects is one of the most important requirements for providing successful cloud services. To satisfy this requirement, all the members, who are employed in the cooperation group, need to share the knowledge for mutual understanding. Even if ontology can be the right tool for this goal, there are several issues to make a right ontology. As the cost and complexity of managing knowledge increase according to the scale of the knowledge, reducing the size of ontology is one of the critical issues. In this paper, we propose a method of extracting ontology module to increase the utility of knowledge. For the given signature, this method extracts the ontology module, which is semantically self-contained to fulfill the needs of the service, by considering the syntactic structure and semantic relation of concepts. By employing this module, instead of the original ontology, the cooperation of computing objects can be performed with less computing load and complexity. In particular, when multiple external ontologies need to be combined for more complex services, this method can be used to optimize the size of shared knowledge. | 25,250,374 | [
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0.008358403,
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Research on the trajectory model for ZY-3. | The new generation Chinese high-resolution three-line stereo-mapping satellite Ziyuan 3 (ZY-3) is equipped with three sensors (nadir, backward, and forward views). Its objective is to manufacture the 1 : 50000 topographic map and revise and update the 1 : 25000 topographic map. For the push-broom satellite, the interpolation accuracy of orbit and attitude determines directly the satellite's stereo-mapping accuracy and the position accuracy without ground control point. In this study, a new trajectory model is proposed for ZY-3 in this paper, according to researching and analyzing the orbit and attitude of ZY-3. Using the trajectory data set, the correction and accuracy of the new proposed trajectory are validated and compared with the other models, polynomial model (LPM), piecewise polynomial model (PPM), and Lagrange cubic polynomial model (LCPM). Meanwhile, the differential equation is derivate for the bundle block adjustment. Finally, the correction and practicability of piece-point with weight polynomial model for ZY-3 satellite are validated according to the experiment of geometric correction using the ZY-3 image and orbit and attitude data. | 25,250,378 | [
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An enhanced drought-tolerant method using SA-loaded PAMPS polymer materials applied on tobacco pelleted seeds. | Drought is one of the most important stress factors limiting the seed industry and crop production. Present study was undertaken to create novel drought-resistant pelleted seeds using the combined materials with superabsorbent polymer, poly(2-acrylamide-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid) (PAMPS) hydrogel, and drought resistance agent, salicylic acid (SA). The optimized PAMPS hydrogel was obtained as the molar ratio of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) to potassium peroxydisulfate (KPS) and N, N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBA) was 1 : 0.00046 : 0.00134. The hydrogel weight after swelling in deionized water for 24 h reached 4306 times its own dry weight. The water retention ratio (RR) of PAMPS was significantly higher as compared with the control. It could keep as high as 85.3% of original weight after 30 min at 110 °C; even at 25 °C for 40 d, the PAMPS still kept RR at 33.67%. PAMPS disintegration ratio increased gradually and reached around 30% after embedding in soil or activated sludge for 60 d. In addition, there were better seed germination performance and seedling growth in the pelleted treatments with SA-loaded PAMPS hydrogel under drought stress than control. It suggested that SA-loaded PAMPS hydrogel, a nontoxic superabsorbent polymer, could be used as an effective drought resistance material applied to tobacco pelleted seeds. | 25,250,387 | [
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A MD simulation and analysis for aggregation behaviors of nanoscale zero-valent iron particles in water via MS. | With the development of nanotechnology, more nanomaterials will enter into water environment system. Studying the existing form of nanomaterials in water environment will help people benefit from the correct use of them and to reduce the harm to human caused by them for some nanomaterials can bring polluting effect. Aggregation is a main behavior for nanoparticle in water environment. NZVI are used widely in many fields resulting in more NZVI in water environment. Molecular dynamics simulations and Materials Studio software are used to investigate the microaggregation behaviors of NZVI particles. Two scenes are involved: (1) particle size of NZVI in each simulation system is the same, but initial distance of two NZVI particles is different; (2) initial distance of two NZVI particles in each simulation system is the same, but particle size of NZVI is different. Atomistic trajectory, NP activity, total energy, and adsorption of H2O are analyzed with MS. The method provides new quantitative insight into the structure, energy, and dynamics of the aggregation behaviors of NZVI particles in water. It is necessary to understand microchange of NPs in water because it can provide theoretical research that is used to reduce polluting effect of NPs on water environment. | 25,250,388 | [
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Simulating spatiotemporal dynamics of sichuan grassland net primary productivity using the CASA model and in situ observations. | Net primary productivity (NPP) is an important indicator for grassland resource management and sustainable development. In this paper, the NPP of Sichuan grasslands was estimated by the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) model. The results were validated with in situ data. The overall precision reached 70%; alpine meadow had the highest precision at greater than 75%, among the three types of grasslands validated. The spatial and temporal variations of Sichuan grasslands were analyzed. The absorbed photosynthetic active radiation (APAR), light use efficiency (ε), and NPP of Sichuan grasslands peaked in August, which was a vigorous growth period during 2011. High values of APAR existed in the southwest regions in altitudes from 2000 m to 4000 m. Light use efficiency (ε) varied in the different types of grasslands. The Sichuan grassland NPP was mainly distributed in the region of 3000-5000 m altitude. The NPP of alpine meadow accounted for 50% of the total NPP of Sichuan grasslands. | 25,250,396 | [
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Use of the Measure of Processes of Care (MPOC-20) to evaluate health service delivery for children with cerebral palsy and their families in Jordan: validation of Arabic-translated version (AR-MPOC-20). | Family-centred service (FCS) is widely accepted now as best practice in paediatric rehabilitation. The Measure of Processes of Care-20 items set (MPOC-20) is a valid and reliable self-report measure of parents' perceptions of the extent to which health services are family-centred. Arabic-translated and validated version of the MPOC-20 (AR-MPOC-20) is used to examine Jordanian families' perception of service providers' caregiving behaviours as they receive rehabilitation services for their children with cerebral palsy (CP). Parents of 114 children with CP who are receiving services at different settings in Jordan were interviewed using the AR-MPOC-20. Participating children aged 4.1 ± 4.4 years, 53.5% were males. Children varied across gross motor functional classification system (GMFCS). Parents were mostly mothers (76.3%), with at least high school education (71.9%). Factor analyses of the AR-MPOC-20 yielded a five-factor solution with items loaded differently from the original measure. All items correlated best and significantly with their own Arabic scale score (rs: 0.91-0.26, P < 0.01). Internal consistency values of AR-MPOC-20 scales were acceptable (Cronbach's α: 0.69-0.82). Scale 'Providing Written Information' has the lowest average score (1.9 ± 1.6), while scale 'Respectful & Coordinated Care' has the highest average score (5.2 ± 1.5). The AR-MPOC-20 is found to be a valid and reliable measure for use with Arabic-Jordanian families of children with CP. FCS is not yet well implemented in Jordan, with parents reporting more need for information about their children's health and available services. Service providers are encouraged to apply FCS in paediatric rehabilitation, and giving more attention to effective communication and information exchange with families. AR-MPOC-20 is recommended for use for program evaluation. | 25,250,400 | [
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Two genera Foersteria Szépligeti, 1896 and Polydegmon Foerster, 1862 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Brachistinae) from China, with description of a new species. | The genera Foersteria Szépligeti, 1896 and Polydegmon Foerster, 1862 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Brachistinae) are recorded for the first time from China. A new species, Foersteria xinjiangensis Yan & Chen, sp. nov., is described and illustrated. A key to the Palaearctic species of Foersteria is given. In addition, Polydegmon sinuatus Foerster, 1862 is illustrated in detail for the first time. | 25,250,445 | [
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Heterospilus Haliday, 1836 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Doryctinae) from China with a key to species. | The Chinese species of the genus Heterospilus Haliday, 1836 from the Parasitic Hymenoptera Collection of Zhejiang University were studied and thirty-four species are recognized, including 12 previously described species. Eighteen new species of this genus are described and illustrated: Heterospilus (Heterospilus) alternicoloratus sp. nov., H.(H.) balicyba sp. nov., H.(H.) chui sp. nov., H.(H.) curvisulcus sp. nov., H.(H.) densistriatus sp. nov., H.(H.) fujianensis sp. nov., H.(H.) jianfengensis sp. nov., H.(H.) liui sp. nov., H.(H.) longiventrius sp. nov., H.(H.) nanlingensis sp. nov., H.(H.) parvus sp. nov., H.(H.) prodigiosus sp. nov., H.(H.) punctatus sp. nov., H.(H.) qingliangensis sp. nov., H.(H.) semidepressus sp. nov., H.(H.) setosiscutum sp. nov., H.(H.) setosus sp. nov., and H.(H.) tenuitergum sp. nov. Seven species of Heterospilus are recorded for China for the first time: H. (Eoheterospilus) rubrocinctus (Ashmead, 1905), H.(H.) alboapicalis Belokobylskij, 1994, H.(H.) ater Fischer, 1960, H.(H.) cephi Rohwer, 1925, H.(H.) kerzhneri Belokobylskij et Maetô, 2009, H.(H.) tauricus Telenga, 1941, and H.(H.) tulyensis Belokobylskij, 1994. Two new synonyms are proposed: H. asiaticola Belokobylskij et Maetô, 2009 with H. chinensis Chen et Shi, 2004 and H. gracilis Shi et Chen with H. separatus Fischer, 1960. A key to the Chinese species of Heterospilus is provided. | 25,250,449 | [
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New Uropodine mites from Tanzania (Acari: Mesostigmata). | Three new species and one new genus of Uropodina from Tanzania are described and illustrated. They include the second species of the genus Bloszykiella Kontschán, 2010, Bloszykiella grebennikovi sp. nov., and the resurrection and re-definition of the genus Spinosissuropoda Hirschmann, 1979, with description of a new species, Spinosissuropoda tanzanica sp. nov. Five species of Uropoda are transferred into the genus Spinosissuropoda--S. solarissima (Hirschmann, 1981) comb. nov., S. ancoraesimilis (Hirschmann, 1981) comb. nov., S. pocsi (Hirschmann, 1981) comb. nov., S. ancorae (Hirschmann, 1981) comb. nov. and S. alata (Hirschmann, 1981) comb. nov. A new monotypic genus, Afrodinychus gen. nov., is described and compared with the related genus Metadinychus Berlese, 1916. | 25,250,451 | [
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Redescription of Ceratothoa carinata (Bianconi, 1869) and Ceratothoa oxyrrhynchaena Koelbel, 1878 (Crustacea: Isopoda: Cymothoidae), buccal-attaching fish parasites new to Australia. | Ceratothoa carinata (Bianconi, 1869) and Ceratothoa oxyrrhynchaena Koelbel, 1878 are recorded for the first time from Australia and redescribed. Ceratothoa curvicauda Nunomura, 2006 is synonymised with Ceratothoa carinata. Brief accounts are given on the distribution and hosts of these species. | 25,250,460 | [
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Egg parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae and Trichogrammatidae) of the gall-making leafhopper Scenergates viridis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from Uzbekistan, with taxonomic notes on the Palaearctic species of Aphelinoidea. | A new species of the Aphelinoidea Girault (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), A. (Aphelinoidea) sariq Triapitsyn & Rakitov sp. n., is described from Uzbekistan. Both sexes were reared from eggs of the only known truly gall-making leafhopper, Scenergates viridis (Vilbaste), laid inside its galls on camelthorn, Alhagi maurorum Medikus; additional females were found dead inside the galls. Aphelinoidea sariq is the only known species of the nominate subgenus of Aphelinoidea whose body color is predominantly yellow. Taxonomic notes on other Palaearctic species of Aphelinoidea are provided; A. scythica Fursov, syn. n. is synonymized underA. (Aphelinoidea) turanica S. Trjapitzin. Another trichogrammatid, Par-acentrobia (Paracentrobia) sp., was reared from eggs of S. viridis in much smaller numbers. Also described from the same locality and host is Gonatocerus (Lymaenon) mitjaevi Triapitsyn & Rakitov sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae). | 25,250,467 | [
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Schistura paucireticulata, a new loach from Tuirial River, Mizoram, India (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). | Schistura paucireticulata, new species, is described from the Tuirial River in Mizoram, India. It is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of characters: 8-9 brown bars on the body, bars in front of the dorsal fin divided into 2-3 small bars forming a reticulations; basicaudal bar black, dissociated; dorsal fin spotted, with 4 simple and 8 1/2 branched rays; anal fin with 3 simple and 6 branched rays; lateral line complete; caudal fin deeply emarginated with 9 + 8 branched rays; well developed axillary pelvic lobe; and caudal fin with numerous black spots arranged in 3-4 bars. | 25,250,471 | [
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mRNA levels of kisspeptins, kisspeptin receptors, and GnRH1 in the brain of chub mackerel during puberty. | Kisspeptin (Kiss) and its cognate receptor (Kiss1R), implicated in the neuroendocrine control of GnRH secretion in mammals, have been proposed to be the key factors in regulating puberty. However, the mechanisms underlying the initiation of puberty in fish are poorly understood. The chub mackerel Scomber japonicus expresses two forms of Kiss (kiss1 and kiss2) and two Kiss receptor (kissr1 and kissr2) genes in the brain, which exhibit sexually dimorphic changes during the seasonal reproductive cycle. This indicates that the kisspeptin system plays an important role in gonadal recrudescence of chub mackerel; however, the involvement of the kisspeptin system in the pubertal process has not been identified. In the present study, we examined the mRNA expression of kiss1, kiss2, kissr1, kissr2, and gnrh1 (hypophysiotropic form) in the brain of a chub mackerel during puberty. In male fish, kiss2, kissr1 and kissr2 levels increased significantly at 14weeks post-hatch (wph), synchronously with an increase in type A spermatogonial populations in the testis; kiss2 and gnrh1 levels significantly increased at 22wph, just before the onset of meiosis in the testes. In female fish, kiss2 increased significantly at 14wph, synchronously with an increase in the number of perinucleolar oocytes in the ovary; kiss1 and kiss2 levels significantly increased concomitantly with an increase in the kissr1, kissr2, and gnrh1 levels at 24wph, just before the onset of vitellogenesis in oocytes. The present results suggest positive involvement of the kisspeptin-GnRH system in the pubertal process in the captive reared chub mackerel. | 25,250,485 | [
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Effects of cucurbitacin e, a tetracyclic triterpene compound from Cucurbitaceae, on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of warfarin in rats. | This study firstly investigated the effects of cucurbitacin E (CuE), a tetracyclic triterpene compound from Cucurbitaceae, on the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of warfarin, a model CYP2C probe substrate, in the rat. In PK studies, the concentration of warfarin in blood samples was determined by HPLC-DAD, and the PK parameters were analysed using non-compartmental methods. In PD studies, the prothrombin time (PT) in blood plasma at each sample point was measured via thromboplastin reagents. CuE treatment (50, 100 and 200 μg/kg, i.p.) decreased warfarin clearance (28-32%), increased the area under the curve (AUC0-∞; 55-62%) and prolonged plasma half-life (t1/2; 58-72%). At the same time, the anticoagulation effect of warfarin (PTmax) was also significantly increased in the presence of CuE. These data demonstrated that CuE affected the PK and PD of warfarin, and these effects may be due to the inhibition of CYP2C activity by CuE. Hence, careful monitoring should be carried out during concomitant use of herbal products containing CuE with drugs that are metabolized by CYP2C enzymes. | 25,250,504 | [
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Undervalued criteria in the evaluation of multimodal trials for upper GI cancers. | Global economies and their health systems face a huge challenge from cancer: 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men will develop cancer in their lifetime. In the less developed countries, the volume of cancer patients will overwhelm the existing healthcare systems. Even in developed regions, patients with upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancer usually present with locally advanced tumors that their prognosis is poor. A detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, epidemiology, tumor classifications and tumor growth is key understanding and evaluating the relevant research. We review undervalued criteria necessary to evaluate the response to multimodal therapy for upper GI cancers. | 25,250,506 | [
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An integrative review of ethnic and cultural variation in socialization and children's self-regulation. | To examine the evidence for cross-cultural variation in socialization and children's normative self-regulation, based on a contextual-developmental perspective. Nurses and healthcare workers in multi-cultural societies must understand diversity in socializing influences (including parenting) and in children's behaviour. A contextual-developmental perspective implies that normative cultural and ethnic values will influence socializing processes and behaviour, which in turn will influence children's self-regulation. Integrative review. Studies were located using five major search engines from 1990-2011. Domains of a contextual-developmental perspective and a comprehensive definition of self-regulation assisted the generation of search terms. Selected studies compared at least two ethnic or cultural groups and addressed contextual-developmental domains: (1) culturally specific social values, beliefs, or attitudes; (2) socializing behaviours; and (3) children's normative self-regulation. Eleven studies about children's self-regulation were found to have data consistent with a contextual-developmental perspective. Studies used descriptive correlational or comparative designs with primarily convenience sampling; eight confirmed stated hypotheses, three were exploratory. Findings across studies evidenced coherent patterns of sociocultural influence on children's attention, compliance, delay of gratification, effortful control and executive function. A contextual-developmental perspective provided a useful perspective to examine normative differences in values, socializing behaviours and children's self-regulation. This perspective and these findings are expected to guide future research, to assist nurses and healthcare providers to understand diversity in parenting and children's behaviour. | 25,250,509 | [
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Habitat structure and the evolution of diffusible siderophores in bacteria. | Bacteria typically rely on secreted metabolites, potentially shareable at the community level, to scavenge resources from the environment. The evolution of diffusible, shareable metabolites is, however, difficult to explain because molecules can get lost, or be exploited by cheating mutants. A key question is whether natural selection can act on molecule structure to control loss and shareability. We tested this possibility by collating information on diffusivity properties of 189 secreted iron-scavenging siderophores and the natural habitats occupied by the siderophore-producing species. In line with evolutionary theory, we found that highly diffusible siderophores have preferentially evolved in species living in structured habitats, such as soil and hosts, because structuring can keep producers and their shareable goods together. Poorly diffusible siderophores, meanwhile, have preferentially evolved in species living in unstructured habitats, such as seawater, indicating that these metabolites are less shareable and more likely provide direct benefits to the producers. | 25,250,530 | [
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Dioxygen reactivity with a ferrocene-Lewis acid pairing: reduction to a boron peroxide in the presence of tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane. | Ferrocenes, which are typically air-stable outer-sphere single-electron transfer reagents, were found to react with dioxygen in the presence of B(C6 F5 )3 , a Lewis acid unreactive to O2 , to generate bis(borane) peroxide. Although several Group 13 peroxides have been reported, boron-supported peroxides are rare, with no structurally characterized examples of the BO2 B moiety. The synthesis of a bis(borane)-supported peroxide anion and its structural and electrochemical characterization are described. | 25,250,531 | [
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Metamorphosis in solitary ascidians. | Embryonic and postembryonic development in ascidians have been studied for over a century, but it is only in the last 10 years that the complex molecular network involved in coordinating postlarval development and metamorphosis has started to emerge. In most ascidians, the transition from the larval to the sessile juvenile/adult stage, or metamorphosis, requires a combination of environmental and endogenous signals and is characterized by coordinated global morphogenetic changes that are initiated by the adhesion of the larvae. Cloney was the first to describe cellular events of ascidians' metamorphosis in 1978 and only recently elements of the molecular regulation of this crucial developmental step have been revealed. This review aims to present a thorough view of this crucial developmental step by combining recent molecular data to the already established cellular events. | 25,250,532 | [
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Double input capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector with phase shift. | A double input capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector (DIC(4)D) device which gets higher sensitivity has been described in this paper. The detector consists of two input electrodes and one output electrode. When two alternating current (AC) voltages with the same amplitude and different phases are imposed on each input electrode, the equivalent resistance of the output electrode is reduced because of the interference of the two signals with different phase angles. For a capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector (C(4)D), the ratio of the response of KCl solution to that of distilled water is 1.6. However, for DIC(4)D, the ratio is 1.55 at a phase difference of 0° and increases to 1.8 at the phase difference of 170°, respectively. For C(4)D, the response of KCl solution is a linear function of the logarithm of concentrations from 10(-5) M to 10(-2) M, and the slope is 5.58. However, the slope of the response increases to 7.13 in DIC(4)D, and the limit of detection (LOD) of DIC(4)D is estimated to be 5 × 10(-8) M. The slope of the three-way DIC(4)D is increased to 69.78. A flow injection device is employed for the evaluation of the applicability of DIC(4)D with the same range, and good reproducibility is confirmed through flow injection of the same solution 10 times. The relative standard deviation (RSD) is 0.7%, which demonstrates a promising application to capillary electrophoresis (CE). | 25,250,534 | [
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Taxonomic status, phylogenetic affinities and genetic diversity of a presumed extinct genus, Paraisometrum W.T. Wang (gesneriaceae) from the karst regions of Southwest China. | The karst regions in South China have an abundance of endemic plants that face high extinction risks. The Chinese Gesneriaceae endemic Paraisometrum mileense ( = Oreocharis mileensis), was presumed extinct for 100 years. After its re-discovery, the species has become one of five key plants selected by the Chinese forestry government to establish a new conservation category for plants with extremely small populations. For conservation purposes, we studied the phylogenetic and population genetic status of P. mileense at the three only known localities in Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan. We collected 64 samples (52 species) of Oreocharis and 8 samples from three provinces of P. mileense and generated molecular phylogenies, and inferred that P. mileense represents a relatively isolated and derived taxonomic unit within Oreocharis. Phylogeographic results of 104 samples of 12 populations of P. mileense indicated that the populations in Yunnan have derived from those in Guangxi and Guizhou. Based on AFLP data, the populations were found to harbor low levels of genetic diversity (He = 0.118), with no apparent gradient across the species' range, a restricted gene flow and significant isolation-by-distance with limited genetic differentiation among the populations across the three provinces (FST = 0.207, P<0.001). The 10 populations in Yunnan were found to represent two distinct lineages residing at different altitudes and distances from villages. The low levels of genetic diversity found in P. mileense are perhaps a consequence of severe bottlenecks in the recent past. The distribution of the genetic diversity suggests that all populations are significant for conservation. Current in situ and ex situ measures are discussed. Further conservation actions are apparently needed to fully safeguard this conservation flagship species. Our work provides a model of an integrated study for the numerous endemic species in the karst regions with extremely small populations. | 25,250,568 | [
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Cytotoxicity of polyaniline nanomaterial on rat celiac macrophages in vitro. | Polyaniline nanomaterial (nPANI) is getting popular in many industrial fields due to its conductivity and stability. The fate and effect of nPANI in the environment is of paramount importance towards its technological applications. In this work, the cytotoxicity of nPANI, which was prepared by rapid surface polymerization, was studied on rat celiac macrophages. Cell viability of macrophages treated with various concentrations of nPANI and different periods ranging from 24 to 72 hours was tested by a MTT assay. Damages of nPANI to structures of macrophages were evaluated according to the exposure level of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and change of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). We observed no significant effects of nPANI on the survival, ROS level and MMP loss of macrophages at concentrations up to 1 µg/ml. However, higher dose of nPANI (10 µg/ml or above) induced cell death, changes of ROS level and MMP. In addition, an increase in the expression level of caspase-3 protein and its activated form was detected in a Western blot assay under the high dose exposure of nPANI. All together, our experimental results suggest that the hazardous potential of nPANI on macrophages is time- and dose-dependent and high dose of nPANI can induce cell apoptosis through caspase-3 mediated pathway. | 25,250,578 | [
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Neonatal ascites in autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD). | Neonatal ascites is a rare entity, which is usually biliary, urinary, or chylous. Congenital hepatic fibrosis as part of the manifestations of autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is usually a histological adjunct to the diagnosis of this mainly clinically renal entity in the neonatal period. Case-diagnosis: We describe a rare case of severe ascites in a newborn child complicating ARPKD, which was later confirmed by clinical, histological, and genetic studies. ARPKD should be considered in differential diagnosis of neonatal ascites. | 25,250,579 | [
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Impact of epinephrine and norepinephrine on two dynamic indices in a porcine hemorrhagic shock model. | Pulse pressure variations (PPVs) and stroke volume variations (SVVs) are dynamic indices for predicting fluid responsiveness in intensive care unit patients. These hemodynamic markers underscore Frank-Starling law by which volume expansion increases cardiac output (CO). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the administration of catecholamines on PPV, SVV, and inferior vena cava flow (IVCF). In this prospective, physiologic, animal study, hemodynamic parameters were measured in deeply sedated and mechanically ventilated pigs. Systemic hemodynamic and pressure-volume loops obtained by inferior vena cava occlusion were recorded. Measurements were collected during two conditions, that is, normovolemia and hypovolemia, generated by blood removal to obtain a mean arterial pressure value lower than 60 mm Hg. At each condition, CO, IVCF, SVV, and PPV were assessed by catheters and flow meters. Data were compared between the conditions normovolemia and hypovolemia before and after intravenous administrations of norepinephrine and epinephrine using a nonparametric Wilcoxon test. Eight pigs were anesthetized, mechanically ventilated, and equipped. Both norepinephrine and epinephrine significantly increased IVCF and decreased PPV and SVV, regardless of volemic conditions (p < 0.05). However, epinephrine was also able to significantly increase CO regardless of volemic conditions. The present study demonstrates that intravenous administrations of norepinephrine and epinephrine increase IVCF, whatever the volemic conditions are. The concomitant decreases in PPV and SVV corroborate the fact that catecholamine administration recruits unstressed blood volume. In this regard, understanding a decrease in PPV and SVV values, after catecholamine administration, as an obvious indication of a restored volemia could be an outright misinterpretation. | 25,250,595 | [
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Plasmatic isoforms of cytokeratin 18 and RAGE after severe trauma: a longitudinal cohort study. | Life-threatening traumatic injuries lead to a complex inflammation-driven pathophysiology. Receptor of advanced glycation end product (RAGE) is a multiligand receptor of several endogenous alarmins, while cytokeratin 18 is a structural component of the filament of epithelial cells. Both proteins can be frequently found in plasma of patients with different diseases, whereby they have distinct underlying mechanism of formation. In this prospective observational study, we wanted to shed light on the kinetic of plasmatic RAGE and cytokeratin 18 isoforms after severe trauma, thereby also addressing the association of these markers with inflammation and their potential use as biomarkers. Plasma samples of 77 patients with severe multiple trauma as defined by an Injury Severity Score (ISS) 16 or greater were obtained from a local repository and levels of soluble RAGE, endogenous secretory RAGE, cytokeratin 18, cleaved cytokeratin 18, and interleukin 6 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Demographic and routine parameters of the cohort were extracted from an electronic patient data management system. Both RAGE isoforms were transiently increased in plasma within 24 hours after trauma, while cytokeratin 18 levels were unchanged. Moreover, soluble RAGE concentrations in patients with thoracic injuries were higher compared with patients without injury, and both isoforms of RAGE discriminated between patients with most severe adult respiratory distress syndrome and patients with milder forms. In addition, cleaved and total cytokeratin 18 levels differ between patients with hepatic dysfunction and normal function, without possessing discriminatory power. RAGE and cytokeratin 18 isoforms correlated significantly but to a low extent with interleukin 6, while the isoforms of both parameters correlated to a high extent with one another. The release of RAGE (but not cytokeratin 18) isoforms occurs early and transiently after trauma and is associated with the extent of injury and inflammatory response. RAGE and cytokeratin 18 isoforms have the potential to act as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers of lung and hepatic dysfunction. Epidemiologic/prognostic study, level IV. | 25,250,597 | [
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Using critical administration thresholds to predict abbreviated laparotomy. | Early identification of trauma patients requiring abbreviated laparotomy (AL) is key to prevent prolonged operative times with associated hypothermia and acidosis. The critical administration threshold (CAT) is a novel method to define large-volume transfusion, accounting for rate and volume simultaneously. CAT may also serve as a simple trigger to distinguish patients benefiting from AL. The purpose of this study was to determine if CAT was predictive of the need for AL. Trauma patients receiving at least 1 U of blood during Day 1 of admission were eligible. Patients were classified by the number of times they met CAT (≥ 3 U of blood in 1 hour) for 24 hours. Basic demographics, time to CAT+ status and completion of operative therapy, need for AL, and mortality were quantified. A multivariate Cox proportional hazard ratio with a time-varying covariate was used to compare CAT and AL. One hundred sixty-nine patients were included (70% new Injury Severity Score [ISS] > 10, 83% male). Significantly more AL patients (79%) were CAT+ compared with the patients with closed fascia (36%, p < 0.0001), and 94% of the patients reached CAT+ status before the end of their operative therapy (mean time to CAT+ status, 163 minutes; mean end operative time, 356 minutes). A Cox proportional hazard ratio demonstrated a nearly threefold increased risk for AL when a patient was CAT+ (odds ratio, 2.723; 95% confidence interval, 1.256-5.906). Failure to opt for an open abdomen with increasing CAT+ status was associated with a trend toward higher mortality. Severely injured patients requiring large-volume transfusions typically reach the first CAT threshold quickly, on average, in less than 3 hours. Further, CAT+ patients have a higher odds of AL and a trend toward greater mortality if time is taken to close the fascia. As such, CAT+ status serves as a logical early trigger to identify patients benefiting from AL. Therapeutic outcome study, level III. | 25,250,600 | [
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Structural melting of an amino acid dimer upon intersystem crossing. | We present a spectroscopic investigation of the excited-state dynamics of the phenylalanine (Phe)/serine (Ser) protonated dimer in the gas phase. Using an ultraviolet (UV) laser pulse, we promote individual isomers to the S1 state and probe their fate with an infrared (IR) pulse. We find that the S1 state has a lifetime of ~70 ns and undergoes intersystem crossing (ISC) to the T1 state. Time-resolved IR spectra allow us to follow the structural evolution of the dimer. In the S1 state, the different isomers retain the hydrogen-bonding pattern of the ground state. Intersystem crossing triggers a sudden increase of the vibrational energy, so that the dimers can overcome isomerization barriers and explore large parts of the potential energy surface (PES). Their broad IR spectra largely resemble one another and indicate that the dimers adopt a molten structure. | 25,250,642 | [
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An imperative need to change organ donation and transplant curriculum results of a nationwide United kingdom junior doctor survey. | Awareness among the medical students and junior doctors about organ donation and transplantation (ODT) may play an important role in increasing organ donor pool. This study surveys the knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of ODT among the U.K. junior doctors and attempts to identify their educational needs. To our knowledge, this is first such study in the United Kingdom. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 1,696 junior doctors (809 foundation and 887 core trainees). A 36-point questionnaire explored the junior doctor's knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes toward ODT. There were 523 respondents (30.8%). Majority were foundation trainees (58.9%). Only 29.6% had previous exposure to transplantation, which reflected in their poor knowledge on the basics of ODT. Only 47.0% of the respondents were aware that consent from next of kin or family is sought for all deceased organ donation. Those registered as organ donor (69.8%) had better knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes in comparison to those not registered. Majority (84.1%) felt that they were inadequately exposed to ODT, and 96.8% stated that ODT should be part of undergraduate curriculum. Junior doctors in the United Kingdom have limited knowledge about ODT. Although subjected to investigators bias, the results demonstrate that junior doctors' perceptions and attitudes toward ODT were favorable. Majority felt that their ODT knowledge was inadequate and suggested the need for a change in undergraduate ODT curriculum. Increasing knowledge and awareness among junior doctors may help to improve the continuing organ shortage for transplantation. | 25,250,646 | [
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Effect of N-acetylcysteine pretreatment of deceased organ donors on renal allograft function: a randomized controlled trial. | Antioxidant donor pretreatment is one of the pharmacologic strategy proposed to prevent renal ischemia-reperfusion injuries and delayed graft function (DGF). The aim of the study was to investigate whether a donor pretreatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) reduces the incidence of DGF in adult human kidney transplant recipients. In this randomized, open-label, monocenter trial, 160 deceased heart-beating donors were allowed to perform 236 renal transplantations from September 2005 to December 2010. Donors were randomized to receive, in a single-blind controlled fashion, 600 mg of intravenous NAC 1 hr before and 2 hr after cerebral angiography performed to confirm brain death. Primary endpoint was DGF defined by the need for at least one dialysis session within the first week or a serum creatinine level greater than 200 μmol/L at day 7 after kidney transplantation. The incidence of DGF was similar between donors pretreated with or without NAC (39/118; 33% vs. 30/118; 25.4%; P = 0.19). Requirement for at least one dialysis session was not different between the NAC and No NAC groups (17/118; 14.4% vs. 14/118; 11.8%, P = 0.56). The two groups had comparable serum creatinine levels, estimated glomerular filtration rates, and daily urine output at days 1, 7, 15, and 30 after kidney transplantation as well as at hospital discharge. No difference in recipient mortality nor in 1-year kidney graft survival was observed. Donor pretreatment with NAC does not improve delayed graft function after kidney transplantation. | 25,250,647 | [
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Outcomes of liver transplantation alone after listing for simultaneous kidney: comparison to simultaneous liver kidney transplantation. | Data on patient and liver graft survival comparing liver transplantation alone after listing for kidney with simultaneous liver kidney (SLK) transplantation are scanty. United Network Organ Sharing network database (1994-2011) queried for liver transplantation alone after being listed for kidney and SLK transplants. Of 65,206 first liver transplants, 3549 were listed for simultaneous kidney. Of these, 422 (12%) received only liver (LIST) and differed from SLK recipients for the white race (64% vs. 57%; 0.005), diabetes (27% vs. 37%; P = 0.02), model for end-stage liver disease era (68% vs. 82%; P = 0.0001), serum creatinine (2.9±1.9 vs. 4.3±2.5; P < 0.0001), dialysis (35% vs. 64%; P < 0.0001), and donor risk index (1.6±0.4 vs. 1.5±0.3; P < 0.0001). Overall survival was poorer in the LIST group (55% vs. 76%; P < 0.0001). A higher proportion of patients died within 2 days of transplantation in LIST group (11% vs. 0.5%; P < 0.0001), mostly from cardiovascular causes. After excluding these patients, odds of patient mortality and liver graft loss were about 1.2-fold and twofold higher in the LIST group. A total of 103 (24%) patients needed a renal transplantation in the LIST group with 16 (4%) receiving kidney within first year after transplantation. After excluding patients receiving kidney within first year, about 33% recovered renal function to above estimated GFR of greater than 60 mL per min. Guidelines are needed for patient selection to list for and receipt of simultaneous liver kidney transplantation. | 25,250,648 | [
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Comparative assessment of genetic and morphological variation at an extensive hybrid zone between two wild cats in southern Brazil. | Increased attention towards the Neotropical cats Leopardus guttulus and L. geoffroyi was prompted after genetic studies identified the occurrence of extensive hybridization between them at their geographic contact zone in southern Brazil. This is a region where two biomes intersect, each of which is associated with one of the hybridizing species (Atlantic Forest with L. guttulus and Pampas with L. geoffroyi). In this study, we conducted in-depth analyses of multiple molecular markers aiming to characterize the magnitude and spatial structure of this hybrid zone. We also performed a morphological assessment of these species, aiming to test their phenotypic differentiation at the contact zone, as well as the correlation between morphological features and the admixture status of the individuals. We found strong evidence for extensive and complex hybridization, with at least 40% of the individuals sampled in Rio Grande do Sul state (southernmost Brazil) identified as hybrids resulting from post-F1 generations. Despite such a high level of hybridization, samples collected in this state still comprised two recognizable clusters (genetically and morphologically). Genetically pure individuals were sampled mainly in regions farther from the contact zone, while hybrids concentrated in a central region (exactly at the interface between the two biomes). The morphological data set also revealed a strong spatial structure, which was correlated with the molecular results but displayed an even more marked separation between the clusters. Hybrids often did not present intermediate body sizes and could not be clearly distinguished morphologically from the parental forms. This observation suggests that some selective pressure may be acting on the hybrids, limiting their dispersal away from the hybrid zone and perhaps favoring genomic combinations that maintain adaptive phenotypic features of one or the other parental species. | 25,250,657 | [
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Molecular phylogenetics and systematics of the bivalve family Ostreidae based on rRNA sequence-structure models and multilocus species tree. | The bivalve family Ostreidae has a worldwide distribution and includes species of high economic importance. Phylogenetics and systematic of oysters based on morphology have proved difficult because of their high phenotypic plasticity. In this study we explore the phylogenetic information of the DNA sequence and secondary structure of the nuclear, fast-evolving, ITS2 rRNA and the mitochondrial 16S rRNA genes from the Ostreidae and we implemented a multi-locus framework based on four loci for oyster phylogenetics and systematics. Sequence-structure rRNA models aid sequence alignment and improved accuracy and nodal support of phylogenetic trees. In agreement with previous molecular studies, our phylogenetic results indicate that none of the currently recognized subfamilies, Crassostreinae, Ostreinae, and Lophinae, is monophyletic. Single gene trees based on Maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian (BA) methods and on sequence-structure ML were congruent with multilocus trees based on a concatenated (ML and BA) and coalescent based (BA) approaches and consistently supported three main clades: (i) Crassostrea, (ii) Saccostrea, and (iii) an Ostreinae-Lophinae lineage. Therefore, the subfamily Crassostreinae (including Crassostrea), Saccostreinae subfam. nov. (including Saccostrea and tentatively Striostrea) and Ostreinae (including Ostreinae and Lophinae taxa) are recognized [corrected]. Based on phylogenetic and biogeographical evidence the Asian species of Crassostrea from the Pacific Ocean are assigned to Magallana gen. nov., whereas an integrative taxonomic revision is required for the genera Ostrea and Dendostrea. This study pointed out the suitability of the ITS2 marker for DNA barcoding of oyster and the relevance of using sequence-structure rRNA models and features of the ITS2 folding in molecular phylogenetics and taxonomy. The multilocus approach allowed inferring a robust phylogeny of Ostreidae providing a broad molecular perspective on their systematics. | 25,250,663 | [
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International variation in performance by clinical discipline and task on the United States medical licensing examination step 2 clinical knowledge component. | To investigate country-to-country variation in performance across clinical science disciplines and tasks for examinees taking the Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) component of the United States Medical Licensing Examination. In 2012 the authors analyzed demographic characteristics, total scores, and percent-correct clinical science discipline and task scores for more than 88,500 examinees taking Step 2 CK for the first time during the 2008-2010 academic years. For each examinee and score, differences between the score and the mean performance of examinees at U.S. MD-granting medical schools were calculated, and mean differences by country of medical school were tabulated for analysis of country-to-country variation in performance by clinical discipline and task. Controlling for overall performance relative to U.S. examinees, results showed that international medical graduates (IMGs) performed best in Surgery and worst in Psychiatry for clinical discipline scores; for clinical tasks, IMGs performed best in Understanding Mechanisms of Disease and worst in Promoting Preventive Medicine and Health Maintenance. The pattern of results was strongest for IMGs attending schools in the Middle East and Australasia, present to a lesser degree for IMGs attending schools in Europe, and absent for IMGs attending Caribbean medical schools. Country-to-country differences in relative performance were present for both clinical discipline and task scores. Possible explanations include differences in learning outcomes, curriculum emphasis and clinical experience, standards of care, and culture, as well as the effects of English as a second language and relative emphasis on preparing students to take the Step 2 CK exam. | 25,250,743 | [
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Integrating competencies: exploring complex problem solving through case formulation in developmental pediatrics. | To understand how experienced clinicians formulate cases and to use this understanding to explore the broader processes involved in how clinicians solve complex problems in their daily work. Case formulation is a process that allows clinicians to provide a tentative explanation for why a patient with a certain condition presents in a particular way at a particular time. In this constructivist grounded theory study, the authors conducted semistructured interviews with 12 physicians (9 experienced clinicians, 3 new graduates and residents) from the University of Toronto Division of Developmental Pediatrics between July and December 2012. They used a constant comparative analysis to identify themes and iteratively developed a thematic structure, which one researcher applied to the entire data set. They maintained a detailed audit trail throughout the process. Experienced clinician participants articulated three interconnected themes that characterize their complex problem solving during case formulation: (1) interpreting individual patient factors in the context of medical and clinical knowledge, (2) strategically co-constructing the case formulation with parents and team members, and (3) refining the case formulation over time. Findings suggest that these interpretive, strategic, and longitudinal processes appear to be central to the complex problem solving of experienced clinicians engaged in case formulation. They illuminate how clinicians integrate multiple competencies when they solve complex problems in their daily work. Exploring this integration of competencies has broader implications for understanding expertise and expert development and may inform pedagogical practices that promote the development of complex problem solving in trainees. | 25,250,750 | [
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Distress among matriculating medical students relative to the general population. | Many medical students experience distress during medical school. If matriculating medical students (MMSs) begin training with similar or better mental health than age-similar controls, this would support existing concerns about the negative impact of training on student well-being. The authors compared mental health indicators of MMSs versus those of a probability-based sample of the general U.S. population. In 2012 all MMSs at six U.S. medical schools were invited to participate in a survey during orientation. The research team surveyed a probability-based sample of U.S. individuals using the same questions in 2011. Individuals from the population sample who completed a four-year college degree and matched within the appropriate age strata (< 30, 31-35, 36-40, > 40) were compared with MMSs. Surveys included demographics and validated instruments to measure burnout; depression symptoms; and mental, emotional, physical, and overall of quality of life (QOL). Demographic characteristics of the 582/938 (62%) responding MMSs were similar to U.S. MMSs. Relative to 546 age-similar college graduates, MMSs had lower rates of burnout (27.3% versus 37.3%, P < .001) and depression symptoms (26.2% versus 42.4%, P < .0001) and higher scores across the four QOL domains assessed relative to controls (all P < .0001). These findings persisted on multivariate analysis after adjusting for age, sex, relationship status, and race/ethnicity. These findings, along with high rates of distress reported in medical students and residents, support concerns that the training process and environment contribute to the deterioration of mental health in developing physicians. | 25,250,752 | [
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More consensus than idiosyncrasy: Categorizing social judgments to examine variability in Mini-CEX ratings. | Social judgment research suggests that rater unreliability in performance assessments arises from raters' differing inferences about the performer and the underlying reasons for the performance observed. These varying social judgments are not entirely idiosyncratic but, rather, tend to partition into a finite number of distinct subgroups, suggesting some "signal" in the "noise" of interrater variability. The authors investigated the proportion of variance in Mini-CEX ratings attributable to such partitions of raters' social judgments about residents. In 2012 and 2013, physicians reviewed video-recorded patient encounters for seven residents, completed a Mini-CEX, and described their social judgments of the residents. Additional participants sorted these descriptions, which were analyzed using latent partition analysis (LPA). The best-fitting set of partitions for each resident served as an independent variable in a one-way ANOVA to determine the proportion of variance explained in Mini-CEX ratings. Forty-eight physicians rated at least one resident (34 assessed all seven). The seven sets of social judgments were sorted by 14 participants. Across residents, 2 to 5 partitions (mode: 4) provided a good LPA fit, suggesting that subgroups of raters were making similar social judgments, while different causal explanations for each resident's performance existed across subgroups. The partitions accounted for 9% to 57% of the variance in Mini-CEX ratings across residents (mean = 32%). These findings suggest that multiple "signals" do exist within the "noise" of interrater variability in performance-based assessment. It may be valuable to understand and exploit these multiple signals rather than try to eliminate them. | 25,250,753 | [
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Regional scale prioritisation for key ecosystem services, renewable energy production and urban development. | Although the importance of addressing ecosystem service benefits in regional land use planning and decision-making is evident, substantial practical challenges remain. In particular, methods to identify priority areas for the provision of key ecosystem services and other environmental services (benefits from the environment not directly linked to the function of ecosystems) need to be developed. Priority areas are locations which provide disproportionally high benefits from one or more service. Here we map a set of ecosystem and environmental services and delineate priority areas according to different scenarios. Each scenario is produced by a set of weightings allocated to different services and corresponds to different landscape management strategies which decision makers could undertake. Using the county of Cornwall, U.K., as a case study, we processed gridded maps of key ecosystem services and environmental services, including renewable energy production and urban development. We explored their spatial distribution patterns and their spatial covariance and spatial stationarity within the region. Finally we applied a complementarity-based priority ranking algorithm (zonation) using different weighting schemes. Our conclusions are that (i) there are two main patterns of service distribution in this region, clustered services (including agriculture, carbon stocks, urban development and plant production) and dispersed services (including cultural services, energy production and floods mitigation); (ii) more than half of the services are spatially correlated and there is high non-stationarity in the spatial covariance between services; and (iii) it is important to consider both ecosystem services and other environmental services in identifying priority areas. Different weighting schemes provoke drastic changes in the delineation of priority areas and therefore decision making processes need to carefully consider the relative values attributed to different services. | 25,250,775 | [
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Communication intervention in Rett syndrome: a survey of speech language pathologists in Swedish health services. | To investigate communication intervention that speech language pathologists (SLPs) provide to people with Rett syndrome. A web-based survey targeting all Swedish SLPs working with people currently receiving support from habilitation services. The SLPs reportedly followed recommended practice in the following aspects: (1) Information on communicative function was collected from several sources, including observation in well-known settings and reports from the client s social network, (2) Multimodal communication was promoted and, (3) Responsive partner strategies were largely targeted in the intervention. However, few instruments or standard procedures were used and partner instruction was given informally. Most SLPs used communication aids in the intervention and their general impression of using communication aids was positive. Further, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) was estimated to increase and clarify communicative contributions from the person. Communication aids were reported to have a positive influence on communicative functions. Swedish SLP services followed best practice in several aspects, but there are areas with potential for development. Tools and best practice guidelines are needed to support SLPs in the AAC process for clients with Rett syndrome. [Box: see text]. | 25,250,808 | [
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Ultrafine particles from electric appliances and cooking pans: experiments suggesting desorption/nucleation of sorbed organics as the primary source. | Ultrafine particles are observed when metal surfaces, such as heating elements in electric appliances, or even empty cooking pans, are heated. The source of the particles has not been identified. We present evidence that particles >10 nm are not emitted directly from the heating elements or the metal surfaces. Using repeated heating of an electric burner, several types of cooking pans, and a steam iron, the increase in the number of particles (>10 nm) can be reduced to 0. After the devices are exposed to indoor air for several hours or days, subsequent heating results in renewed particle production, suggesting that organic matter has sorbed on their surfaces. Also, after a pan has been heated to the point that no increase in particles is observed, washing with detergent results in copious production of particles the next time the pan is heated. These observations suggest that detergent residue and organics sorbed from indoor air are the sources of the particles. We hypothesize that organic compounds are thermally desorbed from the hot surface as gaseous molecules; as they diffuse from the hot air near the pan into cooler air, selected compounds exceed their saturation concentration and nucleation occurs. | 25,250,820 | [
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HIV Tat acts on endogenous retroviruses of the W family and this occurs via Toll-like receptor 4: inference for neuroAIDS. | The objective of this study is to verify whether HIV activates two endogenous retroviruses of the human endogenous retrovirus (HERV)-W family, multiple sclerosis-associated retrovirus (MSRV) and Syncytin-1, whose neuropathogenic and immunopathogenic properties could contribute to HIV-related neurodegeneration. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells, monocyte-macrophages and astrocytes were either infected by HIV or exposed to HIV-Tat, and/or other treatments. The expression of transcripts and proteins of interest was evaluated by real-time RT-PCR and western blotting assays, respectively. HIV and Tat increase the levels of MSRVenv mRNAs and HERV-Wenv proteins in astrocytes and in blood cells. In monocyte-macrophages, Tat also induces high levels of CCR2, CD16 and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) molecules. Syncytin-1 response to Tat depends on the cell context: in monocytes, Tat stimulates MSRVenv and inhibits Syncytin-1, while in differentiated macrophages, it stimulates both elements. In primary astrocytes, Tat stimulates MSRV and Syncytin-1 indirectly, through interaction with TLR4 and induction of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), without internalization. In-vivo consequence of the study could be that, through increase of CD16 and CCR2, Tat promotes neuroinvasion not only by HIV-infected monocytes/macrophages but also by the HERV-Ws, with their neuropathogenic potential. Also, the novel finding of TLR4 stimulation by Tat may be of relevance, as TLR4 is critical in neuroinflammation. Within central nervous system (CNS), Tat-induced TNFα could induce high levels of the HERV-Ws, in both macrophages and astrocytes, also without HIV replication. The indirect mechanism by which Tat activates the HERV-Ws through induction of TNFα could add a new piece to the puzzle of CNS pathogenesis, that is the HERV-Wenv contribute to the HIV-related neurodegeneration. | 25,250,834 | [
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Longevity and cost of implantable intrathecal drug delivery systems for chronic pain management: a retrospective analysis of 365 patients. | Intrathecal drug delivery systems represent an important component of interventional strategies for refractory chronic pain syndromes. Continuous intrathecal administration of opioids results in higher subarachnoid drug concentrations, improved pain scores, and less frequent side effects when compared with systemic opioid administration. Substantial costs arise at the time of surgical implantation and at revision for battery depletion or treatment of a complication. Despite current widespread use, the real-world longevity and cost of implanted intrathecal pumps (ITP) has not been fully quantified. Patients with an ITP implanted at Cleveland Clinic Pain Management Center between January 1998 and December 2012 were included. ITP longevity was calculated as the time between implant and explant for depletion of the system's battery. Using the 2013 fee schedule of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the daily cost of having a functioning ITP was calculated. The costs of office visits for pump refills and the cost of intrathecal medications were not included, nor were the possible savings due to decreased utilization of alternate medical services. Three hundred sixty-five patients had 559 pumps implanted. Postlaminectomy syndrome was the most common indication (40%). The median system longevity for all pumps was 5.4 years (97.5% confidence interval: [5.0, 5.8]), including pumps extracted prematurely, as well as those that reached the elective replacement interval. The median ITP longevity was 5.9 years (95% confidence interval: [5.6, 6.1]) for pumps explanted for end of battery life. The median system cost per day was $10.46. The median cost per day of pumps explanted for end of battery life was $9.26, versus $44.59 for pumps explanted prematurely due to complications. Overall, the cohort experienced an increased incidence of pump-related complications and a device longevity that was within the range of the manufacturer's anticipated lifespan. Increasing the lifespan of the ITP and improving patient selection have the potential to significantly improve the cost-effectiveness of intrathecal therapy. | 25,250,852 | [
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Phase 2 study of RO4929097, a gamma-secretase inhibitor, in metastatic melanoma: SWOG 0933. | Aberrant Notch activation confers a proliferative advantage to many human tumors, including melanoma. This phase 2 trial assessed the antitumor activity of RO4929097, a gamma-secretase inhibitor of Notch signaling, with respect to the progression-free and overall survival of patients with advanced melanoma. Chemotherapy-naive patients with metastatic melanoma of cutaneous or unknown origin were treated orally with RO4929097 at a dose of 20 mg daily 3 consecutive days per week. A 2-step accrual design was used with an interim analysis of the first 32 patients and with continuation of enrollment if 4 or more of the 32 patients responded. Thirty-six patients from 23 institutions were enrolled; 32 patients were evaluable. RO4929097 was well tolerated, and most toxicities were grade 1 or 2. The most common toxicities were nausea (53%), fatigue (41%), and anemia (22%). There was 1 confirmed partial response lasting 7 months, and there were 8 patients with stable disease lasting at least through week 12, with 1 of these continuing for 31 months. The 6-month progression-free survival rate was 9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2%-22%), and the 1-year overall survival rate was 50% (95% CI, 32%-66%). Peripheral blood T-cell assays showed no significant inhibition of the production of interleukin-2, a surrogate pharmacodynamic marker of Notch inhibition, and this suggested that the drug levels were insufficient to achieve Notch target inhibition. RO4929097 showed minimal clinical activity against metastatic melanoma in this phase 2 trial, possibly because of inadequate exposure to therapeutic drug levels. Although Notch inhibition remains a compelling target in melanoma, the results do not support further investigation of RO4929097 with this dose and schedule. | 25,250,858 | [
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A comparative study of transulnar and transradial artery access for percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with acute coronary syndrome. | Transradial access has become commonly used for elective evaluation of patients with coronary artery disease, but it has some disadvantages and has had limited use in the acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Because the diameter of the ulnar artery is usually larger than that of the radial artery, we hypothesized that the ulnar artery could be used as an access for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The present study compares the feasibility, safety, and outcome of transulnar artery and transradial artery access for PCI in patients with ACS. We reviewed 636 patients who had PCI for ACS from May 2006 to May 2009. The patients were randomly assigned to transulnar intervention (TUI; 317) or transradial intervention (TRI; 319). Several outcomes were similar in the TUI and TRI groups: success rate of first puncture, duration of guiding catheter engagement, puncture-to-balloon inflation time, final thrombolysis in myocardial grade 3 flow, complications at the vascular access site, and postprocedure complications. The incidence of severe arterial spasm and forearm hematoma in the TUI groups was significantly less than that in the TRI group. At 1-year follow-up, the level of blood oxygen saturation at the middle finger and Doppler ultrasonographic characteristics of the ulnar artery did not significantly change from pre-PCI values for these criteria in either group. The TUI approach has results and access complications similar to the TRI approach and is a safe and feasible alternative for ACS patients. | 25,250,862 | [
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Monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of non-haematological tumours: update of an expanding scenario. | The identification of cell membrane-bound molecules with a relevant role in cancer cell survival prompted the development of moAbs to block the related pathways. In the last few years, the number of approved moAbs for cancer treatment has constantly increased. Many of these drugs significantly improved the survival outcomes in patients with solid tumours. In this review, all the FDA-approved moAbs in solid tumours have been described. This is an update of moAbs available for cancer treatment nowadays in comparison with the moAbs approved until few years ago. The moAbs under development are also discussed here. The research on cancer antigens as therapeutic targets led to an expanding scenario of available treatment options in non-haematological malignancies. In a few years, the number of approved drugs has increased rapidly. Some of these agents are actually on label in combination with standard chemotherapy. Only some of them can be delivered as monotherapy. The research on these new drugs is addressing both the identification of further target molecules in key cancer-related pathways and the improvement of drug effectiveness by changing the affinity and the selectivity of a moAb relative to its target. | 25,250,872 | [
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Biosynthesis of antifungal and antibacterial polyketides by Burkholderia gladioli in coculture with Rhizopus microsporus. | Fungi-bacteria interactions can impact the course of fungal infection and biotechnological use. The mucoralean fungus Rhizopus microsporus, traditionally used in food fermentations (tempe and sufu), is frequently accompanied by Burkholderia gladioli pv. cocovenenans. When producing tempe bongkrek, the bacterial contamination can lead to lethal food-related intoxications caused by the respiratory toxin bongkrekic acid. To unveil the metabolic potential of the fungus-associated bacterium, we sequenced its genome, assigned secondary metabolite biosynthesis gene clusters and monitored the metabolic profile under various growth conditions. In addition to the bongkrekic acid biosynthesis gene cluster we found gene clusters coding for the biosynthesis of toxoflavin and a complex polyketide. The orphan polyketide synthase gene cluster was activated under conditions that emulate tempe production, which enabled isolation and structure elucidation of four members of the enacyloxin family of antibiotics, out of which one is new. Moreover, we found that the fungus positively influences the growth of the bacteria and dramatically increases bongkrekic acid production in stationary culture, which inhibits the growth of the fungus. These results showcase the context-dependent formation of antifungal and antibacterial agents at the fungal-bacterial interface, which may also serve as a model for scenarios observed in mixed infections. | 25,250,879 | [
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Morphological variation of the Scorpionfly Panorpa obtusa Cheng (Mecoptera: Panorpidae) with a new synonym. | The overabundance of synonyms is an unavoidable by-product of taxonomic practice in insects. How to reduce or even eliminate synonymy has long been a great challenge for insect taxonomists. The scorpionflies Panorpa obtusa Cheng, 1949 and Panorpa leei Cheng, 1949 (Insecta: Mecoptera: Panorpidae) were originally described from Taibaishan in the Qinling Mountains with identical collection data and both are based on a single gender, the former on a male and the latter on two females. However, whether P. leei is conspecific with P. obtusa or a good species remains an unsolved problem. On the basis of intensive morphological comparison of 93 males and 53 females of scorpionflies collected from the type locality using light and scanning electron microscopy, we found P. obtusa has considerable morphological variation (especially the wing markings and genitalia in both male and female), and Panorpa leei is totally comprised of one of the morphs of P. obtusa. In combination with identical type localities and overlapping morphological variation, P. leei Cheng is proposed as a junior subjective synonym of P. obtusa Cheng. To avoid synonyms, taxonomists should pay more attention to individual variation and base decisions on a series of specimens to describe new species. | 25,250,880 | [
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Orienting the heterocyclic periphery: a structural model for chloroquine's antimalarial activity. | The antimalarial drug chloroquine binds to gallium proto-porphyrin-IX in methanol and in the solid state and represents a unique drug-heme model. | 25,250,883 | [
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Chlorella protects against hydrogen peroxide-induced pancreatic β-cell damage. | Oxidative stress has been implicated in the etiology of pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and diabetes. Studies have shown that chlorella could be important in health promotion or disease prevention through its antioxidant capacity. However, whether chlorella has a cytoprotective effect in pancreatic β-cells remains to be elucidated. We investigated the protective effects of chlorella on H2O2-induced oxidative damage in INS-1 (832/13) cells. Chlorella partially restored cell viability after H2O2 toxicity. To further investigate the effects of chlorella on mitochondria function and cellular oxidative stress, we analyzed mitochondria membrane potential, ATP concentrations, and cellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Chlorella prevented mitochondria disruption and maintained cellular ATP levels after H2O2 toxicity. It also normalized intracellular levels of ROS to that of control in the presence of H2O2. Chlorella protected cells from apoptosis as indicated by less p-Histone and caspase 3 activation. In addition, chlorella not only enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), but also partially restored the reduced GSIS after H2O2 toxicity. Our results suggest that chlorella is effective in amelioration of cellular oxidative stress and destruction, and therefore protects INS-1 (832/13) cells from H2O2-induced apoptosis and increases insulin secretion. Chlorella should be studied for use in the prevention or treatment of diabetes. | 25,250,885 | [
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Outcomes in biliary malignancy. | The biliary malignancies that are reviewed here are gallbladder cancer (GBC), intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHC), and perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (PHC). The focus is on outcomes after potentially curative resection of biliary malignancies. Key outcomes are postoperative mortality, median and 5-year overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival, and recurrence patterns. Poor prognostic factors for recurrence and survival as well as prognostic models are also discussed. The incidence of biliary malignancies in the United States is about 5 in 100,000. Postoperative mortality for resection of GBC and IHC is similar to that of liver resections for other indications. However, 90 day postoperative mortality after liver resection for PHC is about 10%. For GBC, median OS depends strongly on the T-stage and ranges from 8 months (pT3) to 79 months (pT1b). Median OS after resection for IHC is about 30 months, and for PHC about 38 months. The majority of patients with biliary malignancies develop a recurrence after resection. Patients with GBC recur early with a median time to recurrence of 12 months, versus about 20 months for IHC and PHC. In patients with resected IHC or PHC locoregional recurrence was the only site of recurrence in about 60% of patients, versus 15% in patients with GBC. Poor prognostic factors after resection of all biliary malignancies include the presence of lymph node metastasis, a positive surgical resection margin, and moderate or poor tumor differentiation. Several prognostic nomograms have been developed to predict long-term outcomes of biliary cancer resection. | 25,250,887 | [
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Accuracy and completeness of drug information in Wikipedia: a comparison with standard textbooks of pharmacology. | The online resource Wikipedia is increasingly used by students for knowledge acquisition and learning. However, the lack of a formal editorial review and the heterogeneous expertise of contributors often results in skepticism by educators whether Wikipedia should be recommended to students as an information source. In this study we systematically analyzed the accuracy and completeness of drug information in the German and English language versions of Wikipedia in comparison to standard textbooks of pharmacology. In addition, references, revision history and readability were evaluated. Analysis of readability was performed using the Amstad readability index and the Erste Wiener Sachtextformel. The data on indication, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, adverse effects and contraindications for 100 curricular drugs were retrieved from standard German textbooks of general pharmacology and compared with the corresponding articles in the German language version of Wikipedia. Quantitative analysis revealed that accuracy of drug information in Wikipedia was 99.7% ± 0.2% when compared to the textbook data. The overall completeness of drug information in Wikipedia was 83.8 ± 1.5% (p < 0.001). Completeness varied in-between categories, and was lowest in the category "pharmacokinetics" (68.0% ± 4.2%; p < 0.001) and highest in the category "indication" (91.3% ± 2.0%) when compared to the textbook data overlap. Similar results were obtained for the English language version of Wikipedia. Of the drug information missing in Wikipedia, 62.5% was rated as didactically non-relevant in a qualitative re-evaluation study. Drug articles in Wikipedia had an average of 14.6 ± 1.6 references and 262.8 ± 37.4 edits performed by 142.7 ± 17.6 editors. Both Wikipedia and textbooks samples had comparable, low readability. Our study suggests that Wikipedia is an accurate and comprehensive source of drug-related information for undergraduate medical education. | 25,250,889 | [
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Pharmacopeial HPLC identification methods are not sufficient to detect adulterations in commercial bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) extracts. Anthocyanin profile provides additional clues. | Current pharmacopeias provide HPLC anthocyanin profiles to identify commercial bilberry extracts. However, the pharmacopeial identification protocols may not be sufficient enough to distinguish genuine bilberry extracts from adulterated material. This is primarily due to the non-inclusion of literature-reported anthocyanin profile and compositional variations in bilberry when sourced from different geographical regions. Using anthocyanin profiles of both authentic bilberry extracts and literature reports, we attempted to provide appropriate identification protocol for genuine bilberry extracts. We compared HPLC anthocyanin profiles of selected 'suspected' adulterant species and adulterant-spiked bilberry extracts to decipher clues to infer adulteration. The clues include appearance of new anthocyanin peaks and changes in compositional ratios of anthocyanins. In addition, we attempted to provide likely adulterants based on 'economic motivation' and market place information and appropriate clues to identify them in adulterated commercial bilberry extracts. | 25,250,894 | [
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Relationship between bent long bones, bent scapulae, and wavy ribs: malformations or variations? | Shortened and bent long bones and bent scapulae are sometimes reported in fetuses with wavy ribs (Carney and Kimmel, ). Wavy ribs are typically seen in the presence of maternal and developmental toxicity, are transient and reversible postnatally, and are considered to be variations rather than malformations. We further assessed the literature cited in Kimmel and Carney () as well as papers published since then to determine under what conditions bent long bones in the absence of gross limb defects and bent scapulae were reported and whether information was available on the transient or permanent nature of these effects. Long bone and/or scapular changes almost always occurred at a lower incidence than wavy ribs. In every case, maternal and fetal toxicity occurred at the same dose levels. In a few studies, pups were followed sequentially after birth and bent long bones and scapulae were transient in nature and appeared normal by the time of weaning. Rabbits were much less likely to show wavy ribs or long bone and scapular changes at birth, even in the presence of severe maternal and fetal toxicity. This species difference may be due in part to the great increase in bone mass and remodeling that occurs during the first few postnatal weeks in rodents, but which takes place during the longer fetal period in rabbits. Our conclusion from this review is that bent long bones and scapulae, like wavy ribs, appear to be secondary to maternal and developmental toxicity, are transient, and like wavy ribs should be considered variations rather than malformations. | 25,250,905 | [
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Biochemical characterization of a carboxylesterase from the archaeon Pyrobaculum sp. 1860 and a rational explanation of its substrate specificity and thermostability. | In this work, genome mining was used to identify esterase/lipase genes in the archaeon Pyrobaculum sp. 1860. A gene was cloned and functionally expressed in Escherichia coli as His-tagged protein. The recombinant enzyme (rP186_1588) was verified by western blotting and peptide mass fingerprinting. Biochemical characterization revealed that rP186_1588 exhibited optimum activity at pH 9.0 and 80 °C towards p-nitrophenyl acetate (K(m): 0.35 mM, k(cat): 11.65 s⁻¹). Interestingly, the purified rP186_1588 exhibited high thermostability retaining 70% relative activity after incubation at 90 °C for 6 h. Circular dichroism results indicated that rP186_1588 showed slight structure alteration from 60 to 90 °C. Structural modeling showed P186_1588 possessed a typical α/β hydrolase's fold with the catalytic triad consisting of Ser97, Asp147 and His172, and was further confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis. Comparative molecular simulations at different temperatures (300, 353, 373 and 473 K) revealed that its thermostability was associated with its conformational rigidity. The binding free energy analysis by MM-PBSA method revealed that the van der Waals interaction played a major role in p-NP ester binding for P186_1588. Our data provide insights into the molecular structures of this archaeal esterase, and may help to its further protein engineering for industrial applications. | 25,250,909 | [
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