Reversible Supramolecular Noncovalent Self-Assembly Determines the Optical Properties and the Formation of Melanin-like Nanoparticles.
The role of noncovalent supramolecular self-assembly in the formation of melanin-like NP, as well as the nature of the electronic transition at the basis of their unique optical properties, is strongly debated. Here we demonstrate that, during the first stage of formation of synthetic melanin, polydopamine (PDA), a small fraction of the molecular precursor dopamine (DA) is oxidized to quinone (Q) and a simple supramolecular charge-transfer (CT) adduct is formed thanks to the electron donor and electron acceptor properties of DA and Q, respectively. This adduct, also detectable by HPLC-MS, presents the broad absorption band in the red-NIR region typical of melanin-like materials. Importantly, its disaggregation upon dilution can be easily detected since it leads to the disappearance of the CT band, indicating the reversibility of the process. Moreover, the stability constant K of the CT adduct could be obtained using a simple association model.


Actinomyces israelii may produce vulvar lesions suspicious for malignancy.
We present a case of Actinomyces israelii causing vulvar mass suspicious for malignancy in a postmenopausal woman. A 60 year-old woman presented due to a firm, nonmobile, 10 cm vulvar mass, which had been rapidly enlarging for 5 months. The mass was painful, with localized pruritus and sinus tracts oozing of serosanguinous fluid. Biopsy and cultures revealed a ruptured epidermal inclusion cyst containing granulation tissue and Actinomyces israelii. Actinomyces israelii may produce vulvar lesions that are suspicious for malignancy. Thus, biopsies and cultures are both mandatory while evaluating vulvar masses suspicious for malignancy.


[Active engagements in proffering for the most effective medical care--involvement of the department of clinical laboratory medicine].
What is the most effective medical care for patients? That which immediately comes to one's mind may be that people can receive medical help by consulting a respected clinician whenever necessary, and can get proper medical care without financial difficulties. However, high-quality medical care is not always provided, even if clinicians are very capable. For improvements in medical quality and services for patients, it is essential for experts in all medical fields to carry out their responsibilities, and establish a medical team approach through close communication and cooperation. It seems that, particularly in the department of clinical laboratory, the following are necessary: prompt and accurate medical examinations, promoting and enhancing support such as through advisory services(clinical laboratory consulting services), interpretive comments (the clinical meaning of examination results), and other clinical services, as well as the provision of information related to clinical laboratory testing to medical staff via workshops and Internet websites, innovation of new methods and advanced technologies, and attempting to improve medicoeconomic efficiency. As for the contributions of such clinical support, it is expected that they will be increasingly required for the development of the medical team approach. This report introduces our institution's approach regarding medical support and clinical services for patients and medical personnel during routine work.


Electric-Field Control in Phosphorene-Based Heterostructures.
Phosphorene is a graphene-like material with an intermediate band gap, in contrast to zero-gap graphene and large-gap dichalcogenides or hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), which makes it more suitable for nanoelectronic devices. However, inducing band-gap modulation in freestanding phosphorene nanoribbons (PNRs) is problematic, as high in-plane electric fields are necessary to close the gap. We perform here a detailed investigation concerning the substrate influence on the electric-field control exerted by an external gate, using the density functional theory-non-equilibrium Green's functions (DFT-NEGF) framework. It is established that the interaction with a hexagonal boron nitride supporting layer significantly enhances the gap modulation. Furthermore, we address the issue of contacting the PNRs, by using conducting graphene nanoribbons embedded in the support hBN layer. Within this setup, a measurable spin polarization is achieved owing to the anti-ferromagnetic coupling between the edges of the graphene nanoribbons.


Shiverer gene maps near the distal end of chromosome 18 in the house mouse.
Several mouse mutations cause unstable locomotion, tremor, seizures, and a reduced lifespan because of deficient myelin formation in the central nervous system. Mutant alleles at the shiverer (shi) locus are the only ones in this series with a selective molecular defect, namely, in myelin basic proteins (MBPs), which are virtually absent in shi homozygotes and 50% reduced in heterozygotes. In the present study, backcross and intercross matings indicate recombination of 21.2 +/- 3.3% between myelin deficient, shimld, and fused phalanges, syfp, a marker near the middle of chromosome 18. Recombination of shimld with twirler (Tw), a marker near the centromere, is 45.7 +/- 4.9%. Thus, the shi locus maps near the distal end of mouse chromosome 18 and is the first available marker for this region. Given the evidence of other workers that an MBP locus maps to the same mouse chromosome, and that part of this chromosome may be syntenic with an MBP-PEPA region on human chromosome 18, it is likely that shi is in or near an MBP gene.


Identification of a peroxisome-proliferator-activated-receptor response element in the apolipoprotein E gene control region.
Apolipoprotein E (apoE) is a protein involved in reverse cholesterol transport. Among other tissues, apoE is expressed in macrophages where its expression increases when macrophages develop into foam cells. It has been recently shown that peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) is involved in this conversion. Northern-blot analysis was carried out in the macrophage cell line THP1 to determine whether apoE mRNA levels were regulated by ciglitazone, a PPARgamma inducer. The results indicated that treatment with ciglitazone doubled the levels of apoE mRNA. To identify a possible PPARgamma response element (PPRE), several portions of apoE gene control region were used to construct luciferase reporter plasmids. In U-87 MG cells, a 185 bp fragment located in the apoE/apoCI intergenic region was sufficient to induce a 10-fold increase in the luciferase activity of the extract of cells co-transfected with a PPARgamma expression plasmid. Subsequent analysis revealed the presence of a sequence with a high level of sequence similarity to the consensus PPRE. Mutations in this sequence resulted in a lack of functionality both in transient transfection and in electrophoretic-mobility-shift assays. These results demonstrated the presence of a functional PPRE in the apoE/apoCI intergenic region. These results have implications for the regulation of apoE gene expression and could be relevant for understanding the anti-atherogenic effect of thiazolidinediones.


[Knowledge and practices regarding iron prescription by medical staff of the pediatric ward in the Gabriel Touré university hospital of Bamako, Mali].
To assess knowledge and practices on iron prescription in the pediatric ward of the Gabriel Touré university hospital of Bamako, Mali. A cross-sectional study was carried out from the 1st to 31st July 2012 in the service. We presented the participants with a questionnaire and analyzed the medical files of children aged 1-60 months old who received an iron prescription. Each prescriber's consent was solicited and obtained prior to the study. Fifty prescribers were interviewed, among them 10 pediatricians (20%), 31 pediatrics' residents (62%), 2 generalist physicians (4%), 7 medical student (14%); and 100 medical records were analyzed. More than half of the prescribers were aware of the need of iron in children, with 42% knowing about iron reserves. 8% of prescribers knew that iron absorbed through food was heme iron or non-heme iron. Thirty percent of patients received iron at a dose of 8 to 10mg/kg. Length of treatment was not indicated in 92% of patients. In our context, sufficient theoretical knowledge and of children's iron need did not exclude bad prescription practices. Future studies should analyze the reasons of behind this discrepancy.


[Antiretroviral treatment associated life-threatening adverse events].
The primary goal of the highly active antiretroviral treatment is to improve HIV-infected patient immune function through maintaining viral suppression. However, this treatment may lead to adverse events, some of them potentially serious. This article emphasizes on the antiretroviral therapy associated adverse events and their management recommendations, especially for serious or potentially life-threatening cases. Adverse events analyzed in this article include side effects derived from mitochondrial toxicity, abacavir hypersensitivity reaction, hepatotoxicity, skin rash and Stevens-Johnson syndrome, increased bleeding episodes in hemophilic patients and nephrotoxicity. In some cases, a high suspicion is needed because the onset symptoms may be unspecific.


High-Performance Bifunctional Ni-Fe-S Catalyst in situ Synthesized within Graphite Intergranular Nanopores for Overall Water Splitting.
Low-cost and efficient bifunctional catalysts are urgently needed for overall water splitting used in large-scale energy storage. In this study, we develop a nickel and iron (di)sulfide (Ni-Fe-S) composite catalyst that is in situ synthesized and fixed within the intergranular nanopores inside high pure polycrystalline graphite. Two precursor solutions (reactants) may permeate the graphite intergranular pores to a depth of more than 3.5 mm. The nanoscale pores serve as an array of nanoreactors for the synthesis of the Ni-Fe-S nanoparticles under conditions much milder than usual. The prepared catalyst efficiently catalyzes both the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER) in 1.0 M KOH. It delivers a current density of 400 mA cm-2 at a full cell voltage of around 2.3 V without considerable activity decay over 24 h electrolysis. The active species of the catalyst are different for the HER and OER and discussed accordingly. The synthesis strategy based on the nanopores in a monolithic conductive substrate proves to be a simple, efficient, and promising way to prepare electrocatalysts that are cheap, abundant, and industrially attractive.


Treatment and recovery rate in depression: a critical analysis.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency and consequences of the presence of residual symptoms in patients treated for major depression. The literature specifically focused on recovery and residual symptomatology of depression was reviewed. Thirty per cent or more of treated patients present residual symptoms. These symptoms appear to be associated with a higher frequency and larger number of relapses and equally affect the outcome of depression in different age groups. They also seem to have a major impact on work and psychosocial functioning because of cognitive dysfunction and a reduction in social interaction affecting patients' quality of life. We found that there is scant literature on residual symptoms contrasting with the profuse reports on single or multiple antidepressant drug trials. Studies focusing on this important issue in the treatment of depression are needed.


C19 adrenal steroids enhance prostaglandin F2 alpha output by human endometrium in vitro.
Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate significantly increased prostaglandin F2 alpha output by fragments of human secretory endometrium during the first and second 24-hour periods of incubation in Ham's F-10 medium containing 10% charcoal-treated calf bovine serum. The effects of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate were noted at 10(-6) mol/L concentrations, which are close to the normal plasma levels of this compound. For the purpose of comparison, the effects of estradiol at 10(-8) mol/L and those of unconjugated dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone acetate, 5-androstene-3 beta, 17 beta-diol, or 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone were evaluated at 10(-8) to 10(-8) mol/L concentrations in parallel experiments. All of the delta 5-C19 steroids tested enhanced prostaglandin F2 alpha output at 10(-6) mol/L but not at 10(-8) mol/L; 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone was inactive at 10(-6) mol/L but showed a stimulatory effect at 10(-5) mol/L in two experiments. The stimulation of prostaglandin F2 alpha production by the adrenal steroids was significantly reduced by the antiestrogen 4-hydroxytamoxifen at 10(-6) mol/L (a finding consistent with the reported utilization of the estrogen receptor for their actions on other systems) but was not affected by the antiandrogen 4-hydroxyflutamide at 10(-6) mol/L. Progesterone (10(-7) mol/L) also lowered the effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (10(-6) mol/L) and 5-androstene-3 beta,17 beta-diol (10(-6) mol/L), as well as those of estradiol (10(-8) mol/L). delta 5-C19 steroids at 10(-6) mol/L levels did not antagonize the effect of 10(-8) mol/L estradiol, whereas 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone reduced it by 50% at these concentrations. The significant effect of 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone points to potential antiestrogenic effects of the C19 compounds that may be manifested in vivo at particular C19/estradiol concentration ratios. The demonstration of direct estrogenic effects of delta 5-C19 steroids, which are not significantly converted to estrogens in vivo, justifies their use in estrogen replacement preparations and indicates that aromatase inhibitors may not eliminate completely the stimulation of estrogen-responsive breast and endometrial tumors by the patient's adrenal steroids.


Dyadobacter bucti sp. nov., isolated from subsurface sediment.
A Gram-reaction-negative, yellow-pigmented, rod-shaped, aerobic, non-motile, non-spore-forming bacterium, designated strain QTA69T, was isolated from a subsurface sediment sample collected at the Qiangtang basin, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, PR China. Cells were catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain QTA69T was a member of the genus Dyadobacter and was closely related to Dyadobacter sediminis, Dyadobacter ginsengisoli and Dyadobacter psychrophilus with sequence similarities from 97.90 % to 96.85 %. Strain QTA69T grew at 4-35 °C, and the optimum temperature was 25-28 °C. It grew at the pH range of 6.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0-8.0) and its NaCl tolerance was 0-2.0 % (optimum, 0-1.0 %). The major cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (iso-C15 : 0 2-OH and C 16:1ω6c/C16 : 1ω7c), iso-C15 : 0 and C16 : 1ω5c. The major respiratory quinone was MK-7 and the major polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine. Genome sequencing revealed a genome size of 8.41 Mbp and a G+C content of 46.87 mol%. Based on whole genome average nucleotide identity values, phenotypic data, phylogenetic data and genotypic data, strain QTA69T represents a novel species of genus Dyadobacter, for which the name Dyadobacter bucti sp. nov is proposed. The type strain is QTA69T (=CGMCC 1.13688T=KCTC 72024T).


Water Reclamation Using a Ceramic Nanofiltration Membrane and Surface Flushing with Ozonated Water.
A new membrane fouling control technique using ozonated water flushing was evaluated for direct nanofiltration (NF) of secondary wastewater effluent using a ceramic NF membrane. Experiments were conducted at a permeate flux of 44 L/m²h to evaluate the ozonated water flushing technique for fouling mitigation. Surface flushing with clean water did not effectively remove foulants from the NF membrane. In contrast, surface flushing with ozonated water (4 mg/L dissolved ozone) could effectively remove most foulants to restore the membrane permeability. This surface flushing technique using ozonated water was able to limit the progression of fouling to 35% in transmembrane pressure increase over five filtration cycles. Results from this study also heighten the need for further development of ceramic NF membrane to ensure adequate removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) for water recycling applications. The ceramic NF membrane used in this study showed approximately 40% TOC rejection, and the rejection of PPCPs was generally low and highly variable. It is expected that the fouling mitigation technique developed here is even more important for ceramic NF membranes with smaller pore size and thus better PPCP rejection.


The sublingual administration of curare.
A new method of administering d-tubocurarine transmucosally by sublingual pellets (and also by rectal suppository) was used in 100 patients. In therapeutic dosage of 6 to 12 mg., it was found to be non-toxic and very effective in relieving pain due to acute and chronic muscle spasm. The relief was often of long duration or permanent and no unpleasant side effects were noted in any case. The drug was found to be more prompt and more effective in its action than mephenesin. In addition to relief of pain, it was found to be useful in distinguishing between kinds of pain and hence in differential diagnosis.


Optimizing the optical and magneto-optical response of all-dielectric metasurfaces with tilted side walls.
All-dielectric metasurfaces based on ferrimagnetic iron garnets are a promising platform for realizing ultra-compact magneto-optical (MO) devices with low loss. However, ferrimagnetic iron garnets are notorious for being intractable on fine nanopatterning, hindering the faithful fabrication of designed nanostructures. In this regard, it is important to assess the influence of fabrication imperfections on the performance of MO metasurfaces. Here, we investigate the optical properties of a MO metasurface with structural imperfections. As the most typical fabrication error, we studied the impact of the tilted side walls of cylindrical garnet disks that constitute the metasurfaces. We found that tilting the side walls drastically degrades the MO response and light transmittance of the device. Nevertheless, it was also found that the performance can be recovered by optimizing the refractive index of the material covering the upper half of the nanodisks.


Relationship of pelvis and torso angular jerk to hand velocity in female softball hitting.
The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of pelvis and torso angular jerk on a performance indicator of hitting, specifically hand velocity. Eighteen softball athletes were analysed (20.3 ± 1.6 years; 164.9 ± 24.9 cm; 74.4 ± 14.0 kg). Participants were instructed to execute 3 maximum effort swings off a stationary tee at the middle "strike-zone" location. Angular jerk data were analysed during the acceleration phase of the swing, the time between foot contact and ball contact. Quadratic regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship of minimal pelvis angular jerk and minimal torso angular jerk to angular hand velocity at ball contact. No significant relationship was found between pelvis angular jerk and angular hand velocity at ball contact (r = 0.192, p = 0.754). The curvilinear regression model for pelvis angular jerk produced: R2 = 0.037; F (2, 17) = 0.288; p = 0.754. Lack of significant findings suggests a relationship between jerk and angular hand velocity does not exist within female softball hitting. Future research should investigate the timing of minimal jerk through the acceleration phase as a predictor of angular hand velocity, rather than the value of jerk itself.


Oridonin enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis through GALNT14-mediated DR5 glycosylation.
Oridonin is a diterpenoid isolated from the Rabdosia rubescens and has multiple biological effects, such as anti-inflammation and anti-tumor activities. In present study, we revealed that the sensitizing effect of oridonin on tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-induced apoptosis in several cancer cells, but not in normal cells. Oridonin enhanced death-signaling inducing complexes (DISC) formation and DR5 glycosylation without affecting expression of downstream intracellular apoptosis-related proteins. Oridonin upregulated peptidyl O-glycosyltransferase GALNT14 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Knockdown of GALNT14 by siRNA and Endo H treatment reduced oridonin-induced DR5 glycosylation. Furthermore, treatment with inhibitor of glycosylation (benzyl-α-GalNAc) blocked oridonin plus TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Collectively, our results suggest that oridonin-induced DR5 glycosylation contributes to TRAIL-induced apoptotic cell death in cancer cells.


ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter Family C Protein 10 Participates in the Synthesis and Efflux of Hexosylceramides in Liver Cells.
In addition to sphingomyelin and ceramide, sugar derivatives of ceramides, hexosylceramides (HexCer) are the major circulating sphingolipids. We have shown that silencing of ABCA1 transmembrane protein function for instance in cases of loss of function of ABCA1 gene results in low levels of HDL as well as a concomitant reduction in plasma HexCer levels. However, proteins involved in hepatic synthesis and egress of HexCer from cells is not well known although ABCA1 seems to be indirectly controlling the HexCer plasma levels by supporting HDL synthesis. In this study, we hypothesized that protein(s) other than ABCA1 are involved in the transport of HexCer to HDL. Using an unbiased knockdown approach, we found that ATP-binding cassette transporter protein C10 (ABCC10) participates in the synthesis of HexCer and thereby affects egress to HDL in human hepatoma Huh-7 cells. Furthermore, livers from ABCC10 deficient mice had significantly lower levels of HexCer compared to wild type livers. These studies suggest that ABCC10 partakes in modulating the synthesis and subsequent efflux of HexCer to HDL in liver cells.


Scents of adolescence: the maturation of the olfactory phenotype in a free-ranging mammal.
Olfaction is an important sensory modality for mate recognition in many mammal species. Odorants provide information about the health status, genotype, dominance status and/or reproductive status. How and when odor profiles change during sexual maturation is, however often unclear, particularly in free-ranging mammals. Here, we investigated whether the wing sac odorant of male greater sac-winged bats (Saccopteryx bilineata, Emballonuridae) differs between young and adults, and thus offers information about sexual maturity to potential mating partners. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, we found differences in the odorants of young and adult males prior and during, but not after the mating period. The wing sac odorant of adult males consists of several substances, such as Pyrocoll, 2,6,10-trimethyl-3-oxo-6,10-dodecadienolide, and a so far unidentified substance; all being absent in the odor profiles of juveniles prior to the mating season. During the mating season, these substances are present in most of the juvenile odorants, but still at lower quantities compared to the wing sac odorants of adults. These results suggest that the wing sac odorant of males encodes information about age and/or sexual maturity. Although female S. bilineata start to reproduce at the age of half a year, most males of the same age postpone the sexual maturation of their olfactory phenotype until after the first mating season.


sp2-sp3 hybridized mixed diboron: synthesis, characterization, and copper-catalyzed beta-boration of alpha,beta-unsaturated conjugated compounds.
A novel sp(2)-sp(3) hybridized mixed diboron and its reactivity on the copper-catalyzed beta-boration of alpha,beta-unsaturated conjugated compounds to afford the corresponding beta-borated compounds is reported. The presence of sp(3)-hybridized boron provides a mild beta-boration condition in the absence of phosphine and base additives. Finally, our investigations demonstrate that the sp(2)-hybridized boron of the mixed diboron is selectively transferred to the beta-carbon of conjugated substrates.


Macrophage-modulating cytokines predict adverse outcome in heart failure.
Cytokines regulating the mobilisation, recruitment and survival of mononuclear cells may play an important role in progression of heart failure. Therefore, we investigated the role of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) in patients with advanced heart failure. G-CSF, MCP-1 and M-CSF were determined in plasma of 351 patients with advanced heart failure by specific ELISAs. During a median follow up period of 16 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 15-17 months) 175 patients (50%) experienced the composite endpoint rehospitalisation and all-cause mortality. M-CSF tertiles were associated with a gradually increasing risk with hazard ratios (HR) of 2.2 (95% CI: 1.5-3.2; for trend, p<0.001) for the composite endpoint and 2.6 (95% CI: 1.5-4.6; for trend, p=0.002) for all-cause mortality comparing third and first tertile. These associations remained significant in a multivariable Cox regression model after adjustment for BNP and other known risk factors (p=0.043 and p=0.024). High MCP-1 concentrations were associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality with an adjusted HR of 1.9 (third vs. first tertile, 95% CI: 1.1-3.3; for trend, p=0.034). In contrast, G-CSF tertiles were not significantly associated with the composite endpoint or all-cause mortality in multivariable Cox regression. In conclusion, the independent and concentration-dependent association of macrophage-modulating cytokines and in particular of M-CSF with adverse outcome in advanced HF patients suggests that these cytokines may play an important pathophysiological role in progression of cardiomyopathy.


Use of Inpatient Behavioral Health Services by Children and Adolescents With Private Insurance Coverage.
This study examined trends in hospitalizations of youths for behavioral health conditions in acute care hospital nonpsychiatric beds, acute care hospital psychiatric and detoxification beds, and specialty psychiatric hospitals. Using data on hospitalizations for behavioral health conditions in 2009 (N=21,805) and 2014 (N=27,550) from the MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database, this study examined the percentage of youths (ages two to 18) with one or more hospitalizations, by demographic characteristic and bed type, and the behavioral health diagnoses for which patients were hospitalized. The greatest increase in hospitalizations of youths occurred in acute care hospital psychiatric and detoxification beds. The percentage of hospitalizations for suicidal ideation or self-harm injuries increased by 17.8 (N=526) to 30.0 (N=1,249) percentage points, depending on bed type. The continued trend of rising hospitalizations of youths is consistent with recent studies showing a doubling of hospitalizations of youths for suicide and self-harm.


[Exchange Fluxes and Coupling Relationship of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon and Dissolved Organic Carbon Across the Water-Sediment Interface in Lakes].
In this work, the exchange fluxes and coupling relationship of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were investigated across the water-sediment interface in Lake Wuliangsuhai and Daihai by employing columnar simulation method. The results showed that the sediments in non-Phragmitescommunis area from Lake Wuliangsuhai functioned as the sources of DIC and DOC for overlying water, whereas the sediments from Lake Daihai as the sinks during the period of summer (90 days). In the experimental period, the average exchange rates of DIC and DOC were 71.07 mmol x (m2 x d)(-1) and 185.09 mmol x (m2 x d)(-1) in non-Phragmitescommunis area from Lake Wuliangsuhai, respectively; while in Lake Daihai, they were 155.75 mmol x (m2 x d)(-1) and -1478.08 mmol x (m2 x d)(-1) in shoal water zone, and -486.53 mmol x (m2 x d)(-1) and -1274.02 mmol x (m2 x d)(-1) in deep water zone, respectively. The coupling effects between DIC and DOC were governed by hydrobios, microbial uptake, abiotic and microbiological degradation in Lake Wuliangsuhai and in shoal water zone of Lake Daihai; while they were closely related to the coprecipitation process of CaCO3 and the fraction distribution of inorganic carbon in sediments in deep water zone of Lake Daihai. In summary, the sink or source functions of sediments could be considered as the results of synthetic action of lake types, offshore distance, geohydrochemistry and the fraction distribution of inorganic carbon.


[Apoptosis of lens epithelial cell induced by curcumin and its mechanism].
To investigate the effects of natural drug curcumin (Cur) on apoptosis of lens epithelial cell (LEC) in vitro and its mechanism. The bovine LEC were cultured with Cur, the ultrastructure changes were observed under transmission electron microscope (TEM), the DNA content and mitochondrial transmembrane potential (DeltaPsim) changes were studied by flow cytometry (FCM). The typical morphological changes of LEC apoptosis in Cur group detected by TEM included chromatin condensation and aggregation at the periphery of the nucleons and nuclear fragmentation. The DNA content of LEC in Cur group decreased time-dependently. The DNA content was significantly lower than that of the control group (P < 0.01). The DeltaPsim of LEC in Cur group was decreased, appeared in early stage (8 hours) and reached the maximum after 72 hours. The difference of DeltaPsim of LEC between Cur group and the control group was significant (P < 0.01). Cur can remarkably induce apoptosis of LEC in vitro. Cur induced LEC apoptosis is caused by decrease of DNA content in LEC nucleus. Collapse of DeltaPsim in cytoplasm induced by Cur results in the irreversible apoptosis process of LEC. This is the early event of LEC apoptosis. LEC apoptosis induced by Cur may pass through two pathways: nuclear pathway and cytoplasmic pathway. The apoptosis of LEC induced by Cur may be the cellular and molecular mechanisms of reducing lens posterior capsular opacification by Cur. Cur may become an effective and low toxic medication for the prevention and treatment of after-cataract.


The effect of undersizing and tapping on bone to implant contact and implant primary stability: A histomorphometric study on bovine ribs.
Implant site preparation may be adjusted to achieve the maximum possible primary stability. The aim of this investigation was to study the relation among bone-to-implant contact at insertion, bone density, and implant primary stability intra-operatively measured by a torque-measuring implant motor, when implant sites were undersized or tapped. Undersized (n=14), standard (n=13), and tapped (n=13) implant sites were prepared on 9 segments of bovine ribs. After measuring bone density using the implant motor, 40 implants were placed, and their primary stability assessed by measuring the integral of the torque-depth insertion curve. Bovine ribs were then processed histologically, the bone-to-implant contact measured and statistically correlated to bone density and the integral. Bone-to-implant contact and the integral of the torque-depth curve were significantly greater for undersized sites than tapped sites. Moreover, a correlation between bone to implant contact, the integral and bone density was found under all preparation conditions. The slope of the bone-to-implant/density and integral/density lines was significantly greater for undersized sites, while those corresponding to standard prepared and tapped sites did not differ significantly. The integral of the torque-depth curve provided reliable information about bone-to-implant contact and primary implant stability even in tapped or undersized sites. The linear relations found among the parameters suggests a connection between extent and modality of undersizing and the corresponding increase of the integral and, consequently, of primary stability. These results might help the physician determine the extent of undersizing needed to achieve the proper implant primary stability, according to the planned loading protocol.


Thoracic epidural catheter for postoperative pain control following an ineffective transversus abdominis plane block using liposome bupivacaine.
A 24-year-old female with a history of ulcerative colitis underwent colectomy. The patient received an ineffective transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block with liposome bupivacaine (Exparel) intraoperatively and was started on a hydromorphone patient-controlled analgesia 5 hours after the TAP block, which did not relieve her pain. A continuous thoracic epidural (CTE) was then placed after blood levels of bupivacaine were drawn, and the patient immediately experienced significant pain relief. The combined use of liposome bupivacaine and bupivacaine CTE infusion in the postoperative management of this patient demonstrated no safety concerns, provided excellent analgesia and plasma concentrations of bupivacaine remained far below toxic levels.


In vitro methods for studying human placental amino acid transport placental villous fragments.
A method is described for measuring amino acid uptake by the syncytiotrophoblast of the human placenta in vitro using taurine as an example. Small fragments of placental villous tissue (2-3 mm3) are tied to a comb that enables them to be moved in concert between a series of incubation and wash buffers. The fragments are incubated in control or Na(+)-free Tyrode's buffer containing 3H taurine for timed intervals. Following incubation, the tissue is washed, lysed in water to release the accumulated isotope, and finally denatured in NaOH to determine protein. The water lysate is counted for radioactivity and the Na(+)-dependent component of 3H taurine uptake calculated as the difference between uptake in control and Na(+)-free conditions. Because the taurine transport protein (system beta) is Na(+)-dependent, the Na(+)-dependent component of 3H taurine uptake gives a measure of system beta activity in the microvillous membrane of the syncytiotrophoblast. The method described here in relation to taurine can be applied to other Na(+)-dependent amino acid transport systems. An advantage of the fragment model is that syncytiotrophoblast metabolism and signaling are retained. A disadvantage is that fragments contain many cell types and carrier-mediated amino acid uptake may be into several compartments including syncytiotrophoblast.


Comprehensive chemical analysis of Venenum Bufonis by using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.
A rapid, sensitive and versatile liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) method was developed for the comprehensive analyses of the chemical constituents contained in the Chinese medicine-Venenum Bufonis (VB, Chan' Su in Chinese). LC analysis was carried out on an Agilent Eclipse plus C₁₈ RRHD column (2.1 × 150 mm, 1.8 μm) with a linear gradient solvent system of water (0.1% formic acid) and acetonitrile (0.1% formic acid) as mobile phase. Detection and quantification were performed by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions via electrospray ionization (ESI) source operating in the positive ionization mode. Through "Molecular Feature Extraction" (MFE), more than 900 features were detected from VB extracts. Among them, a total of 97 components were identified using the Agilent METLIN accurate mass matching database (DB) established according to those reported in the literatures. Further more, 30 high quality matches were obtained by comparisons of their accurate mass and retention times (AMRT) with those imported out in the developed personal database (METLIN DB with AMRT). The characteristic fragmentation pathways were proposed for the tentative characterization of four representative types of bufadienolides in the present work. The targeted MS/MS experiment of the 30 major compounds was performed for their quantification and semi-quantification. And 7 of them were quantified over the assaying concentration range of 5.0-500 pg/μL. The lowest limit of detection and quantification of them were 0.25-0.50 and 1.25-0.25 pg/μL, respectively. The recoveries varied from 83 to 106% depending on the chemical types and different extraction solvents. The remained 23 bufosteroids were simultaneously semi-quantified using three representative standard compounds as their standard references, respectively.


[Effect of urea on penetration kinetics of vitamin A acid in human skin].
It is well known that urea can considerably increase the release of drugs from ointment bases and that it is one of the most effective penetration promoters for topically applied drugs. In our present study, therefore, we investigated the influence of urea on the penetration kinetics of vitamin A acid (VAA) into the various layers of human skin. When a vehicle containing urea was applied to the skin, we found increased VAA concentrations depending on the penetration of urea. We discuss the significance of the synergistic properties of VAA and urea in the topical treatment of various skin disease.


Oral trauma and dental emergency management recommendations of first-aid textbooks and manuals.
The recommendations of oral trauma and dental emergencies management of nine first-aid textbooks and manuals from the last two decades were evaluated. Only one book includes all the relevant topics: dental anatomy, management of tooth luxations and avulsion, tooth fracture, mandible dislocation, jaw fracture, intraoral bleeding and dental pain. Two books recommend self-replantation of an avulsed tooth, but four books detail the storage media and evaluate the importance of a quick referral to a dental surgery. In three first-aid books, the only mention of oral trauma is the hazard of choking from tooth fragments, and in one other book, only mandible dislocation is mentioned as oral trauma. The insufficient information of oral trauma management in these first-aid texts partly explains the previous reports of poor and inadequate knowledge in that topic among medics, teachers and the general public.


Biosynthesis of a 3,6-dideoxyhexose: crystallization and X-ray diffraction of CDP-6-deoxy-L-threo-D-glycero-4-hexulose-3-dehydrase (E1) for ascarylose biosynthesis.
CDP-6-deoxy-L-threo-D-glycero-4-hexulose-3-dehydrase (E1), along with its reductase (E3), catalyzes the unusual C-3 deoxygenation of CDP-6-deoxy-L-threo-D-glycero-4-hexulose to form CDP-3,6-dideoxy-L-threo-D-glycero-4-hexulose in CDP-ascarylose biosynthesis [Chen et al. (1996), Biochemistry, 35, 16412-16420]. This dimeric [2Fe-2S] protein, cloned from the bacteria Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, is currently the only known example of an enzyme that uses a vitamin B6-derived pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate (PMP) cofactor to carry out one-electron chemistry [Agnihotri & Liu (2001), Bioorg. Chem. 29, 234-257]. It also exhibits a [2Fe-2S] cluster-binding motif (C-X57-C-X1-C-X7-C) which has not been observed previously [Agnihotri et al. (2004), Biochemistry, 43, 14265-14274] The recombinant 97.7 kDa dimer was crystallized in the trigonal space group P3(2), with unit-cell parameters a = b = 97.37, c = 142.2 A, alpha = beta = 90, gamma = 120 degrees. A data set has been collected to 1.9 A resolution. A full MAD data set was also collected at the iron absorption edge that diffracted to 2.0 A.


Is depression the contraindication of anterior cervical decompression and fusion for cervical spondylosis?
To evaluate whether depression is the contraindication of anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF) for cervical spondylosis. Patients with single-segment cervical spondylosis who underwent ACDF from January 2015 to December 2018 in our department were retrospectively included in this study and divided into two groups. Patients who were diagnosed of depression and prescribed with antidepressant drugs for at least 6 months before surgery were included in the intervention group. Patients without depression were included in the control group. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score was used to evaluate the severity of depression. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, Japanese Orthopeadic Association (JOA) score, Neck Disability Index (NDI), and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) were recorded as indexes to assess the pain, cervical spine function, degree of cervical spine injury, and life quality, respectively. The operative time, operative blood loss, hospital stay and complications were also recorded and compared. A total of 117 patients were included in this study, involving 32 patients in the intervention group and 85 patients in the control group. No significant differences were found in operative time, operative blood loss, hospital stay and complications between the two groups (P>0.05). The BDI score, VAS score, JOA score, NDI, SF-36 physical component score (SF-36 PCS) and SF-36 mental component score (SF-36 MCS) were all significantly improved at last follow-up in both the two groups. The intervention group showed higher BDI score and SF-36 MCS than the control group at both preoperative and the last follow-up (P<0.05), and the improvements of BDI score and SF-36 MCS were also higher in the intervention group (P<0.05). Although the intervention group showed higher VAS score, NDI, SF-36 PCS and lower JOA score at preoperative and last follow-up, respectively (P<0.05), there were no significant differences in the improvements of these indexes between the two group (P>0.05). Depression is not the contraindication of ACDF for cervical spondylosis. Depression patients who received preoperative antidepressants can achieve similar improvement of clinical symptoms from ACDF with non-depression patients.


Analysis of supplemented vitamin K1(20) in serum microsamples by solid-phase extraction and narrow-bone HPLC with multichannel ultraviolet detection.
A sensitive method for the determination of vitamin K1(20) in serum microsamples (50 microL) has been developed, utilizing solid-phase extraction with C8 Bond-Elut columns and reversed-phase narrow-bore high-performance liquid chromatography [2.1 mm (i.d.), column] with a nonaqueous eluent. Recovery from serum (49 ng/mL) was 76% (n = 2). Peak homogeneity was assessed by photodiode array detection with absorbance ratio, spectral normalization, and transformation to the first- and second-derivative chromatograms. Calibration data at 248 nm over two ranges (20-200 ng/mL, 200-4000 ng/mL) varied linearly with concentration and were suitable for studies of vitamin K1 supplementation. By comparison with conventional columns, sensitivity was increased twofold.


Knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes of dental and dental hygiene students toward obesity.
Obesity is recognized as a growing public health problem. The authors surveyed dental hygiene and dental students from one institution regarding education, knowledge, perceived professional duties, and attitudes toward the overweight and obese population. Half of the respondents reported no obesity education prior to professional dental education, and 80 percent received five hours or less while in professional training. While most students held a generally positive attitude regarding obese and overweight patients, a number of students demonstrated evidence of negative stereotyping. Obesity education and training must be integrated into dental education to permit greater understanding of coexisting medical problems, explore the basis for a negative attitude and work toward its elimination, and raise public health awareness within dentistry.


Free vascularized thin corticoperiosteal graft.
This paper describes a new thin corticoperiosteal graft harvested from the medial condylar and supracondylar areas of the femur. It is based on the articular branch of the descending genicular artery and vein and consists of periosteum with a thin (0.5 to 1.0 mm) layer of outer cortical bone. By retaining the cortex, the cambium layer is preserved, and this is thought to have a better osteogenic capacity than vascularized periosteal grafts. This graft was used to treat six patients with fracture nonunion of the upper extremity in which conventional treatment had failed. Uneventful bony union was achieved in all patients within 10 weeks.


Biostructure-like surfaces with thermally responsive wettability prepared by temperature-induced phase separation micromolding.
We present a very efficient and convenient approach to obtain smart biosurfaces by directly replicating biological surface structures. It is realized by a two-step replication process combining regular replica molding and temperature-induced phase separation micromolding (PSmicroM). The negative replicas of biological surface structures using poly(dimethylsiloxane) as the replication material are durable molds for further replication. The positive replicas of biological surface structures are obtained by the second step replication using PSmicroM of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) aqueous solution, which can be easily carried out just by adjusting temperature. With cold water as good solvent and hot water as nonsolvent, an environmentally friendly PSmicroM process is successfully achieved, and organic solvents for PSmicroM are completely avoided. Our study has demonstrated that the micro- and nanostructures of the lotus leaf and rice leaf can be well replicated using this two-step replication process, and the replicated artificial lotus leaf and rice leaf using poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) exhibit good thermally responsive wettability.


Modalities of synthesis of Ki67 antigen during the stimulation of lymphocytes.
The antibody Ki67 is currently used to evaluate the proliferative fraction of solid tumors and some hematological malignancies. We have used phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes as a model to study the entry of quiescent cells into cell cycle and to follow their progress to the next cycle. Flow cytometric analysis of lymphocyte samples stained with the antibody Ki67 and a DNA marker has allowed us to follow the expression of Ki67 antigen (Ki67 Ag) as a function of the position of the cells in the cell cycle. The use of drugs blocking the stimulated lymphocytes in different phases of the cell cycle permitted us to demonstrate that Ki67 Ag expression started from the beginning of the first S phase. The level of Ki67 Ag increased during S phase until mitosis, when its expression was maximal. After division, the cells in G1 phase showed a decrease in Ki67 Ag expression (possibly corresponding to degradation) until they reentered S phase, when the level of Ki67 Ag increased again. The results confirm that the expression of Ki67 Ag is related to the proliferative state of the cells and suggest that it may be used to determine the proliferative cell fraction in hematopoietic tissues.


Open-tubular Capillary Electrochromatography with Janus Structured Au-Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Coating as Stationary Phase.
A novel Au-Fe3O4 nanoparticles-based capillary column was fabricated by magnetic approach for open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC). The bifunctional dumbbell-like Janus Au-Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Au-Fe3O4 NPs) were prepared through a hydrothermal synthesis strategy, and the morphology was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Multilayers Au-Fe3O4 NPs were easily coated onto the inner surface of silica capillary by an external magnetic field to generate an Au-Fe3O4 NPs-based column. Compared with a bare capillary, the modified surface exhibited more stable and suppressed electroosmotic mobility. The column showed good separation efficiency for neutral analytes in the OT-CEC separation mode, with theoretical plate numbers of up to 79705 per meter for naphthalene. The successful separation of dihydroxy benzene isomers and proteins demonstrated that the column exhibits a reasonable separation performance. The reproducibility of the Au-Fe3O4 NPs capillary was studied, with relative standard deviations (RSD) for day-to-day and column-to-column less than 1 and 1.75%, respectively.


Diversity of the Arabidopsis mitochondrial genome occurs via nuclear-controlled recombination activity.
The plant mitochondrial genome is recombinogenic, with DNA exchange activity controlled to a large extent by nuclear gene products. One nuclear gene, MSH1, appears to participate in suppressing recombination in Arabidopsis at every repeated sequence ranging in size from 108 to 556 bp. Present in a wide range of plant species, these mitochondrial repeats display evidence of successful asymmetric DNA exchange in Arabidopsis when MSH1 is disrupted. Recombination frequency appears to be influenced by repeat sequence homology and size, with larger size repeats corresponding to increased DNA exchange activity. The extensive mitochondrial genomic reorganization of the msh1 mutant produced altered mitochondrial transcription patterns. Comparison of mitochondrial genomes from the Arabidopsis ecotypes C24, Col-0, and Ler suggests that MSH1 activity accounts for most or all of the polymorphisms distinguishing these genomes, producing ecotype-specific stoichiometric changes in each line. Our observations suggest that MSH1 participates in mitochondrial genome evolution by influencing the lineage-specific pattern of mitochondrial genetic variation in higher plants.


Phosphoproteome Analysis Using Two-Dimensional Electrophoresis Coupled with Chemical Dephosphorylation.
Protein phosphorylation is a reversible post-translational modification (PTM) with major regulatory roles in many cellular processes. However, the analysis of phosphoproteins remains the most challenging barrier in the prevailing proteome research. Recent technological advances in two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) have enabled the identification, characterization, and quantification of protein phosphorylation on a global scale. Most research on phosphoproteins with 2-DE has been conducted using phosphostains. Nevertheless, low-abundant and low-phosphorylated phosphoproteins are not necessarily detected using phosphostains and/or MS. In this study, we report a comparative analysis of 2-DE phosphoproteome profiles using Pro-Q Diamond phosphoprotein stain (Pro-Q DPS) and chemical dephosphorylation of proteins with HF-P from longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle samples of the Rubia Gallega cattle breed. We found statistically significant differences in the number of identified phosphoproteins between methods. More specifically, we found a three-fold increase in phosphoprotein detection with the HF-P method. Unlike Pro-Q DPS, phosphoprotein spots with low volume and phosphorylation rate were identified by HF-P technique. This is the first approach to assess meat phosphoproteome maps using HF-P at a global scale. The results open a new window for 2-DE gel-based phosphoproteome analysis.


Interlimb differences in coordination of rapid wrist/forearm movements.
We have previously proposed a model of motor lateralization that attributes specialization for predictive control of intersegmental coordination to the dominant hemisphere/limb system, and control of limb impedance to the non-dominant system. This hypothesis was developed based on visually targeted discrete reaching movement made predominantly with the shoulder and elbow joints. The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether dominant arm advantages for multi-degree of freedom coordination also occur during continuous distal movements of the wrist that do not involve visual guidance. In other words, are the advantages of the dominant arm restricted to controlling intersegmental coordination during discrete visually targeted reaching movements, or are they more generally related to coordination of multiple degrees of freedom at other joints, regardless of whether the movements are discrete or invoke visual guidance? Eight right-handed participants were instructed to perform alternating wrist ulnar/radial deviation movements at two instructed speeds, slow and fast, with the dominant or the non-dominant arm, and were instructed not to rotate the forearm (pronation/supination) or move the wrist up and down (flexion/extension). This was explained by slowly and passively moving the wrist in each plane during the instructions. Because all the muscles that cross the wrist have moment arms with respect to more than one axis of rotation, intermuscular coordination is required to prevent motion about non-instructed axes of rotation. We included two conditions, a very slow condition, as a control condition, to demonstrate understanding of the task, and an as-fast-as-possible condition to challenge predictive aspect of control, which we hypothesize are specialized to the dominant controller. Our results indicated that during as-fast-as-possible conditions the non-dominant arm incorporated significantly more non-instructed motion, which resulted in greater circumduction at the non-dominant than the dominant wrist. These findings extend the dynamic dominance hypothesis, indicating that the dominant hemisphere-arm system is specialized for predictive control of multiple degrees of freedom, even in movements of the distal arm and made in the absence of visual guidance.


Clustering asthma symptoms and cleaning and disinfecting activities and evaluating their associations among healthcare workers.
Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with varying severity and subtypes. Recent reviews of epidemiologic studies have identified cleaning and disinfecting activities (CDAs) as important risk factors for asthma-related outcomes among healthcare workers. However, the complexity of CDAs in healthcare settings has rarely been examined. This study utilized a complex survey dataset and data reduction approaches to identify and group healthcare workers with similar patterns of asthma symptoms, and then explored their associations with groups of participants with similar patterns of CDAs. Self-reported information on asthma symptoms/care, CDAs, demographics, smoking status, allergic status, and other characteristics were collected from 2030 healthcare workers within nine selected occupations in New York City. Hierarchical clustering was conducted to systematically group participants based on similarity of patterns of the 27 asthma symptom/care variables, and 14 product applications during CDAs, separately. Word clouds were used to visualize the complex information on the resulting clusters. The associations of asthma health clusters (HCs) with exposure clusters (ECs) were evaluated using multinomial logistic regression. Five HCs were identified (HC-1 to HC-5), labelled based on predominant features as: "no symptoms", "winter cough/phlegm", "mild asthma symptoms", "undiagnosed/untreated asthma", and "asthma attacks/exacerbations". For CDAs, five ECs were identified (EC-1 to EC-5), labelled as: "no products", "housekeeping/chlorine", "patient care", "general cleaning/laboratory", and "disinfection products". Using HC-1 and EC-1 as the reference groups, EC-2 was associated with HC-4 (odds ratio (OR) = 3.11, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.46-6.63) and HC-5 (OR = 2.71, 95% CI = 1.25-5.86). EC-3 was associated with HC-5 (OR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.16-4.72). EC-4 was associated with HC-5 (OR = 2.35, 95% CI = 1.07-5.13). EC-5 was associated with HC-3 (OR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.09-2.99) and HC-4 (OR = 3.42, 95% CI = 1.24-9.39). Various combinations of product applications like using alcohols, bleach, high-level disinfectants, and enzymes to disinfect instruments and clean surfaces captured by the ECs were identified as risk factors for the different asthma symptoms clusters, indicating that prevention efforts may require targeting multiple products. The associations of HCs with EC can be used to better inform prevention strategies and treatment options to avoid disease progression. This study demonstrated hierarchical clustering and word clouds were useful techniques for analyzing and visualizing a complex dataset with a large number of potentially correlated variables to generate practical information that can inform prevention activities.


The behaviour of polyamino acids reveals an inverse side chain effect in amyloid structure formation.
Amyloid fibrils and prions are proteinaceous aggregates that are based on a unique form of polypeptide configuration, termed cross-beta structure. Using a group of chemically distinct polyamino acids, we show here that the existence of such a structure does not require the presence of specific side chain interactions or sequence patterns. These observations firmly establish that amyloid formation and protein folding represent two fundamentally different ways of organizing polypeptides into ordered conformations. Protein folding depends critically on the presence of distinctive side chain sequences and produces a unique globular fold. By contrast, the properties of different polyamino acids suggest that amyloid formation arises primarily from main chain interactions that are, in some environments, overruled by specific side chain contacts. This side chain effect can be thought of as the inverse of the one that characterizes protein folding. Conditions including Alzheimer's and Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases represent, on this basis, pathological cases in which a natural polypeptide chain has aberrantly adopted the conformation that is primarily defined by main chain interactions and not the structure that is determined by specific side chain contacts that depend on the polypeptide sequence.


Discovery of a Novel Potent and Selective HSD17B13 Inhibitor, BI-3231, a Well-Characterized Chemical Probe Available for Open Science.
Genome-wide association studies in patients revealed HSD17B13 as a potential new target for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and other liver diseases. However, the physiological function and the disease-relevant substrate of HSD17B13 remain unknown. In addition, no suitable chemical probe for HSD17B13 has been published yet. Herein, we report the identification of the novel potent and selective HSD17B13 inhibitor BI-3231. Through high-throughput screening (HTS), using estradiol as substrate, compound 1 was identified and selected for subsequent optimization resulting in compound 45 (BI-3231). In addition to the characterization of compound 45 for its functional, physicochemical, and drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic (DMPK) properties, NAD+ dependency was investigated. To support Open Science, the chemical HSD17B13 probe BI-3231 will be available to the scientific community for free via the opnMe platform, and thus can help to elucidate the pharmacology of HSD17B13.


Adherence by Staphylococcus intermedius to canine corneocytes: a preliminary study comparing noninflamed and inflamed atopic canine skin.
The adherence by three strains of Staphylococcus intermedius to corneocytes collected from healthy dogs was compared to the adherence to corneocytes collected from the inflamed (erythematous) and noninflamed (normal appearing) skin of dogs suffering from atopic dermatitis. All three strains of S. intermedius adhered in greater numbers to corneocytes from both inflamed and noninflamed atopic skin than to corneocytes from healthy dogs. Adherence was greatest to corneocytes from inflamed atopic skin but one strain showed no statistical difference for adherence to inflamed and noninflamed atopic skin. These findings suggest that S. intermedius adheres extensively to both inflamed and noninflamed canine atopic skin. This may be important in the colonization of atopic skin by this microorganism. Strain variation in the ability of S. intermedius to adhere to canine atopic corneocytes is probable.


Lymphangiography. Its practical value in surgically staged patients with Hodgkin's disease.
Since the introduction of "staging laparotomy" (to determine the disease's stage) in assessing Hodgkin's disease, some observers have argued that lymphangiography could be safely omitted in the initial diagnostic evaluation. To test these opinions a series of 75 patients with Hodgkin's disease who had a staging laparotomy and histological correlation with lymphangiograms was reviewed. Of 16 examinations with positive results, one proved to be a false positive. Of the 14 examinations with equivocal results, one proved histologically positive. In the remaining 45 lymphangiograms, five were falsely negative. In all five of these patients abdominal lymph nodes were involved, but in areas that do not routinely opacify on lower extremity lymphangiography. The overall accuracy was 90 percent.Therapeutically, the lymphangiogram permits accurate planning for treatment by radiation therapy so that all known disease is treated and yet bone marrow is not excessively irradiated. Changes in lymph node architecture after therapy provide valuable information as to regression of the disease or signs of its early recurrence.


Genetic aspects of metabolic processing of chemical substances.
The Ah locus in the mouse controls the induction of cytochrome P1-450 and at least 10 associated monooxygenase activities. These enzyme systems metabolically potentiate and detoxify chemical carcinogens, environmental pollutants, drugs, and other chemicals, as well as numerous endogenous substrates. With certain substrates cytochrome P1-450 is known to produce a predominance of reactive intermediates and products that differ from those formed by other cytochrome P-450 species. Numerous conditions in the mouse, including cancer, drug toxicity, and birth defects, are directly associated with the Ah locus, which is considered to be a single gene or a small number of genes.


Individual phospholipid classes from iberian pig meat as affected by diet.
The main objectives of this study were to (1) determine the individual phospholipid (PL) classes content of fresh meat from Iberian pigs and their respective fatty acid and dimethylacetal composition and (2) assess the effect of different diets (acorn and grass vs oleic acid enriched concentrates) on these lipid species. First, it was found that phosphatidylcholine was the major PL, followed by phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylinositol in decreasing order. Each PL class showed a different lipid profile. Second, the feeding regimen influenced the quantity and the fatty composition of the individual PL classes. Meat from pigs fattened with high oleic acid concentrates had higher amounts of most phospholipid classes and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which is an indication of lipid oxidation instability. Lastly, these differences in PL species and fatty acid composition could be used to differentiate meats from Iberian pigs with different feeding regimens.


Electrocardiographic biomarker based on machine learning for detecting overt hyperthyroidism.
Although overt hyperthyroidism adversely affects a patient's prognosis, thyroid function tests (TFTs) are not routinely conducted. Furthermore, vague symptoms of hyperthyroidism often lead to hyperthyroidism being overlooked. An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a commonly used screening test, and the association between thyroid function and ECG is well known. However, it is difficult for clinicians to detect hyperthyroidism through subtle ECG changes. For early detection of hyperthyroidism, we aimed to develop and validate an electrocardiographic biomarker based on a deep learning model (DLM) for detecting hyperthyroidism. This multicentre retrospective cohort study included patients who underwent ECG and TFTs within 24 h. For model development and internal validation, we obtained 174 331 ECGs from 113 194 patients. We extracted 48 648 ECGs from 33 478 patients from another hospital for external validation. Using 500 Hz raw ECG, we developed a DLM with 12-lead, 6-lead (limb leads, precordial leads), and single-lead (lead I) ECGs to detect overt hyperthyroidism. We calculated the model's performance on the internal and external validation sets using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The AUC of the DLM using a 12-lead ECG was 0.926 (0.913-0.94) for internal validation and 0.883(0.855-0.911) for external validation. The AUC of DLMs using six and a single-lead were in the range of 0.889-0.906 for internal validation and 0.847-0.882 for external validation. We developed a DLM using ECG for non-invasive screening of overt hyperthyroidism. We expect this model to contribute to the early diagnosis of diseases and improve patient prognosis.


[Efficiency of arthroscopic treatment in the knee osteoarthritis].
THE AIM OF THE STUDY was to estimate the effectiveness of arthroscopic operations for patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis; to determine if it is possible to decrease pain, increase range of motions and mobility function. The subjects of the study were patients with grade III and grade IV with knee osteoarthritis (Outerbridge classification), who underwent arthroscopic operations at Kaunas Red Cross Hospital in 1993-2000. They were followed after arthroscopic operations: debridement, partial synovectomy, meniscus resection and elimination of free bodies. Two hundred eighteen patients were examined by questionnaire; 137 (62.8%) were females and 81 (37.2%) were males. The age range was from 19 till 77 years (average 53.09 years). Follow-up was 1-8 years (average 2.56 years). We estimated knee score and function score pre-op and 0.5 year, 1 year, 3 years and more than 3 years post-op. Six months post-op 58.3% of patients were satisfied, 41.7% had no changes or even worsened. One year post-op 77.5% of patients were satisfied; 3 years post-op 64 patients were followed, 78.1% were satisfied; more than 3 years post-op 45 patients were followed, 82.2% were satisfied. The results six months post-op are as following: 33.9% very good, 38.1% good, 22.9% satisfactory and 5.1% bad. One year post-op the very good and good results increased. Only 64 patients were followed-up three years post-op; 64.1% had very good results and 25.0% had good results, satisfactory and bad results were in the range of 10.9%. The shorter time till arthroscopic intervention and performing arthroscopic debridement gave positive influence on good and very good results. Instability due to ACL rupture, big osteophytes, subchondral sclerosis, valgus deformation and grade III-IV patellofemoral cartilage changes gave worse results. Synovectomy had no influence on the results. Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive palliative intervention for the patients with the knee osteoarthritis.


Ti-Modified LaFeO3/β-SiC Alveolar Foams as Immobilized Dual Catalysts with Combined Photo-Fenton and Photocatalytic Activity.
Ti-modified LaFeO3/β-SiC alveolar foams were used as immobilized, highly robust dual catalysts with combined photocatalytic wet peroxide oxidation and photocatalytic activity under UV-A light. They were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation of a β-SiC foam support, by implementing a sol-gel Pechini synthesis at the foam surface in the presence of dried amorphous sol-gel titania as a titanium source. The physicochemical and catalytic features suggest the stabilization at the foam surface of a substituted La1-xTixFeO3 catalyst analogous to its powdery counterpart. Taking 4-chlorophenol removal in water as a model reaction, its dual nature enables both high reaction rates and full total organic carbon (TOC) conversion because of a synergy effect, while its macroscopic structure overcomes the drawback of working with powdery catalysts. Further, it yields photonic efficiencies for degradation and mineralization of ca. 9.4 and 38%, respectively, that strongly outperform those obtained with a reference TiO2 P25/β-SiC foam photocatalyst. The enhancement of the catalyst robustness upon Ti modification prevents any Fe leaching to the solution, and therefore, the optimized macroscopic foam catalyst with 10 wt % catalyst loading operates through pure heterogeneous surface reactions, without any activity loss during reusability test cycles.


Left Atrial Myocardium in Arterial Hypertension.
Arterial hypertension affects ≈ 1 billion people worldwide. It is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and responsible for millions of deaths each year. Hypertension mediates damage of target organs including the heart. In addition to eliciting left ventricular hypertrophy, dysfunction and heart failure, hypertension also causes left atrial remodeling that may culminate in atrial contractile dysfunction and atrial fibrillation. Here, we will summarize data on the various aspects of left atrial remodeling in (essential) hypertension gathered from studies on patients with hypertension and from spontaneously hypertensive rats, an animal model that closely mimics cardiac remodeling in human hypertension. Analyzing the timeline of remodeling processes, i.e., distinguishing between alterations occurring in prehypertension, in early hypertension and during advanced hypertensive heart disease, we will derive the potential mechanisms underlying left atrial remodeling in (essential) hypertension. Finally, we will discuss the consequences of these remodeling processes for atrial and ventricular function. The data imply that left atrial remodeling is multifactorial, starts early in hypertension and is an important contributor to the progression of hypertensive heart disease, including the development of atrial fibrillation and heart failure.


Advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in hepatitis C virus-related decompensated cirrhosis: case report and review of the literature.
A 75-year-old man with no known previous liver disease was admitted to our institution because of right pleural effusion, backache, and pain in the upper right quadrant. Physical and laboratory work-up revealed decompensated liver cirrhosis. Spiral computed tomography (CT) showed a 6-cm tumour in the right liver lobe. Serum levels of aminotransferases, prothrombin time, total bilirubin, alphafetoprotein and carcinoembryonic antigen were within normal limits. However, the patient had elevated cholestatic enzymes, diffuse hypergammaglobulinaemia, a six-fold increase in carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9), cryoglobulinaemia, and reactivity against hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV). Although hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common cancer in a cirrhotic patient with chronic viral hepatitis, the investigation revealed the presence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). This is a less frequently occurring primary liver tumour, the aetiology and pathogenesis of which remain unclear in the majority of cases. The coexistence of HCV liver disease and ICC might be an incidental finding, but recently some reports have shown a relatively high incidence of this tumour in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis. The current aspects regarding ICC prevalence in HCV patients, the possible aetiopathogenetic links between this tumour and HCV, and the importance for ICC detection and characterization using the enhancement patterns with quadruple-phase spiral CT scan are also discussed.


The Effect of Galangin on the Regulation of Vascular Contractility via the Holoenzyme Reactivation Suppressing ROCK/CPI-17 rather than PKC/CPI-17.
In this study, we investigated the influence of galangin on vascular contractibility and to determine the mechanism underlying the relaxation. Isometric contractions of denuded aortic muscles were recorded and combined with western blot analysis which was performed to measure the phosphorylation of phosphorylation-dependent inhibitory protein of myosin phosphatase (CPI-17) and myosin phosphatase targeting subunit 1 (MYPT1) and to evaluate the effect of galangin on the RhoA/ROCK/CPI-17 pathway. Galangin significantly inhibited phorbol ester-, fluoride- and thromboxane mimetic-induced vasoconstrictions regardless of endothelial nitric oxide synthesis, suggesting its direct effect on vascular smooth muscle. Galangin significantly inhibited the fluoride-dependent increase in pMYPT1 and pCPI-17 levels and phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate-dependent increase in pERK1/2 level, suggesting repression of ROCK and MEK activity and subsequent phosphorylation of MYPT1, CPI-17 and ERK1/2. Taken together, these results suggest that galangin-induced relaxation involves myosin phosphatase reactivation and calcium desensitization, which appears to be mediated by CPI-17 dephosphorylation via not PKC but ROCK inactivation.


Tin Oxide Based Hybrid Nanostructures for Efficient Gas Sensing.
Tin oxide as a semiconductor metal oxide has revealed great potential in the field of gas sensing due to its porous structure and reduced size. Especially for tin oxide and its composites, inherent properties such as high surface areas and their unique semiconducting properties with tunable band gaps make them compelling for sensing applications. In combination with the general benefits of metal oxide nanomaterials, the incorporation of metal oxides into metal oxide nanoparticles is a new approach that has dramatically improved the sensing performance of these materials due to the synergistic effects. This review aims to comprehend the sensing mechanisms and the synergistic effects of tin oxide and its composites in achieving high selectivity, high sensitivity and rapid response speed which will be addressed with a full summary. The review further vehemently highlights the advances in tin oxide and its composites in the gas sensing field. Further, the structural components, structural features and surface chemistry involved in the gas sensing are also explained. In addition, this review discusses the SnO2 metal oxide and its composites and unravels the complications in achieving high selectivity, high sensitivity and rapid response speed. The review begins with the gas sensing mechanisms, which are followed by the synthesis methods. Further key results and discussions of previous studies on tin metal oxide and its composites are also discussed. Moreover, achievements in recent research on tin oxide and its composites for sensor applications are then comprehensively compiled. Finally, the challenges and scope for future developments are discussed.


Immunosuppression by murine sarcoma virus (Moloney).
Infection of mice with the murine sarcoma virus (Moloney) markedly suppressed the humoral antibody response to sheep erythrocyte antigen injected 10 days after infection, when tumor size was maximal, and on day 26, when primary tumors had partially regressed. Humoral antibody response was also inhibited when antigen was injected at the time secondary tumors and metastases were evident. No significant suppression of humoral antibody was seen when mice were injected with sheep erythrocyte antigen 5 days after virus infection. Inhibition of the cellular immune response of murine sarcoma virus (Moloney)-infected mice, as measured by the increased survival time of skin grafts, was also determined. Mice that were infected 5 days prior to grafting demonstrated prolonged survival of grafts, suggesting a suppression of cellular immunity. These mice had a graft survival time 14 days greater than noninfected controls. No significant prolongation of graft survival was seen in mice grafted at the times of maximum primary tumor growth, of primary tumor regression, or when secondary tumors had appeared.


Total Syntheses of Bisdehydroneostemoninine and Bisdehydrostemoninine by Catalytic Carbonylative Spirolactonization.
The first total syntheses of the stemona alkaloids bisdehydroneostemoninine and bisdehydrostemoninine in racemic forms have been achieved. The synthetic strategy features a novel palladium-catalyzed carbonylative spirolactonization of a hydroxycyclopropanol to rapidly construct the oxaspirolactone moiety. It also features a Lewis acid promoted tandem Friedel-Crafts cyclization and lactonization to form the 5-7-5 tricyclic core of the target stemona alkaloids.


Involvement of central microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 in IL-1beta-induced anorexia.
In response to infection or inflammation, individuals develop a set of symptoms referred to as sickness behavior, which includes a decrease in food intake. The characterization of the molecular mechanisms underlying this hypophagia remains critical, because chronic anorexia may represent a significant health risk. Prostaglandins (PGs) constitute an important inflammatory mediator family whose levels increase in the brain during inflammatory states, and their involvement in inflammatory-induced anorexia has been proposed. The microsomal PGE synthase (mPGES)-1 enzyme is involved in the last step of PGE2 biosynthesis, and its expression is stimulated by proinflammatory agents. The present study attempted to determine whether an upregulation of mPGES-1 gene expression may account for the immune-induced anorexic behavior. We focused our study on mPGES-1 expression in the hypothalamus and dorsal vagal complex, two structures strongly activated during peripheral inflammation and involved in the regulation of food intake. We showed that mPGES-1 gene expression was robustly upregulated in these structures after intraperitoneal and intracerebroventricular injections of anorexigenic doses of IL-1beta. This increase was correlated with the onset of anorexia. The concomitant reduction in food intake and central mPGES-1 gene upregulation led us to test the feeding behavior of mice lacking mPGES-1 during inflammation. Interestingly, IL-1beta failed to decrease food intake in mPGES-1(-/-) mice, although these animals developed anorexia in response to a PGE2 injection. Taken together, our results demonstrate that mPGES-1, which is strongly upregulated during inflammation in central structures involved in feeding control, is essential for immune anorexic behavior and thus may constitute a potential therapeutic target.


Encapsulation of bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis) flower extract in Urtica dioica L. seed gum: Characterization, antioxidant/antimicrobial properties, and in vitro digestion.
Bougainvillea spectabilis extract (BSE), a rich source of bioactive compounds like phenolic, flavonoid, and anthocyanin, was used for encapsulation with Urtica dioica L. seed gum. The extract was obtained using shaking, bath, and probe ultrasound. The results showed that probe ultrasound extract was more efficient, as reflected by the higher value of total phenolic (4354.15 mg GAE/100 g FW), flavonoid (2431.25 mg CE/100 g FW), and anthocyanin content (106.57 mg CGE/100 g FW). BSE was encapsulated in U. dioica L. seed gum at 1:1 and 1:2 core to coating ratio. In both DPPH radical scavenging and FRAP assay, higher antioxidant activity was observed in the encapsulated extract than in the free extract. Encapsulated extracts exhibited 87.9 nm average diameter (polydispersity index below 0.23) and negative zeta potential. The average minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of nanoparticles against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enterica was 112.5, 87.5, 112.5, and 87.5 μg/ml, respectively, while MIC of the free extract against S. aureus and E. coli was 150 and 125 μg/ml, respectively. The phenolic compounds are gradually released from the nanoparticles in the gastric and small intestine phase, whereas free extract released phenolic compounds quickly after entering the gastric phase. Considering antioxidant/antimicrobial activity and release properties, nanoparticles with a 1:1 ratio of core to coating had the potential to use as an effective natural preservative agent in food products besides the delivery of bioactive compounds to the human body.


Convolutional neural networks for the automatic segmentation of lumbar paraspinal muscles in people with low back pain.
The size, shape, and composition of paraspinal muscles have been widely reported in disorders of the cervical and lumbar spine. Measures of size, shape, and composition have required time-consuming and rater-dependent manual segmentation techniques. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) provide alternate timesaving, state-of-the-art performance measures, which could realise clinical translation. Here we trained a CNN for the automatic segmentation of lumbar paraspinal muscles and determined the impact of CNN architecture and training choices on segmentation performance. T2-weighted MRI axial images from 76 participants (46 female; age (SD): 45.6 (12.8) years) with low back pain were used to train CNN models to segment the multifidus, erector spinae, and psoas major muscles (left and right segmented separately). Using cross-validation, we compared 2D and 3D CNNs with and without data augmentation. Segmentation accuracy was compared between the models using the Sørensen-Dice index as the primary outcome measure. The effect of increasing network depth on segmentation accuracy was also investigated. Each model showed high segmentation accuracy (Sørensen-Dice index ≥ 0.885) and excellent reliability (ICC2,1 ≥ 0.941). Overall, across all muscles, 2D models performed better than 3D models (p = 0.012), and training without data augmentation outperformed training with data augmentation (p < 0.001). The 2D model trained without data augmentation demonstrated the highest average segmentation accuracy. Increasing network depth did not improve accuracy (p = 0.771). All trained CNN models demonstrated high accuracy and excellent reliability for segmenting lumbar paraspinal muscles. CNNs can be used to efficiently and accurately extract measures of paraspinal muscle health from MRI.


Resistance to mitochondrial- and Fas-mediated apoptosis in human leukemic cells with acquired resistance to 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosylguanosine.
We have previously reported that in a MOLT-4 leukemia cell line the acquired resistance to 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosylguanine (Ara-G) is due to deficiency of the activating enzymes deoxyguanosine kinase and deoxycytidine kinase [Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 293 (5) (2002) 1489]. In this study we investigated whether apoptotic pathways are affected in two human T-cell lymphoblastic MOLT-4 cell lines with acquired resistance to Ara-G. In contrast to the MOLT-4 wild type cells, Ara-G resistant cells displayed no increase in caspase-3 or caspase-9 activity, DNA fragmentation, cytochrome c release or a drop in the mitochondrial membrane potential (DeltaPsi(mito)) upon Ara-G treatment. A drop in the DeltaPsi(mito) was induced in wild type cells after treatment with tributyltin, an inducer of mitochondrial permeability transition, and with carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, an uncoupling agent that reduces the DeltaPsi(mito), although not in Ara-G resistant cells. Ara-G resistant cells displayed higher levels of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-xL in immunoblots. A recent study indicates that Ara-G-induced apoptosis is mediated in part via the Fas pathway [Cancer Res. 43 (2047) (2002) 411]. When cells were treated with anti-Fas antibody, the wild type cell line exhibited increased caspase-3-like activity but the Ara-G resistant cells did not. Using FACS analysis and semi-quantitative PCR, 3-6-fold decreased protein levels and almost no detectable mRNA levels of Fas in the resistant cells were recorded. These data indicate that the inability to induce apoptosis via both the apoptosome pathway and the Fas pathway, due to increased levels of Bcl-xL and a lack of Fas, contributes to Ara-G resistance. This resistance to apoptosis in Ara-G resistant cells may serve to explain the overall resistance to a variety of anti-neoplastic drugs.


Satisfactory mid- to long-term clinical and radiographic outcomes after surgical treatment of radial neck fracture in 10 children.
Complications after surgical treatment of pediatric radial neck fractures are common. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mid- to long-term clinical and radiographic outcomes after surgical treatment of pediatric radial neck fractures. We assessed 10 children who had been surgically treated for radial neck fractures. We mainly performed percutaneous intrafocal pinning to reduce the fracture; where this was inappropriate, we performed open reduction. Mid- to long-term clinical and radiographic outcomes were assessed, as well as whether these affected patient-related outcomes (Hand 20 questionnaire) at the final follow-up. Of the 10 patients (seven boys; mean age, 9 years; age range, 5-14 years; four fractures on the right-hand side, six on the left), four each were grades II and III, and two were grade IV, according to the Judet classification. The mean follow-up time was 6.7 (range, 3.6-11.2) years. Eight patients had restricted forearm pronation. The mean radial neck angulation on the fractured side was 36° (range, 5°-96°), preoperatively, and 2° (range, 0°-11°) at the final follow-up. There were eight cases of radial head overgrowth, three of premature physeal closure, two of notching of the radial neck, and one of heterotopic ossification. According to the Leung/Peterson Classification, four patients had "excellent," three had "good," and three had "fair" functionality. Eight patients had a perfect score upon completing the Hand 20 questionnaire. In conclusion, postsurgical patient-related outcomes for the 10 cases were satisfactory despite slightly restricted forearm range of motion and complications detected using radiography.


Natural cis-solamin is a mixture of two tetra-epimeric diastereoisomers: biosynthetic implications for Annonaceous acetogenins.
The anti-tumour natural product cis-solamin has been shown to occur as a mixture two of tetra-epimeric diastereoisomers 1A and 1B, whereas solamin (6) was isolated as a single diastereoisomer; the biosyntheses of 1A/B and 6 are likely to involve enzyme-mediated cyclohydrations of the bis-epoxide acetogenins anti-diepomuricanin A2 and syn-diepomuricanin A1 respectively, where addition of water occurs regioselectively at either C15 or C20.


Prophylactic Wound Drainage in Renal Transplantation: A Systematic Review.
Adult kidney transplantation is most commonly into an extraperitoneal potential space, and surgically placed drains are used routinely in many centers. There is limited evidence of clinical benefit for prophylactic drainage in other major abdominal and vascular surgery. Transplantation is, however, a unique setting combining organ dysfunction and immunosuppression, and the risks and benefits of prophylactic drain placement are not known. This study attempts to examine existing literature to determine whether prophylactic intraoperative drains have an impact on the likelihood of perigraft fluid collections and other wound-related complications following kidney transplantation. A literature search of MEDLINE and EMBASE was conducted to identify published comparative studies, including recipients receiving prophylactic drains to recipients in whom drains were omitted. The main outcomes were the incidence of peritransplant fluid collections and wound-related complications. Meta-analysis was performed on these data. Four retrospective cohort studies were deemed eligible for quantitative analysis and 1 additional conference abstract was included in qualitative discussion. A total of 1640 patients, 1023 with drains and 617 without, were included in the meta-analysis. There was a lower rate of peritransplant collections associated with the drain group (RR 0.62; 95% confidence interval, 0.42-0.90). There was no significant difference in the incidence of wound-related complications between the groups (RR 0.85; 95% confidence interval, 0.34-2.11). These data associate a higher rate of peritransplant fluid collections with omission of prophylactic drainage, without a difference in the incidence of wound-related complications. Further research is required to definitively determine the impact of drains in this patient group.


Palladium(II)-catalyzed oxidation of aldehydes and ketones. 1. Carbonylation of ketones with carbon monoxide catalyzed by palladium(II) chloride in methanol.
Unsubstituted or alkyl-substituted cyclic ketones react with PdCl2 in methanol under a CO atmosphere to give mainly acyclic diesters along with some acyclic chloro-substituted monoesters. The monosubstituted cyclic ketones, 2-hydroxy- and 2-methoxycyclohexanone, do not give ring cleavage but rather produce 2-(carbomethoxy)cyclohex-2-en-1-one. 13CO labeling experiments indicate one CO is inserted in forming the diester product so the second ester group must arise from the original ketone group. Two mechanisms are possible for the diester reaction. One involves initial Pd(II)-CO2CH3 insertion across the double bond of the enol form of the ketone while the second involves initial addition of Pd(II)-OCH3 followed by CO insertion into the new Pd(II)-carbon bond formed. Pd(II) elimination and acid-catalyzed ring cleavage produce the second methyl ester group in both routes. The chloro-substituted monoester is formed by initial Pd(II)-Cl insertion across the double bond followed by the acid-catalyzed ring cleavage. The 2-(carbomethoxy)cyclohex-2-en-1-one must result from elimination of water or methanol from the alpha-ketoester product formed by the initial methoxycarbonylation of the enol form of the ketone. As expected, the acyclic ketone, 2-decanone, formed methyl acetate and a mixture of methyl nonanoate and 1-chlorooctane as products.


Temporal precision in the neural code and the timescales of natural vision.
The timing of action potentials relative to sensory stimuli can be precise down to milliseconds in the visual system, even though the relevant timescales of natural vision are much slower. The existence of such precision contributes to a fundamental debate over the basis of the neural code and, specifically, what timescales are important for neural computation. Using recordings in the lateral geniculate nucleus, here we demonstrate that the relevant timescale of neuronal spike trains depends on the frequency content of the visual stimulus, and that 'relative', not absolute, precision is maintained both during spatially uniform white-noise visual stimuli and naturalistic movies. Using information-theoretic techniques, we demonstrate a clear role of relative precision, and show that the experimentally observed temporal structure in the neuronal response is necessary to represent accurately the more slowly changing visual world. By establishing a functional role of precision, we link visual neuron function on slow timescales to temporal structure in the response at faster timescales, and uncover a straightforward purpose of fine-timescale features of neuronal spike trains.


Grounding compositional symbols: no composition without discrimination.
The classical computational conception of meaning has been challenged by the idea that symbols must be grounded on sensorimotor processes. A difficult question arises from the fact that grounding representations cannot be symbolic themselves but, in order to support compositionality, should work as primitives. This implies that they should be precisely identifiable and strictly connected with discriminable perceptual features. Ideally, each representation should correspond to a single discriminable feature. The present study was aimed at exploring whether feature discrimination is a fundamental requisite for grounding compositional symbols. We studied this problem by using Integral stimuli, composed of two interacting and not separable features. Such stimuli were selected in Experiment 1 as pictures whose component features are easily or barely discriminable (Separable or Integral) on the basis of psychological distance metrics (City-block or Euclidean) computed from similarity judgments. In Experiment 2, either each feature was associated with one word of a two-word expression, or the whole stimulus with a single word. In Experiment 3, the procedure was reversed and words or expressions were associated with whole pictures or separate features. Results support the hypothesis that single words are best grounded by Integral stimuli and composite expressions by Separable stimuli, where a strict association of single words with discriminated features is possible.


Structured visualization of expert nursing: Prevention of pressure ulcers.
We made an algorithm by extracting the caring elements for the patients to develop a program for pressure ulcer prevention. The algorithm consisted of observation of the patient skin as a beginning point, extraction of the risk factors for pressure ulcer development, intervention to each risk factor, and evaluation. The expert panel identified this algorithm as adequate enough to adopt to the patients.


The Relationship between Vitamin D Levels, Injury and Muscle Function in Adolescent Dancers.
Vitamin D has been shown to benefit a diverse range of health functions including muscle function. The aim of the present study was to identify serum 25(OH)D3 levels in a sample of adolescent dancers and compare them to muscle function and injury incidence. We incorporated a cross-sectional design to study 49 pre-professional male and female dancers (17±4.44 yrs, 52.1±6.72 kg, 1.63±0.07 m) in full-time training in Bazil. Serum 25[OH]D3 was analyzed by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay; quadriceps and hamstring peak torque and muscle fatigue were measured by isokinetic dynamometer at 60 and 300° s-1. Injury type and location in the previous 6-months were determined by self-report questionnaire. Participants were categorized into 2 groups: normal or insufficient/deficient (>or<30 ng/ml 25[OH]D3). Results indicated the normal serum 25[OH]D3 group had significantly lower fatigue rates than the insufficient/deficient group (p<0.05) but not for the other muscle function parameters. Fifty-seven percent of participants reported at least 1 injury. The most common were sprains (33%) and tendinopathies (19%). Injured dancers had significantly lower peak torque at 60°/s. The link between serum 25[OH]D3 and reduced muscle fatigue resistance has not been shown before, though the underlying mechanisms aren't apparent and the link between muscular strength and injury has been previously evidenced.


Variation in the direction of selection applied by pentenol to the alcohol dehydrogenase locus in Drosophila melanogaster.
This paper describes selective effects of pentenol-impregnated media on six genotypes at the alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) locus in D. melanogaster. In the laboratory population studied, developmental times of pre-adults homozygous for an alcohol dehydrogenase "null" allele increased with increasing pentenol concentrations. The developmental times of the other five genotypes, which produced active alcohol dehydrogenases, increased slightly at pentenol concentrations up to 0-0033%, but above this concentration they decreased markedly. In fact on 0-067% pentenol, the highest concentration tested, developmental times of these five genotypes were between 9 and 24 h less than their developmental times on media lacking pentenol. The magnitude of the reduction in developmental time differed significantly between genotypes and was positively correlated with alcohol dehydrogenase activity. Pentenol had toxic effects on adults and significant differences were found between survival percentages of adults of different genotypes on pentenol-impregnated media. These survival percentages were negatively correlated with alcohol dehydrogenase activities. Therefore selective differences between genotypes in adult survival were negatively correlated with those in developmental times. The variations in the direction of selection are discussed in terms of their possible biochemical basis and their effects on the maintenance of Adh polymorphisms.


The impact of childhood abuse history, domestic violence and mental health symptoms on parenting behaviour among mothers in Japan.
To assess the impact of childhood abuse history, domestic violence experiences and mental health symptoms on the parenting behaviour of mothers in Japan who have separated from violent husbands or partners. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted on a sample of mothers (n = 304) and their children (n = 498) residing in 83 mother-child homes in Japan. The survey assessed the mothers' childhood abuse history (physical, psychological and sexual abuse and neglect history), domestic violence experiences, current mental health symptoms (dissociative, depressive and traumatic symptoms) and parenting behaviours after moving into the homes to separate from a violent husband or partner. The mothers' childhood abuse history and experience of domestic violence were not associated with their not playing with their children. In contrast, the mothers' dissociative and depressive symptoms were significantly associated with not playing with their children. Although there was no association between the mothers' total childhood abuse history and not praising their children, their childhood physical abuse history was significantly associated with their not praising their children. The dissociative and depressive symptoms were also associated with no praise. Interestingly, the experience of domestic violence showed an inverse association with no praise. Mental health symptoms, more specifically dissociative and depressive symptoms, are associated with a decrease in parenting quality. Mothers who were physically abused as children are less likely to praise their own children, independent of maternal mental health symptoms. In contrast, mothers who experienced domestic violence but subsequently separated from their violent husbands or partners are more likely to praise their children. The treatment of mental health symptoms, particularly dissociative and depressive symptoms, therapy for childhood abuse history and separation from violent husbands or partners might be effective ways to enhance the quality of parenting in Japan.


[Knowledge and attitude of oral care providers in the Netherlands on skin lesions].
To gain insight into the current knowledge of oral care providers in the Netherlands on facial skin lesions, a survey was distributed to 7,670 oral care providers. Their knowledge was tested by means of 4 multiple-choice questions and on the basis of 5 cases. The survey was completed in full by 90 respondents. The median age was 50.3 years and 62.2% were female. During dental check-ups, 55.6% always examined the face and 41.1% sometimes did so. Compared to the group 41 years old and older, the group 21-40 years of age alerted their patients more often to skin lesions (p = 0.017), was more afraid a specialist would find the referral useless (p < 0.001) and was more in need of a guideline (p = 0.049). The respondents scored 1.90 out of 4 correct answers to the knowledge questions. On the case studies, they scored 1.46 out of 5 for the correct diagnosis, 3.48 out of 5 for the correct choice of policy and 1.01 out of 5 for the combination correct diagnosis and correct policy. The total score was 2.91 out of 9. The results indicate that knowledge on aspects of skin lesions is limited and additional training and the availability of a guideline are necessary.