Qualitative determination of volatile compounds and quantitative evaluation of safranal and 4-hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexene-1-carboxaldehyde (HTCC) in Greek saffron.
Safranal (2,6,6-trimethyl-1,3-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxaldehyde) is the main component of saffron's essential oil. It was obtained using microsimultaneous hydro distillation-extraction (MSDE) and by ultrasound-assisted extraction (USE), which is a mild method. 4-Hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexene-1-carboxaldehyde (HTCC) is a precursor of safranal and was obtained in considerable amounts only by USE. Five C(13)-norisoprenoids were found in saffron for the first time. Using a gas chromatography technique, safranal and HTCC were quantified from Greek saffron samples. The quantity of safranal isolated by MSDE ranged between 288.1 and 687.9 mg/100 g of saffron, whereas in the case of USE safranal and HTCC ranged between 40.7 and 647.7 mg/100 g of saffron and between 41.7 and 397.7 mg/100 g of saffron, respectively. Freeze-drying was also tested as an alternative drying method. Over years of storage at 4 degrees C the quantity of safranal remained mostly constant while the quantity of HTCC decreased over the same periods.


The effect of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol and LSD on the acquisition of an active avoidance response in the rat.
The course of active avoidance learning of rats in a symmetrical Y-maze under the influence of 1, 3, and 9 mg/kg of delta 9-THC i.p., and 5, 20, and mug/kg of LSD was investigated. Delta-THC in a dosage of 1 mg/kg had no effect on avoidance learning. Three to a lesser extent 9 mg/kg produced more rapid learning with a significantly better performance. Learning under delta 9-THC proved to be state-dependent. The withdrawal of delta 9-THC caused a decrease in the avoidance rate, which was dependent on the dosage. Upon renewal of the THC doses, the animals reattained their earlier preformance. In the course of the experiment there was rapid tolerance development, especially of the sedative properties of THC. LSD retarded the rate of acquisition of the active avoidance response. Whereas the control animals displayed over 80% successful active avoidance from the 14th session onwards, this was achieved by the LSD groups only after the 20th session. However, in contrast to the control group the LSD animals were able to increase their avoidance rate to over 90%, and this was maintained to the end of the experiment (a total of 24 sessions with LSD). The sudden withdrawal of LSD produced a fall in avoidance rate, which was dependent on the pervious training dosage; as with delta 9-THC state-dependent learning can also be assumed for LSD.


[Diffusible blood calcium in children with advanced protein energy malnutrition].
A previous study had shown that in children with third degree protein-energy malnutrition, ultrafilterable or diffusible serum calcium concentrations remain normal, while the protein-bound fraction is low in those with hypoalbuminemia, accounting for over-all hypocalcemia. In order to retest those findings, a new series consisting of 20 small marasmic infants and 16 children with kwashiorkor was studied, using a membrane ultrafiltration procedure. Fifteen eutrophic children served as controls. At time of their admission into hospital, both groups of patients showed hypocalcemia, more so the cases of kwashiorkor. Diffusible calcium was normal, while the protein-bound moiety was significantly decreased in children with kwashiorkor. Upon recovery, protein-bound as well as total calcium concentrations returned to normal values.


Characterization of a coryneform isolate from fasciated mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris).
The morphological and physiological features of coryneform isolated from fasciated mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) display many morphological similarities with the plant pathogenic corynebacteria, but differ from Corynebacterium fascians in exhibiting motility albeit in only a small proportion of each cell population, and by its ability to hydrolyze asculin, its failure to produce urease and differences in pigmentation. The isolate appears to be related to Corynebacterium fascians in its ability to cause fasciation but physiologically and biochemically it resembles Cornyebacterium poinsettiae and C. flaccumfaciens, both of which were transferred to the genus Curtobacterium.


Diffuse Gonococcal Infection (DGI) in a Patient with Treatment-Refractory Acetylcholine Receptor Antibody-Positive (AChR+) Generalized Myasthenia Gravis (gMG) Treated with Eculizumab.
Patients receiving complement inhibitor, eculizumab, are at high risk for infections with encapsulated organisms such as Neisseria due to impaired opsonophagocytic activity. Impaired complement immunity may increase the risk for dissemination of asymptomatic Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Disseminated Gonococcal Infection (DGI) is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication associated with eculizumab. Physicians should obtain adequate sexual histories from the patients and educate them on safe sexual practices. Here, we describe a case of DGI in a 32-year-old African American female patient with acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive (AChR+) generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), receiving eculizumab.


Internal dynamics in SDS micelles: neutron scattering study.
The molecular dynamics of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelle has been investigated using high-resolution incoherent quasielastic neutron scattering technique. Data analysis clearly shows presence of two distinct motions: whole micellar motion or global diffusion and faster internal motion of the SDS monomer. The global diffusion associated with the whole micelle is found to be Fickian in nature, and the corresponding diffusion coefficients are found to be consistent with those obtained from dynamic light scattering measurements. The internal motion is described with a model consistent with the structure of the micelle and which accounts for the flexibility of the chains. The SDS monomer consists of a head group, which lies on the surface of the globular micelle, and a tail that hangs from the head toward the center of the globule. Considering various factors like conformational changes of the SDS chains, bending, stretching of the chemical bonds, etc., the dynamics of the SDS molecules is successfully described by a model in which the hydrogen atoms undergo localized translational motion confined within spherical volumes. This volume increases linearly along the SDS chain such that the hydrogen atoms closer to the head group move within smaller spheres with lower diffusion constant than the hydrogen atoms away from the head group. This model is found to be consistent with the data over the whole temperature and concentration range. Diffusivity and the volume of the spheres are also found to increase with temperature. The effect of lowering the SDS concentration is found to be similar to that of increasing the temperature.


Big Concern for Public Health: Microbial Contamination of Mobile Phones.
Mobile phones are dynamic source of microorganisms in households and professional settings. The aim was to determine the prevalence of bacterial contamination of the mobile phones, identify bacterial isolates, assess their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and define the efficiency of using disinfectant. This study included 233 dental students from Near East University, Faculty of Dentistry. Swab samples taken from mobile phones before and after disinfection were inoculated onto 5% sheep blood medium and eosin methylene blue medium and incubated aerobically at 37°C for 24-48 hours. Mold-growing mix cultures were sub-cultured on the sabouraud dextrose medium and allowed to grow at room temperature. Conventional microbiological techniques and VITEK 2 automated identification system were used for bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were verified by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion technique according to the European Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test Committee criteria. Mold colonies were identified macroscopic and microscopically according to their phenotypic properties using lacto-phenol cotton blue stain. Microbial contamination of mobile phones was 81% (120.953 cfu/ml) in swab samples taken without using alcohol-based wipes however, microbial contamination in swab samples taken after one-time disinfection was determined to be 21% (201 cfu/ml). The most common microorganisms isolated were coagulase negative Staphylococci (69%) and Aspergillus niger (13%). All of the isolated bacteria were susceptible to all antibiotics used. This study represents the first data on the rate of microbial contamination on mobile phones in Northern Cyprus and the efficiency of the use of alcohol to disinfect the mobile phones.


Intracellular calcium overload in a model of quinolinic acid neurotoxicity in organotypic culture of rat hippocampus; inhibited by nimodipine.
The ultrastructural studies of intracellular calcium localization were performed in a model of quinolinic acid (QUIN) neurotoxicity in vitro. The calcium overload was investigated in organotypic culture of rat hippocampus exposed to QUIN or treated simultaneously with QUIN plus calcium channels blocker-nimodipine. For electron microscopy, the cultures were processed using the oxalate-pyroantimonate cytochemical technique in order to visualize the electron-dense calcium pyroantimonate granules. QUIN application induced massive accumulation of calcium deposits in damaged mitochondria of degenerating pyramidal neurons and swollen postsynaptic dendrites. Nimodipine exerted the potent neuroprotective effect against QUIN neurotoxicity accompanied by significant inhibition of intracellular calcium accumulation. However, in the glial cells, the presence of calcium precipitates was found both in the cultures exposed to QUIN alone and in those treated simultaneously with QUIN plus nimodipine. The present studies support the concept of calcium contribution in excitotoxic neuronal damage and suggest the significant role of calcium channel blockers in prevention of QUIN-induced mitochondrial calcium overload.


Poisoning from dermal absorption of promethazine.
Two cases in which dermal absorption of promethazine hydrochloride resulted in a toxic neurologic syndrome are reported. The symptoms included central nervous system depression, acute excitomotor manifestations, ataxia and visual hallucinations. In addition, peripheral anticholinergic effects occurred. These symptoms are comparable with those of oral, intramuscular and rectal overdose of promethazine. The demonstrated risks of the topical use of promethazine outweigh any benefits.


Nutrition and educational achievement of urban primary schoolchildren in Malaysia.
The relationship between nutrition, health and educational achievement of school-age population in less developed countries has been of interest to many researchers due to the frequent observation that many children did not complete primary school and those who completed, did not do as well as children in the developed countries. Nevertheless, nutritional and health status by itself is not the only variable affecting educational achievement, since biological, psychological, socioeconomic and cultural factors could directly or indirectly affect both nutrition, health status and educational achievement. The mechanism by which health and nutrition influence educational achievement is not well established, but poor health and malnutrition in early childhood may affect cognitive abilities, necessary for learning process and consequently educational achievement. A study was conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to investigate the relationship between nutritional status and educational achievement among primary schoolchildren from low income households (n = 399). A high percentage of them were mild-significantly underweight (52%), stunted (47%) and wasted (36%) and increasingly overweight (6%). In general, more boys than girls were found to experience some form of malnutrition. While weight-for-height did not differ significantly according to family, child and school factors, weight-for-age and height-for-age differed significantly by gender. Also, height-for-age was significantly related to household income. This indicates that stunting may be a consequence of prolonged socioeconomic deprivation. Educational achievement was measured based on test scores for Malay language (ML), English language (EL) and mathematics (MT). While a majority of the schoolchildren obtained optimum scores (>75) for ML and MT, the majority of them had insufficient scores (<50) for EL. Children's total score (TS) for the three subjects was significantly associated with household socioeconomic status, gender, birth order and heightfor- age. Even after controlling for household socioeconomic status, significant association between TS and height-for-age persisted. In this sample of schoolchildren, household income, gender, birth order and height-forage were significant predictors of TS. The finding that height-for-age is related to educational achievement agrees with other studies, which have reported that height-for-age, compared to weight-for-height or weight-forage is linked to educational achievement. Height-for-age reflects the accumulation of nutritional deprivation throughout the years, which may consequently affect the cognitive development of the children.


[Pre-excitation syndrome in monozygotic twins].
A family group of seven members is presented, two of which have pre-excitation syndrome. These subjects are identical twin brothers. One of them has the W-P-W syndrome tipe B, and the other has L-G-L syndrome. The latter had an associated atrial-septal defect, and the other twin had no associated cardiovascular lesions. Both underwent electrocardiographic and vectorcardiographic studies, as well as His bundle electrograms. In the case with W-P-W, the diagnosis was made by electrocardiography, and was confirmed by vertocardiography. The His bundle electrogram showed the habitual findings in this type of pre-excitation. The His bundle potential was preceded by the beginning of the delta wave. The patient with W-P-W had episodes of supraventricular paroxysmal tachycardia, some of these with antegrade conduction through the normal pathway, and others with conduction through the anomalous pathway. The other had a L-G-L syndrome, demonstrated by electrocardiography and vectorcardiography. During the register of the His bundle electrogram, he did not present pre-excitation, the tracings in basal conditions as well as during atrial stimulation were normal. The conclusion is that many factors exist which back up the hypothesis that the pre-excitation syndromes occur because of anomalous pathways, and that this type of alteration might have a sex linked genetic basis. This presumption appears to be confirmed by the presence of pre-excitation in identical twin brothers. Other possibilities are also discussed.


Focal adhesion kinase is required for synovial fibroblast invasion, but not murine inflammatory arthritis.
Synovial fibroblasts invade cartilage and bone, leading to joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis. However, the mechanisms that regulate synovial fibroblast invasion are not well understood. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) has been implicated in cellular invasion in several cell types, and FAK inhibitors are in clinical trials for cancer treatment. Little is known about the role of FAK in inflammatory arthritis, but, given its expression in synovial tissue, its known role in invasion in other cells and the potential clinical availability of FAK inhibitors, it is important to determine if FAK contributes to synovial fibroblast invasion and inflammatory arthritis. After treatment with FAK inhibitors, invasiveness of human rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts was determined with Matrigel invasion chambers. Migration and focal matrix degradation, two components of cellular invasion, were assessed in FAK-inhibited rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts by transwell assay and microscopic examination of fluorescent gelatin degradation, respectively. Using mice with tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα)-induced arthritis in which fak could be inducibly deleted, invasion and migration by FAK-deficient murine arthritic synovial fibroblasts were determined as described above and arthritis was clinically and pathologically scored in FAK-deficient mice. Inhibition of FAK in human rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts impaired cellular invasion and migration. Focal matrix degradation occurred both centrally and at focal adhesions, the latter being a novel site for matrix degradation in synovial fibroblasts, but degradation was unaltered with FAK inhibitors. Loss of FAK reduced invasion in murine arthritic synovial fibroblasts, but not migration or TNFα-induced arthritis severity and joint erosions. FAK inhibitors reduce synovial fibroblast invasion and migration, but synovial fibroblast migration and TNFα-induced arthritis do not rely on FAK itself. Thus, inhibition of FAK alone is unlikely to be sufficient to treat inflammatory arthritis, but current drugs that inhibit FAK may inhibit multiple factors, which could increase their efficacy in rheumatoid arthritis.


Validation of a method for the analysis of biogenic amines: histamine instability during wine sample storage.
This paper reports on the development of an optimized method for the simultaneous analysis of eight biogenic amines (histamine, methylamine, ethylamine, tyramine, putrescine, cadaverine, phenethylamine, and isoamylamine). The analytical method thus proposed has the following advantages: the easy derivatization of wine, the quantification of biogenic amines and a complete degradation of excess derivatization reagent during sample preparation in order to preserve the column. It consists in reversed phase separation by HPLC and UV-vis detection of the aminoenones formed by the reaction of amino compounds with the derivatization reagent diethyl ethoxymethylenemalonate (DEEMM). The usefulness of this technique was confirmed by an alternative oenological analytical method for the validation, quality control and uncertainty assessment (OIV Oeno 10/2005). The method was validated and proposed as a reference method to the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV). As a specific application of the proposed method, the biogenic amine content of Rhône valley wines was investigated.


Antimicrobial activity of organic thiosulfates (Bunte salts).
A number of organic thiosulfates (Bunte salts) were prepared from appropriate primary bromides or iodides. In the case of substrates with long aliphatic chains, an addition of benzyltrimethylammonium chloride as phase transfer catalyst was very successful. The Bunte salts obtained were tested for antibacterial and fungicidal activity by means of the agar disc-diffusion method and by assignation of the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC). It was found that the microorganisms Proteus vulgaris, Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus showed the highest sensitivity. Biological activity of the compounds studied was dependent on the length of the aliphatic chain. Among the investigated compounds, aliphatic thiosulfates with 10-13 carbon atom chain were the most potent.


Mitochondrial Genetics and Optic Neuropathy.
Mitochondrial dysfunction underlies many human disorders, including those that affect the visual system. The retinal ganglion cells, whose axons form the optic nerve, are often damaged by mitochondrial-related diseases which result in blindness. Both mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear gene mutations impacting many different mitochondrial processes can result in optic nerve disease. Of particular importance are mutations that impair mitochondrial network dynamics (fusion and fission), oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), and formation of iron-sulfur complexes. Current genetic knowledge can inform genetic counseling and suggest strategies for novel gene-based therapies. Identifying new optic neuropathy-causing genes and defining the role of current and novel genes in disease will be important steps toward the development of effective and potentially neuroprotective therapies.


Antioxidant activity of oils extracted from orange (Citrus sinensis) seeds.
Due to the increasing production of food in the world with consequent increase of the production of waste, the importance of developing researches for its use is noticed. Thus, the interest in vegetable oils with bioactive compounds, such as the ones extracted from fruit seeds, is growing. Therefore, the present study aims to characterize the oils extracted from seeds of Hamlin, Natal, Pera-rio and Valencia orange varieties (Citrus sinensis), as to the levels of total carotenoids, total phenolic compounds, tocopherols and phytosterols, as well as to determine their antioxidant activity. The orange seed oils presented important content of total carotenoids (19.01 mg/kg), total phenolic compounds (4.43 g/kg), α-tocopherol (135.65 mg/kg) and phytosterols (1304.2 mg/kg). The antioxidant activity ranged from 56.0% (Natal) to 70.2% (Pera-rio). According to the results it is possible to conclude that the orange seed oils can be used as specialty oils in diet, since they contain considerable amounts of bioactive compounds and antioxidants.


HMO mergers and Medicare: the antitrust issues.
This paper presents a theoretical framework to predict the effects that may arise from mergers in the rapidly-growing Medicare HMO market. We argue that mergers of large Medicare HMOs should be targeted for antitrust investigation because there are significant barriers into this market. The recent merger of PacifiCare and FHP is used to illustrate the potential antitrust issues raised by Medicare HMO mergers.


Occupational Therapy for Functional Impairments Resulting From COVID-19 Infection: A Case Report.
This case report examines the role of occupational therapy in the recovery of a client who became critically ill with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. In it, we describe evaluation and treatment methods, functional impairments, and special considerations when working with a client with severe coronavirus disease 2019 infection. The client was a 43-yr-old Hispanic man treated in a long-term acute-care hospital. Client-centered treatment sessions focused on activities of daily living (ADLs), self-feeding, medication management, and leisure and were implemented in 30- to 45-min sessions 3 times per week for 5 wk. The Activity Measure for Post Acute Care Daily Activities Short Form was used to measure basic mobility, daily activities, and applied cognition in the acute setting. A manual dynamometer was used to measure grip strength, and the Nine-Hole Peg Test was used to measure digit dexterity. Both were used in the context of occupational engagement. Data were collected at evaluation, every 2 wk, and at discharge. The client achieved his goals and demonstrated marked improvement in independence with basic ADLs, leisure activities, bilateral grip strength, and manual dexterity.


Tight control of type 1 diabetes: recommendations for patients.
Tight control of blood glucose levels and risk factors for cardiovascular disease (e.g., hypertension, hypercholesterolemia) can substantially reduce the incidence of microvascular and macrovascular complications from type 1 diabetes. Physicians play an important role in helping patients make essential lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of these complications. Key recommendations that family physicians can give patients to optimize their outcomes include: take control of daily decisions regarding your health, focus on preventing and controlling risk factors for cardiovascular disease, tightly control your blood glucose level, be cognizant of potentially inaccurate blood glucose test results, use physiologic insulin replacement regimens, and learn how to manage and prevent hypoglycemia.


Electrostatic stabilization in methionine aminopeptidase from hyperthermophile Pyrococcus furiosus.
The thermostability of methionine aminopeptidase from a hyperthermophile P. furiosus (PfMAP) was extremely high: the denaturation temperature was 106.2 degreesC at pH 10.2. To explore the contribution of electrostatic interaction to the superior thermostability of PfMAP, the thermostability of PfMAP was examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in various salt concentrations in the acidic region far from the isoelectric point of PfMAP. (1) In 20 mM glycine buffer, the DSC curve of PfMAP exhibited a single peak. Transition temperatures (Tm) were lowered with decreasing pH from 4 to 3. The heat denaturation of PfMAP was not reversible. (2) Denaturation enthalpy (DeltaH) measured at different pHs linearly correlated with Tm up to 102 degreesC, suggesting that the denaturation heat capacity (DeltaCp) for PfMAP is constant up to 100 degreesC. DeltaCp was estimated to be 0.82 J K-1 g-1. (3) In the presence of 10-100 mM KCl at pH 3.2, two peaks appeared on the DSC curves. The first peak shifted to lower temperatures with increasing concentration of KCl and, oppositely, the second one to higher temperatures. It was found that the first and second peaks originated from the heat denaturation of the native form of PfMAP and the melting of the non-native associated form having molten globule-like structure, respectively, judged from the CD spectra and ultracentrifugation analyses. This indicates the following: first, the attractive electrostatic interaction is an important factor in stabilizing the native form of PfMAP; second, the presence of KCl stimulates the formation of the molten globule-like state of PfMAP and stabilizes it. (4) In a comparison of the sequence and crystal structure of PfMAP, which has been recently determined (1xgs.pdb), with those of MAP from Escherichia coli (EcMAP), it was predicted that the extra four short-range ion pairs less than 3 A involved in PfMAP are crucial candidates as determinants for the superior thermostability of PfMAP.


Development of an allergy management support system in primary care.
Management of allergic patients in the population is becoming more difficult because of increases in both complexity and prevalence. Although general practitioners (GPs) are expected to play an important role in the care of allergic patients, they often feel ill-equipped for this task. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop an allergy management support system (AMSS) for primary care. Through literature review, interviewing and testing in secondary and primary care patients, an allergy history questionnaire was constructed by allergists, dermatologists, GPs and researchers based on primary care and specialists' allergy guidelines and their clinical knowledge. Patterns of AMSS questionnaire responses and specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE)-test outcomes were used to identify diagnostic categories and develop corresponding management recommendations. Validity of the AMSS was investigated by comparing specialist (gold standard) and AMSS diagnostic categories. The two-page patient-completed AMSS questionnaire consists of 12 (mainly) multiple choice questions on symptoms, triggers, severity and medication. Based on the AMSS questionnaires and sIgE-test outcome of 118 patients, approximately 150 diagnostic categories of allergic rhinitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, anaphylaxis, food allergy, hymenoptera allergy and other allergies were identified, and the corresponding management recommendations were formulated. The agreement between the allergy specialists' assessments and the AMSS was 69.2% (CI 67.2-71.2). Using a systematic approach, it was possible to develop an AMSS that allows for the formulation of diagnostic and management recommendations for GPs managing allergic patients. The AMSS thus holds promise for the improvement of the quality of primary care for this increasing group of patients.


Neural Circuits for Motion Vision in the Fly.
Seeing the direction of motion is fundamental for visual navigation, predator avoidance, and prey capture. However, the direction of motion is not explicitly represented at the level of individual photoreceptors. Rather, directional motion information needs to be extracted from the photoreceptor array by comparing the signals of neighboring photoreceptors over time. The exact nature of this process as implemented in the Drosophila visual system is currently being studied in great detail, and much progress has recently been made in determining the neural circuits giving rise to directional motion information in this species.


An Assessment of Iterative Reconstruction Methods for Sparse Ultrasound Imaging.
Ultrasonic image reconstruction using inverse problems has recently appeared as an alternative to enhance ultrasound imaging over beamforming methods. This approach depends on the accuracy of the acquisition model used to represent transducers, reflectivity, and medium physics. Iterative methods, well known in general sparse signal reconstruction, are also suited for imaging. In this paper, a discrete acquisition model is assessed by solving a linear system of equations by an ℓ 1 -regularized least-squares minimization, where the solution sparsity may be adjusted as desired. The paper surveys 11 variants of four well-known algorithms for sparse reconstruction, and assesses their optimization parameters with the goal of finding the best approach for iterative ultrasound imaging. The strategy for the model evaluation consists of using two distinct datasets. We first generate data from a synthetic phantom that mimics real targets inside a professional ultrasound phantom device. This dataset is contaminated with Gaussian noise with an estimated SNR, and all methods are assessed by their resulting images and performances. The model and methods are then assessed with real data collected by a research ultrasound platform when scanning the same phantom device, and results are compared with beamforming. A distinct real dataset is finally used to further validate the proposed modeling. Although high computational effort is required by iterative methods, results show that the discrete model may lead to images closer to ground-truth than traditional beamforming. However, computing capabilities of current platforms need to evolve before frame rates currently delivered by ultrasound equipments are achievable.


Pulsed laser imaging of rapid Ca2+ gradients in excitable cells.
Excitable cells are thought to respond to action potentials by forming short lived and highly localized Ca2+ gradients near sites of Ca2+ entry or near the site of Ca2+ release by intracellular stores. However, conventional imaging techniques lack the spatial and temporal resolution to capture these gradients. Here we demonstrate the use of pulsed-laser microscopy to measure Ca2+ gradients with submicron spatial resolution and millisecond time resolution in two preparations where the Ca2+ signal is thought to be fast and highly localized: adrenal chromaffin cells, where the entry of Ca2+ through voltage dependent Ca2+ channels triggers exocytotic fusion; and skeletal muscle fibers, where intracellular Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum initiates contraction. In chromaffin cells, Ca2+ gradients developed over 10-100 ms and were initially restricted to discrete submembrane domains, or hot spots, before developing into complete rings of elevated Ca2+ concentration. In frog skeletal muscle large, short-lived (approximately 6 ms) Ca2+ gradients were observed within individual sarcomeres following induction of action potentials. The pulsed laser imaging approach permits, for the first time, the capture and critical examination of rapid Ca2+ signaling events such as those underlying excitation-secretion and excitation-contraction coupling.


SDN Control Strategy and QoS Optimization Simulation Performance Based on Improved Algorithm.
In the past few years, the Internet has become more and more popular, and more and more people use the Internet. A lot of new software has been developed on the Internet, so the network traffic has increased rapidly. A company once clearly stated that, in the future, the network volume in our country will reach nearly 5 zb. In addition, the network is comprehensively unified, and the learning of the Internet is strengthened by the way of suggesting errors. It is also necessary to learn from the external environment to make the finite value of the network as good as possible. Reinforcement learning is about solving many difficult problems. Use reinforcement learning to promote and change this state, so that the advantages of the network can be fully developed. Regarding the environment and actions at the time as the basic mapping requirements, and the network technology strategy can be best developed. In order to solve the QoS optimization scheme of the current mainstream heuristic algorithm in the software-defined network scene, the software-defined network QoS optimization algorithm is proposed. First, the network resources and status information are unified into the network model, and then, the long- and short-term memory network is used to improve the algorithm's flow perception ability. Finally, based on the deep reinforcement learning algorithm, a dynamic traffic scheduling strategy that satisfies the QoS objective is constructed. Among them, QoS refers to the main functions of the entire network system, especially for some new users, but for many old users, this system can represent a certain application, for example, whether a certain software can get timely, whether it can work smoothly when processing videos, and whether it can be interrupted when making a voice call for improvement.


Clinical efficacy and compatibility of allogeneic avital tissue transplants sterilized with a peracetic acid/ethanol mixture.
In the course of the past 20 years a quantity of approximately 60,000 allogeneic avital tissue grafts sterilized with the peracetic acid-ethanol method (PES) were transplanted successfully. Based on a retrospective report of clinical experience of the years 1997-2001 on the overall scope of tissue grafts manufactured by the Tissue Banks of the University Hospital Charité and the German Institute for Cell and Tissue Replacement, the clinical efficacy and side effects of 18.3% (3.087/16.823) of all transplants were studied. Cancellous (1.601/3.087) and cortical (291/3.087) bone transplants as well as amnion (1.027/3.087) constituted the greatest part. In 91% of the examined patients (2.369/2.592) tissue integration ratios ranging from good up to very well could be observed. The transplant function of defect replacement or of a spacer respectively could be obtained for all types of tissue. The clinical effect caused by the transplant resulted in more than 99% of the transplants in primary integration or in the desired aim of the therapy (defect replacement, stabilization in case of palliative operations, etc.). In less than 1% (9/2.592) of cases a secondary healing occurred for cancellous bone transplantations or, revisional operations became necessary. In all cases severe side effects, in particular transmission of infectious diseases or transplant rejections, were not observed.


Attitudes towards people with disabilities across different healthcare undergraduate students: A cluster analysis approach.
Negative attitudes towards disability amongst healthcare professionals endanger social inclusion of people with disabilities (PwD). This study aimed to investigate the attitude of undergraduate healthcare students of various disciplines towards PwD, including specific aspects of their attitude. We assessed the attitudes of university students, including physiotherapy, speech therapy, nursing, social work and medical students, through the Greek Interaction with Disabled Person Scale (IDPS) in a survey. Data were analysed using a two-step clustering technique. Four hundred-eighty undergraduate healthcare students (21.4 ± 5.3 years-old; 135 males, 345 females) were recruited. Two-step cluster analysis identified three homogenous subgroups labelled Least positive attitude (42.3%), Moderately positive attitude (26.9%), and Most positive attitude (30.8%) groups. Τhe main differences in healthcare students' attitudes between the three distinct groups appeared to be in feelings of sympathy, fear and susceptibility towards disability, suggesting that these aspects of attitude needed to be primarily addressed. Results also revealed that females, being in higher semester/year of studies, having completed a clinical module with PwD and having frequent contact with PwD were related to more positive attitudes. Taking into account that the majority of the healthcare students' sample yielded least and moderately positive attitudes, towards PwD, further actions should be taken for promoting more positive attitudes towards disability. A social model in teaching to increase student's awareness of PwD and skills to work with these people, having PwD themselves teaching such modules, focussing on positive experiences and reminding the students of the benefits of having positive attitudes towards PwD, as well as promoting ways to increase the contact of healthcare students with PwD (such as teaching in co-operation with organisations of PwD or finding alternative clinical placements with PwD), can be beneficial in promoting more positive attitudes towards disability.


Molecular basis of chloramphenicol and thiamphenicol toxicity to DNA in vitro.
The action of thiamphenicol and reduced chloramphenicol on DNA has been investigated in vitro. Reduced chloramphenicol causes DNA damage which is dependent upon reduction of the nitro group and which is characterized by helix destabilization and strand breakage. Although the reduction process requires six electrons indicating formation of the amine in 100% yield the toxic agent is most probably a short-lived reduction intermediate. We propose the one-electron nitro radical anion rather than the nitroso derivative as the toxic agent responsible for DNA damage related to aplastic anaemia. In contrast, thiamphenicol produces no such effects on DNA.


Generalizing Fisher's "reproductive value": overlapping and nonoverlapping generations with competing genotypes.
How to go beyond Fisher's 1930 linear eigenvector definition of reproductive value has been established for dilute systems whose dynamic relations are first-degree-homogeneous functions so that intensive ratios are scale-free. Here such an extension is applied to standard mendelian models. It is shown that, aside from singular cases like that of the Hardy-Weinberg razor's-edge labile equilibrium, such general systems are irreducibly nonlinear and admit of reproductive value functions that are calculable only in an infinite number of steps.


Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Alzheimer's Disease: from physiopathology to treatment implications.
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia worldwide. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a disease characterized by insulin resistance (IR) and progressive β cell failure, and affected individuals are at increased risk to develop several forms of cognitive dysfunction, including AD. Different mechanisms have already been identified linking visceral obesity, IR and AD. Insulin resistance is associated with a decrease in glucose uptake by neurons, an increase in Amyloid β production and secretion, in the formation of senile plaques, and also in tau protein phosphorylation. Other mechanisms also include a decrease in Insulin Degrading Enzyme (IDE) activity and an increase in oxidative stress secondary to hyperglycemia. Taken together, these mechanisms suggest that drugs used to ameliorate hyperglycemia and IR may also have beneficial effects in diabetic patients with AD. Indeed, manuscripts investigating the effects of metformin, thiazolinediones, leptin, GLP-1 therapies, insulin and bariatric surgery in cognition and AD have been published with very promising results, and may indicate an alternative approach for these patients. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Identification and characterisation of regional variations in the material properties of ureter according to microstructure.
There are few previous studies on the elastic properties of ureter and most have been limited to essentially one-dimensional deformation measurements. The object of this study was, therefore, to identify regional variations in the multiaxial behaviour of rabbit ureter, subjected to in vitro inflation/extension testing under a physiological range of intraluminal pressures and longitudinal forces. A microstructure-motivated material model (via two- and four-fibre families in turn for elastin and collagen) was implemented and its capacity to mathematically characterise the experimental data contrasted favourably with that of the well-established phenomenological models, but it was compromised by parameter covariance. Extensive optimisation studies confirmed that the reduced model without contribution to the elastin and circumferential-fibre (collagen) families characterised the data equally well without over-parameterisation. In view of the fitted parameters, the ureteral tissue was stiffer longitudinally, justified by the preferential alignment of collagen along that axis and the lower ureter was stiffer than the upper ureter, justified by the histological observation of a thickest lamina propria, i.e. of highest collagen content, there. The lower ureter was less anisotropic than the upper ureter, possessing a comparatively larger amount of diagonally arranged collagen fibres in tunica mucosa, while having the usual amounts of longitudinally arranged fibres in tunica adventitia and of circumferentially arranged fibres in tunica muscularis. The present data may be used as inputs to mathematical models of the ureter, assessing regional and intramural stress distributions, through which it is hoped that an improved appreciation of ureteral function may be attained in both health and disease.


CAESNet: Convolutional AutoEncoder based Semi-supervised Network for improving multiclass classification of endomicroscopic images.
This article presents a novel method of semisupervised learning using convolutional autoencoders for optical endomicroscopic images. Optical endomicroscopy (OE) is a newly emerged biomedical imaging modality that can support real-time clinical decisions for the grade of dysplasia. To enable real-time decision making, computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) is essential for its high speed and objectivity. However, traditional supervised CAD requires a large amount of training data. Compared with the limited number of labeled images, we can collect a larger number of unlabeled images. To utilize these unlabeled images, we have developed a Convolutional AutoEncoder based Semi-supervised Network (CAESNet) for improving the classification performance. We applied our method to an OE dataset collected from patients undergoing endoscope-based confocal laser endomicroscopy procedures for Barrett's esophagus at Emory Hospital, which consists of 429 labeled images and 2826 unlabeled images. Our CAESNet consists of an encoder with 5 convolutional layers, a decoder with 5 transposed convolutional layers, and a classification network with 2 fully connected layers and a softmax layer. In the unsupervised stage, we first update the encoder and decoder with both labeled and unlabeled images to learn an efficient feature representation. In the supervised stage, we further update the encoder and the classification network with only labeled images for multiclass classification of the OE images. Our proposed semisupervised method CAESNet achieves the best average performance for multiclass classification of OE images, which surpasses the performance of supervised methods including standard convolutional networks and convolutional autoencoder network. Our semisupervised CAESNet can efficiently utilize the unlabeled OE images, which improves the diagnosis and decision making for patients with Barrett's esophagus.


Clinical Manifestations of Superior Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis in the Era of Computed Tomography.
Thrombosis of the portal vein, known as pylephlebitis, is a rare and fatal complication caused by intraperitoneal infections. The disease progression of superior mesenteric venous thrombosis (SMVT) is not severe. This study aimed to determine the clinical features, etiology, and prognosis of SMVT. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 41 patients with SMVT from March 2000 to February 2017. We obtained a list of 305 patients through the International Classification of Disease-9 code system and selected 41 patients with SMVT with computed tomography. Data from the medical records included patient demographics, comorbidities, review of system, laboratory results, clinical courses, and treatment modalities. The causes of SMVT were found to be intraperitoneal inflammation in 27 patients (65.9%), malignancy in 7 patients (17.1%), and unknown in 7 patients (17.1%). Among the patients with intraperitoneal inflammation, 14 presented with appendicitis (51.9%), 7 with diverticulitis (25.9%), and 2 with ileus (7.4%). When comparing patients with and without small bowel resection, the differences in symptom duration, bowel enhancement and blood culture were significant (P=0.010, P=0.039, and P=0.028, respectively). SMVT, caused by intraperitoneal inflammation, unlike portal vein thrombosis including pylephlebitis, shows mild prognosis. In addition, rapid symptom progression and positive blood culture can be the prognostic factors related to extensive bowel resection. Use of appropriate antibiotics and understanding of disease progression can help improve the outcomes of patients with SMVT.


Randomized Trial of Two Dissemination Strategies for a Skin Cancer Prevention Program in Aquatic Settings.
We compared 2 strategies for disseminating an evidence-based skin cancer prevention program. We evaluated the effects of 2 strategies (basic vs enhanced) for dissemination of the Pool Cool skin cancer prevention program in outdoor swimming pools on (1) program implementation, maintenance, and sustainability and (2) improvements in organizational and environmental supports for sun protection. The trial used a cluster-randomized design with pools as the unit of intervention and outcome. The enhanced group received extra incentives, reinforcement, feedback, and skill-building guidance. Surveys were collected in successive years (2003-2006) from managers of 435 pools in 33 metropolitan areas across the United States participating in the Pool Cool Diffusion Trial. Both treatment groups improved their implementation of the program, but pools in the enhanced condition had significantly greater overall maintenance of the program over 3 summers of participation. Furthermore, pools in the enhanced condition established and maintained significantly greater sun-safety policies and supportive environments over time. This study found that more intensive, theory-driven dissemination strategies can significantly enhance program implementation and maintenance of health-promoting environmental and policy changes. Future research is warranted through longitudinal follow-up to examine sustainability.


Common genetic variations in CCK, leptin, and leptin receptor genes are associated with specific human eating patterns.
Obesity has a heritable component; however, the heterogeneity of obesity complicates dissection of its genetic background. In this study, we therefore focused on eating patterns as specific traits within obesity. These traits have a heritable component; genes associated with a specific eating pattern have not yet been reported at the population level. In this study, we determined whether genetic variations in cholecystokinin (CCK) and leptin genes underlie specific eating patterns. We selected obese individuals showing extreme snacking behavior or use of excessive portion sizes from a large population-based sample (n = 17,357) from the Prospect-EPIC (European Prospective Study into Cancer and Nutrition) study. Using allele-specific PCRs, we tested several single nucleotide polymorphisms in the candidate genes and performed haplotype analysis. Obese carriers of common allelic variations in leptin or the leptin receptor gene had an increased risk to display extreme snacking behavior. In contrast, obese carriers of common allelic variations in CCK had an increased risk to eating increased meal sizes. In conclusion, we identified common allelic variants specifically associated with distinctly different eating patterns, namely extreme snacking behavior or excessive portion size.


High resolution spectroscopy of jet cooled phenyl radical: The ν1 and ν2 a1 symmetry C-H stretching modes.
A series of CH stretch modes in phenyl radical (C6H5) has been investigated via high resolution infrared spectroscopy at sub-Doppler resolution (∼60 MHz) in a supersonic discharge slit jet expansion. Two fundamental vibrations of a1 symmetry, ν1 and ν2, are observed and rotationally analyzed for the first time, corresponding to in-phase and out-of-phase symmetric CH stretch excitation at the ortho/meta/para and ortho/para C atoms with respect to the radical center. The ν1 and ν2 band origins are determined to be 3073.968 50(8) cm(-1) and 3062.264 80(7) cm(-1), respectively, which both agree within 5 cm(-1) with theoretical anharmonic scaling predictions based on density functional B3LYP/6-311g++(3df,3dp) calculations. Integrated band strengths for each of the CH stretch bands are analyzed, with the relative intensities agreeing remarkably well with theoretical predictions. Frequency comparison with previous low resolution Ar-matrix spectroscopy [A. V. Friderichsen et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 123, 1977 (2001)] reveals a nearly uniform Δν ≈ + 10-12 cm(-1) blue shift between gas phase and Ar matrix values for ν1 and ν2. This differs substantially from the much smaller red shift (Δν ≈ - 1 cm(-1)) reported for the ν19 mode, and suggests a simple physical model in terms of vibrational mode symmetry and crowding due to the matrix environment. Finally, the infrared phenyl spectra are well described by a simple asymmetric rigid rotor Hamiltonian and show no evidence for spectral congestion due to intramolecular vibrational coupling, which bodes well for high resolution studies of other ring radicals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In summary, the combination of slit jet discharge methods with high resolution infrared lasers enables spectroscopic investigation of even highly reactive combustion and interstellar radical intermediates under gas phase, jet-cooled (Trot ≈ 11 K) conditions.


Validation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of mouse parvovirus infection in laboratory mice.
Parvoviruses are among the most prevalent infectious agents in mouse colonies. Infection in laboratory mice is confirmed by detection of serum antibodies to these agents, and most diagnostic tests cannot distinguish serogroup of the infecting agent. The principal objective of the research reported here was to develop and validate a sensitive, serogroup-specific diagnostic test that will distinguish between mouse parvovirus (MPV) and minute virus of mice (MVM) infection. The MPV VP2 protein was expressed in bacteria, purified by use of metal-chelation chromatography, and used as antigen in an ELISA. More than 580 sera from uninfected mice and experimentally or naturally infected mice were screened by MPV indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test, then were re-tested using the MPV ELISA to define test sensitivity and specificity. An additional 3,700 sera were screened using a variety of tests, including the MPV ELISA and recombinant NS1 ELISA (rNS1 ELISA). Using MPV IFA test results as a benchmark, the MPV ELISA had sensitivity of 92.3% and specificity of 99.8%. In addition, the MPV ELISA detected anti-viral antibodies at a higher dilution of serum than did the IFA test, and confirmed the infecting agent as MPV or MVM. When compared directly in a commercial laboratory, the MPV ELISA had higher sensitivity (90.3% versus 65%) than and similar specificity (98.3% versus 99.6%) to the rNS1 ELISA. The MPV VP2 ELISA provides a sensitive, serogroup-specific alternative for diagnosis and classification of parvovirus infection in laboratory mice.


Cervical Intradural Disc Herniation: Case Report and Operative Video.
Cervical intradural disc herniation (CIDH) is a rare presentation of an intradural disc herniation. We present a case of CIDH with associated surgical video depicting an anterior surgical approach to treatment. Patient presentation, relevant radiographic imaging, surgical exposure and technique, and cerebrospinal fluid leak complication and prevention are discussed.


Responses to converting-enzyme inhibition and hemorrhage in newborn lambs and adult sheep.
We compared the cardiovascular and hormonal responses to angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition and hemorrhage of 20% of blood volume in chronically instrumented unanesthetized newborn lambs and adult sheep. Administration of the nonsulfhydryl-containing converting-enzyme inhibitor enalapril reduced mean arterial pressure in the newborn but not in the adult animals. Blood pressure fell in both age groups after hemorrhage, and the hemorrhage-induced fall in blood pressure, integrated over the period of hypovolemia, was more pronounced when converting-enzyme inhibition was present in the lambs. This was not observed in the adults. Cardiac output fell following hemorrhage in both age groups, and the fall was greater when enalapril was present in the lambs, but this was not the case in the adults. Hemorrhage increased plasma renin activity in both groups, and enalapril augmented this increase. Plasma concentrations of vasopressin and catecholamines increased following hemorrhage within and between groups. Taken together these data suggest that the renin-angiotensin system plays a more important role in the maintenance of cardiovascular homeostasis in newborn lambs than it does in adult sheep, and catecholamine and vasopressin responses to volume loss can occur in the presence of blockade of the renin-angiotensin system.


[Intestinal microbiota, nutrients and probiotics viewed from the «gut-lung» axis].
Disturbance of the bronchopulmonary system are among the most common and socially significant diseases, so, the prevention and treatment of these disorders are the priority tasks of practical health care. Being based on the accumulated literature data on the interaction of the intestinal microflora and respiratory tract, the role of symbiotic bacteria of the intestinal biotope has been discussed in the respiratory diseases' pathogenesis. The aim of the work was to analyze the results of experimental and clinical studies confirming the effect of intestinal microflora on the development and progression of respiratory diseases. The analysis of the available data on the risk reducing of occurrence, duration and severity of symptoms of bronchial asthma when taking probiotics, both in childhood and in the adult population, has been carried out. The effectiveness of the probiotic microorganisms' intake for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, viral infection, cystic fibrosis, and lung cancer has been analyzed. The main possible molecular mechanisms of the symbiotic bacteria prevention of the bronchopulmonary diseases development have been discussed in the article. Conclusion. The probiotics usage in the complex treatment of bronchopulmonary diseases demonstrates encouraging results. Its potential may be useful in the treatment of various lung diseases. However, a number of questions have been related to the individual selection of specific strains, the dosage and duration of use to achieve sustained remission for a patient.


Impact of knowledge and age on tip-of-the-tongue rates.
Older (50-82), middle age (30-49), and younger (17-29) adults were asked to answer 57 general knowledge questions about words, objects, and people that were used to generate tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) experiences; none required a proper name answer. Middle age and older participants correctly answered more of the general knowledge questions and received higher scores on a vocabulary test than the younger participants. An analysis of variance of the number of positive TOTs indicated a significant main effect of age; older adults experienced more TOTs than younger and middle aged adults, but an analysis of covariance conducted to statistically control for the level of knowledge showed no significant differences between the age groups. Level of knowledge, and not age, contributed to the amount of TOTs experienced; those people with higher levels of knowledge experienced more TOTs. The implications of these results for the transmission deficit hypothesis are discussed.


Clinical outcome of proton therapy for patients with chordomas.
To investigate the clinical outcome of proton therapy (PT) in patients with chordoma. Fifty-eight patients with chordoma treated with PT between June 2007 and December 2015 at the National Cancer Center, Korea, were retrospectively analyzed. The median total dose was 69.6 cobalt gray equivalent (CGE; range, 64.8 to 79.2 CGE). Local progression-free survival (LPFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), overall survival (OS), and diseasespecific survival (DSS) rates were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. With the median follow-up of 42.8 months (range, 4 to 174 months), the 5-year LPFS, DMFS, OS, and DSS rates were 87.9%, 86.7%, 88.3%, and 92.9%, respectively. The tumor location was associated with the patterns of failure: the LPFS rates were lower for cervical tumors (57.1%) than for non-cervical tumors (93.1%) (p = 0.02), and the DMFS rates were lower for sacral tumors (53.5%) than for non-sacral tumors (100%) (p = 0.001). The total dose was associated with both the LPFS rate and DMFS rate. The initial tumor size was associated with the DMFS rate, but was not associated with the LPFS rate. Three patients had grade 3 late toxicity with none ≥grade 4. PT is an effective and safe treatment in patients with chordomas. The tumor location was associated with the patterns of failure: local failure was common in cervical tumors, and distant failure was common in sacral tumors. Further refinement of PT, such as the utilization of intensity modulated PT for cervical tumors, is warranted to improve the outcome.


Anaphylactic-like reaction to suxamethonium.
A young woman developed an anaphylactic-type reaction during induction of anaesthesia, which was later shown to be due to suxamethonium, to which the patient had not been previously exposed. In vitro testing identified not only suxamethonium as the causative agent, but also other potentially hazardous agents, pharmacologically and chemically related to suxamethonium. Furthermore, 'unrelated' neuromuscular blocking drugs elicited no reaction from the patient's leucocytes, suggesting that in future anaesthesia these agents may be used with little risk. The leucocytes of the patient's parents and brother were also tested, the brother showing a minimal positive reaction. Skin testing confirmed the significance of the in vitro histamine release by the patient's leucocytes.


Anti-Kv1.4 Antibody-positive Nivolumab-induced Myasthenia Gravis and Myositis Presenting with Bilateral Ptosis and Demonstrating Different Pathophysiologies.
Nivolumab blocks inhibitors of T-cell activation and restores antitumor immunity but promotes T-cell activity in host tissues by blocking inhibition of the T-cell function, resulting in immune-related adverse effects. We herein report an 80-year-old man presenting with nivolumab-related myasthenia gravis with anti-muscular voltage-gated potassium channel-complex (Kv1.4) antibodies. On day 29 after nivolumab administration, he simultaneously developed rapidly progressing right ptosis and left facial paralysis. Nivolumab administration was discontinued. He subsequently presented with bulbar paralysis, dyspnea, and muscle weakness and received intravenous immunoglobulin, methylprednisolone, and plasma exchange. The severity of nivolumab-related myasthenia gravis with anti-Kv1.4 antibodies presented with diverse clinical findings.


Topology and organization of the Salmonella typhimurium type III secretion needle complex components.
The correct organization of single subunits of multi-protein machines in a three dimensional context is critical for their functionality. Type III secretion systems (T3SS) are molecular machines with the capacity to deliver bacterial effector proteins into host cells and are fundamental for the biology of many pathogenic or symbiotic bacteria. A central component of T3SSs is the needle complex, a multiprotein structure that mediates the passage of effector proteins through the bacterial envelope. We have used cryo electron microscopy combined with bacterial genetics, site-specific labeling, mutational analysis, chemical derivatization and high-resolution mass spectrometry to generate an experimentally validated topographic map of a Salmonella typhimurium T3SS needle complex. This study provides insights into the organization of this evolutionary highly conserved nanomachinery and is the basis for further functional analysis.


A model of interorganelle monoclonal antibody transport and secretion in mouse hybridoma cells.
A three compartment model (ER --> Golgi --> extracellular medium) is used here to describe the interorganelle transport and final secretion of an IgG(2a) monoclonal antibody (MAb) in 9.2.27 murine hybridoma cells. Model simulations of pulse-chase and continuous labeling experiments are used to gain a better understanding of the kinetics of MAb interorganelle traffic. Simulation results for the continuous labeling case compare well with experimental data obtained during continuous labeling of 9.2.27 hybridoma cells. Incorporation of this compartmental transport model into our previously developed model of MAb synthesis and assembly can provide a useful tool for analyzing the dynamics and regulation of the complete antibody secretory pathway under different growth and/or nutritional conditions.


Actinomyces pyogenes: susceptibility of 103 clinical animal isolates to 22 antimicrobial agents.
Actinomyces pyogenes induces suppurative diseases in ruminants and many other animal species. Most of the earlier antimicrobial susceptibility data has been obtained by disk diffusion techniques. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 22 antibiotics for 103 strains of A pyogenes of animal origin were determined by agar dilution test (Mueller-Hinton agar supplemented with 5% sheep blood). All the strains were susceptible to penicillin G, amoxicillin, methicillin, cephalothin, cefoperazone, pristinamycin, kanamycin, gentamicin, spectinomycin, chloramphenicol, vancomycin, novobiocin and rifampin. Fifty-nine percent were resistant to streptomycin, 67% to tetracycline, doxycycline and minocycline, 12% to erythromycin, spiramycin and lincomycin. Most of the strains resistant to macrolides and lincosamides exhibited a constitutive MLS(B)-like phenotype. In the cultural conditions used, it was not possible to determine accurate MIC of fucidic acid and pefloxacin.


Feasibility of half-data image reconstruction in 3-D reflectivity tomography with a spherical aperture.
Reflectivity tomography is an imaging technique that seeks to reconstruct certain acoustic properties of a weakly scattering object. Besides being applicable to pure ultrasound imaging techniques, the reconstruction theory of reflectivity tomography is also pertinent to hybrid imaging techniques such as thermoacoustic tomography. In this work, assuming spherical scanning apertures, redundancies in the three-dimensional (3-D) reflectivity tomography data function are identified and formulated mathematically. These data redundancies are used to demonstrate that knowledge of the measured data function over half of its domain uniquely specifies the 3-D object function. This indicates that, in principle, exact image reconstruction can be performed using a "half-scan" data function, which corresponds to temporally untruncated measurements acquired on a hemi-spherical aperture, or using a "half-time" data function, which corresponds to temporally truncated measurements acquired on the entire spherical aperture. Both of these minimal scanning configurations have important biological imaging applications. An iterative reconstruction method is utilized for reconstruction of a simulated 3-D object from noiseless and noisy half-scan and half-time data functions.


Hospital performance dashboards: a literature review.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to give a comprehensive and updated analysis of the available literature on hospital dashboards. Design/methodology/approach A search of the current literature was performed by searching electronic databases, including Google Scholar, EBSCO and Medline, as well as books. Findings In all, 48 manuscripts consisting of peer reviewed articles, conference proceedings, case reports and text books were included in this review. Practical implications Despite the numerous advantages of performance dashboards, several authors have mentioned a number of challenges. It was evident from the literature that any setting requires significant effort, especially to ensure the quality of data being collected. In fact, significant investment, both in terms of financial and human resources, is required to achieve an effective dashboard. Furthermore, most of the studies available in the literature were individual case reports or anecdotal accounts rather than empirical studies. Thus, further research is required to ascertain the effectiveness of performance dashboards. In view of these findings, each organisation should make its own decisions whether or not to adopt performance dashboards. Originality/value Most of the literature is fragmented as it reports the use of different types of dashboards, namely strategic, tactical and operational, as separate tools. This literature review contributes to knowledge as it brings together the different types of dashboards and the cascading effect of one dashboard onto another in order to achieve and retain organisational alignment with the overall strategic goals.


Hierarchical and multi-resolution representation of protein flexibility.
Conformational rearrangements during molecular interactions are observed in a wide range of biological systems. However, computational methods that aim at simulating and predicting molecular interactions are still largely ignoring the flexible nature of biological macromolecules as the number of degrees of freedom is computationally intractable when using brute force representations. In this article, we present a computational data structure called the Flexibility Tree (FT) that enables a multi-resolution and hierarchical encoding of molecular flexibility. This tree-like data structure allows the encoding of relatively small, yet complex sub-spaces of a protein's conformational space. These conformational sub-spaces are parameterized by a small number of variables and can be searched efficiently using standard global search techniques. The FT structure makes it straightforward to combine and nest a wide variety of motion types such as hinge, shear, twist, screw, rotameric side chains, normal modes and essential dynamics. Moreover, the ability to assign shapes to the nodes in a FT allows the interactive manipulation of flexible protein shapes and the interactive visualization of the impact of conformational changes on the protein's overall shape. We describe the design of the FT and illustrate the construction of such trees to hierarchically combine motion information obtained from a variety of sources ranging from experiment to user intuition, and describing conformational changes at different biological scales. We show that the combination of various types of motion helps refine the encoded conformational sub-spaces to include experimentally determined structures, and we demonstrate searching these sub-spaces for specific conformations.


Beta-carbolines as tools in memory research: human data with the beta-carboline ZK 93426.
The discovery of substances which bind with high affinity to benzodiazepine receptors but have no pharmacological effects (antagonists) or effects opposite to those of benzodiazepines (inverse agonists) have introduced a new approach to elucidating mechanisms underlying memory and other cognitive processes. Since benzodiazepines induce anterograde amnesia and sedation, these substances should show an opposite effect and so enhance memory and/or increase vigilance. In the present report we present data obtained in humans with a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist with weak inverse agonist properties, ZK 93426. The drug was given intravenously to human volunteers in double-blind, placebo-controlled designs and performance on several psychometric tests was evaluated. In a general estimation of behavioural changes volunteers experienced a stimulatory, activating effect of the drug. An improvement was observed in two cognitive tasks, the logical reasoning task and the pictures difference task, which estimate concentration and attentional processes respectively. No effects were found in a letter cancellation test or in time estimation. In another study utilizing EEG recording, we demonstrated that ZK 93426 increased wakefulness (vigilance) in healthy subjects during the daytime. The effect of ZK 93426 upon memory processes was also investigated utilizing a visual memory test and word lists. A slight improvement in some memory processes, especially long-term retrieval, was found. The present data suggest that benzodiazepine receptor antagonists with weak inverse intrinsic activity possess some effects opposite to those of benzodiazepines.


Fluorogenic substrates for bacterial aminopeptidase P and its analogs detected in human serum and calf lung.
A sensitive fluorimetric assay was developed for bacterial aminopeptidase P, based on intramolecularly quenched fluorogenic substrates. Two substrates were synthesized. Phe(NO2)-Pro-HN-CH2-CH2-NH-ABz (substrate I) and Phe(NO2)-Pro-Pro-HN-CH2-CH2-NH-ABz (substrate II), in which the Phe(NO2) group (rho-nitro-L-phenylalanyl) quenches the fluorescence of the ABz group (omicron-aminobenzoyl). Both substrates were readily cleaved by aminopeptidase P from Escherichia coli, releasing rho-nitro-L-phenylalanine and causing a proportional increase in fluorescence. Complete hydrolysis of the two substrates resulted in a 7.5-fold and 3.4-fold fluorescence increase, respectively. Applying this fluorogenic assay, we were able to detect and measure quantitatively amino-peptidase P-like activity in the human serum and calf-lung extracts. Substrate II was shown to be specifically cleaved by aminopeptidase P in these preparations, while substrate I was apparently cleaved by other enzymes as well. In both preparations, the enzyme activity was independent of Co2+ ions, and Pro-HN-CH2-CH2-NH-ABz (Cbz) was inhibitory. The kinetic constant Km was determined as 0.35 mM and 0.28 mM for the human serum and the calf-lung enzymes respectively. The enzyme activity was only slightly dependent on pH in the range 7.0-8.4.


[Action of human leukocyte interferon on poliomyelitis virus reproduction in resistant MIO(r) cells].
The effect of human leukocyte interferon on reproduction of poliomyelitis virus in MIO cells resistant to this virus (MIOr) and sensitive MIO cells was studied. Interferon was shown to exert a short-time protective effect in the sensitive cells and to induce virus reproduction in the resistant cells. It is suggested that poliomyelitis virus reproduction in the resistant cells is due to activation of lysosomal enzyme, cathepsin D, in this system.


Incidence and prevalence of gastric neuroendocrine tumors in patients with chronic atrophic autoimmune gastritis.
The incidence of type I gastric neuroendocrine neoplasms (gNENs) has increased significantly over the past 50 years. Although autoimmune gastritis (AIG) increases the likelihood of developing gNENs, the exact incidence and prevalence of this association remain unclear. To evaluate the incidence and prevalence of type I gNENs in a cohort of patients with a histological diagnosis of AIG. Patients with a histological diagnosis of AIG were enrolled between October 2020 and May 2022. Circulating levels of CgA and gastrin were assessed at enrollment. Included patients underwent regular endoscopic follow-up to detect gastric neoplastic lesions, enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cell hyperplasia, and the development of gNEN. We included 176 patients [142 women (80.7%), median age 64 years, interquartile range (IQR) 53-71 years] diagnosed with AIG between January 1990 and June 2022. At enrollment. One hundred and sixteen patients (65.9%) had ECL hyperplasia, of whom, 29.5% had simple/linear, 30.7% had micronodular, and 5.7% had macronodular type. The median follow-up time was 5 (3-7.5) years. After 1032 person-years, 33 patients developed a total of 50 type I gNENs, with an incidence rate of 0.057 person-years, corresponding to an annual cumulative incidence of 5.7%. Circulating CgA levels did not significantly differ between AIG patients who developed gNENs and those who did not. Conversely, gastrin levels were significantly higher in AIG patients who developed gNENs [median 992 pg/mL IQR = 449-1500 vs 688 pg/mL IQR = 423-1200, P = 0.03]. Calculated gastrin sensitivity and specificity were 90.9% and 1.4%, respectively, with an overall diagnostic accuracy of 30% and a calculated area under the gastrin receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC or AUC) of 0.53. Type I gNENs are a significant complication in AIG. Gastrin's low diagnostic accuracy prevents it from serving as a marker for early diagnosis. Effective strategies for early detection and treatment are needed.


Integrated high-confidence and high-throughput approaches for quantifying synapse engulfment by oligodendrocyte precursor cells.
Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) sculpt neural circuits through the phagocytic engulfment of synapses during development and in adulthood. However, precise techniques for analyzing synapse engulfment by OPCs are limited. Here, we describe a two-pronged cell biological approach for quantifying synapse engulfment by OPCs which merges low- and high-throughput methodologies. In the first method, an adeno-associated virus encoding a pH-sensitive, fluorescently-tagged synaptic marker is expressed in neurons in vivo. This construct allows for the differential labeling of presynaptic inputs that are contained outside of and within acidic phagolysosomal compartments. When followed by immunostaining for markers of OPCs and synapses in lightly fixed tissue, this approach enables the quantification of synapses engulfed by around 30-50 OPCs within a given experiment. In the second method, OPCs isolated from dissociated brain tissue are fixed, incubated with fluorescent antibodies against presynaptic proteins, and then analyzed by flow cytometry. This approach enables the quantification of presynaptic material within tens of thousands of OPCs in less than one week. These methods extend beyond the current imaging-based engulfment assays designed to quantify synaptic phagocytosis by brain-resident immune cells, microglia. Through the integration of these methods, the engulfment of synapses by OPCs can be rigorously quantified at both the individual and populational levels. With minor modifications, these approaches can be adapted to study synaptic phagocytosis by numerous glial cell types in the brain.


Changes in the volume and length of the medial gastrocnemius after surgical recession in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.
Morphology is an important determinant of muscle force and power generation. Children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (SDCP) have reduced muscular strength, which in part is caused by inadequate muscle growth. There is a widespread concern that surgery to correct soft tissue deformities may exacerbate the underlying muscle weakness and further retard muscle growth. In this study, we compared measurements of medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle morphology in typically developing (TD) children to those in children with SDCP with calf muscle deformities before and after corrective surgery. We measured the length and volume of the MG muscle belly using 3-dimensional ultrasound immediately before and at 7 weeks and 1 year after vulpius procedure (VP) surgery in children with SDCP. We made similar measurements in a group of TD children. The SDCP group consisted of 7 children (6 boys, 1 girls; total of 8 limbs; age range, 6-10 years; mean 8 years 1 month, SD +/- 1 year 11 months) and the TD group consisted of 10 children (4 boys, 6 girls; age range, 6-12 years; mean, 9 years 5 months; SD +/- 2 years 6 months). The children with SDCP presented with MG muscle bellies both smaller and shorter than the TD children even when normalized to body mass and limb length, respectively. Muscle belly length was reduced by surgery and remained unaltered 1 year later, despite skeletal growth. Muscle volume was not significantly changed 7 weeks after surgery, but increased significantly between 7 weeks and 1 year after surgery. Children with SDCP presented with short and small MG when compared with TD children. Our results indicate that gastrocnemius muscle volume recovers within a year of VP surgery. This study is the first to investigate the effects of surgery on muscle belly volume and length in the human subject. The study indicates that VP surgery is not an agent of long-term muscle atrophy in individuals with SDCP with plantarflexion deformities.


[Study on spotted fever group Rickettsiae in Guangdong province].
To explore the existence of spotted fever group Rickettsiae (SFGR) in Guangdong province. Sera were tested to find the SFGR in population and host animals. The target samples were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and Rickettsiae was isolated with embryonated hen eggs and identified by serological tests. Eight hundred and sixty people in natural condition and 321 of mice were determined. The mean positive rate of healthy population was 3.84%. To compare results among elected places, Fisher's exact test was applied. The difference was suggestive (P < 0.01), and there was no significant difference between mountain and plain areas. There was also no significant difference between mountain and plain areas (P > 0.05). Positive rate of mice was 4.67%, with Rattus fulvescens, Rattus edwardsi, Bandicota indica 11.59%, 12.90%, 3.13% respectively. It was the first time that SFGR antibodies in Rattus fulvescens, Rattus edwardsi, Bandicota indica were reported. A total number of 321 mice spleens and 394 ticks from the surface of mice body were collected. Two strains of SFGR, GDFK58-2000 and GDFK59-2000, were isolated in the ticks from the body surface of 2 Rattus fulvescens. They were identified as Rickettsia sibirica by serological tests. Five hundred thirty-three bp OmpA gene fragments of the two strains were cloned and sequenced. Compared with other relevant strains in Genbank, the rates of homology of nucleotide sequences of GDFK58-2000 and GDFK59-2000 and other Rickettsia sibirica strains were from 99.6% to 100%, and the homology of amino acid speculated was 100%. It has been proved that epidemic areas of north Asia tick-transmitted SFGR, did exist in Guangdong province confirmed by hostanimals, transmission vectors and aetiology.


Delayed development of Paget's disease in offspring inheriting SQSTM1 mutations.
Familial Paget's disease is associated with mutations in SQSTM1. We compared the age at diagnosis and severity of Paget's disease in parents with SQSTM1 mutations to their offspring who inherited a mutation. At any given age, the offspring were less likely to be diagnosed with Paget's disease and had less severe disease than their parents. Mutations in sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1) occur in 25-50% of cases of familial Paget's disease and are thought to be disease-causing. We sought to determine whether there are differences in age at diagnosis and severity of disease in parents and their offspring who share the same genetic predisposition to Paget's disease. Eighty-four offspring from 10 families (29 index patients with Paget's disease) with mutations in SQSTM1 were approached, and 58 agreed to participate. The ubiquitin-binding domain region of SQSTM1 was sequenced, and the presence or absence of the known mutation was established. The presence of Paget's disease in offspring who had inherited an SQSTM1 mutation was determined by bone scintigraphy and measurement of serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Twenty-three of 58 offspring had inherited a germline mutation in SQSTM1. The mean ALP was 77 U/liter in offspring with mutations and 72 U/liter in those without mutations (p=0.84). Scintiscans from four offspring (mean age, 45 years; mean ALP, 139 U/liter; mean skeletal involvement, 6%) showed evidence of Paget's disease but were normal in the other 19 (mean age, 44 years; mean ALP, 64 U/liter). In comparison, in the 15 parents of the 23 offspring, the mean age of diagnosis was 48 years, the mean ALP was 850 U/liter, and the mean skeletal involvement was 30%. There was a 63% reduction in the risk of being diagnosed with Paget's disease at a comparable age in the offspring compared with the parents (p=0.028). Only 17% of offspring inheriting an SQSTM1 mutation had evidence of Paget's disease on scintigraphy, and this was diagnosed at a later age and was less extensive than in their affected parents. SQSTM1 thus shows incomplete penetrance. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that an environmental factor is important in the pathogenesis and clinical phenotype of familial Paget's disease and that exposure to this factor may be falling.


Abnormalities in orbitofrontal cortex gyrification and mental health outcomes in adolescents born extremely preterm and/or at an extremely low birth weight.
Extremely preterm (EP, <28 weeks) and/or extremely low birth weight (ELBW, <1000 g) infants are at high risk of aberrant neurodevelopment. Sulcogyral folding patterns of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) are determined during the third trimester, however little is known about OFC patterning in EP/ELBW cohorts, for whom this gestational period is disturbed. This study investigated whether the distribution of OFC pattern types and frequency of intermediate and/or posterior orbital sulci (IOS/POS) differed between EP/ELBW and control adolescents. This study also investigated whether OFC pattern type was associated with mental illness or executive function outcome in adolescence. Magnetic resonance images of 194 EP/ELBW and 147 full term (>37 completed weeks) and/or normal birth weight (> 2500 g) adolescents were acquired, from which the OFC pattern of each hemisphere was classified as Type I, II, or III. Compared with controls, more EP/ELBW adolescents possessed a Type II in the left hemisphere (P = 0.019). The EP/ELBW group had fewer IOS (P = 0.024) and more POS (P = 0.021) in the left hemisphere compared with controls. OFC pattern type was not associated with mental illness, however in terms of executive functioning, Type III in the left hemisphere was associated with better parent-reported metacognition scores overall (P = 0.008) and better self-reported behavioral regulation scores in the control group (P = 0.001) compared with Type I. We show, for the first time that EP/ELBW birth is associated with changes in orbitofrontal development, and that specific patterns of OFC folding are associated with executive function at age 18 years in both EP/ELBW and control subjects.


Who is not using condoms among HIV-positive patients in treatment in the largest city in Brazil?
Data on risky sexual behaviors in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is still scarce in some populations around the world. The purpose of this study was to assess the factors associated with the use of condoms in a representative sample of PLWHA in outpatient treatment in the city of São Paulo. Six hundred and sixty-seven HIV-positive patients (383 men and 284 women) who were being treated at eight centers participated in this study. Data were collected using a sociodemographic survey, the Beck depression and anxiety inventories, a survey of alcohol and other drugs use, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, a sexual behavior survey, and the Sexual Risk Behavior Assessment Schedule. The majority of study participants were sexually active (almost 62% of the sample had at least one sexual partner in the last three months), and at least one-fourth engaged in unsafe sex (25.3% did not use condoms during at least one instance of anal and/or vaginal intercourse in the past three months). Multivariate logistic regression showed that engaging in unprotected sex was more likely among females (p < .001), persons with an HIV-positive partner (p < .001), and people using cannabis before sex (p = .002). These findings should stimulate health-care workers to create specific groups for women, seroconcordant couples, and cannabis users to discuss condom use, as they seem to be vulnerable groups.


An ultrastructural study of the non-neuronal cells in the cardiac ganglia of the monkey (Macaca fascicularis) following unilateral vagotomy.
Non-neuronal cells in the intracardiac ganglia of the monkey (Macaca fascicularis) showed rapid responses to neuronal damage following unilateral vagotomy. Most of the satellite cells appeared normal at one day after operation. However, from three to seven days after operation they were transformed into phagocytic cells, thereby engulfing the transneuronally affected dendrites of the neurons. By seven days after operation, most of the affected dendrites from the neuronal soma were engulfed by the satellite cells. Few macrophages were seen amongst the neurons of the intracardiac ganglia at one day. In monkeys at three to seven days after operation there was a massive infiltration of macrophages into the vicinity of the affected neurons. Several of these macrophages were filled with numerous phagosomes containing partially digested debris. Macrophages also accumulated perivascularly and some intravascular monocytes lay in conformations suggesting that they were undergoing diapedesis. Therefore, perivascular macrophages are probably derived from the circulating monocytes, though the possibility of them being transformed fibroblasts should not be excluded. Schwann cells appeared to be the main scavengers in removing the degenerating myelinated and unmyelinated axons in the intracardiac ganglia after unilateral vagotomy.


Psychosocial treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder.
State-of-the-art psychosocial treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder is based on behavior therapy strategies and techniques with adjunctive pharmacological treatment. The critical therapeutic element is the prolonged confrontation of the individual with the stimuli that provokes obsessive thoughts or compulsive actions, without the individual then engaging in cognitive or ritualistic avoidance behaviors. For the clinician, a decision model for treating this disorder is drawn from recent behavioral and pharmacological research, as well as from the individual's self-help capacities. Judicious use of currently available treatments can reduce suffering and restore lost psychosocial functioning in obsessive-compulsive patients and their families.


The risk of second primary tumors after resection of stage I nonsmall cell lung cancer.
The incidence of second primary lung cancers (SPLC) after resection of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is estimated to be 1% to 4% per patient year. The overall effect of SPLC on survival after resection of stage I NSCLC is unknown. Here we report the incidence, management, and outcome of SPLC in a large prospective cohort of patients who underwent careful follow-up. National Cancer Institute Intergroup Trial NCI #I91-0001 examined the effectiveness of isotretinoin A for chemoprevention of second primary tumors, the primary endpoint in that trial. Prospective data from patients randomly assigned to the placebo arm were analyzed. Five hundred sixty-nine patients underwent complete resection of pathologic stage I NSCLC. The median follow-up was 5.9 years. Second primary tumors developed in 88 (15%) patients. Of these, 49 (56%) were SPLC (incidence = 1.99/100 patient-years), with a median interval from initial surgery of 4.2 years. Second primary lung cancer never developed in patients who had never smoked (n = 44, p = 0.046; never versus ever smokers). Current smokers had a higher incidence of SPLC than former smokers (hazard ratio = 1.91, p = 0.03). Age, sex, stage, histology, tumor location and initial surgery had no effect on SPLC development. Despite semiannual follow-up with chest radiographs, 12 (24%) patients had metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis of SPLC. Surgical resection was performed in 31 (63%) SPLC patients. Median survival was 4.1 years in those who underwent surgery and 1.4 years in those who did not (p = 0.003). Overall SPLC-related mortality in the original cohort was 3.7%. Patients who undergo surgery for SPLC can achieve prolonged survival. Despite close follow-up however many patients with SPLC present with advanced disease. That indicates a need for continued lifelong postoperative surveillance.


Turn off the TV and dance! Participation in culturally tailored health interventions: implications for obesity prevention among Mexican American girls.
Our evaluation study identifies facilitators and barriers to participation among families participating in the treatment arm of Stanford ECHALE. This culturally tailored obesity prevention trial consisted of a combined intervention with two main treatment components: 1) a folkloric dance program; and 2) a screen time reduction curriculum designed for 7-11 year old Latinas and their families. We conducted 83 interviews (40 parents and 43 girls) in participant homes after 6 months of enrollment in the ECHALE trial. The Spradley ethnographic method and NVivo 8.0 were used to code and analyze narrative data. Three domains emerged for understanding participation: 1) family cohesiveness; 2) perceived gains; and 3) culturally relevant program structure. Two domains emerged for non-participation: program requirements and perceived discomforts. Non-parametric, Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the relationships with participant attendance data. Sustained participation was most strongly influenced by the domain perceived gains when parents reported better self-esteem, confidence, improved attitude, improved grades, etc. (Spearman r = .45, P = .003). Alternatively, under the domain, perceived discomforts, with subthemes such as child bullying, participation in the combined intervention was inversely associated with attendance (Spearman r = -.38, P = .02). Family-centered, school-based, community obesity prevention programs that focus on tangible short-term gains for girls may generate greater participation rates, enhance social capital, and promote community empowerment. These factors can be emphasized in future obesity prevention program design and implementation.


Political polarization of conservation issues in the era of COVID-19: An examination of partisan perspectives and priorities in the United States.
As a zoonotic disease with unprecedented global impacts, COVID-19 may influence how people prioritize issues related to wildlife conservation. Using a nationally representative sample of US residents, we investigated: (1) how COVID-19 affected the relative importance of conservation issues among adults with different political ideologies, and (2) how the pandemic affected political polarization of conservation issues during the 2020 general election in the United States. Conservation issues such as endangered species and controlling zoonotic disease ranked low in importance among the 14 policy issues considered, even lower than environmental issues such as climate change and environmental protection; however, the importance of all conservation issues increased as a result of COVID-19. Political polarization surrounding the perceived importance of conservation issues also increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Democrats reporting larger increases in importance than Republicans. Polarization was driven by the most conservative Republicans and the most liberal Democrats. But this polarization was less extreme than it was for other issues such as climate change and healthcare. Findings highlight the need for communicating links between zoonotic disease and human interactions with wildlife and the environment. Acting quickly may be critical in areas where conservation issues are primed to succumb to political polarization.


Effect of SNC19/ST14 gene overexpression on invasion of colorectal cancer cells.
To study the effect of SNC19/ST14 gene overexpression on invasion in vitro of colorectal cancer cells. The adhesion of SNC19/ST14 gene-transfected cells to ECM was measured by MTT assay. The cell movement was evaluated by wound healing assay. Cell invasion and migration were determined by invasion assay in vitro. SNC19/ST14 gene overexpression could enhance invasion of colorectal cancer cells in vitro significantly and influence early cell adherence to ECM, but could not change cell movement significantly. SNC19/ST14 gene overexpression increases the local invasion of colorectal cancer cells in vitro.


[Construction and Identification of the Bait Vector Containing Duck Circovirus Cap Gene for the Yeast Two-hybrid System].
To construct a bait expression vector containing the duck circovirus Cap gene for use in the yeast two-hybrid system, the whole cap codon-optimized gene was inserted into pGBKT7 vector and confirmed by PCR, restriction enzyme digestion, and sequence analysis. After transformation into a Y2HGold yeast strain, the expression of Cap protein was analyzed by Western blotting. Toxicity and self-activation of the bait protein were detected using different dropout minimal base. PCR reaction, restriction enzyme digestion, and sequencing analyses indicated that the duck circovirus Cap gene was correctly inserted into pG- BKT7. Western blotting showed that the whole Cap protein was expressed. The recombinant bait protein had no toxicity and self-activation. Therefore, the bait vector with the Cap gene was constructed successfully, providing a foundation for future screening for interacting proteins in the yeast two-hybrid system.


Quinolinic acid concentrations in brain and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with intractable complex partial seizures.
Quinolinic acid (QUIN) is a neurotoxin and convulsant when injected directly into the brains of experimental animals and as such has been implicated in the etiology of human seizure disorders. In the present study, we quantified QUIN in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and in spiking (focus) and nonspiking (nonfocus) regions of surgically resected human temporal neocortex. L-tryptophan (L-TRP), the putative precursor of QUIN, was also measured in brain, along with CSF concentrations of L-TRP, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), and homovanillic acid (HVA). In brain tissue, no differences were found in the concentrations of QUIN and L-TRP between focus and nonfocus regions in 15 pairs of samples. No differences were found in CSF, L-TRP, 5-HIAA, or HVA concentrations between 11 neurologically normal controls and 15 interictal (no seizures for greater than 24 h) and 20 postictal (within 50 min of seizure) samples from epileptic patients. However, CSF QUIN concentrations were significantly lower (32%) in the epileptic patients as compared with controls, which may indicate a generalized disturbance in brain QUIN metabolism or perhaps a response to antiepileptic drugs.


Effect of labor on the postpartum bladder.
Urodynamic investigations were performed on 20 patients at 48 hours and at four weeks after delivery to assess the effect of modern obstetric practice on the postpartum bladder. Although there were significant differences in some values over this period, the mean urodynamic measurements on both occasions were within normal limits. It is concluded that the current management of labor does not predispose women to bladder hypotonia, the chief factors responsible being avoidance of prolonged labor and early catheterization after delivery.


Concurrent use of foscarnet and ciprofloxacin may increase the propensity for seizures.
To report a possible interaction between foscarnet and ciprofloxacin in two patients with AIDS, cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis, and disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection and to review the available literature related to foscarnet-associated seizures. Case report information was obtained from Medical Service Daily Rounds during the patients' hospitalization and from the patients' medical records. Computerized (MEDLINE) and manual (Index Medicus) search methods were used to obtain English-language literature published between 1980 and 1993. Foscarnet is a synthetic antiviral agent with activity against herpesviruses and HIV. The incidence of seizures with foscarnet infusion is high, ranging from 13 to 15 percent. Predisposing factors such as renal impairment, electrolyte and metabolic abnormalities, and underlying neurologic disorders have been associated with seizures during foscarnet therapy. We describe two patients with AIDS who developed generalized tonic-clonic seizures while receiving foscarnet and ciprofloxacin for the treatment of CMV retinitis and disseminated MAC infection, respectively. Neither of the patients had any of the aforementioned risk factors for foscarnet-associated seizures. Concurrent administration of ciprofloxacin, a known epileptogenic agent, and foscarnet may predispose patients to the development of seizures.


Isolation and characterization of Gibberella intermedia CA3-1, a novel and versatile nitrilase-producing fungus.
Nitrilase-mediated biocatalysis has attracted substantial attention for its application in carboxylic acid production in recent years. In the present study, the fungus CA3-1 was isolated and identified as Gibberella intermedia based on its morphology, its 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA), and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. The enzymatic properties of G. intermedia resting cells were determined, and the optimum activity was achieved at 40 °C with pH 7.6. The half-lives of the nitrilase at 30, 40, and 50 °C were 231.1, 72.9, and 6.4 h, respectively. This Gibberella nitrilase showed a wide substrate spectrum with high specificity for heterocyclic and aliphatic nitriles. It remained extremely active in 5% propanol. The presence of Ag(+), Hg(2+), and excess substrate inhibited the nitrilase activity, whereas Fe(2+), Mn(2+), and Li(+) improved enzyme activity. 3-Cyanopyridine (50 mM) was hydrolyzed into nicotinic acid within 30 min, whereas only <5% of nicotinamide was detected. The results show that this fungal nitrilase is a promising candidate for commercial application in nicotinic acid production.