Supplementation with micronutrients and schistosomiasis: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by helminths of the genus Schistosoma with two presentations; one intestinal and another urinary; which depend on the specie of Schistosoma. One of the species that can produce intestinal schistosomiasis is Schistosoma mansoni, and the specie that produces urinary schistosomiasis is Schistosoma haematobium. Infection can be aggravated by a deficient nutritional status, which negatively impacts the immune system and increases susceptibility to infection. The main objective of this meta-analysis is to determine if a relationship exists between multimicronutrient supplementation and the reduction of infestation with Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium in children and adolescents. A search was conducted through a scientific literature database, and articles that complied with the pre-established requirements were retrieved. The Review Manager (Rev Man) 5.3 computer program was used for data processing and analysis was carried out with the objective of testing whether the addition of micronutrient supplementation to treatment with broad-spectrum antiparasitic anthelmintic medication has an impact on schistosomiasis infection. Of the 257 initial articles retrieved, eight were included both quantitatively and qualitatively in the meta-analysis. Supplementation reduces infestation with Schistosoma spp 1.33 times more than placebo. In individuals infested with Schistosoma, mansoni supplementation is 1.30 times more effective than placebo and for individuals infested with Schistosoma haematobium, supplementation is 1.62 times more effective than the placebo. The results show a clear relationship between supplementation and reduction of infestation. The supplementation with micronutrients decreases the presence of Schistosoma spp in children and adolescents.


Multicompartmental analysis of triiodothyronine (T3) distribution and metabolism in clinically euthyroid obese individuals.
Triiodothyronine (T3) kinetic studies were performed on ten clinically non-fasting euthyroid obese individuals and on eight normal subjects. Kinetic analysis was carried out according to a three-pool model whose basic approach involved the acquisition of data from both vascular and extravascular sources. The former were represented by the plasma disappearance curves of iv injected radiolabeled T3. The latter included fecal and urinary losses and liver, kidney and thigh uptake. A detailed comparison of the T3 kinetics of obese and normal individuals did not uncover many differences between these two groups in the way the hormone is distributed, metabolized and excreted. The mean value for the plasma equivalent distribution volume of T3(VD3) in obese individuals (27.05 L) was not significantly different from that in controls (24.60 L) nor were significant differences observed between the mean value for the plasma appearance rate of the hormone (PAR3) in obese subjects (29.80 micrograms/day) and that in controls (30.05 micrograms/day). The mean value for the size of the slow pool (Qc), including fatty tissue as well as skeletal muscle, was unchanged in obese individuals when compared with controls, although in the obese subjects the mean value for the mass of fatty tissue was about 5 times greater. In addition, in obese individuals, the mean value for the fractional rate transfer from plasma to the slow pool (Kca), which was 9.06 day-1, did not significantly differ from that in controls (9.22 day-1).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Blood pressure variability in patients with diabetes mellitus.
Reduced arterial compliance in patients with diabetes mellitus has been shown in several studies, but it has not been significantly associated with either atherosclerosis or vessel wall thickness. Blood pressure variability is still poorly explored in diabetic patients. The aim of this study was to compare blood pressure variability and arterial compliance in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and controls matched for sex, age, and weight. Arterial compliance was measured and noninvasive 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was performed in 18 diabetic patients and 18 controls. There was significantly higher 24-h systolic blood pressure variability (17.7 +/- 6.8 vs. 14.6 +/- 2.6 mm Hg), diastolic blood pressure variability (15.6 +/- 7.1 vs. 11.4 +/- 3.1 mm Hg), and mean arterial blood pressure variability (14.8 +/- 7.0 vs. 11.1 +/- 2.9) in diabetic patients. Systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure variability was significantly higher during daytime but not night time in diabetic patients compared to controls. Diabetic patients also had significantly reduced small artery compliance, but no differences in large artery compliance, cardiac output, or systemic vascular resistance. The findings suggest that hyperglycemia may affect the compliance of the vascular system, resulting in high blood pressure fluctuations.


Regulatory effect of parathyroid hormone on sRANKL-osteoprotegerin in hemodialysis patients with renal bone disease.
Receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin are newly identified molecules that contribute to the modulation of bone remodeling. RANKL activates osteoclast function by binding to RANK in either a soluble or membrane-bound form, whereas osteoprotegerin (OPG) neutralizes its effects. The aim of this study is the evaluation of soluble RANKL (sRANKL)-OPG in cohorts of hemodialysis patients and the establishment of possible correlations between their serum levels and those of other biochemical markers. We measured intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), osteocalcin (OC), OPG, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and sRANKL in 104 hemodialysis patients. The patients were studied as a whole and in two subgroups according to their bone turnover state. In patients with low serum levels of bone turnover markers (intact parathyroid hormone [iPTH] < 100 pg/mL, ALP < 100 U/L, TRAP < 4 U/L; 33 patients), the following correlations were found: (i) positive correlations of iPTH with RANKL (r = 0.394, P = 0.023) and RANKL/OPG ratio (r = 0.49, P = 0.004); (ii) a negative correlation between iPTH and OPG (r = -0.365, P = 0.037). The subgroup of patients with normal or high serum levels of bone turnover markers (iPTH >or= 150 pg/mL, ALP >or= 100 U/L, OC >or= 40 ng/mL; 19 patients) exhibited the following significant correlations: (i) a positive correlation between OPG and iPTH serum level (r = 0.649, P = 0.003); and (ii) a negative correlation between RANKL/OPG ratio and iPTH (r = -0.464, P = 0.045). In conclusion, the observation that PTH favors RANKL and inhibits OPG production was only demonstrated in the serum of hemodialysis patients in a low turnover state. The positive correlation between serum OPG and iPTH in normal or high turnover rates implies a homeostatic mechanism to limit bone resorption, probably associated with skeletal resistance to PTH.


Monitoring of platelet function in the setting of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor therapy.
The role of the platelet in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndromes is clearly established. In addition, the beneficial effects of oral and intravenous platelet inhibitor therapies were demonstrated in multiple, large, randomized clinical trials. However, despite these advances, current antiplatelet therapy fails to prevent coronary events in a substantial proportion of patients. One possible explanation for this phenomenon is that antiplatelet medications are administered without monitoring of the response to therapy. For example, oral antiplatelet therapy is administered as a standard dose for all patients, while intravenous inhibitors of the platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa receptor are dosed based on patient body weight. A major limitation of measuring platelet function has been that no practical test exists. The historic gold standard, bleeding time, was a very crude measure of platelet function with limited clinical utility. The current "gold standard," turbidimetric aggregometery, requires a central laboratory and is cumbersome to perform. Fortunately, a number of new tests with rapid turnaround time can be performed at the patient's bedside. This article discusses the details regarding the performance, advantages, disadvantages, and available data related to clinical use of each test in populations with coronary disease and patients treated with antiplatelet therapy.


[The measurement of immature reticulocyte fractions and clinical significance].
We evaluated automated analysis for the measurement of immature reticulocyte fraction(IRF) in 222 blood samples. IRF was performed by R-3000 & XE-2100(Sysmex), VEGA RETIC LC141(Horiba), ADVIA 120(Bayer medical), CELL DYN4000(Abbott) or GEN'S(Coulter), and compared with measurements obtained by visual counting. A subfraction of IRF was also determined using different modalities on all analyzers. The values of IRF were stable after blood storage for 48 hours at 4 degrees C and 8 hours at room temperature. A good correlation of IRF among these analyzers was obtained(r = 0.629-0.869), but the normal ranges in the percentage of IRF varied according to analyzers. However, an elevation in the percentage of IRF is the first sign of bone marrow recovery after chemotherapy and the bone marrow transplantation in the majority of leukemic patients. We suggest that IRF counting is useful for the estimation of early phase erythropoiesis in patients who have successful bone marrow engraftment following bone marrow transplantation.


Fibronectin fragment-facilitated retroviral transfer of the glutathione-S-transferase pi gene into CD34+ cells to protect them against alkylating agents.
To protect bone marrow cells from the toxicity of chemotherapy, a multidrug resistant gene or a dihydrofolate reductase gene has been introduced into stem cells. These genes, however, are not capable of conferring refractoriness to alkylating agents (AA), which are some of the most commonly used agents in chemotherapy regimens. In the present study, an attempt was made to endow human stem cell (CD34+ cells) with resistance to cyclophosphamide, a well-known AA, and adriamycin (ADM) by transducing the glutathione-S-transferase pi (GST-pi) gene whose product is thought to detoxify AA by conjugating them with glutathione and to remove a toxic peroxide formed by ADM. The gene transduction was carried out retrovirally with a virus titer of 1 x 10(5) FFU/ml, employing a recombinant fibronectin fragment; transduction efficiency was extremely low without the fragment. Incubation with interleukin-6 and stem cell factor enhanced the expression of fibronectin ligands VLA4 and VLA5 on CD34+ cells. This enhanced expression of VLA4 and VLA5 was considered to facilitate a close contact of the CD34+ cell to the retroviral vector via fibronectin fragments and the subsequent transduction process. The GST-pi gene-transduced CD34+ cells formed almost 3- and 2.5-fold more CFU-GM than neo gene-transduced CD34+ cells in the presence of 2.5 microg/ml of 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide (4-HC), an active form of cyclophosphamide, and 30 ng/ml ADM, respectively. The transfectants formed an appreciable number of colonies, even at higher concentrations of these drugs (5.0 microg/ml of 4-HC, 50 ng/ml of ADM) whereas neo gene-transduced or nontransduced CD34+ cells formed no colonies at all, indicating the possibility of selecting out the transfectants by exposing them to these anticancer drugs. Thus, we were able to demonstrate that transduction of the GST-pi gene confers resistance to cyclophosphamide as well as to ADM, and therefore this approach can be applied clinically for high-dose chemotherapy.


Registered nurse empowerment. Model testing and implications for nurse administrators.
The author developed and tested a model formulated to determine what combination of organizational, leadership, and personal characteristics maximize the prediction of registered nurse empowerment in an acute care hospital. Recent innovations in patient care delivery and nursing governance are more successful with an empowered nursing staff. However, the contexts for empowerment and management practices that foster empowerment are poorly understood. Previous empowerment studies suggest that personal characteristics such as age, experience, and education are related to empowerment. Additionally, specific leadership practices and organizational cultures have been shown to foster empowerment. Registered nurses (N = 113) who were employed in an academic health center participated in the study. Participants completed measures of organizational culture, connective leadership, empowerment, and a demographic questionnaire designed to elicit the personal characteristics included in the model. Regression analysis identified constructive organizational culture and connective leadership as positive predictors of empowerment, whereas defensive culture was a negative predictor. The three variables combined to explain 45% of the variance in empowerment (P < 0.001). Personal characteristics were not significant predictors, but education and position level were significantly related to connective leadership (P < 0.01). The Registered Nurse Empowerment Model can serve as a framework for identifying and targeting areas requiring organizational change. The quantitative measures for organizational culture, connective leadership, and empowerment provide practical assessment and evaluation tools for data-based change. Education programs for nurses at all levels should address the behaviors and strategies that promote constructive cultures and connective leadership, minimize defensive cultures, and thus, foster empowerment of nursing staff.


[Protective effect of right coronary artery ischemic preconditioning on myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury in rabbit heart].
To explore the protective effects of right coronary artery ischemic preconditioning and post-conditioning on myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury in rabbit heart. Methods: A total of 30 rabbits were randomly divided into 4 groups: a control group (n=7), an ischemia reperfusion group (IR group, n=8), an ischemic preconditioning group (IPC group, n=8) and an ischemic post-conditioning group (IPO group, n=7). Venous blood samples were taken at pre-operation, 1 and 6 h post-operation, and the concentration of serum creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) and cardiac troponin-T (cTn-T) were measured. The infarct area of cardiac muscle was calculated. Results: Compared with the IR group, the levels of CK-MB and cTn-T at 1 and 6 h post-operation in the IPC group and the IPO group were reduced (all P<0.05). Compared with the IR group, the infarct size in the IPC group and the IPO group was significantly decreased, with significant difference (both P<0.05) . Conclusion: Right coronary artery ischemic preconditioning and post-conditioning exert significant protective effects on the myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury in New Zealand rabbits.


Selective inhibition of DNA methyltransferase enzymes as a novel strategy for cancer treatment.
A common event in the development of human neoplasia is the loss of growth regulatory tumor suppressor functions. Methylation of 5'-CpG islands of tumor suppressor genes and elevated levels of the DNA-(cytosine-5)-methyltransferase enzymes (DNMT1, 3A and 3B) are also prevalent features of human neoplasia. However, direct evidence that elevated DNMT enzyme levels alter gene expression and influence oncogenesis has been difficult to obtain due to the lack of specific DNMT inhibitors. We have developed potent and selective antisense inhibitors of the known DNA methyltransferases. MG-98, a second-generation DNMT1-specific antisense inhibitor currently in phase II clinical trials, reactivates silenced tumor suppressor genes and inhibits the growth of cancer cells in vitro and in preclinical in vivo models. Here, we will review the discovery and development of MG-98 as a cancer therapeutic.


i-scope: a compact automated fluorescence microscope for cell counting applications in low resource settings.
Fluorescence microscopy has widespread applications across biological sciences. It has been routinely used for cell counting, which provides a preliminary diagnostic test for many infectious diseases. Conventional fluorescence microscopes are bulky, expensive, time-intensive and laborious. They often require trained operators to acquire and analyze data. We report a compact automated digital fluorescence microscopy system,i-scope, for cell counting applications. Thei-scopeemploys a total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) mode of sample illumination, along with a brightfield mode. It has a magnification of 30X, an optical resolution of ∼0.2μm/pixel and offers sample scanning over 20 mm × 20 mm. A custom-written program enables automated image acquisition and analysis, thereby enhancing ease of operation. It has a compact form-factor and has been developed into a standalone system with a processing unit, screen, and other accessories to offer a portable and economic point-of-care diagnostic solution in low-resource settings. We analysed the performance of the i-scopefor milk somatic cell enumeration and benchmarked it against that of a conventional fluorescence microscope.


Gastric emptying and orocecal transit in portal hypertension and end-stage chronic liver disease.
Our aim was to evaluate gastric emptying and orocecal transit in patients with end-stage liver disease and portal hypertension undergoing evaluation for liver transplantation. Although gastric emptying half-times for both liquid and solid emptying were similar in patients with chronic liver disease and control subjects, orocecal transit, as measured by a scintigraphic technique, was significantly prolonged in the patients with liver disease (transit time, minutes, mean +/- SEM, patients versus controls: 127 +/- 10.5 versus 80 +/- 9.5, P < .003). Serum levels of progesterone and estradiol were similar in patients and controls. We conclude that small intestinal transit is delayed in patients with advanced liver disease and portal hypertension and may contribute to gastrointestinal symptoms and promote sepsis of enteric origin in this patient population.


Retrowalking as an adjunct to conventional treatment versus conventional treatment alone on pain and disability in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic knee osteoarthritis: a randomized clinical trial.
Increased external knee adduction moment during walking alters the joint biomechanics; which causes symptoms in chronic knee osteoarthritis patients. To assess additional effects of Retro-walking over conventional treatment on pain and disability in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic knee osteoarthritis. Thirty chronic knee osteoarthritis patients were randomly assigned into 2 groups. Group 'A' (7 men, 8 women) received conventional treatment. Group 'B' (8 men, 7 women) received conventional treatment and Retro-walking. Pain, assessed through visual analogue scale (VAS), and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) were the primary outcomes and knee range of motion (ROM), hip abductor and extensor strength were secondary outcomes; measured pre-intervention, after 1 week and after 3 weeks of intervention. Two factors analysis of variance for repeated measures was used for all outcomes. At the end of 3 weeks; WOMAC score showed highly significant difference within (P < 0.0001) and significant difference between groups (P = 0.040) also by Time × group interaction (P = 0.024), VAS showed highly significant difference within groups (P < 0.0001). Knee ROM showed significant difference within groups. Hip abductor and extensor strength showed significant difference by Time × group interaction (P < 0.05). Retrowalking is an effective adjunct to conventional treatment in decreasing disability in patients with knee osteoarthritis.


Combining Cryo-EM Density Map and Residue Contact for Protein Secondary Structure Topologies.
Although atomic structures have been determined directly from cryo-EM density maps with high resolutions, current structure determination methods for medium resolution (5 to 10 Å) cryo-EM maps are limited by the availability of structure templates. Secondary structure traces are lines detected from a cryo-EM density map for α-helices and β-strands of a protein. A topology of secondary structures defines the mapping between a set of sequence segments and a set of traces of secondary structures in three-dimensional space. In order to enhance accuracy in ranking secondary structure topologies, we explored a method that combines three sources of information: a set of sequence segments in 1D, a set of amino acid contact pairs in 2D, and a set of traces in 3D at the secondary structure level. A test of fourteen cases shows that the accuracy of predicted secondary structures is critical for deriving topologies. The use of significant long-range contact pairs is most effective at enriching the rank of the maximum-match topology for proteins with a large number of secondary structures, if the secondary structure prediction is fairly accurate. It was observed that the enrichment depends on the quality of initial topology candidates in this approach. We provide detailed analysis in various cases to show the potential and challenge when combining three sources of information.


Global Analysis of Transcriptome and Translatome Revealed That Coordinated WNT and FGF Regulate the Carapacial Ridge Development of Chinese Soft-Shell Turtle.
The turtle carapace is composed of severely deformed fused dorsal vertebrae, ribs, and bone plates. In particular, the lateral growth in the superficial layer of turtle ribs in the dorsal trunk causes an encapsulation of the scapula and pelvis. The recent study suggested that the carapacial ridge (CR) is a new model of epithelial-mesenchymal transition which is essential for the arrangement of the ribs. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the regulatory mechanism of carapacial ridge development to analyze the formation of the turtle shell. However, the current understanding of the regulatory network underlying turtle carapacial ridge development is poor due to the lack of both systematic gene screening at different carapacial ridge development stages and gene function verification studies. In this study, we obtained genome-wide gene transcription and gene translation profiles using RNA sequencing and ribosome nascent-chain complex mRNA sequencing from carapacial ridge tissues of Chinese soft-shell turtle at different development stages. A correlation analysis of the transcriptome and translatome revealed that there were 129, 670, and 135 codifferentially expressed genes, including homodirection and opposite-direction differentially expressed genes, among three comparison groups, respectively. The pathway enrichment analysis of codifferentially expressed genes from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes showed dynamic changes in signaling pathways involved in carapacial ridge development. Especially, the results revealed that the Wnt signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway may play important roles in turtle carapacial ridge development. In addition, Wnt and Fgf were expressed during the carapacial ridge development. Furthermore, we discovered that Wnt5a regulated carapacial ridge development through the Wnt5a/JNK pathway. Therefore, our studies uncover that the morphogenesis of the turtle carapace might function through the co-operation between conserved WNT and FGF signaling pathways. Consequently, our findings revealed the dynamic signaling pathways acting on the carapacial ridge development of Chinese soft-shell turtle and provided new insights into uncover the molecular mechanism underlying turtle shell morphogenesis.


Pulmonary thromboembolism: recent developments in diagnosis with CT and MR imaging.
Recent technical advances in computed tomography (CT; helical and electron beam) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging have spurred a renewed interest in these modalities for the diagnosis of acute and chronic pulmonary embolism (PE). These techniques can enable accurate clot detection down to segmental pulmonary arteries, with CT currently allowing more accuracy than that with MR imaging. Ongoing technical advances, particularly in MR angiography, will likely increase diagnostic accuracy. Inability to reliably detect subsegmental acute emboli may not prove to be a clinically significant limitation if lung imaging is coupled with evaluation for deep venous thrombosis. MR imaging can potentially accomplish this within a single examination. Incorporation of CT and MR imaging into diagnostic algorithms for suspected PE can be cost-effective. Evaluation of these new modalities should be based on patient outcome, not solely on clot detectability. Well-designed clinical trials are warranted before CT and MR imaging can be used routinely in the diagnosis of acute PE.


Development and Implementation of an End-Effector Upper Limb Rehabilitation Robot for Hemiplegic Patients with Line and Circle Tracking Training.
Numerous robots have been widely used to deliver rehabilitative training for hemiplegic patients to improve their functional ability. Because of the complexity and diversity of upper limb motion, customization of training patterns is one key factor during upper limb rehabilitation training. Most of the current rehabilitation robots cannot intelligently provide adaptive training parameters, and they have not been widely used in clinical rehabilitation. This article proposes a new end-effector upper limb rehabilitation robot, which is a two-link robotic arm with two active degrees of freedom. This work investigated the kinematics and dynamics of the robot system, the control system, and the realization of different rehabilitation therapies. We also explored the influence of constraint in rehabilitation therapies on interaction force and muscle activation. The deviation of the trajectory of the end effector and the required trajectory was less than 1 mm during the tasks, which demonstrated the movement accuracy of the robot. Besides, results also demonstrated the constraint exerted by the robot provided benefits for hemiplegic patients by changing muscle activation in the way similar to the movement pattern of the healthy subjects, which indicated that the robot can improve the patient's functional ability by training the normal movement pattern.


Purification of a trypsin inhibitor secreted by embryogenic carrot cells.
A protease inhibitor with a molecular weight of about 12,800 was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from Daucus carota cells. The protease inhibitor was heat stable and inhibited trypsin but had no activity toward chymotrypsin or subtilisin. Nonembryogenic as well as embryogenic strains contained the inhibitor in similar amounts, but in the embryogenic strains the trypsin inhibitor was released from the cells and as a result accumulated in high concentrations in the culture medium, whereas no release of the trypsin inhibitor was found during cultivation of the nonembryogenic strains. Very low amounts of acid phosphatase or alpha-mannosidase activity were found in the culture filtrate of both embryogenic and nonembryogenic strains, which suggest that the release of the inhibitor from embryogenic strains was not due to cell lysis.


[Malignant teratocarcinosarcoma of the nose and paranasal sinuses].
Malignant teratocarcinosarcoma of the nasal cavity and the paranasal sinuses is a rare and invasive tumor. It is characterized by a mixture of mesenchymal and epithelial components, with cellular elements of a fetal nature. We describe in detail the first and only case in Israel of a patient with such a tumor. Only 40-50 such cases have been described in the medical literature. We have also reviewed the existing literature dealing with malignant teratocarcinosarcoma.


Communal Coping and Self-Care in Black and White Individuals Living with Type 2 Diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is both prevalent and profoundly impactful, and how people cope with the illness is related to a variety of individual and relational outcomes. The goal of this investigation was to test the logic of the recently extended Theoretical Model of Communal Coping (TMCC), a communication theory that argues that race (in this study, Black and White) moderates the relationship between communal coping and disease-related outcomes (i.e., glucose, diet, and exercise self-care). In general, survey data from 348 participants (n = 224 Black participants, n = 124 White participants) revealed that although communal coping was directly and positively related to self-care, the relationship between communal coping and self-care was stronger for Black participants than White participants. The results of the study have implications for the TMCC and for researchers, families managing type 2 diabetes, and healthcare practitioners.


Peripheral Tumor with Osteodentin and Cementum-like Material in an Infant: Odontogenic Hamartoma or Odontoma?
The purpose of this report is to describe a peripheral tumor on the mandibular alveolar ridge of a seven-month-old Caucasian boy, consisting of ectomesencymal odontogenic tissues, in particular osteodentin and cementum-like material, in a cellular or loose vascular connective tissue stroma. This case may be considered either a peripheral odontogenic hamartoma or a peripheral odontoma.


[Principles of predicting the density of rodent flea populations].
The paper gives the indices of abundance of fleas of different species of rodents in their fur and in their burrows and lays emphasis on the general mechanisms by which the density of these blood-sucking insects is a species-specific (populational) sign and does not greatly differ from the mean many-year values. By using Citellophylus tesquorum and other specias as an example, the authors present the results of a study of natural mortality in fleas, which suggest that the mean longevity of imagoes and death in the preimaginal phases of development are a hereditary sign. An example of calculation of the death ratio "K" in the imaginal phases is given and evidence is provided for compiling the signs of the density of fleas in taking individual samples of a field material and calculating the abundance indices of specific species.


Influencing discussions and use of neuroadvancements as professionals and citizens: Perspectives of Canadian speech-language pathologists and audiologists.
Early involvement of stakeholders in neuroethics and neurogovernance discourses of neuroscientific and neurotechnological advancements is seen as essential to curtail negative consequences. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and audiologists (AUs) make use of neuroadvancements including cochlear implants, brain-computer interfaces, and deep-brain stimulation. Although they have a stake in neuroethics and neurogovernance discussions, they are rarely mentioned in having a role, whether as professionals or as citizens. The objective of the study was to explore the role of SLPs and AUs as professionals and citizens in neuroethics and neurogovernance discussions and examine the utility of lifelong learning mechanisms to learn about the implications of neuroadvancements to contribute in a meaningful way to these discussions. Semi-structured interviews conducted with 7 SLPs and 3 AUs were analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants stated that their roles expected from them as professionals and as citizens indicate the importance to be knowledgeable on ethical, legal, and social implications of neuroadvancements and that lifelong learning is not used to learn about these implications. More must be done to facilitate the participation of SLPs and AUs in neuroethics and neurogovernance discussions, which would enrich the neuroethics and neurogovernance discourses benefitting patients, professionals, and the public.


Physico-chemical characterization and transcriptome analysis of 5-methyltryptophan resistant lines in rice.
Mutation breeding has brought significant contributions to the development of high value crops. It steered the first studies to generate plants with desired mutations of genes encoding key enzymes involved in important metabolic pathways. Molecular characterization of 5-methyl tryptophan (5-MT) resistant plants has revealed different base changes in alpha unit of anthranilate synthase (OsASA) gene that can lead to insensitivity to feedback inhibition of anthranilate synthase. The objective of this study was to perform in silico analysis of microarray data from five progressing time points during grain filling of rice. Results showed various differentially expressed genes. Enrichment of these genes revealed their roles in amino acid transportation during grain filling. Surprisingly, among all DEGs, only LOC_Os06g42560, a tryptophan synthase beta chain, was found to be directly related to tryptophan biosynthesis. It might affect amino acid content during grain filling. For physico-chemical analysis, different grain and eating qualities parameters were measured using mutant rice lines. Evaluation results showed that 5MT resistant-lines (5MT R-lines) showed approximately 60% chalkiness after milling although it had 20 times higher tryptophan content measured in μg/100 mg seeds. Taste quality of these 5MT R-lines in general was not affected significantly. However, other parameters such as peak time of viscosity and gelatinization temperature showed different results compared to the wildtype. Mutant lines generated in this study are important resources for high tryptophan content, although they have lower grain quality than the wildtype. They might be useful for developing new high nutrient rice varieties.


The glycine reuptake inhibitor org 25935 interacts with basal and ethanol-induced dopamine release in rat nucleus accumbens.
The mesolimbic dopamine (DA) projection from the ventral tegmental area to nucleus accumbens (nAc), a central part of the reward system, is activated by ethanol (EtOH) and other drugs of abuse. We have previously demonstrated that the glycine receptor in the nAc and its amino acid agonists may be implicated in the DA activation and reinforcing properties of EtOH. We have also reported that the glycine transporter 1 inhibitor, Org 25935, produces a robust and dose-dependent decrease in EtOH consumption in Wistar rats. The present study explores the interaction between EtOH and Org 25935 with respect to DA levels in the rat nAc. The effects of Org 25935 (6 mg/kg, i.p.) and/or EtOH (2.5 g/kg, i.p.) on accumbal DA levels were examined by means of in vivo microdialysis (coupled to HPLC-ED) in freely moving male Wistar rats. The effect of Org 25935 on accumbal glycine output was also investigated. Systemic Org 25935 increased DA output in a subpopulation of rats (52% in Experiment 1 and 38% in Experiment 2). In Experiment 2, EtOH produced a significant increase in DA levels in vehicles (35%) and in Org 25935 nonresponders (19%), whereas EtOH did not further increase the DA level in rats responding to Org 25935 (2%). The same dose of Org 25935 increased glycine levels by 87% in nAc. This study demonstrates that Org 25935, probably via increased glycine levels, (i) counteracts EtOH-induced increases of accumbal DA levels and (ii) increases basal DA levels in a subpopulation of rats. The results are in line with previous findings and it is suggested that the effects observed involve interference with accumbal GlyRs and are related to the alcohol consumption modulating effect of Org 25935.


Intrinsic mechanisms in the gating of resurgent Na+ currents.
The resurgent component of the voltage-gated sodium current (INaR) is a depolarizing conductance, revealed on membrane hyperpolarizations following brief depolarizing voltage steps, which has been shown to contribute to regulating the firing properties of numerous neuronal cell types throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems. Although mediated by the same voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels that underlie the transient and persistent Nav current components, the gating mechanisms that contribute to the generation of INaR remain unclear. Here, we characterized Nav currents in mouse cerebellar Purkinje neurons, and used tailored voltage-clamp protocols to define how the voltage and the duration of the initial membrane depolarization affect the amplitudes and kinetics of INaR. Using the acquired voltage-clamp data, we developed a novel Markov kinetic state model with parallel (fast and slow) inactivation pathways and, we show that this model reproduces the properties of the resurgent, as well as the transient and persistent, Nav currents recorded in (mouse) cerebellar Purkinje neurons. Based on the acquired experimental data and the simulations, we propose that resurgent Na+ influx occurs as a result of fast inactivating Nav channels transitioning into an open/conducting state on membrane hyperpolarization, and that the decay of INaR reflects the slow accumulation of recovered/opened Nav channels into a second, alternative and more slowly populated, inactivated state. Additional simulations reveal that extrinsic factors that affect the kinetics of fast or slow Nav channel inactivation and/or impact the relative distribution of Nav channels in the fast- and slow-inactivated states, such as the accessory Navβ4 channel subunit, can modulate the amplitude of INaR.


Psoriasis in patients of color: differences in morphology, clinical presentation, and treatment.
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease affecting 2% to 3% of individuals worldwide. However, the majority of clinical data are in white patients, with limited data in patients of color. We present 3 cases of psoriasis representative of patients presenting to an urban and racially diverse hospital-based dermatology clinic in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to illustrate the differences in psoriasis in patients of color compared to white patients. We review the differences in the morphology, presentation, treatment, and psychosocial impact of psoriasis in this population. We also discuss the importance of early diagnosis, treatment considerations, and education in dermatology training programs regarding psoriasis in patients of color.


Active saponins from root of Pueraria peduncularis (Grah. ex Benth.) Benth. and their molluscicidal effects on Pomacea canaliculata.
Pueraria peduncularis (Grah. ex Benth.) Benth., which belongs to the Leguminosae family, exhibits resistance to many crop pests in agricultural production. Pomacea canaliculata is an important invasive snail in rice fields and causes severe yield losses. To evaluate the toxicity of P. peduncularis to P. canaliculata, in this study the molluscicidal activity of root extracts of P. peduncularis was tested against P. canaliculata; the active compounds were isolated, and the structures of these compounds were analysed using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis and mass spectral analysis. Our results showed that the molluscicidal activity of the root crude extract differed between P. canaliculata with different shell diameters after treatment for 72 h. The median lethal concentration (LC50 ) was 5.511 mg L-1 against snails of 1.5 ± 0.2 cm diameter and 12.383 mg L-1 against snails of 2.5 ± 0.2 cm diameter. Furthermore, two active ingredients isolated from root methanol extracts were identified as pedunsaponin A and pedunsaponin C. Both pedunsaponin A and pedunsaponin C showed strong molluscicidal activities, with LC50 values of 3.893 and 4.252 mg L-1 , respectively, against snails with shell diameters of 1.5 ± 0.2 cm after treatment for 72 h. Pueraria peduncularis extracts exhibit high molluscicidal activity and have great potential value for exploring a molluscicide to control Pomacea canaliculata. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.


Activin A induces expression of rat Sel-1l mRNA, a negative regulator of notch signaling, in rat salivary gland-derived epithelial cells.
We previously established a rat submandibular gland (SMG)-derived epithelial cell line (RSMG-1) to study the mechanism of morphogenesis in salivary gland development and regeneration. We found that activin A regulated the branching morphogenesis of RSMG-1 cells, suggesting that it is involved in SMG morphogenesis. We used a subtraction cloning procedure with activin-A-treated and untreated RSMG-1 cells to identify activin-A-induced genes. One of the genes detected encoded a rat homologue of Sel-1l (rSel-1l). rSel-1l is a mammalian homologue of C. elegans sel-1, which is a negative regulator of Notch signaling. In this study, we confirmed that activin A induces rSel-1l mRNA expression in RSMG-1 cells, and that rSel-1l is expressed in SMG acinar cells. These results suggest that activin A regulates the differentiation of RSMG-1 cells to acinar cells.


Bombesin activation of phospholipase C beta 1 in rat acinar pancreatic cells involves the pertussis toxin-sensitive G alpha i3 protein.
Bombesin stimulation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins P3) formation in rat sonicated pancreatic acinar cells was inhibited by an antibody directed against the pertussis toxin (PTX)-sensitive GTP-binding G alpha i3 protein but not by an anti-G alpha q-11 antibody. After solubilization and gel filtration, [125I-Tyr4]bombesin binding sites were recovered in a peak of protein of 67 approximately 90 kDa with a maximal enrichment corresponding to a molecular mass of 83-kDa. Results obtained from the non-hydrolysable GTP analog guanosine-5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate (GTP gamma S) binding, PTX-stimulated ADP-ribosylation and immunoblotting showed that the 83-kDa fraction contained the G alpha i3 protein but not the G alpha q-11 protein. Furthermore, GTP gamma S increased the bombesin binding dissociation constant (KD) from 0.32 to 0.60 nM, while the anti-G alpha i3 antibody decreased the maximal binding capacity (Bmax) from 50 to 25 fmol/mg protein without affecting the KD. Mixing solubilized bombesin binding sites with a phospholipase C (PLC) preparation from rat pancreas reconstituted a bombesin-stimulated PLC activity which was markedly inhibited by the anti-G alpha i3 antibody but unaffected by the anti-G alpha q-11 antibody. In addition, this stimulation was inhibited by an anti-PLC beta 1 antibody. This result supports the involvement of the PLC beta 1 isoform in bombesin receptor activation.


Evaluating a preventive services index to adjust for healthy behaviors in observational studies of older adults.
Analysis of outcome measures from nonrandomized, observational studies of people participating or not participating in health programs may be suspect because of selection bias. For example, fitness programs may preferentially enroll people who are already committed to healthy lifestyles, including use of preventive services. Some of our earlier studies have attempted to account for this potential bias by including an ad hoc preventive services index created from the patient's number of earlier clinical preventive services, to adjust for health-seeking behaviors. However, this index has not been validated. We formally evaluated the performance of this preventive services index by comparing it with its component parts and with an alternative index derived from principal component analysis by using the weighted sums of the principal components. We used data from a cohort of 38,046 older adults. We used the following variables from the administrative database of a health maintenance organization to create this index: fecal occult blood test, flexible sigmoidoscopy, screening mammogram, prostate cancer screening, influenza vaccination, pneumococcal vaccination, and preventive care office visits. The preventive services index was positively correlated with each of the following components: colon cancer screening (r = .752), screening mammogram (r = .559), prostate cancer screening (r = .592), influenza vaccination (r = .844), pneumococcal vaccination (r = .487), and preventive care office visits (r = .737). An alternative preventive services index, created by using principal component analysis, had similar performance. A preventive services index created by using administrative data has good face validity and construct validity and can be used to partially adjust for selection bias in observational studies of cost and use outcomes.


Recurrent congenital fibrosarcoma with heart metastases.
Congenital fibrosarcomas are malignant tumors that arise in soft tissues. In infants this unique tumor does not commonly metastasize, even though there may be local recurrences. We report here a boy who had congenital fibrosarcoma in his right foot, which was completely excised at the age of 3 days. Four months later, a solitary encapsulated metastasis emerged in thoracic chest wall, which was operated. During adjuvant chemotherapy he developed histologically confirmed fibrosarcoma metastases in the heart. After extended treatment with cyclophosphamide/topotecan and gemcitabine/docetaxel, the heart tumors disappeared and he has been in complete remission for 3 years.


Using fishing line for suturing.
Fishing line is an inexpensive and atraumatic suture material. Its properties and uses are summarized here. Comparison is made between different diameters and types of fishing line and commercially available sutures and needles to enable appropriate line selection for its use as suture material.


Technetium 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT in children and adolescents with neurologic disorders.
We evaluated regional cerebral blood flow with technetium 99mTc hexamethylpropyleneamineoxime single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in 20 children and adolescents with neurologic dysfunction of varied etiology and abnormal electroencephalograms (EEGs). All patients were also examined with computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Abnormal perfusion was found in 17 (85%) of 20 SPECT scans. Abnormal CT or MRI scans were noted in nine (45%) and in 10 (50%) of 20 cases, respectively. In eight (73%) of 11 cases with normal CT scans and in seven (70%) of 10 with normal MRI scans, the SPECT scan was abnormal. Abnormal regional cerebral blood flow on SPECT scans correlated better with EEG abnormalities than with neurologic examination or CT or MRI scan findings. We conclude that in children and adolescents with a spectrum of neurologic diseases and abnormal EEGs, abnormalities of brain structure or function are more likely to be documented by SPECT than by CT or MRI scans. SPECT findings correlate well with the location and type of EEG abnormality.


A novel untargeted metabolomics correlation-based network analysis incorporating human metabolic reconstructions.
Metabolomics has become increasingly popular in the study of disease phenotypes and molecular pathophysiology. One branch of metabolomics that encompasses the high-throughput screening of cellular metabolism is metabolic profiling. In the present study, the metabolic profiles of different tumour cells from colorectal carcinoma and breast adenocarcinoma were exposed to hypoxic and normoxic conditions and these have been compared to reveal the potential metabolic effects of hypoxia on the biochemistry of the tumour cells; this may contribute to their survival in oxygen compromised environments. In an attempt to analyse the complex interactions between metabolites beyond routine univariate and multivariate data analysis methods, correlation analysis has been integrated with a human metabolic reconstruction to reveal connections between pathways that are associated with normoxic or hypoxic oxygen environments. Correlation analysis has revealed statistically significant connections between metabolites, where differences in correlations between cells exposed to different oxygen levels have been highlighted as markers of hypoxic metabolism in cancer. Network mapping onto reconstructed human metabolic models is a novel addition to correlation analysis. Correlated metabolites have been mapped onto the Edinburgh human metabolic network (EHMN) with the aim of interlinking metabolites found to be regulated in a similar fashion in response to oxygen. This revealed novel pathways within the metabolic network that may be key to tumour cell survival at low oxygen. Results show that the metabolic responses to lowering oxygen availability can be conserved or specific to a particular cell line. Network-based correlation analysis identified conserved metabolites including malate, pyruvate, 2-oxoglutarate, glutamate and fructose-6-phosphate. In this way, this method has revealed metabolites not previously linked, or less well recognised, with respect to hypoxia before. Lactate fermentation is one of the key themes discussed in the field of hypoxia; however, malate, pyruvate, 2-oxoglutarate, glutamate and fructose-6-phosphate, which are connected by a single pathway, may provide a more significant marker of hypoxia in cancer. Metabolic networks generated for each cell line were compared to identify conserved metabolite pathway responses to low oxygen environments. Furthermore, we believe this methodology will have general application within metabolomics.


Human immunodeficiency virus infection and syncytium formation in HeLa cells expressing glycophospholipid-anchored CD4.
The CD4 molecule, a glycoprotein expressed primarily on the cell surface of specific T lymphocytes, is thought to function in T-cell antigen recognition and activation. In addition, CD4 serves as a receptor for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) by a direct interaction with the HIV-1 surface glycoprotein (gp120). To further characterize the HIV-1-cell interaction, a HeLa cell line was established that expressed a chimeric molecule of CD4 and decay-accelerating factor (DAF). In the chimeric CD4-DAF molecule the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of CD4 were deleted and replaced with the carboxy-terminal 37 amino acids of DAF. This resulted in the anchoring of the extracellular domain of CD4 to the cell membrane via a glycophospholipid linkage. The glycophospholipid-anchored CD4 had a molecular size of approximately 56 to 62 kDa and was released following treatment of the cells with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C. HeLa cells expressing the CD4-DAF hybrid could be infected with HIV-1, as evidenced by reverse transcriptase activity, p24 core antigen content, and infectious virus production. In addition, transfection of the HeLa CD4-DAF cells with a plasmid that directs the synthesis of HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins or cocultivation with HeLa cells expressing the virus glycoproteins resulted in syncytium formation. These results indicate that the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of the CD4 molecule are dispensable for both HIV infection and syncytium formation.


Early percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy nutrition in head and neck cancer patients.
Many head and neck cancer patients suffer from poor nutrition. Nutrition is a problem during and after therapy, especially when it consists of extensive surgery, intensive (chemo)radiotherapy or their combination. Additional enteral nutrition has been provided by means of either nasogastric tube feeding, surgical gastrostomy, radiologic percutaneous gastrostomy or percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG). Because of the straightforward, easy technique involved and its low complication rate, PEG has become established as the primary route of nutrition in these patients. Previously, the aim of assisted enteral nutrition was to compensate for already existing malnutrition; nowadays, an additional purpose is to diminish or prevent the development of malnutrition. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the safety of pre-treatment PEG in a sample of patients with an upper aerodigestive tract area malignancy treated in a tertiary referral centre. A total of 79 patients with an upper aerodigestive tract area malignancy were treated with a total of 80 PEGs during the period 1997-2001. Most of the PEGs (62/80; 77.5%) were performed by an otolaryngologist. An open gastrostomy was needed in five cases because of unsuccessful gastroscopy due to oesophageal stricture (n=4) or severe trismus (n=1). Both acute and late complications were minor and the respective complication rates (1/80; 1.3% and 12/80; 15%) were low. In addition, all complications were easily managed and did not seriously affect the actual treatment. A major advantage of having the PEG performed by the otorhinolaryngologist was the possibility to combine it easily with other necessary procedures, such as panendoscopy, tracheostomy and additional biopsy. In addition, the timing of the procedure was easy to schedule.


Fulminant myocarditis with myositis of ocular and respiratory muscles.
A 46-year-old Japanese woman visited a nearby hospital because of diplopia after flu-like symptoms. One month later, she presented with blepharoptosis and external ophthalmoplegia. Laboratory tests showed a high creatine kinase concentration (3146 U/L). She underwent intravenous immunoglobulin therapy; however, her symptoms did not improve, prompting transfer to our institute. On admission, transthoracic echocardiography revealed 30% of left ventricular ejection fraction and edema of the left ventricular wall. Coronary angiography showed no significant coronary stenosis. An endomyocardial biopsy resulted in a diagnosis of acute myocarditis. On the following day, she needed a temporary pacemaker because she had complete atrioventricular block and intra-aortic balloon pump because of cardiogenic shock. Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy was again administered and her cardiac function gradually recovered. She was successfully weaned off her temporary pacemaker and intra-aortic balloon pump on Day 5 after improvement in her complete atrioventricular block. Steroid therapy administered from Day 9 was effective in reducing her creatine kinase concentrations. However, contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging revealed inflammation of the scalene, semispinalis cervicis, sternocleidomastoid, and intercostal muscles. On Day 25, her cardiac function had recovered to a left ventricular ejection fraction of 59%. Finally, she was successfully discharged on Day 45 after undergoing rehabilitation.


Routine Neuroimaging of the Preterm Brain.
Neuroimaging of the preterm infant is a common assessment performed in the NICU. Timely and focused studies can be used for diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic information. However, significant variability exists among neonatal units as to which modalities are used and when imaging studies are obtained. Appropriate timing and selection of neuroimaging studies can help identify neonates with brain injury who may require therapeutic intervention or who may be at risk for neurodevelopmental impairment. This clinical report reviews the different modalities of imaging broadly available to the clinician. Evidence-based indications for each modality, optimal timing of examinations, and prognostic value are discussed.


RNA-Seq Analysis Reveals an Essential Role of the Tyrosine Metabolic Pathway and Inflammation in Myopia-Induced Retinal Degeneration in Guinea Pigs.
Myopia is the second leading cause of visual impairment globally. Myopia can induce sight-threatening retinal degeneration and the underlying mechanism remains poorly defined. We generated a model of myopia-induced early-stage retinal degeneration in guinea pigs and investigated the mechanism of action. Methods: The form-deprivation-induced myopia (FDM) was induced in the right eyes of 2~3-week-old guinea pigs using a translucent balloon for 15 weeks. The left eye remained untreated and served as a self-control. Another group of untreated age-matched animals was used as naïve controls. The refractive error and ocular biometrics were measured at 3, 7, 9, 12 and 15 weeks post-FDM induction. Visual function was evaluated by electroretinography. Retinal neurons and synaptic structures were examined by confocal microscopy of immunolabelled retinal sections. The total RNAs were extracted from the retinas and processed for RNA sequencing analysis. Results: The FDM eyes presented a progressive axial length elongation and refractive error development. After 15 weeks of intervention, the average refractive power was -3.40 ± 1.85 D in the FDM eyes, +2.94 ± 0.59 D and +2.69 ± 0.56 D in the self-control and naïve control eyes, respectively. The a-wave amplitude was significantly lower in FDM eyes and these eyes had a significantly lower number of rods, secretagogin+ bipolar cells, and GABAergic amacrine cells in selected retinal areas. RNA-seq analysis showed that 288 genes were upregulated and 119 genes were downregulated in FDM retinas compared to naïve control retinas. In addition, 152 genes were upregulated and 12 were downregulated in FDM retinas compared to self-control retinas. The KEGG enrichment analysis showed that tyrosine metabolism, ABC transporters and inflammatory pathways were upregulated, whereas tight junction, lipid and glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis were downregulated in FDM eyes. Conclusions: The long-term (15-week) FDM in the guinea pig models induced an early-stage retinal degeneration. The dysregulation of the tyrosine metabolism and inflammatory pathways may contribute to the pathogenesis of myopia-induced retinal degeneration.


Simultaneous determination of amlodipine and metoprolol in their combined dosage form using a synchronous fluorescence spectrofluorimetric method.
Highly sensitive, rapid, accurate and precise synchronous fluorescence spectrofluorimetric method has been developed for simultaneous analysis of a mixture of amlodipine (AMD) and metoprolol (MET). The method relies on measuring the relative synchronous fluorescence intensity of both drugs at Δλ of 90 nm in acetate buffer solution at pH 5. The experimental parameters influencing the developed method were investigated and optimized. The method was linear over the ranges 0.2-2 μg/ml and 0.5-10 μg/ml for AMD and MET, respectively. The limits of detection were 50 ng/ml for AMD and 130 ng/ml for MET while the limits of quantitation were 150 ng/ml for AMD and 390 ng/ml for MET. The developed method was applied successfully for the determination of the two drugs in their co-formulated tablet. The mean percent recoveries were found to be 100.51 and 99.57 for AMD and MET, respectively.


Monte Carlo simulation of HIV infection in an intravenous drug user community.
Intravenous drug users are crucial to the understanding and control of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission. We have developed a population-based simulation of a community of intravenous drug users. This model was implemented using Monte Carlo techniques, which permit great flexibility in creating realistic social structures, to describe the needle-sharing network of drug users. We present the baseline behavior of this model in a generic community and demonstrate the model's utility for assessing public health interventions. Our early results demonstrate the powerful effects of social networks on HIV transmission and the importance of prevalence levels in assessing the effectiveness of interventions in the drug-injecting community.


Trajectories of Perceived Discrimination among Chinese Rural-to-Urban Migrant Early Adolescents: Predictors and Outcomes.
Perceived discrimination is associated with poorer psychological adjustment and greater problem behaviors among rural-to-urban migrant adolescents. Yet, the predictors and the consequences of distinct changing patterns of perceived discrimination are less clear. The current study sought to identify distinct patterns of perceived discrimination trajectories and examine the developmental implications of these patterns among 385 Chinese rural-to-urban migrant early adolescents (Mage = 10.49, SDage = 0.69; 62% boys). Four distinct patterns of perceived discrimination trajectories, i.e., Low-stable (79.59%), Decreasing (9.08%), High-stable (6.11%), and Increasing (5.22%), were identified. Predictors including resilience, family support, peer support, and demographic characteristics (i.e., gender and school types) contributed to differences in pattern membership. Moreover, the Low-stable pattern exhibited more favorable distal outcomes (i.e., lower levels of social anxiety and loneliness and higher levels of self-esteem) than the other three patterns; the Decreasing group had lower levels of loneliness than the High-stable group. The findings extend the understanding of the predictors and consequences of perceived discrimination among rural-to-urban migrant early adolescents from a developmental perspective.


Behavioural evidence of altered sensory attenuation in obesity.
Body ownership (i.e., the conscious belief of owning a body) and sense of agency (i.e., being the agent of one's own movements) are part of a pre-reflective experience of bodily self, which grounds on low-level complex sensory-motor processes. Although previous literature had already investigated body ownership in obesity, sense of agency was never explored. Here, we exploited the sensory attenuation effect (i.e., an implicit marker of the sense of agency; SA effect) to investigate whether the sense of agency was altered in a sample of 18 individuals affected by obesity as compared with 18 healthy-weight individuals. In our experiment, participants were asked to rate the perceived intensity of self-generated and other-generated tactile stimuli. Healthy-weight individuals showed a significantly greater SA effect than participants affected by obesity. Indeed, while healthy-weight participants perceived self-generated stimuli as significantly less intense as compared to externally generated ones, this difference between stimuli was not reported by affected participants. Our results relative to the SA effect pinpointed an altered sense of agency in obesity. We discussed this finding within the motor control framework with reference to obesity. We encouraged future research to further explore such effect and its role in shaping the clinical features of obesity.


Perfluorooctane sulfonate toxicity, isomer-specific accumulation, and maternal transfer in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).
Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS; C(8)F(17)SO(3) (-)) bioaccumulation and toxicity have been demonstrated in both aquatic and terrestrial organisms. The majority of investigations have examined total PFOS concentrations in wildlife and in toxicity testing, but isomer-specific monitoring studies are less common, and no laboratory-based study of PFOS isomer accumulation in fish has been reported. The present study examined accumulation and maternal transfer of PFOS isomers in zebrafish and tissue-specific accumulation of PFOS isomers in trout parr. A median lethal dose (LC50) of 22.2 and 2.5 mg/L was calculated for adult zebrafish and trout parr, respectively. A two-week PFOS exposure resulted in tissue-specific PFOS accumulation in trout, with maximum concentrations identified in the liver tissue (>50 microg/g). Prior exposure to PFOS as alevin did not affect the accumulation of PFOS in tissues later in life. In both species, accumulation of branched PFOS isomers generally occurred to a lesser extent than linear PFOS, which may explain the relative deficiency of branched PFOS isomers in some aquatic species in the field. Analysis of exposed trout tissues indicated that isomer discrimination may occur at the level of elimination or uptake and elimination processes in the kidney or gill, respectively. When zebrafish underwent a reproductive cycle in the presence of PFOS, approximately 10% (wt) of the adult PFOS body burden was transferred to the developing embryos, resulting in a higher total PFOS concentration in eggs (116 +/- 13.3 microg/g) than in the parent fish (72.1 +/- 7.6 microg/g). The isomer profile in eggs was not significantly different from that of adults, suggesting that the maternal transfer of branched and linear PFOS isomers in fish is largely nonisomer specific.


[Theodor Billroth (I. and II.)].
The two parts of the paper present a brief account of the life, work, time and social impact of the great surgeon Theodor Billroth. The first part deals with Billroth's scientific development and main parts of his life-long work. The second part presents Billroth as a universal genius who was engaged in the cultural and social life of his time and thus opened the road for surgery.


Inflammatory response to hyperoxemic and normoxemic cardiopulmonary bypass in acyanotic pediatric patients.
Hyperoxemic management during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is still common, and there is no consensus about physiologic oxygen tension strategy (normoxemic management) during pediatric CPB. In this study, we compared the postoperative conditions and measures of inflammatory response among patients with acyanotic congenital heart disease subjected to either hyperoxemic or normoxemic management strategy during CPB. We studied 22 patients with a ventricular septal defect and pulmonary artery hypertension. The patients were divided into two groups. Group I (n=9) received normoxemic management (PaO2=100-150 mm Hg) and group II (n=13) received hyperoxemic management (PaO2=200-300 mm Hg) during CPB. There was no difference between groups with regard to age, body weight, duration of CPB, and aorta clamping time or preoperative pulmonary hypertension (pulmonary pressure/systemic pressure [Pp/Ps]). In each group, the blood samples to measure the cytokine levels were collected before and after the CPB. Although we observed no statistically significant differences in postoperative intubation time, alveolar-arterial oxygen difference, creatine kinase MB level, and pulmonary hypertension (Pp/Ps) between group I (10.7±13.4 hours, 197±132 mm Hg, 148±58.6 IU/L, 42.8%±22.1%, respectively) and group II (27.8±36.5 hours, 227±150 mm Hg, 151±72.6 IU/L, 50.4%±16.0%, respectively), levels of median interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor α were lower in group I (129.8 and 17.0 pg/mL, respectively) than that in group II (487.8 and 22.5 pg/mL, respectively). During the CPB in acyanotic pediatric patients, normoxemic management can minimize the systemic inflammatory response syndrome associated with CPB. We can apply this physiologic oxygen tension strategy to surgical advantage during heart surgeries in acyanotic pediatric patients.


Properties and the inclusion behavior of 6-O-alpha-D-galactosyl- and 6-O-alpha-D-mannosyl-cyclodextrins.
The novel heterogeneous branched cyclodextrins (CDs), 6-O-alpha-D- galactosyl-alpha, -beta, and -gamma CDs (Gal-alpha, -beta, and -gamma CDs) and 6-O-alpha-D-mannosyl-alpha, -beta, and -gamma CDs (Man-alpha, -beta, and -gamma CDs) dissolved sufficiently in water and in 10-50% (v/v) methanol aqueous solutions, as did the homogeneous branched CDs, 6-O-alpha-D-glucosyl-alpha, -beta, and -gamma CDs (Glc-alpha, -beta, and -gamma CDs). The solubilities of heterogeneous branched CDs were higher than those of each parent non-branched CDs. The hemolytic activities of heterogeneous and homogeneous branched CDs were lower than those of each parent non-branched CDs and the hemolytic activity became weaker in the order of non-branched CD > Man-CD > Glc-CD > Gal-CD in each series of alpha, beta, and gamma CD. AL type solubility-phase diagrams were displayed in the formation of inclusion complexes of the guest compounds of small size (methyl benzoate, estriol, and dexamethasone) with Gal-, Man-, and Glc-CDs, and marked differences among the three kinds of branched CDs could not be detected. However, solubility-phase diagrams between these branched CDs and the insoluble guest compounds of large cyclic structure (cyclosporin A, tacrolimus, and amphotericin B) showed AP type, and the improvement of water solubilities of these guest compounds with three kinds of branched CDs was enhanced in the order of Man-CDs > Glc-CDs > Gal-CDs.


Reconsidering the effects of respiratory constraints on the optimal running speed.
Although both humans and quadrupeds frequently coordinate breathing and limb movement during running, early studies in humans focused on how increased breathing flexibility in humans allowed for relaxed or even transient coordination during locomotion. This difference was used to explain why quadrupeds had an optimal running speed whereas humans did not. Recent research, however, has clearly demonstrated that humans, like quadrupeds, have an optimal running speed. Because these findings are new, it remains unclear why this is true: whether because entrainment in humans was more important than initially predicted or because another restraint is acting. Here, we try to explain the observed minimum cost of transport (CoT) by analyzing metabolic cost with respect to entrainment and a standard set of anthropometrics. We measured the energetic cost of human running at five different speeds and calculated individual CoT curves for each participant (N = 9). Simultaneously, entrainment was determined by the degree to which a poststimulus histogram (breaths per 0.05-s bin after a footfall) differed from a uniform plot. We compared the degree of entrainment to each participant's optimal running speed and found that although all of our subjects clearly entrained at some speeds, entrainment was not a function of CoT (P = 0.897). Because entrainment was also not correlated with speed (P = 0.304), it seems that bipedalism removed the respiratory constraints associated with quadrupedalism as originally suggested. Unlike quadrupeds, for whom respiratory constraints remain implicated in the speed dependence of CoT, constraints that lead to a minimum CoT for people must involve other mechanisms of efficiency such as the storage and release of energy in the lower limbs.


Finite Element Prediction on Fracture Load of Femur with Osteogenesis Imperfecta under Various Loading Conditions.
Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is an inherited disorder characterized by extreme bone fragility due to collagen defects. It is an incurable disease. Bone fractures can occur frequently without prior notice, especially among children. Early quantitative prediction of fracture loads due to OI tends to alert patients to avoid unnecessary situations or dangerous conditions. This study is aimed at investigating the fracture loads of femur with OI under various types of loading. Ten finite element models of an OI-affected bone were reconstructed from the normal femur with different bowing angles ranging from 7.5 to 30.0°. The boundary conditions were assigned on an OI-affected femoral head under three types of load: medial-lateral impacts, compression-tension, and internal-external torsions, and various loading direction cases that reflect the stance condition. The fracture load was examined based on the load that can cause bone fracture for each case. The results show that the loads bearable by the femur before fracture were decreased with respect to the increase of OI bowing angles in most of the loading cases. The risk of fracture for the femur with OI was directly proportional to the increase of bowing angles in the frontal plane. This study provides new insights on fracture load prediction in OI-affected bone with respect to various loading types, which could help medical personnel for surgical intervention judgement.


Time course of allocation of spatial attention by acoustic cues in non-human primates.
Spatial attention mediates the selection of information from different parts of space. When a brief cue is presented shortly before a target [cue to target onset asynchrony (CTOA)] in the same location, behavioral responses are facilitated, a process called attention capture. At longer CTOAs, responses to targets presented in the same location are inhibited; this is called inhibition of return (IOR). In the visual modality, these processes have been demonstrated in both humans and non-human primates, the latter allowing for the study of the underlying neural mechanisms. In audition, the effects of attention have only been shown in humans when the experimental task requires sound localization. Studies in monkeys with the use of similar cues but without a sound localization requirement have produced negative results. We have studied the effects of predictive acoustic cues on the latency of gaze shifts to visual and auditory targets in monkeys experienced in localizing sound sources in the laboratory with the head unrestrained. Both attention capture and IOR were demonstrated with acoustic cues, although with a faster time course than with visual cues. Additionally, the effect was observed across sensory modalities (acoustic cue to visual target), suggesting that the underlying neural mechanisms of these effects may be mediated within the superior colliculus, a center where inputs from both vision and audition converge.


Biodegradation of Moringa oleifera's polymer blends.
Vegetable oils are used as a base for the synthesis of polymers and monomers with structures similar to that of petroleum, as plasticizers for conventional polymers and biodegrading additives. The Moringa oleifera oil was extracted from seeds and polymerized after being submitted to 16 h of microwave irradiation without catalysers. This polymer was characterized and the efficiency of the oil polymerization was verified by the reduction of double bonds and the increase of molecular weight up to 50,000 g mol-1. Films produced by a mixture of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) with poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/poly(lactic acid) (PBAT/PLA) present low tensile resistance and low biodegradation behaviour. In order to improve those properties, the Moringa polymer (PMO) was mixed with LDPE and PBAT/PLA in specific mass concentrations. The films produced with this mixture were characterized and submitted to biodegradation analysis. The PMO behaves as a compatibilizer by improving thermal properties, reducing the crystalline phase and improving the biodegradation behaviour. The biodegradation improved up to five times in comparison to conventional polymers and it restores the mechanical properties.


Creating high-end esthetic results in implantology using a digital workflow and interdisciplinary planning - from a master technician viewpoint.
This article outlines the prosthetic concepts in the management of implants in the esthetic zone with a view to achieving optimal long-term esthetics and stability. The emphasis is on the understanding and application of the biologic factors and dental technology that influence treatment outcomes. The authors examine the exciting new world of digitalization of dental procedures that has transformed esthetic dentistry, dental technology, and surgery. The digital workflow makes it possible to attain excellence in many kinds of dental restorations, providing high quality while maintaining a very natural-looking appearance. The newest developments in the field of digital systems allow for greater predictability and precision of results as well as more accuracy, which in turn allows for better design quality. The duration of dental treatment and dental technology has also been reduced due to digitalization. Transitioning from an analog to a digital workflow requires a paradigm shift. The techniques to improve the daily workflow in practice and in the dental laboratory integrate advanced CAD/CAM technologies, combining 3D-printed models and high-end esthetic dental restorations in ceramics. An interdisciplinary approach, detailed in this article, is key to optimal case management.


Increased levels of tissue factor mRNA in mononuclear blood cells of patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome.
Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) may stimulate tissue factor (TF) expression in cultured endothelial cells and monocytes, but there are discrepancies as to the expression of TF in the patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). By using reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction amplification, we have analysed TF mRNA accumulation in freshly isolated mononuclear blood cells (MBC) of 14 patients with primary APS (PAPS) and six normal controls. TF mRNA accumulation was low or absent in uncultured MBC from all normal controls, but was elevated in uncultured MBC from nine of the patients as well as in normal MBC incubated with 100 ng/ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Mean levels of TF mRNA, as measured by densitometry, were higher in MBC from patients (N = 14) than in those from controls (N = 6, P = 0.009), and in MBC from patients with a history of thrombosis (N = 9) than in those from patients without thrombosis (N = 5, P = 0.02). Uncultured MBC of patients with thrombosis accumulated TF mRNA at similar levels to LPS-treated normal MBC. Increased levels of TF mRNA were found in eight of ten patients with conventional aPL (ie, anti-cardiolipin antibodies [aCL] and/or lupus anticoagulant [LA]) and little if any accumulation of TF mRNA was observed in three of four patients without aPL at the time of study. These data strongly suggest that circulating monocytes of many patients with PAPS are subjected to an up-regulated TF expression that may well explain their prothrombotic state. Although the presence or absence of TF mRNA in MBC was associated with, respectively, the presence or absence of conventional aPL in 11 of the 14 patients studied, our study cannot exclude the involvement of factors other than aCL or LA in inducing TF expression.


Sources and implications of dissatisfaction among new GPs in the inner-city.
We aimed to examine the factors that were most stressful for new principals in inner-city general practice. In addition, given the concerns about retention of new principals, to ascertain whether high perceived stress translated into regret that they had joined their practice and factors that might protect from regret. A questionnaire survey, within an inner-city Health Authority. The subjects were 101 GPs appointed as principals between 1992 and 1995. Eighty-three out of 101 GPs replied. The greatest sources of stress were, in order, patient expectations, fear of complaint, out-of-hours stress and fear of violence. Although these stresses were scored highly, 61% expressed no regret at having joined their practice with just 4% reporting considerable regret. Stress within the partnership and stress arising from patient expectations accounted for 23% of the variation in regret. Holders of the MRCGP were significantly protected against regret; there was no evidence that other factors such as medical positions outside the practice, membership of a young principals support group, fundholding status or training practices offered significant protection against regret. Despite reported difficulties in recruiting new young principals to the inner-city-and despite their reported high levels of stress-few have regrets about their decision to join their practice. For those who did regret joining their practice, the three principal associations were partnership stress, patient expectations and not possessing the MRCGP. Each of these factors may be amenable to intervention by policies geared to improve GP retention.


Breast Cancer Patients with Brain Metastases: A Cross-Sectional Study.
The prognosis of breast cancer patients with brain metastasis is poor. It was aimed to define the clinicopathological features of breast cancer patients with brain metastases and to determine the risk factors and survival outcomes associated with brain metastasis. This is a single-center, retrospective, cross-sectional study. A total number of 127 patients diagnosed with breast cancer and who developed brain metastasis between January 2011 and March 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The survival and clinicopathological data of these patients according to 4 biological subtypes were evaluated (luminal A, luminal B, HER-2 overexpressing, and triple-negative). The median overall survival for all patients was 45.6 months. The median time from the diagnosis of breast cancer to the occurrence of brain metastasis was 29.7 months, and the median survival time after brain metastasis was 7.2 months. The time from the diagnosis of breast cancer to brain metastasis development was significantly shorter in HER-2 overexpressing and triple-negative subtypes than in luminal A and B subtypes. The median time from breast cancer diagnosis to brain metastasis was 33.5 months in luminal A, 40.6 months in luminal B, 16.8 months in HER-2 overexpressing, and 22.8 months in the triple-negative groups (p=0.003). We found the worst median survival after brain metastasis in the triple-negative group with 3.5 months. Early and close surveillance of high-risk patients may help early diagnosis of brain metastasis and may provide to perform effective treatments leading to longer overall survival times for this patient population.


Targeting of canonical WNT signaling ameliorates experimental sclerodermatous chronic graft-versus-host disease.
Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a major life-threatening complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The molecular mechanisms underlying cGVHD remain poorly understood, and targeted therapies for clinical use are not well established. Here, we examined the role of the canonical WNT pathway in sclerodermatous cGVHD (sclGVHD). WNT signaling was activated in human sclGVHD with increased nuclear accumulation of the transcription factor β-catenin and a WNT-biased gene expression signature in lesional skin. Treatment with the highly selective tankryase inhibitor G007-LK, the CK1α agonist pyrvinium, or the LRP6 inhibitor salinomycin abrogated the activation of WNT signaling and protected against experimental cGVHD, without a significant impact on graft-versus-leukemia effect (GVL). Treatment with G007-LK, pyrvinium, or salinomycin almost completely prevented the development of clinical and histological features in the B10.D2 (H-2d) → BALB/c (H-2d) and LP/J (H-2b) → C57BL/6 (H-2b) models of sclGVHD. Inhibition of canonical WNT signaling reduced the release of extracellular matrix from fibroblasts and reduced leukocyte influx, suggesting that WNT signaling stimulates fibrotic tissue remodeling by direct effects on fibroblasts and by indirect inflammation-dependent effects in sclGVHD. Our findings may have direct translational potential, because pyrvinium is in clinical use, and tankyrase inhibitors are in clinical trials for other indications.


Ascites and pleural effusions associated with endometriosis.
We report a case of ascites and bilateral pleural effusions associated with an endometrioma in a 26-year-old woman of Chinese descent. She had a right salpingo-oophorectomy and partial omentectomy performed, and she received leuprolide acetate depot injections after the operation. We believe this is the first description of use of a GnRH agonist to treat this rare condition.


[Oocyte donation as in France].
Oocyte donation, initially proposed in agonadal women, saw indications expand to ovarian deficiencies and failures of in vitro fertilization (IVF), resulting in a significant increasing demand. The recruitment of oocyte donors is a critical issue for all countries that have allowed this practice. The French legislation, with the laws of bioethics, is clearly the most restrictive of European countries, imposing an absolute free gift from mother. The different solutions in the neighboring countries are analysed and in particular the interpretations made in respect of gratuity and compensation. Motivating donors (spontaneous, relational, or by reciprocity), but also motivating the medical teams can organize a program of oocyte donation in France. The authors present their results of three years experience, demonstrating that this system is possible in the current legislative framework.


[Epidemiology, predictors and clinical aspects of loss of response to biological therapy].
In the last two decades, the treatment paradigms for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis have significantly changed inclusive of a continuously increasing role of biological therapy (anti TNFs). Some patients, however, experience lack or loss of response to biological treatment, and in such cases the management of patients is often empirical. In this review, the authors aim to summarize the available data regarding epidemiology and predictors of loss of response to biological therapy considering the clinical factors and the relationship between serum concentrations, antibodies against biological agents, respectively. Monitoring drug levels and antibodies is expected to play an important role in the management of loss of response (i.e. to confirm adherence, allow dose adjustment, or provide rationale for switching to another biological agent or to a different class of biological agent) in the coming years. The optimal method of detection and cut-off values are, however, not clear. In clinical practice, meticulous complex assessment of clinical symptoms, confirmation of active disease by endoscopic or radiological imaging, and excluding complications remain necessary.


Chromosome painting comparison of Leontopithecus chrysomelas (Callitrichine, Platyrrhini) with man and its phylogenetic position.
Using human probes of whole chromosomes, the homoeologies between human and Leontopithecus chrysomelas (Platyrrhini) karyotypes were established. Thirty-three conserved segments were observed between the two species. Intrachromosomal rearrangements between the two species were identified using hybridization of chromosome arm probes of human chromosomes 1 and 3. We also used chromosomal data to investigate phylogenetic relationships of Callitrichines. These data were encoded using Cebus capucinus , a species which kept fairly ancestral chromosomes, as reference. Two equi-parsimonious trees, including reversion or convergence events, were obtained. The monophyly of Callitrichines is confirmed. They share nine chromosomal rearrangements at least. The Cebuella-Callithrix group forms a clade sharing five rearrangements at least. According to the tree considered, the Tamarins, Leontopithecus and Saguinus share two chromosomal rearrangements restricted to these two taxa or none. Callimico accumulated seven chromosomal rearrangements unshared with other taxa, at least. To avoid convergence and reversion events, we propose the hypothesis of a network (or populational) evolution. Six chromosomal rearrangements would have occurred during the period of this network evolution. Finally, the karyotype of the last common ancestor to all Callitrichines has been reconstructed. It possessed 48 chromosomes.


HIF-1α inhibitor echinomycin reduces acute graft-versus-host disease and preserves graft-versus-leukemia effect.
Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) remains a major obstacle against favorable clinical outcomes following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). T helper cells including Th17 play key roles in aGVHD pathogenesis. Donor regulatory T cell (Tregs) adoptive therapy reduces aGVHD without weakening graft-versus-leukemia effect (GVL) in both mouse and human, although the purification and ex vivo expansion of Tregs in clinical scenarios remain costly and technically demanding. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) is a key molecule switch that attenuates Treg but promotes Th17 development. However, whether pharmacological inhibition of HIF-1α reduces aGVHD via increasing Treg development and diminishing Th17 responses remains unexplored. By using alloantigen-specific mixed lymphocyte culture and murine models of aGVHD and GVL, we evaluated the impacts of HIF-1α inhibition by echinomycin on the alloantigen-specific CD4 T cell responses ex vivo, as well as on aGVHD and GVL effect following allo-HSCT. Ex vivo echinomycin treatment resulted in increased number of Tregs in the culture as well as reduced alloantigen-specific Th17 and Th1 responses. In vivo echinomycin treatment reduced GVHD scores and prolonged survival of mice following allo-HSCT, which is associated with increased number of donor Tregs and reduced number of Th17 and Th1 in lymphoid tissues. In murine model of leukemia, echinomycin treatment preserved GVL effect and prolonged leukemia free survival following allo-HSCT. Echinomycin treatment reduces aGVHD and preserves GVL effect via increasing donor Treg development and diminishing alloantigen-specific Th17 and Th1 responses following allo-HSCT, presumably via direct inhibition of HIF-1α that results in preferential Treg differentiation during alloantigen-specific CD4 T cell responses. These findings highlight pharmacological inhibition of HIF-1α as a promising strategy in GVHD prophylaxis.


Mapping a region within the 1RS.1BL translocation in common wheat affecting grain yield and canopy water status.
This study identifies a small distal region of the 1RS chromosome from rye that has a positive impact on wheat yield. The translocation of the short arm of rye (Secale cereale L.) chromosome one (1RS) onto wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) chromosome 1B (1RS.1BL) is used in wheat breeding programs worldwide due to its positive effect on yield, particularly under abiotic stress. Unfortunately, this translocation is associated with poor bread-making quality. To mitigate this problem, the 1RS arm was engineered by the removal and replacement of two interstitial rye segments with wheat chromatin: a distal segment to introduce the Glu-B3/Gli-B1 loci from wheat, and a proximal segment to remove the rye Sec-1 locus. We used this engineered 1RS chromosome (henceforth 1RS(WW)) to develop and evaluate two sets of 1RS/1RS(WW) near isogenic lines (NILs). Field trials showed that standard 1RS lines had significantly higher yield and better canopy water status than the 1RS(WW) NILs in both well-watered and water-stressed environments. We intercrossed the 1RS and 1RS(WW) lines and generated two additional NILs, one carrying the distal (1RS(RW)) and the other carrying the proximal (1RS(WR)) wheat segment. Lines not carrying the distal wheat region (1RS and 1RS(WR)) showed significant improvements in grain yield and canopy water status compared to NILs carrying the distal wheat segment (1RS(WW) and 1RS(RW)), indicating that the 1RS region replaced by the distal wheat segment carries the beneficial allele(s). NILs without the distal wheat segment also showed higher carbon isotope discrimination and increased stomatal conductance, suggesting that these plants had improved access to water. The 1RS(WW), 1RS(WR) and 1RS(RW) NILs have been deposited in the National Small Grains Collection.


Effect of Soil Type: Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Phytochemicals in Some Browse Species Leaves Found in Savannah Biome of South Africa.
In semi-arid regions, browse plant species are used as feed and for medicinal purposes for both animals and humans. The limitation of the utilization of these species to medicinal purposes or as feed for livestock is a lack of knowledge on the concentration level of phytochemicals and other bioactive compounds found in these plants. The study sought to assay the qualitative and quantitative bioactive constituents of some browse species found in the savannah biome of South Africa, viz. Adansonia digitate, Androstachys johnsonii, Balanites maughamii, Berchemia discolor, Berchemia zeyheri, Bridelia mollis hutch, Carissa edulis, Catha edulis, Colophospermum mopane, Combretum Imberbe, Combretum molle, Combretum collinum, Dalbergia melanoxylon, Dichrostachys cinerea, Diospros lycioides, Diospyros mespiliformis, Euclea divinorum, Flueggea virosa, Grewia flava, Grewia flavescens, Grewia monticola, Grewia occidentalis, Melia azedarach, Peltophorum africanum, Prosopis velutina, Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia, Pterocarpus rotundifolius, Schinus molle, Schotia brachypetala, Sclerocarya birrea, Searsia lancea, Searsia leptodictya, Searsia pyroides, Senegalia caffra, Senegalia galpinii, Senegalia mellifera, Senegalia nigrescens, Senegalia polyacantha, Strychnos madagascariensis, Terminalia sericea, Trichilia emetic, Vachellia erioloba, Vachellia hebeclada, Vachellia karroo, Vachellia nilotica, Vachellia nilotica subsp. Kraussiana, Vachellia rechmanniana, Vachellia robusta, Vachellia tortilis, Vachellia tortilis subsp. raddiana, Vangueria infausta, and Ziziphus mucronata. These browse species' leaf samples were harvested from two provinces (Limpopo and North-West) of South Africa. The Limpopo province soil type was Glenrosa, Mispah, and Lithosols (GM-L), and the soil types in the North-West Province were Aeolian Kalahari Sand, Clovelly, and Hutton (AKS-CH). The harvested browse samples were air dried at room temperature for about seven days and ground for analysis. The methanol and distilled water extracts of the browse species leaves showed the presence of common phytoconstituents, including saponins, flavonoids, tannins, phenols, cardio glycosides, terpenoids, and phlobatannins, as major active compounds in browse species leaves. In the quantitative analysis, phytochemical compounds, such as soluble phenols, insoluble tannins, and condensed tannins, were quantified for common species found in both sites. Two-way ANOVA and multivariate analysis were used to test soil type and species effect on soluble phenols, insoluble tannins, and condensed tannins of woody species. Dichrostachys cinerea (0.1011% DM) in GM-L soil type and Z. mucronata (0.1009% DM) in AKS-CH soil type showed the highest (p < 0.05) concentration of soluble phenols. In AKS-CH soil type, D. cinerea (0.0453% DM) had the highest insoluble tannins concentration, while V. hebeclada had the lowest (0.0064% DM) insoluble tannins content. Vacchelia hebeclada had lower (p < 0.05) condensed tannins concentration levels than all other browse plants in both soil types. Under multivariate analysis tests, there was a significant effect (p < 0.001) of soil type, species, and soil type x species interaction on soluble phenols, insoluble tannins, and condensed tannins of woody species. In this study, most of the woody species found in GM-L soil type showed a lower amount of tannins than those harvested in AKS-CH soil type. There is a need to identify the amount of unquantified phytochemicals contained in these browse species and valorize the high-bioactive-compound browse species to enhance and maximize browsing of these browse species for animal production.


Divergence paresis: a nonlocalizing cause of diplopia.
To determine the causes, clinical characteristics, and localizing value of divergence paresis, which is characterized by acquired and uncrossed diplopia when viewing distant targets, fusion when viewing near targets, and no limitation of ocular ductions. Controversy persists regarding the diseases underlying divergence paresis and the existence of a divergence "center." The charts of 15 patients with divergence paresis examined between 1983 and 1998 were reviewed. All patients underwent neuroimaging and detailed ocular motility testing, with measurement of esotropia in prism diopters in 14 patients. Divergence paresis in 15 patients was idiopathic in three patients, was associated with central nervous system microangiopathy or infarct in seven patients, and clivus lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia with sinusitis, Wernicke ophthalmoplegia, Parkinson disease, myasthenia gravis, cryptic cerebellar vascular malformation, and childhood esotropia in one patient each (two patients had two diagnoses). The mean maximum esotropia was 10.4 prism diopters, and there was no significant correlation (Fisher exact test) between the magnitude of esotropia and vasculopathic etiology or posterior fossa lesion site. Although six patients had posterior fossa disease, neuroimaging showed no common circumscribed lesion site or evidence of increased intracranial pressure. Divergence paresis is an uncommon cause of acquired diplopia. Divergence paresis is associated with diverse central nervous system diseases and can be mimicked by myasthenia. The absence of a single consistent lesion in our study, which is the largest reported series, suggests that divergence paresis is a nonlocalizing cause of horizontal diplopia and that multiple or diffusely distributed neural structures may govern divergence. Alternatively, elusive divergence "centers" may not exist, and divergence paresis may arise from impaired inhibition or from defective passive antagonism of orbital structures to convergence.


Metabolic Strokes in Propionic Acidemia: Transient Hemiplegic Events Without Encephalopathy.
Metabolic strokes are a notable feature associated with acute catabolic crises in patients with propionic acidemia. Despite their importance, these events are not well characterized. Here, we present the clinical history of a patient with propionic acidemia who developed 5 episodes of acute hemiparesis between 3 and 11 years of age. The clinical finding of hemiparesis associated with 4 of these 5 events were shorted lived (2-5 days). Neuroimaging showed signal changes in the basal ganglia manifesting many years following the initial episode. Two of the episodes were accompanied by definite seizures. Based on these factors, the hemiparetic events were most consistent with metabolic strokes, though what is distinctive is that most of the events occurred without evidence of metabolic decompensation; brain magnetic resonance imaging findings were not suggestive in the acute setting. We present a framework for evaluating suspected metabolic stroke in propionic acidemia, in light of the sometimes perplexing clinical heterogeneity underlining these events.


In situ precise electrospinning of medical glue fibers as nonsuture dural repair with high sealing capability and flexibility.
In this work, we propose an in situ precise electrospinning of medical glue fibers onto dural wound for improving sealing capability, avoiding tissue adhesion, and saving time in dural repair. N-octyl-2-cyanoacrylate, a commercial tissue adhesive (medical glue), can be electrospun into ultrathin fibrous film with precise and homogeneous deposition by a gas-assisted electrospinning device. The self-assembled N-octyl-2-cyanoacrylate film shows high compactness and flexibility owing to its fibrous structure. Simulation experiments on egg membranes and goat meninges demonstrated that this technology can repair small membrane defects quickly and efficiently. This method may have potential application in dural repair, for example, working as an effective supplementary technique for conventional dura suture.