Revision of Cephennomicrus of Australia (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae).
The smallest Cephenniini of Australia belonging to the genus Cephennomicrus Reitter are revised. Twenty species occurring in the Australian mainland, Lord Howe Island and Boongaree Island are treated, including redescriptions of three previously known and descriptions of 17 new species: Cephennomicrus inconspicuus (King), C. lordhowei (Franz), C. perthi (Franz), C. baroalbanus sp. n., C. basalis sp. n., C. bipunctatus sp. n., C. carinatus sp. n., C. complicatus sp. n., C. indistinctus sp. n., C. longissimus sp. n., C. marunensis sp. n., C. mediorugosus sp. n., C. monteithi sp. n., C. mossmanensis sp. n., C. pronotalis sp. n., C. proserpinensis sp. n., C. semidividus sp. n., C. triangularis sp. n., C. tuberculifrons sp. n., and C. wunundarranus sp. n. Lectotype is designated for Megaladerus inconspicuus King. A working division of Australian Cephennomicrus into five species groups is proposed and distribution within Australia is summarized.


Continuous heart rate variability and electroencephalography monitoring in severe acute brain injury: a preliminary study.
Decreases in heart rate variability have been shown to be associated with poor outcomes in severe acute brain injury. However, it is unknown whether the changes in heart rate variability precede neurological deterioration in such patients. We explored the changes in heart rate variability measured by electrocardiography in patients who had neurological deterioration following severe acute brain injury, and examined the relationship between heart rate variability and electroencephalography parameters. Retrospective analysis of 25 patients who manifested neurological deterioration after severe acute brain injury and underwent simultaneous electroencephalography plus electrocardiography monitoring. Eighteen electroencephalography channels and one simultaneously recorded electrocardiography channel were segmented into epochs of 120-second duration and processed to compute 10 heart rate variability parameters and three quantitative electroencephalography parameters. Raw electroencephalography of the epochs was also assessed by standardized visual interpretation and categorized based on their background abnormalities and ictalinterictal continuum patterns. The heart rate variability and electroencephalography parameters showed consistent changes in the 2-day period before neurological deterioration commenced. Remarkably, the suppression ratio and background abnormality of the electroencephalography parameters had significant reverse correlations with all heart rate variability parameters. We observed a significantly progressive decline in heart rate variability from the day before the neurological deterioration events in patients with severe acute brain injury were first observed.


Primary Nasal Reconstruction in Self-Inflicted Nasal Injury.
Self-inflicted injury of the nose is extremely rare. It may be associated with severe psychopathology and suicidal ideation. The authors report a case of a 24-year-old man, who presented with soft-tissue loss over both the alae of his nose. He had cut off the alar rims with an ordinary razor blade. He was overtly concerned about his nose being excessively broad and fat. A diagnosis of body dysmorphic disorder with nonsuicidal self-injury was made. Patient was observed during 72 hours in hospital with psychiatric support and local dressings. The authors undertook primary nasal reconstruction with nasolabial flaps on both sides for coverage. In conclusion, self-inflicted nasal injury mandates a judicious balancing of psychiatric support and surgical reconstruction. This can prevent untoward sequelae including further self-harm and suicide.


Protein corona-guided tumor targeting therapy via the surface modulation of low molecular weight PEG.
The discovery of protein corona (PC) formed on the surface of nanomaterials has promoted research on PC regulation to guide the biological behavior of nanomaterials in vivo. Different from changing the size, shape, and surface charge of nanoparticles, we propose to control the nature of PC by adjusting the molecular weight of low molecular weight polyethylene glycol (LMW PEG, not more than 1000 Da) on the surface of the particles. After excluding the influence of physicochemical factors of PEGylated gold nanoparticles (GNPs), different proteins on the surface of PEGylated GNPs were separated and identified after incubation with human plasma. It is noted that GNP-550 bearing PEG chains of 550 Da absorbed more transferrin responsible for tumor targeting than the other two particles, i.e., GNP-350 and GNP-1000. To validate our speculation, doxorubicin (Dox) was inserted between GNPs and PEGs to explore the cellular and animal studies of Dox-conjugated GNPs. Interestingly, Dox-containing Conj-550 also showed the highest intracellular uptake, cytotoxicity, and apoptosis against HepG2 cells, as well as the best tumor targeting effect and antitumor efficacy in Heps-bearing mice. This protein corona-guided tumor targeting therapy by transferrin provides a new perspective on the function modulation of nanomedicine via LMW PEGs.


Natural aerosol transmission of foot-and-mouth disease virus to pigs: minimal infectious dose for strain O1 Lausanne.
Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) can spread by a variety of mechanisms, including, under certain circumstances, by the wind. Simulation models have been developed to predict the risk of airborne spread of FMDV and have played an important part in decision making during emergencies. The minimal infectious dose of FMDV for different species by inhalation is an important determinant of airborne spread. Whereas the doses for cattle and sheep have been quantified, those for pigs are not known. The objective of the study was to obtain that data in order to enhance the capability of simulation models. Under experimental conditions, forty pigs were exposed individually to naturally generated aerosols of FMDV, strain O1 Lausanne. The results indicated that doses under 100 TCID50 failed to infect pigs but doses of approximately 300 TCID50 caused short-term sub-clinical infection. The calculations suggested that a dose of more than 800 TCID50 is required to cause infection and typical disease.


Excretion profile of opiates in dependent patients in relation to route of administration and type of drug measured in urine with immunoassay.
It is accepted that opiates are detectable in urine within three days from the last dose at a cut-off value of 300 ng/mL. In our clinical practice, some patients tested positive for morphine even after a week of detoxification. The present study evaluates the time course of opiate excretion in urine of dependent subjects (F11.25 according to ICD-10) in relation to route of administration and a kind of street heroin. The group comprised 71 men treated for opiate dependency: 33 of them used heroin exclusively by inhalation; 26 i.v.; 12 used i.v. homemade poppy straw decoctions. Opiate levels were measured once a day by fluorescence polarization immunoassay (TDx Abbott). Detection time ranged from 3 to 10 days for cut-off value 300 ng/mL and from less than one up to seven days for cut-off value 2000 ng/mL. The increases in urine drug concentration that result from changes in urinary output may be mistakenly interpreted as a new drug use. Normalization of drug excretion to urine creatinine concentration reduces the variability of drug measurement attributable to urine dilution. The time function of creatinine normalized opiate concentration has a log-linear character, and decreases at a rate of 2.5 per day on average. New "normalized" cut-off values were proposed: 225 ng/mg creatinine, 1500 ng/mg creatinine, and 3750 ng/mg creatinine that corresponds to 300 ng/mL urine, 2000 ng/mL urine, and 5000 ng/mL urine.


Kinetics of tris (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCIPP) metabolism in human liver microsomes and serum.
Tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCIPP) is an emerging contaminant which is ubiquitous in the indoor and outdoor environment. Moreover, its presence in human body fluids and biota has been evidenced. Since no quantitative data exist on the biotransformation or stability of TCIPP in the human body, we performed an in vitro incubation of TCIPP with human liver microsomes (HLM) and human serum (HS). Two metabolites, namely bis(2-chloro-isopropyl) phosphate (BCIPP) and bis(1-chloro-2-propyl) 1-hydroxy-2-propyl phosphate (BCIPHIPP), were quantified in a kinetic study using HLM or HS (only BCIPP, the hydrolysis product) and LC-MS. The Michaelis-Menten model fitted best the NADPH-dependent formation of BCIPHIPP and BCIPP in HLM, with respective V(MAX) of 154 ± 4 and 1470 ± 110 pmol/min/mg protein and respective apparent K(m) of 80.2 ± 4.4 and 96.1 ± 14.5 μM. Hydrolases, which are naturally present in HLM, were also involved in the production of BCIPP. A HS paraoxonase assay could not detect any BCIPP formation above 38.6 ± 10.8 pmol/min/μL serum. Our data indicate that BCIPP is the major metabolite of TCIPP formed in the liver. To our knowledge, this is the first quantitative assessment of the stability of TCIPP in tissues of humans or any other species. Further research is needed to confirm whether these biotransformation reactions are associated with a decrease or increase in toxicity.


The in Silico Insight into Carbon Nanotube and Nucleic Acid Bases Interaction.
To explore practical applications of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in biomedical fields the properties of their interaction with biomolecules must be revealed. Recent years, the interaction of CNTs with biomolecules is a subject of research interest for practical applications so that previous research explored that CNTs have complementary structure properties with single strand DNA (ssDNA). Hence, the quantum mechanics (QM) method based on ab initio was used for this purpose. Therefore values of binding energy, charge distribution, electronic energy and other physical properties of interaction were studied for interaction of nucleic acid bases and SCNT. In this study, the interaction between nucleic acid bases and a (4, 4) single-walled carbon nanotube (SCNT) were investigated through calculations within quantum mechanics (QM) method at theoretical level of Hartree-Fock (HF) method using 6-31G basis set. Hence, the physical properties such as electronic energy, total dipole moment, charge distributions and binding energy of nucleic acid bases interaction with SCNT were investigated based on HF method. It has been found that the guanine base adsorption is bound stronger to the outer surface of nanotube in comparison to the other bases, consistent with the recent theoretical studies. In the other words, the results explored that guanine interaction with SCNT has optimum level of electronic energy so that their interaction is stable. Also, the calculations illustrated that SCNT interact to nucleic acid bases by noncovalent interaction because of charge distribution an electrostatic area is created in place of interaction. Consequently, small diameter SCNT interaction with nucleic acid bases is noncovalent. Also, the results revealed that small diameter SCNT interaction especially SCNT (4, 4) with nucleic acid bases can be useful in practical application area of biomedical fields such detection and drug delivery.


Ultrastructural evidence of myofibroblasts in circumscribed fibromatosis.
The myofibroblast, which exhibits ultrastructural features of both smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts, is the predominant cell type in the granulation tissue of healing wounds. Similar cells were identified in an ultrastructural study of a case of circumscribed fibromatosis. Myofibroblasts have been described in several apparently unrelated conditions, suggesting that the acquisition of smooth muscle-like features is one of a limited number of ways in which fibroblasts may react to abnormal stimuli.


Pseudodissection of the aorta.
Motion of the aortic wall resulting in the appearance of aortic dissection on CT is a well-described artifact in the adult radiology literature. Aortic dissection is rare in the pediatric population, and literature on pediatric CT angiography has not included recognition of this pitfall in the diagnosis of children. The current case illustrates a patient at risk of aortic dissection and a false-positive CT diagnosis as a result of this artifact.


Renal microvascular injury in diabetes: RAGE and redox signaling.
Diabetic nephropathy remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the diabetic population and is the leading cause of end-stage renal failure in the Western World. Despite current therapeutics including intensified glycemic control and blood pressure lowering agents, renal disease continues to progress relentlessly in diabetic patients, albeit at a lower rate. It is well recognized that metabolic and hemodynamic factors play a central role in accelerating renal disease in diabetes. However, recent experimental studies have suggested that increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a result of the diabetic milieu may play a central role in the progression of diabetic microvascular complications. These ROS appear to be generated primarily from mitochondrial sources and via the enzyme, NADPH oxidase. This review focuses on how ROS play a deleterious role in the diabetic kidney and how they are involved in crosstalk among various signaling pathways, ultimately leading to renal dysfunction and structural injury.


Blood-Labyrinth Barrier Permeability in Menière Disease and Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Findings on Delayed Postcontrast 3D-FLAIR MRI.
Menière disease and idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss can have overlapping clinical presentation and may have similar pathophysiology. Prior studies using postcontrast 3D-FLAIR MR imaging suggest abnormal blood-labyrinth barrier permeability in both conditions, but the 2 diseases have not been directly compared by using the same imaging techniques. We hypothesized that delayed postcontrast 3D-FLAIR MR imaging would show differences in blood-labyrinth barrier permeability between Menière disease and idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Patients with unilateral Menière disease (n = 32) and unilateral idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (n = 11) imaged with delayed postcontrast 3D-FLAIR MR imaging were retrospectively studied. Signal intensities of the medulla and perilymph of the cochlear basal turns of both ears in each patient were measured in a blinded fashion. Cochlea/medulla ratios were calculated for each ear as a surrogate for blood-labyrinth barrier permeability. The ears were segregated by clinical diagnosis. Cochlea/medulla ratio was higher in symptomatic ears of patients with Menière disease (12.6 ± 7.4) than in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (5.7 ± 2.0) and asymptomatic ears of patients with Menière disease (8.0 ± 3.1), indicating increased blood-labyrinth barrier permeability in Menière disease ears. The differences in cochlea/medulla ratio between symptomatic and asymptomatic ears were significantly higher in Menière disease than in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Asymptomatic ears in patients with Menière disease showed higher cochlea/medulla ratio than symptomatic and asymptomatic ears in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Increased cochlea/medulla ratio indicates increased blood-labyrinth barrier permeability in Menière disease compared with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Increased cochlea/medulla ratio in asymptomatic ears of patients with Menière disease also suggests an underlying systemic cause of Menière disease and may provide a pathophysiologic biomarker.


Old canalicular laceration repair: a retrospective study of the curative effects and prognostic factors.
To investigate the epidemiology and surgical outcomes of old canalicular laceration and analyze the variables impacting on the prognosis of reparation. A retrospective review of all old canalicular laceration repairs from Jan. 1, 2008 to Dec. 30, 2015 was performed. Analyzed data included demographics, mechanisms of injury, the time from injury to repair, causes for delayed repair, old associated injuries, the types of surgery, and the effects of repair using canaliculus anastomosis combined with bicanalicular stent intubation. Totally 148 patients with old canalicular laceration received surgical repair and were enrolled. The mean age at presentation was 32.52 years old (ranged from 3 to 63 years old). The 110 patients (74.32%) were male and 127 patients (85.81%) were adults (≥18 years old). The old upper, lower, and bicanalicular lacerations were found in 5 (3.38%), 39 (26.35%), and 104 patients (70.27%), respectively. The mechanism of old injury was primarily due to motor vehicle accidents (n=53, 35.81%). The mean time from injury to repair was 43.61mo (ranged from 1 to 360mo). Associated old ocular and orbit injuries were found in 65 patients (43.92%), and chronic dacryocystitis in 18 patients (12.16%). The main cause of delayed repair was that doctors or patients didn't pay attention to the canalicular laceration because of the concurrent severe injuries (n=71, 47.97%). Totally 136 patients (91.89%) with old canalicular laceration underwent canaliculus anastomosis combined with bicanalicular stent intubation. In all of them, 20 patients (13.51%) were combined with dacryocystorhinostomy. In these cases, 132 patients (97.06%) attained anatomic success, 121 patients (88.97%) reported no epiphora (functional success), 11 patients (8.09%) reported significant epiphora anesis (functional improvement), and 4 (2.94%) reported no significant anesis (functional failure). Rates of anatomic success and functional success were significantly correlated with different canaliculus involved. However, rates of anatomic success and functional success were not significantly affected by the time from injury to repair. The canalicular anastomosis combined with bicanalicular stent intubation could act as an effective therapeutics for old canalicular laceration.


U-Net convolutional neural network-based modification method for precise fabrication of three-dimensional microstructures using laser direct writing lithography.
In this paper, a modification method based on a U-Net convolutional neural network is proposed for the precise fabrication of three-dimensional microstructures using laser direct writing lithography (LDWL). In order to build the correspondence between the exposure intensity distribution data imported to the laser direct writing system and the surface profile data of the actual fabricated microstructure, these two kinds of data are used as training tensors of the U-Net convolutional neural network, which is proved to be capable of generating their accurate mapping relations. By employing such mapping relations to modify the initial designed exposure intensity data of the parabolic and saddle concave micro-lens with an aperture of 24µm×24µm, it is demonstrated that their fabrication precision, characterized by the mean squared error (MSE) and the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) between the fabricated and the designed microstructure, can be improved significantly. Specifically, the MSE of the parabolic and saddle concave micro-lens decreased from 100 to 17 and 151 to 50, respectively, and the PSNR increased from 22dB to 29dB and 20dB to 25dB, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of laser beam shaping using these two kinds of micro-lens has also been improved considerably. This study provides a new solution for the fabrication of high-precision three-dimensional microstructures by LDWL.


COX-2 inhibitors and cardiovascular risk. Inferences based on biology and clinical studies.
Even though non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been widely used for a long time, the search continues for anti-inflammatory drugs with few side-effects. COX-2 inhibitors are currently most debated, because they have less gastrointestinal side effects but have been linked to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, presumably related to thrombotic events. This has brought about the withdrawal of rofecoxib and other COX-2 inhibitors from the market. Although the results of several large studies with prospective, randomized design and meta-analysis of different trials have led to the demise of many popular COX-2 inhibitors, yet the conclusion seems to be rather simplistic. This review presents evidence from basic biology and clinical studies with the expectation that a balanced position, particularly in relation to increase in cardiovascular events, may be elucidated.


Morphometric analyses of axons in the human lateral corticospinal tract: cervical/lumbar level comparison and relation to the ageing process.
Myelinated axons in the human lateral corticospinal tract (LCST) at the C6 and L4 levels were examined on 16 male cadavers, with age ranging from 41 to 88 years. The average area of axons in the LCST was measured using a microscopic image-analyzing system. Our data show that the average area of axons at the C6 and L4 levels decreased with age. We also noticed that the average area of axons was larger at the C6 level than at the L4 level in all cases. This decrease may be related to a parallel decrease of conduction velocity in the LCST during the ageing process.


Leydig cell tumor of the spermatic cord in an adolescent affected by congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
We report the first case of a patient with extratesticular Leydig cell tumor associated with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. An 18-year-old congenital adrenal hyperplasia patient presented with a palpable and asymptomatic right extratesticular mass. Color Doppler sonography confirmed the presence of a capsulated and vascularised lesion. Sieric tumor markers were negative. The patient underwent surgical scrotal exploration through an inguinal right incision. The mass, 18 mm in size and located within the spermatic cord, was removed and final pathology diagnosed a benign Leydig cell tumor.


Seroprevalence of Bordetella pertussis among vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant women and newborn infants in a university hospital of Buenos Aires.
Pertussis is a highly contagious disease caused by Bordetella pertussis. It poses a high morbidity and mortality rate, especially among infants younger than 6 months old. In Argentina, pertussis incidence and mortality have increased over the past three decades. To establish Bordetella pertussisantibody titers among pregnant women in their third trimester and among newborn infants, as measured in cord blood. This was an observational, cross-sectional study. The study started in 2011; at that time, pertussis vaccination was not mandatory for pregnant women as per the national immunization schedule, only optional. Maternal antibodies were measured in the last trimester of pregnancy for women and in cord blood for newborn infants. Antibody titers were determined using Abcam's anti-Bordetella pertussis toxin (PT) IgG in vitro ELISA kit. The χ² test was used to compare prevalence rates. The study included 111 mother-newborn infant dyads; 35 infants from unvaccinated mothers (before the introduction of the vaccine) and 76 from vaccinated mothers. Positive IgG antibodies were found in 92% (70/76) of infants born from vaccinated mothers whereas 100% (35/35) of infants born from unvaccinated mothers had negative results for antibodies; p < 0.001. In the vaccinated population of this study, 92% of infants had positive IgG antibodies. This study supports the need for maternal immunization against Bordetella pertussis to provide protection to newborn infants.


[The Chilaiditi syndrome and associated volvulus of the transverse colon].
Hepatodiaphragmatic interposition of the colon, known as Chilaiditi's sign, is generally discovered by chance, during an x-ray study for a different cause as its appearance usually lacks symptoms. When the discovery is accompanied by clinical symptoms such as: abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, constipation, it is known as the Chilaiditi's syndrome. Transverse colon volvulus is a rare entity. The treatment is emergency surgery. The association of Chilaiditi syndrome and transverse colon volvulus is exceptional, the presence of elongation and hypermotility of the colon associated to long mesenterium are common findings in patients with this association. The presence of signs and symptoms compatible with intestinal obstruction in this clinical association, change the conservative medical handling described classically in the Chilaiditi syndrome. Based on the above, the conduct was surgery for the benefit of the patient. We presented the seventh case in the English world medical literature and the first in Peruvian medical literature, in a 17 year old mentally retarded male patient with renal ectopia.


Oocyte maturation: converting the zebrafish oocyte to the fertilizable egg.
The process of oogenesis culminates in steroid-induced oocyte maturation to produce the fertilizable egg. A quintessential biological entity, the egg is central to the production of new individuals. The result of egg fertilization by a sperm cell is the production of the mother of all stem cells (i.e. the zygote). Furthermore, the egg cytoplasm is the only one known to support reprogramming a transplanted nucleus to give rise to an individual (i.e. animal cloning). Zebrafish oocyte maturation is a complex event encompassing a number of cellular changes including germinal vesicle migration (GVM) and dissolution or breakdown (GVD), ooplasmic clearing (OC) with correlated yolk protein changes (YP), development of osmoregulation (OR) in fresh water, the formation of the future embryonic pole, the blastodisc (BF) and activatibility (AC) or cortical maturation. In zebrafish, and many other teleosts, 17alpha, 20beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17alpha, 20beta-DP) has been shown to be the normal inducer of oocyte maturation. A 17alpha, 20beta-DP membrane-resident receptor mediates oocyte maturation via non-genomic mechanisms that are beginning to be understood. This paper will highlight some of the cellular markers resulting from the signaling initiated by 17alpha, 20beta-DP. By describing these markers, it is hoped that workers in the field will have additional tools to help further elucidate the signaling events of oocyte maturation.


Biomarkers of copper status: a brief update.
The essentiality of copper (Cu) in humans is demonstrated by various clinical features associated with deficiency, such as anaemia, hypercholesterolaemia and bone malformations. Despite significant effort over several decades a sensitive and specific Cu status biomarker has yet to be identified. The present article updates a comprehensive review recently published by the authors which assesses the reliability and robustness of current biomarkers and outlines the on-going search for novel indicators of status(1). The essential features of this earlier review are reiterated whilst considering whether there are other approaches, not yet tested, which may provide valuable information in the quest for an appropriate measure of copper status. Current biomarkers include a range of cuproenzymes such as the acute phase protein caeruloplasmin and Cu-Zn-superoxide dismutase all of which are influenced by a range of other dietary and environmental factors. A recent development is the identification of the Cu chaperone, CCS as a potential biomarker; although its reliability has yet to be established. This appears to be the most promising potential biomarker, responding to both Cu deficiency and excess. The potential for identifying a 'suite' of biomarkers using high-throughput technologies such as transcriptomics and proteomics is only now being examined. A combination of these technologies in conjunction with a range of innovative metal detection techniques is essential if the search for robust copper biomarkers is to be successful.


Alterations in the Peripheral Immune System in Dementia.
Alterations in the immune response that result in inflammation might play a role in the pathology of dementias. In order to analyze changes of the peripheral immune system associated with different types of dementias, we determined several innate and adaptive cell populations in whole blood using flow cytometry. We included patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD; n = 60), vascular dementia (VaD; n = 20), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD; n = 12) at the time point of diagnosis and 24 age-matched neuropsychiatric healthy persons. Monocytes and NK cells were diminished in VaD, but not in AD and FTD. B cell and T cell numbers were decreased in all investigated forms of dementia. Changes in the contribution of naïve/memory T cells were only present in AD. Correlation and regression analyses revealed associations between altered immune cell populations and Q Albumin as marker for the integrity of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid-barrier, Mini-Mental State Examination values, and age. The peripheral immune system is altered in AD, VaD, and FTD. However, each disorder presents unique changes in the investigated cell types indicating different mechanisms underlying the pathology.


Dynamic Changes in Lung Microbiota of Broilers in Response to Aging and Ammonia Stress.
Comprehensive microbial analysis has revealed that the lung harbors a complex variety of microbiota, and although the dynamic distribution of the lung microbiota in mice and laying hens of different ages is well established, this distribution has not been clarified in broilers of different ages. Here, we performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing of lung lavage fluid from broilers at 3 (3D), 7 (7D), 14 (14D), 21 (21D), and 35 (35D) days of age to evaluate changes in the composition of their lung microbiota. Upon examination of the composition and function of the broiler lung microbiota, we found that their maturation increased significantly with age. Specifically, the microbiota composition was similar between 7 and 14D and between 21 and 35D. The relative abundance of aerobic bacteria in the broiler lungs gradually increased as the broilers developed, whereas the relative abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria reached its highest level at 3D. The relative abundance of predicted functions in microbiota was very similar among 3, 7, and 14D, whereas the Glycan Biosynthesis and Metabolism pathway in microbiota was enriched at 21D. These findings suggest that these metabolic pathways play critical roles in shaping broiler microbiota at these age stages. In addition, short-term external ammonia stimulation significantly increased lung inflammation but did not significantly affect the lung microbiota. Taken together, these data reveal the dynamics of age-related changes in the microbiota of broiler lungs and the stability (the significant variation in the microbial composition) of these microbial communities in response to short-term ammonia stress. These findings provide new insights into the development of broiler lung microbiota and serve as a reference for subsequent studies to evaluate disease prevention in broilers subjected to large-scale breeding.


Desoximetasone 0.25% and tacrolimus 0.1% ointments versus tacrolimus alone in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.
Long-term in vitro compatibility of desoximetasone and tacrolimus ointments prompted the current trial in humans. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of twice-daily simultaneous application of desoximetasone and tacrolimus in the treatment of atopic dermatitis versus tacrolimus monotherapy. Eighty-two subjects were treated in this multicenter, single-group, double-blinded, paired, 3-week follow-up clinical study of desoximetasone 0.25% and tacrolimus 0. 1% ointments versus tacrolimus 0.1% ointment and vehicle. Subjects were treated twice daily for 21 days or until clearing. Safety and efficacy were assessed at days 3, 7, 14, and 21. The combination of desoximetasone and tacrolimus ointment was superior to tacrolimus alone (P=.0002) in treating atopic dermatitis as measured by the summary of the scores for erythema, lichenification, pruritus, scaling/dryness, and oozing/crusting. Of note, pruritus at the application site was diminished in subjects treated with desoximetasone and tacrolimus together compared with tacrolimus alone (P=.04). Combination treatment with desoximetasone and tacrolimus offered increased efficacy and tolerability over tacrolimus alone in patients with atopic dermatitis.


MicroRNAs in the Blood-Brain Barrier in Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury.
Hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury is a leading cause of acute mortality and chronic disability in newborns. Current evidence shows that cerebral microvascular response and compromised blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity occur rapidly and could primarily be responsible for the brain injury observed in many infants with HI brain injury. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a type of highly conserved non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which consist of 21-25 nucleotides in length and usually lead to suppression of target gene expression. Growing evidence has revealed that brainenriched miRNAs act as versatile regulators of BBB dysfunctions in various neurological disorders including neonatal HI brain injury. In the present review, we summarize the current findings regarding the role of miRNAs in BBB impairment after hypoxia/ischemia brain injury. Specifically, we focus on the recent progress of miRNAs in the pathologies of neonatal HI brain injury. These findings can not only deepen our understanding of the role of miRNAs in BBB impairment in HI brain injury, but also provide insight into the development of new therapeutic strategies for preservation of BBB integrity under pathological conditions.


HDAC1,2 inhibition and doxorubicin impair Mre11-dependent DNA repair and DISC to override BCR-ABL1-driven DSB repair in Philadelphia chromosome-positive B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) expressing BCR-ABL1 oncoprotein is a major subclass of ALL with poor prognosis. BCR-ABL1-expressing leukemic cells are highly dependent on double-strand break (DSB) repair signals for their survival. Here we report that a first-in-class HDAC1,2 selective inhibitor and doxorubicin (a hyper-CVAD chemotherapy regimen component) impair DSB repair networks in Ph+ B-cell precursor ALL cells using common as well as distinct mechanisms. The HDAC1,2 inhibitor but not doxorubicin alters nucleosomal occupancy to impact chromatin structure, as revealed by MNase-Seq. Quantitative mass spectrometry of the chromatin proteome along with functional assays showed that the HDAC1,2 inhibitor and doxorubicin either alone or in combination impair the central hub of DNA repair, the Mre11-Rad51-DNA ligase 1 axis, involved in BCR-ABL1-specific DSB repair signaling in Ph+ B-cell precursor ALL cells. HDAC1,2 inhibitor and doxorubicin interfere with DISC (DNA damage-induced transcriptional silencing in cis)) or transcriptional silencing program in cis around DSB sites via chromatin remodeler-dependent and -independent mechanisms, respectively, to further impair DSB repair. HDAC1,2 inhibitor either alone or when combined with doxorubicin decreases leukemia burden in vivo in refractory Ph+ B-cell precursor ALL patient-derived xenograft mouse models. Overall, our novel mechanistic and preclinical studies together demonstrate that HDAC1,2 selective inhibition can overcome DSB repair 'addiction' and provide an effective therapeutic option for Ph+ B-cell precursor ALL.


A new model of genetic hypertension in rats with superficial glomeruli.
Despite renal involvement in the genesis of hypertension, the precise renal hemodynamic events prior to and during development of hypertension have not been obtainable by direct study in the available rat models of genetic hypertension. We have developed a model of genetic salt-sensitive hypertension in rats with superficial glomeruli, using the protocol described by Dahl to develop the Brookhaven model. Adult Munich Wistar rats were purchased from Charles River and bred in our laboratory. Offspring were allowed to mature without intervention. Systolic blood pressure and body weight were measured weekly to determine the normal longitudinal changes with increasing age for this strain. Balance studies were also carried out longitudinally, and during these studies plasma renin activity (PRA) was determined. When the rats were 16 weeks old, the availability of superficial glomeruli was assessed under microscopic examination and only those rats with numerous superficial glomeruli/field were mated. The offspring of these breeders were used as the zero generation (F0) of salt-sensitive rats, and were treated as described by Dahl. Systolic blood pressure, body weights and balance studies were carried out in this and in all subsequent generations. Sibling breeding was maintained and rats were bred for salt-sensitivity (systolic blood pressure greater than 155 mmHg at the age of 2 months) and availability of superficial glomeruli. Those rats with systolic blood pressure of less than 120 mmHg were bred in an attempt to develop a salt-resistant strain, and untreated Munich Wistar rats were bred to provide another control.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Vibrons in a one-dimensional lattice of hydrogen-bonded peptide units: influence of the inhomogeneous mass distribution in the amino acid sequence.
The influence of the inhomogeneous mass distribution in the amino acid sequence on amide-I vibrons in alpha-helices is studied within the small polaron approach in a one-dimensional (1D) model. It is shown that inhomogeneities in the sequence favor a randomness in the polaron Hamiltonian via the dressing mechanism. The polaron dynamics is thus described by a 1D tight binding model with correlated off-diagonal disorder. At low temperature, the polaron hopping constants exhibit small fluctuations around a large average value so that the polaron Hamiltonian appears weakly disordered. Extended states occur over a wide range of energies around the band center whereas the states close to the band edges appear localized. By contrast, at biological temperature, a stronger disorder takes place which originates in a drastic decrease of the average hopping constant. The number of localized states increases but few states close to the band center exhibit a localization length about to or greater than the lattice size. The extended nature of these latter states is attributed to the occurrence of short range correlations in the random hopping constants.


Evidence and control of bifurcations in a respiratory system.
We studied the pressure patterns used by domestic canaries in the production of birdsong. Acoustically different sound elements ("syllables") were generated by qualitatively different pressure gestures. We found that some ubiquitous transitions between syllables can be interpreted as bifurcations of a low dimensional dynamical system. We interpreted these results as evidence supporting a model in which different timescales interact nonlinearly.


Real-world Effect of Monoclonal Antibody Treatment in COVID-19 Patients in a Diverse Population in the United States.
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are a promising treatment for limiting the progression of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and decreasing strain on hospitals. Their use, however, remains limited, particularly in disadvantaged populations. Electronic health records were reviewed from SARS-CoV-2 patients at a single medical center in the United States that initiated mAb infusions in January 2021 with the support of the US Department of Health and Human Services' National Disaster Medical System. Patients who received mAbs were compared with untreated patients from the time period before mAb availability who met eligibility criteria for mAb treatment. We used logistic regression to measure the effect of mAb treatment on the risk of hospitalization or emergency department (ED) visit within 30 days of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Of 598 COVID-19 patients, 270 (45%) received bamlanivimab and 328 (55%) were untreated. Two hundred thirty-one patients (39%) were Hispanic. Among treated patients, 5/270 (1.9%) presented to the ED or required hospitalization within 30 days of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test, compared with 39/328 (12%) untreated patients (P < .001). After adjusting for age, gender, and comorbidities, the risk of ED visit or hospitalization was 82% lower in mAb-treated patients compared with untreated patients (95% CI, 56%-94%). In this diverse, real-world COVID-19 patient population, mAb treatment significantly decreased the risk of subsequent ED visit or hospitalization. Broader treatment with mAbs, including in disadvantaged patient populations, can decrease the burden on hospitals and should be facilitated in all populations in the United States to ensure health equity.


[Ethical and bioethical issues disturbing nursing: REBEn's publications from 1970 to 2000].
It was studied the ethical and/or bioethical issues published in the Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem (Brazilian Nursing Journal-REBEn) that disturbed the nursing in the period between 1970 and 2000. Tha aim was to identify in articles published in the REBEn, during the mentioned period, subjects related to the ethics/bioethics. To discuss the theoretical perspectives in which the authors base their arguments. The study was quantitative and qualitative, documentary or bibliographical type. in the last 30 years it had gradual increase in the number of the articles that debates ethical questionings. After 1984 appear the first study, with bioethics connotation, in which the author discourses on the interventions of nursing before the patient in imminent death, with the purpose to verify the relations between the personal and professional values of the nurse. Was Valdria Lunardi who used the bioethics term for the first time in 1998.


Left Ventricular Noncompaction in Concomitance With Heroin Use Disorder.
Left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) is a rare congenital condition defined by the presence of prominent trabeculations in the myocardial layer of the left ventricle. The clinical presentation is varied as some patients are asymptomatic and others have symptoms of decompensated heart failure, arrhythmias, or thromboembolism. We present the case of a 42-year-old female with a past medical history of asthma and substance use disorder who presented to the Emergency Department following a syncopal event. The patient had used heroin intranasally, following which she became unresponsive for several minutes. Her husband witnessed the event and initiated chest compressions. When examined by emergency medical services (EMS), she had a palpable pulse and was given naloxone. The patient underwent further evaluation and was admitted for the treatment of aspiration pneumonia. Throughout her hospital stay, she complained of chest pain with musculoskeletal characteristics, likely secondary to chest compressions. However, due to the persistence of pain, she had further cardiac evaluation done. Her electrocardiography (EKG) revealed a normal sinus rhythm with no acute ischemic changes. Her echocardiography revealed left ventricular apical trabeculations with normal systolic and diastolic function, in line with the diagnosis of LVNC. Upon discharge, she was extensively counseled to abstain from substance use and to follow up with cardiology for a cardiac event monitor. Given her initial syncopal event and high-risk substance use behavior, she would benefit from close follow-up for the presence of arrhythmias.


Poliovirus proteinase 2A induces cleavage of eucaryotic initiation factor 4F polypeptide p220.
Poliovirus infection of HeLa cells induces rapid shutoff of host protein synthesis, whereas translation of poliovirus RNA is not inhibited. It is presumed that shutoff is the result of proteolytic cleavage of component p220 of eucaryotic initiation factor 4F. To study whether poliovirus proteinase 2A is involved in this cleavage, we translated synthetic RNAs that contained the coding region for poliovirus-specific polypeptides P1 and 2A in vitro and assayed for cleavage of p220. We report here that cleavage of p220 occurred in all cases when active proteinase 2A was translated and that disruption of the coding sequence of 2A by linker insertion or deletion prevented processing of p220 in vitro. Activity of 2A was determined by its ability to cleave at the P1-P2 site of a segment of the poliovirus polyprotein. We also constructed a plasmid in which the 3'-most 500 nucleotides of the nontranslated region of encephalomyocarditis virus were linked to the coding sequence for poliovirus polypeptide 2A. Translation of the RNA transcript of this clone was very efficient and yielded a fusion protein that included 2A; this polypeptide also induced cleavage of p220. In vitro translation in the presence of antibodies against 2A specifically inhibited processing of p220, whereas incubation of in vitro translation products with antibodies against 2A after translation was completed did not prevent proteolysis of p220.


Clinical Evaluation of Measuring the ACT during Elective Cardiac Surgery with Two Different Devices.
Unfractionated heparin is the mainstay of anticoagulation during cardiac surgery on cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) due to its low cost, quick onset, and ease of reversal. Since over 30 years, the activated clotting time (ACT) has been used to assess the level of heparin activity both before and after CPB. We compared two different methods of measuring the ACT: i-STAT, which uses amperometric detection of thrombin cleavage, and Hemochron Jr, which is based on detecting viscoelastic changes in blood. We included 402 patients from three institutions (Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK; Groote Schuur, Cape Town, South Africa; University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland) undergoing elective cardiac surgery on CPB in our study. We analyzed duplicate samples on both devices at all standard measuring points during the procedure. The correlation coefficient between two Hemochron and two i-STAT devices was .9165 and .9857, respectively. The within-subject coefficient of variation (WSCV) ranged from 8.2 to 13.6% for the Hemochron and from 4.1 to 9.1% for the i-STAT. We found that the number of occasions where one of the duplicate readings was >1,000 seconds while the other was below or close to the clinically significant threshold of 400 seconds were higher for the Hemochron. We found the i-STAT to systematically return higher measurements. We conclude that the i-STAT provides a more reliable test for heparin activity and assesses safe anticoagulation during cardiac surgery on pump. The fact the that the i-STAT reads higher than the Hemochron leads to the recommendation to validate the methods against each other before changing devices.


Vitamin B12 deficiency presenting as pyrexia.
Vitamin B12 deficiency is an uncommon cause of pyrexia. We report the case of a patient who presented with pyrexia and anaemia, which after exclusion of infective, inflammatory or endocrine causes was attributed to megaloblastic anaemia secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency. The patient's fever responded to treatment of vitamin B12 deficiency.


Protecting military personnel from high risk dietary supplements.
It is legal tomarketmost naturally occurring substances as dietary supplements in the USA without manufacturers demonstrating they are safe or effective, and an endless variety of ingredients, from esoteric botanicals to unapproved pharmaceuticals, can be found in dietary supplements. Use of certain supplements can pose a risk, but since a robust reporting systemdoes not exist in the USA it is difficult to know which are problematic and the number of adverse events (AE) resulting from their use. Certain populations, includingmilitary personnel, aremore likely to use dietary supplements than the general population. Approximately 70% of military personnel take dietary supplements while about 50% of civilians do. Service members prefer supplements purported to enhance physical performance such as supposedly natural stimulants, protein and amino acids, and combination products. Since some of thesemay be problematic, Servicemembers are probably at higher risk of injury than the general population. Ten percent of military populations appear to be taking potentially risky supplements, and the US Department of Defense (DoD) has taken variousmeasures to protect uniformed personnel including education, policy changes, and restricting sales. Actions taken include launching Operation Supplement Safety (OPSS), introducing a High Risk Supplement list, educating health care professionals on reporting AE thatmight be associated with dietary supplements, recommending policy for reporting AE, and developing an online AE reporting system. OPSS is a DoD-wide effort to educate service members, leaders, health care providers, military families, and retirees on how to safely select supplements


Incidental Diagnosis of Cerebral Cortical Venous Thrombosis in Postdural Puncture Headache on Brain Computed Tomography.
Diagnosis of cerebral cortical venous thrombosis in patients with postdural puncture headache (PDPH) is usually secondary to changes in headache pattern or cerebral infarctions. Nevertheless, incidental discovery of asymptomatic forms on brain imaging has never been reported before and its management thus remains ill-defined. We describe 2 cases of patients with asymptomatic cortical vein thrombosis in the context of PDPH. In both cases, brain computed tomography (CT) scans showed an isolated cortical vein thrombosis without cerebral damage. Neurological examination revealed the typical orthostatic feature of PDPH, independently of cortical vein thrombosis which was considered as a radiological incidental finding. Clinical and radiological signs resolved after bed rest, oral caffeine, and anticoagulation therapy. Asymptomatic cortical vein thrombosis may be found on radiological exploration, even basic like brain CT scan without contrast, of PDPH. Utility of anticoagulation therapy, which could increase the risk of cerebral hemorrhagic complications in this specific context, has to be assessed.


Nitric oxide radicals choreograph a radioadaptive response.
The reduced biological effects of radiation exposure seen in cells after conditioning exposures to a low dose or at a low-dose rate (i.e., the acquisition of resistance against high-dose radiation) is called the "radioadaptive response" and many studies concerning this phenomenon have been reported since the 1980s. Radioadaptive responses have been observed using various end points, such as chromosomal aberrations, mutations, and clonogenic survival. However, the mechanisms of the radioadaptive response are not fully known. Here, we show that radiation-induced nitric oxide (NO) radicals contribute to the induction of radioresistance as determined by cell survival after a subsequent high-dose exposure. An accumulation of inducible NO synthase was produced, and the concentration of nitrite in the culture medium increased when cells were exposed to gamma-rays at a low-dose rate or to X-rays for a low dose followed by an acute high-dose X-irradiation. In addition, the induction of radioresistance was not observed in the presence of an inhibitor of inducible NO synthase or a scavenger of NO radicals. Moreover, radioresistance was observed when cultures were treated with a NO radical-generating agent. These findings suggest that NO radicals are an initiator of the radioadaptive response.


Ionogel-templated synthesis and organization of anisotropic gold nanoparticles.
Photochemical reduction of tetrachloroaurate (AuCl4-) ions in the highly constrained aqueous domains of a nanostructured ionogel template, formed via self-assembly of the ionic liquid 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C10mim+Cl-) in water, results in the formation of anisotropic gold nanoparticles with a variety of sizes and morphologies, which include previously unattainable trigonal prismatic nanorods. Unexpectedly, small-angle X-ray scattering studies of the Au-ionogel composite reveal that the in situ formation of the nanoparticles increases the mesoscopic order of the ionogel, which results in its conversion to a near-monodomain structure. The findings demonstrate that nanostructured, ionic liquid-based gels can be used to template the formation of new nanoparticle morphologies with technologically important optical, electronic, and catalytic properties. It may also be possible to design soft templates that permit the fabrication of highly ordered nanoparticle array-hydrogel composites, thereby enabling control and tuning of the collective properties of the encapsulated nanoparticles.


Comparison of inflammatory markers in patients with diabetes mellitus versus those without before and after coronary arterial stenting.
Patients with diabetes are at increased risk for adverse events after coronary stenting, perhaps reflecting a pro-inflammatory state. To characterize the inflammatory response to coronary stenting in patients with and without diabetes, blood samples were obtained from 75 patients before stenting and 10 minutes, 1 hour, and 24 hours later. C-reactive protein (CRP, microg/ml), interleukin (IL)-6 (pg/ml), IL-1 receptor antagonist (pg/ml), and soluble CD40 ligand (ng/ml) were assayed in each sample by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Concentration changes after stenting were identified by repeated-measures analysis of variance. Multivariate analysis was performed to delineate independent predictors of increased concentrations of inflammation markers. Overall, 88% of patients had acute coronary syndromes; 36% had elevated markers of cardiac injury. The preprocedural concentrations of CRP in those with diabetes were more than twice as high as those in patients without diabetes. Two independent predictors of elevated preprocedural CRP concentrations were diabetes (odds ratio 3.95, 95% confidence interval 1.17 to 13.4) and a cardiac marker-positive acute coronary syndrome (odds ratio 3.70, 95% confidence interval 1.22 to 11.2). Preprocedural concentrations of IL-6, IL-1 receptor antagonist, and soluble CD40 ligand tended to be greater in patients with diabetes. The increase in CRP after stenting was much greater for patients without diabetes compared with that in patients with diabetes such that the apparent intensity of inflammation after 24 hours was similar in those with and without diabetes. Thus, patients with and without diabetes exhibit different inflammatory responses to stenting, reflecting the lower preprocedural inflammation in those without diabetes versus those with diabetes.


[Differential diagnostic dilemmas after use of an out-of-date antihypertensive medication. Case report].
Hydrochlorothiazide became one of the most commonly prescribed first-line antihypertensive medication, though its use is often complicated with serious side-effects. A 66-year-old female patient with a history of hypertension had suffered a transient loss of consciousness, and referred to our cardiology unit with an ST-segment elevation and giant negative T-waves in V1-2 ECG leads, long QT-segment and elevated serum creatine-kinase (5392 U/L) and troponin I (4,357 ng/ml) levels. Acute myocardial infarction was not proven (later coronarography revealed preserved coronary circulation), but severe hyponatraemia and hypokalaemia was detected, explaining a possible symptomatic seizure, and which could be accounted for a 25 mg daily hydrochlorothiazide antihypertensive treatment and - as a precipitating insult - a one-week history of gastroenteritis. The case-report presents a unique differential diagnostic question where thiazide-induced hyponatraemia and hypokalaemia resulted in a clinical picture sharing some similarities with acute myocardial infarction. This case underlines the serious side-effects of an inappropriately used common antihypertensive medication. Orv. Hetil., 2017, 158(11), 426-431.


Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Eburnamine and Eucophylline: A Biomimetic Attempt for the Total Synthesis of Leucophyllidine.
The first enantiospecific total synthesis of (+)-6 has been achieved employing a Friedländer quinoline synthesis as a key step. Asymmetric synthesis of the architecturally complex eburnamine 5 has also been accomplished utilizing an intramolecular acid-mediated cyclization of a carbinol amine lactone moiety. Highlights of the effective modular synthetic strategy include development of the common precursor 4 for the construction of the privileged scaffolds 5 and 6 with an all-carbon quaternary stereocenter utilizing a Johnson-Claisen rearrangement strategy. Attempts have been made to synthesize 1 by the biomimetic coupling of 5 and (+)-6; however, regioisomeric 26 was formed.


From genotype to phenotype: Are there imaging characteristics associated with lung adenocarcinomas harboring RET and ROS1 rearrangements?
Recurrent gene rearrangements are important drivers of oncogenesis in non-small cell lung cancers. RET and ROS1 rearrangements are each found in 1-2% of lung adenocarcinomas and represent distinct molecular subsets. This study assessed the computed tomography (CT) imaging features of patients with RET- and ROS1-rearranged lung cancers. Eligible patients included pathologically-confirmed lung adenocarcinomas of any stage with a RET or ROS1 rearrangement via fluorescence in-situ hybridization or next-generation sequencing, and available pre-treatment baseline imaging for review. A cohort of EGFR-mutant lung cancers was identified as a control group. CT features assessed included location, consistency, contour, presence of cavitation, and calcification of the primary tumor. Presence of an effusion, lung metastases, adenopathy and extrathoracic disease were recorded. The Wilcoxon rank-sum/Kruskal-Wallis and Fisher's exact tests were used to compare features between groups. 73 patients with lung adenocarcinomas were identified: 17 (23%) with ROS1 fusions, 25 (34%) with RET fusions and 31 (43%) with EGFR mutations. ROS1-rearranged lung cancers were more likely to present as peripheral tumors in comparison to EGFR-mutant lung cancers (32% vs. 65%, p=0.04). RET-rearranged lung cancers did not significantly differ from EGFR-mutant lung cancers radiographically. The consistency of the primary lesion for RET and ROS fusions and EGFR mutations were most frequently solid and spiculated. Lung adenocarcinomas with RET and ROS1 fusions share many radiographic features and those with ROS1 fusions are more likely to present as peripheral lesions in comparison to EGFR-mutant lung cancers.


Evidence for sialyl glycoconjugates as receptors for Bordetella bronchiseptica on swine nasal mucosa.
The nature of the receptors for Bordetella bronchiseptica was investigated by using the in vitro adherence assay system. The results indicated that sialyl glycoconjugates acted as receptors on swine nasal mucosa. These results were obtained by two independent approaches: inhibition of epithelial cell adherence with sialic acid-containing compounds but not with compounds lacking sialic acid residues and loss of adherence after treatment of epithelial cells with periodate or neuraminidase. B. bronchiseptica seems to have strong affinity for mucin. This may help the bacterium to colonize the mucosal surfaces of the swine nasal cavity.


Development and Validation of a Prognostic Nomogram for Hypopharyngeal Carcinoma.
Hypopharyngeal squamous-cell carcinoma (HSCC) is a relatively rare head and neck cancer, with great variation in patient outcomes. This study aimed to develop a prognostic nomogram for patients with HSCC. From the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, we retrieved the clinical data of 2198 patients diagnosed with HSCC between 2010 and 2016. The patients were randomly assigned at a 4:1 ratio to the training set or the validation set. An external validation was performed by a set of 233 patients with locally advanced HSCC treated at our center. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to assess the relationship between each variable and overall survival (OS). Cox multivariate regression analysis was performed, and the results were used to develop a prognostic nomogram. The calibration curve and concordance index (C-index) were used to evaluate the accuracy of the prognostic nomogram. With a median overall follow-up time of 41 months (interquartile range: 20 to 61), the median OS for the entire cohort of SEER database was 24 months. The 3-year and 5-year OS rates were 41.3% and 32.5%, respectively. The Cox multivariate regression analysis of the training set showed that age, marital status, race, T stage, N stage, M stage, TNM stage, local treatment, and chemotherapy were correlated with OS. The nomogram showed a superior C-index over TNM stage (training set: 0.718 vs 0.627; validation set: 0.708 vs 0.598; external validation set: 0.709 vs 0.597), and the calibration curve showed a high level of concordance between the predicted OS and the actual OS. The nomogram provides a relatively accurate and applicable prediction of the survival outcome of patients with HSCC.


Caspase-6 mediates resistance against Burkholderia pseudomallei infection and influences the expression of detrimental cytokines.
Caspase-6 is a member of the executioner caspases and known to play a role in innate and adaptive immune processes. However, its role in infectious diseases has rarely been addressed yet. We here examined the impact of caspase-6 in an in vivo infection model using the Gram-negative rod Burkholderia pseudomallei, causing the infectious disease melioidosis that is endemic in tropical and subtropical areas around the world. Caspase-6-/- and C57BL/6 wild type mice were challenged with B. pseudomallei for comparing mortality, bacterial burden and inflammatory cytokine expression. Bone-marrow derived macrophages were used to analyse the bactericidal activity in absence of caspase-6. Caspase-6 deficiency was associated with higher mortality and bacterial burden in vivo after B. pseudomallei infection. The bactericidal activity of caspase-6-/- macrophages was impaired compared to wild type cells. Caspase-6-/- mice showed higher expression of the IL-1β gene, known to be detrimental in murine melioidosis. Expression of the IL-10 gene was also increased in caspase-6-/- mice as early as 6 hours after infection. Treatment with exogenous IL-10 rendered mice more susceptible against B. pseudomallei challenge. Thus, caspase-6 seems to play a crucial role for determining resistance against the causative agent of melioidosis. To our knowledge this is the first report showing that caspase-6 is crucial for mediating resistance in an in vivo infection model. Caspase-6 influences the expression of detrimental cytokines and therefore seems to be important for achieving a well-balanced immune response that contributes for an efficient elimination of the pathogen.


Novel Treatment Strategy for Management of Traumatic Bulbar Urethral Rupture Using Temporary Urethral Stent after Primary Realignment; Retrospective Comparison between Thermo-Expandable Urethral Stent and Self-Expandable Polymer-Coated Urethral Stent.
A variety of retrievable and other types of temporarily placed stents are currently being used. However, only a few studies have considered primary endoscopic realignment with temporary urethral stent insertion in the event of traumatic bulbar urethral injury. We aimed to compare the clinical effectiveness and complications between thermo-expandable urethral stents and polymer-coated bulbar urethral stents (BUSs) for the treatment of traumatic bulbar urethral strictures. Between September 2011 and March 2018, 30 patients who had been diagnosed with complete bulbar urethral rupture following blunt trauma underwent temporary urethral stent placement after primary realignment. Thermo-expandable nickel-titanium alloy urethral stents were placed for 15 patients (group M), and retrievable self-expandable polymer-coated BUSs were placed for another 15 patients (group A). All stents were removed within 6 months after placement. The complications and maintained patency rates were compared between the two groups. The mean stent indwelling period was 5.0 ± 2.5 months in group M and 4.9 ± 4.0 months in group A. Both groups maintained high patency rates (Group M 12/15 (80.0%) and group A 13/15 (86.7%)). Five patients who developed urethral stricture underwent direct visual internal urethrotomy (DVIU), and no patients required repeat DVIU or open surgical urethroplasty. Both groups maintained the mean maximal urinary flow rate (Qmax) at 12 months after stent removal. Discomfort (46.7% vs. 6.7%), granulation tissue formation (73.3% vs. 26.7%) and post-void dribbling (80.0% vs. 20.0%) were more frequent in group M than in group A (p = 0.013, p = 0.011 and p = 0.001, respectively). In conclusion, both stents were effective for managing traumatic complete bulbar urethral rupture after primary realignment. However, the thermo-expandable urethral stents had a higher complication rate while the stent was in situ than the BUSs.


Strong temperature-dependent crystallization, phase transition, optical and electrical characteristics of p-type CuAlO2 thin films.
We report here a reliable and reproducible single-step (without post-annealing) fabrication of phase-pure p-type rhombohedral CuAlO2 (r-CuAlO2) thin films by reactive magnetron sputtering. The dependence of crystallinity and phase compositions of the films on the growth temperature was investigated, revealing that highly-crystallized r-CuAlO2 thin films could be in situ grown in a narrow temperature window of ∼940 °C. Optical and electrical property studies demonstrate that (i) the films are transparent in the visible light region, and the bandgaps of the films increased to ∼3.86 eV with the improvement of crystallinity; (ii) the conductance increased by four orders of magnitude as the film was evolved from the amorphous-like to crystalline structure. The predominant role of crystallinity in determining CuAlO2 film properties was demonstrated to be due to the heavy anisotropic characteristics of the O 2p-Cu 3d hybridized valence orbitals.


Effects of Direct and Indirect Exposure of Insecticides to Garden Symphylan (Symphyla: Scutigerellidae) in Laboratory Bioassays.
The garden symphylan, Scutigerella immaculata Newport, is a serious soil pest whose root feeding affects yield and survival of several high valued crops in the California's central coast. Because organophosphate insecticides, widely used for S. immaculata control, are rigorously regulated and little is known about the efficacy of alternate insecticides, laboratory bioassays were conducted to determine insecticide efficacy through repellency and lethality. To determine indirect repellency (noncontact) of insecticides, choice assays were conducted where five S. immaculata were introduced into the arena to choose between insecticide-treated and untreated wells whereas, in direct repellency (contact) assays, three insecticide-treated 1-cm-diameter discs were pasted into the arena and the number of visits, time spent per visitation, and number of long-duration (>10 s) stays of five S. immaculata were quantified. To determine efficacy through direct mortality, number of S. immaculata died after 72 h were determined by introducing 10 S. immaculata to insecticide-treated soil assays. In indirect exposure bioassays, seven (clothianidin, oxamyl, zeta-cypermethrin, chlorpyrifos, ethoprop, azadirachtin, and a combination of beta-cyfluthrin and imidacloprid) out of 14 insecticides tested elicited repellency to S. immaculata. Of six insecticides tested in the direct exposure assays, only tolfenpyrad elicited contact repellency. In soil assays, after 72 h of introduction, bifenthrin, oxamyl, clothianidin, zeta-cypermethrin, and tolfenpyrad caused 100, 95, 80, 44, and 44% S. immaculata mortality, respectively, which was significantly greater than distilled water and four other insecticides. The implications of these results on S. immaculata management in the California's central coast are discussed.


Binding specificity of the combining site of cholera toxin for human erythrocytes.
The reactivity of cholera toxin (CT) with blood-group determinant(s) on human erythrocytes was studied by competitive binding assays. 125I-labeled CT was found to bind more efficiently to pronase- and neuraminidase-treated human type A, B, and O erythrocytes than their untreated ones. The binding of 125I-labeled CT to neuraminidase-treated human type B erythrocytes was effectively inhibited by ganglioside GM1, but not by porcine gastric mucin with both A and H determinants (hog A + H), blood group specific lectins, and other substances at the highest concentrations used. Ganglioside GM1 was at least 10(5) times more potent than other inhibitors. These findings strongly suggest that the predominant binding substance for CT on human erythrocytes is not the blood-group determinant(s) but ganglioside GM1.


Development of genetic maps of non-conventional yeasts.
Numerous methods based on classical genetics have been developed for the genetic mapping of yeasts. Recombinant DNA technology and technology for electrophoretic separation of chromosomes make new approaches possible. The state-of-the-art in genetic mapping of Saccharomyces cerevisiae will be briefly reviewed. Then the availability and application of genetic mapping methods to non-conventional yeasts will be surveyed. Development of the genetic maps of the asexual diploid Candida albicans and of the heterothallic yeast Yarrowia lipolytica will be discussed in more detail.


A small molecule (pluripotin) as a tool for studying cancer stem cell biology: proof of concept.
Cancer stem cells (CSC) are thought to be responsible for tumor maintenance and heterogeneity. Bona fide CSC purified from tumor biopsies are limited in supply and this hampers study of CSC biology. Furthermore, purified stem-like CSC subpopulations from existing tumor lines are unstable in culture. Finding a means to overcome these technical challenges would be a useful goal. In a first effort towards this, we examined whether a chemical probe that promotes survival of murine embryonic stem cells without added exogenous factors can alter functional characteristics in extant tumor lines in a fashion consistent with a CSC phenotype. The seven tumor lines of the NCI60 colon subpanel were exposed to SC-1 (pluripotin), a dual kinase and GTPase inhibitor that promotes self-renewal, and then examined for tumorigenicity under limiting dilution conditions and clonogenic activity in soft agar. A statistically significant increase in tumor formation following SC-1 treatment was observed (p<0.04). Cloning efficiencies and expression of putative CSC surface antigens (CD133 and CD44) were also increased. SC-1 treatment led to sphere formation in some colon tumor lines. Finally, SC-1 inhibited in vitro kinase activity of RSK2, and another RSK2 inhibitor increased colony formation implicating a role for this kinase in eliciting a CSC phenotype. These findings validate a proof of concept study exposure of extant tumor lines to a small molecule may provide a tractable in vitro model for understanding CSC biology.


Phase Error Correction for Approximated Observation-Based Compressed Sensing Radar Imaging.
Defocus of the reconstructed image of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) occurs in the presence of the phase error. In this work, a phase error correction method is proposed for compressed sensing (CS) radar imaging based on approximated observation. The proposed method has better image focusing ability with much less memory cost, compared to the conventional approaches, due to the inherent low memory requirement of the approximated observation operator. The one-dimensional (1D) phase error correction for approximated observation-based CS-SAR imaging is first carried out and it can be conveniently applied to the cases of random-frequency waveform and linear frequency modulated (LFM) waveform without any a priori knowledge. The approximated observation operators are obtained by calculating the inverse of Omega-K and chirp scaling algorithms for random-frequency and LFM waveforms, respectively. Furthermore, the 1D phase error model is modified by incorporating a priori knowledge and then a weighted 1D phase error model is proposed, which is capable of correcting two-dimensional (2D) phase error in some cases, where the estimation can be simplified to a 1D problem. Simulation and experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method in the presence of 1D phase error or weighted 1D phase error.


Serum immune reactivity against β2-Glycoprotein-I and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic auto-antibodies by ELI-P-Complex Screening Technology in recurrent miscarriage.
A plethora of evidence has shown that circulating auto-antibodies (a-Abs) are critically linked to pregnancy failure. In this study the possible association of serum immune reactivity (IR) against β2-Glycoprotein-I (β2GPI) and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic (ANCA) a-Abs in recurrent miscarriage (RM) was examined. This is a case-control study which was carried out in a research and clinical center for infertility, during January to December 2013 on 128 women with RM, matched with 65 women with no history of pregnancy wastage. The participant's sera were collected and serum IR was analyzed against β2GPI and ANCA a-Abs by ELI-P-Complex screening technology, the assay involved a standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serum IR of each sample was calculated in conditional units (CU). Elevated serum IR against β2GPI and decreased serum IR against ANCA a-Abs were detected in a total of 51.5% (N.=66; m=-42 CU) and 24.2% (N.=31; m=-42 CU) patients, respectively. In rare control subjects, serum IR against β2GPI (3%) and ANCA (1.5%) was observed. The elevated serum IR of β2GPI was not correlated with the decreased serum IR against ANCA (r=-0.23, P<0.05). Moreover, β2GPI IR was associated with first trimester miscarriages (P=0.03) and the number of previous miscarriages (P=0.04). The present study indicates that the risk of RM may be high in women with the prominent serum IR deviations against β2GPI and ANCA a-Abs. According to the findings and ELI-P-Complex technology principles, it is suggested that the vigorous monitoring of these two a-Abs pre- and during pregnancy may be useful to avoid negative outcomes such as miscarriage.


Current trends in racial, ethnic, and healthcare disparities associated with pediatric cardiac surgery outcomes.
Despite overall improvements in congenital heart disease outcomes, racial and ethnic disparities have continued. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of race and ethnicity, as well as other risk factors on congenital heart surgery length of stay and in-hospital mortality. From the 2012 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids Inpatient Database (KID), we identified 13 130 records with Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery complexity score-eligible procedures. Multivariate logistic and linear regression modeling with survey weights, stratification and clustering was used to examine the relationships between predictor variables and length of stay as well as in-hospital mortality. No significant mortality differences were found among all race and ethnicity groups across each age group. Black neonates and black infants had a longer length of stay (neonatal estimate = 8.73 days, P = .0034; infant estimate 1.10 days, P = .0253), relative to whites. Government-sponsored insurance was associated with increased odds of neonatal mortality (odds ratio = 1.51, P = .0055), increased length of stay in neonates (estimate = 4.26 days, P = .0009) and infants (estimate = 1.52 days, P = .0181), relative to private insurance. Government-sponsored insurance was associated with increased number of chronic conditions, which were also associated with increased LOS (estimate 8.39 days, P < .001 in neonates; estimate 3.60 days, P < .001 in infants; estimate 1.87 days, P < .001 children). Racial/ethnic disparities in congenital heart surgical outcomes may be changing compared with previous studies using the KID database. Increased length of stay in children with government-sponsored insurance may reflect expansion of individual states government-sponsored insurance eligibility criteria for children with complex chronic medical conditions. These findings warrant cautious optimism regarding racial and ethnic disparities in congenital heart surgery outcomes.


Sirt6 mRNA-incorporated endothelial microparticles (EMPs) attenuates DM patient-derived EMP-induced endothelial dysfunction.
Endothelial microparticles (EMPs) are small vesicles released by endothelial cells (ECs); they are considered biomarkers for endothelial dysfunction and therapeutic targets in diabetes-related vascular disease. Sirtuins have also been shown to play important roles in diabetes by regulating endothelial dysfunction. However, the effect of sirtuin-incorporated EMPs on their parental ECs remains unknown. The present study aims to investigate the diagnostic value of EMPs in diabetes and detect the protective effects of sirtuin 6 (Sirt6) mRNA -incorporated EMPs on endothelial dysfunction. EMPs were prepared from cultured HUVECs and venous blood from patients with diabetes (n=10) and from healthy volunteers (n=6) after sequential centrifugation. Adv-Sirt6 or Sirt6 siRNA was used to alter Sirt6 expression. EC angiogenesis, inflammatory phenotypes, nitric oxide (NO) formation and eNOS phosphorylation were used to evaluate endothelial dysfunction. The levels of EMPs in diabetic patients and high glucose-cultured HUVECs are high, whereas Sirt6 expression in plasma and EMPs is low. EMPs generated from diabetic patients or high glucose-cultured HUVECs increase inflammatory chemokine release and blunt EC angiogenesis. Furthermore, EMPs enriched with Sirt6 mRNA induces EC angiogenesis, increases eNOS phosphorylation and impedes inflammatory chemokine release. Inhibition of Sirt6 mRNA expression in EMPs by siRNA hinders angiogenesis and eNOS phosphorylation but increases cellular inflammation. The Sirt6 mRNA-carrying EMPs may ameliorate endothelial dysfunction in diabetic patients.


The symptomatology and diagnosis of domoic acid toxicosis in stranded California sea lions (Zalophus californianus): a review and evaluation of 20 years of cases to guide prognosis.
Domoic acid (DA) is a glutaminergic excitatory neurotoxin that causes the morbidity and mortality of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus; CSL) and other marine mammals due to a suite of effects mostly on the nervous and cardiac systems. Between 1998 and 2019, 11,737 live-stranded CSL were admitted to The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC; Sausalito, CA, USA), over 2,000 of which were intoxicated by DA. A plethora of clinical research has been performed over the past 20 years to characterize the range of toxic effects of DA exposure on CSLs, generating the largest dataset on the effects of natural exposure to this toxin in wildlife. In this study, we review published methods for diagnosing DA intoxication, clinical presentation, and treatment of DA-intoxicated CSL and present a practical, reproducible scoring system called the neuroscore (NS) to help assess whether a DA-affected CSL is fit for release to the wild following rehabilitation. Logistic regression models were used to assess the relationships between outcome (released vs. euthanized or died) and multiple variables to predict the outcome for a subset of 92 stranded CSLs. The largest proportion of DA-intoxicated CSLs was adult females (58.6%). The proportions of acute and chronic cases were 63.5 and 36.5% respectively, with 44% of affected CSL released and 56% either dying naturally or euthanized. The average time in rehabilitation was 15.9 days (range 0-169) for all outcomes. The best-performing model (85% accuracy; area under the curve = 0.90) assessing the relationship between outcome and predictor variables consisted of four variables: final NS, change in NS over time, whether the animal began eating in rehabilitation, and the state of nutrition on admission. Our results provide longitudinal information on the symptomatology of CSL intoxicated by domoic acid and suggest that a behavioral scoring system is a useful tool to assess the fitness for the release of DA-intoxicated CSL.


MicroRNA-181c Suppresses the Biological Progression of Osteosarcoma via Targeting SMAD7 and Regulating Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) Signaling Pathway.
BACKGROUND Osteosarcoma is a primary bone aggressive cancer, affecting adolescents worldwide. Increasing evidence suggests that dysfunction of microRNAs (miRNAs) plays a pivotal role in malignancies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential functions of miR-181c and verifying its regulatory effects on SMAD7 in osteosarcoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS The expressions of miR-181c and SMAD7 in osteosarcoma were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Cell proliferation, invasion and migration abilities were assessed using MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) and Transwell assay. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay were used to explore the interaction between miR-181c and SMAD7. Western blot was performed to determine the functions of miR-181c on osteosarcoma cell epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) signaling pathway. RESULTS Decreased expression levels of miR-181c and SMAD7 were identified in osteosarcoma using qRT-PCR. The downregulated miR-181c and SMAD7 expressions indicated poor prognosis of osteosarcoma patients. Moreover, miR-181c overexpression prominently repressed osteosarcoma cell proliferation, invasion, and migration abilities via modulating EMT and TGF-ß signaling pathway. SMAD7 functioned as an important target for miR-181c in osteosarcoma cells. Furthermore, upregulation of miR-181c dramatically suppressed osteosarcoma tumorigenesis in vivo. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicated that miR-181c suppressed osteosarcoma progression, providing new insight into the pathogenesis and representing a potential therapeutic target for osteosarcoma.


Inhibitory Effects of Green Tea and (-)-Epigallocatechin Gallate on Transport by OATP1B1, OATP1B3, OCT1, OCT2, MATE1, MATE2-K and P-Glycoprotein.
Green tea catechins inhibit the function of organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) that mediate the uptake of a diverse group of drugs and endogenous compounds into cells. The present study was aimed at investigating the effect of green tea and its most abundant catechin epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) on the transport activity of several drug transporters expressed in enterocytes, hepatocytes and renal proximal tubular cells such as OATPs, organic cation transporters (OCTs), multidrug and toxin extrusion proteins (MATEs), and P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Uptake of the typical substrates metformin for OCTs and MATEs and bromosulphophthalein (BSP) and atorvastatin for OATPs was measured in the absence and presence of a commercially available green tea and EGCG. Transcellular transport of digoxin, a typical substrate of P-gp, was measured over 4 hours in the absence and presence of green tea or EGCG in Caco-2 cell monolayers. OCT1-, OCT2-, MATE1- and MATE2-K-mediated metformin uptake was significantly reduced in the presence of green tea and EGCG (P < 0.05). BSP net uptake by OATP1B1 and OATP1B3 was inhibited by green tea [IC50 2.6% (v/v) and 0.39% (v/v), respectively]. Green tea also inhibited OATP1B1- and OATP1B3-mediated atorvastatin net uptake with IC50 values of 1.9% (v/v) and 1.0% (v/v), respectively. Basolateral to apical transport of digoxin was significantly decreased in the presence of green tea and EGCG. These findings indicate that green tea and EGCG inhibit multiple drug transporters in vitro. Further studies are necessary to investigate the effects of green tea on prototoypical substrates of these transporters in humans, in particular on substrates of hepatic uptake transporters (e.g. statins) as well as on P-glycoprotein substrates.


ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT WHO/ISH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK GROUPS.
The objective of the study was to analyze association of echocardiographic TOD variables with the CVD risk groups defined by WHO/ISH. A cross-sectional study was conducted between (September 2008 - December 2010) Consecutive sample of 146 participants were enrolled in the study, 97 (66.4 %) women and (49) 33,6 % men, mean age. Study population was categorized in three groups according to WHO/ISH risk categories: Group 1 included population with risk less than 10% according to WHO/ISH, in Group 2 there were united two WHO/ISH risk categories (10-10.9% and 20-29.9%) and Group 3 represented population of 30-39.9% and more than 40% of CVD risk. Routine Echocardiography was conducted. The data was analyzed using SPSS, version 21. The distribution of echocardiography characteristics in WHO/ISH groups was statistically different for LA, PSP and EF (P<0.05). In groups I and II LA were only mildly dilated, while in group III was revealed moderate LA enlargement. The mean PSP was in normal range in groups I and II and mildly to moderate elevated in group III. The mean EF was in normal range for all the groups with tendency of reduction from group I to group III. Unlike this we have not found statistically significant differences in other echocardiographic variables, as IVS, PWT, LVD and LVEDV and they were in normal range for all risk groups. According to the findings of our study and considering that our study population is without any clinical presentation of cardiovascular disease and still have statistically significant tendency toward increase in LA and PSP we argue that those variables can be considered as early predictors of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, it is recommended to include echocardiographic examination as part of the CVD risk evaluation protocol in selected population.


Nonexposed wall-inversion surgery as a novel local resection method for neoplasms in the gastrointestinal tract.
Nonexposed wall-inversion surgery was invented for the treatment of node-negative gastrointestinal tumors that are difficult to be resected using the endoluminal approach alone. The advantages of this surgery include 1. full-thickness resection procedure of gastrointestinal wall with minimum necessary tumor-negative margins and 2. less risk of bacterial contamination and tumor seeding into the abdominal cavity. We conducted a PubMed search to select relevant articles published until the end of October 2019 for pooled case analyses using the keyword "nonexposed wall-inversion surgery," Based on our search, we enrolled the data of 88 gastric lesions and 1 duodenal lesion retrieved from 7 case report articles and 4 original articles of clinical cases. The gastric lesions consisted of 59 gastrointestinal stromal tumors, 7 ectopic pancreases, 5 leiomyomas, 3 early gastric cancers, and 14 others, with a mean maximal tumor diameter of 25.0 mm. In 5 lesions (5.7%), intraoperative perforation was performed, and 2 lesions (2.3%) were retrieved by the transabdominal route. All 4 major postoperative complications (4.5%) were managed without resurgical interventions. The duodenal case, neuroendocrine tumor, measuring 13 mm in size, was curatively resected without complications. Nonexposed wall-inversion surgery appears to be an acceptable treatment for node-negative gastric and duodenal tumors; however, further accumulation of cases is necessary to confirm the feasibility.


Acute urticaria: etiologies, clinical course and quality of life.
One hundred patients with acute urticaria were prospectively studied over a 2-year period with respect to etiology, clinical features and outcome, including the patient's quality of life using a Thai version of the Dermatologic Life Quality Index (DLQI). Twenty-one patients (21%) turned out to have chronic and 79 acute urticaria. Itchy sensations had the highest mean DLQI score translating to the highest negative impact on the quality of life. In more than half of the patients, the cause of the acute urticaria could not be identified. The most common identified causes of acute urticaria were infections (36.7%), followed by drugs, foods and insect bite reactions. Among those with acute urticaria, sixteen percent had co-existing angioedema, and one fourth had systemic symptoms, the most common being dyspnea. Patients with extensive wheals tended to have co-existing angioedema and also a statistically significant higher percentage of systemic symptoms, higher mean pruritus and mean DLQI scores than those with less body surface area involvement. Fifty-six percent of the patients with acute urticaria had complete remissions within 1 week; 78.5%, within 2 weeks and 91.1%, within 3 weeks.


Optimization of parameters by Taguchi method for controlling purity of carbon nanotubes in chemical vapour deposition technique.
The process parameters (viz. temperature of synthesis, type of catalyst, concentration of catalyst and type of catalyst-support material) for controlling purity of carbon nanotubes synthesized by catalytic chemical vapour deposition of acetylene have been optimized by analyzing the experimental results using Taguchi method. It has been observed that the catalyst-support material has the maximum (59.4%) and the temperature of synthesis has the minimum effect (2.1%) on purity of the nanotubes. At optimum condition (15% ferrocene supported on carbon black at the synthesis temperature of 700 degrees C) the purity of nanotubes was found out to be 96.2% with yield of 1900%. Thermogravimetry has been used to assess purity of nanotubes. These nantubes have been further characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Raman Spectroscopy. Small angle neutron scattering has been used to find out their average inner and outer diameter using an appropriate model. The nanotubes are well crystallized but with wide range of diameter varying between 20-150 nm.


Superhydrophobic Polyurethane Membrane with a Biomimetically Hierarchical Structure for Self-Cleaning.
In this study, a stable and durable hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS)/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) superhydrophobic film is successfully prepared by a simple and low-cost two-step method, namely, carrying out biomimetically hierarchical structures and low surface energy material modification concurrently. Meanwhile, effective parameters affecting the water contact angle (WCA) are studied and optimized. More importantly, under optimum parameters, the maximum WCA is 165°, the minimum slide angle (SA) is 3°, and the adhesion force is 13 μN, showing good self-cleaning performance. Besides, considerable mechanical stability to withstand 4000 tension or 5000 compression cycles, breathability, and moisture penetrability, as well as chemical resistance with sustained superhydrophobic properties in various harsh environments, are presented.


Differentiation potentiality of rat visceral yolk sac in organ culture.
Visceral yolk sacs removed at day 12 of pregnancy in the rat were kept in organ culture for as long as 28 days. During this in vitro culture, proliferation of the endoderm and the mesoderm as well as of poorly differentiated cells was observed. The latter displayed neither the characteristics of endodermal nor mesodermal cells and their presence was frequently associated with the development of giant trophoblast cells. The hypothesis is proposed that these trophoblast cells originate from these poorly differentiated cells that acquire in vivo and in vitro the potentiality to differentiate.


A Rare Fetal Firearm Injury.
Firearm injury (FAI) in pregnant women is reported in the literature; however, no reference to date was found to address the neonatal abdominal surgery performed after maternal FAI. FAI during fetal life is extremely rare and very few cases have been reported. We present a report of a 37-week gestation newborn whose mother had an accidental FAI. The neonate was delivered by emergency caesarian section along with emergency laparotomy of the newborn. The baby presented at eight hours of life, who was managed surgically in emergency for multiple small and large bowel perforations and a piece of bullet was recovered from anterior part of thigh.


Diagnosing broken ergodicity using an energy fluctuation metric.
The Mountain and Thirumalai energy fluctuation metric, Omega(t), has been used to study the effective ergodicity of 60- and 256-atom binary Lennard-Jones mixtures in order to determine the reliability of the calculated diffusion constants at different energies. A plot of Omega(t) against 1time allows the identification of two distinct regimes: ergodic supercooled liquids, where Omega(t) approaches zero, and nonergodic glassy states, where Omega(t) asymptotically approaches a nonzero value on the molecular dynamics time scale. This approach seems to be more appropriate than attempting to define a threshold value for Omega(t)/Omega(0). The behavior of systems between these two limits, which are nonergodic on the time scale considered but may be approaching ergodicity, was examined for a range of simulation times. The calculated diffusion constants change as effective ergodicity is approached, moving closer to the Vogel-Tammann-Fulcher fit defined by higher-energy systems that are already considered to be effectively ergodic. Using the form of the decay of the metric as a measure of ergodicity, we have been able to reproduce the trend in fragility obtained by Sastry for a 256-atom system [Nature (London) 409, 164 (2001)], correcting some of our earlier results [J. Chem. Phys. 120, 8314 (2004)].


Project work in the medical curriculum.
This paper outlines one component, the project, which in 4 years became an integral part of the Human Ecology course at the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Glasgow. Although it is to be retained in some form, it would seem that the full potential of the device for medical undergraduates has not been realized; instead of retaining it in a token or contracted form, it could have served as the basis for cementing the learning and experience gained in the two halves of the division between the pre-clinical and the clinical years.


Characterization of the prostanoid receptors mediating inhibition of PAF-induced aggregation of guinea-pig eosinophils.
1. Prostanoids induce a wide range of biological actions which are mediated by specific membrane-bound receptors. We have recently shown that the E-type prostaglandins, PGE1 and PGE2, effectively inhibit eosinophil aggregation induced by platelet-activating factor (PAF). In an attempt to determine which prostanoid receptor(s) were involved, we investigated the effects of a range of selective prostanoid agonists and antagonists on eosinophil homotypic aggregation induced by PAF. 2. Both PGE1 and PGE2 (10(-10) to 10(-6) M) induced a concentration-related inhibition of the aggregation response induced by PAF. PGE1 was more effective than PGE2 but PGE2 was slightly more potent than PGE1 (approximate IC50 values for PGE1 and PGE2 of 1.5 x 10(-8) M and 5 x 10(-9) M, respectively). 3. The EP2-selective agonists, 11-deoxy-PGE1, butaprost and AH13205, and the EP2/EP3-selective agonist, misoprostol, also inhibited PAF-induced aggregation. The rank order of potency for EP2-selective agonists was 11-deoxy-PGE1 > misoprostol > butaprost = AH13205. The protein kinase A inhibitor, KT5720 (10(-6) M), reversed the inhibitory effects of 11-deoxy-PGE1 (10(-6) M) and AH13205 (10(-5) M). 4. The EP1/EP3-selective agonist, sulprostone, and the EP1-selective agonist, 17-phenyl-omega-trinor PGE2, had no significant inhibitory activity when tested at concentrations up to 10(-6) M. The EP4-receptor antagonist, AH23848B, had no effect on PAF-induced aggregation and did affect the inhibitory activity of PGE1. 5. The IP-selective agonist, cicaprost (up to 10(-6) M), and the IP/EP1-receptor agonist, iloprost (up to 10(-5) M), had no significant effect on PAF-induced eosinophil aggregation. However, iloprost significantly augmented the inhibitory effects of a maximally inhibitory concentration of PGE2. 6. PGD2 (10(-5) M) had no effect on eosinophil aggregation and the inhibitory activity of PGE1 on PAF-induced eosinophil aggregation was not altered by the DP-selective receptor antagonist, BWA868C. 7. The results presented here suggest that the inhibition of PAF-induced eosinophil aggregation by prostanoids is mediated by the occupation of EP2-receptors. It is important to note that the effects of naturally occurring prostanoids, such as PGE2, on eosinophil aggregation occur at low concentrations highlighting a potential role for EP2 receptors in regulating eosinophil function in vivo.