Analysis on active molecules in Populus nigra wood extractives by GC-MS.
Populus nigra has been introduced and largely planted in China, and the waste wood was still abandoned. Therefore, the wood extractives of Populus nigra were studied to further utilize the bio-resources. The result shown that the optimal extraction time of ethanol/methanol extraction, petroleum ether/acetic ether extraction, and benzene/alcohol extraction were 1h, 7h and 3h, respectively. Among sequential extractions, EPB extraction was the optimum extraction mode for the LR was 17.32%. The wood extractives included hexanedioic acid, bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester, phthalic acid derivatives, squalene, 3,3,7,11- tetramethyltricyclo [220.127.116.11(4,11)]undecan-1-ol, other rare drug and biomedical activities. The wood extractives of Populus nigra was fit to extract rare dibutyl phthalate and squalene.


[Eosinophilic gastritis after helicobacter pylori eradication].
The development of eosinophilic gastritis immediately after Helicobacter pylori eradication has not previously been described: A 62-year-old woman developed eosinophilic gastritis immediately after a triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication, consisting of pantoprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin. She suffered from burning epigastric pain and loss of appetite. Blood eosinophilia, gastritis and eosinophilic infiltration of the gastric corpus wall were detected. The treatment with low-dose prednisolone led to remission of the blood eosinophilia, complaints, gastritis and eosinophilic infiltration. The remission persisted after the prednisolone treatment had been finished. Eosinophilic gastritis can be diagnosed only by pathohistological examination. This need for biopsy should be stressed, because the usual gastritis treatment with proton pump inhibitors fails in cases of eosinophilic gastritis. Helicobacter pylori does not seem to play a significant role in the aetiopathology of this disorder. In our case, we suggest that the eradication drug therapy actually caused the disease.


Predictors of CKD and rate of decline in eGFR in the elderly: A case-cohort study.
We wanted to examine the predictors of annual estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline during a five-year follow-up in elderly individuals with pre-existing chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 3 or greater (defined as baseline eGFR of less than 60 ml/min per 1.73 m2 or a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio > 30 mg/g), and to examine the difference in risk factors when compared to a co-hort without CKD. Our research team identified 599 patients who were 65 years of age or older with and without CKD stage 3 or greater at baseline. Data regarding various predictors such as age, sex, race, proteinuria, medication use, contrast exposure, acute kidney injury episodes, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, dyslipidemia, gout etc. were obtained. Semi-partial correlations were used to determine the fac-tors providing the largest unique contribution to the overall variability in eGFR. Semi-partial correlations identified age, proteinuria, and intravenous contrast ex-posure as the most significant predictors of eGFR decline in this population. Overall, patients in the pre-existing CKD cohort were more likely to be older, Af-rican American and with co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension, etc. In this group, the unadjusted rate of decline in eGFR varied from 0.5% to 8.3% per year. This study identifies important risk factors for eGFR decline in the population aged > 65 years. It also concludes that each episode of acute kidney injury, wheth-er related to contrast or other nephrotoxins, increases the risk for CKD progression and eGFR decline in the elderly.


Comparison of the selective estrogen receptor modulator arzoxifene (LY353381) with tamoxifen on tumor growth and biomarker expression in an MCF-7 human breast cancer xenograft model.
Arzoxifene (ARZ) is a selective estrogen receptor (ER) modulator with greater bioavailability than raloxifene which is being developed as treatment for breast cancer. We have used an in vivo model of hormone-sensitive breast cancer to study the growth-inhibitory and pharmacodynamic effects of ARZ in comparison with the most widely used antiestrogen, tamoxifen (TAM). We compared the abilities of ARZ and TAM to antagonize the estrogen (E2)-dependent growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer xenografts in oophorectomized athymic mice. At four different time points over 28 days, we studied their time-related pharmacodynamic effects on biomarkers of tumor growth (cell proliferation/death measured by Ki-67 and apoptosis scores), cell cycle activity (cyclin D1 and p27(kip1)), and hormone-regulated gene expression (ERalpha, progesterone receptor, and pS2). Although maximal growth inhibition was seen after E2 withdrawal, ARZ and TAM induced significant and similar inhibition of E2-stimulated tumor growth. Inhibition of growth was reflected by changes in the tumor growth index (ratio posttreatment/pretreatment Ki-67/apoptosis scores). ARZ and TAM resulted in a significant (P < 0.001) increase in ER expression and reduction in progesterone receptor expression, whereas changes in cyclin D1 score were inversely related to p27(kip1) score. A significant but delayed biological effect was observed with a 10-fold lower dose of ARZ. These results show that ARZ is an effective antagonist of E2-stimulated breast cancer growth with similar growth-inhibitory and pharmacodynamic effects to TAM in this model.


Bacillus subtilis: a temperature resistant and needle free delivery system of immunogens.
Most pathogens enter the body through mucosal surfaces. Mucosal immunization, a non-invasive needle-free route, often stimulates a mucosal immune response that is both effective against mucosal and systemic pathogens. The development of mucosally administered heat-stable vaccines with long shelf life would therefore significantly enhance immunization programs in developing countries by avoiding the need for a cold chain or systemic injections. Currently, recombinant vaccine carriers are being used for antigen delivery. Engineering Bacillus subtilis for use as a non-invasive and heat stable antigen delivery system has proven successful. Bacterial spores protected by multiple layers of protein are known to be robust and resistant to desiccation. Stable constructs have been created by integration into the bacterial chromosome of immunogens. The spore coat has been used as a vehicle for heterologous antigen presentation and protective immunization. Sublingual (SL) and intranasal (IN) routes have recently received attention as delivery routes for therapeutic drugs and vaccines and recent attempts by several investigators, including our group, to develop vaccines that can be delivered intranasally and sublingually have met with a lot of success. As discussed in this review, the use of Bacillus subtilis to express antigens that can be administered either intranasally or sublingually is providing new insights in the area of mucosal vaccines. In our work, we evaluated the efficacy of SL and IN immunizations with B. subtilis engineered to express tetanus toxin fragment C (TTFC) in mice and piglets. These bacteria engineered to express heterologous antigen either on the spore surface or within the vegetative cell have been used for oral, IN and SL delivery of antigens. A Bacillus subtilis spore coat protein, CotC was used as a fusion partner to express the tetanus fragment C. B. subtilis spores known to be highly stable and safe are also easy to purify making this spore-based display system a potentially powerful approach for surface expression of antigens. These advances will help to accelerate the development and testing of new mucosal vaccines against many human and animal diseases.


Molecular mechanism underlying the differential MYF6 expression in postnatal skeletal muscle of Duroc and Pietrain breeds.
Among modern western pigs, Duroc (high meat fat ratio) and Pietrain (low meat fat ratio) breeds extensively utilized in commercial pork production differ extremely for their muscle phenotypes. The molecular mechanism, especially the epigenetic mechanism, underlying these breed-specific differences is poorly known. Myogenic factor 6 (MYF6) is the most abundantly expressed myogenic factor in adult muscle. Moreover, MYF6 tends to be expressed more highly in muscle tissue of the lean selection line and is supposed to be one promising candidate gene for growth- and meat quality-related traits in adult pigs. Six months old female Duroc and Pietrain pure breed pigs were used in this study. Protein and mRNA levels of MYF6 in loin eye muscle were determined by Western blotting and quantitative Real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR), respectively. The DNA methylation status of the MYF6 5'-regulatory region was determined by bisulfite sequencing PCR (BSP). The global Histone 4 acetylation at lysines 5 (H4K5) and 8 (H4K8) were examined by Western blotting. Pietrain pigs exhibited significant higher expression of MYF6 and hypermethylated E2F1 binding element within MYF6 5'-regulatory region as compared with Duroc pigs. Significant elevation in DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) expression was observed in Pietrain pigs which are in agreement with hypermethylation of MYF6. Histone acetylation level at neither H4K5 nor H4K8 is significant between two breed pigs. Nevertheless, mRNA and protein expression of E2F1 were significantly elevated in the Pietrain breed. It is thus conceivable that the upregulation of MYF6 transcription in postnatal Pietrain pigs is not associated with cis-activation by epigenetic modification of MYF6 5'-regulatory region, but may be attributed to trans-activation through enriched expression of E2F1.


Emergency laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute empyema of the gallbladder in pregnancy.
Laparoscopic surgery in pregnant patients have been reported in the literature, laparoscopic cholecystectomy being the most common. A pregnant patient in her second trimester of pregnancy underwent emergency laparoscopic cholecystectomy for empyema of gallbladder. The distended gallbladder was decompressed before dissection was commenced. There was no morbidity conversion, or complications for either mother or child related to general anaesthesia. The major advantages of the minimally invasive therapy can be utilized in the surgical disorders of the pregnant patient.


Outcomes in Cochrane systematic reviews related to wound care: An investigation into prespecification.
The choice of outcomes in systematic reviews of the effects of interventions is crucial, dictating which data are included and analyzed. Full prespecification of outcomes in systematic reviews can reduce the risk of outcome reporting bias but, this issue has not been widely investigated. This study is the first to analyze the nature and specification of outcomes used in Cochrane Wounds (CW) systematic reviews. Adequacy of outcome specification was assessed using a five-element framework of key outcome components: outcome domain, specific measurement, specific metric, method of aggregation, and time points. We identified all CW review titles associated with a protocol published on or before October 1, 2014. We categorized all reported outcome domains and recorded whether they were primary or secondary outcomes. We explored outcome specification for outcome domains reported in 25% or more of the eligible protocols. We included 106 protocols and 126 outcome domains; 24.6% (31/126) domains were used as primary outcomes at least once. Eight domains were reported in ≥25% of protocols: wound healing, quality of life, costs, adverse events, resource use, pain, wound infection, and mortality. Wound healing was the most completely specified outcome domain (median 3; interquartile range [IQR] =1-5) along with resource use (median 3; IQR 2-4). Quality of life (median 1; IQR 1-3), pain (median 1; IQR 1-3), and costs (median 1; IQR 1-4) were the least completely specified outcome domains. Outcomes are frequently poorly prespecified and the elements of metric, aggregation, and time-point are rarely adequately specified. We strongly recommend that reviewers be more vigilant about prespecifying outcomes, using the five-element framework. Better prespecification is likely to improve review quality by reducing bias in data abstraction and analysis, and by reducing subjectivity in the decision of which outcomes to extract; it may also improve outcome specification in clinical trial design and reporting.


Adenosine Tc-99m tetrofosmin SPECT in differentiation of ischemic from nonischemic cardiomyopathy in patients with LV systolic dysfunction.
The noninvasive differentiation of ischemic from nonischemic cardiomyopathy is clinically important. However, whether adenosine Tc-99m tetrofosmin SPECT can offer clear and accurate information was not known. The aim of this study is to investigate the usefulness of adenosine Tc-99m tetrofosmin SPECT in differentiation of ischemic from nonischemic etiology in patients with mild to severe LV systolic dysfunction and to compare the relationship between patients with mild LV systolic dysfunction and those with severe LV systolic dysfunction. Seventy-five patients with chronic heart failure (LV ejection fraction <or=50%) underwent adenosine Tc-99m tetrofosmin SPECT and coronary angiography to identify ischemia. The patients were divided into 2 groups based on the result of ejection fraction (EF); group I (44 patients) had mild LV dysfunction, LVEF >35%, group II (31 patients) had severe LV dysfunction, LVEF <or=35%. As the result of SPECT, percent abnormal myocardium was categorized into 3 groups: small defect, <10%; medium defect 10% to 20%; and large defects, >or=20%. Myocardial ischemia was defined by >or=70% stenosis in at least one vessel by coronary angiography. : In group I, 4 (30.8%) of 13 patients with small defects, 1 (25.0%) of 5 patients with a medium defect, and 22 (84.6%) of 26 patients with large defects demonstrated myocardial ischemia documented by coronary angiography. The relationship between the extent of the SPECT defect and myocardial ischemia was statistically significant in the group I population (P < 0.001). However, in group II, 1 (33.3%) of 3 patients with small defect, 3 (33.3%) of 9 patients with medium defects, and 7 (36.8%) of 19 patients with large defects demonstrated myocardial ischemia confirmed by coronary angiography. There was no statistical relationship between the extent of the SPECT defect and myocardial ischemia in group II. Adenosine Tc-99m tetrofosmin SPECT is a useful modality to differentiate ischemic from nonischemic etiology in patients with mild LV systolic dysfunction. However, other noninvasive approaches other this SPECT may be considered for confirming the etiology in patients with severe LV systolic dysfunction.


[Diabetic retinopathy. Current opinion on pathophysiology, diagnostics and therapy].
Diabetic eye disease affects quality of life for patients with diabetes by decreasing visual acuity and increasing the risk of blindness. In the course of diabetic retinopathy (DR) the loss of capillary integrity, microaneurysm formation, and ischemia is observed, which in turn drives the progression of DR. The macular edema is the result of fluid accumulation in the retina secondary to capillary leakage and/or microaneurysms. This contributes to loss of vision in DR. There is substantial evidence that control over metabolic factors can effectively prevent the development and progression of DR. For many patients who fail to achieve the optimal level of metabolic control the standard care should include the early detection and timely treatment of DR. Laser photocoagulation therapy, and vitrectomy are invasive methods, recommended to treat only the late stages of disease. A number of pharmacological agents that could slow the progression of DR in earlier stages are now being tested. It is likely that at least one of these agents, will be effective in reducing the progression of DR and the associated vision loss. With the introduction of these drugs in the coming years, there will be a need for improved screening and monitoring of patients with DR. New technologies are giving patients more access to optimal screening and may make this a more achievable goal.


Multiple techniques confirm elevational differences in insect size that may influence spider sociality.
Social and subsocial spiders of the genus Anelosimus exhibit an altitudinal pattern in their geographic distribution at tropical latitudes in the Americas. Social species, which capture prey cooperatively, occur primarily in the lowland rain forest and are absent from higher elevations, whereas subsocial species are common at higher elevations but absent from the lowland rain forest. Previous studies have suggested that differences in the size of potential insect prey along altitudinal gradients may explain this pattern as insects were found to be, on average, larger in lowland rain forests than at higher elevations. These studies, however, may have under-sampled the insect size composition of each habitat because only one sampling technique was used. Using a number of collection methods we sampled the insect size composition in the environments of social and subsocial spiders in this genus. We found that the average insect size in lowland rain forest habitats was indeed larger than at high-elevation cloud forests in eastern Ecuador. We also found that, even though the various techniques differed in the size of the insects they captured (visual searching and blacklighting yielding larger insects than beating, sweeping, or malaise trapping), they all caught, on average, larger insects in the lowlands. Overall, spider colonies in the lowlands caught larger prey than did spider colonies at higher elevations, paralleling differences in insect size distribution obtained by the various techniques in their respective environments.


Embedding Based on Function Approximation for Large Scale Image Search.
The objective of this paper is to design an embedding method that maps local features describing an image (e.g., SIFT) to a higher dimensional representation useful for the image retrieval problem. First, motivated by the relationship between the linear approximation of a nonlinear function in high dimensional space and the state-of-the-art feature representation used in image retrieval, i.e., VLAD, we propose a new approach for the approximation. The embedded vectors resulted by the function approximation process are then aggregated to form a single representation for image retrieval. Second, in order to make the proposed embedding method applicable to large scale problem, we further derive its fast version in which the embedded vectors can be efficiently computed, i.e., in the closed-form. We compare the proposed embedding methods with the state of the art in the context of image search under various settings: when the images are represented by medium length vectors, short vectors, or binary vectors. The experimental results show that the proposed embedding methods outperform existing the state of the art on the standard public image retrieval benchmarks.


Mosapride combined with probiotics on gastrointestinal function and growth in premature infants.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mosapride combined with probiotics on gastrointestinal function and growth and development in premature infants. A total of 240 premature infants treated at Weifang People's Hospital between June 2012 and May 2015 who matched our criteria were randomly divided into three groups of 80 cases each. Group A received routine treatment, group B received routine treatment combined with live B. subtilis and E. faecium granules with multivitamins (Medilac-Vita), and group C received routine treatment and Saccharomyces boulardii sachets (Bioflor). Mosapride was administered to patients in groups B and C to promote intestinal peristalsis. Gastrin and bilirubin levels, as well as jaundice fade time, were recorded. Growth and development condition (i.e., head circumference and weight), duration and incidence of feeding intolerance (FI), as well as other symptoms were also analyzed. By day 14, gastrin concentrations in groups B and C were significantly higher than those in group A (P<0.05). Serum bilirubin levels in groups B and C showed a progressive decline from day 7 to day 14, and jaundice duration in group A was significantly longer (P<0.05). Furthermore, at 2 weeks, the average weight growth rate and head circumference were significantly greater in groups B and C, weight loss recovery time was shorter, and EUGR incidence was lower (P<0.05). The incidence rate of gastric retention and FI were lower in groups B and C than group A (P<0.05), and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis, necrotizing enterocolitis, and neonatal sepsis incidence was significantly lower in groups B and C (P<0.05). Mosapride combined with probiotics can effectively reduce FI incidence in premature infants, shorten enteral feeding time, promote the absorption of required nutrients, and promote the development and recovery of early physiological weight loss in preterm infants.


Urticaria and angioedema. Current approach to common problems.
Urticaria and angioedema are common problems encountered in clinical practice. The list of potential causes is quite extensive, and ruling in or out the many possibilities requires a probing history, careful physical examination, and appropriate selection of screening laboratory tests. Identification of the cause is more likely in patients who present with acute (evanescent) symptoms than in patients whose symptoms follow a chronic course. In the latter group the expertise of the subspecialty physician is often useful.


Shaking the myth: Body mass, aggression, steroid hormones, and social dominance in wild house mouse.
In social mammals, the position of a male in the group's hierarchy strongly affects his reproductive success. Since a high social rank is often gained through competition with other males, selection should favour bigger males over smaller ones. We may therefore predict faster growth and/or delayed sexual maturity in dominant males. Likewise, dominants should have higher levels of testosterone, hormone important in many aspects of male dominance. Less obvious is the relationship between dominance and levels of corticosterone but generally higher concentrations are expected in subordinate individuals. We studied body growth, sexual maturation and endocrinal changes in males of two house mouse subspecies, raised in fraternal pairs. Since Mus musculus domesticus is the subspecies which dominates mutual encounters with Mus musculus musculus we predicted higher growth rate, delayed puberty and aggression, and higher testosterone and corticosterone levels in domesticus males compared to musculus. In all comparisons, no differences were found between dominant and subordinate musculus brothers. On the other hand, in M. m. domesticus, dominant males revealed a different growth trajectory and lower corticosterone levels than subordinate males but not delayed puberty and higher testosterone concentrations, thus contradicting our predictions. In inter-subspecific comparisons, musculus males matured earlier but became aggressive at the same time as domesticus males. The musculus testosterone ontogeny suggests that social positions in this subspecies remain unfixed for an extended period and that the increasing levels probably reflect prolonged hierarchy contests. It appears that the ontogeny of behaviour and physiological traits diverge cryptically between the two subspecies.


Nest odor dynamics in the social wasp Vespula vulgaris.
We investigated nest odor dynamics in the common yellow jacket, Vespula vulgaris. In six isolated colonies, we tested the aggression rates toward dead nestmates that had been stored for 10 min, 10 and 19 days outside their colonies at -76 degrees C. The aggression rate increased from about 12% toward recently killed nestmates up to 30% toward nestmates killed 19 days before the experiment. Obviously, the conserved nest odor profile of the nestmates frozen for several days did not match with that of their colony anymore. This indicates a change of the nest odor within the colony. In a second experiment, we kept two colonies each in one nest box with a complete separation of both neighbor nests by a solid wall inside the box for 28 days. In confrontation experiments, the colony members treated dead foragers from the neighbor nest as aggressively as dead foreign, non-neighbor workers (about 39% each) whereas only about 14% reacted aggressively toward dead nestmates. Seventeen days after the replacement of the solid wall by a metallic grid, which allowed no physical contact but air exchange between the two neighbor colonies, the aggression rates toward foreign workers and nestmates remained relatively unaffected whereas it decreased significantly toward dead neighbors to about 11%. These results suggest a nest odor dynamic caused by volatiles transferred between two adjacent colonies, resulting in an equalization of the former colony specific nest odors. A change of nest odor dynamics influenced by volatiles was so far described only for one ant species at all.


Toxicity and DNA damage in tobacco and potato plants growing on soil polluted with heavy metals.
Heterezygous tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum var. xanthi) and potato (Solanum tuberosum var. Korela) plants were cultivated on soil from the site Strimice which is highly polluted with heavy metals and on nonpolluted soil from the recreational site Jezerí, both in North Bohemia, Czech Republic. The total content, the content of bioavailable, easily mobile, and potentially mobile components of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) in the tested soils, and the accumulation of these metals in the above-ground biomass and roots of tested plants were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry or flameless atomic absorption spectrometry. The average tobacco leaf area and potato plant height were significantly reduced in plants growing on the polluted soil. We have measured the DNA damage in nuclei of leaves of both plant species using the Comet assay. A small but significant increase in DNA damage was noted in plants growing on the polluted soil versus controls. As the tobacco and potato plants with increased DNA damage were severely injured (inhibited growth, distorted leaves), this increase may be associated with necrotic or apoptotic DNA fragmentation. No increase in the frequency of somatic mutation was detected in tobacco plants growing on the polluted soil. Thus, the polluted soil probably induced toxic but not genotoxic effects on tobacco and potato plants.


Dechlorination of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane by Aerobacter aerogenes. I. Metabolic products.
Whole cells or cell-free extracts of Aerobacter aerogenes catalyze the degradation of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) in vitro to at least seven metabolites: 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (DDE); 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDD); 1-chloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (DDMU); 1-chloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDMS); unsym-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (DDNU); 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)acetate (DDA); and 4,4'-dichlorobenzophenone (DBP). The use of metabolic inhibitors together with pH and temperature studies indicated that discrete enzymes are involved. By use of the technique of sequential analysis, the metabolic pathway was shown to be: DDT --> DDD -->DDMU -->DDMS --> DDNU --> DDA --> DBP, or DDT --> DDE. Dechlorination was marginally enhanced by light-activated flavin mononucleotide.


Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting for acute myocardial infarction.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical results of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) within 14 days of the infarction. From April 2000 to January 2005 among 841 patients who underwent OPCAB, 43 consecutive patients (5.1%) were examined. Mean age at operation was 69.5 years and mean time from the onset of AMI to surgery was 4.6 days. Seventeen patients (39.5%) had left main trunk disease. Three patients (7.0%) underwent OPCAB following unsuccessful percutaneous coronary intervention, and 1 patient (2.3%) underwent redo procedure 9 years after previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Six patients (14%) were admitted in cardiogenic shock. Intraaortic balloon pumping was inserted preoperatively in 20 patients (46.5%). The average maximum creatine kinase-myocardial band was 139+/-181 (U/L). The mean number of grafts was 3.2 and the rate of complete revascularization was 91%. Two of six patients with preoperative cardiogenic shock were converted to on-pump beating CABG due to ventricular arrythmia. The early graft patency rate was 98%. All patients survived except 2 with preoperative cardiogenic shock. OPCAB can be performed after AMI as a relatively low-risk procedure with an acceptable mortality rate, even within 14 days of the infarction.


Understanding breast cancer stem cell heterogeneity: time to move on to a new research paradigm.
Human breast cancer (BC) is one of the leading causes of death for women worldwide, and is characterized by a group of highly heterogeneous lesions. The morphological and biomolecular heterogeneity of BC cells, accompanied by dynamic plasticity of the BC microenvironment and the presence of stem-like cells, make tumor categorization an urgent and demanding task.The major limitations in BC research include the high flexibility rate of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) and the difficulty of their identification. Improved profiling methods and extensive characterization of BCSCs were recently presented in BMC Cancer, highlighting that the majority of BC cells had a luminal EpCAMhigh/CD49f+ phenotype, and identification of CD44high/CD24low subpopulation of cancer stem cells significantly improves the flow cytometry measurement of BCSCs with higher stem/progenitor ability.Future developments in single-cell omics will potentially revolutionize cancer biology and clinical practice, providing better understanding of BC heterogeneity, how BCSCs evolve, and which BC cells to target to avoid drug resistance.Please see related research published in BMC Cancer: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/13/289/abstract.


A robust one-compartment fuel cell with a polynuclear cyanide complex as a cathode for utilizing H2O2 as a sustainable fuel at ambient conditions.
A robust one-compartment H2O2 fuel cell, which operates without membranes at room temperature, has been constructed by using a series of polynuclear cyanide complexes that contain Fe, Co, Mn, and Cr as cathodes, in sharp contrast to conventional H2 and MeOH fuel cells, which require membranes and high temperatures. A high open-circuit potential of 0.68 V was achieved by using Fe3[{Co(III)(CN)6}2] on a carbon cloth as the cathode and a Ni mesh as the anode of a H2O2 fuel cell by using an aqueous solution of H2O2 (0.30 M, pH 3) with a maximum power density of 0.45 mW cm(-2). The open-circuit potential and maximum power density of the H2O2 fuel cell were further increased to 0.78 V and 1.2 mW cm(-2), respectively, by operation under these conditions at pH 1. No catalytic activity of Co3[{Co(III)(CN)6}2] and Co3[{Fe(III)(CN)6}2] towards H2O2 reduction suggests that the N-bound Fe ions are active species for H2O2 reduction. H2O2 fuel cells that used Fe3[{Mn(III)(CN)6}2] and Fe3[{Cr(III)(CN)6}2] as the cathode exhibited lower performance compared with that using Fe3[{Co(III)(CN)6}2] as a cathode, because ligand isomerization of Fe3[{M(III)(CN)6}2] into (FeM2)[{Fe(II)(CN)6}2] (M = Cr or Mn) occurred to form inactive Fe-C bonds under ambient conditions, whereas no ligand isomerization of Fe3[{Co(III)(CN)6}2] occurred under the same reaction conditions. The importance of stable Fe(2+)-N bonds was further indicated by the high performance of the H2O2 fuel cells with Fe3[{Ir(III)(CN)6}2] and Fe3[{Rh(III)(CN)6}2], which also contained stable Fe(2+)-N bonds. The stable Fe(2+)-N bonds in Fe3[{Co(III)(CN)6}2], which lead to high activity for the electrocatalytic reduction of H2O2, allow Fe3[{Co(III)(CN)6}2] to act as a superior cathode in one-compartment H2O2 fuel cells.


Discovery of Novel Human Gene Regulatory Modules from Gene Co-expression and Promoter Motif Analysis.
Deciphering gene regulatory networks requires identification of gene expression modules. We describe a novel bottom-up approach to identify gene modules regulated by cis-regulatory motifs from a human gene co-expression network. Target genes of a cis-regulatory motif were identified from the network via the motif's enrichment or biased distribution towards transcription start sites in the promoters of co-expressed genes. A gene sub-network containing the target genes was extracted and used to derive gene modules. The analysis revealed known and novel gene modules regulated by the NF-Y motif. The binding of NF-Y proteins to these modules' gene promoters were verified using ENCODE ChIP-Seq data. The analyses also identified 8,048 Sp1 motif target genes, interestingly many of which were not detected by ENCODE ChIP-Seq. These target genes assemble into house-keeping, tissues-specific developmental, and immune response modules. Integration of Sp1 modules with genomic and epigenomic data indicates epigenetic control of Sp1 targets' expression in a cell/tissue specific manner. Finally, known and novel target genes and modules regulated by the YY1, RFX1, IRF1, and 34 other motifs were also identified. The study described here provides a valuable resource to understand transcriptional regulation of various human developmental, disease, or immunity pathways.


Ultrafine TiO2 Confined in Porous-Nitrogen-Doped Carbon from Metal-Organic Frameworks for High-Performance Lithium Sulfur Batteries.
Ultrafine TiO2 confined in porous-nitrogen-doped carbon is synthesized from a single metal-organic framework precursor. As a novel interlayer for lithium-sulfur batteries, the TiO2@NC composite can act as both a high efficiency lithium polysulfide barrier to suppress the side reactions and an additional current collector to enhance the polysulfide redox reactions. The lithium-sulfur battery with a TiO2@NC interlayer delivers a high reversible capacity of 1460 mAh g-1 at 0.2 C and capacity retention of 71% even after 500 cycles with high rate capability.


[The radiofibrinogen test and the fibrinsplit product test in the diagnosis of deep veinous thrombophlebitis during radiotherapy. A contribution to the evaluation for silent acute thrombophlebitis (author's transl)].
The radiofibrinogen test is especially useful for the diagnosis of deep veinous thrombophlebitis in the legs in patients undergoing radiotherapy for gyanecological cancer. In 62 patients, 6 deep veinous thrombophlebitis were observed during 124 radium insertions in conjunction with preventive administration of anti-coagulants. The most important test for the early coagulation physiologic diagnosis of deep leg thrombophlebitis is the test for fibrinogen and fibrinsplit products. A suitable procedure is the Latex-agglutination test which is technically uncomplicated. If deep leg vein thrombophlebitis is found by the radiofibrinogen test, the fibrinsplit products always show at least a fourfold increase.


Effect of mild atherosclerosis on flow resistance in a coronary artery casting of man.
An in-vitro flow study was conducted in a mildly atherosclerotic main coronary artery casting of man using sugar-water solutions simulating blood viscosity. Steady flow results indicated substantial increases in pressure drop, and thus flow resistance at the same Reynolds number, above those for Poiseuille flow by 30 to 100 percent in the physiological Reynolds number range from about 100 to 400. Time-averaged pulsatile flow data showed additional 5 percent increases in flow resistance above the steady flow results. Both pulsatile and steady flow data from the casting were found to be nearly equal to those from a straight, axisymmetric model of the casting up to a Reynolds number of about 200, above which the flow resistance of the casting became gradually larger than the corresponding values from the axisymmetric model.


Recent development on porous calcium phosphate ceramics for biomedical application.
Porous calcium phosphate ceramics have found enormous use in biomedical applications including bone tissue regeneration, cell proliferation, and drug delivery. In bone tissue engineering it has been applied as filling material for bone defects and augmentation, artificial bone graft material, and prosthesis revision surgery. Their high surface area leads to excellent osteoconductivity and resorbability providing fast bone ingrowths. Porous calcium phosphate can be produced by a variety of methods. This paper discusses briefly fundamental aspects of porous calcium phosphate for biomedical applications as well as various techniques used to prepare porous calcium phosphate.


Survival benefit from calcium channel blockers in elderly blacks following acute myocardial infarction.
Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) have been used in elderly survivors of acute myocardial infarctions (AMI) and have been found to be safe in this setting. While the elderly have increased mortality following AMI, an ethnic disparity exists, with elderly African Americans having the highest mortality. It is proposed that much of the increased mortality in elderly African Americans may be related to their greater incidence of risk factors at the time of AMI, particularly hypertension. We proposed that elderly African Americans would receive survival benefits from the blood pressure lowering effects of CCBs. We analyzed the Cooperative Cardiovascular Project (CCP) database to evaluate the impact of CCBs on survival in elderly patients with AMI. This database comprises patients admitted to US hospitals during 1994-1995 with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. A retrospective chart analysis was performed to identify patients aged 65 years or older admitted with ICD-9 code 410 for acute myocardial infarction. Data were analyzed for trends. Of all elderly AMI admissions, 144,233 were Whites, and 9,906 were Blacks. Hypertension was common in both Whites and Blacks, 60.4% and 79.1%, P<.001, respectively. Calcium channel blockers were used with 27.3% of Whites, and 31.2% of Blacks, P<.001. Blacks had a lower 2-year survival rate, regardless of CCB status, with a 55.7% 2-year survival rate, compared to a 51% 2-year survival rate in Whites. However, in both Blacks and Whites, 2-year survival improved with CCB treatment to a 71.2% 2-year survival rate in Whites and a 68.5% 2-year survival rate in Blacks. Subset analysis by type of CCB demonstrated better survival rates with both dihydropyridine and non-dihydropyridine CCBs, compared to no CCBs, although there was a survival trend favoring non-dihydropyridine CCBs. Elderly Blacks had a higher mortality rate in the CCP database than elderly Whites, at each time frame. Calcium channel blocker therapy was associated with improved survival in both Whites and Blacks, although Blacks continued to have lower survival rates with CCBs when compared with Whites.


[Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma mimicking an occipital artery aneurysm].
Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a unique tumor of soft tissues, primarily occurring in adults. It is characterized by the proliferation of epithelioid or histiocytoid endothelial cells. Its clinical course being close to that of hemangioma and conventional angiosarcoma, the term epithelioid hemangioendothelioma was suggested. The authors report the case of 29-year-old women complaining of a right occipital nodule of the scalp, diagnosed later as an epithelioid hemangioendothelioma located in the scalp and appearing like an aneurysm of the occipital artery on clinical examination and on radiological investigations. On first clinical examination this tumor mimicked a sebaceous cyst. However during history taking we noted headaches and palpation revealed a pulsatile mass with a thrill. An aneurysm of the occipital artery was suspected according to ultra-sound and MRI findings. The treatment was a wide and complete excision of the lesion. Finally it was the histological examination which confirmed the diagnosis of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma. There was no evidence of local recurrence at the twelve-month follow-up. This case is unusual on the following points: a rare occurrence of this kind of tumors, especially in the scalp region, arterial origin of the tumor, but also the fact that it mimicked an aneurysm of the occipital artery. Epithelioid hemangioendotheliomas belong to the epithelioid vascular tumor spectrum. They have in common the morphologic epithelioid aspect of endothelial tumor cells. Cutaneous involvement is rare and often associated with multi-systemic localizations.


Myelopathy hand: new evidence of the classical sign.
Motion analysis on video files that captured grip and release cycles with fingers. To reveal the kinematic characteristics of finger motion in cervical myelopathy. Myelopathy patients are often unable to smoothly move their fingers in grip and release cycles. Although paradoxical wrist motion (trick motion) and lack of finger coordination are well-known phenomena in myelopathy patients, it is not known which types of myelopathy patients present with these kinematic characteristics, and it is not known why they occur. Thirty patients with myelopathy were evaluated before and after decompressive surgery and compared with 42 healthy controls. The subjects were asked to grip and release with their fingers as rapidly as possible for 15 seconds. Movies taken with a digital camera were divided into 3 animation files of 5-seconds each. Three physicians independently counted the number of finger grip and release cycles of those files in a blinded manner; they also evaluated trick motion of the wrist and lack of finger coordination. Both the frequency of trick motion and that of uncoordinated finger motion were significantly higher in the preoperative myelopathy group than in the control group (trick motion, 11.7% vs. 4.8% and uncoordinated finger motion, 15.6% vs. 7.1%), but were the same in the pre- and postoperative myelopathy groups. In the preoperative myelopathy group, the number of grip and release cycles of uncoordinated finger motion files, especially ulnar delay type, was significantly smaller than that of coordinated finger motion files, which meant uncoordinated finger motion was related to the severity of myelopathy. Both uncoordinated finger motion and trick motion of the wrist were more frequent in myelopathy patients than in healthy controls, and uncoordinated finger motion was associated with severity of myelopathy, whereas trick motion was not associated with either severity of myelopathy or level of cord compression. These findings contradict the conventional idea that trick motion is associated with the severity of myelopathy.


The complete mitochondrial genome structure of Schizothorax oconnori (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae).
Schizothorax oconnori is mainly distributed in the Yarlung Zangbo River drainage in Tibet, China. S. oconnori is assessed as least concern species in International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. In this paper, we determined the complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence of S. oconnori. The mitogenome is 16,590 bp in length. It consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and 2 non-coding regions: origin of light-strand replication (O(L)) and control region (D-loop). The complete mitogenome sequence information of S. oconnori can be used in the studies on molecular systematics, stock evaluation and conservation genetics and will be helpful in the development of rational management strategies and sustainable utilization for S. oconnori resource.


[Radiation protective quality of spacesuit "Orlan-M" during extravehicular activities on the International Space Station].
Sampling irradiation of spacesuit "Orlan-M" allowed construction of a simulation model of the spacesuit shielding function for critical body organs. The critical organs self-shielding model is a Russian standard anthropomorphic phantom. Radiation protective quality of the spacesuit was assessed by calculating the dose attenuation rates for several critical body organs of an ISS crewmember implementing EVA. These calculations are intended for more accurate assessment of radiation risk to the ISS crews donning "Orlan-M" in near-Earth orbits.


Radical anions of flavonoids.
Several representatives of natural flavonoids and their synthetic nitro-derivatives have been investigated by polarography and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy under electrochemical reduction in acetonitrile, dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) or 1,2-dimethoxyethane. All the compounds studied are reduced in the first stage by one-electron transfer, apart from flavanone, which accepts two electrons simultaneously. However, the primary radical anions were detected by EPR spectroscopy only for 4'-nitroflavone. It was shown that radical anions of other flavonoids quickly dimerized. The analysis of the temperature dependence of the hyperfine interaction constants and broadening of lines in EPR spectra of 4'-nitroflavone radical anions has shown that the distribution of spin density is due to both the change of polarity of the medium and rotation of the nitrophenyl moiety. The assignment of hyperfine structure constants for the 4'-nitroflavone radical anion was confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.


Integration of novel agents into treatment of myeloma.
More than 150 years have passed since the first treatments of multiple myeloma were initiated. The past decade has seen a renaissance in the generation of therapies for myeloma as a result of heightened understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of the disease. This review article highlights the development and incorporation of the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib and the immunomodulatory drugs thalidomide and lenalidomide into standard myeloma treatment regimens. We also discuss the creation of multiple other myeloma agents currently in phase I/II testing and designed to target specific pathways in myeloma physiology.


Novel de novo BRCA2 mutation in a patient with a family history of breast cancer.
BRCA2 germ-line mutations predispose to breast and ovarian cancer. Mutations are widespread and unclassified splice variants are frequently encountered. We describe the parental origin and functional characterization of a novel de novo BRCA2 splice site mutation found in a patient exhibiting a ductal carcinoma at the age of 40. Variations were identified by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (dHPLC) and sequencing of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The effect of the mutation on splicing was examined by exon trapping in COS-7 cells and by RT-PCR on RNA isolated from whole blood. The paternity was determined by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray analysis. Parental origin of the de novo mutation was determined by establishing mutation-SNP haplotypes by variant specific PCR, while de novo and mosaic status was investigated by sequencing of DNA from leucocytes and carcinoma tissue. A novel BRCA2 variant in the splice donor site of exon 21 (nucleotide 8982+1 G-->A/c.8754+1 G-->A) was identified. Exon trapping showed that the mutation activates a cryptic splice site 46 base pairs 3' of exon 21, resulting in the inclusion of a premature stop codon and synthesis of a truncated BRCA2 protein. The aberrant splicing was verified by RT-PCR analysis on RNA isolated from whole blood of the affected patient. The mutation was not found in any of the patient's parents or in the mother's carcinoma, showing it is a de novo mutation. Variant specific PCR indicates that the mutation arose in the male germ-line. We conclude that the novel BRCA2 splice variant is a de novo mutation introduced in the male spermatozoa that can be classified as a disease causing mutation.


Platelet-derived growth factor-modulated proteins: constitutive synthesis by a transformed cell line.
Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) initiates replication of density-arrested BALB/c-3T3 mouse cells by rendering them "competent" to respond to factors contained in plasma. Treatment of quiescent cells with PDGF rapidly stimulates the preferential synthesis of several cytoplasmic proteins (molecular weights 29,000 to 70,000). Four of these proteins were noted within 1.5 hr of PDGF addition and one (pI) within 40 min. Inhibitors of RNA synthesis prevented the synthesis of these proteins. Both the synthesis of pI and the stimulation of DNA synthesis displayed a similar dose response to PDGF concentration. Pituitary fibroblast growth factor, which also induces competence, stimulated pI and pII synthesis. Plasma, epidermal growth factor, or insulin, which do not induce competence, did not stimulate selective synthesis of these proteins. A transformed variant of BALB/c-3T3 cells, which has retained the growth requirement for plasma factors but lost the requirement for PDGF, synthesizes these PDGF-modulated proteins constitutively.


Prevalence of Dental Anomalies in Odisha Population: A Panoramic Radiographic Study.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of dental anomalies (DAs) in Odisha population using panoramic radiographs. In this study, 1,080 panoramic radiographs were evaluated for DAs. Dental records were reviewed for diagnostic confirmation. Anomalies related to the shape, size, position of teeth, and number of roots (supernumerary roots) were evaluated. The study results showed the prevalence of DAs to be 35.27%. The most prevalent was dilaceration, which was seen in 46.71% cases followed by peg laterals in 20.99%. Dental anomalies were present in more than one-third of the study group, which was mostly related to shape of the teeth. Early diagnosis of these DAs helps in avoiding complications. Identification of DAs requires proper examination and thereby subsequent correct diagnosis. These anomalies can pose complications in normal functioning of orofacial complex. The knowledge of the prevalence of such anomalies aids dental practitioners for a proper treatment plan.


[Adaptation of human morphology to the teaching requirements of professional training].
This paper discusses the method by which self-teaching modules were evaluated in the Faculty of Anatomy in McMaster University. More than one hundred modules on morphology were prepared for self-teaching purposes, based on the needs of the professional. The effectiveness of the module was determined on the basis of the records on its use, evaluation tests, and student comments. The evaluation system also permitted ongoing corrections and changes in the modules.


Activation of tumoricidal properties in monocytes from cancer patients following intravenous administration of liposomes containing muramyl tripeptide phosphatidylethanolamine.
This study examined the antitumor properties of blood monocytes isolated from patients undergoing a phase I trial with liposomes containing muramyl tripeptide phosphatidylethanolamine (L-MTP-PE). Peripheral blood monocytes were isolated from 28 patients receiving twice weekly i.v. injections of escalating doses of L-MTP-PE. Monocytes were harvested before therapy and at various times during the 9-week treatment period. Activation of monocyte-mediated tumorilytic activity was found in 24 of the 28 patients at some time during treatment. Whereas the maximum tolerated dose of L-MTP-PE was 4-6 mg/m2, the optimal biological dose in terms of macrophage activation was 0.5-2.0 mg/m2. The spontaneous secretion of interleukin 1 from monocytes isolated pre- and postinfusion was monitored in two patients. In both patients interleukin 1 secretion correlated with the cytotoxic activity of the monocytes. We conclude that the systemic administration of L-MTP-PE can render the blood monocytes of cancer patients tumor cytotoxic. Since L-MTP-PE is an immunomodulator devoid of direct antiproliferative effects on tumor cells, the data suggest that future clinical trials be conducted using the optimal biological dose rather than the maximum tolerated dose.


Beam quality measurement of high power laser by using an involute pinhole array.
A novel method for power-in-the-bucket (PIB) measurement of high power laser beams is proposed. The laser beam spot was first sampled by a rotating involute pinhole array and then collected by using a photodetector placed behind the pinholes. The spatial-temporal distribution and calibrated PIB curve of the laser beam can be obtained. The spatial and temporal resolution is 20 µm and 5 ms, respectively. Compared with conventional methods, the proposed measurement method is simple, convenient, and accurate, which is suitable for high power laser beams with jitter.


The major pilin subunit of the AAF/II fimbriae from enteroaggregative Escherichia coli mediates binding to extracellular matrix proteins.
Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) adherence to human intestinal tissue is mediated by aggregative adherence fimbriae (AAF); however, the receptors involved in EAEC adherence remain uncharacterized. Adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins is commonly observed among enteric pathogens, so we addressed the hypothesis that EAEC may bind to extracellular matrix proteins commonly found in the intestine. We found that EAEC prototype strain 042 adhered more abundantly to surfaces that were precoated with the extracellular matrix proteins fibronectin, laminin, and type IV collagen. Differences in fibronectin binding of almost 2 orders of magnitude were observed between EAEC 042 and a mutant in the AAF/II major pilin gene, aafA. Purified AafA, refolded as a donor strand complementation construct, bound fibronectin in a dose-dependent manner. Addition of fibronectin to the apical surfaces of polarized T84 cell monolayers augmented EAEC 042 adherence, and this effect required expression of aafA. Finally, increased bacterial adherence was observed when apical secretion of fibronectin was induced by adenosine in polarized T84 cells. Binding to fibronectin may contribute to colonization of the gastrointestinal tract by EAEC.


Rapid hip osteoarthritis development in a patient with anterior acetabular cyst with sagittal alignment change.
Rapidly destructive coxarthrosis (RDC) is rare and develops unusual clinical course. Recent studies suggest multiple possible mechanisms of the development of RDC. However the exact mechanism of RDC is still not clear. The difficulty of the study on RDC is attributed to its rareness and the fact that the data before the onset of RDC is normally unavailable. In this report, we presented the patient having the radiographic data before the onset who had rapid osteoarthritis (OA) development after contralateral THA, which meets the current criteria of RDC. We thought that the increased posterior tilt of the pelvis after THA reinforced the stress concentration at pre-existed anterior acetabular cyst, thereby the destruction of the cyst was occurred. As a result the rapid OA was developed. We think that there is the case of rapid osteoarthritis developing due to alternating load concentration by posterior pelvic tilt on preexisting anterior acetabular cyst such as our patient among the cases diagnosed as RDC without any identifiable etiology. The recognition of sagittal alignment changes and anterior acetabular cyst may play important role in prediction and prevention of the rapid hip osteoarthritis development similar to RDC.


Circulating MicroRNAs as Potential Biomarkers of Atrial Fibrillation.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common supraventricular arrhythmia in the population. MicroRNAs (small endogenous noncoding RNAs) are attractive candidates as biomarkers for AF, especially considering that miRNAs are stable and are detected within easily accessible biofluids such as blood. In this review, we selected twelve studies (2012 to 2016) that were classified according to the sample type. We aimed to provide an overview of the role of circulating miRNAs in AF and to discuss the variability of the results, seeking to improve the perspective of the use of miRNAs as potential noninvasive biomarkers for this heart disease.


Association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with lung cancer: meta-analysis.
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a virus that is ubiquitous in humans. To investigate the association between EBV infection and lung cancer risk to reveal whether it is involved in the development and development of lung cancer. Although there has been discussion of EBV and lung cancer in the past. Through this study, we hope to deepen our understanding of the causes of lung cancer and provide new clues and targets for the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. This study is also beneficial to the development of medical science and public health. First of all, the research results are expected to be incorporated into lung cancer prevention and treatment strategies and policies, so as to provide better treatment decisions for lung cancer patients and improve the survival rate and quality of life of patients. At the same time, communicating the research results to the public can help raise awareness of lung cancer risk factors. By encouraging healthy lifestyles and screening measures, the public can reduce their risk of lung cancer. In addition, this study also provides an important foundation for subsequent academic research and scientific exploration. It provides valuable information and inspiration for in-depth understanding of lung cancer and other related fields. Overall, this study makes an important contribution to both medical science and public health. By September 26, 2022, an online database was used to conduct a literature search in English. Random effects models were employed to estimate the prevalence of EBV with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Additionally, the pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95%CI were calculated from case-control studies to determine the association between EBV and lung cancer. In this study of 886 patients with lung cancer, the overall prevalence of EBV infection was found to be 44.36% (95%CI: 4.08-16.9). Fourteen studies were included in the analysis, all of which used a case-control design and involved comparisons of tumors with adjacent or non-adjacent normal and non-cancerous controls. There was a significant difference in the prevalence of EBV infection in lung cancer tissues between China and other regions, with an odds ratio (OR) of 9.36 (95% confidence interval: 4.00-21.94, P<0.001, I²=73.5%). This suggests that the association between EBV infection and lung cancer cases is stronger in China than in other regions. Additionally, the prevalence of EBV infection varied across different pathological types of lung cancer, with rates of 81.08% for pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC),this a rare subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).34.78% for non-small cell lung cancer, and 21.17% for small cell lung cancer. The statistical analysis indicated that EBV infection was most significantly associated with cancer risk in LELC, while non-small cell lung cancer was more strongly associated with EBV than small cell lung cancer. The study found that EBV infection increases the risk of lung cancer by more than four times, and this risk is associated with the pathological type, lymphatic infiltration, and degree of differentiation of the lung cancer, particularly in the rare subtype of pulmonary lymphoepithelioma in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). Additionally, there are racial and regional differences in the correlation between EBV-infected lung cancer, with the Asian population showing greater susceptibility. The study used normal or abnormal tissue adjacent to the tumor as a control, which is considered a more accurate method for determining the relationship between EBV infection and lung cancer.


Dual Priorities: Maintaining Scientific Rigor and Staff Wellbeing in the Midst of a Pandemic.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, our team adjusted study procedures to support research staff wellbeing. ATN CARES is a community-based, adolescent-focused HIV research program. Our participants and frontline staff alike are predominantly Black or Latinx sexual and gender minorities. Senior researchers and staff collaborated to refine our procedures, anticipating stay-at-home orders in March 2020. Transition to virtual space appeared seamless; however, we did not foresee that staff would have the additional role of providing COVID-19-related informational and emotional support to participants. This and the added strain of working remotely were increasing staff stress and in general negatively affecting staff wellbeing. Leveraging staff interests and skills, staff and senior researchers developed purposeful ways to stay connected and alleviate these strains, including exercise sessions; professional development workshops; motivational messages; and games. These proved beneficial and serve as a reminder that wellbeing of staff-our frontline heroes-is vital to a successful research project.


Impact of long-term burden of excessive adiposity and elevated blood pressure from childhood on adulthood left ventricular remodeling patterns: the Bogalusa Heart Study.
Cardiovascular risk factors are associated with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), but little is known regarding related impact of longitudinal measures of childhood adiposity and LV hemodynamic variables. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of cumulative long-term burden and trends of excessive adiposity and elevated blood pressure (BP) during childhood on adulthood LVH and LV geometric remodeling patterns. This longitudinal study consisted of 1,061 adults, age 24 to 46 years, who had been examined 4 or more times for body mass index (BMI) and BP starting in childhood, with a mean follow-up of 28.0 years. The area under the curve (AUC) was calculated as a measure of long-term burden (total AUC) and trends (incremental AUC) of BMI and BP from childhood to adulthood. Four LV geometric types were defined-normal, concentric remodeling (CR), eccentric hypertrophy (EH), and concentric hypertrophy (CH)-all on the basis of LV mass indexed for body height (m(2.7)) and relative wall thickness. Higher values of BMI and systolic and diastolic BP in childhood and adulthood, as well as total AUC and incremental AUC, were all significantly associated with higher LV mass index and LVH, adjusted for race, sex, and age. In addition, higher values of BMI and BP in childhood and adulthood, total AUC, and incremental AUC were significantly associated with EH and CH but not with CR. Importantly, all of these measures of BMI had a consistently and significantly greater influence on EH than did measures of BP. These findings indicate that the adverse influence of excessive adiposity and elevated BP levels on LVH begins in childhood.


Nonlinear mixed-effects model reveals a distinction between learning and performance in intensive reach training post-stroke.
We recently showed that individuals with chronic stroke who completed two sessions of intensive unassisted arm reach training exhibited improvements in movement times up to one month post-training. Here, we study whether changes in movement times during training can predict long-term changes. Sixteen participants with chronic stroke and ten non-disabled age-matched participants performed two sessions of reach training with 600 movements per session. Movement time data during training were fitted to a nonlinear mixed-effects model consisting of a decreasing exponential term to model improvements of performance due to learning and an increasing linear term to model worsening of performance due to activity-dependent fatigability and/or other factors unrelated to learning. For non-disabled age-matched participants, movement times gradually decreased overall during training and overall changes in movement times during training predicted long-term changes. In contrast, for participants post-stroke, movement times often worsened near the end of training. As a result, overall changes in movement times during training did not predict long-term changes in movement times in the stroke group. However, improvements in movement times due to training, as estimated by the exponential term of the model, predicted long-term changes in movement times. Participants post-stroke showed a distinction between learning and performance in unassisted intensive arm reach training. Despite worsening of performance in later trials, extended training was beneficial for long-term gains.


M3(P2O7)22--type open frameworks featuring [M2O8] and [M3O12] multinuclear transition-metal oxide units. Serendipitous synthesis of six polymorphic salt-inclusion magnetic solids: Na2M3(P2O7)2·ACl (M = Mn, Fe; A = Rb, Cs) and K2M3(P2O7)2·CsCl (M = Fe, Mn).
Single crystals of six polymorphic salt-inclusion phosphates of the A(2)M(3)(P(2)O(7))(2)·A'Cl type, Na(2)Mn(3)(P(2)O(7))(2)·CsCl (1), Na(2)Mn(3)(P(2)O(7))(2)·RbCl (2), Na(2)Fe(3)(P(2)O(7))(2)·CsCl (3), Na(2)Fe(3)(P(2)O(7))(2)·RbCl (4), K(2)Mn(3)(P(2)O(7))(2)·CsCl (5), and K(2)Fe(3)(P(2)O(7))(2)·CsCl (6), were grown in reactive molten chloride flux media. Compounds 1-4 are isostructural and crystallize in the space group C2/c (No. 15), while 5 and 6 crystallize in P2/c (No. 13) and P1̅ (No. 2), respectively. The title compounds have demonstrated an unprecedented versatility, where the M(3)(P(2)O(7))(2)(2-) covalent open frameworks contain [M(3)O(12)] (M = Mn(2+), Fe(2+)) trimeric units in 1-4 and [M(2)O(8)] dimers in 5 and 6. These multinuclear, transition-metal oxide units are linked by Cl(-) ions through the M-Cl bonds to form one-dimensional (1D) chains. The 1D chains and [P(2)O(7)] groups share common O atoms to form the extended network. The M(3)(P(2)O(7))(2)(2-) open-framework structures exhibit channels where the respective Na(+)/K(+) ions and A'Cl salt (A' = Rb, Cs) reside. Magnetic susceptibility of 2 and 4 suggests bulk antiferromagnetic properties as expected. The local structure and thermal decomposition are examined by IR and differential scanning calorimetry of representative compounds. The factors that determine the reticular chemistry of the M(3)(P(2)O(7))(2)(2-) type are illustrated in terms of the inclusion of ionic lattices of different sizes and contents.


Isolation and characterization of a human liver and kidney-specific protein: the hepato-renal (H-R) antigen.
This paper reports the isolation and characterization of a soluble antigen shared by the liver and kidney of human and some other animal species. Homogenates of human liver in saline were centrifugated at 27,000 g and the supernatants were fractionated by preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The gels were divided in sections and each was injected into rabbits; after absorption with polymerized normal human serum, the antiserum obtained by injecting one of the sections reacted only with saline extracts of human liver and kidney when tested against a variety of human tissue extracts. The absorbed antiserum, polymerized and insolubilized with glutaraldehyde, was used to purify the antigen by affinity chromatography. The purified antigen proved to be a glycoprotein containing 19 percent carbohydrate, had a molecular weight of 5.8-6.0 x 10(4) Daltons and a pI of 7.2-7.4. The antigen, relatively thermostable, was precipitated by 35-55 percent ammonium sulphate; its antigenic activity was not affected by extraction with 0.6 N perchloric acid or by incubation with ribonuclease, deoxyribonuclease or neuraminidase but was destroyed by incubation with ttypsin or chymotrypsin. Immunoperoxidase studies showed that the antigen appeared concentrated in the neclei of liver and kidney glomerular epithelial and tubular epithelial cells in humans and rats. The antigen could not be detected in human hepatomas or hypernephromas or in the rat Morris hepatoma 5123.


High pneumococcal DNA load, procalcitonin and suPAR levels correlate to severe disease development in patients with pneumococcal pneumonia.
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is mostly caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Identification of the pathogen causing CAP can be achieved by conventional culture techniques of sputum and/or blood, antigen detection from urine or molecular analysis. However, it remains difficult to determine patients who are at risk of severe disease development (intensive care unit [ICU] admittance and/or death). In this retrospective study, 121 patients admitted to the emergency department with pneumonia symptoms were included. Several markers of infection (pneumococcal DNA load in blood (real-time LytA PCR), white blood cell (WBC) count, C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) levels) were assessed for their ability to predict severe disease development. Of 121 patients, 6 were excluded from the study because of an alternative diagnosis, whereas 8 were excluded from biomarker analysis because of the presence of co-morbidities. Of the 115 patients analysed by the LytA PCR, 23 were positive. PCR detected S. pneumoniae DNA in 82% of patients with positive blood culture for S. pneumoniae. PCR missed three samples from patients in which S. pneumoniae was recovered by blood cultures. However, eight additional LytA PCR-positive samples were detected from patients whose blood cultures remained negative. Pneumococcal DNA load was also monitored in time for 31 patients, of whom 11 had positive PCR results. For 10 out of 11 (91%) positive PCR patients, a clear increase in Ct-values was observed, indicating a lower pneumococcal DNA load in the blood as a result of antibiotic therapy. Biomarker analysis was performed in 107 patients, of whom 29 showed severe disease development. Pneumococcal DNA load (p = 0.026), PCT (p = 0.046) and suPAR (p = 0.001) levels most reliably predicted severe disease development. In conclusion, in patients with CAP, higher pneumococcal DNA load, PCT and suPAR values are associated with severe disease development (ICU admission and/or death). These biomarkers may be useful tools for triage of patients suspected of having CAP in the emergency department.


The antineoplastic agent α-bisabolol promotes cell death by inducing pores in mitochondria and lysosomes.
The sesquiterpene α-bisabolol (α-BSB) has been shown to be an effective cytotoxic agent for a variety of human cancer cells in culture and animal models. However, much of its intracellular action remains elusive. We evaluated the cytotoxic action of α-BSB against CML-T1, Jurkat and HeLa cell lines, as preclinical models for myeloid, lymphoid and epithelial neoplasias. The approach included single cell analysis (flow cytometry, immunocytology) combined with cytotoxicity and proliferation assays to characterize organelle damage, autophagy, cytostatic effect, and apoptosis. The study focuses on the relevant steps in the cytotoxic cascade triggered by α-BSB: (1) the lipid rafts through which α-BSB enters the cells, (2) the opening of pores in the mitochondria and lysosomes, (3) the activation of both caspase-dependent and caspase-independent cell death pathways, (4) the induction of autophagy and (5) apoptosis. The effectiveness of α-BSB as an agent against tumor cells is grounded on its capability to act on different layers of cell regulation to elicit different concurrent death signals, thereby neutralizing a variety of aberrant survival mechanisms leading to treatment resistance in neoplastic cell.


Fumaric acid esters for psoriasis: a systematic review.
Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Effective and safe long term treatment options are required to manage the illness successfully. A number of systemic agents are available, however, each of them has potentially significant side effects. Fumaric acid esters (FAE) are used first line in Germany for the management of moderate to severe psoriasis, however, their use in Ireland is on an unlicensed basis (Clinical and Experimental Dermatology 37:786-801, 2012). The purpose of this literature review is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of FAEs in the management of moderate to severe psoriasis in adult patients. The reviewer intends to systematically review all available literature on the efficacy and/or safety of fumaric acid esters in the management of moderate to severe psoriasis in adult patients. A systematic review of the literature was performed by one reviewer. The PubMed, TRIP, Embase, and Cochrane Collaboration databases were systematically interrogated to include randomised controlled trials, cohort studies and case studies evaluating the efficacy and/or safety of FAEs in the management of moderate to severe psoriasis in adult patients. Inclusion criteria were studies which included adults over 18 years of age, with a diagnosis of moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis, who were treated with FAEs and no other systemic anti-psoriatic agents concurrently. Exclusion criteria were studies involving children, mild psoriasis, studies which did not include patients with chronic plaque psoriasis, the use of FAE for the management of illnesses other than psoriasis, and patients treated with more than one systemic anti-psoriatic agent concurrently. In total 19 articles were selected for review including 2 randomised placebo controlled trials, 1 non-randomised comparative study, 7 retrospective cohort studies, 2 prospective cohort studies and 7 case studies. The findings suggest that FAEs are a safe and effective treatment option for the management of moderate to severe psoriasis in adult patients. Gastrointestinal side effects may occur on treatment initiation and may be minimised by slow dose titration. Lymphocytopenia and eosinophilia are common, however, they are rarely of significance and there is no high level of evidence available to suggest a resultant increased risk of infection or malignancy. Rarely alterations of renal and hepatic function may occur, however, these are largely reversible on treatment withdrawal. In conclusion, the use of FAE in the management of moderate to severe psoriasis is a promising treatment option, especially for those patients intolerant of, or unresponsive to other agents. If blood parameters are closely monitored during treatment as per the European Medicine Agencies guidelines (European Medicines Agency, 'Updated recommendations to minimise the risk of the rare brain infection PML with Tecfidera', http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Press_release/2015/10/WC500196017.pdf , 2015) they may be safely used in practice. The licensing of FAEs in Ireland for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis would be desirable, increasing available treatment options.


Regulation Strategy of Nanostructured Engineering on Indium-Based Materials for Electrocatalytic Conversion of CO2.
Electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction (CO2 RR), as an emerging technology, can combine with sustainable energies to convert CO2 into high value-added products, providing an effective pathway to realize carbon neutrality. However, the high activation energy of CO2 , low mass transfer, and competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) leads to the unsatisfied catalytic activity. Recently, Indium (In)-based materials have attracted significant attention in CO2 RR and a series of regulation strategies of nanostructured engineering are exploited to rationally design various advanced In-based electrocatalysts, which forces the necessary of a comprehensive and fundamental summary, but there is still a scarcity. Herein, this review provides a systematic discussion of the nanostructure engineering of In-based materials for the efficient electrocatalytic conversion of CO2 to fuels. These efficient regulation strategies including morphology, size, composition, defects, surface modification, interfacial structure, alloying, and single-atom structure, are summarized for exploring the internal relationship between the CO2 RR performance and the physicochemical properties of In-based catalysts. The correlation of electronic structure and adsorption behavior of reaction intermediates are highlighted to gain in-depth understanding of catalytic reaction kinetics for CO2 RR. Moreover, the challenges and opportunities of In-based materials are proposed, which is expected to inspire the development of other effective catalysts for CO2 RR.


Human chorionic gonadotropin-administered natural cycle versus spontaneous ovulatory cycle in patients undergoing two pronuclear zygote frozen-thawed embryo transfer.
To compare human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG)-administered natural cycle with spontaneous ovulatory cycle in patients undergoing frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FTET) in natural cycles. In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed the clinical outcome of a total of 166 consecutive FTET cycles that were performed in either natural cycle controlled by HCG for ovulation triggering (HCG group, n=110) or natural cycle with spontaneous ovulation (control group, n=56) in 166 infertile patients between January 2009 and November 2013. There were no differences in patients' characteristics between the 2 groups. The numbers of oocytes retrieved, mature oocytes, fertilized oocytes, grade I or II embryos and frozen embryos in the previous in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle in which embryos were frozen were comparable between the HCG and control groups. Significant differences were not also observed between the 2 groups in clinical pregnancy rate (CPR), embryo implantation rate, miscarriage rate, live birth rate and multiple CPR. However, the number of hospital visits for follicular monitoring was significantly fewer in the HCG group than in the control group (P<0.001). Our results demonstrated that HCG administration for ovulation triggering in natural cycle reduces the number of hospital visits for follicular monitoring without any detrimental effect on FTET outcome when compared with spontaneous ovulatory cycles in infertile patients undergoing FTET in natural ovulatory cycles.


Construction of a Semisynthetic Human VH Single-Domain Antibody Library and Selection of Domain Antibodies against α-Crystalline of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
The use of human variable heavy (VH) domain antibodies has been on the rise due to their small scaffold size and simple folding mechanism. A highly diverse library is largely dependent on the diversity introduced within the complementarity-determining region (CDR) cassettes. Here we introduced diversity with the use of a single framework diversifying all three CDRs using tailored codons consisting of degenerate trinucleotides (NNK). The length of the degeneracy in the CDRs was also taken into consideration based on the most frequently occurring length of CDRs and the canonical confirmation for each antibody subfamily. The semisynthetic human VH domain genes were assembled in a single pot using a temperature cascading process. The affinity selection process with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTb) α-crystalline was done using a semiautomated process. Enrichment of target-specific clones was observed with successful identification of monoclonal VH domain antibodies for MTb α-crystalline. In short, the semisynthetic library generated was able to select monoclonal VH domain antibodies against full MTb α-crystalline protein with complete semisynthetic CDRs displayed on a single scaffold. The library has the potential to be applied for the isolation of antibodies against other pathogenic proteins.


Human papillomavirus genotypes and risk of head and neck cancers: Results from the HeNCe Life case-control study.
Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are changing dramatically the epidemiologic landscape of head and neck cancers (HNCs). Their role in the aetiology of these cancers varies widely among HNCs subsites, sex and geographical regions worldwide. We describe HPV prevalence and its association with HNCs risk overall and by anatomical subsite in a sample of Canadians. The HeNCe Life study recruited 460 incident HNCs cases and 458 controls frequency-matched by age and sex from four Montreal hospitals in 2005-2013. We tested oral rinse and oral brush specimens for mucosal HPV genotypes. HPV positivity was categorized hierarchically as either negative, exclusively non-α-9 species types, α-9 types other than HPV16, and HPV16. We estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between HPV and HNCs using unconditional logistic regression, controlling for confounders. The prevalence of HPV infection among controls and cases was 14.5% and 41.2% in oral rinse and 3.1% and 24.4% in oral brush samples, respectively. HPV16 was the predominant genotype with an oral rinse and oral brush prevalence of 26.3% and 16.2% among cases and 2.4% and 0.2% among controls, respectively. HPV infection was associated with an increased risk of HNCs overall (OR=4.18; 95% CI, 2.94-5.95) and oropharyngeal cancer only (OR=10.3; 95% CI, 6.8-15.7). HNCs and oropharyngeal cancer were strongly associated with HPV16 (OR=18.1; 95% CI, 9.1-35.8, and OR=47.2; 95% CI, 23.1-96.6, respectively). HPV infection, particularly HPV16, was associated with an increased HNCs risk, most strongly for oropharyngeal cancers.


The comedo skin reaction to radiotherapy.
A 50-year-old man had a maxillectomy and post-operative radiotherapy for squamous carcinoma of the maxilla. The acute skin reaction merged at 2 months into a chronic comedo-type acneiform skin reaction in the irradiated area. Previous literature on this reaction to radiation is reviewed. The reaction is rare and occurs mostly in the head and neck area, more commonly in patients who have received acneigenic drugs, and with a latent period of between 2 weeks and 6 months from completion of radiotherapy. The pathogenesis of acne is discussed and a mechanism of post-irradiation acne is suggested.


Visible-Light-Catalyzed in Situ Denitrogenative Sulfonylation of Sulfonylhydrazones.
A photocatalyzed in situ denitrogenative sulfonylation of N-arylsulfonyl hydrazones has been developed. This transformation provides a low-carbon strategy to assemble arylalkyl sulfones in a stepwise denitrogenation/sulfonylation manner.


The efficacy of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting after craniotomy: a meta-analysis.
The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess the efficacy of prophylactic administration of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists for postoperative nausea and vomiting in neurosurgical patients at 24 and 48+ hours. After a systematic search, 7 published randomized placebo controlled trials involving 448 craniotomy patients (222 treatment, 226 control) were included in the meta-analysis. Study drugs included ondansetron, granisetron, and tropisetron. The cumulative incidence of emesis was significantly reduced in the treatment group at 24 hours [relative risk (RR)=0.50, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.38-0.66] and 48+ hours (RR=0.52, 95% CI: 0.36-0.75). There were no differences between the treatment and control groups in the cumulative incidence of nausea at 24 hours (RR=0.76, 95% CI: 0.54-1.06) and 48+ hours (RR=0.81, 95% CI: 0.62-1.06). The cumulative incidence of both nausea and vomiting continued to increase after 24 hours in both groups. Despite the ability of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists to reduce emetic episodes, future investigations should seek to address the control of postoperative nausea and to reduce further postoperative emesis in this population.


Decentralized composting: gated communities as ecologically promising environments.
The global need to strengthen circular economic chains highlights the importance of composting, since the organic fraction corresponds, on average, to 50% of the municipal solid waste. As centralized composting programs have been showing slow advances, especially in low and middle-income countries, the decentralized scale is a promising tool. Gated communities stand out as potential targets for decentralized composting programs, as they generally have organization, tools, employees, space, and a high density of gardens. This study detected, through online questionnaires sent to residents of gated communities, a high probability of adherence to composting programs in the condominium, predisposition for waste sorting, use of the compost, and participation in meetings to address the issue, in addition to a relevant potential for reducing the disposal of organic waste in landfills. On the other hand, the absence of leaders, lack of knowledge about community projects and fear of unpleasant odors and pests were evidenced. Among 106 respondents, residents of 25 condominiums, no variability was detected between positions of different genders, ages, and education. This diagnosis points out challenges and suggests alternatives to overcome them, based on successful experiences, focused on strengthening leadership, technical training, provision of equipment, improvements in communication and socio-environmental awareness.


Bedtime Stories that Work: The Effect of Protagonist Liking on Narrative Persuasion.
The experiment described in this article draws on affective disposition theory to clarify how protagonist likeability influences participants' sleep hygiene-related self-efficacy and outcome expectations immediately after media exposure and 3 days later. Results indicate that protagonist likeability is an important factor in narrative persuasion. Protagonist likeability did not directly affect participants' sleep hygiene-related self-efficacy immediately postexposure, but it did influence self-efficacy 3 days later. The dislikeable protagonist influenced self-efficacy more than the likeable protagonist. Further, protagonist likeability did not directly affect outcome expectations either immediately postexposure or 3 days later. However, mediation analyses demonstrated that protagonist likeability indirectly influenced both self-efficacy and outcome expectations via perceived liking of the protagonist immediately after exposure and 3 days later. Implications of these findings are further discussed.


Sex chromosomes and speciation.
Studies of reproductive isolation between animal species have shown (i) that if one sex of the hybrids between two species is sterile or inviable, it is usually the heterogametic sex (Haldane's rule), and (ii) the genes on the sex chromosomes play a particularly large role in hybrid sterility and inviability. We propose an explanation for these two observations which is based on the changes in chromosome conformation which take place during gametogenesis. These changes are far greater in sex chromosomes than in autosomes. They are also greater in the heterogametic than in the homogametic sex. We suggest that the sensitivity of hybrids of the heterogametic sex to the genetic divergence that occurs during periods of population isolation is partly the result of the failure of their sex chromosomes to undergo appropriate conformational changes. This hypothesis explains why the sex chromosomes play a disproportionate role in post-zygotic, but not in pre-zygotic, isolation, and why often only the germ line is sensitive to hybridization.


[Research advances on the mechanisms and prevention and treatment of patient self-inflicted lung injury].
Researches have shown that lung injury due to excessive spontaneous breathing effort, that is, patient self-inflicted lung injury (P-SILI), may be the important manifestation and possible mechanism of ventilation-associated lung injury and ventilation-induced diaphragmatic dysfunction in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients who were mechanically ventilated with intense spontaneous breathing. This paper reviews the concept of P-SILI, possible occurrence mechanism, clinical significance, and prevention and treatment, in order to provide more ideas for clinical ARDS management.


Models of Acetylcholine and Dopamine Signals Differentially Improve Neural Representations.
Biological and artificial neural networks (ANNs) represent input signals as patterns of neural activity. In biology, neuromodulators can trigger important reorganizations of these neural representations. For instance, pairing a stimulus with the release of either acetylcholine (ACh) or dopamine (DA) evokes long lasting increases in the responses of neurons to the paired stimulus. The functional roles of ACh and DA in rearranging representations remain largely unknown. Here, we address this question using a Hebbian-learning neural network model. Our aim is both to gain a functional understanding of ACh and DA transmission in shaping biological representations and to explore neuromodulator-inspired learning rules for ANNs. We model the effects of ACh and DA on synaptic plasticity and confirm that stimuli coinciding with greater neuromodulator activation are over represented in the network. We then simulate the physiological release schedules of ACh and DA. We measure the impact of neuromodulator release on the network's representation and on its performance on a classification task. We find that ACh and DA trigger distinct changes in neural representations that both improve performance. The putative ACh signal redistributes neural preferences so that more neurons encode stimulus classes that are challenging for the network. The putative DA signal adapts synaptic weights so that they better match the classes of the task at hand. Our model thus offers a functional explanation for the effects of ACh and DA on cortical representations. Additionally, our learning algorithm yields performances comparable to those of state-of-the-art optimisation methods in multi-layer perceptrons while requiring weaker supervision signals and interacting with synaptically-local weight updates.


Storage of human red blood cells and platelets. Some aspects concerning the factors leading to storage lesion characterized as morphological changes and vesiculation. Minireview based on a doctoral thesis.
1. Storage renders erythrocytes more responsive to thermally induced morphological changes, especially the shedding of microvesicles. 4-8 week old cells can be morphologically "rejuvenated" by heating. 2. If pH increases during storage of platelets an extensive loss of small particles occurs. The platelet disintegration is associated with a loss in the metabolic activity, discharge of LDH, increased susceptibility to phospholipid hydrolysis by phospholipase C and is found to be initiated during the actual preparation of platelet concentrates. 3. Activation of platelets during preparation can be decreased by shortening the first centrifugation time or by using adenine in the anticoagulant. 4. A 4 hour prestorage of the whole blood unit prior to centrifugation strongly decreases the activation of platelets upon stimuli and results in platelet concentrates much more stable to storage.


Predicting the survival of patients with bone metastases treated with radiation therapy: a validation study of the Katagiri scoring system.
The selection of radiation therapy dose fractionation schedules for bone metastases is often based on the estimation of life expectancy. Therefore, accurate prognosis prediction is an important issue. It is reported that the Katagiri scoring system can be used to predict the survival of patients with bone metastases. We aimed to assess prognostic factors and validate the Katagiri scoring system in patients who were treated with radiation therapy for bone metastases. We retrospectively reviewed data of all patients who were treated with radiation therapy for bone metastases between 2004 and 2013. Age, sex, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS), primary site (lesions and characteristics), visceral metastases, laboratory data, previous chemotherapy, and multiple bone metastases were analyzed for associations with overall survival (OS). Katagiri scores were calculated for each patient and were used to compare OS. Out of the 616 patients included in this analysis, 574 had died and 42 remained alive. The median follow-up time for survivors was 42 months. Univariate analysis revealed that age (P = 0.604) and multiple bone metastases (P = 0.691) were not significantly associated with OS. Multivariate analysis revealed that sex, ECOG PS, KPS, primary characteristics, visceral metastases, laboratory data, and previous chemotherapy were significantly associated with OS. The survival rates at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months, categorized by Katagiri score, were as follows: score 0-3, 94.4, 77.8, and 61.1%, respectively; score 4-6, 67.7, 48.7, and 31.2%, respectively; and score 7-10, 39.1, 22.1, and 9.0%, respectively (P < 0.001). Sex, ECOG PS, KPS, primary characteristics, visceral metastases, laboratory data, and previous chemotherapy were significant predictors of survival in patients with bone metastases. The Katagiri scoring system was significantly correlated with OS and can help us select the optimal dose-fractionation.


Acute Decompensation in Pediatric Cardiac Patients: Outcomes After Rapid Response Events.
We studied rapid response events after acute clinical instability outside ICU settings in pediatric cardiac patients. Our objective was to describe the characteristics and outcomes after rapid response events in this high-risk cohort and elucidate the cardiac conditions and risk factors associated with worse outcomes. A retrospective single-center study was carried out over a 3-year period from July 2011 to June 2014. Referral high-volume pediatric cardiac center located within a tertiary academic pediatric hospital. All rapid response events that occurred during the study period were reviewed to identify rapid response events in cardiac patients. None. We reviewed 1,906 rapid response events to identify 152 rapid response events that occurred in 127 pediatric cardiac patients. Congenital heart disease was the baseline diagnosis in 74% events (single ventricle, 28%; biventricle physiology, 46%). Seventy-four percent had a cardiac surgery before rapid response, 37% had ICU stay within previous 7 days, and acute kidney injury was noted in 41% post rapid response. Cardiac and/or pulmonary arrest occurred during rapid response in 8.5%. Overall, 81% were transferred to ICU, 22% had critical deterioration (ventilation or vasopressors within 12 hr of transfer), and 56% received such support and/or invasive procedures within 72 hours. Mortality within 30 days post event was 14%. Significant outcome associations included: single ventricle physiology-increased need for invasive procedures and mortality (adjusted odds ratio, 2.58; p = 0.02); multiple rapid response triggers-increased ICU transfer and interventions at 72 hours; critical deterioration-cardiopulmonary arrest and mortality; and acute kidney injury-cardiopulmonary arrest and need for hemodynamic support. Congenital heart disease, previous cardiac surgery, and recent discharge from ICU were common among pediatric cardiac rapid responses. Progression to cardiopulmonary arrest during rapid response, need for ICU care, kidney injury after rapid response, and mortality were high. Single ventricle physiology was independently associated with increased mortality.


Contraceptive practices before and after an intervention promoting condom use to prevent HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases among women--selected U.S. sites, 1993-1995.
Because heterosexual contact is the most common mode of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission among women, development of effective strategies to reduce sexually transmitted HIV infection is critical. In addition, because most women at risk for HIV infection are reproductive aged (14-44 years), effective use of contraceptives is important to prevent unintended pregnancies. Latex condoms used by males, when used consistently and correctly, are highly effective at reducing the risk for HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs); however, hormonal contraceptive methods or surgical sterilization are more effective for preventing pregnancy. One possible effect of encouraging women to use condoms for HIV/STD prevention with their male partners is that women may discontinue use of hormonal contraceptive methods. To assess whether encouraging women to use condoms for HIV/STD prevention affects their contraceptive practices, CDC analyzed longitudinal data on contraceptive methods and condom use for HIV/STD prevention that were collected as part of a randomized trial evaluating HIV-counseling methods during August 1993-June 1995. This report summarizes the findings of the analysis, which indicate that, among reproductive-aged women who were encouraged to use condoms for HIV/STD prevention, consistent condom use for HIV/STD prevention increased among women using each contraceptive method studied. In addition, most women using hormonal contraceptive methods continued to use them after the intervention, and the overall proportion of women protected against pregnancy increased.


Discrimination of Polygoni Multiflori radix and Cynanchi Auriculati radix using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography fingerprints and chemical pattern recognition.
In this work, a strategy was proposed to discriminate Polygoni Multiflori Radix (PMR) and its adulterant (Cynanchi Auriculati Radix, CAR). Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) fingerprints were established to analyze samples containing PMR, CAR and mixtures simultaneously. Multivariate classification methods were applied to analyze the obtained UHPLC fingerprints, including principal component analysis (PCA), partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA), support vector machine discriminant analysis (SVMDA) and counter-propagation artificial neural network (CP-ANN). A plot of PCA score showed that PMR and CAR samples belonged to separate clusters (PMR class and CAR class), and samples of mixtures were located near PMR or CAR classes. Analysis by PLS-DA, SVMDA and CP-ANN performed well for recognition and prediction in terms of PMR and CAR samples. Moreover, the PLS-DA method performed best in the detection of adulterated samples, even if the adulterant was about 25%.