Dangerous combinations: Ingestible CAM supplement use during chemotherapy in patients with ovarian cancer.
Some ingestible complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) supplements, including herbal remedies, teas, and vitamins, have biological activities that make them likely to interact poorly with conventional chemotherapeutic treatments. This study surveyed women with ovarian cancer to document the extent to which women use ingestible CAM supplements and conventional chemotherapeutic treatments that are believed to be of potential concern when used together. A total of 219 patients with ovarian cancer who received care from 1 of 2 participating conventional oncology practices were surveyed about CAM use during and after ovarian cancer treatment. A total of 200 women reported having chemotherapy to treat their ovarian cancer. Of those, 79 (40%) reported using 1 or more CAM supplements that could be cause for concern when taken with 1 or more of the chemotherapy medications they were receiving. Many patients took multiple supplements of potential concern. Of these women, 42% (n=33) consulted with a conventional provider and 24% (n=19) consulted with a CAM provider about the contraindicated supplements they used. Although it is not clear that any of these contraindicated combinations of CAM and conventional therapy actually caused adverse outcomes, increased toxicities, or reduced the effectiveness of primary therapies, all these effects are possible given the substances being used in combination. Research is needed to understand the real risk associated with CAM and conventional polypharmacy. If risks associated with CAM use prove substantial, then improved systems to assure that all women get advice regarding supplement use during ovarian cancer treatment will be needed.


Isolation of pigmentation mutants of the green filamentous photosynthetic bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus.
Mutants deficient in the production of bacteriochlorophyll c (Bchl c) and one mutant lacking colored carotenoids were isolated from the filamentous gliding bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus. Mutagenesis was achieved by using UV radiation or N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. Several clones were isolated that were deficient in Bchl c synthesis. All reverted. One double mutant deficient both in Bchl c synthesis and in the synthesis of colored carotenoids under anaerobic conditions was isolated. Isolation of a revertant in Bchl c synthesis from this double mutant produced a mutant strain of Chloroflexus that grew photosynthetically under anaerobic conditions and lacked colored carotenoids. Analysis of pigment contents and growth rates of the mutants revealed a positive association between growth rate and content of Bchl c under light-limiting conditions.


Correlated appearance of ossification and nerve tissue in human fetal jaws.
The factors initiating the onset of desmal jaw formation are not known. The purpose of the present report was to examine the correlation between the appearance of ossification and nerve tissue in human fetal jaws. This was done through elaboration of similarities in occurrence of tissue types at four different sites of initial bone formation in the jaws. Radiological and histochemical methods applied to the jaws of 26 human embryos/fetuses revealed that nerve tissue appeared in the jaws before bone tissue. Early bone formation occurred in close relation to the mandibular nerve, the maxillary nerve, the palatine nerve, and the naso-palatine nerve. It is suggested that the foramina (mental foramen, infraorbital foramen, palatal foramen, and incisive foramen) are the areas of incipient bone formation, and that the sequence in bone formation corresponds to the sequence in the development of nerve fibers from the trigeminal ganglion.


Rhamnolipids as epithelial permeability enhancers for macromolecular therapeutics.
The use of surfactants as drug permeability enhancers across epithelial barriers remains a challenge. Although many studies have been performed in this field using synthetic surfactants, the possibility of employing surfactants produced by bacteria (the so called biosurfactants") has not been completely explored. Among them, one of the most well characterized class of biosurfactants are rhamnolipids. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of rhamnolipids on the epithelial permeability of fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled dextrans 4kDa and 10kDa (named FD4 and FD10, respectively) as model for macromolecular drugs, across Caco-2 and Calu-3monolayers. These cell lines were selected as an in vitro model for the oral and respiratory administration of drugs. Before performing permeability studies, rhamnolipids mixture was analysed in terms of chemical composition and quantification through mass analysis and HPLC. Cytotoxicity and transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) studies were also conducted using Caco-2 and Calu-3 cell lines. A dose-dependent effect of rhamnolipids on TEER and FD4 or FD10 permeability across both cell lines was observed at relatively safe concentrations. Overall, results suggest the possibility of using rhamnolipids as absorption enhancers for macromolecular drugs through a reversible tight junction opening (paracellular route), despite more investigations are required to confirm their mechanism of action in term of permeability.


Gross genomic rearrangement involving the TSC2-PKD1 contiguous deletion syndrome: characterization of the deletion event by quantitative polymerase chain reaction deletion assay.
Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) was instrumented for identification of the gene causing autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease type 1 (PKD1) because a patient showing both diseases gave rise to the suggestion that the TSC2 gene is located in close vicinity on chromosome 16p13. However, distinct molecular genetic characterization of such patients is sparse in the literature. A 41-year-old woman was admitted because of chylous ascites and pleural effusions. She was on hemodialysis therapy for 6 years because of end-stage renal failure from PKD. Both kidneys had been removed at ages 35 and 36 years. Histologically, both specimens also showed multiple angioleiomyolipoma. Mild, but classic, lesions of the TSC complex were present on her face and hands and in the central nervous system. The genetic defect was identified by using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), long-range PCR (LR-PCR), and sequencing. qPCR confirmed the existence of a TSC2-PKD1 contiguous gene deletion spanning the entire TSC2 and PKD1 genes. Additional analysis showed expansion of the deletion affecting the adjacent downstream-located genes RAB26 and TRAF7, as well as the great majority of CASKIN1. LR-PCR and sequencing identified flanking simple tandem repeats. A nonhomologous misalignment mechanism has driven the recombination, most likely by replication slippage between a 3-bp homology (ATG) at the breakpoint regions. Our results confirm that patients with both TSC and PKD have a genetically contiguous gene syndrome with hemizygous deletion of the TSC2 and PKD1 genes. Despite this maximal genetic defect, the typical signs of TSC, mental retardation and seizures, can be absent.


[New Developments in CKD-MBD. How can we produce useful evidence-based guidelines in the field of CKD-MBD?].
The target ranges of laboratory measures, such as calcium and phosphorus, in the current CKD-MBD guidelines have been mainly determined by large observational studies examining the association between laboratory values and mortality. However, the suggested optimal ranges are often different between observational studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) . For example, in the field of diabetes mellitus, cohort studies showed that the lower hemoglobin A1c levels were associated with better clinical outcomes. However, intensive control of blood sugar resulted in higher mortality in RCTs. In order to advocate really meaningful guidelines, we have to conduct many RCTs. In other words, a paradigm shift from "setting targets" to "comparing the intensity of a medical treatment" is necessary, because target ranges might be dependent on the type of the drug or intervention. If we cannot conduct RCTs because of ethical reasons or economic issues, sophisticated analysis methods such as propensity score-based analysis and facility-level analysis should be employed in observational studies.


Incidence and mortality of liver cancer in China in 2011.
Liver cancer is a common cancer with poor prognosis in China. In this study, the national population-based cancer registration data were used to evaluate and analyze liver cancer incidence and mortality in China in 2011 and provide a reference for liver cancer prevention and control. We collected and evaluated the incidence and mortality data of liver cancer in 2011 from 177 cancer registries with qualified data. These data were used in the final analysis including calculating crude, standardized, and truncated incidences and mortalities, and estimated new liver cancer cases and deaths using age-specific rates and the corresponding populations. The national census in 2000 and Segi's population were used for age-standardized rates. The estimates of new liver cancer cases and deaths were 355,595 and 322,416, respectively, in China in 2011. The crude incidence, age-standardized rate of incidence by Chinese standard population (ASRIC), and age-standardized rate of incidence by world standard population (ASRIW) of liver cancer were 26.39/100,000, 19.48/100,000, and 19.10/100,000, respectively; the crude mortality, age-standardized rate of mortality by Chinese standard population (ASRMC), and age-standardized rate of mortality by world standard population (ASRMW) of liver cancer were 23.93/100,000,17.48/100,000, and 17.17/100,000, respectively. The incidence and mortality were higher in rural areas than in urban areas and higher in males than in females. The age-specific incidence and mortality of liver cancer increased greatly with age, particularly after 30 years and peaked at 80-84 or 85+ years. Liver cancer is a common cancer in China, particularly for males and residents in rural areas. Targeted prevention, early detection, and treatment programs should be carried out.


Lightning strikes as a major facilitator of prebiotic phosphorus reduction on early Earth.
When hydrated, phosphides such as the mineral schreibersite, (Fe,Ni)3P, allow for the synthesis of important phosphorus-bearing organic compounds. Such phosphides are common accessory minerals in meteorites; consequently, meteorites are proposed to be a main source of prebiotic reactive phosphorus on early Earth. Here, we propose an alternative source for widespread phosphorus reduction, arguing that lightning strikes on early Earth potentially formed 10-1000 kg of phosphide and 100-10,000 kg of phosphite and hypophosphite annually. Therefore, lightning could have been a significant source of prebiotic, reactive phosphorus which would have been concentrated on landmasses in tropical regions. Lightning strikes could likewise provide a continual source of prebiotic reactive phosphorus independent of meteorite flux on other Earth-like planets, potentially facilitating the emergence of terrestrial life indefinitely.


Diverse ultrasound image features of unilateral genital tract obstruction with ipsilateral renal anomaly syndrome on genitourinary system segmental sequential ultrasound screening and the accuracy of ultrasonic diagnosis.
Unilateral genital tract obstruction with ipsilateral renal anomaly (UGTOIRA) syndrome is a rare congenital urogenital anomaly, characterized by different combinations of uterine abnormalities, unilateral cervical-vaginal obstruction, and ipsilateral renal abnormalities. Timely and correct diagnosis is critical. In this study, we analyzed the diverse ultrasound image features of UGTOIRA syndrome on genitourinary system segmental sequential ultrasound screening (SSUS) and the accuracy of ultrasonic diagnosis. The data from 59 patients with UGTOIRA syndrome over the last decade were analyzed retrospectively, which included ultrasound presentations and diagnoses of abnormalities of the uterus, cervix, and vagina, as well as the conditions associated with the bilateral fallopian tubes, ovaries, pelvis, kidneys and ureters, bladder, and urethra. All 59 patients (100%) were found to have ipsilateral renal agenesis, and the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound was 100%. The uterus was correctively diagnosed as complete bicorporal uterus in 42 cases (71.2%), bicorporal septate uterus in 7 cases (11.9%), complete uterus septate in 8 cases (13.6%), partial uterus septate in 1 case (1.7%), and unilateral isthmus atresia in 1 case (1.7%). The cervix was correctively diagnosed as septate cervix in 28 cases (47.5%), double cervix in 17 cases (28.8%), unilateral small cervix in 5 cases (8.5%), unilateral obliterated cervical orifice in 5 cases (8.5%), partial development of the unilateral cervix with a blind end in 3 cases (5.1%), and unilateral completely undeveloped cervix appearing as a normal cervix in 1 case (1.7%). The vagina was correctively diagnosed as oblique vaginal septum (OVS) in 45 cases (76.3%), and normal vagina in 13 cases (22.0%) via preoperative ultrasound. In 1 case (1/59, 1.7%) of high OVS with ipsilateral obliterated external cervical orifice, the OVS was missed by preoperative ultrasound. The ultrasound diagnostic accuracy rates of uterine malformation, cervical malformation, vaginal malformation, hematoma location and volume, uterine communication, and cervical communication were respectively 100%, 100%, 98.3%, 100%, 100%, and 100%. The ultrasonic detection rate for a hole on the OVS was 0%, and the missed diagnosis rate was 100%. SSUS can be used to accurately evaluate uterine, cervical, and vaginal malformation, obstruction site, location and volume of keratocele, cervical or uterine communication, and ovarian endometriosis cyst in patients with UGTOIRA syndrome and ipsilateral urinary system malformation. However, ultrasound is unable to identify a hole on the OVS.


Transfer of Copper from an Amyloid to a Natural Copper-Carrier Peptide with a Specific Mediating Ligand.
The oxidative stress that arises from the catalytic reduction of dioxygen by Cu(II/I)-loaded amyloids is the major pathway for neuron death that occurs in Alzheimer's disease. In this work, we show that bis-8(aminoquinoline) ligands, copper(II) specific chelators, are able to catalytically extract Cu(II) from Cu-Aβ1-16 and then completely release Cu(I) in the presence of glutathione to provide a Cu(I)-glutathione complex, a biological intermediate that is able to deliver copper to apo forms of copper-protein complexes. These data demonstrate that bis-8(aminoquinolines) can perform the transfer of copper ions from the pathological Cu-amyloid complexes to regular copper-protein complexes. These copper-specific ligands assist GSH to recycle Cu(I) in an AD brain and consequently slow down oxidative damage that is due to copper dysregulation in Alzheimer's disease. Under the same conditions, we have shown that the copper complex of PBT2, a mono(8-hydroxyquinoline) previously used as a drug candidate, does not efficiently release copper in the presence of GSH. In addition, we report that GSH itself was unable to fully abstract copper ions from Cu-β-amyloid complexes.


Single Photon Source from a Nanoantenna-Trapped Single Quantum Dot.
Single photon sources with high brightness and subnanosecond lifetimes are key components for quantum technologies. Optical nanoantennas can enhance the emission properties of single quantum emitters, but this approach requires accurate nanoscale positioning of the source at the plasmonic hotspot. Here, we use plasmonic nanoantennas to simultaneously trap single colloidal quantum dots and enhance their photoluminescence. The nano-optical trapping automatically locates the quantum emitter at the nanoantenna hotspot without further processing. Our dedicated nanoantenna design achieves a high trap stiffness of 0.6 (fN/nm)/mW for quantum dot trapping, together with a relatively low trapping power of 2 mW/μm2. The emission from the nanoantenna-trapped single quantum dot shows 7× increased brightness, 50× reduced blinking, 2× shortened lifetime, and a clear antibunching below 0.5 demonstrating true single photon emission. Combining nano-optical tweezers with plasmonic enhancement is a promising route for quantum technologies and spectroscopy of single nano-objects.


9p-syndrome: two new observations.
Our patients with 9p-syndrome show typical stigmata when compared with the 28 know cases described in the literature . In Table 1 we compared our 4 cases with those previously described. Only A.K. lacks two features present in all the others: flat occiput and micrognathia.


Prostate-specific antigen decline pattern in advanced prostate cancer receiving androgen deprivation therapy and relationship with prostate-specific antigen progression.
The aim of this study is to evaluate prostate-specific antigen decline pattern including prostate-specific antigen kinetics following androgen deprivation therapy on prostate-specific antigen progression in the patients with advanced prostate cancer. Ninety-seven advanced prostate cancer patients receiving maximum androgen deprivation therapy were enrolled in case-control study. Baseline prostate-specific antigen, Gleason Score, bone metastase, nadir prostate-specific antigen, time to nadir prostate-specific antigen, declining slope to nadir prostate-specific antigen, estimated baseline prostate-specific antigen half-time, current prostate-specific antigen, post-nadir prostate-specific antigen time, estimated prostate-specific antigen, estimated decline of baseline prostate-specific antigen as quantitative, and ratio were recorded and calculated. The ratio of prostate-specific antigen progression was significantly lower at the patients who had slower declining slope to prostate-specific antigen, longer time to nadir prostate-specific antigen, and lower estimated decline ratio of baseline prostate-specific antigen (p: .016, p: .020, and p: .026, respectively). The shorter time to nadir prostate-specific antigen following androgen deprivation therapy, faster declining slope to nadir prostate-specific antigen and higher estimated decline ratio of baseline prostate-specific antigen are associated with higher risk of disease progression in patients with hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.


Colloidal superstructures programmed into magnetic Janus particles.
By engineering thin magnetic films onto homogeneous colloidal particles, various crystalline lattices are induced from simple magnetic Janus spheres. In situ formation of dicolloids amplifies the diversity of achievable dynamic structures. The competition between shape anisotropy and dipole orientation generates mesoscopic isomerism. This opens design space for anisotropic building blocks for smart colloidal materials.


Long-term administration of pyridostigmine attenuates pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy by inhibiting calcineurin signalling.
Cardiac hypertrophy is associated with autonomic imbalance, characterized by enhanced sympathetic activity and withdrawal of parasympathetic control. Increased parasympathetic function improves ventricular performance. However, whether pyridostigmine, a reversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, can offset cardiac hypertrophy induced by pressure overload remains unclear. Hence, this study aimed to determine whether pyridostigmine can ameliorate pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy and identify the underlying mechanisms. Rats were subjected to either sham or constriction of abdominal aorta surgery and treated with or without pyridostigmine for 8 weeks. Vagal activity and cardiac function were determined using PowerLab. Cardiac hypertrophy was evaluated using various histological stains. Protein markers for cardiac hypertrophy were quantitated by Western blot and immunoprecipitation. Pressure overload resulted in a marked reduction in vagal discharge and a profound increase in cardiac hypertrophy index and cardiac dysfunction. Pyridostigmine increased the acetylcholine levels by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase in rats with pressure overload. Pyridostigmine significantly attenuated cardiac hypertrophy based on reduction in left ventricular weight/body weight, suppression of the levels of atrial natriuretic peptide, brain natriuretic peptide and β-myosin heavy chain, and a reduction in cardiac fibrosis. These effects were accompanied by marked improvement of cardiac function. Additionally, pyridostigmine inhibited the CaN/NFAT3/GATA4 pathway and suppressed Orai1/STIM1 complex formation. In conclusion, pressure overload resulted in cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac dysfunction and a significant reduction in vagal discharge. Pyridostigmine attenuated cardiac hypertrophy and improved cardiac function, which was related to improved cholinergic transmission efficiency (decreased acetylcholinesterase and increased acetylcholine), inhibition of the CaN/NFAT3/GATA4 pathway and suppression of the interaction of Orai1/STIM1.


An introduction to clinical decision analysis: bone marrow transplantation for aplastic anemia.
Clinical decision analysis is a systematic and rigorously logical approach to medical decision making under conditions of uncertainty. The structuring of a clinical problem in a decision analytic framework enables the clinician to focus on one aspect of a complex decision at a time without losing sight of the whole. The concepts of clinical decision analysis are explained and the technique is applied to compare bone marrow transplantation with supportive care for the treatment of a patient with severe aplastic anemia. The advantages and disadvantages of clinical decision analysis are discussed. The technique is intended to complement, but not replace, clinical judgement.


Tetralogy of Fallot in monozygotic twins.
A pair of monozygotic twins having tetralogy of Fallot is reported for the first time in the Indian literature. This case report will help in further enriching the existing data on genetic hypothesis of congenital heart defects.


The contingent negative variation, personality and antisocial behaviour.
Using a classical click/flash paradigm the contingent negative variation (CNV) was recorded from 60 consecutive male admissions to Broadmoor Hospital. Clinical and psychometric Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) assessments were made independently of the electroencephalography (EEG) data. A trend for higher amplitude CNV's to be recorded from patients with a clinical diagnosis of antisocial (psychopathic) personality was observed. Patients with a Mental Health Act diagnosis of psychopathic disorder had significantly higher voltage CNV's than those in the mental illness category. These CNV differences were only found in the primary (non-anxious, sociable) psychopaths. Secondary (neurotic, unsociable) psychopaths did not differ from staff controls. A positive association between CNV voltage and the personality factor of sociability(sociable-shy dimension) was observed. A weak, negative correlation between CNV amplitude and impulsivity (impulsive-controlled dimension) was also apparent. All subjects showed an habituation effect across trials. No difference in response variability between successive series of trials was apparent in any of the patient groups.


Repression of flowering under a noninductive photoperiod by the HDA9-AGL19-FT module in Arabidopsis.
Posttranslational acetylation of histones is reversibly regulated by histone deacetylases (HDACs). Despite the evident significance of HDACs in Arabidopsis development, the biological roles and underlying molecular mechanisms of many HDACs are yet to be elucidated. By a reverse-genetic approach, we isolated an hda9 mutant and performed phenotypic analyses on it. In order to address the role of HDA9 in flowering, genetic, molecular, and biochemical approaches were employed. hda9 flowered early under noninductive short-day (SD) conditions and had increased expression of the floral integrator FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and the floral activator AGAMOUS-LIKE 19 (AGL19) compared with the wild-type. The hda9 mutation increased histone acetylation and RNA polymerase II occupancy at AGL19 but not at FT during active transcription, and the HDA9 protein directly targeted AGL19. AGL19 expression was higher under SD than under inductive long-day (LD) conditions, and an AGL19 overexpression caused a strong up-regulation of FT. A genetic analysis showed that an agl19 mutation is epistatic to the hda9 mutation, masking both the early flowering and the increased FT expression of hda9. Taken together, our data indicate that HDA9 prevents precocious flowering under SD conditions by curbing the hyperactivation of AGL19, an upstream activator of FT, through resetting the local chromatin environment.


[Herpesvirus infections--indications for chemotherapy in dermato-venereology].
Specific antivirals like acyclovir have ameliorated the outcome of severe herpesvirus infections, especially in immunocompromised patients. Varicella can be prevented in high-risk patients after exposure by therapy with varicella-zoster immunoglobulin. Despite this favorable development, there are many unresolved problems in the management of herpesvirus infections, such as the use of acyclovir during pregnancy, the treatment of both motoric neuropathy and postherpetic neuralgia. Chemotherapy-resistant herpesvirus may cause severe syndromes in patients suffering from HIV infection or from iatrogenic immunosuppression. Isolation of resistant viruses provides the stimulus to establish tests of viral resistance and to use antiviral drugs more carefully.


Effects of chronic desipramine on plasma norepinephrine concentrations and cardiovascular parameters in elderly depressed women: a preliminary report.
The effect of chronic administration of desipramine, a relatively specific inhibitor of the reuptake of norepinephrine (NE), on heart rate, blood pressure, and concentrations of NE in plasma was examined in elderly depressed women. Plasma NE concentrations rose significantly following administration of desipramine, while there was no significant change in either heart rate or blood pressure. Implications of these findings are discussed with relationship to the selection of appropriate types and doses of antidepressants in the elderly.


Paradoxical changes in iodine-131 scintigraphic findings in advanced follicular thyroid cancer.
We present the findings on iodine-131 (131I) scintigraphy, thallium-201 (201Tl) scintigraphy and quantitative thyroglobulin (QTG) estimation in two patients with follicular carcinoma of the thyroid with extensive metastases. The lesions were initially seen on 131I scintigraphs, but were not subsequently visualized with scanning doses of 131I (5 mCi), while retaining their ability to produce increasing amounts of thyroglobulin and take up 201Tl. Implications in choosing the appropriate diagnostic tests in the management of differentiated thyroid cancer are discussed.


[Ultrastructural study of the effect of acid etching on different dentin adhesives].
We study the behavior of several dentinal adhesives in shielding dentine against acid insult. Durafill, Ionosit, Visiobond, Heliobond and Prismabond provide little protection against acids, leaving the dentinal tubules uncovered, more or less open. Scotchbond, which, forms a layer thicker than any of the other adhesives, endures acid engraving a little better, leaving less dentinal tubules unprotected, which are thinner than those left bare by any of the other adhesives studied here.


Clonal evolution of monosomy 7 in acquired severe aplastic anemia: Two cases treated with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Aplastic anemia (AA) may evolve into clonal diseases like myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloblastic leuke¬mia (AML). Monosomy 7 is a poor prognostic chromosomal abnormality commonly associated with therapy related MDS and secondary AML. It has also been associated with leukomogenic transformation in AA. We present here two adult ma¬le patients with acquired severe AA. Both patients had received immunosuppressive therapy (IST) as first line treatment and had monosomy 7 positive clone at transformation to MDS with refractory anemia and excess of blast (RAEB-II) and AML, respectively. Both patients have undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation from their HLA identical donors (unrelated and sibling).


Neonatal Septic Arthritis of the Hip: A Case Report.
Neonatal septic arthritis is a bacterial infection that, if not identified and treated right away, can affect human joints and result in osteonecrosis, joint destruction, and permanent abnormalities. Around 0.3 out of every 1,000 live births are impacted by septic arthritis worldwide. Although there is very little available data on the newborn population, we present a novel case of neonatal hip septic arthritis that was presented to our hospital and was successfully treated with surgical irrigation and debridement through arthrotomy with the Smith-Petersen approach in addition to antibiotics, despite its early vague presentation and lack of complications. Thus, it is crucial to clinically and radiologically evaluate neonates presenting with obscure symptoms and signs to prevent future disabilities and complications resulting from septic arthritis.


Effects of recombinant human tumor necrosis factor on highly enriched hematopoietic progenitor cell populations from normal human bone marrow and peripheral blood and bone marrow from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia.
Previous studies using unseparated normal human bone marrow cells have indicated that recombinant tumor necrosis factor alpha (rTNF-alpha) can inhibit the in vitro colony growth by normal granulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM) and erythroid (BFU-E) progenitor cells in a dose-dependent manner. In the present studies, by using very low numbers of highly enriched normal bone marrow progenitor cell populations as target cells, we have extended these previous findings to provide convincing evidence that erythroid and myeloid colony growth suppression by rTNF-alpha is manifested by a direct interaction between rTNF-alpha and CFU-GM and BFU-E progenitor cells. In addition, the sensitivity of normal peripheral blood and chronic myeloid leukemia bone marrow CFU-GM and BFU-E colony growth to inhibition by rTNF-alpha was examined and found to be comparable with that of normal bone marrow CFU-GM and BFU-E. Although the continuous presence of high doses of rTNF-alpha (5000 units/ml) was required in methylcellulose cultures for maximal CFU-GM (90%) and BFU-E (70%) colony suppression, short-term exposure (24 to 72 hr) of normal bone marrow-enriched progenitor cells to rTNF-alpha, in the absence of hematopoietic growth factors, was sufficient to irreversibly suppress up to 50 to 65% of CFU-GM colony growth. In contrast, the number of BFU-E colonies was increased under these conditions. If, however, hematopoietic growth factors (Mo-T-cell-conditioned medium and erythropoietin) were present during preincubation of the cells with rTNF-alpha, BFU-E were then slightly suppressed while the extent of CFU-GM inhibition remained essentially the same. The suppressive effect of rTNF-alpha on erythroid and myeloid progenitor cell growth appears to be most pronounced on the more primative stages of committed progenitor cell development, since inhibition of CFU-GM- and BFU-E-derived colony growth progressively decreased with the delayed addition of rTNF-alpha to methylcellulose cultures. [3H]Thymidine incorporation was also inhibited by rTNF-alpha in normal bone marrow-enriched progenitor cell populations stimulated to proliferate in liquid culture by colony-stimulating factors. This effect was transient, however, since the activity of rTNF-alpha declined after the first 24 h of culture at 37 degrees C, particularly at low doses of rTNF-alpha where the activity was completely lost after 48 h of culture. This loss of activity appeared to be due to a decreased sensitivity of progenitor cells to the antiproliferative effects of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) after an initial exposure rather than a lack of available TNF.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


A decision making approach to assessing critical appraisal skills.
Critical appraisal is an important skill for practicing evidence-based medicine. Most assessments of critical appraisal focus either on knowledge about research design or evaluate a written critique of an article. This paper presents a Bayesian framework for assessing critical appraisal through measuring how clinical decisions and judgments change with the introduction of new research evidence. In a skilled clinician-appraiser, new evidence is predicted to cause the clinician to revise beliefs in the appropriateness of a decision, in proportion to both the strength of the findings and the methodological soundness of the research which produced the findings. The framework is illustrated by two studies using different items, respondents, and designs.


The development and validation of sexual health indicators of Canadians aged 16-24 years.
We developed and validated a set of self-administered, multi-dimensional indicators of sexual health among Canadians aged 16-24 years. This study used a mixed-method qualitative and quantitative approach to develop and validate indicators of sexual health. We used the four-stage Dillman method to identify, focus-test, pilot-test, and validate key metrics to measure sexual health. We collected quantitative data to validate the measures through a computer-assisted self-interviewing program among a purposive sample of 1,158 people aged 16-24 years recruited from four Canadian provinces. The survey contained 75 items measuring five dimensions of sexual health: (1) physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being in relation to sexuality; (2) approach to sexuality; (3) sexual relationships; (4) sexual experiences; and (5) discrimination, coercion, and violence. Principal components analysis for composite measures found seven components with eigenvalues ≥1. The factor structure was stable across gender, age, size of area of residence, and language in which the survey was completed. Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from 0.79 to 0.90. Indicators of condom use at last vaginal sex, protection self-efficacy, sexually transmitted infection/HIV testing self-efficacy, and sexual orientation also showed good construct validity. The indicators constituted a conceptually grounded survey that is easy for young adults to complete and contains valid, reliable, and psychometrically robust measures. The survey instrument provides a tool for future research to collect population-level data to measure and monitor trends in the sexual health of young people in Canada.


Human T-cell leukemia virus type I p30 nuclear/nucleolar retention is mediated through interactions with RNA and a constituent of the 60 S ribosomal subunit.
Human T-cell leukemia virus type I is the etiological agent of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, an aggressive and fatal lymphoproliferative malignancy. The virus has evolved strategies to escape immune clearance by remaining latent in most infected cells in vivo. We demonstrated previously that virally encoded p30 protein is a potent post-transcriptional inhibitor of virus replication (Nicot, C., Dundr, M., Johnson, J. M., Fullen, J. R., Alonzo, N., Fukumoto, R., Princler, G. L., Derse, D., Misteli, T., and Franchini, G. (2004) Nat. Med. 10, 197-201). p30 is unable to shuttle out of the nucleus in heterokaryon assays, suggesting the existence of specific retention signals. Because suppression of virus replication relies on nuclear retention of the tax/rex mRNA by p30, determining the retention features of p30 will offer hints to break latency in infected cells and insights into new therapeutic approaches. In this study, we used live cell imaging technologies to study the kinetics of p30 and to delineate its retention signals and their function in virus replication. Notably, this is the first study to identify p30 nucleolar retention domains. Using mutants of p30 that localized in different cellular compartments, we show that post-transcriptional control of virus replication by p30 occurs in the nucleoplasm. We further demonstrate that p30 nuclear/nucleolar retention is dependent upon de novo RNA transcripts and interactions with components of the ribosomal machinery.


The Role of microRNAs in Regulating Cancer Cell Response to Oxaliplatin-Containing Regimens.
Oxaliplatin (cyclohexane-1,2-diamine; oxalate; platinum [2+]) is a third-generation chemotherapeutic drug with anticancer effects. Oxaliplatin has a role in the treatment of several cancers. It is one of the few drugs which can eliminate the neoplastic cells of colorectal cancer. Also, it has an influential role in breast cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and gastric cancer. Although oxaliplatin has many beneficial effects in cancer treatment, resistance to this drug is in the way to cure neoplastic cells and reduce treatment efficacy. microRNAs are a subtype of small noncoding RNAs with ∼22 nucleotides that exist among species. They have diverse roles in physiological processes, including cellular proliferation and cell death. Moreover, miRNAs have essential roles in resistance to cancer treatment and can strengthen sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs and regimens. In colorectal cancer, the co-treatment of oxaliplatin with anti-miR-19a can partially reverse the oxaliplatin resistance through the upregulation of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN). Moreover, by preventing the spread of gastric cancer cells and downregulating glypican-3 (GPC3), MiR-4510 may modify immunosuppressive signals in the tumor microenvironment. Treatment with oxaliplatin may develop into a specialized therapeutic drug for patients with miR-4510 inhibition and glypican-3-expressing gastric cancer. Eventually, miR-122 upregulation or Wnt/β-catenin signaling suppression boosted the death of HCC cells and made them more sensitive to oxaliplatin. Herein, we have reviewed the role of microRNAs in regulating cancer cells' response to oxaliplatin, with particular attention to gastrointestinal cancers. We also discussed the role of these noncoding RNAs in the pathophysiology of oxaliplatin-induced neuropathic pain.


Development and validation of a statistical shape modeling-based finite element model of the cervical spine under low-level multiple direction loading conditions.
Cervical spinal injuries are a significant concern in all trauma injuries. Recent military conflicts have demonstrated the substantial risk of spinal injury for the modern warfighter. Finite element models used to investigate injury mechanisms often fail to examine the effects of variation in geometry or material properties on mechanical behavior. The goals of this study were to model geometric variation for a set of cervical spines, to extend this model to a parametric finite element model, and, as a first step, to validate the parametric model against experimental data for low-loading conditions. Individual finite element models were created using cervical spine (C3-T1) computed tomography data for five male cadavers. Statistical shape modeling (SSM) was used to generate a parametric finite element model incorporating variability of spine geometry, and soft-tissue material property variation was also included. The probabilistic loading response of the parametric model was determined under flexion-extension, axial rotation, and lateral bending and validated by comparison to experimental data. Based on qualitative and quantitative comparison of the experimental loading response and model simulations, we suggest that the model performs adequately under relatively low-level loading conditions in multiple loading directions. In conclusion, SSM methods coupled with finite element analyses within a probabilistic framework, along with the ability to statistically validate the overall model performance, provide innovative and important steps toward describing the differences in vertebral morphology, spinal curvature, and variation in material properties. We suggest that these methods, with additional investigation and validation under injurious loading conditions, will lead to understanding and mitigating the risks of injury in the spine and other musculoskeletal structures.


Muscle chemoreflex elevates muscle blood flow and O2 uptake at exercise onset in nonischemic human forearm.
We tested the hypothesis that increases in forearm blood flow (FBF) during the adaptive phase at the onset of moderate exercise would allow a more rapid increase in muscle O2 uptake (VO2 mus). Fifteen subjects completed forearm exercise in control (Con) and leg occlusion (Occ) conditions. In Occ, exercise of ischemic calf muscles was performed before the onset of forearm exercise to activate the muscle chemoreflex evoking a 25-mmHg increase in mean arterial pressure that was sustained during forearm exercise. Eight subjects who increased FBF during Occ compared with Con in the adaptation phase by >30 ml/min were considered "responders." For the responders, a higher VO2 mus accompanied the higher FBF only during the adaptive phase of the Occ tests, whereas there was no difference in the baseline or steady-state FBF or VO2 mus between Occ and Con. Supplying more blood flow at the onset of exercise allowed a more rapid increase in VO2 mus supporting our hypothesis that, at least for this type of exercise, O2 supply might be limiting.


[Liposomal formulation of a methotrexate diglyceride conjugate: activity in methotrexate-resistant leukemia cultured cells].
We have recently synthesized a lipid conjugate of the anticancer agent methotrexate (MTX-DG) and showed that the conjugate is quantitatively included in the lipid bilayer of liposomes prepared by a standard extrusion technique from an 8 : 1 : 1 (mol) egg phosphatidylcholine-yeast phosphatidylinositol-MTX-DG mixture. Both the size of liposomes (126 +/- 30 nm) and the MTX-DG concentration (4.4 mM) are relevant for systemic injections in mammals. The liposomal formulation of MTX-DG was shown to overcome the resistance of tumor cells in vitro to methotrexate: the cytotoxic activities (IC50) of MTX in cultures of the human T-lymphoblastic leukemia cell line CEM-CCRF and the MTX-resistant subline CEM/MTX were 0.075 +/- 0.005 and 16.4 +/- 4.9 microM, respectively, while, in the case of liposomes loaded with MTX-DG, the IC50 values were much closer: 0.77 +/- 0.06 and 3.8 +/- 1.9 microM.


A correlation between low back pain and associated factors: a study involving 772 patients who had undergone general physical examination.
Many factors are associated with the development of low back pain. Among them, exercise, obesity, smoking, age, educational level and stress are the most common. This study examined the association of these factors with low back pain. An additional aim was to determine a procedure for preventing low back pain. This study analyzed the responses to a questionnaire sent to 772 individuals who had undergone a medical examination at this hospital in 2003 and excluded the individuals who had shown symptoms or their test results indicated a particular disease. Assuming that there were no variables, individuals who exercised regularly 3-4 times per week would have a lower chance of having low back pain than those who did not exercise regularly. The analysis revealed that individuals with a college degree or higher education have a lower chance of experiencing low back pain than those with only a high school education or even college drop-outs. When the other variables were constant, age, extent of obesity (body mass index), smoking and level of stress were not found to affect the development of low back pain. The level of education was associated with the development of low back pain. However, regular exercise 3-4 times per week or more would be most effective in reducing the incidence and duration of low back pain.


Projections of the nucleus of the basal optic root in pigeons (Columba livia): a comparison of the morphology and distribution of neurons with different efferent projections.
The avian nucleus of the basal optic root (nBOR) is a visual structure involved in the optokinetic response. nBOR consists of several morphologically distinct cell types, and in the present study, we sought to determine if these different cell types had differential projections. Using retrograde tracers, we examined the morphology and distribution of nBOR neurons projecting to the vestibulocerebellum (VbC), inferior olive (IO), dorsal thalamus, the pretectal nucleus lentiformis mesencephali (LM), the contralateral nBOR, the oculomotor complex (OMC) and a group of structures along the midline of the mesencephalon. The retrogradely labeled neurons fell into two broad categories: large neurons, most of which were multipolar rather than fusiform and small neurons, which were either fusiform or multipolar. From injections into the IO, LM, contralateral nBOR, and structures along the midline-mesencephalon small nBOR neurons were labeled. Although there were no differences with respect to the size of the labeled neurons from these injections, there were some differences with the respect to the distribution of labeled neurons and the proportion of multipolar vs. fusiform neurons. From injections into the VbC, the large multipolar cells were labeled throughout nBOR. The only other cases in which these large neurons were labeled were contralateral OMC injections. To investigate if single neurons project to multiple targets we used paired injections of red and green fluorescent retrograde tracers into different targets. Double-labeled neurons were never observed indicating that nBOR neurons do not project to multiple targets. We conclude that individual nBOR neurons have unique projections, which may have differential roles in processing optic flow and controlling the optokinetic response.


Use of human chorionic gonadotropin and alpha-fetoprotein radioimmunoassays: specificity and apparent half-life determination after delivery and in patients with germ cell tumors.
The specificity of commercially available hCG and hCG-beta antibodies (anti-hCG-beta from N.I.A.M.D.D. (SB6), Serono (S), Biosigma (B), Union Carbide (UC) (I.R.E.) and anti-hCG from Union Carbide) were compared. Using 125I-hCG (CR 115), the crossreactivity with LH (LER 960) was 5.5% for SB6, 0.25% for S and 0.3% for B. In the homologous hCG system UC, crossreactivity was 0.06% with hCG-beta and 1.2% with LH, in the hCG-beta system UC, it was 2.2% with hCG and 0.01% with LH. Parallel standard curves for hCG, the 2nd I.R.P. hCG and hCG-beta were found exclusively with the 125I-hCG, anti-hCG-beta system S. Consequently accurate estimates of the total hCG or hCG-beta content in serum and standardization with the 2nd I.R.P. is possible. This system is the most useful for clinical purposes. The serum half-life of hCG was calculated in 10 pregnant women after delivery and was found to be 10 to 34 h. AFP half-life time, determined by the double antibody radioimmunoassay was 4.0 +/- 1.8 (+/- SD) days in pregnant women after delivery (n = 60) and 3.8 +/- 0.9 days in neonates during the first 16 days of life (n = 26). Altogether, apparent half-life determinations were carried out in 29 patients with nonseminomatous germ cell tumors. The results indicate that half-life determinations of hCG and AFP may have a predictive value with respect to the monitoring of therapy.


"I Used to Be Wild": Adolescent Perspectives on the Influence of Family, Peers, School, and Neighborhood on Positive Behavioral Transition.
Public health practice involving adolescents is largely focused on preventing or delaying the initiation of risk behavior. However, given the experimental and exploratory nature of this developmental period, this is often impractical. This paper focuses on behavioral transitions and the ways in which youth involved in risk behaviors shift to more promotive behaviors. Based on a positive youth development perspective, in-depth interviews with urban youth were conducted and analyzed to gain an understanding of the influences on behavior change. Specific family support, ability to detach from harmful peer relationships, and school connectedness and vocational support emerged as important to those youths who made a positive behavioral transition. These findings suggest the importance of understanding ways to support the cessation of involvement in risk behaviors and reinforce the significance of contextual influences on youth development.


Single-View 3D Scene Reconstruction and Parsing by Attribute Grammar.
In this paper, we present an attribute grammar for solving two coupled tasks: i) parsing a 2D image into semantic regions; and ii) recovering the 3D scene structures of all regions. The proposed grammar consists of a set of production rules, each describing a kind of spatial relation between planar surfaces in 3D scenes. These production rules are used to decompose an input image into a hierarchical parse graph representation where each graph node indicates a planar surface or a composite surface. Different from other stochastic image grammars, the proposed grammar augments each graph node with a set of attribute variables to depict scene-level global geometry, e.g., camera focal length, or local geometry, e.g., surface normal, contact lines between surfaces. These geometric attributes impose constraints between a node and its off-springs in the parse graph. Under a probabilistic framework, we develop a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to construct a parse graph that optimizes the 2D image recognition and 3D scene reconstruction purposes simultaneously. We evaluated our method on both public benchmarks and newly collected datasets. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed method is capable of achieving state-of-the-art scene reconstruction of a single image.


Cutaneous Alpha-Synuclein From Paraffin Embedded Autopsy Specimens in Parkinson's Disease.
Parkinson disease (PD) is neurodegenerative disorder characterized by tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia and pathologically by the deposition of alpha-synuclein within different tissues. We, and others, have reported the detection of cutaneous alpha-synuclein in individuals with PD. The goal of the present study was to detect alpha-synuclein deposition by immunohistochemical staining of skin samples in pathologically confirmed cases of PD. Post-mortem skin biopsy samples from 11 individuals with PD, and 5 non-synucleinopathy control subjects were paraffin embedded and stained for total alpha-synuclein and protein gene product 9.5. Alpha-synuclein deposition was greater in both scalp and abdominal skin biopsy PD samples compared to control samples in pilomotor nerves (P < 0.05), sudomotor nerves (P < 0.05) and vasomotor nerves (P < 0.05). Deposition of alpha-synuclein in scalp and abdominal tissue did not correlate with age, duration of PD, or severity of PD. There is greater deposition of alpha-synuclein within pilomotor, sudomotor and vasomotor nerve fibers of paraffin embedded samples from autopsy confirmed cases of PD compared to control samples. However, assessment of alpha-synuclein deposition in post-mortem paraffin embedded tissue has many limitations and the utility of this technique in clinical and research studies is uncertain.


Adapting the preterm birth phenotyping framework to a low-resource, rural setting and applying it to births from Migori County in western Kenya.
Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal and under-five mortality worldwide. It is a complex syndrome characterized by numerous etiologic pathways shaped by both maternal and fetal factors. To better understand preterm birth trends, the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth published the preterm birth phenotyping framework in 2012 followed by an application of the model to a global dataset in 2015 by Barros, et al. Our objective was to adapt the preterm birth phenotyping framework to retrospective data from a low-resource, rural setting and then apply the adapted framework to a cohort of women from Migori, Kenya. This was a single centre, observational, retrospective chart review of eligible births from November 2015 - March 2017 at Migori County Referral Hospital. Adaptations were made to accommodate limited diagnostic capabilities and data accuracy concerns. Prevalence of the phenotyping conditions were calculated as well as odds of adverse outcomes. Three hundred eighty-seven eligible births were included in our study. The largest phenotype group was none (no phenotype could be identified; 41.1%), followed by extrauterine infection (25.1%), and antepartum stillbirth (16.7%). Extrauterine infections included HIV (75.3%), urinary tract infections (24.7%), malaria (4.1%), syphilis (3.1%), and general infection (3.1%). Severe maternal condition was ranked fourth (15.6%) and included anaemia (69.5%), chronic respiratory distress (22.0%), chronic hypertension prior to pregnancy (5.1%), diabetes (3.4%), epilepsy (3.4%), and sickle cell disease (1.7%). Fetal anaemia cases were the most likely to transfer to the newborn unit (OR 5.1, 95% CI 0.8, 30.9) and fetal anomaly cases were the most likely to result in a pre-discharge mortality (OR 3.9, 95% CI 0.8, 19.2). Using routine data sources allowed for a retrospective analysis of an existing dataset, requiring less time and fewer resources than a prospective study and demonstrating a feasible approach to preterm phenotyping for use in low-resource settings to inform local prevention strategies.


A novel mutation in medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase causes sudden neonatal death.
Medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency is the most common known genetic disorder of fatty acid oxidation. Most (approximately 80%) cases are homozygous for a single mutation: A to G replacement at nucleotide 985 (A985G). MCAD deficiency typically presents in the second year of life as hypoketotic hypoglycemia associated with fasting and may progress to liver failure, coma, and death. Prompt diagnosis and management may prevent long-term sequelae. MCAD deficiency was verified by analysis of urinary acylglycine and serum acylcarnitine species from two neonates referred for diagnosis. Full-length cDNA and MCAD exon 7 and 11 genomic clones were prepared for sequence analysis. Normal and mutant cDNAs were expressed in bacteria, and enzymatic activity was assayed by the ferricenium hexaflurophosphate method. Four compound heterozygote individuals from two unrelated families with A985G on one allele and a novel G to A mutation at nucleotide 583 (G583A) as the second mutant allele presented with MCAD deficiency in the first week of life. The expressed G583A mutant protein lacks enzymatic activity. This novel mutation, G583A, is associated with severe MCAD deficiency causing hypoglycemia or sudden, unexpected neonatal death. This previously unrecognized phenotype of MCAD deficiency may contribute significantly to preventable infant deaths.


Carbohydrate Counting in Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes.
Carbohydrate counting (CC) is a meal-planning tool for patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) treated with a basal bolus insulin regimen by means of multiple daily injections or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion. It is based on an awareness of foods that contain carbohydrates and their effect on blood glucose. The bolus insulin dose needed is obtained from the total amount of carbohydrates consumed at each meal and the insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio. Evidence suggests that CC may have positive effects on metabolic control and on reducing glycosylated haemoglobin concentration (HbA1c). Moreover, CC might reduce the frequency of hypoglycaemia. In addition, with CC the flexibility of meals and snacks allows children and teenagers to manage their T1D more effectively within their own lifestyles. CC and the bolus calculator can have possible beneficial effects in improving post-meal glucose, with a higher percentage of values within the target. Moreover, CC might be integrated with the counting of fat and protein to more accurately calculate the insulin bolus. In conclusion, in children and adolescents with T1D, CC may have a positive effect on metabolic control, might reduce hypoglycaemia events, improves quality of life, and seems to do so without influencing body mass index; however, more high-quality clinical trials are needed to confirm this positive impact.


Transvenous embolization of an intraorbital arteriovenous fistula using Onyx.
We report a 61-year-old male with an intraorbital arteriovenous fistula. Due to the close proximity of the arterial feeder to the central retinal artery, and the tiny calibre of the draining branches of the superior ophthalmic vein, transvenous embolization of the fistula by Onyx was preferred. The procedure completely obliterated the shunt and the patient had complete relief of symptoms within 6 months.


Release of choline in the isolated heart, an indicator of ischemic phospholipid degradation and its protection by ischemic preconditioning: no evidence for a role of phospholipase D.
The release of choline as a water-soluble product of phospholipid hydrolysis was measured in the perfusate of rat hearts to monitor ischemic membrane degradation and its protection by ischemic preconditioning (IPC). Hearts were subjected to global ischemia (GI; 30 min of no-flow) followed by 60 min of reperfusion. To induce IPC, GI was preceded by four no-flow episodes of 5 min each. Deleterious consequences of GI and reperfusion, namely coronary flow reduction, incidence of arrhythmias and release of cardiac troponin T, were significantly attenuated by IPC. The release of choline increased during reperfusion in a biphasic manner: a first phase peaked immediately after GI and was followed by a second, delayed phase indicating choline release caused during reperfusion. Only the second phase was blocked by both IPC and by AACOCF3 (5 microM), an inhibitor of cytosolic phospholipase A2. The activity of phospholipase D (PLD) was unchanged after GI or IPC or GI plus IPC. In conclusion, choline release into heart perfusate was found to be a useful real-time indicator of phospholipid degradation caused by GI and by reperfusion and its protection by IPC. The results supplement previous observations on the accumulation of fatty acids in the phospholipid pool. There was no evidence for PLD activation by GI or IPC.


[Initial antibacterial prophylaxis after bone marrow allograft. Pilot study with systemic vancomycin].
In 22 consecutive patients treated by allogenic bone marrow transplantation, the authors report their experience in complete gastrointestinal decontamination and prophylactic systemic vancomycin. Neither septicemia from the low digestive tract nor with Gram positive is noticed. A child developed septicemia with Capnocytophaga ochracea, resistant to vancomycin. There is no infectious death in this study and no significative toxicity is reported.


Modeling stem cell development by retrospective analysis of gene expression profiles in single progenitor-derived colonies.
The process of development of various cell types is often based on a linear or deterministic paradigm. This is true, for example, for osteoblast development, a process that occurs through the differentiation of a subset of primitive fibroblast progenitors called colony-forming unit-osteoblasts (CFU-Os). CFU-O differentiation has been subdivided into three stages: proliferation, extracellular matrix development and maturation, and mineralization, with characteristic changes in gene expression at each stage. Few analyses have asked whether CFU-O differentiation, or indeed stem cell differentiation in general, may follow more complex and nondeterministic paths, a possibility that may underlie the substantial number of discrepancies in published reports of progenitor cell developmental sequences. We analyzed 99 single colonies of osteoblast stem/primitive progenitor cells cultured under identical conditions. The colonies were analyzed by global amplification poly(A) polymerase chain reaction to determine which of nine genes had been expressed. We used the expression profiles to develop a statistically rigorous map of the cell fate decisions that occur during osteoprogenitor differentiation and show that different developmental routes can be taken to achieve the same end point phenotype. These routes appear to involve both developmental "dead ends" (leading to the expression of genes not correlated with osteoblast-associated genes or the mature osteoblast phenotype) and developmental flexibility (the existence of multiple gene expression routes to the same developmental end point). Our results provide new insight into the biology of primitive progenitor cell differentiation and introduce a powerful new quantitative method for stem cell lineage analysis that should be applicable to a wide variety of stem cell systems.


The chelating effect of citric acid, oxalic acid, amino acids and Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria on phytoremediation of Cu, Zn, and Cr from soil using Suaeda vera.
Phytoextraction is a green technique for the removal of soil contaminants by plants uptake with the subsequent elimination of the generated biomass. The halophytic plant Suaeda vera Forssk. ex J.F.Gmel. is an native Mediterranean species able to tolerate and accumulate salts and heavy metals in their tissues. The objective of this study was to explore the potential use of S. vera for soil metal phytoextraction and to assess the impact of different chelating agents such as natural organic acids (oxalic acid [OA], citric acid [CA]), amino acids (AA) and Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria (PFB) on the metal uptake and translocation. After 12 months, the highest accumulation of Cu was observed in the root/stem of PFB plots (17.62/8.19 mg/kg), in the root/stem of CA plots for Zn (31.16/23.52 mg/kg) and in the root of OA plots for Cr (10.53 mg/kg). The highest accumulation of metals occurred in the roots (27.33-50.76 mg/kg). Zn was the metal that accumulated at the highest rates in most cases. The phytoextraction percentages were higher for Cu and Zn (∼2%) with respect to Cr (∼1%). The percentages of metal removal from soil indicate the need to monitor soil properties, to recognize the influence of each treatment and to increase the concentration of bioavailable metals by the use of agricultural management practices aimed at promoting plant growth.


Safety and Effectiveness of De-escalated Radiation Dose in T1-3 Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Propensity Matched Analysis.
Backgrounds: With the excellent local control in T1 to T3 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated with intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), the importance of toxicities is increasingly being recognised. This retrospective propensity score analysis sought to assess whether moderate dose reduction compromised long-term outcome compared with standard dose in T1-3 NPCs. Materials and Methods: A total of 266 patients (67 female, 199 male) with a median age of 50 years between June 2011 and June 2015 were analysed. All were treated with IMRT, with or without systemic chemotherapy. The prescription radiation dose to gross tumor is 70Gy/2.12Gy/33F in our institution. Results: With a median follow-up time of 50 months, the 5-year loco-regional failure-free survival (LRFS) and overall survival (OS) were 93.5% and 81.8%, respectively. 32 patients received radiation dose less than prescription dose, with a median dose of 63.6Gy (53-67Gy). Another 234 patients received exactly the prescription dose of 70Gy. Propensity scores were computed (32 patients treated with de-escalated dose and 64 patients with standard dose), there was no significant difference in 5-year LRFS and 5-year OS between the two groups (92.5% and 91.7% with standard dose; 82.1% and 85.7% with de-escalation dose; p=0.863 for LRFS and 0.869 for OS). No independent prognostic factor was associated with loco-regional failure in univariate analysis. Conclusions: T1-3 nasopharyngeal carcinoma presenting with superior locoregional control, a moderately reduced dose (about 10%) delivered with IMRT resulted in comparable prognosis to those with prescription dose of 70Gy.


Evaluating Wharton's Jelly-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell's Survival, Migration, and Expression of Wound Repair Markers under Conditions of Ischemia-Like Stress.
The efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy is currently limited by low retention and poor survival of transplanted cells as demonstrated by clinical studies. This is mainly due to the harsh microenvironment created by oxygen and nutrient deprivation and inflammation at the injured sites. The choice of MSC source could be critical in determining fate and cellular function of MSCs under stress. Our objective here was to investigate the influence of ischemia-like stress on Wharton's jelly MSCs (WJ-MSCs) from human umbilical cord to assess their therapeutic relevance in ischemic diseases. We simulated conditions of ischemia in vitro by culturing WJ-MSCs in 2% oxygen in serum deprived and low glucose medium. Under these conditions, WJ-MSCs retained viable population of greater than 80%. They expressed the characteristic MSC surface antigens at levels comparable to the control WJ-MSCs and were negative for the expression of costimulatory molecules. An upregulation of many ECM and adhesion molecules and growth and angiogenic factors contributing to wound healing and regeneration was noted in the ischemic WJ-MSC population by a PCR array. Their migration ability, however, got impaired. Our findings provide evidence that WJ-MSCs might be therapeutically beneficial and potent in healing wounds under ischemic conditions.


Analysis of histological and immunohistochemical patterns of the liver in posthepatitic and alcoholic cirrhosis by computerized morphometry.
To assess the degree of fibrosis and the structural changes affecting parenchymal and extraparenchymal components in liver cirrhosis, a computerized morphometric model has been applied to liver specimens from patients with posthepatitic and alcoholic cirrhosis. All specimens have been stained with chromotrope-aniline blue method and monoclonal antibodies against cytokeratin 7, CD31, and VIII factor. Volume fractions of parenchymal compartment and fibrosis have been determined stereologically on CAB slices; moreover, volume fractions of portal bile ducts and proliferated bile ductules, hepatocytes with biliary metaplasia, capillary units, and vascular structures have been measured. Volume fraction of fibrosis was higher in alcoholic cirrhosis when compared with the case of posthepatitic cirrhosis. Volume fractions describing parenchymal compartment showed a similar trend in both viral groups. The main differences were related to immunohistochemical stainings. Volume fraction of hepatocytes with biliary metaplasia was higher in hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis, whereas volume fractions of biliary structures were more prominent in hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis. Capillary units were more prominent in posthepatitic cirrhosis than in alcoholic cirrhosis. Interestingly, both forms of posthepatitic cirrhosis show similar features when compared with alcoholic cirrhosis. Our computerized morphometric model well describes and quantifies the morphological alterations of the liver, and it could represent an adjunctive tool to evaluate the degree of dysplastic phenomena involving parenchymal and extraparenchymal components.


The effect of aspartame and sucralose intake on body weight measures and blood metabolites: role of their form (solid and/or liquid) of ingestion.
The ingestion of non-caloric sweeteners (NCS) from food and/or drink was intended to reduce caloric intake without compromising palatability. However, the inconclusive relation between NCS and body weight may partially relate to their form of ingestion (solid or liquid). Thus, two paralleled experiments (aspartame and sucralose) were conducted. In each, Sprague Dawley rats (7-week-old male) were randomly divided into four groups. In Expt 1, aspartame (0·05 %) was added to the diet (AD) or drinking water (AW) or both diet and water (ADW), and a control group (C) was given a non-sweetened diet with plain water. In Expt 2, sucralose (0·016 %) was similarly provided in the diet (SD) or drinking water (SW) or both diet and water (SDW), with a control group (C). All rats had free access to food and water for 7 weeks. Energy intake, body weight and body composition were monitored and blood metabolites were determined. Results showed that aspartame ingestion significantly increased body weight and fat mass mainly due to an increase in energy efficiency. The effect was related to the amount rather than the form of ingestion. Additionally, aspartame ingestion was associated with glucose intolerance. Sucralose ingestion had a similar impact to that of aspartame though to a lesser extent. In conclusion, 7-week ingestion of aspartame and sucralose had adverse effects on body measures that were not related to the form of ingestion.


Evaluation of antioxidant activity, colour and some nutritional characteristics of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) juice and its sour concentrate processed by conventional evaporation.
In this study the antioxidant activity, colour and some nutritional characteristics of pomegranate juice (PJ) and its traditional sour concentrate (CPJ), produced in Denizli, Turkey, were analysed. The total anthocyanin content of PJ was found to be 492.9 mg/l but it was not determined in CPJ. The total phenolics were also found to be 3,246 and 9,870 microg/ml in PJ and CPJ, respectively. The antioxidant activity (percentage of inhibition of on peroxidation in linoleic acid system) of CPJ was determined to be higher (85.91%) than that of PJ (79.06%). During the concentration process, the reducing sugars, glucose and fructose level of CPJ showed an increase to 46.46%, 23.89%, and 22.53%, respectively. In CPJ the amounts of sodium, iron, zinc, copper and lead were found lower than those of PJ. On the other hand, potassium and magnesium mineral contents increased during concentration. Among the various elements, cadmium, mercury, manganese, cobalt and boron were also analysed for determination of metallic contamination, but they were not found in PJ juice and CPJ. 5-Hydroxymethyl furfural was determined to be at a significant level in CPJ as a result of the heat process.


Reduced radiation exposure of the female breast during low-dose chest CT using organ-based tube current modulation and a bismuth shield: comparison of image quality and radiation dose.
The objective of our study was to evaluate the effect of organ-based tube current modulation and bismuth shielding on image quality and breast radiation dose in women undergoing low-dose chest CT. From March 2011 through July 2011, 80 women prospectively underwent low-dose chest CT to screen for lung cancer. The patients were randomly assigned to a control group (n = 20), organ-based tube current modulation group (n = 20), breast shield group (n = 20), or breast shield plus organ-based tube current modulation group (n = 20). Axial slice images of the aortic arch, carina, and inferior pulmonary vein were used to analyze image quality. Three radiologists scored the image quality in terms of artifact and noise and then characterized the overall image quality as optimal (does not affect the diagnostic accuracy) or suboptimal (affects the diagnostic accuracy). Noise levels were measured in the anterior and posterior lung in each image. A phantom dose study was conducted to measure radiation dose. Images with artifacts or noise were more frequently obtained in the breast shield groups; however, the overall image quality was not significantly different among the four groups. Measured noise levels in the anterior lung were significantly higher in the breast shield groups than the control group; however, no statistical significance was found among the four groups with regard to noise level in the posterior lung. In the phantom dose study, a 16-37.5% dose reduction in the breast was achieved using the breast shield, organ-based tube current modulation protocol, or both. The radiation dose in the female breast may be reduced using a breast shield or organ-based tube current modulation during low-dose chest CT with acceptable image quality. The use of organ-based tube current modulation reduced the radiation dose in the breast without inducing image quality deterioration.


[Obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome: reproductive issues].
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is responsible for most cases of anovulatory infertility. Hyperandrogenism, follicle excess and follicular arrest play a fundamental role that is amplified by obsesity and particularly by visceral fat excess. Hyperinsulinism is the main culprit in this aggravation. The impact of obseity on female fertility also involves extra-ovarian phenomena, and particularly negative effects on the endometrium that can lead to implantation failure and miscarriage


Infrared spectroscopy of hydrated sulfate dianions.
We report the first infrared spectra of multiply-charged anions in the gas phase. The spectra of SO(4) (2-)(H(2)O)(n), with n=3-24, show four main bands assigned to two vibrations of the dianionic core, the water bending mode, and solvent libration. The triply degenerate SO(4) (2-) antisymmetric stretch vibration probes the local solvent symmetry, while the solvent librational band is sensitive to the hydrogen bonding network. The spectra and accompanying electronic structure calculations indicate a highly symmetric structure for the n=6 cluster and closure of the first solvation shell at n=12.


Nutrient intake of women 3 years after Roux-en-Y Gastric bypass surgery.
Nutritional deficiencies, especially micronutrient deficiencies, can occur in obese individuals. Surgical treatment may aggravate or cause these deficiencies, depending on the type of procedure, food intake and the use of multivitamins, minerals or other supplements. The objective of the study was to evaluate the nutrient intake of women who had undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery. A cross-sectional, controlled study was conducted among 44 women after RYGB (operated-group, OG; mean years post-operation = 3.4) and a control group of 38 healthy women (non-operated group, NOG) matched by age and economic condition. The women reported their dietary intake using a 4-day record. The Dietary Reference Intakes was used as a reference. The macronutrient contributions to dietary energy intake presented an acceptable distribution for proteins and carbohydrates. Lipid intake was high among women in the OG and the NOG (43.2 and 55.3 %, respectively). In the evaluation of micronutrients, a statistically significant difference was observed between the groups for iron, zinc and vitamins B1 and B12. Both groups were at high risk for inadequate calcium intake, and the OG was at risk for inadequate zinc, iron and vitamin B1 intake. The nutrient intake of women who had undergone RYGB is very similar to that of non-operated women, with the exception of a reduced intake of iron, zinc and vitamins B1 and B12, which may be due to the difficulty of consuming meat and a balanced diet. The findings of this study emphasize the importance of appropriate nutritional intervention and the regular use of multivitamin and mineral supplements for these patients.


Genotype-phenotype relationship in hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia.
Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterised by vascular malformations in multiple organ systems, resulting in mucocutaneous telangiectases and arteriovenous malformations predominantly in the lungs (pulmonary arteriovenous malformation; PAVM), brain (cerebral arteriovenous malformation; CAVM), and liver (hepatic arteriovenous malformation; HAVM). Mutations in the ENG and ALK-1 genes lead to HHT1 and HHT2 respectively. In this study, a genotype-phenotype analysis was performed. A uniform and well classified large group of HHT patients and their family members were screened for HHT manifestations. Groups of patients with a clinically confirmed diagnosis and/or genetically established diagnosis (HHT1 or HHT2) were compared. The frequency of PAVM, CAVM, HAVM, and gastrointestinal telangiectases were determined to establish the genotype-phenotype relationship. The analysis revealed differences between HHT1 and HHT2 and within HHT1 and HHT2 between men and women. PAVMs and CAVMs occur more often in HHT1, whereas HAVMs are more frequent in HHT2. Furthermore, there is a higher prevalence of PAVM in women compared with men in HHT1. In HHT1 and HHT2, there is a higher frequency of HAVM in women. HHT1 has a distinct, more severe phenotype than HHT2. There is a difference in the presence of symptoms between men and women. With these data, genetic counselling can be given more accurately when the family mutation is known.


Role of the amino latch of staphylococcal alpha-hemolysin in pore formation: a co-operative interaction between the N terminus and position 217.
Staphylococcal alpha-hemolysin (alphaHL) is a beta barrel pore-forming toxin that is secreted by the bacterium as a water-soluble monomeric protein. Upon binding to susceptible cells, alphaHL assembles via an inactive prepore to form a water-filled homoheptameric transmembrane pore. The N terminus of alphaHL, which in the crystal structure of the fully assembled pore forms a latch between adjacent subunits, has been thought to play a vital role in the prepore to pore conversion. For example, the deletion of two N-terminal residues produced a completely inactive protein that was arrested in assembly at the prepore stage. In the present study, we have re-examined assembly with a comprehensive set of truncation mutants. Surprisingly, we found that after truncation of up to 17 amino acids, the ability of alphaHL to form functional pores was diminished, but still substantial. We then discovered that the mutation Ser(217) --> Asn, which was present in our original set of truncations but not in the new ones, promotes complete inactivation upon truncation of the N terminus. Therefore, the N terminus of alphaHL cannot be critical for the prepore to pore transformation as previously thought. Residue 217 is involved in the assembly process and must interact indirectly with the distant N terminus during the last step in pore formation. In addition, we provide evidence that an intact N terminus prevents the premature oligomerization of alphaHL monomers in solution.


Global Proteome Profiling Revealed the Adaptive Reprogramming of Barley Flag Leaf to Drought and Elevated Temperature.
Plants, as sessile organisms, have developed sophisticated mechanisms to survive in changing environments. Recent advances in omics approaches have facilitated the exploration of plant genomes; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the responses of barley and other cereals to multiple abiotic stresses remain largely unclear. Exposure to stress stimuli affects many proteins with regulatory and protective functions. In the present study, we employed liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry to identify stress-responsive proteins on the genome-wide scale of barley flag leaves exposed to drought, heat, or both. Profound alterations in the proteome of genotypes with different flag leaf sizes were found. The role of stress-inducible proteins was discussed and candidates underlying the universal stress response were proposed, including dehydrins. Moreover, the putative functions of several unknown proteins that can mediate responses to stress stimuli were explored using Pfam annotation, including calmodulin-like proteins. Finally, the confrontation of protein and mRNA abundances was performed. A correlation network between transcripts and proteins performance revealed several components of the stress-adaptive pathways in barley flag leaf. Taking the findings together, promising candidates for improving the tolerance of barley and other cereals to multivariate stresses were uncovered. The presented proteomic landscape and its relationship to transcriptomic remodeling provide novel insights for understanding the molecular responses of plants to environmental cues.


Kaempferol inhibits gastric cancer tumor growth: An in vitro and in vivo study.
Kaempferol, which is one of the general flavonoids, has recently been reported to suppress proliferation, induce cell cycle arrest and promote apoptosis in various human cancer cell lines. In the present study, the effect and mechanism of kaempferol on gastric cancer (GC) was examined. The results showed that kaempferol significantly inhibited the proliferation of MKN28 and SGC7901 cell lines. However, no significant inhibition in the GSE-1 normal gastric epithelial cell line in our experimental dose was detected. Additionally, significant apoptosis and G2/M phase cell cycle arrest were identified following the treatment of kaempferol. More importantly, we observed that kaempferol inhibited the growth of the tumor xenografts although no marked effects on liver, spleen or body weight were induced. The expression levels of G2/M cell cycle‑regulating factors, cyclin B1, Cdk1 and Cdc25C, were significantly reduced. In addition, kaempferol treatment markedly decreased the level of Bcl-2 concomitant with an increase in Bax expression, resulting in the upregulation of cleaved caspase-3 and -9, which promoted PARP cleavage. Kaempferol-treated cells also led to a decrease in p-Akt, p-ERK and COX-2 expression levels. The present study therefore provided evidence that kaempferol may be a therapeutic agent for GC.


Electrocardiographic monitoring during hysterosalpingography.
Five hundred hysterosalpinogograms were performed over a 2 1/2-year period at Louisville General Hospital for infertility evaluation, followup of tubal sterilization or localization of intrauterine contraceptive devices. The incidence of significant vasomotor reactions to the procedure was 5.0%. Of the 500 procedures performed, 30 were selected for electrocardiographic monitoring. Among these 30 patients, sinus bradycardia was noted in 5 and sinus tachycardia in 6 patients. No other significant electrocardiographic changes were noted, although transient minor alterations of rate occurred frequently. Predisposing factors and preventive measures are discussed.


Dependency of image quality on system configuration parameters in a stationary digital breast tomosynthesis system.
In principle, a stationary digital breast tomosynthesis (s-DBT) system has better image quality when compared to continuous motion DBT systems due to zero motion blur of the source. The authors have developed a s-DBT system by using a linear carbon nanotube x-ray source array. The purpose of the current study was to quantitatively evaluate the performance of the s-DBT system; and investigate the dependence of imaging quality on the system configuration parameters. Physical phantoms were used to assess the image quality of each configuration including inplane resolution as measured by the modulation transfer function (MTF), inplane contrast as measured by the signal difference to noise ratio (SdNR), and depth resolution as measured by the z-axis artifact spread function. Five parameters were varied to create five groups of configurations: (1) total angular span; (2) total number of projection images; (3) distribution of exposure (mAs) across the projection images; (4) entrance dose; (5) detector pixel size. It was found that the z-axis depth resolution increased with the total angular span but was insensitive to the number of projection images, mAs distribution, entrance dose, and detector pixel size. The SdNR was not affected by the angular span or the number of projection images. A decrease in SdNR was observed when the mAs was not evenly distributed across the projection images. As expected, the SdNR increased with entrance dose and when larger pixel sizes were used. For a given detector pixel size, the inplane resolution was found to be insensitive to the total angular span, number of projection images, mAs distribution, and entrance dose. A 25% increase in the MTF was observed when the detector was operating in full resolution mode (70 μm pixel size) compared to 2 × 2 binned mode (140 μm pixel size). The results suggest that the optimal imaging configuration for a s-DBT system is a large angular span, an intermittent number of projection views, and a uniform mAs distribution over all views. With the detector operating at full resolution, a stationary DBT system can achieve an inplane resolution of 5.1 cycles per mm, which is significantly better than continuous motion DBT systems.


[Influence of bilateral stellate ganglion block on hemodynamics].
This study was designed to investigate the influence of bilateral stellate ganglion block (SGB) on hemodynamics in 15 mongrel dogs. Following general anesthesia, each dog received SGB with 1.5% mepivacaine. Cardiovascular effect of bilateral SGB was assessed by measuring mean artery pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), cardiac output (CO), right atrial pressure (RAP), mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPAP), pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) and common carotid arterial blood flow (CCAF). These were measured directly by a Swan-Ganz catheter and ultrasonic blood flow meter, during the first 15 minutes after SGB. A decrease of MAP and HR was observed after bilateral SGB. CO decreased for 13% compared with the control value. However, this change was not statistically significant. There was a significant increase in the bilateral CCAF, but the degree of the increase of CCAF was greater after unilateral SGB than after the bilateral SGB.


Transcriptome Profiling of Pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) Challenged With Pathogenic Aeromonas hydrophila: Inference on Immune Gene Response.
Pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) is a Neotropical fish of major importance for South American aquaculture. Septicemia caused by Aeromonas hydrophila bacteria is currently considered a substantial threat for pacu aquaculture that have provoked infectious disease outbreaks with high economic losses. The understanding of molecular aspects on progress of A. hydrophila infection and pacu immune response is scarce, which have limited the development of genomic selection for resistance to this infection. The present study aimed to generate information on transcriptome of pacu in face of A. hydrophila infection, and compare the transcriptomic responses between two groups of time-series belonging to a disease resistance challenge, peak mortality (HM) and mortality plateau (PM) groups of individuals. Nine RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) libraries were prepared from liver tissue of challenged individuals, generating ∼160 million 150 bp pair-end reads. After quality trimming/cleanup, these reads were assembled de novo generating 211,259 contigs. When the expression of genes from individuals of HM group were compared to individuals from control group, a total of 4,413 differentially expressed transcripts were found (2,000 upregulated and 2,413 downregulated candidate genes). Additionally, 433 transcripts were differentially expressed when individuals from MP group were compared with those in the control group (155 upregulated and 278 downregulated candidate genes). The resulting differentially expressed transcripts were clustered into the following functional categories: cytokines and signaling, epithelial protection, antigen processing and presentation, apoptosis, phagocytosis, complement system cascades and pattern recognition receptors. The proposed results revealing relevant differential gene expression on HM and PM groups which will contribute to a better understanding of the molecular defense mechanisms during A. hydrophila infection.


Volumetric segmentation of biological cells and subcellular structures for optical diffraction tomography images.
Three-dimensional, quantitative imaging of biological cells and their internal structures performed by optical diffraction tomography (ODT) is an important part of biomedical research. However, conducting quantitative analysis of ODT images requires performing 3D segmentation with high accuracy, often unattainable with available segmentation methods. Therefore, in this work, we present a new semi-automatic method, called ODT-SAS, which combines several non-machine-learning techniques to segment cells and 2 types of their organelles: nucleoli and lipid structures (LS). ODT-SAS has been compared with Cellpose and slice-by-slice manual segmentation, respectively, in cell segmentation and organelles segmentation. The comparison shows superiority of ODT-SAS over Cellpose and reveals the potential of our technique in detecting cells, nucleoli and LS.


[Differences of saikosaponin contents in Bupleurum chinense from habitats in Dongling Mountain & Wuling Mountain of Beijing].
The different growing habitats of Bupleurum chinense were investigated in Donglin mountain & Wuling mountain areas, the saikosaponin a and d in samples of B. chinense collected from different habitats were determined by HPLC. Results showed that B. chinense distributed in various habitats, such as meadow, understory and brushy. Significant differences of saikosaponin contents were observed. The higher saikosaponins contents were showed in samples from meadow habitats, while the lower saikosaponins contents in samples from understory and brushy habitats. The ventilation situation and light condition showed positive correlation with the saikosaponins accumulation in B. chinense. It could be concluded that growing habitats play an important role in accumulation of saikosaponins in B. chinense.


Does gender identity influence children's psychological well-being?
This study examined influences of gender identity on change in preadolescents' adjustment over time. In each of two successive years, three measures of gender identity (felt gender typicality, contentment with gender assignment, and felt pressure for gender conformity) and four measures of adjustment (self-esteem, internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and acceptance by peers) were collected. Low gender typicality, low gender contentedness, and high felt pressure all foreshadowed deterioration on one or more indexes of adjustment. The combination of low gender typicality with high felt pressure was especially conducive to internalizing problems, underscoring the importance of the cognitive organization of the gender identity variables. The advantages of a multidimensional perspective on gender identity are discussed.


[Characteristics of gut virome and microbiome in patients with stroke].
To explore the differences in gut virome and microbiome between patients with stroke and healthy volunteers. Fifteen patients with acute ischemic stroke treated in the Department of Neurology of Nanfang Hospital between February, 2014 and February, 2016 and 15 healthy volunteers matched for age and sex were enrolled in this study. Virome sequencing and 16S rRNA sequencing were performed on stool samples of all the participants, and the composition and structures of the virome and microbiome were compared between the two groups. No significant difference was found in the overall diversity of virome between the stroke patients and the healthy volunteers (alpha diversity: P=0.320; beta diversity: P=0.169, R2=0.037), but virome composition differed significantly between the two groups. The relative abundance of Bacteroides phage B40_8 and Cronobacter phage CS01 increased significantly in patients with stroke. The structures and composition of the microbiome in patients with stroke also differed significantly from those of the healthy volunteers (alpha diversity: P=0.950; beta diversity: P=0.005, R2=0.117). The relative abundance of Megasphaera increased while that of Bifidobacterium decreased in patients with stroke. Correlation analysis showed that in the virome of stroke patients, the relative abundance of the phage preying Streptococcus was positively correlated with that of their hosts (r=0.550, P=0.036), while in the virome of healthy volunteers, the relative abundance of the phage preying Faecalibacterium (r=0.520, P=0.049), Bilophila (r=0.541, P=0.040) and Roseburia (r=0.526, P=0.046) were positively correlated with that of their respective hosts. Stroke patients have similar overall diversity of the virome to healthy volunteers but different virome composition and interaction patterns between the virome and microbiome. The gut microbiome also differs between stroke patients and healthy volunteers. The relative abundance of opportunistic pathogens increases but that of symbiotic bacteria decreases in stroke patients.


Two antiproliferative saponins of Tarenna grevei from the Madagascar dry forest [1].
Antiproliferative bioassay-guided fractionation of the ethanol extract of the endemic Malagasy Rubiaceous plant Tarenna grevei led to the isolation of two new antiproliferative oxygenated oleanane triterpene saponins. The structures of the two active compounds were elucidated as 23-hydroxylongispinogenin 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1) and longispinogenin 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1 --> 2)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (3) by analyses of their spectral data including 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy and chemical evidence. Compounds 1 and 3 displayed moderate antiproliferative activity against the A2780 ovarian cancer cell line with IC50 values of 7.6 and 4 microM, respectively.


Accurate and precise determination of silver isotope fractionation in environmental samples by multicollector-ICPMS.
High precision silver isotope ratios in environmental samples were determined by multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS). Purification of Ag from sample matrixes was performed by a two stage tandem column setup with use of anion and cation exchange resin, sequentially. It was found that 1% HNO(3) and 3% HCl was efficient to stabilize Ag in the final purified sample digests prior to MC-ICPMS determination. Pd at 2 mug g(-1) was added to both sample and Ag standard solution as a common doping matrix as well as an internal standard for mass bias correction. Mass discrimination and instrument drift were corrected by a combination of internal normalization with Pd and standard-sample-standard bracketing, without assuming identical mass bias for Pd and Ag. NIST SRM 978a (silver isotopic standard reference material) was used for method validation and subjected to column separation and sample preparation processes. A value of -0.003 +/- 0.010 per thousand for delta(107/109)Ag (mean and 2SD, n = 4) was obtained, confirming accurate results can be obtained using the proposed method. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on delta(107/109)Ag variations in environmental samples. Significant differences in Ag isotope ratios were found among NIST SRM 978a standard, sediment CRM PACS-2, domestic sludge SRM 2781, industrial sludge 2782, and the fish liver CRM DOLT-4. The sediment CRM PACS-2 has a very small negative delta(107/109)Ag value of -0.025 +/- 0.012 per thousand (2SD, n = 4). The domestic sludge SRM 2781 has a negative delta(107/109)Ag value of -0.061 +/- 0.010 per thousand (2SD, n = 4), whereas industrial sludge SRM 2782 has a positive delta(107/109)Ag value of +0.044 +/- 0.014 per thousand (2SD, n = 4), which may indicate the contribution of Ag from different anthropogenic inputs. DOLT-4 has a much larger negative value of -0.284 +/- 0.014 per thousand (2SD, n = 4), possibly caused by biological processes. These observations confirm that Ag isotope fractionation may provide a useful tool for fingerprinting sources of Ag in the environment and for studying a wide variety of chemical and biological processes in nature. High precision of better than +/-0.015 per thousand (2SD, n = 4) obtained in real sample matrixes makes the present method well suited for monitoring small Ag isotope fractionation in nature.


Headache and biomarkers predictive of vascular disease in a representative sample of US children.
To examine the association of childhood headache disorders with markers of risk for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Information was collected on severe or recurrent headache or migraine in childhood or adolescence and on biomarkers predictive of vascular disease. The National Health and Nutrition Survey, a nationally representative health survey. Children or adolescents aged 4 to 19 years (n = 11 770) who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Survey in 1999 through 2004. Headache. Body mass index; levels of C-reactive protein, homocysteine, serum and red blood cell folate, vitamin B(12), methylmalonic acid, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and uric acid; and platelet count. Mean values for body mass index, C-reactive protein, and homocysteine were higher in children with than without headaches, and more children with headaches were in the highest quintile of risk for these factors. Serum and red blood cell folate levels were lower in children with headache. More children with headache were in the highest quintile of risk for 3 or more of these factors. Several important risk factors for long-term vascular morbidity cluster in children and adolescents with severe or recurrent headache or migraine. Further study and screening of children with headaches may permit improved preventive management.


A topographic mechanism for arcing of dryland vegetation bands.
Banded patterns consisting of alternating bare soil and dense vegetation have been observed in water-limited ecosystems across the globe, often appearing along gently sloped terrain with the stripes aligned transverse to the elevation gradient. In many cases, these vegetation bands are arced, with field observations suggesting a link between the orientation of arcing relative to the grade and the curvature of the underlying terrain. We modify the water transport in the Klausmeier model of water-biomass interactions, originally posed on a uniform hillslope, to qualitatively capture the influence of terrain curvature on the vegetation patterns. Numerical simulations of this modified model indicate that the vegetation bands arc convex-downslope when growing on top of a ridge, and convex-upslope when growing in a valley. This behaviour is consistent with observations from remote sensing data that we present here. Model simulations show further that whether bands grow on ridges, valleys or both depends on the precipitation level. A survey of three banded vegetation sites, each with a different aridity level, indicates qualitatively similar behaviour.