Neuropsychological characteristics of adults with ADHD: a comprehensive review of initial studies.
The role of neuropsychological evaluation in the diagnosis of adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a growing area of research and clinical interest. Our review of the literature indicates that adults with ADHD demonstrate subtle impairments on select measures of attention and executive functions, auditory-verbal list learning, and complex information processing speed relative to normal controls. The validity of these findings is nonetheless hampered by several limitations, including methodological and sample variability, a restricted range of interpretive techniques, and uncertain discriminant validity. Recommendations are offered to advance the cognitive and neurobehavioral understanding of this disorder and to enhance the utility of neuropsychological methods for diagnosis and management of adults with ADHD.


What kinds of three-dimensional nets are possible with tris-chelated metal complexes as building blocks?
Tris-chelated metal complexes with octahedral geometry are sometimes used as building blocks for "self assembly" and "crystal engineering". These versatile building blocks easily form honey-comb type 2D nets. However, in this Perspective we discuss the different types of 3D nets that can be formed with these starting materials using Wells classification, and concentrate on the (10,3) nets. We show that several of these, and not only the (10,3)-a net, are possible by analysing the geometrical requirements of each net. We note that each possible net implies a specific assembly order of Delta or Lambda chirality of the building blocks.


Genetic correlations between performance traits and radiographic findings in the limbs of German Warmblood riding horses.
Results of mare performance tests in the field (MPT-F) of 10,949 mares, mare performance tests at station (MPT-S) of 1,712 mares, and inspections of horses intended for sale at riding horse auctions (AU) of 4,772 horses were used to investigate genetic correlations between corresponding performance traits. Mare performance tests were held in 1995 to 2004 and auction inspections in 1999 to 2004. Scores on a scale from 0 to 10 were given for gaits under rider (walk, trot, canter), rideability (evaluated by judging commission and test rider), free-jumping (ability, style, total), and character. Radiography results of 5,102 Hanoverian Warmblood horses were used to investigate genetic correlations between performance traits and particular radiographic findings. The radiographic findings included osseous fragments in fetlock and hock joints, deforming arthropathy in hock joints, and distinct radiographic findings in the navicular bones, which were analyzed as binary traits, and radiographic appearance of the navicular bones, which was analyzed as a quasi-linear trait. Genetic parameters were estimated multivariately in linear animal models with REML using information on the horses radiographed and their contemporaries (n = 18,609). Heritability of performance traits ranged between 0.14 and 0.61, and heritability of radiographic findings between 0.14 and 0.33. Additive genetic correlations between corresponding performance traits were close to unity for MPT-F and MPT-S, ranged from 0.81 to 0.90 for MPT-F and AU, and were 0.75 to 0.92 for MPT-S and AU. Genetic correlations between performance and radiography results were mostly close to zero. Indications of negative additive genetic correlations were observed for deforming arthropathy in hock joints and canter, rideability evaluated by test rider, jumping traits and character, and osseous fragments in hock joints and character. Selection of horses for radiological health of their limbs will assist further genetic improvement of the performance of young Warm-blood riding horses.


A Randomized Clinical Trial of Intravenous and Intramuscular Ketamine for Pediatric Procedural Sedation and Analgesia.
Ketamine is an agent broadly used for pediatric procedural sedation and analgesia in emergency departments. It has been found to be safe and with a low risk of complications. Choosing between intravenous (IV) and intramuscular (IM) injections is a matter of concern, so we did a comparison between the two methods in terms of their efficacy and rate of complications. This single-blind clinical trial recruited 240 children (age: three months to 15 years, weight > 5 kg), who underwent short and painful procedures at the emergency departments. They were randomly allocated to two groups of 120 patients to receive either IV or IM ketamine with of 1.5 and 4 mg/kg doses, respectively. Indications for use, dose, side effects, and efficacy of the medications as well as duration of the procedure and time to recovery were compared between the two groups. The mean age of the IV and IM groups were 6.5 ± 3.6 and 3.05 ± 2.6 years, respectively (p < 0.001). The onset of action of ketamine was 1.7 ± 1.1 minutes in the IV group and 8.6 ± 3.1 in the IM ones (p < 0.001). Patients of the IV and IM groups remained in optimal sedation for 20.6±12.0 and 37.2±11.8 minutes, respectively (P < 0.001). Time until emergency department discharge was 65.3 ± 36.9 minutes in the IV group and 72.2 ± 14.5 in the IM group (P = 0.40). Ketamine had excellent and moderate efficacy in 66.7% and 32.5% of the IV group and 70.0% and 25.0% in the IM group, respectively (p = 0.02). Totally, 60.0% of IV group patients and 40.0% of IM group experienced drug side effects (p = 0.21). Need for rescue dose was significantly higher in IV group (26.7% vs. 10.0%; p < 0.001). Finally, recovery was tranquil and comfortable in 88 patients (73.3%) of the IV group and 108 patients (90.0%) of the IM group (p = 0.06). We found that although the sedative and analgesic effects of IM and IV ketamine are not significantly different, duration of effect and onset of action are more desirable in the IV group for suturing, fracture reduction, and foreign body removal. Meanwhile, the IM method can lead to lesser need of rescue doses.


Leveraging Antibody, B Cell and Fc Receptor Interactions to Understand Heterogeneous Immune Responses in Tuberculosis.
Despite over a century of research, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), continues to kill 1.5 million people annually. Though less than 10% of infected individuals develop active disease, the specific host immune responses that lead to Mtb transmission and death, as well as those that are protective, are not yet fully defined. Recent immune correlative studies demonstrate that the spectrum of infection and disease is more heterogenous than has been classically defined. Moreover, emerging translational and animal model data attribute a diverse immune repertoire to TB outcomes. Thus, protective and detrimental immune responses to Mtb likely encompass a framework that is broader than T helper type 1 (Th1) immunity. Antibodies, Fc receptor interactions and B cells are underexplored host responses to Mtb. Poised at the interface of initial bacterial host interactions and in granulomatous lesions, antibodies and Fc receptors expressed on macrophages, neutrophils, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, T and B cells have the potential to influence local and systemic adaptive immune responses. Broadening the paradigm of protective immunity will offer new paths to improve diagnostics and vaccines to reduce the morbidity and mortality of TB.


Immunoinformatics aided approach for predicting potent cytotoxic T cell epitopes of respiratory syncytial virus.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an infectious viral pathogen that causing serious respiratory infection in adults and neonates. The only approved therapies for RSV are the monoclonal antibodies palivizumab and its derivative motavizumab. Both treatments are expensive and require a hospital setting for administration. A vaccine represents a safe, effective and cheaper alternative for preventing RSV infection. In silico prediction methods have proven to be valuable in speeding up the process of vaccine design. In this study, reverse vaccinology methods were used to predict the cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) epitopes from the entire proteome of RSV strain A. From amongst 3402 predicted binders to 12 high frequency alleles from the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB), 567 had positive processing scores while 327 epitopes were predicted to be immunogenic. A thorough examination of the 327 epitopes for possible antigenicity, allergenicity and toxicity resulted in 95 epitopes with desirable properties. A BLASTp analysis revealed 94 unique and non-homologous epitopes that were subjected to molecular docking across the 12 high frequency alleles. The final dataset of 70 epitopes contained 13 experimentally proven and 57 unique epitopes from a total of 11 RSV proteins. From our findings on selected T-cell-specific RSV antigen epitopes, notably the four epitopes confirmed to exhibit stable binding by molecular dynamics. The prediction pipeline used in this study represents an effective way to screen the immunogenic epitopes from other pathogens.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.


Automatic segmentation of corpus callosum using Gaussian mixture modeling and Fuzzy C means methods.
This paper presents a comparative study of the success and performance of the Gaussian mixture modeling and Fuzzy C means methods to determine the volume and cross-sectionals areas of the corpus callosum (CC) using simulated and real MR brain images. The Gaussian mixture model (GMM) utilizes weighted sum of Gaussian distributions by applying statistical decision procedures to define image classes. In the Fuzzy C means (FCM), the image classes are represented by certain membership function according to fuzziness information expressing the distance from the cluster centers. In this study, automatic segmentation for midsagittal section of the CC was achieved from simulated and real brain images. The volume of CC was obtained using sagittal sections areas. To compare the success of the methods, segmentation accuracy, Jaccard similarity and time consuming for segmentation were calculated. The results show that the GMM method resulted by a small margin in more accurate segmentation (midsagittal section segmentation accuracy 98.3% and 97.01% for GMM and FCM); however the FCM method resulted in faster segmentation than GMM. With this study, an accurate and automatic segmentation system that allows opportunity for quantitative comparison to doctors in the planning of treatment and the diagnosis of diseases affecting the size of the CC was developed. This study can be adapted to perform segmentation on other regions of the brain, thus, it can be operated as practical use in the clinic.


HIV Infection, Tenofovir, and Urine α1-Microglobulin: A Cross-sectional Analysis in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study.
Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) can cause proximal tubular damage and chronic kidney disease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. Urine α1-microglobulin (A1M), a low-molecular-weight protein indicative of proximal tubular dysfunction, may enable earlier detection of TDF-associated tubular toxicity. Cross-sectional. 883 HIV-infected and 350 -uninfected men enrolled in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. HIV infection and TDF exposure. Urine A1M level. Urine A1M was detectable in 737 (83%) HIV-infected and 202 (58%) -uninfected men (P<0.001). Among HIV-infected participants, 573 (65%) were current TDF users and 112 (13%) were past TDF users. After multivariable adjustment including demographics, traditional kidney disease risk factors, and estimated glomerular filtration rate, HIV infection was associated with 136% (95% CI, 104%-173%) higher urine A1M levels and 1.5-fold (95% CI, 1.3- to 1.6-fold) prevalence of detectable A1M. When participants were stratified by TDF exposure, HIV infection was associated with higher adjusted A1M levels, by 164% (95% CI, 127%-208%) among current users, 124% (95% CI, 78%-183%) among past users, and 76% (95% CI, 45%-115%) among never users. Among HIV-infected participants, each year of cumulative TDF exposure was associated with 7.6% (95% CI, 5.4%-9.9%) higher A1M levels in fully adjusted models, a 4-fold effect size relative to advancing age (1.8% [95% CI, 0.9%-2.7%] per year). Each year since TDF treatment discontinuation was associated with 4.9% (95% CI, -9.4%--0.2%) lower A1M levels among past users. Results may not be generalizable to women. HIV-infected men had higher urine A1M levels compared with HIV-uninfected men. Among HIV-infected men, cumulative TDF exposure was associated with incrementally higher A1M levels, whereas time since TDF treatment discontinuation was associated with progressively lower A1M levels. Urine A1M appears to be a promising biomarker for detecting and monitoring TDF-associated tubular toxicity.


Optical study on electronic transport properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes at high temperature.
The transport properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) above room temperature are studied in this work. The infrared optical properties of SWNTs were investigated to clarify their conduction mechanism at high temperature. We present reflectivity spectra of SWNT mats in the infrared region between 0.08 eV and 0.8 eV under Ar gas flow at temperatures between 330 K and 840 K. These spectra have the typical appearance of the metallic reflectivity. Examination within the framework of the Drude-Lorentz model was performed to work out the electric resistivity for each reflectivity spectrum. It was found that the resistivity of SWNTs increases superlinearly with increasing the temperature from 330 K to 690 K, which can be explained by the quasi-1D metallic term model very well. However, the resistivity at higher temperatures than 690 K exhibited the tendency of saturation and deviated from the quasi-1D metallic term model. This behavior could be attributed to the thermal excitation of free carriers in the semiconducting SWNTs included in the mats.


Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy in the Republic of North Macedonia.
Introduction: Hand-assisted laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy has become the technique of choice for living donor kidney donations. Since 2018, 30 procedures have been performed at our clinic using this technique. The goal of this comparative analysis was to determine how surgical technique, specifically, hand-assisted laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy with hand assistance may affect early graft function when compared to open classical nephrectomy. Material and methods: Retrospective analyses were performed, comparing the two techniques of kidney donation. Kidney transplantation was performed with the open standard technique in both groups. The primary outcome was early graft function, and levels of urine output, and plasma creatinine were analyzed at three time points. A secondary outcome was the quality of the operative technique, which was determined by the time of warm ischemia, blood loss, and duration of surgery. Additionally, we noted all complications, length of hospital stay, and patient satisfaction. Results: In terms of warm ischemia time, there was no statistically significant difference between donors in both groups. It is important to note that in 2 recipients from Group II we did not observe diuresis at the conclusion of the operation. The recipients' diuresis was 515 ml ± 321SD in group I and 444 ml ± 271SD in group II. At 3, 12, and 36 hours postoperatively, there were statistically significant differences in the average serum creatinine values (p 0.05) in favor of group I. Similar results were observed in the second time measurement at 12 h and the third time measurement at 36 h for serum urea levels in recipients. The difference in serum urea values between the recipients in the groups at the first measurement (3h) following surgery was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy is recognized as a safe and effective treatment. Donors in this situation have a different profile from other surgical patients; hence, they do not undergo surgery due to their own medical condition but for an altruistic reason, and with hand-assisted living donor nephrectomy. Such patients receive all the advantages of minimally invasive surgery. The two main objectives of a donor nephrectomy are to give the recipient the best possible kidney and to ensure the donor's complete safety.


In vivo analysis of germ cell apoptosis reveals the existence of stage-specific 'social' control of germ cell death in the seminiferous epithelium.
It has become clear in recent years that programmed cell death is regulated during development by signals from other cells. Nevertheless, compared to the 'social' control of cell proliferation, relatively little is known about the 'social' control of cell death in other systems. Since in a previous study we showed that induced germ cell apoptosis occurs at specific stages of the spermatogenic cycle, in this study we aimed to ascertain the existence of supracellular control of germ cell death during spermatogenesis. Therefore, the TUNEL technique has been used to analyse whether all of the different germ cell types are induced to die at these specific stages in animals injected intratesticularly with one of several inducers of apoptosis. Our findings suggest that all of the investigated agents trigger apoptosis in all the diverse progenies of germ cells existing at stages I, XII or XIV of the spermatogenic cycle. In contrast, at most other stages the number of apoptotic cells was similar to that found in control animals. These data are consistent with the existence of an intercellular control of germ cell death during spermatogenesis. We conclude that the seminiferous epithelium provides a suitable in vivo model to study the mechanisms underlying the 'social' control of apoptosis.


Performance of a microalgal photobioreactor treating toilet wastewater: Pharmaceutically active compound removal and biomass harvesting.
In this study, a 1200L outdoor pilot scale microalgal photobioreactor (PBR) was used for toilet wastewater (WW) treatment and evaluate its ability to remove pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs). The PBR was operated at two different hydraulic retention times (HRTs), which were 8 and 12days, during Period I (September-October) and Period II (October-December), respectively. Algal biomass concentrations varied by operating period because of seasonal changes. Nutrients (ammonia, nitrogen and total phosphorous) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were monitored and efficiently removed in both periods (>80%), attaining the legislation limits. At the theoretical hydraulic steady state in both periods, pharmaceutical removal reached high levels (>48%). Two harvesting techniques were applied to the PBR microalgae effluent. Gravity sedimentation was efficient for biomass removal (>99% in 7min) in Period I when large particles, flocs and aggregates were present. In contrast, a longer sedimentation time was required when biomass was mainly composed of single cells (88% clarification in a 24h in Period II). The second harvesting technique investigated was the co-pelletization of algal biomass with the ligninolytic fungus Trametes versicolor, attaining >98% clarification for Period II biomass once pellets were formed. The novel technology of co-pelletization enabled the complete harvesting of single algae cells from the liquid medium in a sustainable way, which benefits the subsequent use of both biomass and the clarified effluent.


Calcosis in generalized scleroderma.
20 cases of generalized scleroderma with calcinosis, i.e. Thibierge-Weissenbach syndrome, were reviewed concerning the clinical and radiological findings. 60% of the patients complained of esophageal dysfunction, and in 85% radiological abnormalities of the esophagus were found. Gastro-intestinal complaints, with or without radiological changes, were found in accordance with other reports. Decreased pulmonary function was a frequent feature, but only half of these cases showed pulmonary fibrosis on chest X-ray. Calcinosis primarily affects areas of sclerosis, but can be found elsewhere. Six of our patients had intervertebral calcifications in the thoracic and/or lumbar spine. This seems to be a new observation in patients with scleroderma.


How to evaluate and assess quality of life issues in head and neck cancer patients.
Review quality of life (QOL) concepts and most common instruments to be used in patients with head and neck cancer, as well as the potential benefits and limitations of information derived from QOL studies. Information from QOL studies can be clinical predictors of prognosis, serve as potential screening and planning tools for clinical care and rehabilitation efforts. Enhancements in computer technology and the advent of tools like head and neck cancer-specific item prompt list will allow for QOL data to be used more easily. Patients with malignant head and neck neoplasms can present changes in important vital functions related to the disease and its treatment, usually resulting in a negative impact on their QOL. The application of specific questionnaires can be used to measure such impact and the information derived from QOL studies has the potential to be incorporated in the clinical practice to improve the quality of care.


Choline phospholipid metabolism in cancer: consequences for molecular pharmaceutical interventions.
Over the past decade, our program has focused on understanding the role of the physiological environment, tumor vasculature, and metabolism in several of the aggressive phenotypic traits of cancer, such as invasion and metastasis. These studies have been performed primarily with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS) on human breast and prostate cancer models. During the course of these studies, we observed specific changes in choline phospholipid metabolism associated with a more aggressive phenotype. Molecular or pharmacologic interventions that reduced this aggressiveness were also consistent with a reversal of these alterations. In this contextual review, we have outlined the insight we have gained from these studies and have discussed some of the enzymes and pathways that may present novel targets for pharmaceutical interventions in cancer.


Specificity of mouse cytotoxic T lymphocytes stimulated with either HLA-A and -B or HLA-DR antigens reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles.
Distinct populations of murine cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) were elicited from primed spleen cells by preparations of HLA-A and -B (HLA-A,B) or HLA-DR antigens reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles. These populations could be distinguished by both antiserum blocking and by patterns of cytolysis of a panel of target cells. Cytolysis by CTL stimulated with liposomes that contained HLA-A2 and HLA-B7 antigens could only be blocked by antiserum against HLA-A,B antigens but not by antiserum against HLA-DR antigens. The inverse pattern was seen with HLA-DR-stimulated CTL. When compared with a panel of target cells expressing various HLA-A,B or HLA-DR allospecificities, the strongest CTL reactivity was seen toward those cells that bore the same allospecificities as those presented on the liposomes. Target cells that expressed cross-reactive specificities and unrelated specificities were recognized much less well. The implications of the results for the mechanism of CTL stimulation by liposomes, as well as the relationship between allogeneic and xenogeneic CTL recognition, are discussed.


Peripheral vascular resistance increases after termination of obstructive apneas.
The mechanisms by which obstructive apneas produce intermittent surges in arterial pressure remain poorly defined. To determine whether termination of obstructive apneas produce peripheral vasoconstriction, we assessed forearm blood flow during and after obstructive events in sleeping patients experiencing spontaneous upper airway obstructions. In all subjects, heart rate was monitored with an electrocardiogram and blood pressure was monitored continuously with digital plethysmography. In 10 patients (protocol 1), we used forearm plethysmography to assess forearm blood flow, from which we calculated forearm vascular resistance by performing venous occlusions during and after obstructive episodes. In an additional four subjects, we used simultaneous Doppler and B-mode images of the brachial artery to measure blood velocity and arterial diameter, from which we calculated brachial flow continuously during spontaneous apneas (protocol 2). In protocol 1, forearm vascular resistance increased 71% after apnea termination (29.3 +/- 15.4 to 49.8 +/- 26.5 resistance units, P < 0.05) with all patients showing an increase in resistance. In protocol 2, brachial resistance increased at apnea termination in all subjects (219.8 +/- 22.2 to 358.3 +/- 46.1 mmHg x l(-1) x min; P = 0.01). We conclude that termination of obstructive apneas is associated with peripheral vasoconstriction.


Multiple Precaching Vehicle Selection Scheme Based on Set Ranking in Intermittently Connected Vehicular Networks.
In vehicular networks, vehicles download vehicular information for various applications, including safety, convenience, entertainment, and social interaction, from the corresponding content servers via stationary roadside units. Since sufficient RSUs might be difficult to deploy due to rough geographical conditions or high deployment costs, vehicular networks can feature uncovered outage zones between two neighboring RSUs. In these outage zones, vehicles cannot download content, and thus the vehicle networks are defined as intermittently connected vehicular networks. In intermittently connected vehicular networks, the download delay and traffic overhead on the backhaul links are increased due to the large size of the content requested by vehicle users and the long distances between RSUs. Using the mobility information of vehicles, several schemes have been proposed to solve this issue by precaching and relaying content via multiple relaying vehicles in the outage zone. However, because they involved the individual ranking of vehicles for precaching and allocated all of the available precaching amounts to the top-ranking vehicles, they decreased the success rate of content requests and the fairness of vehicle precaching. To overcome the problem of these previous schemes, this paper proposes a multiple precaching vehicle selection (MPVS) scheme that efficiently selects a content-precaching vehicle group with multiple precaching vehicles to precache relayed content in outage zones. To achieve this, we first designed numerical models to decide the necessity and the amount of precaching and to calculate the available precaching amounts of vehicles. Next, MPVS calculates all available vehicle sets and ranks each set based on the available precaching amount. Then, the content-precaching vehicle group is identified from the sets by considering both set rankings and vehicle communication overheads. MPVS also provides a content downloading process through the content-precaching vehicle group in the outage zone. Simulation results conducted in various environments with a content request model and a highway mobility model verified that MPVS was superior to a representative previous scheme.


[Mucopolysaccharidosis type I in the Cuban population].
Of all the innate errors of the metabolism, the mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS), a kind of lysosomal disease, are especially significant because of the serious clinical features they give rise to and the therapeutic difficulties they entail. Diagnosis of the index case is essential so that families can gain access to the preventive benefits of genetic counselling. To date, seven types of MPS and 11 enzyme deficiencies have been described. Patients with a clinical diagnosis that leads the clinician to suspect they may be suffering from some type of MPS are referred to the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery to determine the possible enzyme deficiencies that will provide us with the key to a successful diagnosis. A total of 588 patients who were clinically suspected of suffering from MPS, in whom 1,502 enzyme analyses were performed in order to classify the type of MPS they were suffering from. The MPS under examination are MPS I, MPS IIIB, MPS IVB, MPS VI and MPS VII. MPS I, or alpha-L-iduronidase deficiency, is the most commonly found with 23 cases (4.08% of the patients studied); 13 were females and the other 10 were males. Of the 23 cases, 10 presented the severe Hurler phenotype with mental retardation, five had the Scheie phenotype with preserved intelligence and eight displayed the intermediate Hurler-Scheie phenotype. Diagnosis was reached before the end of the first year in eight patients, between 1 and 5 years in nine of them and between 6 and 10 years in two cases. Enzyme activity in leucocytes was significantly lower in patients as compared to a control group and with respect to the parents (heterozygotes), and even comparing these to the control group, with a slight and expected overlap. The biochemical methodology used allows us, then, to reach a sure biochemical diagnosis and to offer the families the benefits of genetic counselling.


Hormonal pleiotropy and the juvenile hormone regulation of Drosophila development and life history.
Understanding how traits are integrated at the organismal level remains a fundamental problem at the interface of developmental and evolutionary biology. Hormones, regulatory signaling molecules that coordinate multiple developmental and physiological processes, are major determinants underlying phenotypic integration. The probably best example for this is the lipid-like juvenile hormone (JH) in insects. Here we review the manifold effects of JH, the most versatile animal hormone, with an emphasis on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, an organism amenable to both genetics and endocrinology. JH affects a remarkable number of processes and traits in Drosophila development and life history, including metamorphosis, behavior, reproduction, diapause, stress resistance and aging. While many molecular details underlying JH signaling remain unknown, we argue that studying "hormonal pleiotropy" offers intriguing insights into phenotypic integration and the mechanisms underlying life history evolution. In particular, we illustrate the role of JH as a key mediator of life history trade-offs.


Big data in wildlife research: remote web-based monitoring of hibernating black bears.
Numerous innovations for the management and collection of "big data" have arisen in the field of medicine, including implantable computers and sensors, wireless data transmission, and web-based repositories for collecting and organizing information. Recently, human clinical devices have been deployed in captive and free-ranging wildlife to aid in the characterization of both normal physiology and the interaction of animals with their environment, including reactions to humans. Although these devices have had a significant impact on the types and quantities of information that can be collected, their utility has been limited by internal memory capacities, the efforts required to extract and analyze information, and by the necessity to handle the animals in order to retrieve stored data. We surgically implanted miniaturized cardiac monitors (1.2 cc, Reveal LINQ™, Medtronic Inc.), a newly developed human clinical system, into hibernating wild American black bears (N = 6). These devices include wireless capabilities, which enabled frequent transmissions of detailed physiological data from bears in their remote den sites to a web-based data storage and management system. Solar and battery powered telemetry stations transmitted detailed physiological data over the cellular network during the winter months. The system provided the transfer of large quantities of data in near-real time. Observations included changes in heart rhythms associated with birthing and caring for cubs, and in all bears, long periods without heart beats (up to 16 seconds) occurred during each respiratory cycle. For the first time, detailed physiological data were successfully transferred from an animal in the wild to a web-based data collection and management system, overcoming previous limitations on the quantities of data that could be transferred. The system provides an opportunity to detect unusual events as they are occurring, enabling investigation of the animal and site shortly afterwards. Although the current study was limited to bears in winter dens, we anticipate that future systems will transmit data from implantable monitors to wearable transmitters, allowing for big data transfer on non-stationary animals.


Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery for Pediatric Empyema by Two-Port Technique: A Single-Center Experience with 167 Consecutive Cases.
The aim of our study is to determine efficacy, safety, and feasibility of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in childhood empyema with a technique of only two ports and open instruments at a tertiary care center in India. This is a retrospective study of patients below 18 years, with empyema presenting to the Department of Pediatric Surgery of a Tertiary Care Referral Hospital in India, over a period of 9 years who underwent VATS decortication. Only two ports with open surgical instruments were used. The patients were assessed on the basis of mean duration of preoperative symptoms, duration of surgery, average blood loss, postoperative pain relief, complications, and need for redo surgery. A total of 97 patients underwent primary VATS decortications without inserting an intercostal drainage (ICD) tube and 70 patients as a secondary procedure after ICD tube was inserted. Mean duration of symptoms was 11 days. The average blood loss during surgery was estimated to be 170 cc. The mean duration of surgery was 90 min. The most common postoperative complication was air leak seen in 19.16% of patients. Minor leaks usually settled by 24 h. In eight patients, a negative suction had to be applied to the ICD tube for persistent air leak. The average length of postoperative stay was 4 days. Two patients required a repeat open decortication procedure due to nonresolution of symptoms and poor lung expansion after VATS. Patients had minimal pain and excellent cosmetic outcome after VATS. Two-port VATS decortication procedure is as feasible and effective as three-port procedure for decortication with better cosmetic result and pain relief.


Elevated HNF1A expression promotes radiation-resistance via driving PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells.
Purpose: Radiotherapy is a major modality for treatment of local advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1-alpha (HNF1A) is involved in regulation of tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, cycle distribution, invasion metastasis and chemical resistance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of HNF1A on radiosensitivity of ESCC cells. Methods: In our study, HNF1A expression was verified from GEPIA in multiple types of cancer. The prognostic value of HNF1A in ESCC was obtained by TCGA database. In addition, the expression of HNF1A in ESCC cell lines was verified by western blot. Subsequently, lentiviruses were used to construct HNF1A overexpressed cell lines TE1 and KYSE150.Then, the roles of HNF1A on cell proliferation, invasion, apoptosis, cell cycle distribution and radiosensitivity were verified. Furthermore, the relationship between HNF1A and γH2AX were determined by western blot and immunofluorescence. We also detected the expression changes of key factors in PI3K/AKT pathway after overexpression of HNF1A. Results: The results showed that the overexpression of HNF1A promoted cell proliferation and invasion with or without irradiation (IR), and potently radiation-resistance ESCC cells with a sensitization enhancement ratio (SER) of 0.76 and 0.87. In addition, HNF1A regulated Cyclin D1 and CDK4 proteins to promote the transition from radiation-induced G0/G1 phase arrest to S phase, and coordinated BAX and BCL2 proteins to reduce the occurrence of radiation-induced apoptosis. It was worth noting that HNF1A might be involved in radiation-induced DNA damage repair by regulating γH2AX though PI3K/AKT signal pathway. Conclusion: Our study preliminarily suggested that HNF1A was associated with the progression and radiosensitivity of ESCC cells, and it might reduce the radiosensitivity of ESCC cells by promoting cell proliferation, releasing G0/G1 phase arrest, reducing apoptosis, and regulating the expression of γH2AX protein though driving PI3K/AKT signal pathway.


Sexual and reproductive health in adolescents: validation of the questionnaire SexContraKnow instrument in Italian.
Adolescents have an inadequate level of health literacy, particularly regarding sexual and reproductive health and the use of birth control methods. This contributes to a high percentage of unintentional pregnancies and sexual behaviors that endanger the entire population. The purpose of this study is to validate the questionnaire, Sexcontraknow Instrument, in Italian, in order to evaluate the health literacy of adolescents, aged 14 to 19, regarding sexual and reproductive health, particularly on the use of contraceptive methods. This is a quantitative research study that aims to validate a knowledge tool on sexual and reproductive health in the adolescent population. The Sexcontraknow Instrument questionnaire has been translated according to the process indicated by the EORTC Quality of Life Group validation criteria. The linguistic validation of the questionnaire in Italian was carried out using the forward-backward translation method. The content validity process was carried out by a group of 9 experts in the area of sexual education addressed to the study population, such as: doctors, midwives, gynecologists, teachers and health assistants. The face validity process, however, was carried out with a sample of convenience made up of 12 students aged 14 to 19 years, homogeneous in the gender. The SexContraKnow Instrument questionnaire has been transalated in Italiana and face and content validity has been performed. Having a tool that help evaluate the knowledge of young people, aids the nurse in preparing and making up for shortcomings through proper education, reducing the negative effects of poor literacy.


Overview of the thrifty genotype hypothesis.
The thrifty genotype hypothesis was proposed by Neel in 1962 to explain the increasing incidence of diabetes in the western world. Since then it has been invoked frequently to explain the epidemics of obesity and non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM) in populations all over the world as they have made the rapid transition to a westernised lifestyle in the twentieth century. An examination of the archaeological record indicates that human populations were exposed to nutritional stresses throughout history (both as hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists) which could have selected strongly for a "thrifty" metabolism. The metabolic basis of the "thrifty" genotype has been attributed to selective insulin resistance, in which the gluco-regulatory pathways of insulin action are affected primarily, thereby promoting compensatory hyperinsulinaemia and overstimulation of those pathways less affected by insulin resistance such as those involved in fat deposition. Both physical inactivity and an energy-dense diet high in saturated fat and fibre-depleted carbohydrate have been shown to increase insulin resistance. Thus, key components of the western lifestyle act to exacerbate insulin resistance and facilitate weight gain, which itself also worsens insulin resistance. Finally, Hales and Barker have argued provocatively for a "thrifty" phenotype as the major predisposing factor in NIDDM: that poor nutrition in the perinatal period is associated with increased risk of NIDDM in adulthood, mediated either through sustained effects on b -cell function or insulin sensitivity. The difficulties in differentiating between "nature" and "nurture" in the aetiology of this complex condition cannot be overstated.


Endothelial cell seeding of latissimus dorsi muscle pouches.
The transformation of skeletal muscle tissue into a fatigue-resistant, autologous blood pump is being explored as an attempt to aid the failing heart. One of the options is to generate a pouch underneath the latissimus dorsi muscle, to connect an electrically conditioned muscle pouch to the circulation, and to use it as an autologous, contractile cardiac assist device. However, the potential of thrombus formation on the blood contacting surface, which is composed of fibrous material, might thwart the clinical usefulness of such skeletal muscle ventricles. We hypothesized that the thrombogenicity of these pouches could be reduced by lining their luminal surfaces with autologous endothelial cells. As a first step, we examined the feasibility of this approach under resting, nonbeating conditions. Using a multistage operative procedure, we isolated microvascular endothelial cells from canine adipose tissue and, after culturing these cells in the laboratory, seeded the autologous cells into preformed latissimus dorsi pouches in six mongrel dogs. Four to six weeks later the dogs were sacrificed and the ultrastructure of the pouches was examined by light and electron microscopy and by fluorescence techniques. The micrographs confirmed that the surfaces of seeded pouches, but not of the untreated controls, are lined with a continuous monolayer of functional endothelial cells, as assessed by the presence of several endothelial cell-specific markers. Current studies are under way to assess the thrombogenicity of these endothelialized skeletal muscle pouches.


Neuropathic pain sensations are differentially sensitive to dextrorphan.
Rats with an experimental painful peripheral neuropathy (the CCI model) display heat-hyperalgesia and mechanoallodynia. Previous work has shown that the heat-hyperalgesia is suppressed by dextrorphan (DEX) and other N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists. The present work shows that when tested in the same rats, a dose of DEX that is maximally effective against heat-hyperalgesia has no effect on mechano-allodynia. The results suggest that different kinds of abnormal pain sensations may be caused by different pathophysiologic mechanisms that may respond differently to drug therapy.


Cleavage at the stem region releases an active ectodomain of the membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase.
MT1-MMP (membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase) is a membrane-anchored MMP that can be shed to the extracellular milieu. In the present study we report the primary structure and activity of the major soluble form of MT1-MMP. MS analysis of the purified 50-kDa soluble MT1-MMP form shows that the enzyme extends from Tyr112 to Val524, indicating that formation of this species requires a proteolytic cleavage within the stem region. In agreement, deletion of the entire stem region of MT1-MMP inhibited shedding of the 50-kDa species. A recombinant 50-kDa species (Tyr112-Val524) expressed in cells exhibited enzymatic activity against pro-MMP-2 and galectin-3, and thus this species is a competent protease. The recombinant 50-kDa soluble form also decreased the level of surface-associated TIMP-2 (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2) when administered to cells expressing wild-type membrane-anchored MT1-MMP, suggesting that ectodomain shedding of MT1-MMP can alter the MMP/TIMP balance on the cell surface. A approximately 53-kDa species of MT1-MMP was also isolated from a non-detergent extract of human breast carcinoma tissue and was found to lack the cytosolic tail, as determined with specific MT1-MMP domain antibodies. Together, these data show that MT1-MMP ectodomain shedding is a physiological process that may broaden MT1-MMP activity to the pericellular space.


Ratiometric fluorescence assay for sulfide ions with fluorescent MOF-based nanozyme.
A novel ratiometric fluorescence strategy for sulfide ions (S2-) analysis has been developed using metal-organic framework (MOF)-based nanozyme. NH2-Cu-MOF displays blue fluorescence (λem = 435 nm) originating from 2-amino-1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid ligand. Besides, it possesses oxidase-like activity due to Cu2+ node, which can trigger chromogenic reaction. o-Phenylenediamine (OPD), as a common enzyme substrate, can be oxidized by NH2-Cu-MOF to form luminescent products (oxOPD) (λem = 570 nm). Inner filter effect occurs between oxOPD and MOF. Upon exposure to S2-, oxidase-like activity of MOF is depressed significantly because of the generation of CuS. On one hand, the amount of free Cu2+ decreases, affecting the yielding of oxOPD. On the other hand, CuNPs with larger size are obtained during the oxidation-reduction reaction between Cu2+ and OPD, which show weaker autocatalytic ability for OPD oxidation. These result in the decrease and increase of intensities at 570 and 435 nm, respectively. This method exhibits sensitive and selective responses towards S2- with LOD of 0.1 μM. Furthermore, such ratiometric strategy has been applied to detect S2- in food samples.


Synthesis of Functionalized Azacalix[1]arene[3]pyridine Macrocycles from Cu(II)-Mediated Direct Amination Reactions of Arene through High Valent Arylcopper(III) Intermediates.
Mediated by Cu(ClO4)2 in the presence of K3PO4 under mild conditions, azacalix[1]arene[3]pyridines underwent arene C-H bond amination with a number of sulfonamides, imides, and saccharin to afford the diverse C-N bond forming products. Based on different reactivity between arylcopper(II) and arylcopper(III) compounds toward nitrogen nucleophiles, the reaction proceeded most likely through arene C-H bond metalation via reactive arylcopper(III) intermediates and their binding to nitrogen anions which were derived from deprotonation of acidic N-H bonds of nitrogen nucleophiles of pKa (DMSO) < 17.5 followed by reductive elimination. The study not only provides a convenient and straightforward access to functionalized heteracalixaromatics that are not readily obtained by other means but also enriches our understanding of high valent organocopper chemistry.


Management of Cavoatrial Deep Venous Thrombosis: Incorporating New Strategies.
Cavoatrial deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is diagnosed with increasing prevalence. It can be managed medically with anticoagulation or with directed interventions aimed to efficiently reduce the thrombus burden within the target venous segment. The type of management chosen depends greatly on the etiology and chronicity of the thrombosis, existing patient comorbidities, and the patient's tolerance to anticoagulants and thrombolytic agents. In addition to traditional percutaneous catheter-based pharmacomechanical thrombolysis, other catheter-based suction thrombectomy techniques have emerged in recent years. Each therapeutic modality requires operator expertise and a coordinated care paradigm to facilitate successful outcomes. Open surgical thrombectomy is alternatively reserved for specific patient conditions, including intolerance of anticoagulation, failed catheter-based interventions, or acute emergencies.


"Nitrogen Wash-Out" in Non-Hypoxaemic Patients with Spontaneous Pneumothorax: A Narrative Review.
Following current guidelines, spontaneous pneumothorax should be primarily managed with minimal invasive strategies. In real-world clinical practice, oxygen supplementation regardless of the presence or absence of hypoxemia is frequently applied in patients with a pneumothorax, with the intention to enhance the resorption rate of air from the pleural cavity ("nitrogen wash-out theory"). This review provides an overview of the scientific origin of this practice in animal models, and its clinical use in adult and paediatric patients. Clinical studies from PubMed, Embase and Cochrane library were reviewed by the authors using the keywords, "oxygen AND pneumothorax", "nitrogen washout AND pneumothorax" and "nitrogen AND pneumothorax", and recommendations from current guidelines were also reviewed by the authors. A selected total of nine clinical studies and three guidelines were included. Though in animal models there appears to be a therapeutic effect of oxygen therapy for the treatment of pneumothorax, clinical data in patient populations mainly stem from retrospective studies, mostly with a small sample size and inadequate study design. We recommend conducting prospective clinical studies with adequate methodology to address the question of whether or not oxygen therapy should be used to treat pneumothorax, regardless of the presence or absence of hypoxemia.


Genome-wide identification of gene expression in contrasting maize inbred lines under field drought conditions reveals the significance of transcription factors in drought tolerance.
Drought is a major threat to maize growth and production. Understanding the molecular regulation network of drought tolerance in maize is of great importance. In this study, two maize inbred lines with contrasting drought tolerance were tested in the field under natural soil drought and well-watered conditions. In addition, the transcriptomes of their leaves was analyzed by RNA-Seq. In total, 555 and 2,558 genes were detected to specifically respond to drought in the tolerant and the sensitive line, respectively, with a more positive regulation tendency in the tolerant genotype. Furthermore, 4,700, 4,748, 4,403 and 4,288 genes showed differential expression between the two lines under moderate drought, severe drought and their well-watered controls, respectively. Transcription factors were enriched in both genotypic differentially expressed genes and specifically responsive genes of the tolerant line. It was speculated that the genotype-specific response of 20 transcription factors in the tolerance line and the sustained genotypically differential expression of 22 transcription factors might enhance tolerance to drought in maize. Our results provide new insight into maize drought tolerance-related regulation systems and provide gene resources for subsequent studies and drought tolerance improvement.


Variation in epibiotic bacteria on two squat lobster species of Munidopsidae.
The relationships between epibiotic bacteria on deep-sea hosts and host lifestyle factors are of particular interest in the field of deep-sea chemoautotrophic environmental adaptations. The squat lobsters Shinkaia crosnieri and Munidopsis verrilli are both dominant species in cold-seep ecosystems, and they have different distributions and feeding behaviors. These species may have evolved to have distinct epibiotic microbiota. Here, we compared the epibiotic bacterial communities on the M. verrilli carapace (MVcarapace), S. crosnieri carapace (SCcarapace), and S. crosnieri ventral plumose setae (SCsetae). The epibiotic bacteria on SCsetae were dense and diverse and had a multi-layer configuration, while those on MVcarapace and SCcarapace were sparse and had a monolayer configuration. Chemoautotrophic bacteria had the highest relative abundance in all epibiotic bacterial communities. The relative abundance of amplicon sequence variant 3 (ASV3; unknown species in order Thiotrichales), which is associated with sulfide oxidation, was significantly higher in SCsetae than MVcarapace and SCcarapace. Thiotrichales species seemed to be specifically enriched on SCsetae, potentially due to the synthetic substrate supply, adhesion preference, and host behaviors. We hypothesize that the S. crosnieri episymbionts use chemical fluxes near cold seeps more efficiently, thereby supporting the host's nutrient strategies, resulting in a different distribution of the two species of squat lobster.


No effect of mild heat stress on the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism at the onset of exercise.
To investigate the influence of heat stress on the regulation of skeletal muscle carbohydrate metabolism, six active, but not specifically trained, men performed 5 min of cycling at a power output eliciting 70% maximal O2 uptake in either 20 degrees C (Con) or 40 degrees C (Heat) after 20 min of passive exposure to either environmental condition. Although muscle temperature (T(mu)) was similar at rest when comparing trials, 20 min of passive exposure and 5 min of exercise increased (P < 0.05) T(mu) in Heat compared with Con (37.5 +/- 0.1 vs. 36.9 +/- 0.1 degrees C at 5 min for Heat and Con, respectively). Rectal temperature and plasma epinephrine were not different at rest, preexercise, or 5 min of exercise between trials. Although intramuscular glycogen phosphorylase and pyruvate dehydrogenase activity increased (P < 0.05) at the onset of exercise, there were no differences in the activities of these regulatory enzymes when comparing Heat with Con. Accordingly, glycogen use in the first 5 min of exercise was not different when comparing Heat with Con. Similarly, no differences in intramuscular concentrations of glucose 6-phosphate, lactate, pyruvate, acetyl-CoA, creatine, phosphocreatine, or ATP were observed at any time point when comparing Heat with Con. These results demonstrate that, whereas mild heat stress results in a small difference in contracting T(mu), it does not alter the activities of the key regulatory enzymes for carbohydrate metabolism or glycogen use at the onset of exercise, when plasma epinephrine levels are unaltered.


Relevance of neuroscience to effective education for students with reading and other learning disabilities.
New directions in educational assessment and instruction are supported by recent advances in the neurosciences. Among these are early identification of potential learning problems through brief, efficient assessments of specific language skills that predict later reading outcomes; early intervention that systematically targets critical linguistic processing skills; and the necessity of stimulating all functions of a reading, writing, or computing brain.


Body composition and bone mineral density in breast cancer survivors and non-cancer controls: A 12- to 15-month follow-up.
While prognosis for breast cancer in women has improved, adverse side effects of treatments may negatively affect body composition and bone mineral density (BMD). This study assessed body composition and BMD changes in breast cancer survivors (BCS) (n = 10, 57.9 ± 5.7 years) and age-matched women (non-cancer, n = 10, 56.5 ± 4.3 years) over a 12- to 15-month period via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. No differences were observed between groups at baseline except forearm BMD values were lower in BCS (BCS: 0.462 ± 0.070 g/cm2 ; Control: 0.539 ± 0.052 g/cm2 , p = .012). Body fat increased in both groups compared to baseline (BCS: 38.3-39.6 kg, p = .013; Control: 38.2-39.5 kg, p = .023) at the follow-up. Significant decreases in BMD at the lumbar spine, femoral neck, total femur and ulna were observed in both groups. Breast cancer survivors had a greater decrease in left femoral neck BMD. While BCS demonstrated lower baseline forearm BMD values and a greater decrease in left femoral neck BMD, both groups showed an increase in body fat and decrease in forearm BMD. These findings support the implementation of interventions to improve body composition and BMD in both BCS and women without cancer.


Current Backpack Weight Status for Primary Schoolchildren in Colima, Mexico.
The purpose of the study was to identify the current status of backpack weight in primary schoolchildren in Colima, Mexico, in relation to gender, school grade level, and body mass index. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 240 randomly selected children from 20 primary schools. The participating children's parents signed statements of informed consent. Descriptive statistics, the χ(2) test, Student's t-test, and Kruskal-Wallis test were used. The mean age was 8.55 ± 2 years (range: 5-12 years). Seventy-eight percent of the schoolchildren presented with a backpack overload that was greater than 10% of their body weight. No significant differences were found in relation to gender. Four out of every five schoolchildren presented with backpack overload, exposing them to a potential health problem. Education and public policy prevention strategies for this situation should be implemented in Mexico and other regions of the world with the same problem.


Prospects for the development of novel anti-hyperlipidemic drugs.
Hyperlipidemia is a well-established risk factor for atherogenesis and cardiovascular disease. Statins have been the cornerstone of treatment for hyperlipidemia in recent years and have significantly contributed to the improvement of cardiovascular disease therapy. However, novel antihyperlipidemic agents that have been developed over the last decade possess the capacity to significantly reduce plasma lipoproteins. This review analyzes the pharmacological profile, effectiveness and safety of some promising drugs that are either already in clinical use (eg, ezetimibe and nicotinic acid) or under study (eg, acyl-CoA cholesterol acyltransferase inhibitors, cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitors and apolipoprotein A-IMilano).


Effect of eight weeks of treatment with salmeterol on bronchoalveolar lavage inflammatory indices in asthmatics.
Using BAL, we studied the effects of 8 wk of treatment with salmeterol on airway inflammation in nine asthmatic subjects in a double-blind crossover placebo-controlled protocol. The study patients were all receiving regular inhaled corticosteroid therapy (400 to 1,000 micrograms beclomethasone dipropionate per day) and inhaled albuterol for symptomatic relief, i.e., subjects who might be considered suitable for treatment with salmeterol. The asthmatic group had significant differences in numbers of epithelial cells and eosinophils in BAL compared with a group of 15 normal control subjects (p < 0.01). During salmeterol treatment mean morning and evening peak flow rates were increased (p < 0.05). There was no significant change in BAL cell profile and no change in percentages of CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes or proportion of lymphocytes expressing HLA-DR after salmeterol. In conclusion, we were unable to demonstrate any significant anti-inflammatory effect of regular salmeterol therapy on airway inflammation using BAL in these asthmatic patients. At the same time, there was equally no evidence of a deterioration in the underlying inflammatory disease process.


Pectin lyase-modified red ginseng extract exhibits potent anti-glycation effects in vitro and in vivo.
GS-E3D is a newly developed pectin lyase-modified red ginseng extract. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory effects of GS-E3D against advanced glycation end products. In this study, we evaluated the inhibitory effects of GS-E3D on the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and their cross-linking with collagen in vitro and in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. An in vitro assay for the glycation of bovine serum albumin by methylglyoxal showed that GS-E3D inhibited AGE formation at an IC50 value of 19.65 ± 4.35 μg/mL. In addition, GS-E3D showed a potent inhibitory effect (IC50 = 0.42 ± 0.08 mg/mL) on the cross-linking of AGEs with collagen. However, GS-E3D showed no effect on preformed AGEs cross-linked with collagen in the breakdown assay. To determine whether GS-E3D inhibits AGE formation and their cross-linking with proteins in vivo, streptozotocin induced diabetic rats were treated with GS-E3D (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg/day) for 6 weeks. The administration of GS-E3D decreased serum levels of AGEs and their cross linking with proteins in diabetic rats. The inhibitory effects of this agent on advanced glycation in vitro and in vivo suggested that it may have a potential therapeutic role in controlling diabetes-induced AGE burden in various tissues.


Effectiveness of Cyanoacrylate in the Treatment of Dentin Hypersensitivity: A Systematic Review.
To compare the effectiveness of cyanoacrylate to other treatments or placebo in the management of dentin hypersensitivity (DH). The present review was organized based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The search aimed to answer the following question: is cyanoacrylate effective in the treatment of DH when compared to other treatments or placebo? The following databases were used: PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, BVS, Web of Science, Cochrane, Clinicaltrials.gov, Portal Periódicos Capes, Google Scholar, and manual search. The evaluation process started with the information collected from the selected articles according to the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT). Two randomized and five nonrandomized clinical trials were analyzed in the qualitative synthesis. The studies presented different cyanoacrylate formulations, different scales for evaluating pain, and different methods for provoking a painful stimulus. Cyanoacrylate-based products reduce DH in shorter follow-up periods and this reduction persisted throughout the study. The results varied according to the methods used to stimulate the pain. Only two articles showed a low risk of bias and a high level of scientific evidence. Although there is a limited number of studies in the scientific literature with appropriate methodological quality, the available evidence proves the effectiveness of cyanoacrylate in the treatment of DH. Clinical Relevance. Cyanoacrylate is easy to access, effective, easily applicable, and a low-cost product with satisfactory results.


Application of Minimum Effective Cuff Inflating Volume for Laryngeal Mask Airway and its Impact on Postoperative Pharyngeal Complications.
High intracuff pressure can cause severe pharyngeal complications including sore throat or hoarseness after laryngeal mask airway (LMA) removal postoperatively. Though the application of minimum effective cuff inflating volume is suggested to maintain airway sealing and adequacy of ventilation for patients receiving general anesthesia with LMA at lower level of the intracuff pressure, it is currently not a standard care in most of the anesthetic departments. In this study, the minimum effective cuff inflating volume was determined for classic LMA Well Lead™ (Well Lead Medical Co., Ltd., China) and its impact on postoperative pharyngeal complications was also explored. Patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (I-III) undergoing the short-duration urological surgery were recruited in this trial. First, the minimum effective cuff inflating volume was determined for size 4 or 5 LMA Well Lead in the study 1. Immediately following placement and confirmation of ideal LMA position, the cuff was inflated with 5, 7, 10 ml of air and up to 30 ml at 5 ml increment. The intracuff pressure, oropharyngeal leak pressure (OLP), and inspiratory peak airway pressure under positive pressure ventilation at the corresponding cuff volume as indicated above were recorded. Second, the enrolled patients were randomly allocated into minimum effective cuff inflating volume group (MC) and routine care (RC) group in the study 2. The minimum effective cuff inflating volume was applied and maintained in MC group, whereas the cuff volume was inflated with half of the maximum cuff inflating volume recommended by manufacturer in RC group throughout the surgical procedure and stay in postanesthesia care unit prior to LMA removal. The incidence of pharyngeal complications at 0, 2, 24, and 48 h after removal of LMA and other intra-operative adverse events were also documented. The intracuff pressure varied with the cuff inflating volume in a positive linear correlation manner (Y = 11.68X - 42.1, r(2) = 0.9191) under the range of 5-30 ml for size 4 LMA. In similar with size 4 LMA, the data were also showed the linear relationship between the intracuff pressure and the cuff inflating volume (Y = 7.39X - 10.9, r(2) = 0.8855) for size 5 LMA. The minimal effective cuff inflating volume for size 4 or 5 LMA was 7-9 ml in combination of considering OLP needed to maintain airway sealing during intermittently positive pressure ventilation. The intracuff pressure in MC group was lower compared with RC group (63.0 ± 3.7 vs. 126.4 ± 24.0 cmH2O for size 4 LMA; 55.6 ± 2.4 vs. 138.5± 26.8 cmH2O for size 5 LMA; P < 0.0001). The incidence of pharyngeal adverse events was lower in MC group versus the RC group at 2, 24 h after LMA removal. The relationship between the cuff inflating volume and the intracuff pressure for size 4 or 5 LMA Well Lead(TM) is in a linear correlation manner at the range of 5-30 ml. The minimal cuff inflating volume is adequate for satisfactory airway sealing and consequently associated with lower incidence of postoperative pharyngeal complications for LMA Well Lead.™.


Living Donor Liver Transplantation for Wilson's Disease Associated with Fulminant Hepatic Failure: A Case Report.
BACKGROUND Liver transplantation is indicated for patients with Wilson's disease (WD) who present either with acute liver failure or with end-stage liver disease and severe hepatic insufficiency as the first sign of disease. However, almost all reported cases have been treated with death donor liver transplantation. Here we report the case of a patient with WD associated with fulminant hepatic failure (WD-FHF) who underwent living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). CASE REPORT A 17-year-old female was diagnosed with WD-FHF based on high uric copper (10 603 μg/day, normal <100 μg/day), low serum ceruloplasmin (15 mg/dL, normal >20 mg/dL) and Kayser-Fleischer (K-F) corneal ring, and acute liver failure (ALF), acute renal failure (ARF) and grade 2 hepatic encephalopathy (HE). The model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score was 35. Due to her critical condition, the patient underwent LDLT utilizing a right liver graft from her 44-year-old mother. The right hepatic vein (RHV) and inferior right hepatic vein (iRHV) were reconstructed. She developed severe liver dysfunction due to a crooked hepatic vein caused by compression from the large graft. To straighten the bend, a reoperation was performed. During the operation, we tried to relieve the compressed hepatic vein by adjusting the graft location, but the benefits were limited. We therefore performed stenting in both the RHV and iRHV on postoperative day 9. The patient gradually improved, exhibiting good liver and renal functions, and was finally discharged on postoperative day 114. CONCLUSIONS When WD-FHF deteriorates too rapidly for conservative management, LDLT is an effective therapeutic strategy.


Prejudice, paradox, and possibility: nursing people from cultures other than one's own.
Nurses in New Zealand are being challenged to recognise and address racism in their practice. Yet, the implementation of cultural safety in nursing education has created tension within the profession and between nursing and the wider community. This article provides a brief overview of the findings of a hermeneutic study that explored the experience of nursing people from cultures other than one's own. The notions prejudice, paradox, and possibility are argued to describe this phenomenon. As nurses negotiate the conflicts essential for ongoing development of their practice, the play of prejudice, paradox, and possibility is evident at intrapersonal and interpersonal levels as well as in relation to professional and other discourses. Nurses are challenged to continue their efforts to understand and move beyond the prejudices that otherwise preclude the exploration of new possibilities.


Association between serum nitric oxide metabolites and hypertension in a general population.
Endothelial dysfunction and impaired release of endothelial nitric oxide occurs in hypertension. The aim of this study was to determine the relation between nitric oxide metabolites (NOx) concentrations and blood pressure levels in a general population. In a cross-sectional study, NO(x)was measured in 2,968 adult subjects, randomly selected from a population-based study, using the Griess method. Subjects were classified into normal, prehypertension, stage 1 hypertension and stage two hypertension groups, according to the seventh report of the Joint National Committee on prevention, detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure. Serum NO(x)values were negatively correlated with systolic blood pressure ≥160 mm Hg in men (r=-0.523, P=0.002). Serum NOx was higher in men with stage 1 hypertension while those with stage 2 hypertension had significantly lower NO(x) levels. In men, medication increased serum NO(x) concentration in both stages of hypertension but in women, a significant increase was observed only in stage 1 hypertension. Serum NO(x) concentrations decreased in untreated stage 2 hypertension and increased in stage 1 hypertension in men, findings that suggest NOx measurement might be helpful for assessing endothelial (dys) function in male hypertensive subjects.


Staphylococcal bacteremia: current patterns in nonuniversity hospitals.
We studied 390 consecutive episodes of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia in the four nonuniversity hospitals of one metropolitan area between 1977 and 1981. Overall mortality was 31%, with 52% of deaths being attributed to the infection. The 4.9% incidence of recognized endocarditis was lower than that previously reported. Although 41% of deaths occurred by the end of the third day after positive blood cultures had been obtained, choice of antimicrobial therapy bore no apparent relationship to eventual clinical outcome.


Aortic stenosis: a contemporary review.
Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common valvular disease in the western world affecting mainly individuals older than 60 years. It is recognized as an indolent disease characterized by years to decades of slow progression followed by rapid clinical deterioration and high mortality once symptoms develop. Medical therapies for AS remain ineffective with surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) remaining the only proven effective long-term treatment. The advancement in transcatheter AVR has revolutionized the treatment of inoperable severe AS and holds promise for future widespread use as more long-term experience is established. The authors review the natural history of AS presentation with a special emphasis on management of severe AS and advancement in transcatheter AVR.


Nutritional Composition of Hass Avocado Pulp.
Avocados (Persea americana) are a unique fruit that can provide health benefits when included in a healthy diet. As health care moves towards precision health and targeted therapies or preventative medicine, it is critical to understand foods and their dietary components. The nutritional composition and plant physiology of the Hass avocado is strikingly different from other fruits. This paper reviews the nutrient and bioactive composition of the edible portion of the Hass avocado (pulp) reported in the literature and from commercial lab analyses of the current market supply of fresh Hass avocados. These results provide comprehensive data on what nutrients and bioactives are in avocado and the quantity of these nutrients. We discuss the reasons for nutrient composition variations and review some potential health benefits of bioactive compounds found in Hass avocados.


[Longitudinal epidemiology of leptospirosis in the Czech Republic (1963-2003)].
After higher rates of occupational or leisure diseases recorded in the Czech Republic in the second half of the last century it was found that the last climatic changes and catastrophic floods of 1997 and 2002 were followed by outbreaks of leptospirosis as the only re-emerging postflood infection. While in tropics and subtropics the monsoon season is typically followed by highly increased rates of leptospirosis in humans, even, with fatal outcomes, this phenomenon remained unknown under the climatic conditions of the Czech Republic where human leptospirosis has been reported rather sporadically, mostly in natural foci of infection, and its incidence rate is usually about 0.3% per 100,000 population. Nevertheless, after the unexpected vast floods of 1997 and 2002 that also afflicted natural foci of leptospirosis, the rates of reported and serologically confirmed cases of leptospirosis in the Czech Republic were three times as high as usual with the specific morbidity reaching 0.9 case per 100,000 population. In 1997, as many as 7156 persons were tested for leptospirosis in the Czech Republic: the disease was diagnosed and reported in 94 patients and in 2002, 92 out of 4999 persons tested were diagnosed with leptospirosis. Two thirds of these cases were from inundation areas, half of them being directly associated with floods (exposure to residual water, flood mud in cellars, etc.). Four case of Weil disease reported in 1997 were fatal. As many as 41 deaths from Weil disease have been reported in the Czech Republic since 1963 when the disease became reportable.


Addictive behavior among young people in Ukraine: a pilot study.
The AUDIT-like tests system was created for complex assessment and evaluation of the addictive status of adolescents in a Ukrainian population. The AUDIT-like tests system has been created from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) developed by the World Health Organization. The AUDIT-like tests were minimally modified from the original AUDIT. Attention was brought to similarities between stages of different addictions (TV, computer games, the Internet, etc.) and alcohol addiction. Seventeen AUDIT-like tests were created to detect the different types of chemical and non-chemical addictions.


Optimization of a parallel permutation testing function for the SPRINT R package.
The statistical language R and its Bioconductor package are favoured by many biostatisticians for processing microarray data. The amount of data produced by some analyses has reached the limits of many common bioinformatics computing infrastructures. High Performance Computing systems offer a solution to this issue. The Simple Parallel R Interface (SPRINT) is a package that provides biostatisticians with easy access to High Performance Computing systems and allows the addition of parallelized functions to R. Previous work has established that the SPRINT implementation of an R permutation testing function has close to optimal scaling on up to 512 processors on a supercomputer. Access to supercomputers, however, is not always possible, and so the work presented here compares the performance of the SPRINT implementation on a supercomputer with benchmarks on a range of platforms including cloud resources and a common desktop machine with multiprocessing capabilities. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Drug-likeness prediction of designed analogues of isoniazid standard targeting FabI enzyme regulation from P. falciparum.
Fatty acid biosynthesis enzymes (Fab enzyme) are important targets for anti-malarial drug development. The present study describes the toxicity screening of designed novel analogues which inhibit FabI enzyme regulation, a protein with multifunctional property. New analogues were prepared using ChemDraw Ultra 10 Software and converted into 3D PDB structure format for binding studies with FabI (PDB ID: 4IGE). Further Lipinski's rule of FIVE and ADMET profiling for toxicity prediction has been performed on the designed analogues. The result shows that ISN-23 is potential analogue exhibiting inhibition at the active site of FabI enzyme with good binding features.


Shadow Hamiltonian in classical NVE molecular dynamics simulations involving Coulomb interactions.
Microcanonical ensemble (NVE) Molecular Dynamics (MD) computer simulations are performed with negligible energy drift for systems incorporating Coulomb interactions and complex constraint schemes. In principle, such systems can now be simulated in the NVE ensemble for millisecond time scales, with no requirement for system thermostatting. Numerical tools for assessing drift in MD simulations are outlined, and drift rates of 10-6 K/μs are demonstrated for molten salts, polar liquids, and room temperature ionic liquids. Such drift rates are six orders of magnitude smaller than those typically quoted in the literature. To achieve this, the standard Ewald method is slightly modified so the first four derivatives of the real space terms go smoothly to zero at the truncation distance, rc. New methods for determining standard Ewald errors and the new perturbation errors introduced by the smoothing procedure are developed and applied, these taking charge correlation effects explicitly into account. The shadow Hamiltonian, Es, is shown to be the strictly conserved quantity in these systems, and standard errors in the mean of one part in 1010 are routinely calculated. Expressions for the shadow Hamiltonian are improved over previous work by accounting for O(h4) terms, where h is the MD time step. These improvements are demonstrated by means of extreme out-of-equilibrium simulations. Using the new methodology, the very low diffusion coefficients of room temperature 1-hexyl-3-methyl-imidazolium chloride are determined from long NVE trajectories in which the equations of motion are known to be integrated correctly, with negligible drift.


Correlative Raman spectroscopy and focused ion beam for targeted phase boundary analysis of titania polymorphs.
Site-specific preparation of specimens using focused ion beam instruments for transmission electron microscopy is at the forefront of targeting regions of interest for nanoscale characterization. Typical methods of pinpointing desired features include electron backscatter diffraction for differentiating crystal structures and energy-dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy for probing compositional variations. Yet there are situations, notably in the titanium dioxide system, where these techniques can fail. Differentiating between the brookite and anatase polymorphs of titania is either excessively laborious or impossible with the aforementioned techniques. However, due to differences in bonding structure, Raman spectroscopy serves as an ideal candidate for polymorph differentiation. In this work, a correlative approach utilizing Raman spectroscopy for targeted focused ion beam specimen preparation was employed. Dark field imaging and diffraction in the transmission electron microscope confirmed the region of interest located via Raman spectroscopy and demonstrated the validity of this new method. Correlative Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and focused ion beam is shown to be a promising new technique for identifying site-specific preparation of nanoscale specimens in cases where conventional approaches do not suffice.


The effectiveness of using co-dominant polymorphic allelic series for (1) checking pedigrees and (2) distinguishing full-sib pair members.
Formulae express the effectiveness of parentage exclusion tests and differences separating full-sib pairs by compounding genotypic information on discrete examples of co-dominant alleles segregating at gene loci on different autosomes. Such polymorphisms occur among structural genes and polymorphic DNA sequences. Two general formulae state the theoretical effectiveness of using co-dominant alleles for (1) testing parentage and (2) distinguishing sibs. The formula for parentage exclusion tates the probability (PE) that a given series of co-dominant alleles of known frequency should detect a falsely recorded father (or mother). The other formula describes how genetic polymorphism can distinguished closely related individuals. It states the probability (PS) that alleles distinguish the members of full-sib pairs, dizygotic twins and tissue chimeras. To derive the two general formulae, particular formulae were calculated for n = 2, 3 and 4 co-dominant alleles. By increasing the numbers of alleles, the formulae were seen to contain recurrent patterns which were then expressed in the two general formulae for n alleles. Some examples demonstrate applications of the two formulae in problems concerning parentage and sibship.


Targeted delivery of antisense oligodeoxynucleotide and small interference RNA into lung cancer cells.
Selective gene inhibition by antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (AS-ODN) or by small interference RNA (siRNA) therapeutics promises the treatment of diseases that cannot be cured by conventional drugs. However, antisense therapy is hindered due to poor stability in physiological fluids and limited intracellular uptake. To address these problems, a ligand targeted and sterically stabilized nanoparticle formulation has been developed in our lab. Human lung cancer cells often overexpress the sigma receptor and, thus, can be targeted with a specific ligand such as anisamide. AS-ODN or siRNA against human survivin was mixed with a carrier DNA, calf thymus DNA, before complexing with protamine, a highly positively charged peptide. The resulting particles were coated with cationic liposomes consisting of DOTAP and cholesterol (1:1, molar ratio) to obtain LPD (liposome-polycation-DNA) nanoparticles. Ligand targeting and steric stabilization were then introduced by incubating preformed LPD nanoparticles with DSPE-PEG-anisamide, a PEGylated ligand lipid developed earlier in our lab, by the postinsertion method. Nontargeted nanoparticles coated with DSPE-PEG were also prepared as a control. Antisense activities of nanoparticles were determined by survivin mRNA down-regulation, survivin protein down-regulation, ability to trigger apoptosis in tumor cells, tumor cell growth inhibition, and chemosensitization of the treated tumor cells to anticancer drugs. We found that tumor cell delivery and antisense activity of PEGylated nanoparticles were sequence dependent and rely on the presence of anisamide ligand. The uptake of oligonucleotide in targeted, PEGylated nanoparticles could be competed by excess free ligand. Our results suggest that the ligand targeted and sterically stabilized nanoparticles can provide a selective delivery of AS-ODN and siRNA into lung cancer cells for therapy.


Comparison of the clock test and a questionnaire-based test for screening for cognitive impairment in Nigerians.
Since it is projected that by 2020 seventy percent of the elderly will reside in developing countries, a reliable screening method for dementia and cognitive impairment in general in populations with diverse languages, culture, education and literacy will be needed. We sought to determine if the Clock Test, a screening test for dementia, was suitable for use in a Nigerian population. Cross-sectional survey of 54 men and 12 women from Northern Nigeria. Researchers administered two dementia screening tools: a questionnaire-based test adapted for use in a Nigerian population and the Clock Test. Overall, 53.0% of the subjects had an abnormal Clock Test whereas 10.6% of the subjects had an abnormal questionnaire score. Only 9.1% of the subjects had abnormal scores on both tests. Subjects with more schooling had a greater probability of having a positive clock concept (understanding that a circle represented a clock). Of those with more than 6 years of schooling, 91.0% had a positive clock concept. Subjects with a negative clock concept were more likely to have an abnormal Clock Test (93.3%) than a questionnaire (26.6%). The main finding of our study was the discrepancy between the results of the Clock Test and the questionnaire. Performance on the Clock Test appeared to have been heavily influenced by education level, indicating the test is not universally applicable across cultures. The questionnaire-based test appears to reduce the effects of illiteracy on assessing dementia in a Nigerian population. Larger studies should be done to control for how education affects the assessment of dementia.


Electro-acupuncture-modulated miR-214 prevents neuronal apoptosis by targeting Bax and inhibits sodium channel Nav1.3 expression in rats after spinal cord injury.
Electro-acupuncture (EA) has been proven to contribute towards neurologic and functional recoveries in spinal cord injury (SCI), but the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown especially regarding the effects of preventing neuronal apoptosis and alleviating neuropathic pain involved in the development of EA. In this study, we evaluated the effect of EA treatment in an animal model of SCI using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) score method, lesion volume by cresyl violet staining and neuronal apoptosis by TUNEL staining. Our results showed that EA therapy improved functional recovery, and reduced tissue loss and neuronal apoptosis after SCI. Meanwhile, we found that proapoptotic proteins (cleaved-caspase-3, 9 and cleaved-PARP) were downregulated and antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 was upregulated following EA. To further explore the antiapoptotic effect of EA treatment, we verified that a large set of microRNAs (miRNAs) expression were altered following EA treatment and the miR-214 was one of the miRNAs being most significantly upregulated. Importantly, we validated both apoptosis related protein Bax and pain related protein Nav1.3 as two functional targets of miR-214 in vitro and vivo. Furthermore, our data showed that EA attenuates SCI-induced Nav1.3 and Bax upregulation in injured spinal cord via upregulating miR-214. These results suggest that miR-214 played an important role after SCI in the process of EA therapy, and the miR-214 could become an attractive novel therapeutic target for the treatment of SCI.


Can anti-parasitic drugs help control COVID-19?
Novel COVID-19 is a public health emergency that poses a serious threat to people worldwide. Given the virus spreading so quickly, novel antiviral medications are desperately needed. Repurposing existing drugs is the first strategy. Anti-parasitic drugs were among the first to be considered as a potential treatment option for this disease. Even though many papers have discussed the efficacy of various anti-parasitic drugs in treating COVID-19 separately, so far, no single study comprehensively discussed these drugs. This study reviews some anti-parasitic recommended drugs to treat COVID-19, in terms of function and in vitro as well as clinical results. Finally, we briefly review the advanced techniques, such as artificial intelligence, that have been used to find effective drugs for the treatment of COVID-19.


Ramalin inhibits VCAM-1 expression and adhesion of monocyte to vascular smooth muscle cells through MAPK and PADI4-dependent NF-kB and AP-1 pathways.
Cell adhesion molecules play a critical role in inflammatory processes and atherosclerosis. In this study, we investigated the effect of ramalin, a chemical compound from the Antarctic lichen Ramalina terebrata, on vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression induced by TNF-α in vascular smooth muscular cells (VSMCs). Pretreatment of VSMCs with ramalin (0.1-10 μg/mL) concentration-dependently inhibited TNF-α-induced VCAM-1 expression. Additionally, ramalin inhibited THP-1 (human acute monocytic leukemia cell line) cell adhesion to TNF-α-stimulated VSMCs. Ramalin suppressed TNF-α-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), PADI4 expression, and phosphorylation of p38, ERK, and JNK. Moreover, ramalin inhibited TNF-α-induced translocation of NF-κB and AP-1. Inhibition of PADI4 expression by small interfering RNA or the PADI4-specific inhibitor markedly attenuated TNF-α-induced activation of NF-κB and AP-1 and VCAM-1 expression in VSMCs. Our study provides insight into the mechanisms underlying ramalin activity and suggests that ramalin may be a potential therapeutic agent to modulate inflammation within atherosclerosis.


Direct potentiometric determination of sodium ion in blood. II. Influence of cations.
We measured the emf of NaCl solutions (120-160 mmol/L), with and without the addition of KCl (5-20 mmol/L), CaCl2 (2-8 mmol/L), or MgCl2 (1-4 mmol/L). Measurements were made with a home-built cell in steady-state and with two commercial direct potentiometric analyzers about 20 s after the sample was introduced. We calculated the sodium ion activity in the mixed NaCl-KCl solutions according to different thermodynamic theories and found almost the same results. We conclude that the influence on the emf of physiological concentrations of these cations was negligible when emf measurements were made in steady-state with the home-built cell. Of the three added cations, K+ caused the greatest increase in apparent sodium ion activity (up to about 4%) when emf measurements were made with commercial analyzers, owing to low salt-bridge concentration and the short measuring time of about 20 s.


Changes of angiogenin serum concentrations in the perinatal period.
The polypeptide angiogenin, a normal constituent of human plasma, might be involved in endothelium homeostasis, angiogenesis, and neovascularization accompanying various diseases. This study aimed at determining angiogenin serum concentrations in the perinatal period of healthy newborns and at forming a baseline for this protein, which in the future may serve as a diagnostic index in developmental errors of the placenta and/or newborn. One milliliter of blood was drawn on d 1 and 4 of life from 30 healthy full-term neonates, and angiogenin serum concentrations were measured by an enzyme immunoassay using a commercially available kit. In 10 cases angiogenin serum concentrations were also measured in the maternal serum before delivery and in the umbilical vein serum. Angiogenin serum concentrations (microgram/L) were significantly higher in maternal serum (225.7 +/- 49.6) compared with umbilical vein serum (119.0 +/- 34.2) (p < 0.0002), as well as that compared with day 1 (166.4 +/- 44.9) (p < 0.01) but not to d 4 neonatal serum (240.8 +/- 52.6). Angiogenin serum concentrations showed a statistically significant increase from d 1 to 4 (p < 10(-7)), as well as from umbilical cord serum to d 1 neonatal serum (p < 0.0002). A statistically significant correlation existed between values in umbilical cord serum and d 1 neonatal serum (r = 0.84, n = 10, p < 0.002) and between those in d 1 and 4 neonatal serum (r = 0.37, n = 30, p < 0.04). Sex, birth weight, or mode of delivery did not influence angiogenin serum concentrations. We conclude that a rapid increase of angiogenin serum concentrations to maternal levels takes place during the first four postnatal days in healthy full-term neonates.


[AIDS and the hospital institution: why to think/rethink about this relationship?].
Through the report of a situation occurred within the hospital institution, the article tries to focus on the way how the AIDS question has been thought in this enviroment. Furthermore, it broaches the possibility of compromising the hospital as a space for reflection and discussion. Through the analysis, it articulates the subjects implicated in the situation with gender, sex, sexuality, race and ethic questions. It also relates AIDS to risk groups, as a meaning to promote the occlusion, and to power relations within the hospital institution. As a conclusion, the article proposes more questions for us to think over our practice as professionals inserted in this context.


Randomized placebo-controlled intervention with n-3 LC-PUFA-supplemented yoghurt: effects on circulating eicosanoids and cardiovascular risk factors.
The study examined the value of n-3 LC-PUFA-enriched yogurt as means of improving cardiovascular health. Fifty three mildly hypertriacylglycerolemic subjects (TAG ≥ 1.7 mmol/L) participated in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel designed study. The subjects consumed 1) control yoghurt; 2) yoghurt enriched with 0.8 g n-3 LC-PUFA/d; or 3) yoghurt enriched with 3 g n-3 LC-PUFA/d for a period of 10 wks. Blood samples were taken at the beginning and the end of the study period. Following daily intake of 3 g n-3 LC-PUFA for 10 weeks, n-3 LC-PUFA levels increased significantly in plasma and red blood cells (RBC) with concomitant increase in the EPA-derived mediators (PGE₃, 12-, 15-, 18-HEPE) in plasma whilst cardiovascular risk factors such as HDL, TAG, AA/EPA ratio, and n-3 index were improved (P < 0.05); the decrease of TAG and increase in HDL were associated with the CD36 genotype. The observed increase of n-3 LC-PUFA in RBC and plasma lipids due to intake of n-3 LC-PUFA enriched yoghurt resulted in a reduction of cardiovascular risk factors and inflammatory mediators showing that daily consumption of n-3 PUFA enriched yoghurt can be an effective way of supplementing the daily diet and improving cardiovascular health.


Curcumin improves the survival rate after a massive hepatectomy in rats.
Curcumin possesses anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Curcumin pretreatment provided a hepatoprotective effect in rat models of chemically-induced hepatotoxicities and ischemia/reperfusion injuries. In this study, we examined whether curcumin could improve the survival rate of rats undergoing a 90% hepatectomy. Rats were administered 340 mg/kg oral curcumin formulated with phosphatidylcholine (curcumin group) or vehicle (control group) for 7 consecutive days and 2 hours prior to the massive hepatectomy. Six of the 13 rats pretreated with curcumin survived, whereas all 13 rats pretreated with vehicle died within day 2 following a massive hepatectomy. A histological examination showed the lobular structure to be disturbed in the rats pretreated with vehicle, whereas the hepatic lobular structure remained relatively stable without necrosis in the rats pretreated with curcumin. The contents of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) protein in the control group were low in the preoperative phase. In contrast, the levels of HO-1 protein in the curcumin group were high at the preoperative phase, and thereafter remained at high levels until day 7 following surgery. Our results suggest that curcumin improves the survival rate by increasing the antioxidant activity in rats after a massive hepatectomy.


High-resolution electron microscopic analysis of the amyloid fibril.
The ultrastructural organization of the fibrous component of amyloid has been analyzed by means of high resolution electron microscopy of negatively stained isolated amyloid fibrils and of positively stained amyloid fibrils in thin tissue sections. It was found that a number of subunits could be resolved according to their dimensions. The following structural organization is proposed. The amyloid fibril, the fibrous component of amyloid as seen in electron microscopy of thin tissue sections, consists of a number of filaments aggregated side-by-side. These amyloid filaments are approximately 75-80 A in diameter and consist of five (or less likely six) subunits (amyloid protofibrils) which are arranged parallel to each other, longitudinal or slightly oblique to the long axis of the filament. The filament has often seemed to disperse into several longitudinal rows. The amyloid protofibril is about 25-35 A wide and appears to consist of two or three subunit strands helically arranged with a 35-50-A repeat (or, less likely, is composed of globular subunits aggregated end-to-end). These amyloid subprotofibrillar strands measure approximately 10-15 A in diameter.


Worthing Physiological Score vs Revised Trauma Score in Outcome Prediction of Trauma patients; a Comparative Study.
Awareness about the outcome of trauma patients in the emergency department (ED) has become a topic of interest. Accordingly, the present study aimed to compare the rapid trauma score (RTS) and worthing physiological scoring system (WPSS) in predicting in-hospital mortality and poor outcome of trauma patients. In this comparative study trauma patients brought to five EDs in different cities of Iran during the year 2016 were included. After data collection, discriminatory power and calibration of the models were assessed and compared using STATA 11. 2148 patients with the mean age of 39.50±17.27 years were included (75.56% males). The AUC of RTS and WPSS models for prediction of mortality were 0.86 (95% CI: 0.82-0.90) and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.87-0.94), respectively (p=0.006). RTS had a sensitivity of 71.54 (95% CI: 62.59-79.13) and a specificity of 97.38 (95% CI: 96.56-98.01) in prediction of mortality. These measures for the WPSS were 87.80 (95% CI: 80.38-92.78) and 83.45 (95% CI: 81.75-85.04), respectively. The AUC of RTS and WPSS in predicting poor outcome were 0.81 (95% CI: 0.77-0.85) and 0.89 (95% CI: 0.85-0.92), respectively (p<0.0001). The findings showed a higher prognostic value for the WPSS model in predicting mortality and severe disabilities in trauma patients compared to the RTS model. Both models had good overall performance in prediction of mortality and poor outcome.


Air Pollution Health Literacy among Active Commuters in Hamilton, Ontario.
The promotion of active transportation (AT), which has been broadly defined as a physical effort performed by the traveller to produce motion, has been a popular strategy to reduce vehicular emissions, improve air quality, and promote physical activity. However, individuals who engage in AT may incur increased exposure to air pollutants and thus potential health impacts. This research sought to determine how active commuters understand the health risks associated with air pollution during their commutes, and whether they engage in any behaviours to limit exposure. An online survey was adapted from the Environmental Health Literacy framework to assess air pollution health literacy among active commuters in Hamilton, ON, and generated a sample size of 192 AT users. Analyses involved the use of frequency tables and cross-tabulations for the quantitative data, and the Health Belief Model and thematic analysis to interpret the qualitative data. Results revealed that most AT users do not adopt behaviours that would limit air pollution exposure on commutes and exhibited low self-rated knowledge of the health impacts of air pollution exposure. Issues of perceived susceptibility and severity, barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy all further impacted the likelihood of adopting health protective behaviours. Conclusively, air pollution is an often-neglected consideration among active commuters, with air pollution knowledge predicting the likelihood of behavioural modification.


Fluoride Retention following the Professional Topical Application of 2% Neutral Sodium Fluoride Foam.
The objective of the present research was to determine the appropriate amount of fluoride to use professional topical application and the residual amounts of fluoride in the oral cavity using a 2% neutral sodium fluoride (NaF) foam with a dedicated tray. Using dentition study models, a method for determining the appropriate amount of NaF foam was investigated. In eight adult subjects, the appropriate amount of NaF foam, the concentration of fluoride in the saliva following professional topical application, and the amount of residual fluoride in the oral cavity following professional topical application was examined. The results indicated that the appropriate amount of NaF foam was approximately 0.8 g, the amount of residual fluoride in the oral cavity was approximately 25% of the amount of foam used.