Stereoelectroencephalography-Guided Laser Ablations in Patients With Neocortical Pharmacoresistant Focal Epilepsy: Concept and Operative Technique.
Laser ablation surgery has had encouraging results in the treatment of multiple intracranial diseases including primary and metastatic brain tumors, radiation necrosis, and epilepsy. The use of the stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) method in combination with laser thermocoagulation therapy with the goal of modulating epileptic networks in patients with neocortical nonlesional phamacoresistant epilepsy has not been previously described. To describe the novel methodological and conceptual aspects related to SEEG-guided laser ablations in patients with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-negative pharmacoresistant neocortical focal epilepsy. Guided by previous SEEG intracranial data, a laser ablation probe was inserted by using a robotic guidance device in a 17-yr-old medically refractory epilepsy patient with difficult to localize seizures and nonlesional MRI. The laser applicator position was confirmed by MRI, targeting the left mesial rostral superior frontal gyrus. The ablation was performed under multiplanar digital imaging views and real-time thermal imaging and treatment estimates in each plane. A postablation MRI (contrasted T1 sequence) confirmed the ablation's location and size. The entire procedure was achieved in approximately 100 min. The actual ablation was performed in less than 3 min. Approximately, additional 30 min preoperatively were used for positioning and robot registration. Precise placement of laser application (in comparison with preplanned trajectories) was achieved using the robotic guidance and confirmed by the intraoperative magnetic resonance images. No complications were reported. The patient has been seizure-free since surgery. The follow-up period is 20 mo. Two additional patients, treated with similar methodology, are also described. The preliminary experience with the described method shows the feasibility of a unique combination of the SEEG methodology with laser thermocoagulation in patients with neocortical MRI-negative pharmacoresistant focal epilepsy.


Enhancing interpretation of gastric residual volume by refractometry.
The traditional practice of gastric residual volumes (GRVs) is flawed in its design and conception, is poorly standardized in its technique, is an inaccurate measure of gastric emptying, and serves as an insensitive marker for regurgitation and aspiration. The refractive index of a solution (like an enteral formula) is a physical property of that solution, which is remarkably constant and reproducible under varying conditions of concentration, pH, and temperature. Refractometry may be performed quickly and easily at the bedside, requires only a small representative sample of aspirated solution, and provides valuable measurements that can be used to calculate both the true total volume of contents and the specific volume of formula remaining in the stomach. Refractometry complements the use of GRVs as a monitor for patients receiving enteral feeding and should improve the accuracy with which patients at risk for aspiration may be identified.


Development of a multi-scene universal multiple wavelet-FFT algorithm (MW-FFTA) for denoising motion artifacts in OCT-angiography in vivo imaging.
Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images suffer from inevitable micromotion (breathing, heartbeat, and blinking) noise. These image artifacts can severely disturb the visibility of results and reduce accuracy of vessel morphological and functional metrics quantization. Herein, we propose a multiple wavelet-FFT algorithm (MW-FFTA) comprising multiple integrated processes combined with wavelet-FFT and minimum reconstruction that can be used to effectively attenuate motion artifacts and significantly improve the precision of quantitative information. We verified the fidelity of image information and reliability of MW-FFTA by the image quality evaluation. The efficiency and robustness of MW-FFTA was validated by the vessel parameters on multi-scene in vivo OCTA imaging. Compared with previous algorithms, our method provides better visual and quantitative results. Therefore, the MW-FFTA possesses the potential capacity to improve the diagnosis of clinical diseases with OCTA.


Dose-dependent progressive sunscreens. A new strategy for photoprotection?
A new generation of UV filters has been developed that act by limiting the dose of radiation rather than by blocking a fraction of the solar irradiance on the skin surface. Such progressive sunscreens are based on the photochemical transformation of suitable precursors upon exposure to sunlight. Broadband sunscreens are thus generated "on demand", affording protection when, where, and to the extent that it is needed, providing higher protection to more exposed areas, and increasing the UV blocking capacity as the radiation dose increases. Encapsulation in silica particles isolates the precursors and transformation products, further improving the efficacy, safety, and environmental impact of the use of sunscreens.


Outbreak of mumps in a vaccinated child population: a question of vaccine failure?
In Belgium, children are immunized against measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) in a two-dose schedule at the age of 15 months and 11 years. Despite these recommendations, epidemics of mumps still occur. During an outbreak of mumps in Bruges (Belgium), 105 cases were registered in seven schools (age group 3-12 years). Lower than optimal vaccination coverage, inadequate vaccination schedule and a combination of primary and/or secondary vaccine failure are considered as possible reasons for the outbreak as described in the article. The role of secondary vaccine failure is highlighted.


[Fractal characteristics and scale dependence of mature granular sludge in anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR)].
Based on the SEM-images of mature granular sludge in ABR, the research process on fractal characteristics of these granules was built. The treatment and fractal dimensions calculation of the images were carried on through Photoshop, Newscan and Fips programs. The results showed that the boxing-counting dimensions of the mature granular sludge were more than 1.85, and the granules formed in the third and fifth compartments were more compact. The boundaries of the same granular sludge were fractal with the fractal dimensions of approximate 1.10, demonstrating the irregularity of the boundaries or surfaces, furthermore the surface of these granules formed in the first and fifth compartments was more irregular. It seemed that the compass dimensions of the granules boundary were a proof of irregularity of their surface. Moreover, there existed two scale scopes in calculating the compass dimensions of each granule, especially some of them with a range of one order of magnitude. A little discrepancy was appeared between box-counting and compass ways to calculating fractal dimensions. It will be important to build relationship between fractal dimensions with different scales and composition, structure, physico-chemical characteristics of granular sludge.


Indium chloride bone marrow scintigraphy for hepatic myelolipoma: A case report.
As hepatic myelolipoma is rarely encountered, its radiological diagnosis using ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is challenging. Hepatic myelolipoma is similar to fat-contained hepatic lesions seen in hepatocellular carcinoma and angiomyolipoma. Therefore, further development of techniques to diagnose hepatic myelolipoma is warranted. A 44-year-old obese man was found to have a hepatic lesion during his medical checkup. The lesion was 50 mm × 57 mm in size and was detected in segment 8 (S8) of the liver by US. The patient was diagnosed with hepatic lesion 20 years ago, but it was left unresolved. The patient had no symptoms, liver dysfunction, hepatitis virus antibody, or tumor marker elevation. Plain CT showed a well-defined lesion in S8 of the liver. The central and peripheral areas of the lesion primarily exhibited fat density and hypodensity, respectively. MRI revealed a capsule-like structure. Biopsy was performed to address the probability of hepatocellular carcinoma. The lesion was pathologically confirmed as a myelolipoma. Bone marrow scintigraphy performed using 111InCl3 revealed accumulation of the radiopharmaceutical in the soft tissue component, except in the fat-dominant part of the tumor, as well as in the surrounding liver parenchyma due to the presence of reticuloendothelial cells in the liver. This is the first report on the diagnosis of hepatic myelolipoma using 111InCl3 scintigraphy. The effectiveness of bone marrow scintigraphy for diagnosing hepatic myelolipoma might be limited. As radiopharmaceuticals accumulate in both hematopoietic and reticuloendothelial cells, the accumulation of radiopharmaceuticals in the lesion is obscure.


The Effectiveness of Physiotherapy in the Management of Temporomandibular Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
To analyze the methodologic quality, summarize the findings, and perform a meta-analysis of the results from randomized controlled trials that assessed the effects of physiotherapy management of temporomandibular disorders. A literature review was performed using the electronic databases PubMed, Science Direct, and EBSCO. Each article was independently assessed by two investigators using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), Jadad scales, and the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. A meta-analysis was conducted by using the DerSimonian-Laird random-effects method to obtain summary estimates of the standardized mean differences (SMD) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Between-study heterogeneity was computed and publication bias was assessed. Seven articles met the inclusion criteria and were used in the analysis, corresponding to nine estimates of SMD. The meta-analysis showed that for pain reduction, the summary SMD favored physiotherapy (SMD = -0.63; 95% CI: -0.95 to -0.31; number of studies = 8; I² = 0.0%), while for active range of movement (ROM) the differences between the intervention and control groups were not statistically significant (SMD = 0.33; 95% CI: -0.07 to 0.72; number of studies = 9; I² = 61.9%). Physiotherapy seems to lead to decreased pain and may improve active ROM. However, the results are not definitive and further studies and meta-analyses are needed before these results can be considered fully generalizable.


Leveraging observed soil heterotrophic respiration fluxes as a novel constraint on global-scale models.
Microbially explicit models may improve understanding and projections of carbon dynamics in response to future climate change, but their fidelity in simulating global-scale soil heterotrophic respiration (RH ), a stringent test for soil biogeochemical models, has never been evaluated. We used statistical global RH products, as well as 7821 daily site-scale RH measurements, to evaluate the spatiotemporal performance of one first-order decay model (CASA-CNP) and two microbially explicit biogeochemical models (CORPSE and MIMICS) that were forced by two different input datasets. CORPSE and MIMICS did not provide any measurable performance improvement; instead, the models were highly sensitive to the input data used to drive them. Spatial variability in RH fluxes was generally well simulated except in the northern middle latitudes (~50°N) and arid regions; models captured the seasonal variability of RH well, but showed more divergence in tropic and arctic regions. Our results demonstrate that the next generation of biogeochemical models shows promise but also needs to be improved for realistic spatiotemporal variability of RH . Finally, we emphasize the importance of net primary production, soil moisture, and soil temperature inputs, and that jointly evaluating soil models for their spatial (global scale) and temporal (site scale) performance provides crucial benchmarks for improving biogeochemical models.


Fast Matrix Factorization With Nonuniform Weights on Missing Data.
Matrix factorization (MF) has been widely used to discover the low-rank structure and to predict the missing entries of data matrix. In many real-world learning systems, the data matrix can be very high dimensional but sparse. This poses an imbalanced learning problem since the scale of missing entries is usually much larger than that of the observed entries, but they cannot be ignored due to the valuable negative signal. For efficiency concern, existing work typically applies a uniform weight on missing entries to allow a fast learning algorithm. However, this simplification will decrease modeling fidelity, resulting in suboptimal performance for downstream applications. In this paper, we weight the missing data nonuniformly, and more generically, we allow any weighting strategy on the missing data. To address the efficiency challenge, we propose a fast learning method, for which the time complexity is determined by the number of observed entries in the data matrix rather than the matrix size. The key idea is twofold: 1) we apply truncated singular value decomposition on the weight matrix to get a more compact representation of the weights and 2) we learn MF parameters with elementwise alternating least squares (eALS) and memorize the key intermediate variables to avoid repeating computations that are unnecessary. We conduct extensive experiments on two recommendation benchmarks, demonstrating the correctness, efficiency, and effectiveness of our fast eALS method.


Health problems encountered by dying patients receiving palliative home care until death.
Many of the studies reviewing the needs of the dying patient have used specified time points rather than following the patients through the last span of their lifetime, until death. This prospective study, using clinical records and nursing anecdotes, examined the health problems encountered by dying patients receiving home care from referral to home care until death. Thirty-two subjects were recruited in the study. The clinical records were content-analyzed using the Omaha system, and the anecdotes of the nurses were used to illuminate the numerical findings. This study reveals that patients who were discharged home were living in good environmental and social conditions. The physical symptoms were generally well controlled, except for dyspnea. The psychological aspects caused the most concern to patients, families, and healthcare professionals. The severity of the psychological signs and symptoms was moderate at the time of the initial visits, but improved toward the final visits. Understanding the needs of palliative home care patients can facilitate the healthcare team to plan care to support "good dying" of these patients.


Comparison of sublingual and oral captopril in hypertension.
The use of sublingual captopril has been recently suggested in hypertensive crisis on the assumption of a faster absorption and thus a more rapid effect on blood pressure than with the oral route. To verify this hypothesis we have compared the hypotensive effect of oral and sublingual captopril in 40 essential hypertensives who were randomly allocated to either route of administration. Captopril was administered orally dissolved in water or allowed to dissolve under the tongue. After 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 60 and 90 minutes blood pressure, Plasma Renin Activity (PRA) and Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) were measured. No significant differences were found between the two groups in the time course of blood pressure decrease, PRA increase and ACE inhibition. The changes of the parameters studied was superimposable irrespective of the route of administration thus not supporting the hypothesis that sublingual captopril might be absorbed more rapidly.


Bouveret's Syndrome - Case Series with Therapeutic Implications.
Bouveret's syndrome is a rare complication resulting from gallstone disease. Both surgical and endoscopical procedures are performed, with the disease to be seen as strictly interdisciplinary. There are no well-established recommendations for this condition. In this paper, we want to describe our experience from 6 cases in 3 Swiss hospitals from 2015 to 2017 with emphasis on the endoscopic technique of electrohydraulic lithotripsy followed by balloon dilatation and propose a treatment algorithm.


The Recent Progress of Pitch Nanoengineering to Obtain the Carbon Anode for High-Performance Sodium Ion Batteries.
As an anode material for sodium ion batteries (SIBs), carbon materials have attracted people's interest because of their abundant resources, good structural stability and low cost. Among most carbon precursors, pitch is viewed as a promising one because of a higher carbon content, good oxidation reversibility and low cost. However, the pitch-based carbon obtained with direct pyrolysis of pitch displays a high degree of graphitization and small layer spacing, which is unfavorable for the storage of sodium ions. In recent years, with the aid of the development of the nanoengineering process, the storage of sodium ions with pitch-based carbon has been drastically improved. This review article summarizes the recent progress of pitch nanoengineering to obtain the carbon anode for high-performance SIBs, including porous structure adjustment, heteroatom doping, co-carbonization and pre-oxidation. In addition, the merits and demerits of a variety of nanoengineering processes are discussed, and future research directions of pitch-based carbon are prospected.


A New Paradigm to Analyze Data Completeness of Patient Data.
There is a need to develop a tool that will measure data completeness of patient records using sophisticated statistical metrics. Patient data integrity is important in providing timely and appropriate care. Completeness is an important step, with an emphasis on understanding the complex relationships between data fields and their relative importance in delivering care. This tool will not only help understand where data problems are but also help uncover the underlying issues behind them. Develop a tool that can be used alongside a variety of health care database software packages to determine the completeness of individual patient records as well as aggregate patient records across health care centers and subpopulations. The methodology of this project is encapsulated within the Data Completeness Analysis Package (DCAP) tool, with the major components including concept mapping, CSV parsing, and statistical analysis. The results from testing DCAP with Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Database (SID) data show that this tool is successful in identifying relative data completeness at the patient, subpopulation, and database levels. These results also solidify a need for further analysis and call for hypothesis driven research to find underlying causes for data incompleteness. DCAP examines patient records and generates statistics that can be used to determine the completeness of individual patient data as well as the general thoroughness of record keeping in a medical database. DCAP uses a component that is customized to the settings of the software package used for storing patient data as well as a Comma Separated Values (CSV) file parser to determine the appropriate measurements. DCAP itself is assessed through a proof of concept exercise using hypothetical data as well as available HCUP SID patient data.


Genetic diversity and population structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in HIV-1-infected compared with uninfected individuals in Burkina Faso.
HIV-1 infection and HIV-1-induced immune deficiency may play a role in selecting particular Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains (i.e. genotypes). We compared 43 MTB isolates obtained from HIV-1-infected patients with 77 MTB isolates obtained from HIV-1-uninfected patients in Burkina Faso, by means of DNA fingerprinting methods (MIRU-VNTR plus spoligotyping). This study suggests a lack of structure of the MTB population caused by HIV-1 infection and a similar genetic diversity of MTB in HIV-1-infected compared with uninfected individuals.


Additional Value of PET and CT Image-Based Features in the Detection of Occult Lymph Node Metastases in Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review of the Literature.
Lung cancer represents the second most common malignancy worldwide and lymph node (LN) involvement serves as a crucial prognostic factor for tailoring treatment approaches. Invasive methods, such as mediastinoscopy and endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA), are employed for preoperative LN staging. Among the preoperative non-invasive diagnostic methods, computed tomography (CT) and, recently, positron emission tomography (PET)/CT with fluorine-18-fludeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) are routinely recommended by several guidelines; however, they can both miss pathologically proven LN metastases, with an incidence up to 26% for patients staged with [18F]FDG PET/CT. These undetected metastases, known as occult LN metastases (OLMs), are usually cases of micro-metastasis or small LN metastasis (shortest radius below 10 mm). Hence, it is crucial to find novel approaches to increase their discovery rate. Radiomics is an emerging field that seeks to uncover and quantify the concealed information present in biomedical images by utilising machine or deep learning approaches. The extracted features can be integrated into predictive models, as numerous reports have emphasised their usefulness in the staging of lung cancer. However, there is a paucity of studies examining the detection of OLMs using quantitative features derived from images. Hence, the objective of this review was to investigate the potential application of PET- and/or CT-derived quantitative radiomic features for the identification of OLMs.


LEVEL OF PAIN AND ANALGESICS TAKEN AFTER CESAREAN SECTION AND DIFFERENCES ACCORDING TO TYPE OF ANESTHESIA AND DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS.
The aim of this study was to investigate the level of pain and analgesic consumption in puerperas after cesarean section according to the type of anesthesia administered. This was a prospective study conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mostar University Hospital, in the period from September 2015 to June 2016. The study included 111 puerperas. Experimental group included 54 puerperas operated on under spinal anesthesia, while comparative group included 57 puerperas operated on under general anesthesia. Primary endpoints of the study were pain score and dose number of analgesics used. Input parameters of the study were age, gestational age, education, and place of residence. To determine the level of pain, visual analog scale for pain was used. Results showed that puerperas operated on under spinal anesthesia had significantly lower pain sensation (p=0.031) and less need for analgesic consumption in the postoperative period as compared to those operated on under general anesthesia (p=0.024). Increased age was associated with lower pain sensation (p=0.014) and need for analgesics (p<0.05). Higher level of education was associated with greater need for analgesics (p=0.016). Living in urban area was associated with greater pain sensation (p=0.023) and less need for analgesics (p<0.17). Spinal anesthesia for cesarean section resulted in less pain and less need for analgesics in the postoperative period compared to general anesthesia.


[Turner's syndrome and pregnancy].
After briefly summarizing Turner's syndrome, the authors reviewed several cases reported in the literature where pregnancy occurred in association with this syndrome. From this study it was revealed that pregnancy is exceptional in the course of Turner's syndrome since only 2 p. cent of women with this disorder conceive. Such an outcome may be explained by a reduced number of ovarian follicles. The poor prognosis when pregnancy does occur is represented by a 38 p. cent incidence of miscarriage, and an 18.4 p. cent rate of fetal malformations including a 6 p. cent rate of trisomy 21 (Down's syndrome). This finding requires that the patient be taken care of in a specialized department of obstetrics-gynecology, necessitates prenatal diagnosis and poses an ethical problem as to the obstetrical future of these patients.


Unleashing the Power of Bond Cleavage Chemistry in Living Systems.
Bioorthogonal cleavage chemistry has been rapidly emerging as a powerful tool for manipulation and gain-of-function studies of biomolecules in living systems. While the initial bond formation-centered bioorthogonal reactions have been widely adopted for labeling, tracing, and capturing biomolecules, the newly developed bond cleavage-enabled bioorthogonal reactions have opened new possibilities for rescuing small molecules as well as biomacromolecules in living systems, allowing multidimensional controls over biological processes in vitro and in vivo. In this Outlook, we first summarized the development and applications of bioorthogonal cleavage reactions (BCRs) that restore the functions of chemical structures as well as more complex networks, including the liberation of prodrugs, release of bioconjugates, and in situ reactivation of intracellular proteins. As we embarked on this fruitful progress, we outlined the unmet scientific needs and future directions along this exciting avenue. We believe that the potential of BCRs will be further unleashed when combined with other frontier technologies, such as genetic code expansion and proximity-enabled chemical labeling.


Comparison Between Multiline Transmission and Diverging Wave Imaging: Assessment of Image Quality and Motion Estimation Accuracy.
High frame rate imaging is particularly important in echocardiography for better assessment of the cardiac function. Several studies showed that diverging wave imaging (DWI) and multiline transmission (MLT) are promising methods for achieving a high temporal resolution. The aim of this study was to compare MLT and compounded motion compensation (MoCo) DWI for the same transmitted power, same frame rates [image quality and speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) assessment], and same packet size [tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) assessment]. Our results on static images showed that MLT outperforms DW in terms of resolution (by 30% on average). However, in terms of contrast, MLT outperforms DW only for the depth of 11 cm (by 40% on average), the result being reversed at a depth of 4 cm (by 27% on average). In vitro results on a spinning phantom at nine different velocities showed that similar STE axial errors (up to 2.3% difference in median errors and up to 2.1% difference in the interquartile ranges) are obtained with both ultrafast methods. On the other hand, the median lateral STE estimates were up to 13% more accurate with DW than with MLT. On the contrary, the accuracy of TDI was only up to ~3% better with MLT, but the achievable DW Doppler frame rate was up to 20 times higher. However, our overall results showed that the choice of one method relative to the other is therefore dependent on the application. More precisely, in terms of image quality, DW is more suitable for imaging structures at low depths, while MLT can provide an improved image quality at the focal point that can be placed at higher depths. In terms of motion estimation, DW is more suitable for color Doppler-related applications, while MLT could be used to estimate velocities along selected lines of the image.


Formation and actions of calcium-mobilizing messenger, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate.
A variety of surface membrane receptors can activate a phospholipase C, which degrades phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate liberating a calcium mobilizing second messenger, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate [(1,4,5)IP3]. The coupling of surface receptors to the phospholipase C involves one or more guanine nucleotide-dependent regulatory proteins that are similar but not identical to those that regulate adenylate cyclase. (1,4,5)IP3 has been shown to release Ca2+ from a portion of the endoplasmic reticulum and is believed responsible for the initial phase of Ca2+ mobilization ascribed to internal Ca2+ release. (1,4,5)IP3 acts by binding to a specific receptor that either is a component of, or regulates, a Ca2+ ion channel. The release of Ca2+ from the (1,4,5)IP3-sensitive component of the endoplasmic reticulum may secondarily activate the second phase of Ca2+ mobilization, which involves Ca2+ entry. (1,4,5)IP3 is metabolized by two pathways. One involves the action of a 5-phosphatase that degrades (1,4,5)IP3 to inositol 1,4-bisphosphate, whereas the other involves a 3-kinase that phosphorylates (1,4,5)IP3 to produce inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate. The significance of this dual metabolism is not known, but it may be important in rapidly extinguishing the Ca2+-releasing activity (1,4,5)IP3.


Post-allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Portal Hypertension Not Associated with Liver Cirrhosis, Veno-occlusive Disease, or Graft-versus-host Disease: A Case Report.
We herein report a rare case of idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH)-like disease that developed after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). A 53-year-old woman who underwent allo-HSCT for acute myeloid leukemia showed portal hypertension with radiological and histopathological findings consistent with IPH, distinct from veno-occlusive disease (VOD) and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) of the liver. This case highlights the importance of considering IPH-like disease as a potential cause of portal hypertension after allo-HSCT. Awareness of this complication can aid in the early diagnosis and appropriate management of patients post allo-HSCT.


Genistein-Derived ROS-Responsive Nanoparticles Relieve Colitis by Regulating Mucosal Homeostasis.
Disruption of intestinal homeostasis is an important event in the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and genistein (GEN) is a candidate medicine to prevent IBD. However, the clinical application of GEN is restricted owing to its low oral bioavailability. Herein, a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive nanomaterial (defined as GEN-NP2) containing superoxidase dismutase-mimetic temporally conjugated β-cyclodextrin and 4-(hydroxymethyl)phenylboronic acid pinacol ester-modified GEN was prepared. GEN-NP2 effectively delivered GEN to the inflammation site and protected GEN from rapid metabolism and elimination in the gastrointestinal tract. In response to high ROS levels, GEN was site-specifically released and accumulated at inflammatory sites. Mechanistically, GEN-NP2 effectively increased the expression of estrogen receptor β (ERβ), simultaneously reduced the expression of proinflammatory mediators (apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC) and Caspase1-p20), attenuated the infiltration of inflammatory cells, promoted autophagy of intestinal epithelial cells, inhibited the secretion of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), modulated the gut microbiota, and ultimately alleviated colitis. In addition, the oral administration of these nanoparticles showed excellent safety, thereby providing confidence in the further development of precise treatments for IBD.


Bulbar infarcts. Systematic study of lesion topography in 49 cases.
A pathological study has been carried out of 49 examples of medullary infarction in 33 patients. The medial infarcts, very seldom single (2 /12), spared the subolivary levels. The pontomedullary junction was affected in 3 /9 cases studied. The lesions were more frequent in the ventral part of the arterial zonal pattern. They more often extended to its dorsal part at the level of the middle and upper one-third of the olive. The lateral infarcts, seldom single (6/30), extended to the subolivary levels in 6/22 cases studied and to the pontomedullary junction in 9/24 cases. The structures involved in each case and the area of the lesions at each cranio-caudal level have been studied. None of the 7 dorsal infarcts was single; in 6 of these cases there was also a cerebellar infarct involving the area of supply of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery. The subolivary levels (1/6) and ponto-medullary junctions (1/6) were seldom affected. The extent of the lesions in these uncommon infarcts has been described in detail.


cis-Tetrahydrofuran-3,4-diol structure as a key skeleton of new protecting groups removable by self-cyclization under oxidative conditions.
A variety of carbonate-type acyl groups having a cis-tetrahydrofuran-3,4-diol (1,4-anhydroerythritol) backbone structure and a TrS or MMTrS group have been examined as new "protected" protecting groups of the 5'-hydroxyl group of nucleosides. These acyl groups were designed in a manner where they could be deprotected by I(2)-promoted removal of the TrS or MMTrS group followed by self-cyclization involving an intramolecular attack of the once-generated neighboring hydroxyl group on the acyl carbon. It turned out that these acyl groups could be introduced into the 5'-hydroxyl group of a 3'-O-protected thymidine derivative by use of the corresponding acyl imidazolides or 4-nitrophenyl esters as well as by reaction with carbonyldiimidazole or 4-nitrophenyl chloroformate. Among the acyl groups tested, it was found that the CTFOC group could be easily introduced into the 5'-hydroxyl group of 3'-masked deoxyribonucleoside derivatives and rapidly removed under mild conditions using iodine.


Potential use of computer simulation in treatment of burns with special regard to oedema formation.
The potential usefulness of computer-based 'patient-simulators' in burn care is discussed and illustrated in the special case of oedema formation in three patients with severe thermal injuries. The present model was derived from a model by Wiederhielm (1978), and modified to be applicable to thermal injuries. The model seems to describe accurately the oedema formation as well as the distribution and composition of local and general oedema. Following thermal injuries the general oedema is characterized by typical disturbances in the circulatory state variables such as capillary pressure and plasma colloid osmotic pressure. The net water flow is increased because of an increase in filtration rate and a decrease in reabsorption rate. The resulting interstitial oedema leads to dilution of the free water proteins and a decrease in interstitial colloid osmotic pressure. The elevation of interstitial pressure leads to an increase in lymph flow. The local oedema is caused by changes in both the circulatory system and the interstitial space. There is an increase in both water and protein net flows. The latter is due to increased protein leakage to the interstitium. This results in an interstitial oedema with a higher protein concentration in free water than in general oedema. Because of the higher protein concentration in free water, the interstitial colloid osmotic pressure is at all times larger than the corresponding pressure in general oedema. In all three patients the general shape of the simulated and measured oedema curve were the same, but with minor differences in numerical values. It is interesting to note that the general oedema was larger than the local oedema in all three extensively burned patients. The results from the present investigation indicate the importance of monitoring either the total plasma protein concentration or the plasma colloid osmotic pressure and small vein pressure for guidance of a proper fluid resuscitation. The steady state 'oedema vs. venous pressure'-diagram obtained may also be used for evaluating the dynamic effects on general oedema formation due to changes in venous pressure and plasma protein concentration. It thus turned out that for a typical thermal injury with a decreased small vein pressure a continuous colloid infusion is to be preferred instead of an intermittent model of administration.


Improved CNN Method for Crop Pest Identification Based on Transfer Learning.
Timely treatment and elimination of diseases and pests can effectively improve the yield and quality of crops, but the current identification methods are difficult to achieve efficient and accurate research and analysis of diseases and pests. To solve this problem, this study proposes a crop pest identification method based on a multilayer network model. First, the method provides a reliable sample dataset for the recognition model through image data enhancement and other operations; the corresponding pest image recognition and analysis model is constructed based on VGG16 and Inception-ResNet-v2 transfer learning network to ensure the completeness of the recognition and analysis model; then, using the idea of an integrated algorithm, the two improved CNN series pest image recognition and analysis models are effectively fused to improve the accuracy of the model for crop pest recognition and classification. The simulation analysis is realized based on the IDADP dataset. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the proposed method for pest identification is 97.71%, which improves the poor identification effect of the current method.


Expression and regulation of calcium-independent protein kinase C in NG 108-15 cell differentiation.
Protein, mRNA and activity levels of the calcium-independent protein kinase C (nPKC) isoenzymes were examined in NG108-15 cells. Western blot analyses reveal that proliferating NG 108-15 cells express the delta, epsilon, and eta, but not the theta species. The atypical species PKC zeta was also detected. Differentiation of these cells with dibutyryl cAMP was associated with increase in the levels of PKC epsilon, with no significant changes in its steady-state mRNA levels. The levels of the other isoforms were not altered by the differentiated state. Similarly, no changes in nPKC activity were discerned in either the soluble or particulate fractions when histone or other proteins were used as substrates. These data suggest that the PKC epsilon isoform may be important for the production and maintenance of the differentiated state in NG 108-15 cells.


[Suprapetrosal approach to the anterosuperior surface of the petrous bone. Its importance for the treatment of rare lesions of the sphenoid bone, trigeminal nerve and internal carotid artery].
The anterior suprapetrosal approach provides access to the anterior part of the middle cerebral fossa and its various openings: small round, oval and large round foramina. Trephination of the floor of the cerebral fossa reveals the Eustachian tube, the intrapetrosal portion of the internal carotid artery, the pterygomaxillary fossa, and possibly a particularly markedly developed recess of the sphenoidal sinus. This new surgical approach can resolve certain rare but classical therapeutic problems, particularly of excision of tumors in this region: neurinomas of V developing anteriorly, meningioma.


Spermatozoa from males with reduced fecundity exhibit differential DNA methylation patterns.
Infertility affects 10-15% of couples, and approximately 50% of cases are linked to male factor infertility. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the DNA methylation patterns in spermatozoa from males who are suffering from a reduction in fecundity. Thirty samples were subjected to 450K arrays as a screening study to evaluate the variation in sperm DNA methylation levels between cases and controls groups, and then four CpG sites (cg05799088, cg07227024, cg16338278, and cg08408433) underwent to deep bisulfite sequencing to validate the observed methylation differences in 111 samples (56 proven fertile males as 'controls' and 55 males suffering from a reduction in fecundity as 'cases'). A significant difference in the mean methylation level was found between cases and controls in the CpGs of PRICKLE2 gene-related amplicon (CpG1, p ≤ 0.002, and CpG2, p ≤ 0.004) and CpG of ALS2CR12 gene-related amplicon (CpG1, p ≤ 0.015, and CpG2, p ≤ 0.009). Besides, a significant difference was found at seven from thirteen CpGs tested in the ALDH3B2 gene amplicon CpG2, CpG6, CpG9, CpG10, CpG11, CpG12, and CpG13 (p ≤ 0.005, p ≤ 0.004, p ≤ 0.012, p ≤ 0.028, p ≤ 0.012, p ≤ 0.009, and p ≤ 0.001, respectively). In addition, the results showed that nine CpGs out of the twenty-six within the PTGIR gene-related amplicon (CpG4, CpG6, CpG8, CpG9, CpG11, CpG15, CpG19, CpG23, and CpG26) had a significant difference in their mean methylation level (p ≤ 0.006, p ≤ 0.009, p ≤ 0.003, p ≤ 0.003, p ≤ 0.007, p ≤ 0.002, p ≤ 0.018, p ≤ 0.018, and p ≤ 0.040, respectively) in the case vs. In conclusion, an alteration in the methylation levels of sperm DNA from males with reduced fecundity was observed. In addition, an association between changes in the methylation level for these CpGs and different semen parameters has been found.


Reactions of alpha-diimine ligands with the in situ generated "S(OTf)2" synthon.
A series of reactions of alpha-diimine ligands with a 2:1 mixture of SCl(2) and trimethylsilyltrifluormethanesulfonate(TMS-OTf), which behaves as an S(OTf)(2) synthon, were performed. The reactivity was shown to differ based on the substitution at the nitrogen atoms of the ligand as aromatic groups yielded dicationic sulfur nitrogen heterocycles whereas alkyl groups resulted in the loss of one of the organic substituents at nitrogen giving monocationic 1,2,5-thiadiazolium rings. The substitution on the backbone carbon being a hydrogen atom, phenyl group (diazabutadiene; DAB) or acenaphthene (bisiminoacenaphthene, BIAN) proved not to be influential on the outcome of the reaction as both systems resulted in N,N'-chelated dications. These are rare examples of sulfur structural mimics of the N-heterocyclic silylene, and the BIAN species represent the first complexes of sulfur with this ubiquitous ligand.


Small organic compounds enhance antigen loading of class II major histocompatibility complex proteins by targeting the polymorphic P1 pocket.
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules are a key element of the cellular immune response. Encoded by the MHC they are a family of highly polymorphic peptide receptors presenting peptide antigens for the surveillance by T cells. We have shown that certain organic compounds can amplify immune responses by catalyzing the peptide loading of human class II MHC molecules HLA-DR. Here we show now that they achieve this by interacting with a defined binding site of the HLA-DR peptide receptor. Screening of a compound library revealed a set of adamantane derivatives that strongly accelerated the peptide loading rate. The effect was evident only for an allelic subset and strictly correlated with the presence of glycine at the dimorphic position beta86 of the HLA-DR molecule. The residue forms the floor of the conserved pocket P1, located in the peptide binding site of MHC molecule. Apparently, transient occupation of this pocket by the organic compound stabilizes the peptide-receptive conformation permitting rapid antigen loading. This interaction appeared restricted to the larger Gly(beta86) pocket and allowed striking enhancements of T cell responses for antigens presented by these "adamantyl-susceptible" MHC molecules. As catalysts of antigen loading, compounds targeting P1 may be useful molecular tools to amplify the immune response. The observation, however, that the ligand repertoire can be affected through polymorphic sites form the outside may also imply that environmental factors could induce allergic or autoimmune reactions in an allele-selective manner.


Histone deacetylase AtHDA7 is required for female gametophyte and embryo development in Arabidopsis.
Histone modifications are involved in the regulation of many processes in eukaryotic development. In this work, we provide evidence that AtHDA7, a HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) of the Reduced Potassium Dependency3 (RPD3) superfamily, is crucial for female gametophyte development and embryogenesis in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Silencing of AtHDA7 causes degeneration of micropylar nuclei at the stage of four-nucleate embryo sac and delay in the progression of embryo development, thereby bringing the seed set down in the Athda7-2 mutant. Furthermore, AtHDA7 down- and up-regulation lead to a delay of growth in postgermination and later developmental stages. The Athda7-2 mutation that induces histone hyperacetylation significantly increases the transcription of other HDACs (AtHDA6 and AtHDA9). Moreover, silencing of AtHDA7 affects the expression of ARABIDOPSIS HOMOLOG OF SEPARASE (AtAESP), previously demonstrated to be involved in female gametophyte and embryo development. However, chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis with acetylated H3 antibody provided evidence that the acetylation levels of H3 at AtAESP and HDACs does not change in the mutant. Further investigations are essential to ascertain the mechanism by which AtHDA7 affects female gametophyte and embryo development.


Adaptation of continuous biogas reactors operating under wet fermentation conditions to dry conditions with corn stover as substrate.
Corn stover (CS) is the agricultural by-product of maize cultivation. Due to its high abundance and high energy content it is a promising substrate for the bioenergy sector. However, it is currently neglected in industrial scale biogas plants, because of its slow decomposition and hydrophobic character. To assess the maximum biomethane potential of CS, long-term batch fermentations were carried out with various substrate concentrations and particle sizes for 72 days. In separate experiments we adapted the biogas producing microbial community in wet fermentation arrangement first to the lignocellulosic substrate, in Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR), then subsequently, by continuously elevating the feed-in concentration, to dry conditions in solid state fermenters (SS-AD). In the batch tests, the <10 mm fraction of the grinded and sieved CS was amenable for biogasification, but it required 10% more time to produce 90% of the total biomethane yield than the <2 mm sized fraction, although in the total yields there was no significant difference between the two size ranges. We also observed that increasing amount of substrate added to the fermentation lowered the specific methane yield. In the CSTR experiment, the daily substrate loading was gradually increased from 1 to 2 gvs/L/day until the system produced signs of overloading. Then the biomass was transferred to SS-AD reactors and the adaptation process was studied. Although the specific methane yields were lower in the SS-AD arrangement (177 mL CH4/gvs in CSTR vs. 105 mL in SS-AD), the benefits of process operational parameters, i.e. lower energy consumption, smaller reactor volume, digestate amount generated and simpler configuration, may compensate the somewhat lower yield.


Sems (self expanding metal stents) in a patient with esophagogastric cancer and esophagorespiratory fistula (ERF).
Esophagorespiratory fistulas, especially in the upper third of the esophagus, are a complication of malignant esophageal tumors, whose management is difficult and prognosis is poor. Treatment is palliative and involves restoration of the ability to ingest food and prevention of aspiration by insertion of esophageal or tracheobronchial stents. In selected patients the insertion of a single stent may be insufficient for pallation therefore the placement of parallel stents may be indicated in patients with symptoms caused by malignant esophagorespiratory fistula. A case of esophagorespiratory fistula managed with insertion of parallel stents is presented.


Total Hip Arthroplasty in Patients With Multifactorial Perceived Limb Length Discrepancy.
Patients with advanced hip arthritis can present with multifactorial limb length discrepancies (LLDs) owing to bony shortening from growth arrest, proximal hip migration, soft-tissue contractures, and pelvic obliquity. The patient perceives an LLD that is a combination of true LLD and apparent LLD. We retrospectively reviewed 7 cases with multifactorial mean perceived LLD of 7.7 cm (range, 3.6-11 cm) that underwent primary total hip arthroplasty and auxiliary soft-tissue procedures. Perceived LLD, true LLD, and apparent LLD were defined and were compared before and after surgery in this cohort of patients with a mean follow-up of 57.4 months. The mean perceived LLD at final follow-up was 1.0 ± 0.9 cm compared with that of 7.7 ± 2.6 cm preoperatively (P < .05). Postoperative true LLD was 0.7 ± 0.8 cm compared with that of 3.2 ± 0.8 cm preoperatively (P < .05). At final follow-up, all 7 patients were ambulating without any assistive devices and were satisfied with their surgical outcome. With careful preoperative clinical and radiographic assessments as well as planning for multifactorial perceived LLD, this can be adequately corrected with primary total hip arthroplasty and auxiliary soft-tissue procedures resulting in good radiologic and functional outcomes.


[Subarachnoidal haemorrhage and myocardial failure: interest of cardiac and cerebral monitoring].
Spontaneous subarachnoidal haemorrhage can be associated with neurogenic pulmonary oedema and cardiogenic shock. The presentation is an ischemic myocardial dysfunction associated with normal coronary arteries. Hypoxaemia associated with arterial hypotension on patients with brain injury can worsen neurological outcome. The administration of norepinephrine associated with fluid expansion could be deleterious on cardiac function. We report the case of a patient with acute pulmonary oedema associated with post-aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage managed with transoesophageal Doppler monitoring.


Obesity and Brain Health: The Impact of Metabolic Syndrome and Cardiorespiratory Fitness on Cognitive Performances in Middle-Aged Obese Women.
Mid-life obesity has been reported to be a significant risk factor for later-life dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been suggested to have an adverse effect while cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) has been suggested to have a protective effect on cognitive function of older adults. However, studies investigating such effects in middle-aged obese women are limited. To compare cognitive performances between obese and normal weight middle-aged women and examine the effects of MetS and CRF on cognitive performances when combined with obesity. Cross-sectional study with the data of 87 middle-aged women (58 obese and 29 normal weight, with age and education matched). The non-invasive screening method for metabolic syndrome (NIM-MetS) was used to detect MetS. CRF was determined by using maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) and was classified as high or low (VO2 max higher or lower than 50th percentile) based on the American College of Sports Medicine's guidelines. Neurocognitive tests including Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), digit span (DS), trail making test (TMT), hand reaction time (HRT), logical memory (LM), and semantic verbal fluency test (SVFT) were administered to all participants. The obese group demonstrated significantly lower score in MoCA, DS, TMT, HRT, and LM than the normal weight group (p < 0.05). The obese with MetS subgroup (n = 28) showed significantly lower score in LM than the obese non-MetS subgroup (n = 30) (p = 0.002). Normal weight with high CRF participants (NW-high CRF; n = 28) demonstrated significantly higher score in MoCA and HRT than obese with high CRF participants (OB-high CRF; n = 24) (p < 0.05), and demonstrated better score in MoCA, DS, TMT, HRT, and LM than obese with low CRF participants (OB-low CRF; n = 24) (p < 0.05). OB-high CRF showed significantly greater score in DS, TMT and LM than OB-low CRF (p < 0.05). Obesity shows negative impact on several cognitive functions, which memory appears to be further affected when combined with MetS in middle-aged women, whereas CRF is suggested to have benefit on certain aspects of cognitive domains. Maintaining a healthy body weight and improving CRF are beneficial for cognitive function of middle-aged women.


The fetuses-at-risk approach: survival analysis from a fetal perspective.
Several phenomena in contemporary perinatology create challenges for analyzing pregnancy outcomes. These include recent increases in iatrogenic delivery at late preterm and early term gestation, which are incongruent with the belief that stillbirth and neonatal death risks decrease exponentially with advancing gestational age. Perinatal epidemiologists have also puzzled over the paradox of intersecting birthweight-specific and gestational age-specific perinatal mortality curves for decades. For example, neonatal mortality rates among preterm infants of women who smoke are substantially lower than neonatal mortality rates among preterm infants of non-smoking women, whereas the reverse pattern occurs at term gestation. This mortality crossover is observed across several contrasts (for example, women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy vs. normotensive women, older vs. younger women, twins vs. singletons) and outcomes (stillbirth, neonatal death, sudden infant death syndrome and cerebral palsy), and irrespective of how advancing "maturity" is defined (birthweight or gestational age). One approach proposed to address and explain these unexpected phenomena is the fetuses-at-risk model. This formulation involves a reconceptualization of the denominator for perinatal outcome rates from births to surviving fetuses. In this overview of the fetuses-at-risk model, we discuss the central tenets of the births-based and the fetuses-based formulations. We also describe the extension of the fetuses-at-risk approach to outcomes into and beyond the neonatal period and to a multivariable adaptation. Finally, we provide a substantive context by discussing biological mechanisms underlying the fetuses-at-risk model and contemporary obstetric phenomena that are better understood from that model than from one based on births.


Life Stage-Specific Cargo Receptors Facilitate Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-Anchored Surface Coat Protein Transport in Trypanosoma brucei.
The critical virulence factor of bloodstream-form Trypanosoma brucei is the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored variant surface glycoprotein (VSG). Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) exit of VSG is GPI dependent and relies on a discrete subset of COPII machinery (TbSec23.2/TbSec24.1). In other systems, p24 transmembrane adaptor proteins selectively recruit GPI-anchored cargo into nascent COPII vesicles. Trypanosomes have eight putative p24s (TbERP1 to TbERP8) that are constitutively expressed at the mRNA level. However, only four TbERP proteins (TbERP1, -2, -3, and -8) are detectable in bloodstream-form parasites. All four colocalize to ER exit sites, are required for efficient GPI-dependent ER exit, and are interdependent for steady-state stability. These results suggest shared function as an oligomeric ER GPI-cargo receptor. This cohort also mediates rapid forward trafficking of the soluble lysosomal hydrolase TbCatL. Procyclic insect-stage trypanosomes have a distinct surface protein, procyclin, bearing a different GPI anchor structure. A separate cohort of TbERP proteins (TbERP1, -2, -4, and -8) are expressed in procyclic parasites and also function in GPI-dependent ER exit. Collectively, these results suggest developmentally regulated TbERP cohorts, likely in obligate assemblies, that may recognize stage-specific GPI anchors to facilitate GPI-cargo trafficking throughout the parasite life cycle. IMPORTANCE African trypanosomes are protozoan parasites that cause African sleeping sickness. Critical to the success of the parasite is the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG), which covers the parasite cell surface and which is essential for evasion of the host immune system. VSG is membrane bound by a glycolipid (GPI) anchor that is attached in the earliest compartment of the secretory pathway, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We have previously shown that the anchor acts as a positive forward trafficking signal for ER exit, implying a cognate receptor mechanism for GPI recognition and loading in coated cargo vesicles leaving the ER. Here, we characterize a family of small transmembrane proteins that act at adaptors for this process. This work adds to our understanding of general GPI function in eukaryotic cells and specifically in the synthesis and transport of the critical virulence factor of pathogenic African trypanosomes.


"I Don't Want to Be an Ostrich": Managing Mothers' Uncertainty during BRCA1/2 Genetic Counseling.
Families who face genetic disease risk must learn how to grapple with complicated uncertainties about their health and future on a long-term basis. Women who undergo BRCA 1/2 genetic testing describe uncertainty related to personal risk as well as their loved ones', particularly daughters', risk. The genetic counseling setting is a prime opportunity for practitioners to help mothers manage uncertainty in the moment but also once they leave a session. Uncertainty Management Theory (UMT) helps to illuminate the various types of uncertainty women encounter and the important role of communication in uncertainty management. Informed by UMT, we conducted a thematic analysis of 16 genetic counseling sessions between practitioners and mothers at risk for, or carriers of, a BRCA1/2 mutation. Five themes emerged that represent communication strategies used to manage uncertainty: 1) addresses myths, misunderstandings, or misconceptions; 2) introduces uncertainty related to science; 3) encourages information seeking or sharing about family medical history; 4) reaffirms or validates previous behavior or decisions; and 5) minimizes the probability of personal risk or family members' risk. Findings illustrate the critical role of genetic counseling for families in managing emotionally challenging risk-related uncertainty. The analysis may prove beneficial to not only genetic counseling practice but generations of families at high risk for cancer who must learn strategic approaches to managing a complex web of uncertainty that can challenge them for a lifetime.


Congenital diaphragmatic hernia may be associated with 17q12 microdeletion syndrome.
Microdeletions of 17q12 encompassing TCF2 are associated with maturity-onset of diabetes of the young type 5, cystic renal disease, pancreatic atrophy, Mullerian aplasia in females and variable cognitive impairment. We report on a patient with a de novo 17q12 microdeletion, 1.8 Mb in size, associated with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). The 5-year-old male patient presented multicystic renal dysplasia kidneys, minor facial dysmorphic features and skeletal anomalies, but neither developmental delay nor behavioral abnormalities. CDH has been previously associated with the 17q12 microdeletion syndrome only in one prenatal case. The present study reinforces the hypothesis that CDH is part of the phenotype for 17q12 microdeletion and that 17q12 encompasses candidate(s) gene(s) involved in diaphragm development. We suggest that PIGW, a gene involved in an early step of GPI biosynthesis, could be a strong candidate gene for CDH.


A cross-regional assessment of the factors affecting ecoliteracy: implications for policy and practice.
The value of accumulated ecological knowledge, termed ecoliteracy, is vital to both human and ecosystem health. Maintenance of this knowledge is essential for continued support of local conservation efforts and the capacity of communities to self- or co-manage their local resources sustainably. Most previous studies have been qualitative and small scale, documenting ecoliteracy in geographically isolated locations. In this study, we take a different approach, focusing on (1) the primary factors affecting individual levels of ecoliteracy, (2) whether these factors shift with economic development, and (3) if different knowledge protection strategies are required for the future. We compared non-resource-dependent communities in the United Kingdom with resource-dependent communities in India and Indonesia (n=1250 interviews). We found that UK residents with the highest levels of ecoliteracy visited the countryside frequently, lived and grew up in rural areas, and acquired their knowledge from informal word-of-mouth sources, such as parents and friends, rather than television and schooling. The ecoliteracy of resource-dependent community members, however, varied with wealth status and gender. The least wealthy families depended most on local resources for their livelihoods and had the highest levels of ecoliteracy. Gender roles affected both the level and content of an individual's ecoliteracy. The importance of reciprocal oral transfer of this knowledge in addition to direct experience to the maintenance of ecoliteracy was apparent at all sites. Lessons learned may contribute to new local resource management strategies for combined ecoliteracy conservation. Without novel policies, local community management capacity is likely to be depleted in the future.


Social relationships and social support among post-war youth in Northern Uganda.
Although social relationships and social support are salient factors for post-war adolescents' psychosocial coping and adjustment, there is only limited information regarding war-affected adolescents' views on social support and the relationships within which social support is provided. This study therefore explored both elements among a clinical sample of 20 adolescents living in post-war Northern Uganda. Following Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis, we found a prominent role of the biological mother and other primary biological family members in the upbringing of our participants. Spiritual and material support were perceived to be the most important type of support, respectively, while the adolescents were growing up and in their current lives. These findings provide support for the perception that caregiving systems are adaptable to particular sociocultural contexts. Further, the importance of particular functions of social support could signify a potentially selective buffering effect of these functions in adverse contexts. Because of the importance of the primary biological family and the salient role of parent-child relationships in the face of adversity, future research needs to focus on this particular kind of social relationship in contexts of prolonged collective violence.


[Elevation of cerebral lactate detected by localized 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy in a patient with migraine].
Localized 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed in a 45-year-old woman with migraine. She developed throbbing headache attacks without aura since thirteen years ago and the attack was accompanied with right hemiplegia since seven years ago. Brain MRI showed no abnormalities and 123I-IMP SPECT revealed mild frontal dominant decrease of cerebral blood flow. It seemed that her condition was positioned between migraine with prolonged aura and migrainous infarction of complicated migraine in the classification of International Headache Society. Spectra obtained from bilateral frontal lobe interictally showed elevation of lactate at left side. Choline, creatine, and N-acetyl-aspartate were almost equal on both side. The above results suggest that slight ischemia which is not detected by MRI is present or there is a disturbance of oxidative glycolysis, which is induced by mitochondrial dysfunction.


[Autoradiographic and scintillationspectrographic studies of 14C-zolimidine in rats after i.v. and oral application (author's transl)].
The relative distribution of radioactivity after i.v. (5 mg/kg) and oral (25 mg/kg) application of 14C-Zolimidine [2-(p-methyl-sulfonylphenyl)-imidazo-(1,2-a)-pyridine-2-14C] was examined in male rats by whole-body autoradiography and scintillation fluid spectrometry. 14C-Activity was remarkably concentrated in the stomach of i.v. treated animals, probably as a result of secretion from the pyloric and/or fundic part of the mucous membrane. 14C-Zolimidine also accumulated in the aortic vascular walls, the adrenal gland, and in the excretory organs, liver, kidney, and intestine, after both routes of drug administration. Much less radioactivity could be measured in brain and spinal cord. The estimation of nearly 80% gastrointestinal absorption of 14C-zolimidine and the suggestion of one or more metabolites were in accordance with previously reported results. The elimination of radioactivity from brain occurred more rapidly than from other organs. No striking results were found in the reproductive organs of the rats.


Cementoenamel junction: An insight.
The location and nature of cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) are more than descriptive terms used simply to describe some aspects of tooth morphology; however, CEJ gains a lot of clinical significance due to various measurements dependent on it. It may be necessary to determine the location and pathological changes occurring at CEJ to make a diagnosis and treat diseases pertaining to epithelial attachment and gingival margin. However, the information related to CEJ is not discussed commonly. Hence, the present review paper provides an insight on CEJ in both primary and permanent dentition.


A low-fidelity serious game for medical-based cultural competence education.
Research has shown that the quality of care is compromised when healthcare providers respond inappropriately to patient language and cultural factors. However, research indicates that medical education is not keeping pace with the changing composition of the patient population in culturally diverse societies such as Canada and the United States, and many healthcare providers do not possess the attitudes or skills required to be effective within a culturally diverse healthcare setting. Here, we present Fydlyty, a web-based, low-fidelity serious game for medical-based cultural competence education. Fydlyty includes both a scenario and dialogue editor providing the ability to develop conversations, interpret responses, and respond to questions/answers from the game player. These responses are based on predefined cultural characteristics of the virtual patient and on different moods that the virtual patient may express depending on the situation. The results of a usability experiment conducted with medical professionals and trainees revealed that the game is easy to use, intuitive, and engaging.


[Atrioventricular asynchrony and pacing].
Atrioventricular dissociation and atrioventricular block are the most common types of atrioventricular asynchrony. Less frequently, atrioventricular asynchrony may occur in the pacemaker syndrome or during sequential pacing with programmed asynchronous atrioventricular delay. A rare type of atrioventricular asynchrony that has relevant hemodynamic effects is observed in first-degree atrioventricular block when associated with mitral stenosis or other conditions characterized by an obstruction of the left atrial outflow. Atrioventricular asynchrony can be defined as systolic when both the atrium and ventricle are contracting simultaneously (pacemaker syndrome, sequential pacing with programmed asynchronous atrioventricular interval), or systo-diastolic when atrial systole occurs at the onset of ventricular diastole as observed in patients with very long PR interval. All described asynchronies can be eliminated by sequential pacing with programmed synchronous atrioventricular delay.


Fragmentation dynamics of CO(2)(3+) investigated by multiple electron capture in collisions with slow highly charged ions.
Fragmentation of highly charged molecular ions or clusters consisting of more than two atoms can proceed in a one step synchronous manner where all bonds break simultaneously or sequentially by emitting one ion after the other. We separated these decay channels for the fragmentation of CO(2)(3+) ions by measuring the momenta of the ionic fragments. We show that the total energy deposited in the molecular ion is a control parameter which switches between three distinct fragmentation pathways: the sequential fragmentation in which the emission of an O(+) ion leaves a rotating CO(2+) ion behind that fragments after a time delay, the Coulomb explosion and an in-between fragmentation--the asynchronous dissociation. These mechanisms are directly distinguishable in Dalitz plots and Newton diagrams of the fragment momenta. The CO(2)(3+) ions are produced by multiple electron capture in collisions with 3.2 keV/u Ar(8+) ions.


Nonoperative treatment of adult acquired flat foot with the Arizona brace.
Nonoperative treatment of posterior tibial tendon dysfunction can be successful with the Arizona AFO brace, particularly when treatment is initiated in the early stages of the disease. This mandates that the orthopedist has a high index of suspicion when evaluating patients to make an accurate diagnosis. Although there is a role for surgical management of acquired flat feet, a well-fitted, custom-molded leather and polypropylene orthosis can be effective at relieving symptoms and either obviating or delaying any surgical intervention. In today's climate of patient satisfaction directed health care, a less invasive treatment modality that relieves pain may prove to be more valuable than similar pain relief that is obtained after surgery. Questions regarding the long-term results of bracing remain unanswered. Future studies are needed to determine if disease progression and arthrosis occur despite symptomatic relief with a brace. Furthermore, age- and disease stage-matched control groups who are randomized to undergo surgery or bracing are necessary to compare these different treatment modalities. At this time, the Arizona AFO brace can be a useful weapon in the orthopedist's armamentarium for treating acquired flat foot deformity.


Thermal, metabolic, and cardiovascular changes in men and women during cold stress.
Our understanding of the responses of men and women to cold stress is extremely limited. Various scientists have suggested that there could be gender differences in thermoregulatory responses due to sexual dimorphism in body fatness and its distribution, in body surface area, and in mass. In addition, there are also several lines of evidence supporting the hypothesis that there are gender-specific physiological responses to body cooling. In cold water studies, women cool more rapidly than men when at rest; this potentially greater stimulus does not result in a greater metabolic response by the women. If both groups increase their metabolism by performing a prescribed amount of exercise, there are no differences in body cooling. However, if they exercise spontaneously, the women select a lower metabolic rate and experience greater body cooling. Thus, it appears that women are less thermally sensitive to cold water. In cold air stress women have a lower mean skin temperature than men, but this is not observed in peripheral skin sites. In contrast to cold water, women do not experience greater drops in deep body temperature than men in cold air. Furthermore, men may be more metabolically sensitive than women to cold air stress. Men also respond to cold air with a bradycardia and increased stroke volume, while women show no change in these parameters. Similarly, men show a greater blood pressure response than women to local cooling of a hand or the face. Many of these gender-specific responses cannot be explained fully by differences in body morphology and support the concept that men and women respond differently to the cold.


Sleep Architecture and Sleep EEG Alterations are Associated with Impaired Cognition Under Sleep Restriction.
Many studies have investigated the cognitive, emotional, and other impairments caused by sleep restriction. However, few studies have explored the relationship between cognitive performance and changes in sleep structure and electroencephalography (EEG) during sleep. The present study aimed to examine whether changes in sleep structure and EEG can account for cognitive impairment caused by sleep restriction. Sixteen young adults spent five consecutive nights (adaptation 9h, baseline 8h, 1st restriction 6h, 2nd restriction 6h, and recovery 10h) in a sleep laboratory, with polysomnography recordings taken during sleep. Throughout waking periods in each condition, participants completed the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT), which measures vigilant attention, and the Go/No-Go task, which measures inhibition control. The results showed that sleep restriction significantly decreased the proportion of N1 and N2 sleep, increased the proportion of N3 sleep, and reduced the time spent awake after sleep onset (WASO) and sleep onset latency. Poorer performance on the PVT and Go/No Go task was associated with longer WASO, a larger proportion of N3 sleep, and a smaller proportion of N2 sleep. Additionally, the power spectral density of delta waves significantly increased after sleep restriction, and this increase predicted a decrease in vigilance and inhibition control the next day. These findings suggest that sleep architecture and EEG signatures may partially explain cognitive impairment caused by sleep restriction.


Draft Genome Sequence of Sporolactobacillus inulinus NBRC 111894, Isolated from Kôso, a Japanese Sugar-Vegetable Fermented Beverage.
Sporolactobacillus inulinus NBRC 111894 is a species of endospore-forming lactic acid bacteria isolated from kôso, a Japanese sugar-vegetable fermented beverage. The draft genome sequence of S. inulinus NBRC 111894 is useful for understanding the differences between S. inulinus strains and their conserved characteristics.


Ex vivo expansion of antitumor cytotoxic lymphocytes with tumor-associated antigen-loaded dendritic cells.
Cell therapy with lymphocytes is an attractive approach for cancer immunotherapy. Methods to generate ex vivo effector cells directed against whole autologous tumor antigens are under investigation. Our procedure involved stimulation of autologous lymphocytes with antigen-pulsed dendritic cells (DC). Experimental conditions were established with DC, matured with TNFa, LPS and CD40L, from healthy donors and the M74 melanoma cell line. DC were pulsed with either irradiated, apoptotic or necrotic tumor cells or fused with tumor cells. Increase of lymphocyte cytotoxicity and IFNy production were repeatedly observed with tumor cell-loaded DC. Stimulation of tumor-associated antigen-specific lymphocytes was clearly shown. MelanA-MART1 (dominant melanoma-associated antigen) tetramer staining revealed a high frequency of specific T cells. Lymphocytes were able to efficiently lyse MelanA-MART1-pulsed T2 target and MelanA-expressing target cells (M74) after CD56+ cells depletion. We confirmed with other tumor cell lines that this DC-mediated procedure induced activation of cytolytic lymphocytes.


[Color Doppler ultrasound studies of parotid tumors].
Color-coded duplex sonography is being increasingly used in the head and neck as another method of diagnosis of, for example, stenosis of arteries or veins or of hemangioma. Moreover, it is of greatest interest in having the ability to differentiate benign from malignant tumors. Since the underlying type of tumor is directly responsible for the (operative) treatment recommended we have investigated histologically proven benign and malignant parotid tumors. Thirty-six patients (20 women, 16 men, ages 32-66 years) with parotid tumors of unknown histology were examined by means of ultrasound and color-coded duplex sonography. Afterwards, tumors were treated by complete parotidectomy. Histological results were compared postoperatively to the data from the color-coded duplex sonography. Ultrasound B sonography. All patients were examined with a "Sonoline SI-450" (Siemens), using a 7.5 MHz transducer. Color-coded sonography. The color-coded duplex sonograph used was the Quantum 2000 (Siemens). All investigations were carried out with a 7.5 MHz transducer. Criteria of color-coded duplex sonography. Criteria of the investigation were the qualitative range of color distribution as an indication of vascularization and measurement of perfusion velocity--as far as possible--with mean pulsatility indices. The mean pulsatility index represented peripheral resistance and was proportional to it. All data were collected from three areas in the center of the tumor and tumor margins, respectively. Tumors selected were 17 histologically proven pleomorphic adenomas, 15 adenolymphomas and 4 adenoid cystic carcinomas. RESULTS. In comparing perfusion velocity and mean pulsatility indices, no significant difference was detected between pleomorphic adenomas and adenolymphomas. A loss of perfusion and color was seen in both tumor types, although it occurred more often in the adenolymphomas. These cystic areas in most cases had already been clearly detected with normal B-scan sonography. In two of the four malignancies there were no obvious differences to the benign tumors. In the other two cases of malignancy a pronounced vasularization was detected and, therefore, an extended distribution of color. This finding together with decreased perfusion velocity and low mean pulsatility indices indicated low peripheral resistance. At this point it is not possible routinely to utilize color-coded duplex sonography as an accurate indicator of underlying pathology of parotid neoplasms. A differentiation among different types of benign tumors is not possible using the technique, nor can malignancies be recognized definitively by this method.


Numerical taxonomy of catalase-negative cocci isolated from frozen vegetables.
Taxonomic data for 135 cultures of bacteria isolated from frozen snap beans and whole kernel corn were analyzed by computer. Of the isolates, 79% were grouped into five major clusters. Two of the groups consisted of leuconostocs, whereas the other three contained homofermentative types. The intergroup similarities suggested a generic level of similarity. Feature frequencies for the groups were calculated, and properties of the different groups are presented. Many of the isolates differed from described species.


A novel mouse model of radiation-induced cancer survivorship diseases of the gut.
A deeper understanding of the radiation-induced pathophysiological processes that develop in the gut is imperative to prevent, alleviate, or eliminate cancer survivorship diseases after radiotherapy to the pelvic area. Most rodent models of high-dose gastrointestinal radiation injury are limited by high mortality. We therefore established a model that allows for the delivering of radiation in fractions at high doses while maintaining long-term survival. Adult male C57/BL6 mice were exposed to small-field irradiation, restricted to 1.5 cm of the colorectum using a linear accelerator. Each mouse received 6 or 8 Gy, two times daily in 12-h intervals in two, three, or four fractions. Acute cell death was examined at 4.5 h postirradiation and histological changes at 6 wk postirradiation. Another group was given four fractions of 8 Gy and followed over time for development of visible symptoms. Irradiation caused immediate cell death, mainly limited to the colorectum. At 6 wk postirradiation, several crypts displayed signs of radiation-induced degeneration. The degenerating crypts were seen alongside crypts that appeared perfectly healthy. Crypt survival was reduced after the fourth fraction regardless of dose, whereas the number of macrophages increased. Angiogenesis was induced, likely as a compensatory mechanism for hypoxia. Four months postirradiation, mice began to show radiation-induced symptoms, and histological examination revealed an extensive crypt loss and fibrosis. Our model is uniquely suitable for studying the long-term trajectory and underlying mechanisms of radiation-induced gastrointestinal injury.NEW & NOTEWORTHY A novel mouse model for studying the long-term trajectory of radiation-induced gut injury. The method allows for the use of high doses and multiple fractions, with minor impact on animal health for at least 3 mo. Crypt loss and a slow progression of fibrosis is observed. Crypt degeneration is a process restricted to isolated crypts. Crypt degeneration is presented as a convenient proxy endpoint for long-term radiation-induced gut injury.


Expressive Incoherence and Alexithymia in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Expressive incoherence can be implicated in socio-emotional communicative problems in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study examined expressive incoherence in 37 children with ASD and 41 typically developing (TD) children aged 3-13 years old during a frustration task. The role of alexithymia in expressive incoherence was also assessed. Compared to TD children, children with ASD had higher expressive incoherence, such as more neutral and positive emotion expressions during negative behaviors, but not in the expression of negative emotions during positive behaviors. Further analyses revealed that alexithymia moderated the expressions of positive emotions during negative behaviors. These results suggest that children with ASD may benefit from interventions targeting alexithymia to increase emotional coherence, which may improve socio-emotional communication.


[Complex compounds with lipids in the evolution of metalloenzymes].
The change of the role of metals in the evolution of enzymes was going on from the formation by them first of labile compounds during activation by ions of various reactions to the formation of more stable complexes in active centres. During the transition from anaerobiosis to aerobiosis in oxidoreductases with the participation of metals an increase of the oxidationreduction potential values (E'O) occurred. A simultaneous accomplishment of reactions in the cells at strongly differing values of the potential became possible owing to the formation of complexes with lipids by metalloenzymes being active at high E'O. Entering the membranes of subcellular structures these metalloenzymes form complex compounds with various groups of lipids-phospholipids neutral lipids, glycolipids. These are compounds with Fe, Ti, Cu, Mn and other polyvalent metals; they regulate the transfer of electrons and its changes in the evolution of the main fermentative processes of living cells, as for example respiration and assimilation of carbon dioxide.


Electromyographic power spectrum of jaw muscles during clenching in unilateral temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis patients.
The relationship between temporomandibular joints (TMJ) osteoarthritis and masticatory muscle disorders is poorly understood. The data are sparse, the results are conflicting, and electromyographic (EMG) power spectrum analysis has not been used. The aims of this study were to compare the differences in EMG power spectrum during, and pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) before and after, sustained clenching in patients with unilateral TMJ osteoarthritis and healthy control subjects. Nineteen patients with unilateral TMJ osteoarthritis without masticatory muscle pain and 20 control subjects were evaluated. We measured EMG amplitudes at maximum voluntary contraction, median frequency from the EMG power spectrum during sustained clenching at 70% and PPTs before and after the clenching in both temporalis and masseter muscles. There were no significant differences in PPT decrease between muscles or between groups during sustained clenching. There were no significant differences in maximum voluntary contraction EMG activity ratios of affected to unaffected sides between groups, or of masseter to temporalis muscles between affected and unaffected side of patients with TMJ osteoarthritis. Median frequencies decreased from the beginning to the end of the sustained clench, and the interaction between group and clench was significant: the median frequency decrease was larger in the osteoarthritis group. Our results suggested that masticatory muscles of patients with unilateral TMJ osteoarthritis are more easily fatigued during sustained clenching than normal subjects.


Nondiffracting accelerating wave packets of Maxwell's equations.
We present the nondiffracting spatially accelerating solutions of the Maxwell equations. Such beams accelerate in a circular trajectory, thus generalizing the concept of Airy beams to the full domain of the wave equation. For both TE and TM polarizations, the beams exhibit shape-preserving bending which can have subwavelength features, and the Poynting vector of the main lobe displays a turn of more than 90°. We show that these accelerating beams are self-healing, analyze their properties, and find the new class of accelerating breathers: self-bending beams of periodically oscillating shapes. Finally, we emphasize that in their scalar form, these beams are the exact solutions for nondispersive accelerating wave packets of the most common wave equation describing time-harmonic waves. As such, this work has profound implications to many linear wave systems in nature, ranging from acoustic and elastic waves to surface waves in fluids and membranes.


Wing base structural data support the sister relationship of megaloptera and neuroptera (insecta: neuropterida).
The phylogenetic status and the monophyly of the holometabolous insect order Megaloptera has been an often disputed and long unresolved problem. The present study attempts to infer phylogenetic relationships among three orders, Megaloptera, Neuroptera, and Raphidioptera, within the superorder Neuropterida, based on wing base structure. Cladistic analyses were carried out based on morphological data from both the fore- and hindwing base. A sister relationship between Megaloptera and Neuroptera was recovered, and the monophyly of Megaloptera was corroborated. The division of the order Megaloptera, the traditional higher classification, into Corydalidae (Corydalinae + Chauliodinae) and Sialidae, was also supported by our wing base data analyses.


Influence of tacrolimus metabolism rate on renal function after solid organ transplantation.
The calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) tacrolimus (TAC) is an integral part of the immunosuppressive regimen after solid organ transplantation. Although TAC is very effective in prevention of acute rejection episodes, its highly variable pharmacokinetic and narrow therapeutic window require frequent monitoring of drug levels and dose adjustments. TAC can cause CNI nephrotoxicity even at low blood trough levels (4-6 ng/mL). Thus, other factors besides the TAC trough level might contribute to CNI-related kidney injury. Unfortunately, TAC pharmacokinetic is determined by a whole bunch of parameters. However, for daily clinical routine a simple application strategy is needed. To address this problem, we and others have evaluated a simple calculation method in which the TAC blood trough concentration (C) is divided by the daily dose (D). Fast TAC metabolism (C/D ratio < 1.05) was identified as a potential risk factor for an inferior kidney function after transplantation. In this regard, we recently showed a strong association between fast TAC metabolism and CNI nephrotoxicity as well as BKV infection. Therefore, the TAC C/D ratio may assist transplant clinicians in a simple way to individualize the immunosuppressive regimen.


Effects of inspiratory muscle training on dyspnoea in severe COPD patients during pulmonary rehabilitation: controlled randomised trial.
The benefit of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) combined with a pulmonary rehabilitation programme (PRP) is uncertain. We aimed to demonstrate that, in severe and very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, IMT performed during a PRP is associated with an improvement of dyspnoea.In a single-blind randomised controlled trial, 150 severe or very severe COPD patients were allocated to follow PRP+IMT versus PRP alone. The evaluations were performed at inclusion and after 4 weeks. The primary outcome was the change in dyspnoea using the Multidimensional Dyspnoea Profile questionnaire at the end of a 6-min walk test (6MWT) at 4 weeks. Secondary outcomes were changes in dyspnoea using the Borg (end of the 6MWT) and modified Medical Research Council scales and in functional parameters (maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax), inspiratory capacity, 6MWT and quality of life). All analyses were performed on an intention-to-treat basis.Dyspnoea decreased significantly in both groups; however, the improvement of dyspnoea was not statistically different between the two groups. We only found a statistically significant greater increase of PImax after IMT+PRP than after PRP alone.In this trial including severe or very severe COPD patients, we did not find a significant benefit of IMT during PRP+IMT as compared to PRP alone on dyspnoea, despite a significantly higher improvement of PImax in the IMT group.


X-ray continuum emission spectroscopy from hot dense matter at Gbar pressures.
We have measured the time-resolved x-ray continuum emission spectrum of ∼30 times compressed polystyrene created at stagnation of spherically convergent shock waves within the Gbar fundamental science campaign at the National Ignition Facility. From an exponential emission slope between 7.7 keV and 8.1 keV photon energy and using an emission model which accounts for reabsorption, we infer an average electron temperature of 375 ± 21 eV, which is in good agreement with HYDRA-1D simulations.


Testing the factor structure and measurement invariance of the PHQ-9 across racially diverse U.S. college students.
Today's college students are at increased risk for depression. Therefore, accurate and sustainable assessment of depressive symptoms among college students has become an important issue. One promising instrument for depression screening in college settings is the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), a 9-item self-report measure developed in primary care and designed to assess the presence of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) symptom criteria for major depressive disorder. Although the PHQ-9 has been well validated in primary care settings, no studies have examined its factor structure for diverse college populations in the United States. This study used confirmatory factor analysis to test competing measurement models and the measurement invariance of the PHQ-9 across gender (men and women) and racial/ethnic groups (African American, Asian American, European American, Latino/a American) in a sample of 857 U.S. college students. Results supported a 1-factor model of the PHQ-9. Based on configural, metric, and scalar invariance test results, the PHQ-9 assesses depressive symptoms equivalently across gender and racial/ethnic groups. In support of validity evidence, PHQ-9 scores were positively associated with alcohol use and negatively associated with mental well-being. Implications for future research and assessment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record


Feasibility and acceptability of a telephone- and face-to-face-delivered counseling intervention for smoking cessation in Dutch patients with coronary heart disease.
Intensive behavioral counseling interventions combined with nicotine replacement therapy have increased smoking abstinence rates in cardiac patients, but little is known about their feasibility when initiated upon hospital admission and continued post-discharge. The current study was an evaluation of the use, appreciation, and fidelity of two post-discharge counseling interventions designed for cardiac patients to quit smoking that differed in their delivery mode. In a controlled trial with cross-over randomization at the cardiac unit level, hospitalized smokers in eight cardiac units of eight Dutch hospitals were assigned either telephone counseling (n = 223) or nurse-administered face-to-face counseling (n = 157) using the Ask-Advise-Refer strategy. Eligible patients also received nicotine replacement therapy. Data based on counselors' registration forms and patients' telephone surveys at 6-month follow-up were analyzed. Most patients (>90%) participated in at least one counseling session, and the majority participated in at least five out of a maximum of seven sessions. Higher levels of adherence to either the telephone or face-to-face counseling sessions were associated with higher smoking abstinence rates at the 6-month follow-up, whereas higher nicotine patch use was not associated with abstinence. Patients positively evaluated the content, duration, and number of sessions, and rated the face-to-face counseling significantly better than the telephone counseling for quitting smoking. The counselors largely complied with the intervention protocols. The current intervention offers evidence of feasibility and may improve outpatient continuity of smoking care. Monitoring the use and delivery of such complex interventions is recommended to promote effective dissemination in cardiac practice.


Rethinking replating.
JGP study (In this issue, Osten et al. https://doi.org/10.1085/jgp.202313377) suggests that, by altering mechanosensitive signaling pathways, replating stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes changes myosin expression and contractile function.


Proteome-Wide Identification and Functional Analysis of Lysine Crotonylation in Trichophyton rubrum Conidial and Mycelial Stages.
Lysine crotonylation is a newly discovered post-translational modification (PTM) with key roles in various important regulatory pathways. Despite its functional significance, there is limited knowledge about crotonylation in fungi. Trichophyton rubrum is the most common fungal pathogen in human infection and is considered a model organism of dermatophytes and human pathogenic filamentous fungi. In this study, we obtained a proteome-wide crotonylation profile of T. rubrum, leading to the identification of 14,019 crotonylated sites on 3144 proteins. The crotonylated proteins were significantly involved in translation and in various metabolic and biosynthetic processes. Some proteins related to fungal pathogenicity were also found to be targets of crotonylation. In addition, extensive crotonylation was found on histones, suggesting a role in epigenetic regulation. Furthermore, about half of the crotonylated proteins were specific to either the conidial or the mycelial stage, and functional enrichment analysis showed some differences between the two stages. The results suggest that the difference in crotonylation between the two stages is not due to differences in protein abundance. Crosstalk of crotonylation with acetylation, propionylation, and succinylation suggests distinct regulatory roles. This study is the first crotonylation analysis in dermatophytes and human pathogenic filamentous fungi. These results represent a solid foundation for further research on PTM regulatory mechanisms in fungi and should facilitate improved antifungal strategies against these medical important species.


[Mutagenic activity of the fungicide captan].
A complex study of mutagenic activity of captan (a fungicide) in a series of standard test-systems has shown that the preparation induces gene mutations in certain Salmonella indicator strains (without metabolic activation), increases the frequency of mitotic crossing-over and gene conversion in yeasts (Saccharomyces), possesses a weak cytogenetic action on bone marrow cells in experimental animals, manifests no cytogenetic effect in the lymphocyte culture of human peripheral blood (including a system of microsomal activation). Genetic activity of captan cannot be a limiting criterion of its harmfulness.


Cell surface labeling of Escherichia coli via copper(I)-catalyzed [3+2] cycloaddition.
Labeling of the cell surface of Escherichia coli was accomplished by expression of a recombinant outer membrane protein, OmpC, in the presence of the unnatural amino acid azidohomoalanine, which acts as a methionine surrogate. The surface-exposed azide moieties of whole cells were biotinylated via Cu(1)-catalyzed [3+2] azide-alkyne cycloaddition. The specificity of labeling of both wild-type OmpC and a mutant containing additional methionine sites for azidohomoalanine incorporation was confirmed by Western blotting. Flow cytometry was performed to examine the specificity of the labeling. Cells that express the mutant form of OmpC in the presence of azidohomoalanine, which were biotinylated and stained with fluorescent avidin, exhibit a mean fluorescence 10-fold higher than the background. Incorporation of an unnatural amino acid can thus be determined on a single-cell basis.


MnCl2 -Catalyzed C-H Alkylations with Alkyl Halides.
C-H alkylations with challenging β-hydrogen-containing alkyl halides were accomplished with sustainable MnCl2 as the catalyst under phosphine-ligand-free conditions. The proximity-induced benzamide C-H activation occurred with ample substrate scope through rate-determining C-H metalation, also setting the stage for manganese-catalyzed oxidative C-H methylations.


[Validation of the Russian version of the ureteral stent symptoms questionnaire (USSQ) for the evaluation of quality of life and stent-related symptoms].
Ureteral stents are frequently used in urology practice and have a significant impact on health-related quality of life (QoL). In 2003 . Joshi et al. developed the specific questionnaire for evaluation of QoL and stent-related symptoms, namely Ureteral Stent Symptoms Questionnaire (USSQ). USSQ consists of 40 questions and 2 visual analog scales (VAS), divided into 6 domains. Over the past decade, this questionnaire has been translated into 9 languages. A Russian version of the questionnaire has not been developed yet. To perform linguistic validation of the Russian version of the USSQ. Linguistic validation of the original USSQ was performed through a standard process including translation, back translation and pilot study. A total of 103 patients undergone ureteral stent placement and successfully filled in the Russian USSQ at weeks 1 and 4 after stenting, and at week 4 after stent removal. In addition, 30 healthy people filled in the same questionnaires twice at 3-week intervals, as a control group. To evaluate reliability, validity and sensitivity to change of the Russian USSQ, statistical analysis was performed. External criteria included validated questionnaires (EQ-5D, IPSS and pain VAS). Content validity was approved by experts and proved during patients interviewing. Reliability test-retest was satisfactory for urinary symptoms, body pain, general health, and work performance domains (p<0,001 between test and retest evaluation). USSQ domains showed good correlations between each other (correlation coefficient was 0,80-0,94). Cronbach's alpha coefficient of internal reliability was 0.73-0.95. Correlation between other instruments and corresponding USSQ domains was good (p<0,001), proving criterial validity. Sensitivity to changes after stenting and stent removal was also good for most domains (p less or equal 0,001). Russian version of USSQ is a valid, reliable and sensitive instrument for the assessment of QoL and stent-related symptoms and is ready for application in the routine clinical practice.