Effect of fetal presentation on sonographic estimation of fetal weight according to different formulas.
To compare the accuracy of various sonographic estimation of fetal weight (sEFW) formulas for breech-presenting fetuses. A retrospective analysis of sEFW performed within 3 days of delivery in a tertiary medical center in Israel between July 2007 and December 2014 was conducted. Breech-presenting singleton fetuses were matched by sex and birth weight to vertex-presenting fetuses. sEFW was calculated using 21 formulas. Systematic and random errors, proportion of estimates (POE) within 10% of actual birth weight, and reliability analysis were used to compare sonographic accuracy. The best performing formula was determined by Euclidean distance. Both groups contained 274 fetuses. Systematic error was lower for breech fetuses when compared with control fetuses in 17 of 21 formulas; there was no significant difference in random error between the breech and vertex groups. For vertex fetuses, Euclidean distance was smaller in 17 of 21 formulas, and POE within 10% of birth weight was higher in most formulas. Cronbach α value was higher for vertex fetuses than for breech fetuses in all formulas. The formulas of Combs et al. and Hadlock et al. were highest ranking for breech-presenting fetuses. sEFW might be more accurate for vertex than for breech fetuses.


The More Things Change: Buprenorphine/naloxone Diversion Continues While Treatment Remains Inaccessible.
Buprenorphine/naloxone, an evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder, is sometimes diverted for non-medical use. In Rhode Island, the prevalence of opioid use and, more recently, of fentanyl in the illicit drug supply is driving overdose fatalities, which increases the need for treatment and raises questions about the changing role of diverted medication in shaping overdose risk. This study considered data from 2 Rhode Island based studies (conducted in 2009 and 2016, respectively) of people who use illicit or diverted prescription opioids and their patterns of buprenorphine/naloxone diversion. Using targeted sampling, individuals who use opioids completed a brief questionnaire about their drug use. For the 2016 study, logistic regression was used to identify associations with recent and lifetime use of diverted medication. A total of 128 individuals who use opioids non-medically participated in the 2016 study. Of these, 38% (n = 13) reported diverted buprenorphine/naloxone use in the past 2 months, similar to the pattern observed in 2009 (41%, n = 41). Common motivations for using diverted medication included the management of withdrawal symptoms (40%, n = 35) and self-treatment of opioid use disorder (39%, n = 34). Few reported using to "get high" (12%, n = 4). Seeking buprenorphine/naloxone treatment in the previous 12 months was positively associated with using diverted medication in the past 2 months (odds ratio = 5.14, 95% confidence interval = 1.0-26.5, P = 0.05). Participants of both studies reported the same barriers to care in 2009 and 2016. The use of diverted/buprenorphine remains common among people who use opioids non-medically and indicates a severe shortage in treatment capacity and inaccessibility of existing services.


Cell-specific restoration of stimulus preference after monocular deprivation in the visual cortex.
Monocular deprivation evokes a prominent shift of neuronal responses in the visual cortex toward the open eye, accompanied by functional and structural synaptic rearrangements. This shift is reversible, but it is unknown whether the recovery happens at the level of individual neurons or whether it reflects a population effect. We used ratiometric Ca(2+) imaging to follow the activity of the same excitatory layer 2/3 neurons in the mouse visual cortex over months during repeated episodes of ocular dominance (OD) plasticity. We observed robust shifts toward the open eye in most neurons. Nevertheless, these cells faithfully returned to their pre-deprivation OD during binocular recovery. Moreover, the initial network correlation structure was largely recovered, suggesting that functional connectivity may be regained despite prominent experience-dependent plasticity.


Case vignette: to share or not to share.
For years, the notion that researchers should share data freely with fellow scientists has been discussed widely. Some argue that this is especially true when the data are generated in federally funded projects. A recent provision in the reauthorization bill for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would ensconce this principle in law. NIH grantees would be required, on demand, to furnish their data to other researchers. According to the proposed legislation, research data would have to be preserved and made avilable for 3 years after the completion of a project, and for 5 years following publication of the results in a scientific journal. One objective, according to a congressional aide, would be to make it easier for scientists with dissenting views to obtain and reanalyze data collected with public funds. It would also facilitate publication of alternative analyses. Personal records and patent applications would be exempted, but other data from clinical, behavioral, or epidemiological research focused on the evaluation or efficacy of a drug, medical device, or treatment of any sort would be covered immediately. Is such mandatory sharing of data ethical and appropriate scholarship? Does it raise potential for abuse? Should colleagues be required to provide such access to data, whether or not federal support was used in its collection?


[An unusual case of suicidal carbon monoxide poisoning committed using a portable barbecue grill].
Fatal carbon monoxide poisoning is relatively often encountered in medico-legal practice. Although we usually deal with events of an accidental nature, cases of suicidal character are also quite common, both in Poland and in other European countries. The source of a poisonous gas that is used by a suicide to take his life are usually exhaust fumes from cars and home gas water-heaters that are released in closed spaces. In the present report, the authors present an atypical case--the only such instance in the history of the Krakow Department--where a high carbon monoxide concentration level was achieved by burning briquetted coal in a typical portable barbecue grill. A 65-year old male lit the grill in a room locked from inside, where he had previously sealed all cracks and vents; he left a written message by the entrance where he warned his flatmates about the presence of gas. The investigation determined that the predominant underlying reason of his committing suicide were health problems. As it follows from the analysis of literature on the subject, despite extensively available materials, such a suicide method is exceptionally rare in the European or American culture, where isolated cases only are presented. On the other hand, the authors emphasize the fact that within the last score of years, using barbecue grills in suicidal poisoning has become exceedingly common in the Far East countries. The present report points to certain historical and cultural determinants that may affect such a distinct geographical polarization of the discussed method being used in some Asian countries and refers to a widely discussed by specialists significant role of mass media in popularization of such a suicide method.


Statistical analysis of PM₁₀ concentrations at different locations in Malaysia.
Malaysia has experienced several haze events since the 1980s as a consequence of the transboundary movement of air pollutants emitted from forest fires and open burning activities. Hazy episodes can result from local activities and be categorized as "localized haze". General probability distributions (i.e., gamma and log-normal) were chosen to analyze the PM(10) concentrations data at two different types of locations in Malaysia: industrial (Johor Bahru and Nilai) and residential (Kota Kinabalu and Kuantan). These areas were chosen based on their frequently high PM(10) concentration readings. The best models representing the areas were chosen based on their performance indicator values. The best distributions provided the probability of exceedances and the return period between the actual and predicted concentrations based on the threshold limit given by the Malaysian Ambient Air Quality Guidelines (24-h average of 150 μg/m(3)) for PM(10) concentrations. The short-term prediction for PM(10) exceedances in 14 days was obtained using the autoregressive model.


Connections, collisions, and complimentarity: the dynamic of health care chaplain, parish nurse and parish clergy collaboration.
Parish nurses, health care chaplains, and community clergy can collaborate to create communities of wholeness. As these professionals extend their care and mission into the community, chaplains, parish nurses, and community clergy have opportunities for collaboration. These collaborative efforts come as a result of personal connections that can lead to collisions in priorities and philosophies but can also be productive complimentarity as they learn to work together for a common mission. Through connection this potential for collision or complimentarity, the community itself can participate with health professionals and clergy to help people be better, feel better, and carry suffering better.


Polysaccharide antigens of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The major polysaccharide antigens of P. aeruginosa are the cell-wall lipopolysaccharides many of which have an acidic polysaccharide chain (O-antigen) rich in unusual amino sugars. The D-rhamnose-rich polysaccharide antigen common to many serologically distinct strains is also associated with the lipopolysaccharide. The high-molecular-weight polysaccharides with O-specificity are present in extracellular slime produced by strains isolated from the environmental and from the immunocompromised hosts. The extracellular antigenic polysaccharide of another type (bacterial alginate) is expressed by mucoid strains isolated from patients with cystic fibrosis. Serotype-specific immune responses after infection are directed at the lipopolysaccharides and these heat-stable antigens serve as the basis for differentiation of P. aeruginosa strains. Both the cell-wall antigens including conjugates of the O-polysaccharides with different proteins and the extracellular antigens have been used to prepare specific antibodies tested for protection against infections due to P. aeruginosa.


[Love and sexuality in the elderly].
Love and sexuality in elderly are considered according to the psychoanalytical theory of libido, then distinguishing genital sexuality and its regressive or perverse forms. The ageing couple is presented through the psychopathology of widowhood and of conjoined burden in the couple.


Suitability of the mammalian model in comparative reproductive endocrinology.
Perhaps one should be impressed by the basic generality of many of the features of the mammalian HHG system. The applicability of this model to other groups argues for the generally conservative nature of the basic organization of the reproductive endocrine system. Even in cases where exceptions are apparent, we must be cognizant of the relatively narrow base of mammalian species on which the classical mammalian model is built. While reference to the mammalian system provides a useful first approach to studies on new groups, in view of the many exceptions in details of this system, it is important that we avoid undue constraints that might be imposed by the the mammalian model. In this connection it would seem advisable to test each principle carefully before assuming that it exists or is as important as in mammals. A particularly significant issue in this regard is the question of temporal organization of endocrine secretions: Both the existence and relative importance of discontinuous, pulsatile, stimulation must be explored in more groups. It must be emphasized that past experience has already shown us that a simple phylogenetic approach is not likely to provide a clear pattern for the similarities and differences in the reproductive endocrine system. Thus, we should not be too hasty in our extrapolations of data, even among closely related species.


EDs credit drills, community engagement with helping them manage casualties from tornado crises.
Emergency department leaders at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, AL, and Cullman Regional Medical Center in Cullman, AL, credit their regular practice drills with helping them deal with unprecedented demand when deadly tornadoes swept through the South this past April. Both facilities used the hospital instant command structure (HICS) to mobilize the resources needed to care for the surge in patients, and say the approach worked well in helping them meet the needs of their communities. However, the crises also showcased opportunities for improvement. The ED at DCH Regional Medical Center saw more than 600 patients on the day of the storm, a three-fold increase in the hospital's typical volume. CRMC treated 99 patients in the seven hours immediately following the storm when it usually treats 114 patients per day. In addition to a big surge in patients, both hospitals dealt with power outages that limited access to some services such as radiology. Triage proved particularly challenging at DCH Regional Medical Center, as patients flowed into the hospital from numerous access points. The hospital plans to assign coordinators to each area of the hospital to better manage the influx in the future. When reviewing emergency operations plans, Joint Commission reviewers often find deficiencies in hazard vulnerability analyses as well as the processes used to determine the emergency credentials of licensed independent practitioners.


[Three Cases of Obstructive Left-Sided Colon Cancer Resected by Laparoscopic Surgery].
We report 3 cases of obstructive left-sided colon cancer that could be treated with laparoscopic resection.Case 1: A 25- year-old man was given a diagnosis of colonic obstruction due to transverse colon cancer.Twenty -four days after decompression by a nasointestinal tube, we performed a laparoscopic partial colectomy.Case 2: A 75-year-old woman was given a diagnosis of colonic obstruction due to sigmoid colon.Forty -nine days after decompression by a laparoscopic transverse colostomy, we performed a laparoscopic sigmoidectomy.Case 3: A 48-year-old man was given a diagnosis of colonic obstruction due to sigmoid colon cancer.Twenty -two days after decompression by colonic stent, we performed a laparoscopic sigmoidectomy.In these 3 cases, decompression was sufficient when resecting the primary lesions, and the operations could be completed laparoscopically.Elective radical surgery was possible by resolution of oncologic emergency state.


Thermally Driven Multilevel Non-Volatile Memory with Monolayer MoS2 for Brain-Inspired Artificial Learning.
The demands of modern electronic components require advanced computing platforms for efficient information processing to realize in-memory operations with a high density of data storage capabilities toward developing alternatives to von Neumann architectures. Herein, we demonstrate the multifunctionality of monolayer MoS2 memtransistors, which can be used as a high-geared intrinsic transistor at room temperature; however, at a high temperature (>350 K), they exhibit synaptic multilevel memory operations. The temperature-dependent memory mechanism is governed by interfacial physics, which solely depends on the gate field modulated ion dynamics and charge transfer at the MoS2/dielectric interface. We have proposed a non-volatile memory application using a single Field Effect Transistor (FET) device where thermal energy can be ventured to aid the memory functions with multilevel (3-bit) storage capabilities. Furthermore, our devices exhibit linear and symmetry in conductance weight updates when subjected to electrical potentiation and depression. This feature has enabled us to attain a high classification accuracy while training and testing the Modified National Institute of Standards and Technology datasets through artificial neural network simulation. This work paves the way toward reliable data processing and storage using 2D semiconductors with high-packing density arrays for brain-inspired artificial learning.


Variable trajectory: a systematic review, analytic synthesis and construct domain consolidation of international measures of competence in doctors and medical students.
Competence is assessed throughout a doctor's career. Failure to identify and manage impaired competence can have critical consequences. Consistent conceptualisation and accurate measurement of this construct is imperative. Therefore, the objective of this review was to identify and evaluate measures used to assess competence in doctors and medical students. A systematic search of the published literature was undertaken between December 2019 and February 2020 for articles reporting on the measurement of competence in doctors and/or medical students. Searches were conducted in the PsychSOURCE, US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, MEDLINE (PubMed), The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Web of Science electronic databases. Citation screening and forward citation tracking of included studies were carried out to identify any further relevant papers for inclusion. One thousand one hundred and thirty-six potentially relevant articles were screened. An analytic synthesis approach was implemented to the identification, organisation and interpretation of homogenous study and measure characteristics. Twelve competence domains were identified from the 153 identified measures. Knowledge and procedural competence domains were the dominant focus of publications reporting current medical practice, but less so in research-based studies which more frequently assessed interpersonal, psychological, physiological and ethical competencies. In the 105 included articles, the reporting of measurement instrument quality was varied, with comprehensive reporting only present in 53.6% of measures; validation for some of the measures was particularly limited. While this review included a considerable number of publications reporting the measurement of competence in doctors and medical students, the heterogeneity of the measures and variation of findings limit the ability to evaluate their validity and generalisability. However, this review presents a resource for researchers and medical educators which may inform operational practice and future research. CRD42020162156.


Tyrosine phosphorylation inhibits the interaction of 14-3-3 proteins with the plant plasma membrane H+-ATPase.
Interaction of 14-3-3 proteins with their targets depends not only on the phosphorylation status of the target but also on that of 14-3-3 (Fu et al., 2000). In this work we demonstrated that the maize 14-3-3 isoform GF14-6 is a substrate of the tyrosine kinase insulin growth factor receptor 1. By means of site-directed mutants of GF14-6, we identified Tyr-137 as the specific tyrosine residue phosphorylated by the insulin growth factor receptor 1. Phosphorylation of GF14-6 on Tyr-137 lowered its affinity for a peptide mimicking the 14-3-3 binding site of the plant plasma membrane H+-ATPase. Moreover, phosphorylation in planta of 14-3-3 tyrosine residues, resulting from incubation with the tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor, phenylarsine oxide, decreased their association to the H+-ATPase.


Identification of a new cis-regulatory element in a Nicotiana tabacum polyubiquitin gene promoter.
The polyubiquitin gene Ubi.U4 is expressed in a complex pattern during cell division and plant development in Nicotiana tabacum. Plants transformed with the uidA reporter gene placed under the control of the proximal 263 bp of the promoter are able to express GUS activity in dividing cells. This expression is modified when a G-box-like motif is mutated. In order to clarify the transcriptional regulation of this gene, we analysed positively regulating sequences in this proximal promoter by electrophoretic mobility-shift assays (EMSA). We observed that the G-box-like element gave rise to only weak protein-DNA bands but that a new motif, GCTGTAC, directs formation of numerous, distinctive, strong and developmentally specific shifts with nuclear extracts prepared from various different developmental stages and from dividing cells. Point mutations within this motif abolish formation of the protein-DNA complexes and reduce promoter activity in transient expression assays. This novel putative cis-acting element, which we called the U-box, present 12 nucleotides upstream of the G-box-like element, thus seems also to be critical for Ubi.U4 promoter activity.


Role of the inhibin/activin system and luteinizing hormone in adrenocortical tumorigenesis.
Adrenal masses are one of the most common endocrine tumors diagnosed. Although most adrenal tumors are inactive adenomas, a considerable proportion is associated with hormonal hyperfunction and/or malignancy. The adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare but highly malignant tumor. Most ACCs in adults are diagnosed in an advanced tumor stage limiting therapeutic options. Accordingly, despite some progress in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, the overall survival rate of patients with ACC remains poor. However, the prerequisite for the development of new diagnostic tools and therapeutic options in the management of patients with ACC is the elucidation of the molecular pathogenesis of adrenal tumorigenesis. Although our understanding of adrenal tumor biology has increased substantially over the last decades, the regulation of many molecular pathways involved in adrenocortical growth and differentiation awaits further elucidation. Luteinizing hormone (LH) and activin have only recently emerged as hormones likely to play opposite roles in adrenocortical hormone secretion and cellular proliferation. Recent evidence from studies on human surgical tumor sample expression and detailed characterization of murine adrenal tumor models suggests stimulatory effects of LH on adrenocortical growth and function. On the contrary, activin, which plays a critical role as a paracrine and autocrine factor regulating cellular growth and differentiation, has been demonstrated to induce apoptosis and suppress proliferation in the human and murine adrenal cortex. In this review, we will summarize molecular and functional aspects of adrenal tumorigenesis and highlight some prospects for future clinical applications.


[HIV positive patients in routine surgical practice].
In our daily surgical practice we encounter increasingly HIV-infected and AIDS patients. From January 1 1987 until December 31 1988 119 outpatients and 35 hospitalized patients were treated in the surgical department. They belonged mainly to the known risk groups. Abscesses and diagnostic excisions were predominant in the outpatients while hospitalized patients presented the full scale of surgical diseases. The clinical course was not different from that of other patients. 181 members of the medical staff of our hospital were registered after contact with blood or body fluids of HIV-infected patients and followed. A seroconversion was not observed so far.


Early divergence of magnocellular and parvocellular functional subsystems in the embryonic primate visual system.
In both human and Old World primates visual information is conveyed by two parallel pathways: the magnocellular (M) and parvocellular (P) streams that project to separate layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus and are involved primarily in motion and color/form discrimination. The present study provides evidence that retinal ganglion cells in the macaque monkey embryo diverge into M and P subtypes soon after their last mitotic division and that optic axons project directly and selectively to either the M or P moieties of the developing lateral geniculate nucleus. Thus, initial M projections from the eyes overlap only in prospective layers 1 and 2, whereas initial P projections overlap within prospective layers 3-6. We suggest that the divergence of the M and P pathways requires developmental mechanisms different from those underlying competition-driven segregation of initially intermixed eye-specific domains in the primate visual system.


Value of allohaemagglutinins in the diagnosis of a polysaccharide antibody deficiency.
Polysaccharide antibody deficiency is characterized by a poor or absent antibody response after vaccination with an unconjugated pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine. Allohaemagglutinins (AHA) are antibodies to A or B polysaccharide antigens on the red blood cells, and are often used as an additional or alternative measure to assess the polysaccharide antibody response. However, few studies have been conducted to establish the clinical significance of AHA. To investigate the value of AHA to diagnose a polysaccharide antibody deficiency, pneumococcal polysaccharide antibody titres and AHA were studied retrospectively in 180 subjects in whom both tests had been performed. Receiver operating characteristic curves for AHA versus the pneumococcal vaccine response as a marker for the anti-polysaccharide immune response revealed an area under the curve between 0·5 and 0·573. Sensitivity and specificity of AHA to detect a polysaccharide antibody deficiency, as diagnosed by vaccination response, were low (calculated for cut-off 1/4-1/32). In subjects with only low pneumococcal antibody response, the prevalence of bronchiectasis was significantly higher than in subjects with only low AHA (45·5 and 1·3%, respectively) or normal pneumococcal antibody response and AHA (2·4%). A logistic regression model showed that low pneumococcal antibody response but not AHA was associated with bronchiectasis (odds ratio 46·2). The results of this study do not support the routine use of AHA to assess the polysaccharide antibody response in patients with suspected immunodeficiency, but more studies are warranted to clarify the subject further.


Hypokalaemia with paralysis: don't forget the thyroid.
The authors report the case of a 33-year-old Italian man who had three episodes of hypokalaemia with paralysis linked to hyperthyroidism. Because of its low prevalence in western populations, the diagnosis of thyrotoxic hypokalaemic periodic paralysis can be easily missed in non-Asian countries.


Comparison of low-dose subcutaneous heparin calcium and heparin sodium on ecchymosis formation.
Ecchymosis formation in patients receiving identical concentrations of heparin calcium or heparin sodium was compared in a double-blind study. Sixty-three patients admitted to a coronary-care unit with orders to receive heparin 5000 units subcutaneously every 12 hours were randomly assigned to receive either heparin calcium or heparin sodium. The drugs were administered identically. The presence and size of any ecchymosis were recorded by a single observer. The 44 patients on whom data were collected received 86 heparin sodium and 102 heparin calcium injections. While there were no difference between salts in the percentage of patients with documented ecchymosis , significantly more injection sites with ecchymosis were reported for the calcium salt. No significant difference was found in bruise size between the calcium and sodium salts of heparin. In a subgroup of patients who were not receiving other drugs known to prolong bleeding, there was no significant difference between the salts in the percentage of patients and injection sites with ecchymosis . The subcutaneous administration of heparin calcium resulted in significantly more injection sites with ecchymosis than did heparin sodium, but the size of the reported ecchymosis was not different between the two groups.


The Use of Screening Algorithm to Defer Blood Donors with Subclinical Malaria.
Plasmodium falciparum infection in blood donors is common in malaria endemic countries, including Ghana. To date, there are no established exclusion criteria to defer a donor carrying malaria parasites. Therefore, based on significant independent variables identified in this study, donor malaria screening algorithm was developed to be used by blood banks to screen blood donors for subclinical malaria. Each significant variable was weighted one (1) point and its alternative response was weighted negative one (-1) point. Accumulation of the points determines the risk level of the donor. These weighted points were used to categorize infected donors as having negligible (<2 points), tolerable (3-4 points), undesirable (5-8 points), or intolerable (>9 points) risk. Based on accumulated weight of ≥5 points, the algorithm was 94.7% (54/57) sensitive but 82% (298/364) specific. With this level of specificity, 18% of the blood donors without malaria would have been deferred. Therefore, it is imperative that all donors with accumulated risk ≥5 be screened for malaria using either malaria rapid test kit or microscopy.


SiGAN: Siamese Generative Adversarial Network for Identity-Preserving Face Hallucination.
Though generative adversarial networks (GANs) can hallucinate high-quality high-resolution (HR) faces from low-resolution (LR) faces, they cannot ensure identity preservation during face hallucination, making the HR faces difficult to recognize. To address this problem, we propose a Siamese GAN (SiGAN) to reconstruct HR faces that visually resemble their corresponding identities. On top of a Siamese network, the proposed SiGAN consists of a pair of two identical generators and one discriminator. We incorporate reconstruction error and identity label information in the loss function of SiGAN in a pairwise manner. By iteratively optimizing the loss functions of the generator pair and the discriminator of SiGAN, we not only achieve visually-pleasing face reconstruction but also ensure that the reconstructed information is useful for identity recognition. Experimental results demonstrate that SiGAN significantly outperforms existing face hallucination GANs in objective face verification performance while achieving promising visual-quality reconstruction. Moreover, for input LR faces with unseen identities that are not part of the training dataset, SiGAN can still achieve reasonable performance.


Potential role of upregulated microRNA‑146b and ‑21 in renal fibrosis.
The aim of the present study was to identify candidate microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in the progression of renal fibrosis. Dataset GSE42716 of miRNAs extracted from kidneys from mice with unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO), and mice without UUO was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The Limma package was used to identify differential expression between mice with and without UUO. Renal disease‑related miRNAs were predicted based on the miRWalk database. Thereafter, candidate miRNAs were screened by taking the intersection of differentially expressed miRNAs and predicted miRNAs, followed by screening of target genes using miRWalk and transcription factors using the TransmiR database. An integrative regulatory network was constructed using Cytoscape software. Enrichment analysis of target genes was also performed. In total, 76 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in kidneys with UUO compared with the normal samples based on dataset and 9 miRNAs were identified as related to renal disease from the miRWalk database. A Venn diagram revealed two overlapping upregulated miRNAs; miR‑146b and miR‑21. Transcription factor NFKB1 may activate miR‑146b and AKT may activate miR‑21. In addition, miR‑21 had a regulatory effect on IFNG expression and miR‑146b may regulate the expression of BCL2, PTEN and IFNG. Furthermore, target genes of miR‑146b and miR‑21 were significantly enriched in 14 Gene Ontology terms including regulation of cell proliferation (e.g., BCL2, PTEN and IFNG). Overexpression of miR‑21 may be activated by AKT2 and contribute to renal fibrosis by negatively regulating IFNG expression. Furthermore, miR‑146b may be activated by NFKB1 and subsequently reduce the expression of BCL2, PTEN and IFNG in the progression of renal fibrosis.


NUTRITION OF CELLULAR SLIME MOLDS. III. SPECIFIC GROWTH REQUIREMENTS OF POLYSPHONDYLIUM PALLIDUM.
Hohl, Hans-Rudolf (University of Wisconsin, Madison), and Kenneth B. Raper. Nutrition of cellular slime molds. III. Specific growth requirements of Polysphondylium pallidum. J. Bacteriol. 86:1314-1320. 1963.-Soluble media for the axenic growth of certain strains of Polysphondylium pallidum are described. One of the media, referred to as the complex medium, was composed of 2% tryptose and 4% serum albumin in an inorganic salt solution. Cell densities of up to 10(7) myxamoebae per ml were obtained. Supplementing this medium with amino acids, vitamins, nucleic acid bases, and glucose resulted in growth of strain Pan-17 up to 3 x 10(7) cells per ml with a generation time during the log phase of about 4.5 hr. A defined medium was subsequently developed that allowed growth of strain Fr-47 up to 2 x 10(6) to 5.5 x 10(6) myxamoebae per ml in the presence of 1% serum albumin. The base medium contained the following essential nutrients: six amino acids (glycine, methionine, lysine, isoleucine, tryptophan, and tyrosine), riboflavine, purines and pyrimidines, and a carbohydrate (dextrose) dissolved in an inorganic salt solution containing trace elements.


Does protocatechuic acid, a natural antioxidant, reduce renal ischemia reperfusion injury in rats?
Protocatechuic acid (PCA), which has antioxidant property, is a simple phenolic compound commonly found in many plants, vegetables, and fruits, notably in green tea and almonds. Present study was an investigation of the effects of PCA on rat kidney with ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: (1) Sham, (2) Renal IR, (3) Renal IR+Vehicle, and (4) Renal IR+PCA. Renal reperfusion injury was induced by clamping renal pedicle for 45 minutes after right nephrectomy was performed, followed by reperfusion for 3 hours. Dose of 80 mg/kg PCA was intraperitoneally administered to 1 group immediately before renal ischemia; 33% polyethylene glycol was used as vehicle. Total antioxidant status (TAS), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 levels were measured in blood and kidney tissue samples taken from sacrificed rats. Kidney tissue samples were examined and scored histopathologically. Terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP digoxigenin nick end labeling assay method was used to detect apoptotic cells. It was found that PCA significantly reduced serum MDA, TNF-α, and kidney MDA levels, while it increased serum and kidney TAS and SOD levels. Histopathological scores were significantly higher for the group given PCA. PCA reduced oxidative stress and can be used as an effective agent in treatment of renal IR injury.


ABO blood group and related antigens, natural antibodies and transplantation.
The current success rate of transplant surgery and immunosuppression has led to a demand for organs that has outstripped the supply. This has required investigation of alternate strategies. Therefore, allotransplantation across the ABO blood group barrier has commenced, and pig-to-human xenotransplantation is under consideration. The first immunological barrier to both these types of transplantation is the prevention of the antibody-mediated rejection. This rejection is a result of natural preformed antibodies circulating in the serum of the recipient binding to either ABO (for allo) or alpha-galactose (alpha-Gal) (for xeno) antigens expressed on the donor tissue. These antibodies recognise antigens that are, in both cases, carbohydrate molecules with the characteristic feature that the nonreducing terminal carbohydrate is either a Gal or N-acetlygalactosamine residue in an alpha1,3 linkage. These epitopes are synthesised by closely related members of a single family of glycosyltransferases. This review discusses the carbohydrate antigens, the enzymes involved in their synthesis and the consequences of natural antibodies binding these antigens.


Automatic Detection of Malignant Melanoma using Macroscopic Images.
In order to distinguish between benign and malignant types of pigmented skin lesions, computerized procedures have been developed for images taken by different equipment that the most available one of them is conventional digital cameras. In this research, a new procedure to detect malignant melanoma from benign pigmented lesions using macroscopic images is presented. The images are taken by conventional digital cameras with spatial resolution higher than one megapixel and by considering no constraints and special conditions during imaging. In the proposed procedure, new methods to weaken the effect of nonuniform illumination, correction of the effect of thick hairs and large glows on the lesion and also, a new threshold-based segmentation algorithm are presented. 187 features representing asymmetry, border irregularity, color variation, diameter and texture are extracted from the lesion area and after reducing the number of features using principal component analysis (PCA), lesions are determined as malignant or benign using support vector machine classifier. According to the dermatologist diagnosis, the proposed processing methods have the ability to detect lesions area with high accuracy. The evaluation measures of classification have indicated that 13 features extracted by PCA method lead to better results than all of the extracted features. These results led to an accuracy of 82.2%, sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 86.93%. The proposed method may help dermatologists to detect the malignant lesions in the primary stages due to the minimum constraints during imaging, the ease of usage by the public and nonexperts, and high accuracy in detection of the lesion type.


Smartphone and mobile phone security for the clinician.
Smartphones are near ubiquitous and widely used by doctors in discussing patients. In all communication doctors should take steps to protect confidentiality, yet there is a paucity of available information on how clinicians can bolster cyber security and minimize risk when using their mobile phone.


Phosphorylation of the mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channel occurs independently of PKCε in turtle brain.
Neurons from the western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii) are remarkably resilient to anoxia. This is partly due to a reduction in the permeability of excitatory glutamatergic ion channels, initiated by mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K(+) (mK(+)ATP) channel activation. The aim of this study was to determine if: 1) PKCε, a kinase associated with hypoxic stress tolerance, is more highly expressed in turtle brain than the anoxia-intolerant rat brain; 2) PKCε translocates to the mitochondrial membrane during anoxia; 3) PKCε modulates mK(+)ATP channels at the Thr-224 phosphorylation site on the Kir6.2 subunit; and 4) Thr-224 phosphorylation sensitises mK(+)ATP channels to anoxia. Soluble and mitochondrial-rich particulate fractions of turtle and rat cerebral cortex were isolated and PKCε expression was determined by Western blot, which revealed that turtle cortical PKCε expression was half that of the rat. Following the transition to anoxia, no changes in PKCε expression in either the soluble or particulate fraction of the turtle cortex were observed. Furthermore, incubation of tissue with tat-conjugated activator or inhibitor peptides had no effect on the amount of PKCε in either fraction. However, we observed a 2-fold increase in Thr-224 phosphorylation following 1h of anoxia. The increased Thr-224 phosphorylation was blocked by the general kinase inhibitor staurosporine but this did not affect the latency or magnitude of mK(+)ATP channel-mediated mitochondrial depolarization following anoxia, as indicated by rhodamine-123. We conclude that PKCε does not play a role in the onset of mitochondrial depolarization and therefore glutamatergic channel arrest in turtle cerebral cortex.


Benefit to Radiation Risk of Breast-specific Gamma Imaging Compared with Mammography in Screening Asymptomatic Women with Dense Breasts.
Purpose To estimate the benefit-to-radiation risk ratios of mammography alone, breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) alone, and mammography plus BSGI in women with dense breasts who were asymptomatic and examined in the 2015 study by Rhodes et al. Materials and Methods This study uses previously published breast cancer detection rates and estimates of radiation dose and radiation risk and is, therefore, exempt from institutional review board approval. By using breast cancer detection rates for mammography alone, BSGI alone, and mammography plus BSGI from the study by Rhodes et al, as well as lifetime estimates of radiation-induced cancer mortality for mammography and BSGI on the basis of the Biologic Effects of Ionizing Radiation VII report, the benefit-to-radiation risk ratios of mammography alone, BSGI alone, and mammography plus BSGI performed annually over 10-year age intervals from ages 40 to 79 years are estimated. Results The benefit-to-radiation risk ratio is estimated to be 13 for women who are 40-49 years old and are screened with mammography, a figure that approximately doubles for each subsequent 10-year age interval up to 70-79 years old. For low-dose BSGI, annual screening benefit-to-radiation risk ratios are estimated to be 5 for women 40-49 years old and to double by age 70-79 years, while mammography plus BSGI has benefit-to-radiation risk ratios similar to those of BSGI alone. There are wide ranges for all of these estimates. Conclusion While lower dose (300 MBq) BSGI has estimated benefit-to-radiation risk ratios well in excess of 1 for screening of asymptomatic women with dense breasts who are 40 years old and older, it does not match the benefit-to-radiation risk ratio of screening mammography. © RSNA, 2016.


Winding back Wnt signalling: potential therapeutic targets for treating gastric cancers.
Gastric cancer persists as a frequent and deadly disease that claims over 700 000 lives annually. Gastric cancer is a multifactorial disease that is genetically, cytologically and architecturally more heterogeneous than other gastrointestinal cancers, making it therapeutically challenging. As such, and largely attributed to late-stage diagnosis, gastric cancer patients show only partial response to standard chemo and targeted molecular therapies, highlighting an urgent need to develop new targeted therapies for this disease. Wnt signalling has a well-documented history in the genesis of many cancers and is, therefore, an attractive therapeutic target. As such, drug discovery has focused on developing inhibitors that target multiple nodes of the Wnt signalling cascade, some of which have progressed to clinical trials. The collective efforts of patient genomic profiling has uncovered genetic lesions to multiple components of the Wnt pathway in gastric cancer patients, which strongly suggest that Wnt-targeted therapies could offer therapeutic benefits for gastric cancer patients. These data have been supported by studies in mouse models of gastric cancer, which identify Wnt signalling as a driver of gastric tumourigenesis. Here, we review the current literature regarding Wnt signalling in gastric cancer and highlight the suitability of each class of Wnt inhibitor as a potential treatment for gastric cancer patients, in relation to the type of Wnt deregulation observed. This article is part of a themed section on WNT Signalling: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v174.24/issuetoc.


A survey of 636 staff nurses: perceptions and factors influencing the CNS role.
The specific aim of this investigation was to document the perceptions of the CNS role and the factors influencing the role. The Clifford Clinical Specialist Functions Inventory was used to survey staff nurses at two affiliated medical centers. A 38% response rate was obtained. A total of 636 surveys were returned. Analysis of the data indicated: the CNS was perceived as valuable; physical presence of the CNS on the nursing unit enhanced role enactment; and a list of CNS role expectations could be developed based on perceptions of staff nurses. The results indicated that perceptions of the CNS role did not vary among staff nurses at the two medical centers.


Functional modularity of background activities in normal and epileptic brain networks.
We analyze the connectivity structure of weighted brain networks extracted from spontaneous magnetoencephalographic signals of healthy subjects and epileptic patients (suffering from absence seizures) recorded at rest. We find that, for the activities in the 5-14 Hz range, healthy brains exhibit a sparse connectivity, whereas the brain networks of patients display a rich connectivity with a clear modular structure. Our results suggest that modularity plays a key role in the functional organization of brain areas during normal and pathological neural activities at rest.


Direct Csp2-H enolization: an allenoate alkylation cascade toward the assembly of multi-substituted furans.
A new disconnection toward tri- and tetrasubstituted furans has been conceptualized and demonstrated. A mild, base-mediated reaction of an allenoate pronucleophile with α-halo ketones/dicarbonyl compounds results in a Csp2-alkylation/enolization/O-vinylation sequence to ultimately afford substituted furan derivatives. The reaction offers a broad scope, provides a facile access to alkyl and aryl substituted furans, and demonstrates the application of the allene functionality as a two-carbon component in the construction of furans.


Effect of pretreatment prostate volume on urinary quality of life following intensity-modulated radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer.
The aim of this study was to describe the effect of pretreatment prostate volume on urinary quality of life after intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for clinically localized prostate cancer. A total of 368 men treated with prostate IMRT (77.4-81 Gy) were stratified into three gland volume groups, ie, <30 g (group 1), 30-60 g (group 2), and >60 g (group 3). Post-IMRT urinary function was evaluated by National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 4.0 genitourinary guidelines at one year post-IMRT, and surveyed by the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) before treatment, and then at one month and one year post-IMRT. Late (one year post-IMRT) CTCAE version 4.0 genitourinary toxicity occurred in 11/368 (3.0%) men, but was not severe (grade ≥ 3); total toxicity was similar between the prostate volume groups (P = 0.86). Continuous prostate volume neither correlated with (P = 0.50) nor predicted late genitourinary toxicity (univariate odds ratio 0.99, 95% confidence interval 0.96-1.02). The total IPSS cohort, group 1 (<30 g) and 2 (30-60 g), showed a similar IPSS trend of elevation from pretreatment baseline to one month post-IMRT (each P < 0.01), then a reduction to baseline at one year (each P < 0.01). Group 3 (>60 g) had the highest pretreatment IPSS, but uniquely showed a better urinary symptom trend than the smaller volume groups, with similar IPSS from baseline to one month post-IMRT (P = 0.88) and improved post-treatment IPSS from baseline at one year (P = 0.003). Pretreatment prostate volume and initial IPSS scores were not associated with increased late genitourinary toxicity after IMRT in our series. Patients with smaller prostates had an initial increase in urinary symptoms, but returned to baseline at one year. Larger prostate glands (>60 g) had comparatively worse pretreatment symptoms, but at one year showed an overall improvement in IPSS versus baseline.


Collagenous and microscopic colitis: clinical importance.
Minimal-change colitis and microscopic colitis are clinicopathological terms for diarrhoea with normal endoscopic or barium enema findings. Some controversy about the exact definitions and terminology still exists. Some forms of minimal-change colitis may overlap with "self-limited" colitis (infectious colitis) or may be due to (surreptitious) use of laxatives or other drugs. In recent years it has become clear however that some genuine forms of chronic colitis can be diagnosed only by microscopic examination of multiple colonic biopsies while macroscopy is negative and hence can be called "microscopic colitis". Collagenous colitis and lymphocytic colitis are at present two forms of this type of colitis which are more or less well defined both clinically and pathologically. Chronic watery diarrhoea is the main symptom for both. The symptoms of collagenous colitis appear most commonly in the sixth decade. Women are affected about 4 times more frequently than men. The major microscopic characteristic is a thickened collagen layer underneath the intercryptal surface epithelium. The major characteristic of lymphocytic colitis is an increase in number of interepithelial lymphocytes. Both conditions are characterized by signs of mucosal inflammation. Clinically, collagenous colitis is characterized by long-lasting diarrhoea. In patients with lymphocytic colitis the period of chronic diarrhoea is usually shorter and female predominance is less apparent. Although the natural history of these forms of colitis is not precisely known, it appears from the data thus far published that the long-term consequences are unlikely to be dire. The true incidence, aetiology and pathogenesis are unknown for both conditions and treatment is unclear.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin type II.
The gene for Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin type II (STII) was fused to the genes for protein A from Staphylococcus aureus and beta-galactosidase in two different expression systems. Antibodies raised in rabbits against the protein A-STII fusion protein recognized the beta-galactosidase-STII fusion protein. The latter fusion protein was used as the immobilized antigen in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of STII. The correlation between the results of the ELISA and the intestinal loop test in piglets was 95%, suggesting that the ELISA can be used to reliably detect STII.


Familial congenital complete heart block and maternal systemic lupus erythematosis.
A family is reported in which two siblings had congenital complete heart block with resultant congestive heart failure, the father and paternal grandfather show adult-onset conduction defects, and the mother has systemic lupus erythematosis. The interaction of heredity and environment is discussed in this context. A review of the literature on familial complete heart block suggests that so-called pure congenital-onset familial heart block, originally felt to be genetic, may in fact have an important enivronmental component, specifically related to ongoing maternal factors such as systemic lupus erythematosis.


Relationships Among Stress, Burnout, Athletic Identity, and Athlete Satisfaction in Students at Korea's Physical Education High Schools: Validating Differences Between Pathways According to Ego Resilience.
We tested the structural relationships between stress, burnout, athletic identity, and athlete satisfaction in student athletes attending Korea's physical education high schools and analyzed the differences between paths by ego resilience. Data were collected from student athletes at three Korean physical education high schools. Before data collection, each instruments' content validity was confirmed, and after data collection, construct validity was tested using factor analysis. The results were derived using reliability testing, descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and structural equation modeling. After testing the final research model, the following results were obtained: (a) high levels of stress had a strong correlation with burnout and high levels of burnout was negatively related to athletic identity and athlete satisfaction; (b) in our model, burnout showed full mediation of the relationship between stress and athlete identity/athletic satisfaction; and (c) the high ego resilience group showed a weaker relationship compared to the low ego resilience group in the pathways from stress → burnout and burnout → athletic identity/athlete satisfaction.


Malignant peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the uterus.
Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PPNET) is rare, occurring most often in young adults. Approximately 50 cases have been reported, with only four cases involving the female genital tract. We report the fifth patient. The term "PPNET" should be used only for tumors with neuroectodermal elements exclusively that occur at sites outside the central and sympathetic nervous system. The pathologic differential diagnoses include rhabdomyosarcoma, immature malignant teratoma, small cell carcinoma of the cervix, and ganglioneuroma. Therapy for this tumor has varied, and no effective regimen has been established.


Predictive model for survival in patients with gastric cancer.
Gastric cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in the world. Characterized by poor prognosis, it is a frequent cause of cancer in Iran. The aim of the study was to design a predictive model of survival time for patients suffering from gastric cancer. This was a historical cohort conducted between 2011 and 2016. Study population were 277 patients suffering from gastric cancer. Data were gathered from the Iranian Cancer Registry and the laboratory of Emam Reza Hospital in Mashhad, Iran. Patients or their relatives underwent interviews where it was needed. Missing values were imputed by data mining techniques. Fifteen factors were analyzed. Survival was addressed as a dependent variable. Then, the predictive model was designed by combining both genetic algorithm and logistic regression. Matlab 2014 software was used to combine them. Of the 277 patients, only survival of 80 patients was available whose data were used for designing the predictive model. Mean ?SD of missing values for each patient was 4.43?.41 combined predictive model achieved 72.57% accuracy. Sex, birth year, age at diagnosis time, age at diagnosis time of patients' family, family history of gastric cancer, and family history of other gastrointestinal cancers were six parameters associated with patient survival. The study revealed that imputing missing values by data mining techniques have a good accuracy. And it also revealed six parameters extracted by genetic algorithm effect on the survival of patients with gastric cancer. Our combined predictive model, with a good accuracy, is appropriate to forecast the survival of patients suffering from Gastric cancer. So, we suggest policy makers and specialists to apply it for prediction of patients' survival.


Glycation of Lysozyme by Glycolaldehyde Provides New Mechanistic Insights in Diabetes-Related Protein Aggregation.
Glycation occurs in vivo as a result of the nonenzymatic reaction of carbohydrates (and/or their autoxidation products) with proteins, DNA, or lipids. Protein glycation causes loss-of-function and, consequently, the development of diabetic-related diseases. Glycation also boosts protein aggregation, which can be directly related with the higher prevalence of aggregating diseases in diabetic people. However, the molecular mechanism connecting glycation with aggregation still remains unclear. Previously we described mechanistically how glycation of hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) with ribose induced its aggregation. Here we address the question of whether the ribose-induced aggregation is a general process or it depends on the chemical nature of the glycating agent. Glycation of HEWL with glycolaldehyde occurs through two different scenarios depending on the HEWL concentration regime (both within the micromolar range). At low HEWL concentration, non-cross-linking fluorescent advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are formed on Lys side chains, which do not change the protein structure but inhibit its enzymatic activity. These AGEs have little impact on HEWL surface hydrophobicity and, therefore, a negligible effect on its aggregation propensity. Upon increasing HEWL concentration, the glycation mechanism shifts toward the formation of intermolecular cross-links, which triggers a polymerization cascade involving the formation of insoluble spherical-like aggregates. These results notably differ with the aggregation-modulation mechanism of ribosylated HEWL directed by hydrophobic interactions. Additionally, their comparison constitutes the first experimental evidence showing that the mechanism underlying the aggregation of a glycated protein depends on the chemical nature of the glycating agent.


Pneumomediastinum following spontaneous vaginal delivery: report of a rare phenomenon.
Pneumomediastinum is the presence of mediastinal air, which raises concern for life-threatening conditions such as esophageal perforation and mediastinitis. Here, we described the case of a young female with no previous past medical history, who developed spontaneous pneumomediastinum following uncomplicated spontaneous vaginal delivery (SVD) giving birth to a healthy newborn at full term. The incidence of benign pneumomediastinum following SVD is estimated at 1 in 100 000 deliveries. This case explores the etiology of this rare presentation, recommends essential investigations and advises on pertinent clinical considerations.


Arrhythmia and neuronal/endothelial myocyte uncoupling in hyperhomocysteinemia.
Elevated levels of homocysteine (Hcy) known as hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) are associated with arrhythmogenesis and sudden cardiac death (SCD). Hcy decreases constitutive neuronal and endothelial nitric oxide (NO), and cardiac diastolic relaxation. Hcy increases the iNOS/NO, peroxynitrite, mitochondrial NADPH oxidase, and suppresses superoxide dismutase (SOD) and redoxins. Hcy activates matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), disrupts connexin-43 and increases collagen/elastin ratio. The disruption of connexin-43 and accumulation of collagen (fibrosis) disrupt the normal pattern of cardiac conduction and attenuate NO transport from endothelium to myocyte (E-M) causing E-M uncoupling, leading to a pro-arrhythmic environment. The goal of this review is to elaborate the mechanism of Hcy-mediated iNOS/NO in E-M uncoupling and SCD. It is known that Hcy creates arrhythmogenic substrates (i.e. increase in collagen/elastin ratio and disruption in connexin-43) and exacerbates heart failure during chronic volume overload. Also, Hcy behaves as an agonist to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA, an excitatory neurotransmitter) receptor-1, and blockade of NMDA-R1 reduces the increase in heart rate-evoked by NMDA-analog and reduces SCD. This review suggest that Hcy increases iNOS/NO, superoxide, metalloproteinase activity, and disrupts connexin-43, exacerbates endothelial-myocyte uncoupling and cardiac failure secondary to inducing NMDA-R1.


Identification and functional analysis of the mitochondrial cysteine synthase TtCsa2 from Tetrahymena thermophila.
Cysteine is a crucial component for all organisms and plays a critical role in the structure, stability, and catalytic functions of many proteins. Tetrahymena has reverse transsulfuration and de novo pathways for cysteine biosynthesis. Cysteine synthase is involved in the de novo cysteine biosynthesis and catalyzes the production of cysteine from O-acetylserine. The novel cysteine synthase TtCSA2 was identified from Tetrahymena thermophila. The TtCSA2 showed high expression levels at the log-phase and the sexual development stage. The TtCsa2 was localized on the outer mitochondrial membrane throughout different developmental stages. However, the truncated N-terminal signal peptide mutant TtCsa2-ΔN23 was localized into the mitochondria. His-TtCsa2 was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using affinity chromatography. The His-TtCsa2 showed O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase and serine sulfhydrylase activities. Cysteine and glutathione contents decreased in the csa2KD mutant. Furthermore, mutant cells were sensitive to cadmium and copper stresses. This study indicated that the TtCSA2 was involved in the cysteine synthesis in mitochondria and related to heavy metal stresses resistance in Tetrahymena.


[Telephone surveys. Advantages and drawbacks].
Telephone surveys have gained considerable importance in recent years. The present article describes advantages and drawbacks of this mode of data collection. Particular attention is devoted to a number of aspects involved: costs, computer-assisted fieldwork, response rates, special demands on sampling, use of incentives, survey participation and the role of telephone surveys in flexible mixed-mode survey designs. A concluding section offers some practical recommendations on carrying out telephone surveys.


Finding faults: analogical comparison supports spatial concept learning in geoscience.
A central issue in education is how to support the spatial thinking involved in learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We investigated whether and how the cognitive process of analogical comparison supports learning of a basic spatial concept in geoscience, fault. Because of the high variability in the appearance of faults, it may be difficult for students to learn the category-relevant spatial structure. There is abundant evidence that comparing analogous examples can help students gain insight into important category-defining features (Gentner in Cogn Sci 34(5):752-775, 2010). Further, comparing high-similarity pairs can be especially effective at revealing key differences (Sagi et al. 2012). Across three experiments, we tested whether comparison of visually similar contrasting examples would help students learn the fault concept. Our main findings were that participants performed better at identifying faults when they (1) compared contrasting (fault/no fault) cases versus viewing each case separately (Experiment 1), (2) compared similar as opposed to dissimilar contrasting cases early in learning (Experiment 2), and (3) viewed a contrasting pair of schematic block diagrams as opposed to a single block diagram of a fault as part of an instructional text (Experiment 3). These results suggest that comparison of visually similar contrasting cases helped distinguish category-relevant from category-irrelevant features for participants. When such comparisons occurred early in learning, participants were more likely to form an accurate conceptual representation. Thus, analogical comparison of images may provide one powerful way to enhance spatial learning in geoscience and other STEM disciplines.


Regulation of SNAREs by tomosyn and ROCK: implication in extension and retraction of neurites.
Extension of neurites requires the SNARE-dependent fusion of plasmalemmal precursor vesicles with the plasma membrane of growth cones. Here, we show that tomosyn localizes at the palm of growth cones and inhibits the fusion of the vesicles there, thus promoting transport of the vesicles to the plasma membrane of the leading edges of growth cones. Tomosyn localizes because ROCK activated by Rho small G protein phosphorylates syntaxin-1, which increases the affinity of syntaxin-1 for tomosyn and forms a stable complex with tomosyn, resulting in inhibition of the formation of the SNARE complex. In retraction of neurites, tomosyn localizes all over the edges of the neurites and inhibits fusion of the vesicles with the plasma membrane. Thus, tomosyn demarcates the plasma membrane by binding to syntaxin-1 phosphorylated by ROCK, and thereby regulates extension and retraction of neurites.


Effect of Voluntary Wheel Running on Striatal Dopamine Level and Neurocognitive Behaviors after Molar Loss in Rats.
The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of voluntary wheel running on striatal dopamine level and behavior of cognition and emotion in molar loss rats. Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were enrolled in this study and randomly divided into following 4 groups: control group (C group), molar loss group (ML group), 1-week physical exercise before molar loss group (1W-ML group), and 4-week physical exercise before molar loss group (4W-ML group). The rats both in 4W-ML and 1W-ML groups were placed in the voluntary running wheel in order to exercise for 4 weeks and 1 week, respectively. Then, the rats in 4W-ML, 1W-M, and ML groups received bilateral molar loss operation. After 10 days, striatal dopamine level was detected by in vivo microdialysis coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrochemical detection. All the rats received behavior test after microdialysis detection. The behavior tests including passive avoidance test were used to assess cognition and elevated plus maze test for emotion. The results indicated that voluntary wheel running promoted striatal dopamine level in rats of molar loss. Behavioral data indicated that voluntary wheel running promoted cognition and emotion recovery after molar loss. Therefore, we concluded physical exercise significantly improved the neurocognitive behaviors and increased the striatal dopamine level after molar loss in rats.


Role of betaine in liver injury induced by the exposure to ionizing radiation.
Oxidative stress, apoptosis, and fibrosis may play a major role in the development of radiation-induced liver damage. Betaine, a native compound widely present in beetroot, was reported to possess hepato-protective properties. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of betaine on radiation-induced liver damage. Animals were exposed to 9 Gy applied in 3 doses of 3 Gy/wk. Betaine (400 mg/kg/d), was orally supplemented to rats after the first radiation dose, and daily during the irradiation period. Animals were sacrificed 1 day after the last dose of radiation. The results showed that irradiation has induced oxidative stress in the liver denoted by a significant elevation in malondialdehyde, protein carbonyl, and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine with a significant reduction in catalase activity and glutathione (GSH) content. The activity of the detoxification enzyme cytochrome P450 (CYP450) increased while GSH transferase (GSH-T) decreased. The activity of the apoptotic marker caspase-3 increased concomitant with increased hyaluronic acid, hydroxyproline, laminin (LN), and collagen IV. These alterations were associated with a significant increase of gamma-glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase and alanine and aspartate aminotransferase markers of liver dysfunction. Betaine treatment has significantly attenuated oxidative stress, decreased the activity of CYP450, enhanced GSH-T, reduced the activity of caspase-3, and the level of fibrotic markers concomitant with a significant improvement of liver function. In conclusion, betaine through its antioxidant activity and by enhancing liver detoxification and reducing apoptosis may alleviate the progression of liver fibrosis and exert a beneficial impact on radiation-induced liver damage.


Sublingual microcirculation is impaired in post-cardiac arrest patients.
We hypothesized that microcirculatory dysfunction, similar to that seen in sepsis, occurs in post-cardiac arrest patients and that better microcirculatory flow will be associated with improved outcome. We also assessed the association between microcirculatory dysfunction and inflammatory markers in the post-cardiac arrest state. We prospectively evaluated the sublingual microcirculation in post-cardiac arrest patients, severe sepsis/septic shock patients, and healthy control patients using Sidestream Darkfield microscopy. Microcirculatory flow was assessed using the microcirculation flow index (MFI) at 6 and 24h in the cardiac arrest patients, and within 6h of emergency department admission in the sepsis and control patients. We evaluated 30 post-cardiac arrest patients, 16 severe sepsis/septic shock patients, and 9 healthy control patients. Sublingual microcirculatory blood flow was significantly impaired in post-cardiac arrest patients at 6h (MFI 2.6 [IQR: 2-2.9]) and 24h (2.7 [IQR: 2.3-2.9]) compared to controls (3.0 [IQR: 2.9-3.0]; p<0.01 and 0.02, respectively). After adjustment for initial APACHE II score, post-cardiac arrest patients had significantly lower MFI at 6-h compared to sepsis patients (p<0.03). In the post-cardiac arrest group, patients with good neurologic outcome had better microcirculatory blood flow as compared to patients with poor neurologic outcome (2.9 [IQR: 2.4-3.0] vs. 2.6 [IQR: 1.9-2.8]; p<0.03). There was a trend toward higher median MFI at 24h in survivors vs. non-survivors (2.8 [IQR: 2.4-3.0] vs. 2.6 [IQR: 2.1-2.8] respectively; p<0.09). We found a negative correlation between MFI-6 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (r=-0.49, p=0.038). However, after Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons, this correlation was statistically non-significant. Microcirculatory dysfunction occurs early in post-cardiac arrest patients. Better microcirculatory function at 24h may be associated with good neurologic outcome.


Manganese-Mediated Decrease in Levels of c-RET and Tyrosine Hydroxylase Expression In Vitro.
Previous studies showed that overexposure to manganese causes parkinsonism, a disorder of dopaminergic neurons. Previous studies also showed that activity of c-RET kinase controls dopamine production through regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression, suggesting the involvement of c-RET in the development of parkinsonism. To our knowledge, however, there is no report showing a correlation between manganese-mediated parkinsonism and c-RET. In this study, we examined the effect of manganese on the expression and/or activation levels of c-RET and TH in human TH-expressing cells (TGW cells). We first found that treatment with 30 and 100 μM manganese resulted in reduction of c-RET transcript level and degradation of c-RET protein through promotion of ubiquitination. We then examined the biological significance of manganese-mediated decrease of c-RET protein expression. Decreased TH expression with decreased c-RET kinase activity was observed in c-RET protein-depleted TGW cells by treatment with manganese (30 μM) as well as by c-RET siRNA transfection. Since TH protein has been shown to be involved in the dopamine-producing pathway in previous studies, our results indicate the possibility that manganese-mediated reduction of TH expression and phosphorylation via decreased expression of c-RET protein in neural cells is involved in parkinsonism induced by manganese.


The molecular characteristics of bladder cancer in young patients.
The molecular characteristics of bladder cancer in children and young adults remain largely undefined. We sought to identify common molecular changes in bladder tumors in young patients using standard immunohistochemical and interphase cytogenetic methods. We retrospectively evaluated 73 bladder tumors removed from patients younger than 30 years for the p53 tumor suppressor gene product using immunohistochemical techniques and numerical aberrations of chromosomes 9, 17, X and Y. Regardless of stage, immunohistochemical evidence of p53 gene product over expression was found in the majority of tumors studied. Numerical aberrations (monosomy) of chromosome 9 were rare. Aneuploidy of chromosome 17 was common, particularly in carcinoma in situ and invasive bladder cancer. These data suggest that immunohistochemical evidence of p53 gene product over expression is common in bladder cancer in young patients. Further prospective analysis of lesions in this population may help to establish a comprehensive molecular progression model for urothelial neoplasms.


Historical antecedents to the philosophy of Paul Feyerabend.
Paul Feyerabend has been considered a very radical philosopher of science for proposing that we may advance hypotheses contrary to well-confirmed experimental results, that observations make theoretical assumptions, that all methodological rules have exceptions, that ordinary citizens may challenge the judgment of experts, and that human happiness should be a key value for science. As radical as these theses may sound, they all have historical antecedents. In defending the Copernican view, Galileo exemplified the first two; Mill, Aristotle and Machiavelli all argued for pluralism; Aristotle gave commonsense reasons for why ordinary citizens may be able to judge the work of experts; and a combination of Plato's and Aristotle's views can offer strong support for the connection between science and happiness.


Casting liquid PDMS on self-assembled bilayer polystyrene nanospheres to prepare a SERS substrate with two layers of nanopits for detection of p-nitrophenol.
p-Nitrophenol (PNP) is widely used in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and dyestuffs. It is vital to detect trace PNP in the environment, because it poses significant environmental hazards due to its high toxicity. In this paper, a new method was reported for preparing a SERS substrate with excellent SERS activity by combining self-assembly techniques and flexible materials. First, the three-dimensional (3D) polystyrene (PS) photonic crystal (PC) structural master was fabricated by stacking two layers of self-assembled PS nanospheres with different diameters. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with a complementary structure to the master was obtained by casting, curing and peeling off. Finally, the PDMS-Ag substrate was fabricated by sputtering a thin Ag layer on the PDMS structure. The enhancement factor (EF) of the PDMS-Ag substrate was calculated to be 2.90 × 109 by using 4-amino thiophenol (ATP) as the probe molecule, and the limit of detection (LOD) for ATP can reach 10-11 M. And the RSD of the SERS intensity for the peak at 1078 cm-1 on the PDMS-Ag substrates from batch to batch was within 2%, indicating the high reproducibility of the as-prepared substrate. The quantitative analysis of PNP was achieved with a LOD of 10-8 M. Therefore, the PDMS-Ag substrate exhibits high sensitivity and reproducibility, and it can detect PNP in trace amounts, with great potential for detecting other contaminants.


Yamanouchi magnetic compression anastomosis for bilioenteric anastomotic stricture after living-donor liver transplantation.
Yamanouchi magnetic compression anastomosis (YMCA) is a novel interventional method that creates an anastomosis between the bile duct and small intestine. The method uses two magnets to compress the stricture transmurally, causing gradual ischemic necrosis of the stricture. This ischemic necrosis creates an anastomosis between the two magnets. The present report describes two cases in which YMCA was successfully applied to treat bilioenteric anastomotic stricture after living-donor liver transplantation. These two patients exhibited good long-term clinical courses.


Genome-scale CRISPR pooled screens.
Genome editing technologies such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) systems have ushered in a new era of targeted DNA manipulation. The easy programmability of CRISPR using short oligonucleotides enables rapid synthesis of large-scale libraries for functional genetic screens. Here we present fundamental concepts and methods for pooled CRISPR screens and review biological results from recent genome-scale loss-of-function and gain-of-function screens. We also discuss new frontiers in pooled screens, including novel effector domains for functional screens and applications in the noncoding genome.


Balloon-Guide Catheters Are Needed for Effective Flow Reversal during Mechanical Thrombectomy.
Blood flow management in the carotid artery during mechanical thrombectomy is crucial for safety and effectiveness. There is an ongoing discussion about whether balloon-guide catheters or large-bore sheaths are needed for effective flow management. We compared general flow characteristics of proximal aspiration through a large-bore sheath and a balloon-guide catheter in a porcine in vivo model. We investigated blood flow in a porcine common carotid artery with and without aspiration (VacLok syringe and Penumbra pump, Pump MAX) through an 8F-long sheath and an 8F balloon-guide catheter. Blood hemodynamics were assessed via continuous duplex sonography. Average vessel diameter and baseline blood flow were 4.4 ± 0.2 mm and 244 ± 20 mL/min, respectively. For the 8F sheath, pump aspiration resulted in a significant flow reduction (225 ± 25 mL/min, P < .001), but with a persisting antegrade stream. Manual aspiration resulted in collapse of the vessel in 2 of 7 measurements and oscillatory flow with antegrade systolic and retrograde diastolic components in the remaining 5 measurements. Net flow was antegrade (52 ± 44 mL/min) in 3 and retrograde (-95 ± 52 mL/min) in the remaining 2 measurements. For balloon-guide catheters, balloon inflation always resulted in flow arrest. Additional pump or manual aspiration resulted in significant flow reversal of -1100 ± 230 and -468 ± 46 mL/min, respectively (both, P < .001). Only balloon-guide catheters allow reliable blood flow arrest and flow reversal in combination with aspiration via syringes or high-flow pump systems. Aspiration through an 8F sheath results in either collapse of the vessel or oscillatory flow, which can result in a net antegrade or retrograde stream.


Signature of nonlinear damping in geometric structure of a nonequilibrium process.
We investigate the effect of nonlinear interaction on the geometric structure of a nonequilibrium process. Specifically, by considering a driven-dissipative system where a stochastic variable x is damped either linearly (∝x) or nonlinearly (∝x^{3}) while driven by a white noise, we compute the time-dependent probability density functions (PDFs) during the relaxation towards equilibrium from an initial nonequilibrium state. From these PDFs, we quantify the information change by the information length L, which is the total number of statistically distinguishable states which the system passes through from the initial state to the final state. By exploiting different initial PDFs and the strength D of the white-noise forcing, we show that for a linear system, L increases essentially linearly with an initial mean value y_{0} of x as L∝y_{0}, demonstrating the preservation of a linear geometry. In comparison, in the case of a cubic damping, L has a power-law scaling as L∝y_{0}^{m}, with the exponent m depending on D and the width of the initial PDF. The rate at which information changes also exhibits a robust power-law scaling with time for the cubic damping.


Effects of Polishing Bur Application Force and Reuse on Sintered Zirconia Surface Topography.
Limited information is available on how to polish and finish zirconia surfaces following computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM), specifically, how differing application forces and reuse of zirconia polishing systems affect zirconia topography. To determine the effect of differing, clinically relevant, polishing application forces and multiple usages of polishing burs on the surface topography of CAD/CAM zirconia. One hundred twenty 220-grit carbide finished zirconia disks were sintered according to manufacturer's directions and divided into two groups for the study of two coarse polishing bur types. Each group was divided into subgroups for polishing (15,000 rpm) at 15 seconds for 1.0 N, 4.5 N, or 11 N of force using a purpose-built fixture. Subgroups were further divided to study the effects of polishing for the first, fifth, 15th, and 30th bur use, simulating clinical procedures. Unpolished surfaces served as a control group. Surfaces were imaged with noncontact optical profilometry (OP) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure average roughness values (Ra). Polishing burs were optically examined for wear. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed on burs and zirconia surfaces. One-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey HSD (honest significant difference) tests (α=0.05) were used for statistical analyses. AFM and OP Ra values of all polished surfaces were significantly lower than those of the unpolished control. Different polishing forces and bur reuse showed no significant differences in AFM Ra. However, significant differences in OP Ra were found due to differing application forces and bur reuse between the first and subsequent uses. SEM and optical micrographs revealed notable bur wear, increasing with increasing reuse. SEM and AFM micrographs clearly showed polished, periodic zirconia surfaces. Nanoscale topography, as analyzed with kurtosis and average groove depth, was found dependent on the specific polishing bur type. These in vitro results suggest changes in OP Ra due to bur reuse and polishing application force. Within the parameters of this study, the resultant topography of zirconia polishing is force-dependent and the reuse of coarse polishing burs is possible without statistically significant differences in Ra values after initial use. Nanoscale and microscale topography were shown to depend on specific polishing bur type.


Natural history of a squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip.
Natural history of a squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip. In lip cancer cases without significant co-morbidities, curative treatment is preferable to palliative; although, the patient may refuse care. This case report describes the natural progression of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lower lip. A 76-year-old, non-smoker, male farmer had a lesion on his left lower lip that was clinically and histological proven to be a T₁N₀Mx SCC. During the first consultation, no cervical lymph nodes were palpated. Initially, the patient himself treated the SCC with udder ointment. Three years later, he had difficulties eating solid food and his meals consisted mainly of liquid nutrients. The lesion initially progressed slowly, but grew fast after 3 years and Even in this mutilating stage, the patient refused treatment. Despite the tumor stage and co-morbidities, the patient makes the treatment decisions; therefore, the implications of these decisions must be discussed.


Cassava (Manihot esculenta Krantz) genome harbors KNOX genes differentially expressed during storage root development.
In plants, homeodomain proteins play a critical role in regulating various aspects of plant growth and development. KNOX proteins are members of the homeodomain protein family. The KNOX transcription factors have been reported from Arabidopsis, rice, and other higher plants. The recent publication of the draft genome sequence of cassava (Manihot esculenta Krantz) has allowed a genome-wide search for M. esculenta KNOX (MeKNOX) transcription factors and the comparison of these positively identified proteins with their homologs in model plants. In the present study, we identified 12 MeKNOX genes in the cassava genome and grouped them into two distinct subfamilies based on their domain composition and phylogenetic analysis. Furthermore, semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis was performed to elucidate the expression profiles of these genes in different tissues and during various stages of root development. The analysis of MeKNOX expression profiles of indicated that 12 MeKNOX genes display differential expressions either in their transcript abundance or expression patterns.


Resonance effects in the electron distribution function formation in spatially periodic fields in inert gases.
The calculations of the electron distribution function (EDF) in striationlike, sinusoidally modulated electric fields were performed to determine the dependence on spatial period length. The calculations were done for a discharge in neon at pR=2 Torr cm, i/R=5 mA/cm, and electric field E/p=1.9 V cm(-1) Torr(-1). The presence of the resonances in the EDF and macroscopic parameters has been demonstrated. These resonances correspond to S and P striations observed in experiments. An interpretation of the results is proposed based on an analytical approximation of the numerical solution. Decomposition of EDF into two factors-amplitude and body-is carried out. The amplitude of the EDF is shown to be resonantly dependent on the value of the spatial period. One maximum in the EDF is formed at the value of the spatial period corresponding to the S striation, and two maxima at the value which corresponds to the P striation. The experimental measurements of the EDF in S and P striations with high spatial resolution showed agreement between the theoretical and the experimental results. Resonance effects in the EDF formation are considered based on the linear theory in the weakly modulated electric fields.


Biomarkers of WNT signaling.
WNT signaling plays a key role in the developing embryo and in the maintenance of a stem/progenitor cell compartment in adult tissues. However, WNT signaling is also believed to play an important role in carcinogenesis. WNT signaling may be activated directly through WNT ligand overexpression, or more often through mutations downstream in the WNT signaling cascade. The common endpoint is an inappropriate expansion of a stem cell compartment and proliferation of more differentiated daughter cells which ultimately acquire additional mutations leading to the development of a malignant, invasive cancer cell. It is likely that WNT signaling is at the core of many human cancers, but no definitive biomarker of WNT activity has been established. Furthermore, while therapies targeting WNT-responsive gene products such as COX-2 and VEGF have been developed, no therapy directly targeting WNT signaling itself has yet made it into the clinic. We present here a brief summary of the WNT signaling cascade, and focus particularly on markers of WNT activity that have diagnostic, prognostic, or therapeutic relevance. Finally, we propose the development of novel ligands of the steroid hormone family of nuclear receptors to be used as therapies that specifically target and inhibit WNT/beta-catenin/TCF-mediated transcriptional activity.


Design, Synthesis, and Preclinical Activity in Ovarian Cancer Models of New Phosphanegold(I)-N-heterocyclic Carbene Complexes.
A new series of seven gold(I) complexes (1-7) containing 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene (IPr) and phosphane ligands (L1-L7) were synthesized and evaluated for antitumor activity in ovarian cancer (OvCa) models. The synthesized complexes were characterized by IR, mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy, and complex 6 was characterized by XRD crystallography. The antiproliferative effect of the new complexes (1-7) was found to be higher than cisplatin and auranofin in OvCa cells sensitive and resistant to cisplatin. The anticancer activity of the most active complex 6 was investigated using OvCa in vitro models, including three-dimensional (3D) multicellular tumor spheroids and in vivo tumor xenografts. Both cisplatin and auranofin were used for comparative purposes. Complex 6 induced apoptosis, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, and DNA damage; caused a G1 phase cell cycle arrest, inhibited proteasome activity, and cell migration; modified actin polymerization; and significantly inhibited OvCa murine xenografts. These promising results suggest further preclinical testing of these complexes for future applications.


Age-specific activities that support successful transition to adulthood for children with disabilities.
Twenty-two activities that support transition to adulthood previously published by Blomquist et al. 1998) were explored in a focus group with parents of successful young adults with disabilities. Parents rated these activities on a 5-point Likert scale, and comments were gathered about the activities parents felt were essential for transition to adulthood. Parents rated the activities high with highest agreement being: "Do not do for them what they can do for themselves," "Assign appropriate household chores," and "Help children interact with others in varied settings." The lowest agreement ratings involved issues about school to work transitions, vocational programs within schools, and strategies assuring continuity of care with adult health care providers. Parents offered insights into the daily activities in school, home, and community that support transition to adulthood. Through review and understanding of these transition activities, health care professionals gain insight into the activities fostering a child's independence throughout their development.


Method for determining the electronegativity of bound atoms of chemical elements with a small atomic number.
The classical approach of James and Brindley for determining the shielding of a nucleus by electrons from the atomic form factor of the scattering of x rays is generalized for atoms in a bound state. It is shown that for chemical elements with atomic number Z < 10, the ratio of the peaks of coherent IR and incoherent IC scattering in the range of (sin θ)/λ from 0.7 to 2.0 Å-1 is determined by the form factor of scattering by internal electrons of the (1, 0) level. For each atom in a multicomponent system, there is only one adjustable parameter-the effective charge Z* = (Z - s), which characterizes the shielding of the nucleus by electrons. Fitting the dependence IR/IC ((sin θ)/λ) allows you to determine Z* for each free or bound atom and calculate its electronegativity. The values of the electronegativity of lithium, boron, carbon, oxygen, and fluorine in compounds with different types of chemical bonds are analyzed.


Electrostatic Layer-By-Layer Self-Assembled Graphene/Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Hybrid Multilayers as Efficient 'All Carbon' Supercapacitors.
In this work, covalently bonded graphene/carbon nanotube (Gr/CNT) conjoined materials are fabricated as engineered three-dimensional hybrid multilayer supercapacitors for high-performance integrated electrochemical energy storage. Stable aqueous dispersion of polymer-modified graphene sheets are prepared in the presence of cationic poly(ethyleneimine), PEI (PEI-Gr) for sequential or electrostatic layer-by-layer (E-LBL) self-assembly with negatively charged acid-oxidized or functionalized multi-walled CNT (fMWCNT), forming (PEI-Gr/fMWCNT)n architecture as "all carbon" super-capacitor, where n = 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12 and 15. These films possess an interconnected network of mesoporous nanocarbon structure with well-defined interfaces allowing sufficient surface adsorption and faster ion transport due to short diffusion distances. They exhibit nearly rectangular cyclic voltammograms at an exceedingly high scan rate of 1 V/s with an average specific capacitance of -450 F g(-1) and specific energy density of 75.5 Wh kg(-1) based on electrode weight, measured at a current density of 0.3 A g(-1), comparable to that of Ni metal hydride battery and charged/discharged within a few seconds or a minute. This is attributed to the maximized synergistic effect of the highest specific surface areas by preventing re-aggregation of PEI-Gr or PEI-rGO via fMWCNT as spacers. We also determined relative contributions of the interfacial capacitance (C(dl)) and charge transfer (R(ct)) properties of the hybrids and investigated interfacial properties by SECM technique.


Epidermal growth factor receptor is involved in the development of an invasive phenotype in vulvar squamous lesions, but is not related to MIB-1 immunoreactivity.
This study investigated the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and proliferation as determined by MIB-1 labeling indices (proliferation index [PI]) in 82 cases of vulvar tissues consisting of healthy epithelia (HE) (n = 10), vulvar condylomas (VC; n = 24), high-grade vulvar intraepithelial neoplasias (HG-VIN) of warty and basaloid types (n = 26), invasive keratinizing squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs; n = 22), and differentiated VIN adjacent to SCCs (n = 7) by means of a standard immunohistochemical method using monoclonal antibodies to characterize EGFR expression, with an emphasis on neoplastic transformation and progression, and to relate it to proliferation. The EGFR expression was mainly membranous and--to a lesser degree--cytoplasmic; it was scored for intensity and quantity. The MIB-1 reactivity was exclusively nuclear. High EGFR immunoscores were detected on 6% of HG-VIN and 41% of SCCs. The EGFR immunoexpression increased significantly from healthy epithelia to VCs, VINs (HG-VIN and differentiated VIN taken together), and SCCs (P < 0.0001 [chi2 test]), but was not related to stage, grade, or recurrence in SCCs. There was no statistical significance for EGFR immunoscores and PIs in the groups of VCs (P = 0.1923), VINs (P = 0.0951), and SCCs (P = 0.6896). This study shows the upregulation of EGFR expression in a few warty and basaloid HG-VIN cases and in many SCCs of the vulva. The lack of a relationship with PIs suggests that mechanisms other than proliferation are involved in this process.


[Detection of maternal colonization of group B streptococcus in late pregnancy by real-time polymerase chain reaction and its effect on perinatal outcome].
To study the sensitivity of the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in detecting group B streptococcus (GBS) in late pregnant women and the influence of vaginal/rectal GBS colonization on maternal and neonatal outcomes. Microbiological culture and RT-PCR for GBS were both performed for each sample taken from the vagina and rectus in 617 gravidas at 35-37 weeks of gestation, with an average age of 30.1, among which 80 aged over 35. Forty-one out of the 617 women were multiparous and 576 primiparous. The laboratory results were collected and the pregnant outcomes were followed. (1) Out of the 617 gravidas, 21 (3.4%) were GBS positive by culture (all positive in RT-PCR) and 57 (9.2%) were GBS positive by RT-PCR. Thirty-six cases with PCR positive but culture negative results were analyzed by sequencing, and 34 showed GBS positive and 2 negative. (2) The sensitivity and specificity of RT-PCR was 100% (55/55) and 99.6% (560/562) respectively. (3) The average age of GBS positive gravidas was 30 ± 4, without significant difference compared with that of GBS negative women (31 ± 4), P > 0.05. The GBS positive rates were also similar between the primiparas and the multiparous [7.3% (3/41) vs. 9.4% (54/576)], between elderly women and those under the age of 35, and between those women who had abortions over and less than 3 times (all P > 0.05). (4) No significant difference was found in the cesarean section rate between the GBS positive and negative group [54.4% (31/57) vs. 44.6% (250/560), P > 0.05]. (5) Compared with the GBS negative group, the GBS positive group had higher incidence of intrauterine infection [6.6% (37/560) vs. 15.8% (9/57)], postpartum hemorrhage (2.9% vs. 10.5%) and fetal distress (25.9% vs. 38.6%) all P < 0.05, but had similar incidence of premature rupture of membranes [25.0% (140/560) vs. 33.3% (19/57)], preterm birth and meconium-stained amniotic fluid. (6) The neonatal infection rate in the GBS positive group was significantly higher than that of the GBS negative group [29.8% (17/57) vs. 13.2% (77/560), P < 0.05]. One neonate in the GBS positive group developed early-onset severe GBS infection and achieved better outcome under proper treatment. Maternal GBS carrier at 35-37 weeks of gestation can lead to adverse pregnant outcomes by increasing the incidences of intrauterine infection and neonatal infections. However, RT-PCR could be a routine method to detect GBS status in late pregnant women with its higher sensitivity and specificity.


Mechanistic Studies on CysS - A Vitamin B12-Dependent Radical SAM Methyltransferase Involved in the Biosynthesis of the tert-Butyl Group of Cystobactamid.
Cobalamin (Cbl)-dependent radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) methyltransferases catalyze methylation reactions at non-nucleophilic centers in a wide range of substrates. CysS is a Cbl-dependent radical SAM methyltransferase involved in cystobactamid biosynthesis. This enzyme catalyzes the sequential methylation of a methoxy group to form ethoxy, i-propoxy, s-butoxy, and t-butoxy groups on a p-aminobenzoate peptidyl carrier protein thioester intermediate. This biosynthetic strategy enables the host myxobacterium to biosynthesize a combinatorial antibiotic library of 25 cystobactamid analogues. In this Article, we describe three experiments to elucidate how CysS uses Cbl, SAM, and a [4Fe-4S] cluster to catalyze iterative methylation reactions: a cyclopropylcarbinyl rearrangement was used to trap the substrate radical and to estimate the rate of the radical substitution reaction involved in the methyl transfer; a bromoethoxy analogue was used to explore the active site topography; and deuterium isotope effects on the hydrogen atom abstraction by the adenosyl radical were used to investigate the kinetic significance of the hydrogen atom abstraction. On the basis of these experiments, a revised mechanism for CysS is proposed.


Shared epitopes between the soluble proteins of Hypoderma lineatum and Hypoderma bovis first instars.
Cattle are known to acquire immunological resistance to hypodermyiasis by repeated exposure to both species of cattle grubs, Hypoderma lineatum (Villers) and Hypoderma bovis (L.). Vaccination of cattle with purified proteins of H. lineatum, particularly hypodermin A, is known to protect cattle against hypodermyiasis by this species. The development of a protective recombinant vaccine against both species using hypodermin A isolated from H. lineatum would require that immunological epitopes be shared by complementary proteins in H. bovis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the soluble proteins of H. bovis first-instars for shared epitopes with H. lineatum. Soluble H. lineatum and H. bovis first-instar larval proteins were resolved by nondenaturing polyacrylamide electrophoresis, blotted onto nitrocellulose paper, and probed with selected polyclonal cow, polyclonal rabbit, and mouse monoclonal antisera. Considerable cross-reactivity was demonstrated by antibodies in the serum of an H. lineatum-infested cow as 6 of 10 resolved H. bovis proteins were bound by the antibodies. The most common shared epitope(s) was associated with hypodermin C, a collagenolytic protease. Hypodermin A shared epitope(s) were noted on 1 prominent H. bovis band (HB1-2). Hypodermin B, a prominent protein in H. lineatum, did not appear to share epitopes with H. bovis proteins. Shared epitopes between H. bovis proteins and hypodermins A and C of H. lineatum would suggest that cross-protection of cattle against H. bovis can be expected by vaccination with recombinant proteins of H. lineatum.