The role of mother's oral and vaginal yeasts in transmission of Helicobacter pylori to neonates.
Oral cavity has been proposed as an important reservoir of H.pylori, being implicated in bacterial transmission through oral-oral route. However, some investigators believe that the newborn acquires H.pylori from mother through vaginal delivery. In this study, oral and vaginal yeasts were examined for the intracellular occurrence of H.pylori and their possible role in bacterial transmission. Sixty nine oral and vaginal yeasts from expecting mothers (39 oral and 30 vaginal) and seven oral yeasts from neonates(6/46 vaginal delivery, 1/43 cesarean) were identified and studied by light and fluorescent microscopy for observing the intracellular bacterium-like bodies(BLBs). Whole DNAs of yeasts were recruited for detection of H.pylori-specific genes. Urea breath test (UBT) was performed for detection of H.pylori infection in mothers. Stool antigen test (SAT) was used for detection of H.pylori antigens in infants' stool at birth and six months of age. Oral yeasts were isolated more frequently from normally-delivered neonates. The frequency of H.pylori genes in mothers' vaginal yeasts was significantly higher than in mothers' oral yeasts. A significant correlation was found between the occurrence of H.pylori genes in vaginal yeasts and that in neonates' oral yeasts, occurrence of H.pylori genes in mothers' vaginal yeasts or neonates' oral yeasts, and UBT+ results in mothers. C.albicans which colonizes the oral cavity of neonates through vaginal delivery or contact with environment or healthcare workers could be an important reservoir of H.pylori. Vaginal yeasts are more potent in accommodating H.pylori than oral yeasts. Accordingly, vaginal yeast is proposed as the primary reservoir of H.pylori which facilitates H.pylori transmission to neonates.


Sucrose Compartmentation in the Palisade Parenchyma of Vicia faba L.
Intracellular sucrose compartmentation in the palisade parenchyma of Vicia faba L. leaflets was investigated by comparing the specific radioactivity of photosynthetically labeled [(14)C]sucrose in samples enriched in vacuole to that in samples enriched in cytoplasm. Brief centrifugation of leaflet punches was used to sediment most of the palisade parenchyma cytoplasm in the adaxial ends of the cells. The punches were quick-frozen, freeze-substituted, and embedded in methacrylate. Samples enriched in cytoplasm or in vacuoles were obtained from paradermal sections. After pulse-labeling, the sucrose specific radioactivity in vacuole-enriched samples was fairly constant. Sucrose specific radioactivity in cytoplasm-enriched samples was about 2.5 times that in vacuole-enriched samples initially and declined thereafter. Earlier interpretation of intracellular sucrose compartmentation (Plant Physiol 1975 55: 704-711) had predicted larger specific activity differences (up to 20 times) between the cytoplasm and vacuole. The difference between the actual and predicted behavior is ascribed to the observed extent of cross-contamination in samples and, more importantly, to the confinement of sucrose to extrachloroplastic regions of the cytoplasm.


Electrochemiluminescent Pb2+-Driven Circular Etching Sensor Coupled to a DNA Micronet-Carrier.
Herein, an ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescent (ECL) strategy was designed based on the fabrication of a multi-interface DNA micronet-carrier via layer by layer hybridization of double-stranded DNAzyme-substrate to immobilize large amounts of ECL indicator, [Ru(dcbpy)2dppz]2+, in double-strand DNA on the electrode surface, generating enhanced ECL signals. When the double-stranded structures were cleaved circularly via Pb2+ in the detection sample, the ECL indicator was released, which resulted in a decreased ECL signal associated with the concentration of Pb2+, that had higher sensitivity and wider linear range. As a result, the developed ECL strategy exhibited a linear range from 50 pM to 500 μM with a detection limit of 4.73 pM, providing an alternative analytical strategy with excellent properties, including a high sensitivity and a wide linear range. Importantly, the ECL strategy could be readily expanded for various metal ions, proteins, nucleotide sequences, and cells, offering a simple and efficient technology for both environmentally safe assays and clinical diagnostics.


[Continuous postoperative epidural analgesia in abdominal surgery using ropivacain].
We studied the selective block on patients receiving epidural Ropivacain (R) infusion for postoperative analgesia after major abdominal surgery. Twenty patients received R and twenty patients received Bupivacain (B) via peridural catheter during and after surgery. The patients' age ranged between 40 and 80 and they belonged to ASA I, II and III risk group. The epidural catheter was inserted one day before surgery and the proper position was tested by 80 mg Lidocaine. The epidural needle was inserted via T10-L1 interspaces in upper abdominal surgery and through L1-L3 interspaces in lower abdominal surgery. After the operation continuous epidural infusion of 2 mg/ml solution of R or 2.5 mg/ml solution of B was started. The infusion rate was changed according to the grade of sensory and motor block. The following parameters were observed during the postoperative 72 hours: blood pressure, heart rate, arterial blood O2 saturation, modified Bromage (BMG) score, verbal analogue scale (VAS), the spread of sensory block. Satisfactory sensory blockade was achieved with both local anaesthetics. The required daily dose of R and B increased during 72 hours. VAS scores reached their maximum level within 24 hours and were lower in the R group than in the B group but the difference was not significant. We experienced that 0.25% B causes more intense motor block than 0.2% R in equianalgetic dose but the difference did not reach a significant level. The infusion rate was often decreased because of the unwanted motor block caused by 0.25% B leading to insufficient postoperative analgesia. Because of this fact patients receiving B required opioid addition more often. Our conclusion is that R/B relative dose ratio is 1.2 suggesting that these local anaesthetics have different analgesic potency.


A unifying mechanism accounts for sensing of membrane curvature by BAR domains, amphipathic helices and membrane-anchored proteins.
The discovery of proteins that recognize membrane curvature created a paradigm shift by suggesting that membrane shape may act as a cue for protein localization that is independent of lipid or protein composition. Here we review recent data on membrane curvature sensing by three structurally unrelated motifs: BAR domains, amphipathic helices and membrane-anchored proteins. We discuss the conclusion that the curvature of the BAR dimer is not responsible for sensing and that the sensing properties of all three motifs can be rationalized by the physicochemical properties of the curved membrane itself. We thus anticipate that membrane curvature will promote the redistribution of proteins that are anchored in membranes through any type of hydrophobic moiety, a thesis that broadens tremendously the implications of membrane curvature for protein sorting, trafficking and signaling in cell biology.


Congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia iPS cells exhibit defective MPL-mediated signaling.
Congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (CAMT) is caused by the loss of thrombopoietin receptor-mediated (MPL-mediated) signaling, which causes severe pancytopenia leading to bone marrow failure with onset of thrombocytopenia and anemia prior to leukopenia. Because Mpl(-/-) mice do not exhibit the human disease phenotype, we used an in vitro disease tracing system with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from a CAMT patient (CAMT iPSCs) and normal iPSCs to investigate the role of MPL signaling in hematopoiesis. We found that MPL signaling is essential for maintenance of the CD34+ multipotent hematopoietic progenitor (MPP) population and development of the CD41+GPA+ megakaryocyte-erythrocyte progenitor (MEP) population, and its role in the fate decision leading differentiation toward megakaryopoiesis or erythropoiesis differs considerably between normal and CAMT cells. Surprisingly, complimentary transduction of MPL into normal or CAMT iPSCs using a retroviral vector showed that MPL overexpression promoted erythropoiesis in normal CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs), but impaired erythropoiesis and increased aberrant megakaryocyte production in CAMT iPSC-derived CD34+ HPCs, reflecting a difference in the expression of the transcription factor FLI1. These results demonstrate that impaired transcriptional regulation of the MPL signaling that normally governs megakaryopoiesis and erythropoiesis underlies CAMT.


The associations between psychosocial workload and mental health complaints in different age groups.
The objective of the present study was to explore associations between psychosocial workload and mental health complaints in different age groups. A questionnaire was sent to 2021 employees of a Dutch railway company. Six aspects of psychosocial workload (work pressure, mental workload, emotional workload, autonomy, social support from colleagues and social support from supervisors) and three mental health outcomes (work-related fatigue, stress and burnout) were assessed. Associations between the aspects of psychosocial workload (distributed into tertiles) and health complaints were analysed by logistic regression analysis in four age groups (22-35, 36-45, 46-55 and 56-66 years old). In all age groups, worse work pressure was a significant risk factor for having mental health complaints. Worse emotional load in the younger employees and lack of social support in older employees were associated with a higher risk of having mental health complaints. Age-specific preventive measures should be implemented on both individual and group levels. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: With an ageing workforce, understanding relationships between age and work-related health ailments is increasingly important. This study found that emotional workload in younger and lack of social support in older employees were associated with a higher risk of mental health complaints. Work pressure was a risk factor in all age groups.


Sex-dependent responsiveness of hippocampal neurons to sex neurosteroids: A role of Arc/Arg3.1.
Sex steroids, such as estradiol (E2 ) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), regulate hippocampal plasticity and memory in a sex-dependent manner. Because the activity-regulated cytoskeleton protein Arc/Arg3.1 is essential for long-term memory formation and synaptic plasticity, we investigated the expression of Arc/Arg3.1 with respect to its responsiveness to E2 and DHT in male and female hippocampal neurons. For the first time, we show that, in hippocampal neurons, Arc/Arg3.1 expression is sex-dependently regulated by sex steroids. No difference in the expression between sexes was observed under control conditions. Using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, western blot analysis and quantitative immunoreactivity, upregulation of Arc/Arg3.1 protein expression was observed in specifically female hippocampal neurons after application of E2 to the cultures. Conversely, upregulation of Arc/Arg3.1 was seen in specifically male neurons after application of DHT. A quantitative real-time PCR revealed that the sex-dependency was most pronounced on the mRNA level. Most importantly, the effects of E2 in cultures of female animals were abolished when neuron-derived E2 synthesis was inhibited. Our results point to a potentially important role of Arc/Arg3.1 regarding sex-dependency in sex steroid-induced synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus.


Fine needle aspiration biopsy diagnosis of rhabdomyosarcoma. An immunocytochemical study.
Specific antibodies against desmin, skeletal muscle actin and myosin were assessed for their usefulness in the cytodiagnosis of five rhabdomyosarcomas: one well-differentiated, two moderately differentiated and two poorly differentiated lesions. Acetone-fixed smears from fine needle aspiration biopsies and the avidin-biotinyl-peroxidase complex technique were used. All aspirates were positively immunostained with antibodies against desmin and actin. Myosin could only be detected in the moderately and well-differentiated tumors. The percentage of tumor cells positive for any of the three proteins was positively correlated with the overall degree of differentiation. However, the number of positive tumor cells decreased in the sequence desmin-actin-myosin. The results indicate the value of antibodies, especially those against skeletal muscle actin, in aiding in the cytodiagnosis of rhabdomyosarcoma, particularly with respect to its differential diagnosis from small round cell tumors in children and pleomorphic sarcomas in adults.


Selection of Aptamers for Sensing Caffeine and Discrimination of Its Three Single Demethylated Analogues.
With the growing consumption of caffeine-containing beverages, detection of caffeine has become an important biomedical, bioanalytical, and environmental topic. We herein isolated four high-quality aptamers for caffeine with dissociation constants ranging from 2.2 to 14.6 μM as characterized using isothermal titration calorimetry. Different binding patterns were obtained for the three single demethylated analogues: theobromine, theophylline, and paraxanthine, highlighting the effect of the molecular symmetry of the arrangement of the three methyl groups in caffeine. A structure-switching fluorescent sensor was designed showing a detection limit of 1.2 μM caffeine, which reflected the labeled caffeine concentration within 6.1% difference for eight commercial beverages. In 20% human serum, a detection limit of 4.0 μM caffeine was achieved. With the four aptamer sensors forming an array, caffeine and the three analogues were well separated from nine other closely related molecules.


p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibits USP22 transcription in HeLa cells.
Elevated expression of ubiquitin-specific processing enzyme 22 (USP22) was identified in multiple types of human cancers, and was correlated with tumorigenesis and progression. Despite an increase in the numbers of studies in the physiological function of USP22, little is known regarding the regulation of its expression. The 5' flanking sequence of the USP22 gene was recently characterized. In the present study, USP22 transcription was regulated by p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Treatment of human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cells with SB203580, an inhibitor of p38 MAPK, enhanced basal USP22 promoter activity and mRNA abundance. Transfection of MAPK kinase 6 (MKK6), an upstream activator of p38 MAPK, resulted in a 40% decrease in USP22 mRNA, while the dominant negative MKK6 increased the transcription level of the USP22, similar to SB203580. Dual luciferase report assays showed that mutations of the Sp1 binding site ahead of the transcription start site abolished the promoting effect of the USP22 promoter by SB203580. Cisplatin, the activator of p38 MAPK, also suppressed USP22 expression. This suppression was blocked by SB203580. In conclusion, p38 MAPK acts as an upstream negative regulator of USP22 transcription in HeLa cells.


[Diagnostic methods of central nervous system changes in SLE patients].
Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune, multiorgan disease, in the course of which central nervous system (CNS) disturbances are usually observed. Pathomechanism of CNS changes is complex and not fully investigated. Neuropathological alterations are often not characteristic, usually caused by vasculopathy, infarction, hemorrhages or infection. Vascular changes are generally disseminated and develop in different time period, sometimes they precede clinical symptoms. Currently applied diagnostic methods and their usefulness in diagnosis of CNS involvement in lupus patients, especially single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), are presented.


Cytokine production by cultured human bronchial epithelial cells infected with a replication-deficient adenoviral gene transfer vector or wild-type adenovirus type 5.
Exposure of animals to adenoviral gene transfer vectors has been associated with respiratory tract inflammation. The pathogenesis of this inflammation is unclear. One hypothesis is that viral vectors directly induce production of inflammatory cytokines by host cells in the airways. We exposed cultured human lung cells to an adenovirus-5--based vector containing the cytomegalovirus promoter and lacZ reporter gene (Ad.CMV.lacZ) and to wild-type adenovirus 5 (wtAd5) and measured subsequent release of cytokines into cell culture supernatants. Inoculation of human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells with Ad.CMV. lacZ at 10(1) to 10(4) plaque-forming units (pfu)/cell resulted in dose-related expression of lacZ by both X-gal staining and immunohistochemistry but did not increase release of interleukin (IL)-8 or IL-6 at 24, 48, or 96 h after inoculation. In the same cultures, tumor necrosis factor-alpha induced marked increases in release of both IL-8 and IL-6 at 24 and 48 h after stimulation. Similar data were observed in the BEAS-2B HBE cell line. HBE cells incubated with wtAd5 at doses of 10(1) to 10(3) pfu/cell did not release increased amounts of IL-6 or IL-8 up to 48 h after inoculation, though wild-type respiratory syncytial virus (3 pfu/HBE cell) infection resulted in increases in both cytokines. Human alveolar macrophages obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage also showed no increases in cytokine release after incubation with Ad.CMV.lacZ, though relatively little gene transfer occurred in macrophages. These data do not support a role for direct induction of airway epithelial or alveolar macrophage inflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of inflammation associated with exposure of airways to adenovirus or to adenoviral gene transfer vectors.


The use of intravenous hydroxocobalamin as a rescue in methylene blue-resistant vasoplegic syndrome in cardiac surgery.
Vasoplegic syndrome is a well-recognized complication during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, especially when refractory to conventional vasoconstrictor therapy. This is the first reported case of vasoplegia on CPB unresponsive to methylene blue whereas responsive to hydroxocobalamin, which indicates that the effect of hydroxocobalamin outside of the nitric oxide system is significant or that the two drugs have a synergistic effect in one or multiple mechanisms.


Cloning and characterization of two cytoplasmic dynein intermediate chain genes in mouse and human.
Cytoplasmic dynein is a large multisubunit microtubule-based motor protein, which mediates movement of numerous intracellular organelles. We report here the identification of the human homologue of cytoplasmic dynein intermediate chain 1 gene (DNCI1) located on human chromosome 7q21.3-q22.1. The mouse orthologue (Dnci1) was identified along with another highly related gene, Dnci2, and their RNA in situ expression patterns were examined during mouse embryogenesis. Dnci1 was found to have a highly restricted expression domain in the developing forebrain as well as the peripheral nervous system (PNS), while Dnci2 displayed a broad expression profile throughout the entire central nervous system and most of the PNS. A dynamic expression profile was also found for Dnci2 in the developing mouse limb bud. The data presented here provide a framework for the further analysis of the functional role of Dnci1 and Dnci2 in mouse and DNCI1 in human.


The molecular architecture of the inner ear.
The inner ear is structurally complex. A molecular description of its architecture is now emerging from the use of contemporary methods of cell and molecular biology, and from studies of ontogenetic development. With the application of clinical and molecular genetics, it has now become possible to identify genes associated with inherited, non-syndromic deafness and balance dysfunction in humans and in mice. This work is providing new insights into how the tissues of the inner ear are built to perform their tasks, and into the pathogenesis of a range of inner ear disorders.


Detection of avian influenza virus by fluorescent DNA barcode-based immunoassay with sensitivity comparable to PCR.
In this paper, a coupling of fluorophore-DNA barcode and bead-based immunoassay for detecting avian influenza virus (AIV) with PCR-like sensitivity is reported. The assay is based on the use of sandwich immunoassay and fluorophore-tagged oligonucleotides as representative barcodes. The detection involves the sandwiching of the target AIV between magnetic immunoprobes and barcode-carrying immunoprobes. Because each barcode-carrying immunoprobe is functionalized with a multitude of fluorophore-DNA barcode strands, many DNA barcodes are released for each positive binding event resulting in amplification of the signal. Using an inactivated H16N3 AIV as a model, a linear response over five orders of magnitude was obtained, and the sensitivity of the detection was comparable to conventional RT-PCR. Moreover, the entire detection required less than 2 hr. The results indicate that the method has great potential as an alternative for surveillance of epidemic outbreaks caused by AIV, other viruses and microorganisms.


[Detection of fetal RASSF1A gene in maternal plasma for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis].
The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using RASSF1A gene as a universal fetal marker in maternal plasma. Two methods of circulating cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) extracted from maternal plasma were compared. The better one was chosen for extraction of cffDNA in the 20 pregnant samples. The SRY gene and the RASSF1A gene treated with methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme were amplificated by RT-PCR and the PCR system was optimized. The results showed that the SRY gene was found in 11 out of the 20 pregnant samples, which was consistent with the postnatal sex. Using the optimized PCR system, the specifically amplified fetal-associated methylated RASSF1A gene was found after treatment with BstUI in 18 of the 20 pregnant samples, while the 2 samples failed in detection. It is concluded that the methylated fetal-specific RASSF1A gene can be used as a universal fetal marker for the presence of cffDNA in maternal plasma without fetal gender restrictions. So, it can be used for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis.


Postpartum uterine infection & ovarian dysfunction.
Postpartum uterine infections such as metritis, endometritis and mastitis have been considered as underlying causes for ovarian dysfunction in mammals. Almost all mammals, particularly dairy animals are susceptible to postpartum uterine infections, resulting in impaired fertility and economic loss. One of the factors for low fertility in females is ovarian dysfunction, which is exhibited as impaired growth and function of ovarian follicles by the postpartum infection. Immune system of mammals provides a host defence mechanism against pathogenic microbes through the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and forming inflammasomes. Like immune cells, ovarian granulosa cells also exhibit a similar pattern of cytokine gene expressions on exposure to PAMPs. Genome-wide transcriptomic approaches explored the molecular mechanisms underlying the immune function of buffalo granulosa cells during endotoxin exposure. Understanding the molecular mechanism of ovarian dysfunction due to uterine infection would be helpful to implement various strategies to handle the adverse effects of postpartum uterine disease on fertility by developing potential therapeutics. Therefore, this article focuses on key factors that are responsible for postpartum infection and particularly summarizes the molecular mechanism of infection underlying the ovarian dysfunction in dairy animals.


Chitotriosidase: A New Inflammatory Marker in Diabetic Complications.
Chitotriosidase (CHIT1) belongs to chitinase family. So far this enzyme has been the best investigated human chitinase regarding its biological activity and association with various disorders. In a healthy population, CHIT1 activity is very low and originates in the circulating polymorphonuclear cells. Conversely, during the development of acute/chronic inflammatory disorders, the enzymatic activity of CHIT1 increases significantly. Recently, CHIT1 has also been involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus (DM). Mounting evidence from experimental studies revealing the increase of CHIT1 levels in pathological conditions, such as atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, acute ischemic stroke, cerebrovascular dementia, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and osteolytic processes suggest its critical role in the evolutions and complications of DM. This review is addressed to provide mechanistic insights by highlighting the relationship between CHIT1 and diabetes, and their contribution in the exacerbation of this disease.


Central connections of the trigeminal motor command system in the weakly electric Elephantnose fish (Gnathonemus petersii).
The highly mobile chin appendage of Gnathonemus petersii, the Schnauzenorgan, is used to actively probe the environment and is known to be a fovea of the electrosensory system. It receives an important innervation from both the trigeminal sensory and motor systems. However, little is known about the premotor control pathways that coordinate the movements of the Schnauzenorgan, or about central pathways originating from the trigeminal motor nucleus. The present study focuses on the central connections of the trigeminal motor system to elucidate premotor centers controlling Schnauzenorgan movements, with particular interest in the possible connections between the electrosensory and trigeminal systems. Neurotracer injections into the trigeminal motor nucleus revealed bilateral, reciprocal connections between the two trigeminal motor nuclei and between the trigeminal sensory and motor nuclei by bilateral labeling of cells and terminals. Prominent afferent input to the trigeminal motor nucleus originates from the nucleus lateralis valvulae, the nucleus dorsalis mesencephali, the cerebellar corpus C1, the reticular formation, and the Raphe nuclei. Retrogradely labeled cells were also observed in the central pretectal nucleus, the dorsal anterior pretectal nucleus, the tectum, the ventroposterior nucleus of the torus semicircularis, the gustatory sensory and motor nuclei, and in the hypothalamus. Labeled terminals, but not cell bodies, were observed in the nucleus lateralis valvulae and the reticular formation. No direct connections were found between the electrosensory system and the V motor nucleus but the central connections identified would provide several multisynaptic pathways linking these two systems, including possible efference copy and corollary discharge mechanisms.


Anaesthetic challenges in the spine surgery of a young Asian man with lumbar amyloidosis.
Primary amyloidosis is a rare systemic disorder often associated with multiple organ dysfunction. The most common form, light chain amyloidosis, has an estimated age-adjusted incidence of 5.1-12.8 cases per million person-years. Spine involvement is extremely uncommon. We present the case of a young Asian man with newly diagnosed amyloidosis involving the lumbar spine among multiple organs with a pathological vertebral fracture that required urgent spine surgery. We believe this is the first reported case to discuss the perianaesthetic challenges in the management of lumbar spine amyloidosis.


Study of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase: history and molecular biology.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency was discovered in the 1950s. The history of the development of knowledge about G6PD deficiency is reviewed here. In the first decade after its discovery, the clinical manifestations of G6PD deficiency began to be understood. In the second decade, attention was focused on the degree of variability of this enzyme and the distinction of the various biochemical variants from one another. In the last decade, it has been possible to understand the mutations that effect this enzyme at the DNA level. Some 40 different mutations have now been characterized. Analysis of these mutations indicates that, while diversity sometimes exists within a mutation considered biochemical homogeneous, more often variants thought to be distinct prove to be identical. The study of G6PD mutations is beginning to provide insight into structure-function relationships.


The vestibular complex in a prosimian primate (Galago senegalensis): morphology and spinovestibular connections.
The morphology of, and distribution of spinal afferents to, the vestibular complex of a prosimian primate (lesser bushbaby, Galago senegalensis) were studied using cytoarchitectural, myeloarchitectural and selective silver impregnation methods. The vestibular complex of Galago consists of superior (SVN), lateral (LVN), medial (MVN) and spinal (SpVN) nuclei, each nucleus having cell populations of characteristic size, shape and distribution within its borders. There is morphological and experimental evidence for the existence of subgroups f, 1, x, y and z and a hitherto undescribed subgroup located in dorsomedial portions of the rostral two-thirds of the MVN. Following partial or complete hemisections at cord levels C1-L6 brain stem sections were impregnated according to the method of Fink and Heimer. Preterminal debris is concentrated mainly in subgroups x and z, relatively sparse in adjacent SpVN and moderate to sparse in LVN and MVN following hemisections at upper and mid-cervical levels. Axonal debris is noticeably absent from the MVN after lesions below the C8 spinal level; this indicates that the MVN receives spinal input from cervical levels only. Following lesions at C8 and progressively lower spinal levels, degeneration was found primarily in subgroups x and z and in LVN and SpVN although in lesser amounts; as lesions were placed at progressively lower levels there was a proportionate decrease in the amount of axonal debris found in these respective nuclei. No degeneration was found in SVN following lesions at any spinal level.


INFLUENCE OF AN ACUTE BOUT OF SELF-MYOFASCIAL RELEASE ON KNEE EXTENSION FORCE OUTPUT AND ELECTRO-MECHANICAL ACTIVATION OF THE QUADRICEPS.
In contrast to static stretching (SS), previous research has demonstrated increases in flexibility after an acute bout of self-myofascial release (SMR) without any subsequent decreases in force output. Previous research has utilized measures of surface electromyography (sEMG) and mechanomyography (MMG) to examine the influence of SS on the electrical and mechanical processes of muscle activation, respectively. However, there is a lack of research examining the potential changes in electro-mechanical muscle activation post-SMR. To examine the influence of SMR, via an acute bout of foam rolling (FR) to the vastus lateralis (VL), on the expression of knee extension force output and the inter-muscular electro-mechanical activation of the quadriceps musculature. Randomized crossover trial. Twenty (10 males, 10 females) recreationally-active participants with prior FR experience completed both SMR and control (CON) testing protocols during separate testing sessions that were conducted in a randomized order 48 hours apart. During the SMR protocol, participants performed 3 sets of 60 seconds of FR over the VL portion of their quadriceps musculature, with 60 seconds of rest between sets. During the CON protocol, participants quietly sat upright for 10 minutes. Peak knee extension force output -(Forcepeak) data, as well as sEMG and MMG data from the VL and the rectus femoris (RF) were collected during maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVICs) before and after both testing protocols. Root mean square sEMG and MMG amplitudes were calculated to represent electro-mechanical muscle activation of the VL (VL-sEMGRMS, VL-MMGRMS) and RF (RF-sEMGRMS, RF-MMGRMS) musculature. Repeated measures analyses of variance (RM ANOVAs) identified a significant (p < 0.05) increase in Forcepeak within the SMR protocol among males, but no change among females. No statistically significant changes in any electro-mechanical muscle activation measures were identified pre-to-post-SMR within either sex. In contrast to the SS literature body, these results suggest that SMR does not influence the electro-mechanical aspects of muscle activation during MVICs. These results provide support for the absence of decreases in force output post-SMR, but further examination regarding the potential muscle mass influence of SMR on electro-mechanical muscle function remains warranted. 2c.


[Effects of amrinone in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting].
We evaluated the effect of amrinone in 41 patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG) retrospectively. Amrinone was intravenously administered at the rate of 5 mcg.kg-1.min-1 after coronary artery anastomosis (A 1 group: 11 cases) or after induction of anesthesia(A 2 group: 13 cases). The hemodynamic variables and use of concomitant drugs were compared among A 1, A 2 and the non-amrinone group (control group: 17 cases). Hemodynamics was measured before, during, after coronary artery anastomosis, and after the chest closure. Catecholamine and vasodilator were used to maintain mean arterial pressure (> 60 mmHg) and cardiac index(> 3.0 l.min-1.m-2). Mean pulmonary artery pressure, right atrial pressure and pulmonary artery wedge pressure were significantly higher during anastomosis than before anastomosis in control and A 1 group, but no significant changes in these parameters were observed in A 2 group. In addition, these variables increased significantly after chest closure in control group, but were unchanged in A 1 and A 2 groups. Patients with concomitant use of catecholamine and vasodilator in A 2 group were fewer than those in control and A 1 group. In conclusion, in the patients undergoing off-pump CABG, infusion of amrinone was recommended from the end of the induction of anesthesia.


Sphenoid sinus agenesis and sella turcica hypoplasia: very rare cases of two brothers with Hamamy syndrome.
Hamamy syndrome (HS) is an autosomal recessive syndrome with a genetic origin that is very rarely observed. The syndrome with craniofacial dysmorphisms, including midface prominence, severe telecanthus, sparse lateral eyebrows, protruding ears, fronto-nasal abnormalities, lacrimal-salivary apparatus agenesis, thin upper vermillion border, myopia, mental retardation, sensorineural hearing impairment, congenital heart anomalies with intraventricular conduction delay, hypochromic microcytic anaemia and skeletal abnormalities of the long bones with recurrent fractures. In this paper, we report a case of two brothers diagnosed with HS at the ages of 25 and 18 years, visited out clinic at different times due to dental reasons. In the radiological examinations, it was observed that both brothers have sphenoid sinuses agenesia, and their sella turcica were smaller than normal. HS may be observed very rarely, and it should be kept in mind that, in addition to various symptoms, it may also cause sphenoid sinus agenesis and sella turcica hypoplasia as shown for the first time in this case report.


Catchlike property of human muscle during isovelocity movements.
This study examined the catchlike property of skeletal muscle during eccentric and concentric isovelocity contractions of fresh and fatigued quadriceps femoris muscles of 10 healthy subjects. During concentric contractions of fresh muscles, stimulation trains that elicited a catchlike response (CITs) produced greater force outputs and rates of rise force than comparable constant-frequency trains. These enhancements became more pronounced during fatigue. CITs were less effective in enhancing forces during eccentric contractions but did improve the rates of rise of force. Overall, the CIT that produced the greatest augmentation had a 5-ms initial interpulse interval. Proposed mechanisms for the catchlike property involve enhanced muscle stiffness for more efficient transmission of tension and increased calcium release. These results suggest that stimulation trains that take advantage of the catchlike property of skeletal muscle may be helpful during clinical applications where neuromuscular electrical stimulation is used to restore function in patients with damaged central nervous systems.


Acute hepatitis C: current status and remaining challenges.
The acute phase of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection represents a key point in the evolution of hepatitis C. In some patients, the infection resolves spontaneously, whereas in others it develops into chronic disease. However, because acute hepatitis C is often asymptomatic, detection and diagnosis are usually difficult. What is more, there are no established treatment guidelines, leaving physicians to make several challenging decisions, such as whether to treat, when to treat and what treatment regimen to use. Pegylated interferon alfa monotherapy is most commonly used to treat patients with acute hepatitis C; the role of ribavirin has yet to be established. In this review, we discuss the epidemiology of acute hepatitis C, its risk factors and routes of transmission and current treatment practices. We also discuss data from published clinical studies and focus on unresolved issues for which additional studies are needed in order to establish standardized treatment guidelines for the management of acute hepatitis C.


Surface display of proteins on bacteriophage lambda heads.
We have developed plasmid and phage vectors for the display of foreign proteins on the surface of bacteriophage lambda capsid by modifying the D gene which encodes the major head protein gpD. The vectors have multiple cloning sites, and permit colour selection and conditional chain termination for recombinants. Displayed proteins can be fused to either the N or C terminus of gpD by a peptide linker. The conditional chain termination scheme, via a host Escherichia coli suppressor activity, allows the fusion and assembly of homomultimeric proteins as well as control of the number of fusion proteins per phage particle. We have successfully displayed beta-lactamase, IgG-binding domains of the Staphylococcus aureus protein A, and beta-galactosidase by cloning the genes into the vector. The constructs express functionally active proteins fused to gpD that assemble into phage particles. These results suggest that gpD may be fused to many other peptides and proteins at their N or C terminus and the fusion products may be accessible on the surface of bacteriophage lambda particles.


Utility of three types of mass spectrometers for determining elemental compositions of ions formed from chromatographically separated compounds.
Concentration factors of 1000 and more reveal dozens of compounds in extracts of water supplies. Library mass spectra for most of these compounds are not available, and alternative means of identification are needed. Determination of the elemental compositions of the ions in mass spectra makes feasible searches of commercial and chemical literature that often lead to compound identification. Instrumental capabilities that constrain the utility of a mass spectrometer for determining ion compositions for compounds that elute from a chromatographic column are scan speed, mass accuracy, linear dynamic range, and resolving power. Mass peak profiling from selected ion recording data (MPPSIRD) performed with a double-focusing mass spectrometer provides the best combination of these capabilities. This technique provides unique ion compositions for ions of higher mass from compounds eluting from a gas chromatograph than can be obtained by orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight (oa-TOF) or Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Multiple compositions are usually possible for an ion with a mass exceeding 150 Da within the error limits of the mass measurement. The correct composition is selected based on measured exact masses of the mass peak profiles resulting from isotopic ions higher in mass by 1 and 2 Da and accurate measurement of the summed abundances of these isotopic ions relative to the monoisotopic ion. A profile generation model (PGM) automatically determines which compositions are consistent with measured exact masses and relative abundances. The utility of oa-TOF and double-focusing mass spectrometry using ion composition elucidation (MPPSIRD plus the PGM) are considered for determining ion compositions of two compounds found in drinking water extracts and a third compound from a monitoring well at a landfill. Published in 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


[General practice in a modern health care system--consequences for medical research, education and practice].
This first of two articles describes the far-reaching changes to the practice and theory of general practice that are leading from the old-style general practitioner changing to the modern-day primary health care specialist. These already partly accomplished changes, whilst bringing into focus the future role of general practice in a modern health care system, are altering the self-awareness of the profession and the way it defines itself. Specifics of the theory and practice of decision-making in primary health care, within this context of vital importance but as yet barely taken into account, are explained on the basis of Bayes' theorem and with the aid of examples of empirical data on the rational diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction. Making use of examples of coronary heart disease diagnostics, the second part of this article illustrates important differences between health care-service levels and the consequences arising from these differences for medical research, education and practice.


Research progress of extracellular vesicles and exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of oxidative stress-related diseases.
There is growing evidence that mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles and exosomes can significantly improve the curative effect of oxidative stress-related diseases. Mesenchymal stem cell extracellular vesicles and exosomes (MSC-EVs and MSC-Exos) are rich in bioactive molecules and have many biological regulatory functions. In this review, we describe how MSC-EVs and MSC-Exos reduce the related markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in various systemic diseases, and the molecular mechanism of MSC-EVs and MSC-Exos in treating apoptosis and vascular injury induced by oxidative stress. The results of a large number of experimental studies have shown that both local and systemic administration can effectively inhibit the oxidative stress response in diseases and promote the survival and regeneration of damaged parenchymal cells. The mRNA and miRNAs in MSC-EVs and MSC-Exos are the most important bioactive molecules in disease treatment, which can inhibit the apoptosis, necrosis and oxidative stress of lung, heart, kidney, liver, bone, skin and other cells, and promote their survive and regenerate.


Case mix in the "downsizing" state hospital.
The study examined whether local variations in levels of community-based services affect the case mix of state hospitals undergoing census reduction. Trends in case mix over a 14-year period were analyzed at two Massachusetts state hospitals, one of which underwent more rapid census reduction due to expanded community resources in the catchment area it served. Data on patients' hospital use and on sociodemographic and diagnostic characteristics obtained from 1977, 1986, and 1991 assessments of the hospitals' populations were compared. These time points represented the beginning, midpoint, and end of the census reduction period. Data from 1991 on patients' behavioral and functional status were also examined. Parallel trends on many dimensions were evident at the two hospitals as their censuses fell. By 1986 the hospital operating in the area with greater community services had fewer elderly and long-stay patients but a higher number of admissions per patient. In 1991 this hospital's population also had more patients with high-risk violent behaviors and lower levels of functioning. Although alternative treatment settings allow diversion of many types of patients from state hospitals, expanded community-based services and alternative inpatient beds have not diverted some patient subgroups, including recidivists and patients with behaviors that present risks in other settings. Plans for meeting the clinical needs and behavioral challenges posed by such patients must be part of any further deinstitutionalization or privatization efforts.


Electronic coupling and exciton energy transfer in CdTe quantum-dot molecules.
Stable dispersions of molecularlike aggregates of CdTe quantum dots are prepared by chemical cross-linking. Cryo-TEM images confirm the presence of cross-linked quantum dots and show that the size of the small aggregates can be controlled by the amount of cross-linker added. Optical measurements reveal two types of interdot interactions within these quantum-dot molecules: exciton energy transfer and electronic coupling. Quantitative information on the energy transfer rates in quantum-dot molecules is obtained by photoluminescence lifetime measurements. The degree of electronic coupling is dependent on the size of the quantum dots, which is supported by quantum mechanical calculations.


Interactive effects of 5-HTTLPR genotype and rearing environment on affective attitude towards own infant in Japanese mothers.
Maternal positive attitude towards one's own infant is the cornerstone of effective parenting. Previous research has revealed an influence of both genetic and environmental factors on maternal parenting behavior, but little is known of the potential gene-environment interaction in shaping a mother's affective attitude. To address this gap, we investigated the effect of a mother's childhood rearing environment and a serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) on affective attitude towards her infant. Our analyses found an interactive effect between rearing environment and 5-HTTLPR genotype on maternal attitude. Specifically, a poor rearing environment (characterized by low maternal care and high paternal overprotection) decreased positive attitude towards one's own infant in mothers with homozygous short allele genotype. In contrast, this detrimental effect was almost eliminated in long allele carriers. Altogether, our results indicate that the 5-HTTLPR gene moderates the influence of experienced rearing environment on maternal parental behavior in a manner consistent with the notion that the short 5-HTTLPR allele amplifies environmental influence.


High throughput calorimetry for evaluating enzymatic reactions generating phosphate.
A calorimetric assay is described for the high-throughput screening of enzymes that produce inorganic phosphate. In the current example, cellobiose phosphorylase (EC 22.214.171.124) is tested for its ability to synthesise rare disaccharides. The generated phosphate is measured in a high-throughput calorimeter by coupling the reaction to pyruvate oxidase and catalase. This procedure allows for the simultaneous analysis of 48 reactions in microtiter plate format and has been validated by comparison with a colorimetric phosphate assay. The proposed assay has a coefficient of variation of 3.14% and is useful for screening enzyme libraries for enhanced activity and substrate libraries for enzyme promiscuity.


Comparison of C18 silica bonded phases selectivity in micellar liquid chromatography.
The paper describes a new test designed in micellar LC (MLC) to compare the commercial C18 stationary phase properties. This test provides the total hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, steric selectivity, hydrogen bonding, and ion-exchange capacity properties calculation of the ODS stationary phases. Both the test compounds and chromatographic separation conditions choice for column characterization in MLC are detailed. The chromatographic performance of several stationary phases that are used in MLC was evaluated with specific chromatographic test comprising nine test compounds, possessing different physico-chemical properties, which were injected on different supports with two micellar mobile phases: one at pH 7.0 (0.075 mol/L SDS and 1.5% v/v 1-pentanol), and other at pH 2.7 (0.075 mol/L SDS and 1.5% v/v 1-pentanol adjusted to pH by TFA). Fundamental column chromatographic properties were obtained under these conditions and were treated by hierarchical cluster analysis. From the results of cluster analysis, two closely related groups of columns are distinguished, and it was shown that the chosen column characteristic parameters allow characterizing both sorbent and micellar chromatographic system properties. Eleven columns were analyzed by this test, which allows a comparison of columns with the aim of the selection of suitable and analogous column for the analysis with MLC.


Sex differences in hippocampal connectivity during spatial long-term memory.
Sex differences in brain activity have been reported across various types of long-term memory. To our knowledge, sex differences in functional connectivity during long-term memory have not been investigated. A previous study on the structural connectome identified that female brains have a greater degree of interhemispheric connectivity than males, whereas males have a greater degree of intrahemispheric connectivity than females. The aim of the current investigation was twofold: (a) identify which brain regions were functionally connected to the hippocampus during spatial long-term memory, and (b) determine if there were sex differences in the functionally connected regions. During the study phase, abstract shapes were presented to the left or right of fixation. During the test phase, abstract shapes were presented at fixation and participants classified each item as previously on the "left" or "right". A hippocampal region of interest (ROI) was identified by contrasting spatial memory hits and misses. The peak coordinate from this ROI was used to define the center of a sphere that was used as the seed for the functional connectivity analysis. The connectivity analysis produced many connected activations including the medial posterior frontal cortex, lateral posterior frontal cortex, left inferior frontal gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex, and caudate/putamen. Although there were no regions with greater connectivity in females than males, the male versus female comparison produced connected activations in the medial posterior frontal cortex, anterior prefrontal cortex, precuneus, and cingulate sulcus. Females also had greater interhemispheric connectivity than males. The current findings suggest collapsing across sex in cognitive neuroscience studies may not be warranted.


Differential disruption of EWS-FLI1 binding by DNA-binding agents.
Fusion of the EWS gene to FLI1 produces a fusion oncoprotein that drives an aberrant gene expression program responsible for the development of Ewing sarcoma. We used a homogenous proximity assay to screen for compounds that disrupt the binding of EWS-FLI1 to its cognate DNA targets. A number of DNA-binding chemotherapeutic agents were found to non-specifically disrupt protein binding to DNA. In contrast, actinomycin D was found to preferentially disrupt EWS-FLI1 binding by comparison to p53 binding to their respective cognate DNA targets in vitro. In cell-based assays, low concentrations of actinomycin D preferentially blocked EWS-FLI1 binding to chromatin, and disrupted EWS-FLI1-mediated gene expression. Higher concentrations of actinomycin D globally repressed transcription. These results demonstrate that actinomycin D preferentially disrupts EWS-FLI1 binding to DNA at selected concentrations. Although the window between this preferential effect and global suppression is too narrow to exploit in a therapeutic manner, these results suggest that base-preferences may be exploited to find DNA-binding compounds that preferentially disrupt subclasses of transcription factors.


Measuring rapport in neuropsychological assessment: the Barnett Rapport Questionnaire.
Rapport is an important component of neuropsychological test administration; however, there is a lack of psychometrically sound measures of rapport in the context of neuropsychological assessment. The purpose of this study was to explore adapting measures of the psychotherapeutic alliance specifically to neuropsychological test administration and investigate their feasibility and construct validity. College students (N = 126) were administered a brief battery of neuropsychological tests in either a high-rapport or low-rapport condition. Participants in the high-rapport condition rated rapport as being higher, suggesting that the items captured the nature of the interpersonal interaction between examiner and examinee. The results suggest the feasibility of adapting items from measures of the psychotherapeutic alliance for measuring rapport in neuropsychological testing. This article introduces the Barnett Rapport Questionnaire, a measure of rapport in the context of neuropsychological assessment.


Possibilities of consensus: toward democratic moral discourse.
The concept of consensus is often appealed to in discussions of biomedical ethics and applied ethics, and it plays an important role in many influential ethical theories. Consensus is an especially influential notion among theorists who reject ethical realism and who frame ethics as a practice of discourse rather than a body of objective knowledge. It is also a practically important notion when moral decision making is subject to bureaucratic organization and oversight, as is increasingly becoming the case in medicine. Two models of consensus are examined and criticized: pluralistic consensus and overlapping consensus. As an alternative to these models, the paper argues that consensus refers to the dialogic aspects of a broader normative conception of democratic moral agency. When the preconditions for that dialogic democratic practice are met, consensus has a justificatory role in ethics; when they are not, consensus, as distinct from mere agreement, does not emerge and can have no moral authority.


A Proposed Dynamic Pressure and Temperature Primary Standard.
Diatomic gas molecules have a fundamental vibrational motion whose frequency is affected by pressure in a simple way. In addition, these molecules have well defined rotational energy levels whose populations provide a reliable measure of the thermodynamic temperature. Since information concerning the frequency of vibration and the relative populations can be determined by laser spectroscopy, the gas molecules themselves can serve as sensors of pressure and temperature. Through measurements under static conditions, the pressure and temperature dependence of the spectra of selected molecules is now understood. As the time required for the spectroscopic measurement can be reduced to nanoseconds, the diatomic gas molecule is an excellent candidate for a dynamic pressure/temperature primary standard. The temporal response in this case will be limited by the equilibration time for the molecules to respond to changes in local thermodynamic variables. Preliminary feasibility studies suggest that by using coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy we will be able to measure dynamic pressure up to 108 Pa and dynamic temperature up to 1500 K with an uncertainty of 5%.


Functional in vitro characterization of small extracellular vesicles isolated from menstrual blood-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells.
Menstrual blood is a rich source of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MenSCs) with a diverse potential to differentiate into various cell types. Similar to other cells, MenSCs produce extracellular vesicles from which, small extracellular vesicles have attracted much interest due to their therapeutic and regenerative capacities. Here using in vitro approaches, several properties of MenSC-derived small extracellular vesicles (MEX) have been investigated. HUVEC angiogenesis assay was used to evaluate the proangiogenic function of MEX. The immune regulatory property of MEX was assessed using a T cell proliferation assay. Proliferation, migration, and gene expression of primary fibroblasts were selected to determine the scar-related activity of MEX. Finally, the anti-cancer effect of MEX on the proliferation of cancerous cell lines was tested. Our results demonstrated that the small extracellular vesicles isolated from MenSCs have proangiogenic and immune-suppressive abilities. Moreover, these vesicles performed as an anti-proliferative agent for cancerous cell lines. MEX was also able to reduce the migration of primary fibroblasts. In summary, MEX has shown promising in vitro characteristics for regenerative applications. They may offer a great cell-free strategy with therapeutic potential for a diverse range of diseases. For future therapeutic applications and further clinical translation, more studies are needed to elucidate the involved mechanisms.


A Public Health Framework to Improve Population Health Through Health Care and Community Clinical Linkages: The ASTHO/CDC Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Learning Collaborative.
Thirty-one state and territorial public health agencies participated in a learning collaborative to improve diagnosis and management of hypertension in clinical and community settings. These health agencies implemented public health and clinical interventions in medical settings and health organizations using a logic model and rapid quality improvement process focused on a framework of 4 systems-change levers: 1) data-driven action, 2) clinical practice standardization, 3) clinical-community linkages, and 4) financing and policy. We provide examples of how public health agencies applied the systems-change framework in all 4 areas to assess and modify population-based interventions to improve control of hypertension. This learning collaborative approach illustrates the importance of public health in the prevention and control of chronic disease by supporting interventions that address community and clinical linkages to address medical risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease.


Sleep Assessment in Critically Ill Adults: Established Methods and Emerging Strategies.
Sleep is a biological mandate with an integral role in optimizing functions that maintain psychological and physical health. During critical illness, however, sleep may be disrupted at best and elusive at worst. Sleep improvement efforts and research endeavors evaluating interventions to improve sleep in critically ill adults are hampered by limited methods available to measure sleep in this setting. This narrative review summarizes available modalities for sleep assessment in the ICU, describes new ICU sleep assessment methods under development, and highlights features of the ideal ICU sleep measurement tool. The most relevant literature and author experiences were assessed for inclusion from PubMed and textbooks. The authors selected studies for inclusion by consensus. The authors reviewed each study and selected appropriate data for inclusion by consensus. Currently available tools to measure sleep in critically ill adults have important flaws. Subjective measurements are limited by recall bias, the inability of many patients to communicate, and poorly correlate with objective measures when completed by surrogates. Actigraphy does not consider the effects of sedating medications or myopathy leading to an over estimation of sleep time. Polysomnography, the gold standard for sleep assessment, is limited by interpretation issues and practical application concerns. Single and multiple channel electroencephalogram devices offer real-time physiologic data and are more practical to use than polysomnography but are limited by the scope of sleep-specific information they can measure and poorly characterize the circadian system. A measurement tool that offers real-time sleep and circadian assessment and is practical for broad application in the ICU does not exist. Newer sleep assessment devices have shown promise in measuring physiologic data in real time; when used in combination with other assessment modalities, and analyzed by computational techniques, they may revolutionize sleep monitoring in the ICU.


Application of deep metric learning to molecular graph similarity.
Graph based methods are increasingly important in chemistry and drug discovery, with applications ranging from QSAR to molecular generation. Combining graph neural networks and deep metric learning concepts, we expose a framework for quantifying molecular graph similarity based on distance between learned embeddings separate from any endpoint. Using a minimal definition of similarity, and data from the ZINC database of public compounds, this work demonstrate the properties of the embedding and its suitability for a range of applications, among them a novel reconstruction loss method for training deep molecular auto-encoders. Finally, we compare the applications of the embedding to standard practices, with a focus on known failure points and edge cases; concluding that our approach can be used in conjunction to existing methods.


Sexual adaptation among single young adults with cystic fibrosis.
The sexual adaptation of 48 single young adults with cystic fibrosis and a comparably aged single group without chronic disease was assessed using interviews and questionnaires. The patients were also compared to a previously studied group of married patients with cystic fibrosis. Single female patients with cystic fibrosis began dating later, dated less often, felt less attractive, had less sexual desire, and had more sexual problems than did physically healthy female subjects. Single male patients with cystic fibrosis seemed to fare far better than their female counterparts and approximated the healthy male group in all parameters studied. For both the single and married groups with cystic fibrosis, no significant relationship between the severity of disease and sexual health was evident. The single patients were diagnosed at a significantly earlier age and their general health scores were poorer than the married patients. The vulnerability of female patients with cystic fibrosis to psychosexual disruption suggests that attention be focused on the differential effects of other chronic illnesses upon male and female adult sexual adaptation.


Characterization of human bone marrow stromal cells with respect to osteoblastic differentiation.
Human bone marrow was harvested by means of iliac crest aspiration and cultured under conditions that promote an osteoblastic phenotype. Human bone marrow aspirates from 30 normal subjects, ages 8-80 years, with no systemic illness, yielded a mean of 92 +/- 65 x 10(6) nucleated cells per 2 ml of aspirate. The prevalence of potential osteoblastic progenitors was estimated by counting the number of alkaline phosphatase-positive colonies. This assay demonstrated a mean of 43 +/- 28 alkaline phosphatase-positive colonies per 10(6) nucleated cells, which was about one per 23,000 nucleated cells. The prevalence of these colonies was positively correlated with the concentration of nucleated cells in the original aspirate (p = 0.014) and was negatively correlated with donor age (p = 0.020). The population of alkaline phosphatase-positive colonies in this model sequentially exhibited markers of the osteoblastic phenotype; essentially all colonies (more than 99%) stained positively for alkaline phosphatase on day 9. Matrix mineralization, which was associated with the synthesis of bone sialoprotein, was demonstrated on day 17 with alizarin red S staining. On day 45, cells that were stimulated with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 synthesized and secreted osteocalcin at concentrations consistent with known osteoblastic cell lines. This model provides a useful method for the assay of progenitors of connective tissue from human subjects, examination of the effects of aging and selected disease states on this progenitor population, and investigation into the regulation of human osteoblastic differentiation.


[Neuralgic amyotrophy: a common cause of unilateral and bilateral diaphragmatic pareses].
There are several causes for unilateral or bilateral diaphragmatic paresis. The most common cause is an (intraoperative) injury to the phrenic nerve.However, in up to 20% of cases, no explanation can be found despite extensive workup. Neuralgic amyotrophy (NA, also known as Parsonage-Turner syndrome) is a common underdiagnosed multifocal autoimmune-inflammatory disease that predominantly affects proximal nerve segments of the upper extremities. Classic symptoms include acute onset of severe pain in the shoulder girdle with delayed onset of paresis of the shoulder and arm muscles. In at least 7% of cases, the phrenic nerve is also affected. Based on the annual incidence of NA of 1:1000, the entity as a cause of diaphragmatic dysfunction is probably not as uncommon as previously thought. However, clinical experience shows that this diagnosis is often not considered, and diaphragmatic paresis gets wrongly classified as idiopathic.This is particularly disastrous because in the early stage of NA, medical therapy with corticosteroids is mostly not considered and the possibility that surgical repair of the diaphragm may be performed prematurely, given that the condition may resolve spontaneously many months after symptom onset.The aim of the present article is to raise awareness of the entity of NA as a cause of diaphragmatic paresis and to establish a standardized approach to diagnosis and treatment.


Self-Tolerance of Vascular Tissues Is Broken Down by Vascular Dendritic Cells in Response to Systemic Inflammation to Initiate Regional Autoinflammation.
The correlation of infections with vascular autoinflammatory diseases such as vasculitis and atherosclerosis has been long recognized, and progressive inflammation with the formation of tertiary lymphoid organs in arterial adventitia intensively studied, the immunological basis of the nondiseased vasculatures that predispose to subsequent vascular autoimmunity during inflammation, however, is not well characterized. Here, we investigated the vascular immunity in situ of steady-state C57BL/6 mice and found that healthy vascular tissues contained a comprehensive set of immune cells with relatively higher proportion of innate components than lymphoid organs. Notably, a complete set of dendritic cell (DC) subsets was observed with monocyte-derived DCs (moDCs) constituting a major proportion; this is in contrast to moDCs being considered rare in the steady state. Interestingly, these vascular DCs constitutively expressed more suppressive factors with cDC1 for PD-L1 and moDCs for IL-10; this is concordant with the inhibitive phenotype of T cells in normal vascular tissues. The immunotolerant state of the vascular tissues, however, was readily eroded by systemic inflammation, demonstrated by the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines and enhanced antigen presentation by vascular DCs to activate both cellular and humoral immunity in situ, which ultimately led to vascular destruction. Different vascular DC subsets elicited selective effects: moDCs were potent cytokine producers and B-cell activators, whereas cDCs, particularly, cDC1, were efficient at presenting antigens to stimulate T cells. Together, we unveil regional immunological features of vascular tissues to explain their dual facets under physiological versus pathological conditions for the better understanding and treatment of cardiovascular autoinflammation.


Skin collagen defects in a patient with juvenile hyaline fibromatosis.
Juvenile hyaline fibromatosis is a rare disorder characterised by multiple subcutaneous tumours, gum hypertrophy, muscle weakness, and flexion contractures of the large joints. Histology shows an abundance of a homogenous, amorphous, acidophilic extracellular matrix in which spindle shaped cells are embedded forming minute streaks. It has been previously suggested that collagen abnormalities may be involved. A 14 month old girl with this syndrome is described in whom postmortem western blot studies were performed. These studies revealed an absent pro-alpha 2(I) chain and an absent collagen type III chain in skin but not in the other organs examined.


Identifying brain systems for gaze orienting during reading: fMRI investigation of the Landolt paradigm.
The Landolt reading paradigm was created in order to dissociate effects of eye movements and attention from lexical, syntactic, and sub-lexical processing. While previous eye-tracking and behavioral findings support the usefulness of the paradigm, it remains to be shown that the paradigm actually relies on the brain networks for occulomotor control and attention, but not on systems for lexical/syntactic/orthographic processing. Here, 20 healthy volunteers underwent fMRI scanning while reading sentences (with syntax) or unconnected lists of written stimuli (no syntax) consisting of words (with semantics) or pseudowords (no semantics). In an additional "Landolt reading" condition, all letters were replaced by closed circles, which should be scanned for targets (Landolt's rings) in a reading-like fashion from left to right. A conjunction analysis of all five conditions revealed the visual scanning network which involved bilateral visual cortex, premotor cortex, and superior parietal cortex, but which did not include regions for semantics, syntax, or orthography. Contrasting the Landolt reading condition with all other regions revealed additional involvement of the right superior parietal cortex (areas 7A/7P/7PC) and postcentral gyrus (area 2) involved in deliberate gaze shifting. These neuroimaging findings demonstrate for the first time that the linguistic and orthographic brain network can be dissociated from a pure gaze-orienting network with the Landolt paradigm. Consequently, the Landolt paradigm may provide novel insights into the contributions of linguistic and non-linguistic factors on reading failure e.g., in developmental dyslexia.


Heterotopic ossification after total hip arthroplasty.
Heterotopic ossification (HO), the development of bone outside its normal location in the skeleton, can compromise outcomes of total hip arthroplasty (THA). The etiopathogenesis of HO, though incompletely understood, involves genetic abnormalities, neurologic injury, and musculoskeletal trauma. Several systems are used to classify severity of HO after THA. Numerous risk factors for HO, including patient factors and surgical techniques, have been described. Prophylaxis against HO traditionally has involved radiation therapy or use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Once formed, heterotopic bone can be managed only with surgical excision.


Mantle cell lymphoma involving skin: cutaneous lesions may be the first manifestation of disease and tumors often have blastoid cytologic features.
We describe five cases of mantle cell lymphoma involving skin. Three patients initially presented with skin lesions but had evidence of widespread disease at time of diagnosis or with relatively short follow-up. One patient was known to have disseminated disease before he developed skin lesions. One patient presented with a solitary skin nodule on the thigh and has developed multiple smaller nodules on the same leg, but no other sites of disease over 30 months of clinical follow-up. This case fulfills the criteria for primary cutaneous lymphoma as proposed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. Biopsy of the skin lesions in all cases showed predominantly dermal and focally subcutaneous lymphoid infiltrates, preferentially perivascular and periadnexal in four cases, and nodular in one case. The tumors were composed of small- to medium-sized lymphocytes with irregular nuclear contours. Four cases had blastoid and one case had typical cytologic features. Immunophenotypic studies showed that all cases were positive for CD20 and cyclin D1, and four of five were positive for CD5. Four cases, including the CD5-negative case, had evidence of the t(11;14) shown by either fluorescence in situ hybridization methods performed on skin tumors or conventional cytogenetic analysis performed on involved bone marrow. We conclude that mantle cell lymphoma can involve skin, usually as a manifestation of disseminated disease, and is often associated with blastoid cytologic features. Rare cases of mantle cell lymphoma may arise in skin.


Damage to the corneal endothelium by minus power anterior chamber intraocular lenses.
We present 16 phakic myopic eyes (from -10.00 to -25.00 diopters) corrected by minus power intraocular lenses implanted in the anterior chamber whose corneal endothelium was observed by specular microscopy during a postoperative period from 6 to 18 months. Significant morphologic endothelial changes were noted in three eyes along the border of the lens optic. Around dark zones, which appeared acellular, endothelial cells were enlarged, deformed, and separated. These findings may be produced by intermittent contact between the endothelium and lens. Corneal indentation during specular microscopy occasionally caused a curvilinear reflection which corresponded to the optic border. In three eyes, dark areas without cellular abnormality were observed near the curved edge of the lens. These findings probably resulted from the disturbance of the specular reflection on part of the endothelium due to this edge.


Carinal Reconstruction and Sleeve Right Upper Lobectomy Assisted with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenator for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer - A case report -.
Bronchogenic carcinoma involving the carina has remained a challenging problem for thoracic surgeons. Carinal resection and reconstruction is limitedly indicated because this aggressive surgical approach has been reported to be associated with significant morbidity and mortality while long-term outcome has not been determined. Wesuccessfully performed carinal reconstruction and sleeve right upper lobectomy assisted with ECMO for a 60-year-old male with squamous cell carcinoma in the right upper lobe extending to the carina.


Fluoroquinolone versus Beta-Lactam Oral Step-Down Therapy for Uncomplicated Streptococcal Bloodstream Infections.
Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are often preferred as oral step-down therapy for bloodstream infections (BSIs) due to favorable pharmacokinetic parameters; however, they are also associated with serious adverse events. The objective of this study was to compare clinical outcomes for patients who received an oral FQ versus an oral beta-lactam (BL) as step-down therapy for uncomplicated streptococcal BSIs. This multicenter, retrospective cohort study analyzed adult patients who completed therapy with an oral FQ or BL with at least one blood culture positive for a Streptococcus species from 1 January 2014 to 30 June 2019. The primary outcome was clinical success, defined as the lack of all-cause mortality, recurrent BSI with the same organism, and infection-related readmission at 90 days. A multivariable logistic regression model for predictors of clinical failure was conducted. A total of 220 patients were included, with 87 (40%) receiving an FQ and 133 (60%) receiving a BL. Step-down therapy with an oral BL was noninferior to an oral FQ (93.2% versus 92.0%; mean difference, 1.2%; 90% confidence interval [CI], -5.2 to 7.8). No differences were seen in 90-day mortality, 90-day recurrent BSI, 90-day infection-related readmission, or 90-day incidence of Clostridioides difficile-associated diarrhea. Predictors of clinical failure included oral step-down transition before day 3 (odds ratio [OR] = 5.18; 95% CI, 1.21, 22.16) and low-dose oral step-down therapy (OR = 2.74; 95% CI, 0.95, 7.90). Our results suggest that oral step-down therapy for uncomplicated streptococcal BSI with a BL is noninferior to an FQ.


Sorption behavior of florisil for the removal of antimony ions from aqueous solutions.
Florisil was employed for the sorption of antimony ions from aqueous solutions. A detailed study of the process was performed by varying the sorption time, pH, and temperature. The sorption was found to be fast, equilibrium was reached within 15 min. Moreover, a maximum sorption has been achieved from solution when the pH ranges between 1-10. From kinetic experiments it follows that the process correlate with the second-order kinetic model. The overall rate process appears to be influenced by both boundary layer diffusion and intra-particle diffusion. The Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) type sorption isotherms can be applied to fit and interpret the sorption data. The mean energy of adsorption (9.73 kJ mol(-1)) was calculated from the Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) adsorption isotherm at room temperature. Furthermore, the thermodynamic parameters for the sorption were also determined, and the deltaH0 and deltaG0 values indicate a spontaneous endothermic behavior.


Cavernous Hemangioma of the Trochlear Nerve in Asian Population: Case Report and Review of the Literature.
Trochlear nerve cavernous hemangioma (CH) is a rare disease. There have been only five such cases reported in the world literature till date. The authors report a case of trochlear nerve CH in the Asian population and review the relevant literature. A 49-year-old Asian woman presented with gradually worsening double vision for 6 years. Physical examination identified a complete paralysis of left trochlear nerve. In imaging, a circular lesion measuring about 1 cm in diameter was found in the left ambient cistern. The lesion was completely excised through the left-side subtemporal approach, with a diagnosis of trochlear nerve CH confirmed by pathological examination. Further nerve anastomosis was not adopted, and the patient remained clinically stable in a two years' follow-up. This report provides more information about the history characteristics, imaging features, and surgical treatment strategies for trochlear nerve CH.


Improving the Medical and Surgical Out-of-Hours Handover at a Hospital in Regional New South Wales, Australia.
Effective handover between shifts is widely accepted as essential for continuity of care and patient safety. Problems with out-of-hours handover were identified at our hospital, having come to light following attendance at handover meetings by the authors. Consultation of junior doctors was performed to identify issues with the out-of-hours handover and a baseline audit was conducted to objectively assess handover practice. Local guidelines were used to create a handover tool, which was subsequently implemented and assessed via multiple PDSA (plan, do, study, and act) cycles. In addition, registrar education was undertaken. Concurrently, meetings with senior clinicians and managers were held to address wider issues including venue, intensive care registrar attendance, emergency call procedures, and implementation of an electronic handover tool. Junior doctor consultation and baseline audit identified failings in handover. Following our intervention, improvements were demonstrated in the handover of patient information, including diagnosis (50% increase), investigations (76% increase), and plan (33% increase). Doctor attendance and punctuality also improved, along with a more punctual start time and reduced handover duration of five minutes on average. Bringing structure and leadership to an informal and inconsistent handover system using simple and well-defined methods can improve the quality and consistency of handover. The sustainability of the intervention was demonstrated with continued improvements seen in a subsequent cycle.


Validation of the Coulter AcT Diff hematology analyzer for analysis of blood of common domestic animals.
The objective of this study was to compare and assess the agreement between the Coulter AcT Diff hematology analyzer (CAD) and the Bayer Technicon H1 (H1) using blood samples from 391 animals of 4 species. The H1 has been used in veterinary laboratories for many years. Recently, Coulter modified the CAD and added veterinary software for hematologic analysis of feline, canine, and equine samples. A comparison of hemograms from dogs, cats, horses, and cattle was made using EDTA-anticoagulated blood samples. Both instruments were calibrated using human blood products. Performance characteristics were excellent for most values. The exceptions were MCV in canine samples (concordance correlation of.710), platelet counts for feline and equine samples (.258 and.740, respectively), feline and bovine WBC counts (.863 and.857, respectively), and bovine hemoglobin (.876).


Association between Emotion Dysregulation and Distinct Groups of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Taiwanese Female Adolescents.
Background: Previous studies revealed that female adolescents are more likely than males to engage in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) to regulate negative emotions; however, the dimensions of emotion regulation that are associated with NSSI behavior in adolescents require further examination. The present study aimed to identify Taiwanese female adolescent clusters with NSSI engagement frequency and to evaluate the association of specific forms of emotion dysregulation with NSSI. Methods: The participants were 438 female adolescents (mean age = 15.23 years, SD = 1.24, range between 13 and 18) recruited from 11 high schools. Self-report questionnaires assessing NSSI, difficulties in emotion regulation, and positive and negative affect were administered, and 37% of respondents reported a history of NSSI. Results: The analysis of NSSI frequency yielded three groups: severe, moderate, and non-NSSI. High negative affect, low positive affect, and difficulties in all aspects of emotion regulation differentiated female adolescents in the severe NSSI group from their counterparts in the non-NSSI group. The moderate and severe NSSI groups were further distinguished by age of onset, negative affect, emotion regulation strategies, and impulse control. Adolescents classified in the severe group reported earlier onset of NSSI, higher negative affect, less emotion regulation strategies, and more difficulty with impulse control. Conclusions: The results indicate that assessments of NSSI and emotion regulation should be incorporated in youth mental health screening. The clinical implications of NSSI behavior intervention require further discussion.


Clinical outcomes of medial meniscus posterior root repair: A midterm follow-up study.
Transtibial pullout repair of medial meniscus posterior root tears (MMPRTs) cannot prevent the progression of knee osteoarthritis. Conversions of knee arthroplasties are occasionally required following MMPRT repair. However, other knee-related surgical treatments following MMPRT repair are unclear. This study was aimed at investigating the midterm clinical outcomes and knee-related surgical events following MMPRT repair. Patients with MMPRT underwent pullout repair using FasT-Fix modified Mason-Allen (F-MMA) suturing with an all-inside meniscal repair device. Thirty-two patients with follow-up duration >2 years were enrolled. We assessed the clinical outcomes and postoperative surgical treatment of both knees. F-MMA pullout repair improved all clinical evaluation scores in patients with MMPRT at a mean follow-up of 36.1 months. Postoperative arthroscopic debridement was required for one patient. An additional MMPRT repair was performed in one patient on second-look arthroscopy. None of the patients required ipsilateral knee arthroplasty. In the contralateral knees, one pullout repair of a newly developed MMPRT and two knee arthroplasties were performed. This study demonstrated that F-MMA pullout repair yielded satisfactory clinical outcomes. However, subsequent knee-related surgeries were observed in 6.3% of the pullout-repaired knees and 9.4% of the contralateral knees. Our results suggest that surgeons should be aware of the worsening and/or occurrence of contralateral knee joint disease, even when the postoperative clinical outcomes are satisfactory following MMPRT repair. IV.


Embolization of hepatic artery pseudo-aneurysm facilitated by selective injection of thrombin and thrombin-soaked coils.
A case of recurrent haemobilia due to a pseudo-aneurysm of the right hepatic artery is presented. The patient required long-term anticoagulant therapy and, in order to achieve rapid haemostasis, thrombin was used as an adjunct to coil embolization. Rapid thrombosis of the pseudo-aneurysm occurred after selective injection of 200 units of thrombin, and thrombin-soaked coils were employed to occlude the arterial supply.


Mitochondrial Respiration Can Support NO(3) and NO(2) Reduction during Photosynthesis : Interactions between Photosynthesis, Respiration, and N Assimilation in the N-Limited Green Alga Selenastrum minutum.
Mass spectrometric analysis shows that assimilation of inorganic nitrogen (NH(4) (+), NO(2) (-), NO(3) (-)) by N-limited cells of Selenastrum minutum (Naeg.) Collins results in a stimulation of tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) CO(2) release in both the light and dark. In a previous study we have shown that TCA cycle reductant generated during NH(4) (+) assimilation is oxidized via the cytochrome electron transport chain, resulting in an increase in respiratory O(2) consumption during photosynthesis (HG Weger, DG Birch, IR Elrifi, DH Turpin [1988] Plant Physiol 86: 688-692). NO(3) (-) and NO(2) (-) assimilation resulted in a larger stimulation of TCA cycle CO(2) release than did NH(4) (+), but a much smaller stimulation of mitochondrial O(2) consumption. NH(4) (+) assimilation was the same in the light and dark and insensitive to DCMU, but was 82% inhibited by anaerobiosis in both the light and dark. NO(3) (-) and NO(2) (-) assimilation rates were maximal in the light, but assimilation could proceed at substantial rates in the light in the presence of DCMU and in the dark. Unlike NH(4) (+), NO(3) (-) and NO(2) (-) assimilation were relatively insensitive to anaerobiosis. These results indicated that operation of the mitochondrial electron transport chain was not required to maintain TCA cycle activity during NO(3) (-) and NO(2) (-) assimilation, suggesting an alternative sink for TCA cycle generated reductant. Evaluation of changes in gross O(2) consumption during NO(3) (-) and NO(2) (-) assimilation suggest that TCA cycle reductant was exported to the chloroplast during photosynthesis and used to support NO(3) (-) and NO(2) (-) reduction.


The efficiency of hysterosalpingo-contrastsonography (HyCoSy) in the evaluation of tubal patency.
Radiological hysterosalpingography (R-HSG) and laparoscopic hydrotubation are widely used for the evaluation of tubal patency in infertile patients. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages that limit their use. In this study, the efficiency of a new method (HyCoSy) in the diagnosis of tubal patency was evaluated by comparing it with the traditional methods (R-HSG and laparoscopic hydrotubation). In a total of 47 infertile patients HyCoSy was performed in the evaluation of tubal patency, between November 1996 and May 1997 at Akdeniz University, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. In 18 of 47 patients, the traditional methods were also performed and the results were compared with HyCoSy. In this study laparoscopic hydrotubation was accepted as the 'gold standard'. In 36 fallopian tubes of 18 patients the clinical concordance of HyCoSy and laparoscopic hydrotubation was 86%, R-HSG and laparoscopic hydrotubation was 77%. In this study it was shown that in the evaluation of tubal patency the new method; HyCoSy is statistically comparable with the traditional methods. HyCoSy has the advantage of being easily repeatable compared with R-HSG and this may reduce false-positive results. Furthermore HyCoSy is a welltolerated and easily applicable method compared with R-HSG.


The quality of life of African American women with breast cancer.
The objectives of this study were to describe the quality of life of African American women with breast cancer and test a model of factors that may affect their quality of life. A stress-coping framework that included person (demographics, current concerns, and optimism), social resources (family functioning), and illness-related factors (symptom distress, medical characteristics), as well as appraisal of illness and quality of life, was used to guide this exploratory, cross-sectional study. Participants included 98 African American women who were approximately 4 years postdiagnosis. The women reported a fairly high quality of life, were generally optimistic, and had effective family functioning. Although symptom distress was generally low, a sizable number of women reported problems with energy loss, sleep disturbances, and pain. The model explained 75% of the variance in quality of life, with appraisal, family functioning, symptom distress, and recurrence status each explaining a significant amount of the variance. Current concerns had an indirect effect on quality of life that was mediated by appraisal. These findings underscore the importance of helping women foster a positive appraisal of their illness, manage current concerns, maintain family functioning, and reduce symptom distress, because each of these factors indirectly or directly affects their quality of life.


Adsorption of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid on a Gel-Type Ion-Exchange Resin for Purification of Liquid Waste Containing Cs Ions.
Because of its excellent chelating property, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is used as a complex agent, not only for heavy metals, but also for radioactive isotopes during the decontamination of nuclear facilities. The removal of EDTA was investigated by adsorption with commercially available, gel-type, anion-exchange resins (AERs), which are based on cross-linked polystyrene with positive tertiary amine groups. Because of the positive charge on AERs, they could adsorb EDTA effectively even in a solution mixed with ions of cesium (Cs) via electrostatic attraction. Because EDTA adsorption by cation-exchange resins (CERs) was not possible, it was concluded that the negative charges on CERs do not contribute to the interaction with EDTA. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) of AER (2 g/L) for EDTA removal, calculated by the Langmuir isotherm model was 0.47 mmol/g for initial EDTA concentrations in the range of 0.01⁻1 mM in the EDTA/Cs mixed solution. The Langmuir isotherm model was found to be suitable for EDTA adsorption on AERs, indicative of monolayer adsorption. The results clearly suggested that the AERs could efficiently remove EDTA, regardless of the presence of nuclides, such as Cs ions in the aqueous solution.


Ribulose Diphosphate Carboxylase Synthesis in Euglena: III. Serological Relationships of the Intact Enzyme and its Subunits.
Ribulose 1,5-diphosphate carboxylase was isolated from Euglena gracilis Klebs strain Z Pringsheim, Chlorella fusca var. vacuolata, and Chlamydobotrys stellata, and the subunits from each enzyme were separated and purified by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Rabbit antibody was elicited against purified Euglena ribulose 1,5-diphosphate carboxylase whole enzyme and the isolated large and small subunits. Euglena ribulose 1,5-diphosphate carboxylase showed partial immunological identity on Ouchterlony gels with the Chlorella and Chlamydobotrys carboxylases. Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of immunoprecipitates between antibody to the Euglena large subunit and the isolated large subunits of the Chlorella and Chlamydobotrys enzymes showed this was due to determinants on the large subunit. There was no serological affinity between the small subunits of the Euglena, Chlorella, and Chlamydobotrys carboxylases, and NH(2)-terminal amino acid analyses provided further evidence of variability in the structure of the small subunits.


Exploring basic science knowledge retention within a cohort of undergraduate medical students in the United Kingdom: A longitudinal study.
Clinical reasoning is reliant on students having acquired a strong foundation in the basic sciences. However, there remains uncertainty regarding whether medical students are maintaining this knowledge over the span of their degrees. Therefore, this project aimed to assess long-term retention of basic science knowledge within a cohort of students from an undergraduate medical school in the United Kingdom (UK). This longitudinal study followed a cohort of students, from their first to final year. In their final year, participants sat a bespoke formative basic science knowledge assessment that utilised 46 single-best-answer questions. To examine for long-term attainment differences, these scores were compared with those achieved in first-year assessments. Of the eligible students, 40% partook in the study (n = 22). Comparing assessment scores highlighted an enhancement in overall basic science knowledge between first and final year (p < 0.01). Although most basic science domains remained unchanged between both time points, anatomy and physiology scores increased (p = 0.03 and p = 0.02, respectively), whereas biochemistry scores were the only ones to decrease (p = 0.02). This project provides insight into how well students are retaining the basic sciences during their studies. Underperforming science domains were identified, alongside pedagogical explanations for their individual shortcomings; for instance, students' perceived relevance of a domain is seen as a driver for its retention. Subsequently, a group of recommendations were derived to reinforce the most affected domains. The inclusion of more questions on the underperforming sciences, in clinically focussed assessments, is one such suggestion.


Temperature alters the physiological response of spiny lobsters under predation risk.
Predation risk can strongly shape prey ecological traits, with specific anti-predator responses displayed to reduce encounters with predators. Key environmental drivers, such as temperature, can profoundly modulate prey energetic costs in ectotherms, although we currently lack knowledge of how both temperature and predation risk can challenge prey physiology and ecology. Such uncertainties in predator-prey interactions are particularly relevant for marine regions experiencing rapid environmental changes due to climate change. Using the octopus (Octopus maorum)-spiny lobster (Jasus edwardsii) interaction as a predator-prey model, we examined different metabolic traits of sub adult spiny lobsters under predation risk in combination with two thermal scenarios: 'current' (20°C) and 'warming' (23°C), based on projections of sea-surface temperature under climate change. We examined lobster standard metabolic rates to define the energetic requirements at specific temperatures. Routine metabolic rates (RMRs) within a respirometer were used as a proxy of lobster activity during night and day time, and active metabolic rates, aerobic scope and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption were used to assess the energetic costs associated with escape responses (i.e. tail-flipping) in both thermal scenarios. Lobster standard metabolic rate increased at 23°C, suggesting an elevated energetic requirement (39%) compared to 20°C. Unthreatened lobsters displayed a strong circadian pattern in RMR with higher rates during the night compared with the day, which were strongly magnified at 23°C. Once exposed to predation risk, lobsters at 20°C quickly reduced their RMR by ~29%, suggesting an immobility or 'freezing' response to avoid predators. Conversely, lobsters acclimated to 23°C did not display such an anti-predator response. These findings suggest that warmer temperatures may induce a change to the typical immobility predation risk response of lobsters. It is hypothesized that heightened energetic maintenance requirements at higher temperatures may act to override the normal predator-risk responses under climate-change scenarios.


Sucrose translocation and storage in the sugar beet.
Several physiological processes were studied during sugar beet root development to determine the cellular events that are temporally correlated with sucrose storage. The prestorage stage was characterized by a marked increase in root fresh weight and a low sucrose to glucose ratio. Carbon derived from (14)C-sucrose accumulation was partitioned into protein and structural carbohydrate fractions and their amino acid, organic acid, and hexose precursors. The immature root contained high soluble acid invertase activity (V(max) 20 micromoles per hour per milligram protein; K(m) 2 to 3 millimolar) which disappeared prior to sucrose storage. Sucrose storage was characterized by carbon derived from (14)C-sucrose uptake being partitioned into the sucrose fraction with little evidence of further metabolism. The onset of storage was accompanied by the appearance of sucrose synthetase activity (V(max) 12 micromoles per hour per milligram protein; K(m) 7 millimolar). Neither sucrose phosphate synthetase nor alkaline invertase activities were detected during beet development. Intact sugar beet plants (containing a 100-gram beet) exported 70% of the translocate to the beet, greater than 90% of which was retained as sucrose with little subsequent conversions.


Effects of cathode bumpiness on the spatial resolution of proximity focused image tubes.
In proximity focused electrostatic image tube; spatial resolution is a strong function of the cathode flatness.Topographic irregularities of the cathode surface establish transverse electric fields near the cathode.The fields impart a component of transverse momentum to the emitted electron, which, in turn,degrades the spatial resolution characteristic of the system. Calculations based on a simple model of a corrugated cathode show that, under a typical set of operating conditions, the point at which loss of resolution becomes considerable is 60 cycles/mm for a bump height of 0.2 microm and a bump period of 1 microm. For the resolution to be comparable to that predicted for a perfectly flat GaAs negative electron affinity (NEA) cathode, which is 160 cycles/mm, the bump period must be 0.1 microm, and its height must be 0.02 microm. Such small bumps represent a relatively smooth surface. Observations of surface irregularities on related NEA surfaces indicate that the bump period and height are about 1.0 micro and 0.2-0.5 microm, respectively, so that the spatial resolution in these cases is limited by the deviation from flatness as opposed to being limited by the finite random velocities of the emitted photoelectrons.