Detection of Impaired Cerebral Autoregulation Using Selected Correlation Analysis: A Validation Study.
Multimodal brain monitoring has been utilized to optimize treatment of patients with critical neurological diseases. However, the amount of data requires an integrative tool set to unmask pathological events in a timely fashion. Recently we have introduced a mathematical model allowing the simulation of pathophysiological conditions such as reduced intracranial compliance and impaired autoregulation. Utilizing a mathematical tool set called selected correlation analysis (sca), correlation patterns, which indicate impaired autoregulation, can be detected in patient data sets (scp). In this study we compared the results of the sca with the pressure reactivity index (PRx), an established marker for impaired autoregulation. Mean PRx values were significantly higher in time segments identified as scp compared to segments showing no selected correlations (nsc). The sca based approach predicted cerebral autoregulation failure with a sensitivity of 78.8% and a specificity of 62.6%. Autoregulation failure, as detected by the results of both analysis methods, was significantly correlated with poor outcome. Sca of brain monitoring data detects impaired autoregulation with high sensitivity and sufficient specificity. Since the sca approach allows the simultaneous detection of both major pathological conditions, disturbed autoregulation and reduced compliance, it may become a useful analysis tool for brain multimodal monitoring data.


Alterations in prefrontal connectivity in schizophrenia assessed using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging.
Spatial and biological characteristics of structural frontal disconnectivity in schizophrenia remain incompletely understood. Simultaneous streamline count (SC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) analyses may yield relevant complementary information to this end. Using 3T diffusion magnetic resonance imaging both SC and FA were calculated for the tracts linking lateral and medial subregions of prefrontal cortex (PFC) to cingulate, hippocampus, caudate and thalamus in 27 schizophrenia patients (14 first-episodes) and 27 controls. Relationships of these parameters with cognition, symptoms, treatment doses and illness duration were assessed where significant between-groups differences were detected. Patients showed lower SC and FA in the tracts linking lateral and medial PFC to thalamus (likely corresponding to anterior thalamic peduncle) and lower FA in those linking PFC to caudate (likely through internal capsule), right caudal anterior cingulate and left hippocampus (likely corresponding to hippocampal-prefrontal pathway). Moreover, patients showed greater SC values for the tracts linking medial PFC and left caudal anterior cingulate. SC and FA values for the tracts linking PFC and caudal anterior cingulate were positively related to motor speed, executive function, problem solving and completed categories in WCST. FA for the tract linking right lateral PFC and caudate was directly related to positive symptoms and FA for the tract linking left medial PFC and left thalamus was inversely related to negative symptoms. Treatment doses were not associated with SC or FA values in any tract. Illness duration was negatively associated with SC and FA in the tracts linking PFC and subcortical areas. Widespread alterations in frontal structural connectivity of PFC can be found in schizophrenia, and are related to cognition, symptoms and illness duration.


Conversion disorder and its subtypes: a need for a reclassification.
Four subtypes of conversion disorder were described in DSM-IV. There are few publications concerning studies aimed at separating the subtypes of the conversion disorder. Usually, pseudoseizures are in focus and attempts are made to differentiate these seizures from other disorders. The aim of the present study has been to investigate differences between the four subtypes of the conversion disorder and to discuss the possibilities for a reclassification. Ninety-five patients were seen by two researchers and diagnosed as conversion disorders. The subtypes were determined according to DSM-IV criteria. All completed the Patients Information Form, developed by the researchers, and the Dissociative Experience Scale (DES). Twenty-four (25.2%) of the patients had motor symptoms or deficits (Type 1), 5 (5.2%) sensory symptoms or deficits (Type 2), 23 (24.2%) seizures or convulsions (Type 3) and 43 (47.3%) had mixed presentations (Type 4). There were statistically significant differences between the subtypes as concerns occupation, family history of psychiatric disorders, hospitalizations and place of settlement. Furthermore, the DES scores were statistically different between the groups of patients with different subtypes of conversion disorder.


The need for comprehensive data on educational affiliations between academic health centers and managed care organizations.
Because of the emerging dominance of managed care, it is important to encourage the development of partnerships and affiliations between academic health centers (AHCs) and managed care organizations (MCOs) to train tomorrow's physicians to operate effectively in the new health care environment. But to what extent do such relationships exist now. In 1996, the authors sought to identify existing databases on the availability and extent of existing education partnerships and affiliations between AHCs and MCOs and the availability of such information to policymakers, the educational community, students, and residents. Despite a thorough search of the literature and interviews with representatives of education and practice organizations and with other experts in the medical education and managed care fields, the authors found no centralized or even partly centralized database on opportunities for training in managed care settings or on AHC-MCO partnerships. However, anecdotal evidence revealed eight such partnerships, each different from the others, that can serve as models for future partnerships; these are described. The authors speculate about why there are not more data describing AHC-MCO partnerships. They conclude by stating that the health care and health education industries have a variety of professional associations that could work together to assemble and make available such data to help build the educational and information infrastructure needed to train future physicians.


Influence of body condition score at calving on the metabolic status and production performance of Murrah buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) during the transition period.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of body condition score (BCS) at calving on the metabolic status of female Murrah buffaloes in the transition period. Thirty-seven pregnant buffaloes (multiparous) were selected and monitored during the transition period based on their body condition score and on the estimated calving date. Two groups were formed: i) buffaloes with a BCS>3.5 (n = 17); this group was classified and named 'high BCS at calving' (HBCS); and ii) buffaloes with a BCS≤3.5 (n = 20); this group was classified and named 'low BCS at calving' (LBCS). All animals were monitored during the last 30 days of pregnancy and the first 70 days post-calving and kept in the same environment and under the same feeding and management conditions. Mean values for BCS at calving were 2.98±0.9 (mean±standard error of the mean [SEM]) and 4.21±0.9 (mean±SEM) for the HBCS and LBCS groups, respectively. The HBCS group showed higher milk fat content (p = 0.007) and milk fat yield (p = 0.027) and a higher concentration of milk urea nitrogen (p = 0.001) than LBCS buffaloes, which in turn had a lower urine pH value (p = 0.033) than HBCS buffaloes in the pre-calving period (7.86 for HBCS vs 7.76 for LBCS). The HBCS animals had a higher concentration of erythrocytes (p = 0.001) and hematocrit (p = 0.012) post-calving and a higher hemoglobin concentration (p = 0.004) pre-calving. Buffaloes during the transition period exhibited some variations in the oxidative stress related to their metabolic status. After calving, buffaloes with a high BCS at calving and greater lipid mobilization have a more marked alteration in oxidative status, but improved production performance.


Mouse Sensitivity is an Independent Risk Factor for Rhinitis in Children with Asthma.
Although mouse and cockroach allergy is known to be important in urban children with asthma, the independent association of mouse and cockroach sensitization with rhinitis in these children is unknown. To determine the association of mouse and cockroach sensitization with rhinitis in urban children with asthma. As part of the Mouse Allergen and Asthma Intervention Trial, 499 urban children (5-17 years) with persistent asthma underwent spirometry, skin prick testing to 14 common environmental allergens, and serology for mouse-specific IgE. In 269 subjects, cockroach-specific IgE serology was also obtained. Patient/parent-reported rhinitis in the last 2 weeks and the last 1 year was the primary outcome measure. Mouse/cockroach exposure was measured by reported frequency of sightings. Mouse allergen-settled bedroom dust samples were also measured in mouse-sensitized children. Rhinitis was reported in 49.9% and 70.2% of the participants within the last 2 weeks and the last 1 year, respectively. Serum mouse IgE level of 0.35 IU/mL or more was associated with rhinitis in the past 2 weeks (adjusted odds ratio, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.02-4.54; P = .04) and the past 1 year (adjusted odds ratio, 2.40; 95% CI, 1.12-5.1; P = .02) after controlling for age, race, sex, the presence of any smokers at home, primary caregiver education level, number of allergen sensitivities, cockroach IgE level of 0.35 IU/mL or more, and study site (Boston or Baltimore). Measures of home mouse exposure were not associated with rhinitis, regardless of mouse sensitivity. Cockroach sensitivity was not associated with rhinitis regardless of sensitization to other allergens. In urban children with asthma, increased mouse IgE, but not cockroach IgE, in the sera (mouse IgE ≥ 0.35 IU/mL) may be associated independently with rhinitis.


CoMoO4 nanobelts as efficient peroxidase mimics for the colorimetric determination of H2O2.
CoMoO4 materials were prepared through a simple hydrothermal method and developed as highly efficient peroxidase mimics for colorimetric determination of H2O2. Based on the different experimental conditions in the synthesis process, the CoMoO4 materials present distinct morphologies, structures, surface properties, and peroxidase mimetic activities. Among them, CoMoO4 nanobelts (NBs) display the best intrinsic peroxidase mimetic abilities due to the high-energy (100) facet exposed, more Co active sites at (100) facet, more negative potential, and larger specific surface area. It can efficiently catalyze the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H2O2 to generate a blue oxide. In view of the excellent peroxidase mimetic catalytic activity of CoMoO4 NBs, a rapid, convenient, and ultrasensitive method was successfully established for the visual and colorimetric determination of H2O2. The method exhibits good selectivity, practicability, stability, and reusability, and has a detection limit of 0.27 μM. The peroxidase mimetic catalytic mechanism of CoMoO4 NBs was illustrated according to the kinetic and active species trapping experiments. The method has a good potential for rapid and sensitive determination of H2O2 for biomedical analysis. Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of the process of CoMoO4 nanobelts catalyzing the oxidation of peroxidase substrate 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H2O2 to generate a typical blue color, which can be applied in rapid and ultrasensitive detection of H2O2 visually.


Assessment of hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccine in patients with rheumatic arthritis.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 in 2019 has greatly impacted global health, leading to high morbidity and mortality rates. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have faced numerous challenges during the pandemic, including concerns about infection, limited medical resources, and shortages of medication. While vaccination is a crucial strategy against COVID-19, the reasons behind vaccine hesitancy (VH) among people with RA remain largely unexplored. We conducted a cross-sectional, single-arm study in China from July 18 to August 18, 2021. Using a self-administered questionnaire and a convenient sampling method, we investigated vaccine attitudes and VH among RA patients. The questionnaire developed by the investigators was validated by two public health experts and one senior rheumatologist. It covered sociodemographics, disease-related variables, vaccination attitudes, and willingness, etc. We employed Chi-squared and regression analyses to identify factors associated with VH toward COVID-19 vaccination. A total of 184 RA patients were enrolled in the survey, with 113 (61.41%) expressing unwillingness to be vaccinated. The Chi-squared test revealed significant differences in employment status and related systemic damage (p < 0.05). Among the unvaccinated RA patients, 71.68% believed COVID-19 vaccination might impact their disease. Binary and multicollinearity logistic regression analyses showed that the acute stage of RA (p < 0.001, OR = -3.165, 95% CI: 0.035 - 0.164) and fear of disease development caused by drug discontinuation during vaccination (p < 0.001, OR = -3.591, 95% CI: 0.005 - 0.157) were the restricting factors influencing the COVID-19 vaccine inoculation rate in RA patients. The COVID-19 vaccination rate among RA patients in China is low due to limited knowledge, misconceptions, and insufficient promotion. Boosting confidence and understanding of the vaccine's effectiveness and safety is crucial to improve vaccination success.


Studies on the mechanism controlling growth hormone release induced by chlorpromazine in the anesthetized rat.
In intact urethane-anesthetized rats, plasma growth hormone (GH) levels were low but increased significantly following intravenous injection of chlorpromazine. Plasma GH levels were significantly elevated in rats with hypothalamic cuts such as complete deafferentiation, anterior cut and antero-lateral cut, whereas plasma GH levels in rats with posterior cut or postero-lateral cut were not significantly different from those in rats with sham-operation. Intravenous injection of chlorpromazine caused an increase of plasma GH in rats with any type of hypothalamic cut. However, the maximum increments of plasma GH following chlorpromazine were larger in rats with antero-lateral cut and smaller in rats with posterior cut than in rats with sham-operation. These results suggest that extrahypothalamic inhibiting and stimulating neurons influence the regulatory mechanism of rat GH secretion through anterior and posterior routes to the hypothalamus respectively.


Lack of effect of carcinogen treatment on development of tumors arising spontaneously in Fischer 344 rats.
The incidence of a set of neoplasms arising "spontaneously" in Fischer 344 (F344) rats was determined in control and carcinogen-treated animals. Data were obtained from approximately 9000 rats (4000 males and 5000 females) used to study the carcinogenicity of a variety of alkylating compounds, including N-nitroso compounds, azoxyalkanes, and triazenes. In these experiments treated rats and controls were allowed to die naturally and were necropsied, and the tissues were examined histopathologically. The spontaneous neoplasms of interest were mononuclear cell leukemia and neoplasms of the anterior pituitary, adrenal medulla, pancreas, thyroid gland, mammary gland, and testis. These tumors were generally absent from control animals that (rarely) died before 70 wk of age. Although many carcinogen-treated rats died early with treatment-related tumors, a substantial number (1700 males and 2300 females) survived as long as controls. The incidence of spontaneous neoplasms was determined among controls and chemically treated rats at 10-wk intervals from 0 to 140 wk. The incidence of spontaneous tumors was not higher and was frequently statistically lower among treated rats than the corresponding incidence in controls, with the exception of leukemia in female rats. The same result was obtained with the subset of carcinogens not requiring metabolic activation (mostly alkylnitrosoureas). These data indicate that in this rat tumor model system, the alkylating carcinogens, while capable collectively of tumor induction at more than 20 sites, did not accelerate the development of any of the six spontaneously arising solid tumors. This suggests that these spontaneous tumors might arise by a mechanism that is unresponsive to the actions of the alkylating carcinogens.


Cardiac Resynchronisation with Conduction System Pacing.
To date, biventricular pacing (BiVP) has been the standard pacing modality for cardiac resynchronisation therapy. However, it is non-physiological, with the activation spreading between the left ventricular epicardium and right ventricular endocardium. Up to one-third of patients with heart failure who are eligible for cardiac resynchronisation therapy do not derive benefit from BiVP. Conduction system pacing (CSP), which includes His bundle pacing and left bundle branch area pacing, has emerged as an alternative to BiVP for cardiac resynchronisation. There is mounting evidence supporting the benefits of CSP in achieving synchronous ventricular activation and repolarisation. The aim of this review is to summarise the current options and outcomes of CSP when used for cardiac resynchronisation in patients with heart failure.


Ultrathin Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Layer Uniformly Supported on Graphene Frameworks as Ultrahigh-Capacity Anode for Lithium-Ion Full Battery.
The designable structure with 3D structure, ultrathin 2D nanosheets, and heteroatom doping are considered as highly promising routes to improve the electrochemical performance of carbon materials as anodes for lithium-ion batteries. However, it remains a significant challenge to efficiently integrate 3D interconnected porous frameworks with 2D tunable heteroatom-doped ultrathin carbon layers to further boost the performance. Herein, a novel nanostructure consisting of a uniform ultrathin N-doped carbon layer in situ coated on a 3D graphene framework (NC@GF) through solvothermal self-assembly/polymerization and pyrolysis is reported. The NC@GF with the nanosheets thickness of 4.0 nm and N content of 4.13 at% exhibits an ultrahigh reversible capacity of 2018 mA h g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 and an ultrafast charge-discharge feature with a remarkable capacity of 340 mA h g-1 at an ultrahigh current density of 40 A g-1 and a superlong cycle life with a capacity retention of 93% after 10 000 cycles at 40 A g-1 . More importantly, when coupled with LiFePO4 cathode, the fabricated lithium-ion full cells also exhibit high capacity and excellent rate and cycling performances, highlighting the practicability of this NC@GF.


[Study on in vitro mucosal permeation properties and factors affecting mucosal permeability of paeonol].
To study the in vitro mucosal permeation properties of paeonol and the factors that affect such permeability. Bullfrog skin was selected as the permeation model, and the modified Franz diffusion cell was adopted to investigate the percutaneous adsorption in vitro. Content of paeonol was quantified by HPLC. Kinds of receiving solution, parts of bullfrog skin and impacts of drug concentration on percutaneous adsorption in vitro were systematically studied. Percutaneous permeation of paeonol was to some extent affected by osmotic pressure and pH value of the receiving solution. Abdominal skin, lateral abdominal skin and dorsal skin, with the permeability coefficient form high to low, had great influence on the permeation of paeonol. There existed a good percutaneous permeation of paeonol. And the relationship between the cumulative permeability rate and time was coincided with the first order kenetical process. Take the in vitro abdominal skin of bullfrog as the permeation model, some similarities are revealed between in vitro percutaneous permeation of paeonol and mucosal adsorption.


Different shades of Newton: Herman Boerhaave on Newton mathematicus, philosophus, and optico-chemicus.
In this paper I will probe into Herman Boerhaave's (1668-1738) appropriation of Isaac Newton's natural philosophy. It will be shown that Newton's work served multiple purposes in Boerhaave's oeuvre, for he appropriated Newton's work differently in different contexts and in different episodes in his career. Three important episodes in, and contexts of, Boerhaave's appropriation of Newton's natural philosophical ideas and methods will be considered: 1710-11, the time of his often neglected lectures on the place of physics in medicine; 1715, when he delivered his most famous rectorial address; and, finally, 1731/2, in publishing his Elementa chemiae. Along the way, I will spell out the implications of Boerhaave's case for our understanding of the reception, or use, of Newton's ideas more generally.


Gummatous Syphilis Mimicking Malignant Bone Tumor on FDG PET/CT.
A 47-year-old woman suffered worsening pain in the waist and numbness in the right thigh for 1 month. MRI was performed to determine the cause, which detected an osteolytic lesion in the T12 vertebral body, suggestive of possible bone metastasis. FDG PET/CT scan was undertaken to detect the primary tumor, which only showed the same isolated lesion in the T12 without any other abnormal hypermetabolic lesion. The pathology following vertebrectomy revealed granulomatous infection. The diagnosis of osseous syphilis was eventually made following a subsequent positive Treponema pallidum serological test.


Epidemiology of Rotavirus Infection in Children from a Rural and Urban Area, in Maputo, Southern Mozambique, before Vaccine Introduction.
This study aimed to describe the epidemiology of rotavirus infections in Mozambique before vaccine introduction. Between February 2012 and September 2013, stool specimens, demographic and clinical data were collected from 384 children <5 years old hospitalized with acute diarrhea in Mavalane General Hospital and Manhiça District Hospital, southern Mozambique. The samples were tested for rotavirus A using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The overall prevalence of rotavirus infection was 42.4% [95% confidence interval (95CI): 37.4-47.6%], and was similar in Manhiça (44.3%; 95CI: 36.2-52.7%) and Mavalane (41.3%; 95CI: 34.9-47.9%). The highest prevalence of rotavirus infection was observed in children between 6 and 11 months old. It was also observed that 162 (43.7%) of the children were underweight (weight-for-age z-score < -2), of which 61 were infected by rotavirus.


Structural properties of reciprocal form factor in neutral atoms and singly charged ions.
Structural characteristics of the spherically averaged internally folded density or reciprocal form factor Br are studied within the Hartree-Fock framework for 103 neutral atoms, 54 singly charged cations, and 43 anions in their ground state. The function Br is classified throughout the Periodic Table into three types: (i) monotonic decrease from the origin, (ii) maximum at r=0 and a negative minimum at r>0, and (iii) a local maximum at r=0 and a pair maximum-minimum out of the origin. A detailed study of the corresponding properties for individual subshells as well as their relative weight for the total Br is also carried out. For completeness, the analytical Br for hydrogenlike atoms in both ground and excited states is also analyzed.


Increased Intestinal Permeability in Relatives of Patients With Crohn's Disease Is Not Associated With Small Bowel Ulcerations.
Many first-degree relatives of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) have increased intestinal permeability. Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) is the most sensitive imaging test to identify small bowel mucosal lesions that could indicate subclinical CD. We aimed to estimate the association of increased intestinal permeability with small bowel ulcerations detectable by VCE in healthy first-degree relatives of patients with CD. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 223 healthy, asymptomatic first-degree relatives of patients with CD (parents, siblings, and children; 9-45 years old) enrolled at the University of Alberta between 2009 and 2012. Patients were given the lactulose and mannitol test to measure small bowel permeability; we used high-performance liquid chromatography to measure concentrations of lactulose and mannitol in urine samples (increased permeability defined as a ratio of lactulose/mannitol 0.025 or greater). Patients with increased permeability (n = 39) and randomly selected subjects with normal permeability (n = 59) were then examined by VCE for signs of small bowel inflammation and subclinical CD. The prevalence of small bowel lesions was compared among groups. We performed logistic regression analyses to estimate odds ratios for the association of small bowel ulcerations with intestinal permeability. Among 223 first-degree relatives of patients with CD, 30% were found to have increased intestinal permeability; VCE examination found 24% of subjects to have 3 or more small bowel ulcers. Three or more small bowel ulcers were detected in 28% of patients with increased intestinal permeability and 20% of patients with normal intestinal permeability (P = .37). The adjusted odds ratio for the association of 3 or more small bowel ulcers with increased intestinal permeability was 1.5 (95% confidence interval, 0.6-3.8; P = .46). Thirty percent of healthy, asymptomatic first-degree relatives of patients with CD have increased intestinal permeability. However, a strong association of small bowel ulceration seen on VCE with increased intestinal permeability was not observed.


Decreased blood platelet MAO activity in unmedicated chronic schizophrenic patients.
The authors found lower platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity in 13 unmedicated chronic schizophrenic male patients in comparison to 13 mentally normal control male subjects--a finding that agrees with previous studies showing MAO activity to be low in the platelets of chronic schizophrenic patients. The authors urge that studies exploring endocrine factors and the role of hospitalization be undertaken to attempt to explain this finding.


[THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN OBESITY AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD)].
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable disease, with major respiratory and systemic expressions. Obesity is defined as a BMI>30 kg/ m2 and its prevalence has doubled in recent decades. The possible relationship of obesity to COPD, and its influence on respiratory pathophysiology, is considered a mystery. Studies show obesity to be a survival advantage among COPD patients, unlike in the general population, in which obesity correlates to decreased life expectancy. This study aims to assess the differences between obese and non-obese COPD patients. The main clinical aspect assessed is the number of COPDexacerbation related hospital admissions. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 323 COPD patients (95 obese, 228 non-obese), who had been followed from 2003-2010 by the Pulmonology Institute at the Soroka Medical Center. We collected demographics, medical history, BMI, lung function tests, information about hospital admissions and mortality. Non-obese COPD patients are 1.6 times more likely to be hospitalized due to COPD exacerbation. Additionally, women are 1.8 times more likely to be hospitalized due to COPD exacerbation. The FEV1 and FEV1/FVC ratios, which were measured latest during the study period, were higher among obese COPD patients. There was no significant difference in mortality. Obesity and male gender act as protective factors against COPD exacerbations requiring hospitalization. Lung function test values are higher among obese patients. Despite this, obesity has no influence on COPD patient survival. Subsequent studies are required, in order to define nutrition recommendations and target weights for COPD patients.


Electrospun composite cellulose acetate/iron oxide nanoparticles non-woven membranes for magnetic hyperthermia applications.
In the present work composite membranes were produced by combining magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) with cellulose acetate (CA) membranes for magnetic hyperthermia applications. The non-woven CA membranes were produced by electrospinning technique, and magnetic NPs were incorporated by adsorption at fibers surface or by addition to the electrospinning solution. Therefore, different designs of composite membranes were obtained. Superparamagnetic NPs synthesized by chemical precipitation were stabilized either with oleic acid (OA) or dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) to obtain stable suspensions at physiological pH. The incorporation of magnetic NP into CA matrix was confirmed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that adsorption of magnetic NPs at fibers' surface originates composite membranes with higher heating ability than those produced by incorporation of magnetic NPs inside the fibers. However, adsorption of magnetic NPs at fibers' surface can cause cytotoxicity depending on the NPs concentration. Tensile tests demonstrated a reinforcement effect caused by the incorporation of magnetic NPs in the non-woven membrane.


Role of Platelet-Derived Transforming Growth Factor-β1 and Reactive Oxygen Species in Radiation-Induced Organ Fibrosis.
This review evaluates the role of platelet-derived transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 in oxidative stress-linked pathologic fibrosis, with an emphasis on the heart and kidney, by using ionizing radiation as a clinically relevant stimulus. Current radiation-induced organ fibrosis interventions focus on pan-neutralization of TGF-β or the use of anti-oxidants and anti-proliferative agents, with limited clinical efficacy. Recent Advances: Pathologic fibrosis represents excessive accumulation of collagen and other extracellular matrix (ECM) components after dysregulation of a balance between ECM synthesis and degradation. Targets based on endogenous carbon monoxide (CO) pathways and the use of redox modulators such as N-acetylcysteine present promising alternatives to current therapeutic regimens. Ionizing radiation leads to direct DNA damage and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), with TGF-β1 activation via ROS, thrombin generation, platelet activation, and pro-inflammatory signaling promoting myofibroblast accumulation and ECM production. Feed-forward loops, as TGF-β1 promotes ROS, amplify these profibrotic signals, and persistent low-grade inflammation insures their perpetuation. We highlight differential roles for platelet- versus monocyte-derived TGF-β1, establishing links between canonical and noncanonical TGF-β1 signaling pathways in relationship to macrophage polarization and autophagy, and define points where pharmacologic agents can intervene. Additional studies are needed to understand mechanisms underlying the anti-fibrotic effects of current and proposed therapeutics, based on limiting platelet TGF-β1 activity, promotion of macrophage polarization, and facilitation of collagen autophagy. Models incorporating endogenous CO and selective TGF-β1 pathways that impact the initiation and progression of pathologic fibrosis, including nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2) and redox, are of particular interest. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 27, 977-988.


Modeling the antiferromagnetic phase in iron pnictides: weakly ordered state.
We examine electronic states of antiferromagnetic phase in iron pnictides by mean-field calculations of the optical conductivity. We find that a five-band model exhibiting a small magnetic moment, inconsistent with the first-principles calculations, reproduces well the excitation spectra characterized by a multipeak structure emerging below the Néel temperature at low energy, together with an almost temperature-independent structure at high energy. Investigating the interlayer magnetoresistance for this model, we also predict its characteristic field dependence reflecting the Fermi surface.


Characterization of inflammatory cell infiltration in feline allergic skin disease.
Sixteen cats with allergic dermatitis and six control cats with no skin disease were examined. Lymphoid and histiocytic cells in skin sections were examined immunohistochemically and mast cells were identified by toluidine blue staining. The 16 allergic cats showed one or more of several features (alopecia, eosinophilic plaques or granulomas, papulocrusting lesions), and histopathological findings were diverse. In control cats there were no cells that expressed IgM or MAC387, a few that were immunolabelled for IgG, IgA or CD3, and moderate numbers of mast cells. In allergic cats, positively labelled inflammatory cells were generally more numerous in lesional than in non-lesional skin sections, and were particularly associated with the superficial dermis and perifollicular areas. There were low numbers of plasma cells expressing cytoplasmic immunoglobulin; moderate numbers of MHC II-, MAC387- and CD3-positive cells; and moderate to numerous mast cells. MHC class II expression was associated with inflammatory cells morphologically consistent with dermal dendritic cells and macrophages, and epidermal Langerhans cells. Dendritic cells expressing MHC class II were usually associated with an infiltrate of CD3 lymphocytes, suggesting that these cells participate in maintenance of the local immune response by presenting antigen to T lymphocytes. These findings confirm that feline allergic skin disease is characterized by infiltration of activated antigen-presenting cells and T lymphocytes in addition to increased numbers of dermal mast cells. This pattern mimics the dermal inflammation that occurs in the chronic phase of both canine and human atopic dermatitis.


Protease-activated receptor-2 promotes kidney tubular epithelial inflammation by inhibiting autophagy via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling pathway.
Protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR2), which belongs to a specific class of the G-protein-coupled receptors, is central to several inflammation processes. However, the precise molecular mechanism involved remains undefined. Autophagy has been previously shown to affect inflammation. In the present study, we examine the effect of PAR2 on kidney tubular epithelial autophagy and on autophagy-related inflammation and reveal the underlying mechanism involved. Autophagic activity and levels of autophagic marker LC3 were examined in human kidney tubular epithelial cells with PAR2 knockdown or overexpression. We administered the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor (rapamycin) or activator (MHY1485) to investigate the function of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mTOR pathway. We also used transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-induced HK-2 cell inflammation models to investigate the role of PAR2-associated autophagy in kidney tubular epithelial inflammation. PAR2 antagonist and rapamycin were administered to mice after unilateral ureteral obstruction to detect the correlations between PAR2, autophagy, and inflammation. Our results show that PAR2 overexpression in HK-2 cells led to a greater reduction in autophagy via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway activation and induces autophagy-related inflammation. Meanwhile, a knockdown of PAR2 via PAR2 RNAi transfection greatly increased autophagy and alleviated autophagy-associated inflammation. In unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) kidneys, PAR2 antagonist treatment greatly attenuated renal inflammation and interstitial injury by enhancing autophagy. Moreover, inhibition of mTOR, rapa, markedly increased autophagy and inhibited the UUO-induced inflammation. We conclude that PAR2 induces kidney tubular epithelial inflammation by inhibiting autophagy via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling pathway. Our results are suggestive that PAR2 inhibition may play a role in the treatment of diseases with increased inflammatory responses in renal systems.


The Linguistic Analysis of Scene Semantics: LASS.
In this paper, we define a new method for analyzing object-scene contextual relationships using computational linguistics: Linguistic Analysis of Scene Semantics, or LASS. LASS uses linguistic semantic similarity relationships between scene object and context labels embedded in a vector-space language model: Facebook Research's fastText. Importantly, the use of fastText permits semantic similarity score calculation between any set of strings and thus elements of any set of image data for which labels are available. Scene semantic similarity scores are then embedded in object segmentation mask locations in the image, creating a semantic similarity map. LASS can also be fully automated by generating context and object labels, as well as object segmentation masks, using deep learning. We compare semantic similarity maps between human- and neural network-generated annotations on a corpus of images taken from the LabelMe database. Semantic similarity maps produced by the fully automated LASS have a number of desirable properties, while maintaining a high degree of spatial and semantic similarity to them. Finally, we use LASS to evaluate the distribution of semantically consistent scene elements in space. Both show relatively uniform distributions of semantic relatedness to scene context, suggesting that contextually appropriate objects are likely to be found in all image regions. Taken together, these results suggest that LASS is accurate, automatic, flexible, and useful in a number of research contexts such as scene grammar and novelty detection.


Genetic relatedness and female spatial organization in a solitary carnivore, the raccoon, Procyon lotor.
Among mammals, some of the most common types of cohesive social groupings originate from natal philopatry through the extended mother family. This retention of females within social groups (i.e. the nonrandom dispersion of female relatives in space) should affect population genetic structure. We examined the relationship between genetic relatedness and female spatial organization in a wild population of the North-American raccoon, Procyon lotor, a solitary carnivore in east Tennessee. Multilocus genetic band-sharing data and 3(1/2) years of radiotelemetry observations were used to study the spatial and genetic relationships among 38 adult females. DNA amplification employing primers of arbitrary sequence (random amplified polymorphic DNA; RAPD) indicated that female philopatry in raccoons led to a greater likelihood of neighbours being more related than expected by chance. Genetic distance based on RAPD band frequency was positively correlated with spatial distance among females (P = 0.0001) and genetic similarity was positively correlated with the extent of home-range overlap (P = 0.0028). Philopatry seemed biased towards females; average female-female similarities were greater than average male-male similarities (P = 0.0001), or average male-female similarities (P = 0.0001). High home-range overlap among some females with low or moderate levels of band sharing indicated that maternal inheritance of space was not a prerequisite for establishing or sharing home ranges. Female philopatry was the most probable explanation for the nonrandom spatial and genetic association of raccoons in east Tennessee.


Full-genomic analysis of a human norovirus recombinant GII.12/13 novel strain isolated from South Korea.
Norovirus (NoV) genogroups I and II are frequently recognized as the main causes of acute gastroenteritis and outbreaks of non-bacterial foodborne diseases. Furthermore, variants and recombinant strains of this virus are continuously emerging worldwide. The aim of this study was to identify NoV strains and to investigate and characterize rare genotypes. Stool samples (n = 500) were collected from patients with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis in Korea between December 2004 and November 2007. For analysis of the samples, rapid genotype screening was performed using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Full sequencing, using a newly designed set of 12 primers, revealed GII-12/13 strain. The partial sequence of GII-12/13 strain was compared with published NoV (GII-1 - 14) sequences targeting RdRp and capsid regions using phylogenetic analysis with the SimPlot program, which could evaluate recombination breakpoints. SimPlot analysis was also performed with the strain GII-12/Gifu-96/JPN (AB045603) for the RdRp region and with GII-13/G5175B-83/AUS(DQ379714) for the capsid region. NoV was detected in 19 of the 500 stool samples (3.8%). Genogroup GII-4 was found most frequently (n = 9, 1.8%), followed by GII-3 (n = 4, 0.8%), GII-6 (n = 3, 0.6%), GI-6 (n = 2, 0.4%), and GII-12/13 (n = 1, 0.2%). Importantly, we identified a novel NoV recombinant strain, C9-439 (KF289337), indicating potential risks, which suggested that, recombination occurred in the region between open reading frames 1 and 2 of the GII-12/13 strain and that breakpoints occurred in the polymerase region.


Histochemical study of gastric mucosubstances after thermal injury: correlation with endoscopic evidence of acute gastroduodenal disease.
Gastroduodenoscopy with biopsy was performed in nine patients within 5 days after major thermal injury. Biopsies were evaluated by special histochemical techniques to visualize and differentiate cellular mucosubstances. Acute gastroduodenal lesions were encountered early and frequently in 78% of adult burn patients. The early occurrence, morphology, and histology of these lesions suggest that alterations in gastric mucosal blood flow may play an important etiologic role. A decreased production of gastric mucus does not appear to be an etiologic factor since acute gastric mucosal disease was encountered in most patients despite normal quantities of cellular mucosubstances.


Prognostic factors in stage-i (T1N0) breast carcinoma patients: who needs adjuvant systemic treatment?
There is no consensus about the need of adjuvant therapy in T(1)N(0) breast carcinoma patients. To select a subgroup of these patients who may benefit from adjuvant systemic therapy, prognostic factor analyses were carried out using chi-square test and Cox regression analysis in 187 patients data in this retrospective study. Primary endpoint was distant metastasis (DM). The multivariate Cox analysis showed that age group (<or=35 years vs >35 years, p=0.01; Hazard Ratio [HR], 15.4; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 1.8-133.0), tumor size (>1 cm vs <or=1 cm, p=0.002; HR,3.5; CI:1.2-13.4) and LVI (yes vs no, p=0.002; HR,34.7; CI:3.6-326.0) were strongly associated with DM. From this analysis, a risk estimation model for DM was constructed. Whereas patients at low risk had a 96% distant metastasis-free survival, this rate for those at high risk had a 37% (p<0.00001). According to the proposed model including age, tumor size and LVI, the patients at high risk might benefit from adjuvant systemic therapy.


Extracellular Vesicles Isolated from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neurons Contain a Transcriptional Network.
Healthy brain function is mediated by several complementary signalling pathways, many of which are driven by extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs are heterogeneous in both size and cargo and are constitutively released from cells into the extracellular milieu. They are subsequently trafficked to recipient cells, whereupon their entry can modify the cellular phenotype. Here, in order to further analyse the mRNA and protein cargo of neuronal EVs, we isolated EVs by size exclusion chromatography from human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons. Electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering revealed that the isolated EVs had a diameter of 30-100 nm. Transcriptomic and proteomics analyses of the EVs and neurons identified key molecules enriched in the EVs involved in cell surface interaction (integrins and collagens), internalisation pathways (clathrin- and caveolin-dependent), downstream signalling pathways (phospholipases, integrin-linked kinase and MAPKs), and long-term impacts on cellular development and maintenance. Overall, we show that key signalling networks and mechanisms are enriched in EVs isolated from human iPSC-derived neurons.


Accumulation of intermediates and isotopically sensitive enolization distinguish between aromatase (cytochrome P450 CYP19) from rat ovary and human placenta.
Aromatase activity in microsomes from human placenta (HPM) and rat ovary (ROM) was compared by measuring the accumulation of 19-oxygenated intermediates, the effect of tritium substitution upon rates, and the distribution of tritium in products. A considerable accumulation of intermediates (19-hydroxyandrogen and 19-al-androgen) and a lag in product formation (estrogen and water) was observed with ROM but not HPM. Addition of purified NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase to ROM decreased the accumulation of 19-hydroxyandrostenedione and increased the rate of estrone formation. This difference could not be attributed to the microsomal reductase concentration since its concentration was similar in both tissues. Estrogen formation by aromatase from these tissues was not associated with a significant kinetic isotope effect when androstenedione was labeled with tritium at C-1 and C-2. Isotopically sensitive switching (branching) from the 19-al-androstenedione enzyme complex to form free 19-al-androstenedione rather than estrogen was not observed. These data suggest that for aromatase in both tissues, an enzymatic step exists between the 19-al-androstenedione intermediate and hydrogen abstraction or enolization that has a large commitment to catalysis. The distribution of tritium into the products, water and estrogen, was dependent upon substrate, enzyme source, and position of the label. Incubation of 1 beta, 2 beta-[3H]androstenedione and testosterone with ROM and 1 beta,2 beta-[3H]testosterone with HPM resulted in approximately 50% of the label being retained in the estrogen and 50% being lost in water. The majority of the label was lost in water upon incubation of 1 beta-labeled substrates with microsomes from both sources. Unexpectedly, no label was lost to water upon incubation of the specifically 1 alpha,2 alpha-labeled substrates with either enzyme source. Only incubation of 1 beta,2 beta-[3H]androstenedione with HPM resulted in loss of tritium from the 2-position. These data were interpreted to indicate that, for androstenedione metabolism by ROM and testosterone metabolism by both ROM and HPM, enolization occurs nonspecifically in an isotopically sensitive manner following deformylation, but for HPM metabolism of androstenedione enolization occurs in an enzyme-assisted manner. The studies show that aromatase located in ROM differs from that in HPM by its accumulation of intermediates and inability to selectively remove the 2 beta-tritium from androstenedione.


Acute systemic immune activation following conjunctival exposure to staphylococcal enterotoxin B.
Conjunctival exposure to the Staphylococcus aureus superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) may occur accidentally, as a result of bioterrorism, or during colonization or infection of the external eye. Using human leukocyte antigen class II transgenic mice, we show for the first time that conjunctival exposure to SEB can cause robust systemic immune activation.


Fluctuation mediated interaction and phase separation of nanoparticles in a liquid crystal solvent.
Water-in-oil microemulsions of nanodroplets in the isotropic phase of a thermotropic liquid crystal exhibit, with decreasing temperature and in anticipation of a demixing transition, enhanced correlation in fluctuations of both molecular orientation and droplet concentration. Mean field modeling of this pretransition behavior, on the basis of a lattice in which the nanodroplets are introduced as holes, shows that the observed interdroplet attractive interaction is produced by the disordering effect of the droplets on the liquid crystal and mediated solely by paranematic fluctuations.


The genome of caprine herpesvirus 1: genome structure and relatedness to bovine herpesvirus 1.
Caprine herpesvirus 1 (CapHV-1) DNA was examined by electron microscopy, restriction site mapping and homology studies with bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) DNA. Although the restriction site maps differed significantly, we showed that the genome structures of CapHV-1 and BHV-1 were identical and that the DNAs shared a high degree of base sequence homology.


Exploring the Linkage between Urban Flood Risk and Spatial Patterns in Small Urbanized Catchments of Beijing, China.
In the context of global urbanization, urban flood risk in many cities has become a serious environmental issue, threatening the health of residents and the environment. A number of hydrological studies have linked urban flooding issues closely to the spectrum of spatial patterns of urbanization, but relatively little attention has been given to small-scale catchments within the realm of urban systems. This study aims to explore the hydrological effects of small-scaled urbanized catchments assigned with various landscape patterns. Twelve typical residential catchments in Beijing were selected as the study areas. Total Impervious Area (TIA), Directly Connected Impervious Area (DCIA), and a drainage index were used as the catchment spatial metrics. Three scenarios were designed as different spatial arrangement of catchment imperviousness. Runoff variables including total and peak runoff depth (Qt and Qp) were simulated by using Strom Water Management Model (SWMM). The relationship between catchment spatial patterns and runoff variables were determined, and the results demonstrated that, spatial patterns have inherent influences on flood risks in small urbanized catchments. Specifically: (1) imperviousness acts as an effective indicator in affecting both Qt and Qp; (2) reducing the number of rainwater inlets appropriately will benefit the catchment peak flow mitigation; (3) different spatial concentrations of impervious surfaces have inherent influences on Qp. These findings provide insights into the role of urban spatial patterns in driving rainfall-runoff processes in small urbanized catchments, which is essential for urban planning and flood management.


Perspectives about Pandemic Influenza and Its Prophylactic Measures among Final Year Pharmacy Students in Karachi, Pakistan.
In flu pandemics, pharmacy students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices are critical to save patients life. The objective of study was to determine the knowledge of and attitude toward the pandemic influenza among the pharmacy students of Karachi, Pakistan. The cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2014 by adopting a prevalidated questionnaire distributed to senior pharmacy students (final year) in seven private and public sector universities of Karachi. A total of 443 pharmacy students responded the survey. Data regarding sociodemographic characteristics of the students, perceptions, level of knowledge and attitudes toward influenza, and prophylactic measures were collected. To compute the correlation between different variables, data were analyzed using Pearson's Chi-square statistic method. P < 0.05 was considered statistical significance for all analysis. Influenza was identified as a viral disease (n = 423; 95.48%) and 282 (71.2%) students correctly identified it as disease affecting humans and pigs. Textbooks reported as most common source of knowledge (n = 282; 64%). Most common symptoms identified were fever (81.94%), sore throat (64.1%), and nonproductive cough (43.34%). The most common preventive measures were covering nose and mouth (268; 60.5%) and wearing protective coverings (254; 57.3%). Only half of the students correctly reported about the route of administration (180; 40.6%) and strains in vaccine (186; 41.98%). The best time for administration of such vaccine was known by only 156 pharmacy students (35.34%). The majority of the students (82.6%) had no idea about the manifestation of influenza pandemic. Knowledge regarding influenza differed according to gender and institutions differing in their affiliation with tertiary care hospitals. It was observed that knowledge about disease progression, transmission, vaccination, and treatment in pharmacy students, especially those who are not getting clinical training in tertiary care hospitals was limited. There is an urgent need to develop awareness programs to increase knowledge of influenza among clinical pharmacists as they are more susceptible to infections and community as a whole.


Natural history of autoimmune primary ovarian insufficiency in patients with Addison's disease: from normal ovarian function to overt ovarian dysfunction.
Women with autoimmune Addison's disease with normal ovulatory cycles but positive for steroid cell antibodies (StCA) have been considered at risk of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). Thirty-three women younger than 40 years, with subclinical-clinical autoimmune Addison's disease but with normally ovulatory menses, were followed up for 10 years to evaluate the long-term time-related variations of StCA, ovarian function and follicular reserve. All patients and 27 control women were investigated at the start and every year for the presence and titre of StCA (by indirect immunofluorescence), serum concentrations of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) and ovarian function at four consecutive menses every year. At the start of the study StCA were present in 16 women (group 1), at low/middle titres (≤1:32) in seven of them (43.8%, group 1A), at high titres (>1:32) in the remaining nine patients (group 1B, 56.2%), while they were absent from 17 patients (group 2). During the follow-up period, all women in group 1A remained StCA-positive at low/middle titres with normal ovulatory menses and normal gonadotrophin and AMH levels, while all patients in group 1B showed a further increase of StCA titres (1:128-1:256) and progressed through three stages of ovarian function. None of the patients in group 2 and controls showed the appearance of StCA or ovarian dysfunction during the follow-up. The presence of StCA at high titres can be considered a good predictive marker of subsequent development of autoimmune POI. To single out the stages of autoimmune POI may allow a timely therapeutic choice in the subclinical and early clinical stages.


Physical self-esteem of adolescents with regard to physical activity and pubertal status.
The purpose of this study was to examine the physical activity and pubertal status differences in the multiple dimensions of physical self-esteem of Turkish adolescents. The current study also aimed to investigate the gender differences in the physical self-esteem. The pubertal status of participants was determined by a self-report questionnaire. The Children and Youth Physical Self-Perception Profile and a weekly activity checklist were administered to 803 adolescents (Mage = 13.10 +/- 0.93). Analysis revealed significant main effects of physical activity on the multiple dimensions of physical self-esteem for both boys and girls. Follow-up analysis indicated that physically active boys and girls scored higher on almost all subscales of physical self-esteem than less active counterparts. The main effect of pubertal status and physical activity x pubertal status interaction were not significant either for boys or girls. Analysis also revealed significant gender differences in perceived body attractiveness, physical strength, physical condition, and physical self-worth subscales in favor of boys (p < .05).


Scalability of Cyber-Physical Systems with Real and Virtual Robots in ROS 2.
Nowadays, cyber-physical systems (CPSs) are composed of more and more agents and the demand for designers to develop ever larger multi-agent systems is a fact. When the number of agents increases, several challenges related to control or communication problems arise due to the lack of scalability of existing solutions. It is important to develop tools that allow control strategies evaluation of large-scale systems. In this paper, it is considered that a CPS is a heterogeneous robot multi-agent system that cooperatively performs a formation task through a wireless network. The goal of this research is to evaluate the system's performance when the number of agents increases. To this end, two different frameworks developed with the open-source tools Gazebo and Webots are used. These frameworks enable combining both real and virtual agents in a realistic scenario allowing scalability experiences. They also reduce the costs required when a significant number of robots operate in a real environment, as experiences can be conducted with a few real robots and a higher number of virtual robots by mimicking the real ones. Currently, the frameworks include several types of robots, such as the aerial robot Crazyflie 2.1 and differential mobile robots Khepera IV used in this work. To illustrate the usage and performance of the frameworks, an event-based control strategy for rigid formations varying the number of agents is analyzed. The agents should achieve a formation defined by a set of desired Euclidean distances to their neighbors. To compare the scalability of the system in the two different tools, the following metrics have been used: formation error, CPU usage percentage, and the ratio between the real time and the simulation time. The results show the feasibility of using Robot Operating System (ROS) 2 in distributed architectures for multi-agent systems in experiences with real and virtual robots regardless of the number of agents and their nature. However, the two tools under study present different behaviors when the number of virtual agents grows in some of the parameters, and such discrepancies are analyzed.


[Malignant systemic angioendotheliomatosis. Apropos of a case with an ultrastructural and histo-immunologic study].
Clinico-pathological data in a typical case are compared with those of 54 published reports of systemic angioendotheliomatosis. In this rare disease the lesions, characterized by clusters of abnormal cells in the small vessels, usually have multivisceral localizations, with chiefly cutaneous and encephalic manifestations and a rapidly fatal course. However cases are known with lesions restricted to the skin and a protracted if not regressive course; about half of these cases are associated with an endocarditis. In the case reported, the results of ultrastructural and histo-immunological studies (f. VIII, lysozyme, anti-protease, Ig) are in favour of the endothelial origin of the abnormal cells, a now widely accepted hypothesis.


Increase of accuracy in intraoperative navigation through high-resolution flat-panel volume computed tomography: experimental comparison with multislice computed tomography-based navigation.
High-resolution imaging, as provided by flat-panel-based volume computed tomography (fpVCT), could increase navigation accuracy and could therefore improve image-guided procedures or make novel navigated surgery concepts possible. Intraoperative navigation is an accepted tool in head and neck surgery. However, its use is limited in the lateral cranial base because of its low surgical accuracy. Surgical accuracy is substantially influenced by the resolution of the underlying data set. The fpVCT offers a resolution of nearly two times higher than multislice computed tomography (MSCT). Target registration error (TRE), as a measurement for surgical navigation accuracy, should decrease when navigation is based on fpVCT data sets. An acrylic glass phantom with 37 fiducial points was scanned in a current MSCT and in an experimental fpVCT. Both data sets were imported in an optical navigation system. Five fiducial points were used for registration, and seven points were used for measuring TRE. The distance between the indicated pointer tip and the corresponding fiducial point in data set was measured as TRE. Registration and TRE measurement were repeated five times for each computed tomographic data set. Average TREs were calculated, and results were compared using t-test. The average TRE using MSCT (0.82 mm [standard deviation, 0.35 mm]) was significantly higher than that using fpVCT (0.46 mm [standard deviation, 0.22 mm]) (p < 0.01). Submillimeter surgical navigation accuracy is possible using high-resolution fpVCT. This could be highly beneficial in cranial base surgery navigation.


Interobserver reproducibility in the interpretation of captopril renograms from patients suspected of having renovascular hypertension.
This work was undertaken to identify, in hypertensive patients suspected of having renovascular hypertension (RVH), scintigraphic images and curves whose interpretation could be difficult. The baseline and postcaptopril Tc-99m MAG 3 images and curves from 10 patients clinically suspected of having RVH were retrospectively selected to have a wide sample of images and curves. The data and a multiple-choice questionnaire were presented as a PowerPoint file, which was sent electronically to Belgian nuclear medicine physicians; they had to answer if the images and curves were or were not suggestive of the diagnosis of RVH or if it was impossible to answer. There was near-complete interobserver agreement for normal baseline and postcaptopril data, for unilateral postcaptopril delayed transit and/or impaired uptake. Agreement was not as good for bilateral and symmetrical changes, for mild changes, or in cases of impaired function. This study shows that the analysis by the Internet of interobserver agreement is an easy and rapid method allowing one to identify difficult to interpret pre- and postcaptopril renographic data.


Social Welfare Policy and Inequalities in Health. Preconceived Truths in Scientific Research.
At the end of the first decade of the present century debates arose in social epidemiology. These debates set those who defend the existence of a relation between the political and/or welfare stage regime and the magnitude of socioeconomic inequalities in health against those who maintain the facts do not support such a relation. These debates are similar to other debates in epidemiology in the 1990s related with theories of how diseases are produced and the factors that determine their distribution in the population. Whereas some authors find it impossible to separate ethical and political aspects and professional values from scientific arguments, others consider that epidemiologists and other scientists should make an effort to distinguish between scientific and unscientific considerations. In this paper the author reflects about the harmony that keep science, politics and ethics in the scientific practice on health inequalities, although the empirical evidence is contrary to that harmonious effect.


The future of osteoporosis treatment - a research update.
Osteoporosis is characterised by a progressive loss of bone mass and microarchitecture which leads to increased fracture risk. Some of the drugs available to date have shown reductions in vertebral and non-vertebral fracture risk. However, in the ageing population of industrialised countries, still more fractures happen today than are avoided, which highlights the large medical need for new treatment options, models, and strategies. Recent insights into bone biology, have led to a better understanding of bone cell functions and crosstalk between osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and osteocytes at the molecular level. In the future, the armamentarium against osteoporotic fractures will likely be enriched by (1.) new bone anabolic substances such as antibodies directed against the endogenous inhibitors of bone formation sclerostin and dickkopf-1, PTH and PTHrp analogues, and possibly calcilytics; (2.) new inhibitors of bone resorption such as cathepsin K inhibitors which may suppress osteoclast function without impairing osteoclast viability and thus maintain bone formation by preserving the osteoclast-osteoblast crosstalk, and denosumab, an already widely available antibody against RANKL which inhibits osteoclast formation, function, and survival; and (3.) new therapeutic strategies based on an extended understanding of the pathophysiology of osteoporosis which may include sequential therapies with two or more bone active substances aimed at optimising the management of bone capital acquired during adolescence and maintained during adulthood in terms of both quantity and quality. Finally, one of the future challenges will be to identify those patients and patient populations expected to benefit the most from a given drug therapy or regimen. The WHO fracture risk assessment tool FRAX® and improved access to bone mineral density measurements by DXA will play a key role in this regard.


Combinatorial signals from CD28 differentially regulate human immunodeficiency virus transcription in T cells.
Activation through the T-cell receptor and the costimulatory receptor CD28 supports efficient HIV transcription as well as reactivation of latent provirus. To characterize critical signals associated with CD28 that regulate HIV-1 transcription, we generated a library of chimeric CD28 receptors that harbored different combinations of key tyrosine residues in the cytoplasmic tail, Tyr-173, Tyr-188, Tyr-191, and Tyr-200. We found that Tyr-191 and Tyr-200 induce HIV-1 transcription via the activation of NF-kappaB and its recruitment to the HIV-long terminal repeat. Tyr-188 modifies positive and negative signals associated with CD28. Importantly, signaling through Tyr-188, Tyr-191, and Tyr-200 is required to overcome the inhibition posed by Tyr-173. CD28 also regulates P-TEFb activity, which is necessary for HIV-1 transcription processivity, by limiting the release of P-TEFb from the HEXIM1-7SK inhibitory complex in response to T-cell receptor signaling. Our studies reveal that CD28 regulates HIV-1 provirus transcription through a complex interplay of positive and negative signals that may be manipulated to control HIV-1 transcription and replication.


Differences of eye movement pattern in natural and man-made scenes and image categorization with the help of these patterns.
In this paper, we investigated the parameters related to eye movement patterns of individuals while viewing images that consist of natural and man-made scenes. These parameters are as follows: number of fixations and saccades, fixation duration, saccade amplitude and distribution of fixation locations. We explored the way in which individuals look at images of different semantic categories, and used this information for automatic image classification. We showed that the eye movements and the contents of eye fixation locations of observers differ for images of different semantic categories. These differences were used effectively in automatic image categorization. Another goal of this study was to find the answer of this question that "whether the image patches of fixation points have sufficient information for image categorization?" To achieve this goal, a number of patches with different sizes from two different image categories was extracted. These patches, which were selected at the location of eye fixation points, were used to form a feature vector based on K-means clustering algorithm. Then, different statistical classifiers were trained for categorization purpose. The results showed that it is possible to predict the image category by using the feature vectors derived from the image patches. We found significant differences in parameters of eye movement pattern between the two image categories (average across subjects). We could categorize images by using these parameters as features. The results also showed that it is possible to predict the image category by using image patches around the subjects' fixation points.


IL-4 induces eotaxin: a possible mechanism of selective eosinophil recruitment in helminth infection and atopy.
A common feature of some parasitic infections and allergic and atopic skin diseases is the involvement of Th2 lymphocytes and the dermal appearance of eosinophils (Eos). Because Th2 lymphocytes apparently do not release Eo attractants, we addressed the question of whether the Th2 cytokine IL-4 induces its production in dermal fibroblasts. We therefore stimulated fibroblasts with IL-4. HPLC investigation of supernatants revealed a single Eo chemotactic protein, which was purified to homogeneity giving a single 13-kDa band upon SDS-PAGE analyses. Peptide mapping with subsequent amino acid sequencing revealed an Eo-selective chemotaxin, which consists of a mixture of N-terminally truncated and O-glycosylated forms of the chemokine eotaxin. Other chemokines such as RANTES, MCP-3, MCP-4, or MIP-1alpha were not detected as Eo chemotaxins under these conditions. Using reverse transcriptase-PCR techniques, we found that IL-4 dose and time dependently induces eotaxin mRNA in dermal fibroblasts. Stimulation with IL-4 and TNF-alpha caused a 10- to 20-fold increase of the release of three biochemically different eotaxin forms, each consisting of a mixture of N-terminally truncated and O-glycosylated variants having the same backbone amino acid sequence but different specific activities. Our findings support the hypothesis that eosinophil recruitment seen in IL-4-mediated skin reactions, at least in part, may be due to Th2 cytokine-mediated induction of eotaxin in dermal fibroblasts.


Mechanistic studies of the addition of carbonyl compounds to tetramesityldigermene.
The mechanism of the addition of carbonyl compounds to digermenes was investigated by examining the reaction between tetramesityldigermene and two mechanistic probes: trans-2-phenylcyclopropane carbaldehyde and trans,trans-2-methoxy-3-phenylcyclopropane carbaldehyde. In each reaction, two diastereomers of the formal [2+2] cycloadduct between the aldehyde and the digermene were obtained. These findings, together with the results of a recent theoretical study, indicate that the addition of carbonyl compounds to digermenes proceeds via a mechanism involving a zwitterionic intermediate.


Psoralen and coumarin photochemistry in HSA complexes and DMPC vesicles.
The photochemistry and photophysics of several psoralens and coumarins have been examined in human serum albumin (HSA) complexes and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) vesicles. Fluorescence spectroscopy indicates that there are multiple binding sites with polarities that are intermediate between those of acetonitrile and water for the substrates complexed to HSA. In the case of the 6,7-dimethoxycoumarin-HSA complex, laser flash photolysis experiments provide evidence for the formation of radical cation in addition to triplet. Radical cations are not detected for other coumarin-HSA complexes, either due to a lower yield of formation or to rapid reaction of an initial radical cation with adjacent amino acids. Fluorescence spectra for coumarins indicate that they are primarily solubilized in the polar headgroup region in DMPC vesicles. Consistent with this, radical cations generated by photoionization are detected in transient experiments. For dimethoxycoumarins the radical cation is long-lived, indicating rapid exit from the vesicle and decay in the aqueous phase. However, 4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen and 7-ethoxy-4-hexadecylcoumarin radical cations are much shorter-lived, presumably due to rapid decay by electron recombination in the vesicle. The results for both HSA complexes and vesicles indicate that radical ions may play a role in psoralen and coumarin photochemistry in a cellular environment.


Origin of polyps and accompanying sinonasal pathologies in patients with antrochoanal polyp: Analysis of 22 patients.
Solitary, benign soft tissue masses originating at the maxillary sinus and extending to the nasopharynx are called antrochoanal polyps (ACP). The aim of the study was to determine the origins of ACP accompanying sinonasal pathologies and the effectiveness of endoscopic sinus surgery in patients with ACP. Twenty-two patients (13 men, 9 women; age range: 6-50; average age: 28.3±13.3) who were treated for ACP using endoscopic sinus surgery between January 2014 and September 2017 were included in the study. The patient's age, sex, symptom at presentation to the clinic, sinonasal pathologies accompanying the ACP, and adhesion site of ACP inside the maxillary sinus were retrospectively examined. The most frequently encountered symptom in patients was nasal congestion (95.4%). This was followed by snoring and sleeping with an open mouth (31.8%), nasal discharge (22.7%), headache (18.1%), feeling of a foreign body in the throat (9.1%), and epistaxis (4.5%). When the adhesion site of ACP in the maxillary sinus was checked, it was seen that it was the most frequently located in the medial wall (27.2%), followed by the posterior (18.1%) and lateral wall (13.6%). One patient (4.54%) developed recurrence. Although the origin of ACP cannot be detected in the paranasal sinus tomography scan, accompanying sinonasal pathologies should be preoperatively identified. Development of angled endoscopes and angled instruments enabling easy removal of cystic lesions renders endoscopic sinus surgery sufficient for the treatment of ACP.


Developing a post-discharge suicide prevention intervention for children and young people: a qualitative study of integrating the lived-experience of young people, their carers, and mental health clinicians.
Suicide in young people is a leading cause of death. Interventions that are reflexive, tailored, and developed in concert with this at-risk population are needed. This study aimed to integrate lived-experience into the design of a suicide prevention intervention delivered by phone to young people post-discharge from an emergency department (ED) for suicide risk or self-harm. Qualitative study was conducted at the Queensland Children's Hospital, Brisbane Australia. Four focus groups with young people with lived-experience, parents or carers and ED mental health clinicals were conducted. In total 5 young people with lived-experience of suicidality (17-21 years, Mage = 19.20), 3 parents and carers with a lived-experience of caring for a young person with mental illness, and 10 ED mental health clinicians participated in focus groups. The first phase of qualitative analysis involved a phenomenological analysis and second phase included a deductive content analysis. The paper is following the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research. First phase, a phenomenological analysis identified three foundational themes to structure future follow-up phone interventions: a person-centred focus, the phone-call dynamic, and the phone-call purpose. Second phase, a deductive content analysis found that participants preferred an intervention that was structured, consistent, and finite. Moreover, an intervention that was authentic, able to facilitate and empower growing independence, and achievable of young people after an ED presentation was desired. Participants expressed their desire for a responsive, structured, and clearly focused phone call that would recognise the young person and parent/carer's needs while providing tailored support to ease transition from the ED to available community and family led care.


Biliary phytobezoar resulting in intestinal obstruction.
Phytobezoar is the most common type of bezoar. It is composed of indigestible vegetable matter and is usually found in the stomach. Biliary phytobezoar is extremely rare and difficult to diagnose preoperatively. The pathogenesis is not clear, and there have been only a few reports of biliary bezoars associated with sphincteric impairment at the ampulla of Vater. Here, we present a report of biliary bezoar that resulted in jejunal obstruction. We were unable to identify the bezoar in the extrahepatic bile duct until it obstructed the small bowel lumen. To our knowledge, this is the first report of small bowel obstruction resulting from migration of a biliary bezoar.


Abnormal fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in MOG-lgG optic neuritis patients: a resting-state functional MRI study.
Optic neuritis (ON) is a general term for inflammation of any part of the optic nerve resulting from demyelination or infection. The number of patients with MOG-lgG antibody-related optic neuritis is increasing recently. Our study uses the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) method to compare the activity of specific brain regions in MOG-lgG ON patients and healthy controls (HCs). We selected a total of 21 MOG-lgG ON patients and 21 HCs were included in the study. All subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). The independent-samples t-test was used to compare demographic data and average fALFF values between groups. The specificity and sensitivity of fALFF values for distinguishing between MOG-lgG ON patients and HCs were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between fALFF values and clinical characteristics in MOG-lgG ON patients. Our results showed that fALFF values of the right cerebellum and left middle cingulum were lower whereas those of bilateral inferior temporal lobes, right gyrus rectus, and the left superior and right middle frontal lobes of MOG-lgG ON patients were higher than those of HCs (P < 0.05). The average fALFF value of the left superior frontal lobe in MOG-lgG ON patients was positively correlated with Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score (HADS) (r = 0.6004; P < 0.05) and duration of MOG-lgG ON (r = 6487; P < 0.05). Thus, patients with MOG-lgG ON have abnormal activity in the brain regions related to vision. Changes in fALFF value can reflect functional sequelae of MOG-lgG ON, including abnormal anxiety or depressive emotional changes.


Discovery of a bright quasar without a massive host galaxy.
A quasar is thought to be powered by the infall of matter onto a supermassive black hole at the centre of a massive galaxy. Because the optical luminosity of quasars exceeds that of their host galaxy, disentangling the two components can be difficult. This led in the 1990s to the controversial claim of the discovery of 'naked' quasars. Since then, the connection between quasars and galaxies has been well established. Here we report the discovery of a quasar lying at the edge of a gas cloud, whose size is comparable to that of a small galaxy, but whose spectrum shows no evidence for stars. The gas in the cloud is excited by the quasar itself. If a host galaxy is present, it is at least six times fainter than would normally be expected for such a bright quasar. The quasar is interacting dynamically with a neighbouring galaxy, whose gas might be feeding the black hole.


Psychiatric comorbidities and adverse childhood experiences in women with self-reported polycystic ovary syndrome: An Australian population-based study.
PCOS is associated with increased risk for depression and anxiety but its association with other psychiatric disorders is less clear, especially in community drawn populations. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in women with PCOS and examine the factors associated with psychiatric disorders in this population. A cross-sectional analysis of survey data was performed in community-recruited women born 1989-95 from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health (ALSWH). 760 and 7910 women with and without self-reported PCOS were included. The outcomes examined were self-reported depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar affective disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder and other disorders. The main explanatory variable was self-reported PCOS status. Other factors examined included adverse childhood experience scale (ACES), social support, perceived stress, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Chi-square tests were used to examine the differences in prevalence between groups. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess factors associated with psychiatric disorders. Women with PCOS reported a significantly higher prevalence of the psychiatric disorders examined, compared with women without PCOS. PCOS was significantly associated with depression (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.4, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.2-1.7), anxiety (adjusted OR 1.2, 95 % CI 1.0-1.5), post-traumatic stress disorder (adjusted OR 1.5, 95 % CI 1.1-1.9) and obsessive compulsive disorder (adjusted OR 1.8, 95 % CI 1.2-2.5). More women with PCOS reported adverse childhood experiences (ACES ≥4: 19.3 % vs 9.2 %) and this was the strongest factor associated with psychiatric disorders (ACES ≥4: adjusted OR 2.9, 95 % CI 2.4-3.5). Women with PCOS had higher prevalence of various psychiatric conditions and adverse childhood experiences compared with women without PCOS. ACES was the strongest correlate of psychiatric disorders. These findings support PCOS is a reproductive, metabolic and psychological disorder and reinforces guideline recommendations to assess psychological wellbeing for in women with PCOS.


Selection and screening of microbial consortia for efficient and ecofriendly degradation of plastic garbage collected from urban and rural areas of Bangalore, India.
Industrialization and urbanization have led to massive accumulation of plastic garbage all over India. The persistence of plastic in soil and aquatic environment has become ecological threat to the metropolitan city such as Bangalore, India. Present study investigates an ecofriendly, efficient and cost-effective approach for plastic waste management by the screening of novel microbial consortia which are capable of degrading plastic polymers. Plastic-contaminated soil and water samples were collected from six hot spots of urban and rural areas of Bangalore. The plastic-degrading bacteria were enriched, and degradation ability was determined by zone of clearance method. The percentage of polymer degradation was initially monitored by weight loss method, and the main isolates were characterized by standard microbiology protocols. These isolates were used to form microbial consortia, and the degradation efficiency of the consortia was compared with individual isolate and known strains obtained from the Microbial Type Culture Collection (MTCC) and Gene Bank, India. One of the main enzymes responsible for polymer degradation was identified, and the biodegradation mechanism was hypothesized by bioinformatics studies. From this study, it is evident that the bacteria utilized the plastic polymer as a sole source of carbon and showed 20-50% weight reduction over a period of 120 days. The two main bacteria responsible for the degradation were microbiologically characterized to be Pseudomonas spp. These bacteria could grow optimally at 37 °C in pH 9.0 and showed 35-40% of plastic weight reduction over 120 days. These isolates were showed better degradation ability than known strains from MTCC. The current study further revealed that the microbial consortia formulated by combining Psuedomonas spp. showed 40 plastic weight reduction over a period of 90 days. Further, extracellular lipase, one of the main enzymes responsible for polymer degradation, was identified. The computational docking studies suggested that polyethylene glycol and polystyrene present in the plastics might have good interaction towards the microbial lipase with stable binding and interacting forces which probably could be one of the reasons for the degradative mechanisms.


Reduction of Mo6+ with elemental sulfur by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans.
In the presence of phosphate ions, molybdic ions (Mo6+) were reduced enzymatically with elemental sulfur by washed intact cells of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans to give molybdenum blue. The whole-cell activity that reduced Mo6+ was totally due to cellular sulfur:ferric ion oxidoreductase (SFORase) (T. Sugio, W. Mizunashi, K. Inagaki, and T. Tano, J. Bacteriol. 169:4916-4922, 1987). The activity of M06+ reduction with elemental sulfur was competitively inhibited by Fe3+, Cu2+, and Co2+. The Michaelis constant of SFORase for Mo6+ was 7.6 mM, and the inhibition constants for Fe3+, Cu2+, and Co2+ were 0.084, 0.015, and 0.17 mM, respectively, suggesting that SFORase can reduce not only Fe3+ and Mo6+ but also Cu2+ and Co2+ with elemental sulfur.


l-Alpha Glycerylphosphorylcholine as a Potential Radioprotective Agent in Zebrafish Embryo Model.
This work establishes the zebrafish embryo model for ionizing radiation (IR) modifier research and also evaluates the protective effect of l-alpha glycerylphosphorylcholine (GPC). Embryos were exposed to a single-fraction whole-body gamma irradiation (5, 10, 15, and 20 Gy) at different postfertilization time points and were serially assessed for viability and macro- and micromorphologic abnormalities. After toxicity evaluation, 194 μM of GPC was added for certain groups with 3-h incubation before the radiation. Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) expression changes were measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. A higher sensitivity could be observed at earlier stages of the embryogenesis. The lethal dose (LD50) for 6 hours postfertilization (hpf) embryos was 15 Gy and for 24 hpf was 20 Gy on day 7, respectively. GPC administration resulted in a significant improvement in both the distortion rate and survival of the 24 hpf embryos. Qualitative evaluation of the histological changes confirmed the protective effect of GPC. IL-1β and NF-κB overexpression due to 10 Gy irradiation was also reduced by GPC. GPC exhibited promising radioprotective effects in our zebrafish embryo model, decreasing the irradiation-induced morphological damage and lethality with significant reduction of IR-caused pro-inflammatory activation.


[Allergic diseases in children and farming environment].
Children living in rural areas had lower prevalence of allergies than children from cities, in relation to farming exposure. Exposure to farm animals and consumption of raw milk appear to play an important role in the protection afforded by the agricultural environment, and this at different stages of child development. The mechanisms involved in these effects are still controversial, and recent publications cast doubt on the role of endotoxins initially suggested. It seems that exposure to indoor air pollution, characterized by excessive biocontaminants (mold, allergens…) is a key element in the development of allergic diseases. The establishment of cohort studies, a better assessment of exposure to pollution at home but also in farm buildings and the study of gene-environment interactions should improve the knowledge on the protective effect towards allergy of farming environment. The farming environment, very specific, could be an important model for better understanding the mechanisms involved in allergic and respiratory diseases. In addition, urbanization and thus reduction of the rural environment, may well explain the increased prevalence of allergies observed in the past 50 years.


Effects of endothelial cell removal on constrictor and dilator responses of aortae of pregnant rats.
1. The possibility has been examined that changes in sensitivity of the aorta occurring during pregnancy in the rat are due to changes in output of endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF). 2. Concentration-isometric response curves, obtained in vitro, from thoracic aortic rings of non-pregnant rats in oestrous and 20-day pregnant rats to noradrenaline (NA) and phenylephrine (PE) were shallower with lower maxima when compared to those obtained to the thromboxane A2-mimetic U46619. 3. Removal of endothelium from aortae of non-pregnant animals caused significant shifts to the left of the curves obtained using all three agonists. In the case of NA or PE, EC50 values were reduced approximately fourfold, with maximum responses also increasing significantly. Endothelial cell removal caused an approximately eightfold increase in sensitivity to U46619 but no change in maximum response. The presence of oxyhaemoglobin (Hb) had a similar effect to endothelial removal on responses to NA and PE. 4. Rings obtained from 20-day pregnant rats showed significantly increased maximum responses to NA and PE when compared with those from non-pregnant animals. Removal of the endothelium or the presence of Hb caused significant shifts of the dose-response curves to the left and further increases in maxima. 5. In contrast, no differences in maximum responses to U46619 could be detected between the aortic rings of pregnant and non-pregnant animals. Removal of the endothelium from either caused increases in sensitivity which did not differ significantly.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Evaluation of lactic acid Streptococci for the preparation of frozen concentrated starter cultures.
Eight strains of Streptococcus diacetilactis and Streptococcus lactis were examined for viability, growth rate, lactic acid and diacetyl production in milk and proteolytic activity before and after freezing at --30 degrees C. Concentrations of yeast autolysate, peptone, lactose and citrate as well as the usefulness of milk and whey culture media for active biomass production were investigated. After freezing and storage at --30 degrees C, with the use of non-fat milk as a cryoprotective agent, high survival and endocellular proteolytic activity of the frozen concentrate was achieved. S. diacetilactis sp. and S. lactis 115 were shown to be more biologically active than other strains. Their physiological properties remained unaffected by freezing.


Taking love seriously: the context of adolescent pregnancy in Colombia.
Findings from a qualitative research study of the context of adolescent pregnancy are presented. Participants were 21 pregnant adolescents from Medellín, Colombia, and nearby villages in the region. Data were collected by means of 21 qualitative interviews, and analysis followed grounded theory procedures. The study reveals that adolescent pregnancy occurs in the context of a "genuine love affair" in which ideas of romantic love and gender rules guide young women's behaviour. Regarding an adolescent as immature or in a process of becoming might hinder adolescents' distinctive culture and circumstances. Ideas of romantic love and gender rules were powerful influences on those who unintentionally got pregnant.


Metabolism of skin-absorbed resveratrol into its glucuronized form in mouse skin.
Resveratrol (RESV) is a plant polyphenol, which is thought to have beneficial metabolic effects in laboratory animals as well as in humans. Following oral administration, RESV is immediately catabolized, resulting in low bioavailability. This study compared RESV metabolites and their tissue distribution after oral uptake and skin absorption. Metabolomic analysis of various mouse tissues revealed that RESV can be absorbed and metabolized through skin. We detected sulfated and glucuronidated RESV metabolites, as well as dihydroresveratrol. These metabolites are thought to have lower pharmacological activity than RESV. Similar quantities of most RESV metabolites were observed 4 h after oral or skin administration, except that glucuronidated RESV metabolites were more abundant in skin after topical RESV application than after oral administration. This result is consistent with our finding of glucuronidated RESV metabolites in cultured skin cells. RESV applied to mouse ears significantly suppressed inflammation in the TPA inflammation model. The skin absorption route could be a complementary, potent way to achieve therapeutic effects with RESV.


Prevalence of Micronutrient Deficiency among People Living with HIV in Selected Rural Districts of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) leads to immune suppression, and micronutrients play vital roles in human immune responses. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of viral load suppression in adult HIV-infected patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) on micronutrient deficiency and its prevalence in selected rural districts in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. This cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2019 to February 2021 among 50 consenting HIV-infected patients attending community health centers within the three selected districts. The data were analysed with ArcGIS v.10.8 to create geospatial maps; the Global Positioning System (GPS) for analysis and presentation; and SPSS version 25 for inferential statistics involving the t-test and Fisher's exact test, with the level of significance set at p < 0.05. Of the 50 participants, a significant difference of p = 0.003 was observed in mean age among viral load-suppressed (42.9 ± 8.89 years) and unsuppressed (32 ± 6.3 years). In addition, significant differences in the mean viral load and CD4 counts (p < 0.05) were seen. Only iron micronutrient showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) between the viral load-suppressed group (mean 14.8, SD 6.1) and the unsuppressed group (mean 8.1, SD 1.6). Of the 38 individuals from the OR Tambo district, overall micronutrient deficiency was 60.5% (13 (34.2%) deficient for zinc, 9 (23.7%) deficient for iron, 5 (13.2%) for folate, and 1 (2.63%) for vitamin D). In all three study districts, deficiencies in zinc, iron, and folate micronutrients exceeded 25%, particularly in those with an unsuppressed viral load. To address these micronutrient deficiencies, people living with HIV (PLHIV) require robust nutritional supplementation programs.


Fiber Orientation Quantification for Large Area Additively Manufactured Parts Using SEM Imaging.
Polymer-based additively manufactured parts are increasing in popularity for industrial applications due to their ease of manufacturing and design form freedom, but their structural and thermal performances are often limited to those of the base polymer system. These limitations can be mitigated by the addition of carbon fiber reinforcements to the polymer matrix, which enhances both the structural performance and the dimensional stability during cooling. The local fiber orientation within the processed beads directly impacts the mechanical and thermal performances, and correlating the orientation to processing parameter variations would lead to better part quality. This study presents a novel approach for analyzing the spatially varying fiber orientation through the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This paper presents the sample preparation procedure including SEM image acquisition and analysis methods to quantify the internal fiber orientation of additively manufactured carbon fiber-reinforced composites. Large area additively manufactured beads with 13% by weight large aspect ratio carbon fiber-reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) pellets are the feedstock used in this study. Fiber orientation is quantified using the method of ellipses (MoE), and the spatial change in fiber orientation across the deposited bead cross-section is studied as a function of process parameters including extrusion speed, raster height, and extrusion temperature zones. The results in the present paper show the results from the novel use of SEM to obtain the local fiber orientation, and results show the variation in alignment within the individual processed bead as well as an overall aligned orientation state along the direction of deposition.


Evaluation of e-beam irradiation effects on the toxicity of slaughterhouse wastewaters.
Slaughterhouse industry produces large volumes of polluted wastewater, which cause negative impacts on the environment. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of electron-beam irradiation on the ecotoxicity of slaughterhouse effluents with absorbed doses up to 35 kGy. Two acute toxicity assays were applied to evaluate the efficiency of irradiation onto toxicity of wastewater. The exposed living-organisms were a luminescent bacteria Vibrio fischeri, and a freshwater microcrustacean Daphnia similis. Also, the total organic carbon was analysed in order to determine any possible organic carbon removal after irradiation. The ecotoxicological results evidenced that both living-organisms were suitable for the measurements. Therefore, the results demonstrated the toxicity of the effluent and its similarity for both organisms as well as the potential of radiation to reduce these effects. The 35 kGy dose was very effective for reducing toxic effects of slaughterhouse wastewater for daphnids suggesting that ionizing radiation could be used as a tool for removing toxic charge of such effluents. The type of contamination presented by the effluent justify the needs for alternatives of treatment.


Topological invariants in the study of a chaotic food chain system.
The study of ecological systems has generated deep interest in exploring the complexity of chaotic food chains. The role of chaos in ecosystems is not entirely understood. One approach to have a better comprehension of ecological chaos is by analyzing it in mathematical models of basic food chains. In this article it is considered a classical chaotic food chain model from the literature. We use the theory of symbolic dynamics to study the topological entropy and the parameter space ordering of kneading sequences associated with one-dimensional maps that reproduce significant aspects of the model dynamics. The topological entropy allows us to distinguish different chaotic states in some realistic system parameter region. Another numerical invariant is introduced in order to characterize isentropic dynamics. Studying a set of maps with the same topological entropy, we exhibit numerical results about the relation between the second topological invariant and each of the control parameters in consideration. This work provides an illustration of how our understanding of ecological models can be enhanced by the theory of symbolic dynamics.


Physical capability scale: psychometric testing.
The purpose of this study was to describe the psychometric testing of the Basic Physical Capability Scale. The study was a secondary data analysis of combined data sets from three studies. Study participants included 93 older adults, recruited from 2 acute-care settings and 110 older adults living in long-term care facilities. Rasch analysis was used for the testing of the measurement model. There was some support for construct validity based on the fit of the items to the scale across both samples. In addition, there was support for hypothesis testing as physical function was significantly associated with physical capability. There was evidence for internal consistency (Alpha coefficients of .77-.83) and interrater reliability based on an intraclass correlation of .81. This study provided preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the Basic Physical Capability Scale, and guidance for scale revisions and continued use.