Description of the firing pattern of respiratory neurons by frequency modulated interspike interval distributions.
The description of the firing pattern of respiratory neurons presented here is based on extracellular recordings and directed to the possible influence (facilitating of inhibiting effect) that the neuron might have upon others (output) as well as to the extend of influences that are received from other neurons (input). Developing such a description the spike generating mechanism of the neuron was in a first approach characterized by a frequency modulated gamma distribution. Using this approach an acceptable match between calculated and measured interspike-interval distribution was found although mostly not statistically significant. This non-significancy is most probably due to the choice of the simple gamma distribution as a first approach. However, applying this description it seems possible to retrieve statistical information about the interaction between neurons from extracellular recordings. Based on this description it is proposed to use modal spike frequency as well as the variance of the interspike interval distribution as estimates for the activity and the extent of activation of the neuron.


Fuzzy-based global water quality assessment and water quality cells identification using satellite data.
The water environmental impact assessment and management programs increasingly rely on accurate and quantitative estimates of water quality parameters through remote sensing, owing to the limitation of the time-consuming field-based approaches. Numerous studies have utilised the remote-derived water-quality products and existing water quality index WQI models, but they are typically site-specific and yield significant errors for the accurate assessment and monitoring of coastal and inland water bodies. This study presents a generalized WQI model that incorporates a flexible number of parameters, simplifying them to produce comprehensive water quality index values with the fuzzy logic approach. To derive these index values, three major water quality parameters such as Chl, TSS and aCDOM443 were estimated using new remote-sensing models, and the corresponding indices Trophic State Index (TSI), Total Suspended Solids Index (TSSI) and CDOM Index (CI) were produced by a generalized index model. Finally, WQI products were derived based on the Mamdani-based Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) and individual contribution of the water quality parameters to WQI was analysed to establish 'Water Quality Cells' WQcells, which are represented by the dominant WQ parameter. The new models were tested on MODIS-Aqua and Sentinel-3 OLCI data in different regional and global oceanic waters. Further, a time series analysis was performed in regional coastal oceanic waters (along the Indian coast) to study the seasonal variations of individual water quality parameters and WQI over the period from 2011 to 2020. The results demonstrated that the FIS is efficient in handling the parameters with varying units and their relative importance. The water quality cells were identified in the bloom-dominated (Arabian Sea), TSS-dominated (Point Calimere, India and Yangtze River estuary, China) and CDOM-dominated (South Carolina coast, USA) regions. The time series analysis revealed that the water quality of the Indian coast exhibits cyclic seasonal variations due to the annual occurrence of the south-west and north-east monsoons. These results are critical for monitoring and assessing the quality of surface waters in coastal and inland environments and enabling water resources managers to formulate and implement management plans for a variety of water bodies cost-effectively.


Membrane interactions in nerve myelin. I. Determination of surface charge from effects of pH and ionic strength on period.
We have used x-ray diffraction to study the interactions between myelin membranes in the sciatic nerve (PNS) and optic nerve (CNS) as a function of pH (2-10) and ionic strength (0-0.18). The period of myelin was found to change in a systematic manner with pH and ionic strength. PNS periods ranged from 165 to 250 A or more, while CNS periods ranged from 150 to 230 A. The native periods were observed only near physiological ionic strength at neutral or alkaline pH. The smallest periods were observed in the pH range 2.5-4 for PNS myelin and pH 2.5-5 for CNS myelin. The minimum period was also observed for PNS myelin after prolonged incubation in distilled water. At pH 4, within these acidic pH ranges, myelin period increased slightly with ionic strength; however, above these ranges, the period increased with pH and decreased with ionic strength. Electron density profiles calculated at different pH and ionic strength showed that the major structural alteration underlying the changes in period was in the width of the aqueous space at the extracellular apposition of membranes; the width of the cytoplasmic space was virtually constant. Assuming that the equilibrium myelin periods are determined by a balance of nonspecific forces/i.e., the electrostatic repulsion force and the van der Walls attractive force, as well as the short-range repulsion force (hydration force, or steric stabilization), then values in the period-dependency curve can be used to define the isoelectric pH and exclusion length of the membrane. The exclusion length, which is related to the minimum period at isoelectric pH, was used to calculate the electrostatic repulsion force given the other forces. The electrostatic repulsion was then used to calculate the surface potential, which in turn was used to calculate the surface charge density (at different pH and ionic strength). We found the negative surface charge increases with pH at constant ionic strength and with ionic strength at constant pH. We suggest that the former is due to deprotonation of the ionizable groups on the surface while the latter is due to ion binding. Interpretation of our data in terms of the chemical composition of myelin is given in the accompanying paper (Inouye and Kirschner, 1988). We also calculated the total potential energy functions for the different equilibrium periods and found that the energy minima became shallower and broader with increasing membrane separation. Finally, it was difficult to account directly for certain structural transitions from a balance of nonspecific forces. Such transitions included the abrupt appearance of the native period at alkaline pH and physiological ionic strength and the discontinuous compaction after prolonged treatment in distilled water. Possibly, in PNS myelin conformational modification of PO glycoprotein occurs under these conditions. The invariance of the cytoplasmic space suggests the presence of specific short-range interactions between surfaces at this apposition.


Longitudinal in vivo monitoring of axonal degeneration after brain injury.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI)-induced axonal degeneration leads to acute and chronic neuropsychiatric impairment, neuronal death, and accelerated neurodegenerative diseases of aging, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. In laboratory models, axonal degeneration is traditionally studied through comprehensive postmortem histological evaluation of axonal integrity at multiple time points. This requires large numbers of animals to power for statistical significance. Here, we developed a method to longitudinally monitor axonal functional activity before and after injury in vivo in the same animal over an extended period. Specifically, after expressing an axonal-targeting genetically encoded calcium indicator in the mouse dorsolateral geniculate nucleus, we recorded axonal activity patterns in the visual cortex in response to visual stimulation. In vivo aberrant axonal activity patterns after TBI were detectable from 3 days after injury and persisted chronically. This method generates longitudinal same-animal data that substantially reduces the number of required animals for preclinical studies of axonal degeneration.


The value of a tiered cytology diagnostic reporting system in assessing the risk of malignancy in indeterminate serous effusions.
The International System for Reporting Serous Fluid Cytopathology was recently proposed as a tiered structure to provide consistent reporting terminology for serous effusions. Because of the variation in reporting practices for indeterminate serous effusions, namely, the atypia of undetermined significance (AUS) and suspicious for malignancy (SFM) groups, the authors retrospectively reviewed cases in these 2 categories at their institution and determined the associated risk of malignancy (ROM). Pleural, peritoneal, and pericardial effusions that were reported as AUS or SFM over a 1-year period were reviewed, and their associated ROMs were calculated based on confirmation of malignancy by previous and/or subsequent fluid and/or tissue biopsy specimens from the same general location. In total, 145 AUS and 98 SFM serous effusion cases were identified. The AUS category was used when the cells in question lacked the requisite quantitative (cell number) and/or qualitative (morphologic) features for a definitive diagnosis. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) or flow cytometry (FCM) was available in 15% of cases (n = 22) with inconclusive results. The ROM based on 69 cases with available follow-up results was 39%. In contrast, the SFM category demonstrated cells that were morphologically suspicious for malignancy but sparse, precluding IHC or FCM (n = 63; 64%) or yielding inconclusive results (n = 35; 36%). The ROM in the SFM category, based on follow-up results of 61 cases, was 64%. The ROM for SFM was significantly higher than that for AUS (P < .01), supporting separate diagnostic categories for these 2 groups.


Lipid requirements of human T lymphocytes stimulated with mitogen in serum-free medium. Membrane "fluidity" changes are an artefact of lipid (AL721) uptake by monocytes.
A correlation has been sought between the effects of lipids on membrane fluidity and mitogen responsiveness of human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). Cholesterol and the reputedly potent membrane fluidizing agent AL721 (1) were used for these studies. However, the large AL721 induced increase in membrane "fluidity", assessed by steady state polarization of the probe 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH), was found to be an artefact arising from lipid uptake by monocytes. Mitogen responses were enhanced by AL721 but unaffected by cholesterol. It is concluded that AL721 does not exert its effect through enhanced triggering of cells by altered membrane fluidity but rather that lymphocytes require an exogenous source of phospholipids/triglycerides for optimal growth in vitro, although they can synthesize sufficient cholesterol to meet their own needs.


Long-term neonatal heart preservation.
Donor availability is a major limiting factor in neonatal heart transplantation. Prolonging donor heart preservation would facilitate distant heart procurement. Forty-two neonatal (1 to 5 days) piglet hearts in seven groups were arrested with cold cardioplegic solutions, stored for 12 hours at 4 degrees C in storage solutions, and reperfused with blood from an adult support pig. The cardioplegic solutions used were a crystalloid solution with potassium chloride 30 mEq/L and bicarbonate (Stanford), the Stanford cardioplegic solution with the addition of calcium (1.2 mmol/L), or an intracellular solution (Sacks) with added glucose. Storage solutions were normal saline, Sacks II, or Sacks II with glucose 20 gm/L. Reperfusion was done with normal blood or modified blood for 20 minutes with superoxide dismutase, catalase, aspartate, glutamate, citrate-phosphate-dextrose, potassium, tromethamine, and 50% dextrose followed by normal blood. Evaluation of stroke work index after 60 minutes of recovery (as percent of control) was performed using the isolated, blood perfused, working heart preparation in all groups: Group I (Stanford cardioplegia, saline storage, normal blood reperfusion) had a recovery of 11%; group II (Stanford + calcium, saline, normal blood) 8%; group III (Stanford + calcium, saline, modified blood, superoxide dismutase 35,000 U/L, catalase 35,000 U/L) 37%; group IV (Stanford + calcium, Sacks II, modified blood, superoxide dismutase 35,000 U/L, catalase 35,000 U/L), 47%; group V (Stanford + calcium, Sacks + glucose, modified blood, superoxide dismutase 35,000 U/L, catalase 105,000 U/L) 89%; group VI (Stanford + calcium, Sacks + glucose, modified blood, superoxide dismutase 150,000 U/L, catalase 150,000 U/L) 107%; group VII (Sacks + glucose, Sacks + glucose, modified blood, superoxide dismutase 35,000 U/L, catalase 105,000 U/L) 115%. The neonatal heart stored hypothermically for 12 hours tolerates normal blood reperfusion poorly. Modified blood reperfusion markedly improves the recovery. Complete functional recovery was achieved by the intracellular Sacks plus glucose storage solution and modified blood reperfusion with oxygen-derived free radical scavengers (high catalase). Extended preservation of the neonatal heart is feasible.


The effect of stroke on object recognition.
Stroke patients were tested for their ability to recognize familiar objects shown in photographs, and we have confirmed previous reports that damage to the right hemisphere impairs recognition of objects shown at an "unusual angle". Additionally, these patients were impaired in matching unfamiliar (nonsense) objects which had been rotated. These impairments are discussed in the context of key task demands, particularly the need to extract depth cues from the photographs, and to rotate form elements to determine whether the samples provided different views of the same object. In the context of other work, these results suggest impairment of advanced perceptual skills which are needed to establish relationships of and among features of the forms.


Analysis of acrylamide in food products by in-line preconcentration capillary zone electrophoresis.
Two in-line preconcentration capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) methods (field amplified sample injection (FASI) and stacking with sample matrix removal (LVSS)) have been evaluated for the analysis of acrylamide (AA) in foodstuffs. To allow the determination of AA by CZE, it was derivatized using 2-mercaptobenzoic acid. For FASI, the optimum conditions were water at pH > or = 10 adjusted with NH3 as sample solvent, 35 s hydrodynamic injection (0.5 psi) of a water plug, 35 s of electrokinetic injection (-10 kV) of the sample, and 6s hydrodynamic injection (0.5 psi) of another water plug to prevent AA removal by EOF. In stacking with sample matrix removal, the reversal time was found to be around 3.3 min. A 40 mM phosphate buffer (pH 8.5) was used as carrier electrolyte for CZE separation in both cases. For both FASI and LVSS methods, linear calibration curves over the range studied (10-1000 microg L(-1) and 25-1000 microg L(-1), respectively), limit of detection (LOD) on standards (1 microg L(-1) for FASI and 7 microg L(-1) for LVSS), limit of detection on samples (3 ng g(-1) for FASI and 20 ng g(-1) for LVSS) and both run-to-run (up to 14% for concentration and 0.8% for time values) and day-to-day precisions (up to 16% and 5% for concentration and time values, respectively) were established. Due to the lower detection limits obtained with the FASI-CZE this method was applied to the analysis of AA in different foodstuffs such as biscuits, cereals, crisp bread, snacks and coffee, and the results were compared with those obtained by LC-MS/MS.


Antidepressant effects of ketamine on depression-related phenotypes and dopamine dysfunction in rodent models of stress.
Depression, the most prevalent psychiatric disorder, is characterized by increased negative affect (i.e. depressed mood) and reduced positive affect (i.e. anhedonia). Stress is a risk factor for depression in humans, and animal models of chronic stress are typically used to study neurobehavioral alterations relevant to depression. Common behavioral outcomes in rodent models of chronic stress include anhedonia, social dysfunction and behavioral despair. For example, chronically stressed rodents exhibit reduced reward preference, as measured by a loss of preference for sucrose solutions and time spent interacting with a novel conspecific, while also exhibiting less time struggling against inescapable stressors (e.g. forced swim, tail suspension). In both humans and rodents, anhedonia is associated with dysfunction of the dopamine (DA) system. Unlike traditional antidepressants, which are limited by inadequate efficacy and delayed therapeutic response, acute ketamine administration rapidly alleviates depressive symptoms in humans and reverses stress-induced changes in animal models. These effects are partially mediated via actions on the DA system. This review summarizes the clinical effects of ketamine, the neurobiological underpinnings of depression with a focus on DA dysfunction, as well as antidepressant effects of ketamine on depression-related endophenotypes (i.e. anhedonia, despair) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) activity in rodent models of repeated stress. Moreover, we discuss evidence regarding sex differences in ketamine's antidepressant effects, wherein females appear to be more sensitive to lower dose ketamine, as well as novel findings suggesting that ketamine has prophylactic effects with regard to protection against the neurobehavioral impact of future stressors.


DNA patterns and aggressive histopathologic features in 159 patients with cervical carcinoma.
In 159 patients with invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix, flow cytometric DNA patterns were related to eight histopathologic parameters according to a malignancy grading system, in which four of the parameters concern the tumor cell population and four concern the tumor-host relation. Each parameter was graded from 1 to 3 points. Flow cytometrically aneuploid values, contrasted to peridiploid ones, were more often found in specimens with immature, irregular nuclei, as well as in specimens with diffuse growth (p less than 0.05), obvious vascular invasion (p less than 0.05) or slight or no plasmolymphocytic response (p less than 0.05). For each histopathologic parameter, higher mean S-phase rates were found for the aggressive 3-point tumors than for the 1-point tumors. Tumors with total scores of 11-17 points were more often peridiploid than tumors with 18-22 points.


Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing and Prognosis in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.
Exercise testing is performed in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to evaluate blood pressure response, a risk factor for sudden cardiac death. The prognostic role of exercise gas exchange variables is unknown. Between 1998 and 2010, 1898 patients (age 47±15 years, range 16-86 years; 67% male) with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing. A total of 178 (9.4%) patients reached the primary end point of all-cause mortality or heart transplant (death/transplant) during a median follow-up of 5.6 years (interquartile range 2.6-8.9), giving an annual event rate of 1.6% per person year. Peak oxygen consumption (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.77-0.88, P<0.001), ventilatory efficiency (adjusted HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.00-1.22, P=0.049), and ventilatory anaerobic threshold (adjusted HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.70-0.96, P=0.016) were predictors of the primary outcome after correction for age, sex, left atrial size, nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, and ejection fraction. The overall adjusted death/transplant estimates for patients in the lowest quartile with peak oxygen consumption ≤15.3 mL/kg/min were 14% at 5 years and 31% at 10 years. Peak oxygen consumption (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.77-0.86, P<0.01) and ventilation to carbon dioxide production (HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.08-1.13, P<0.001) were predictors of death because of heart failure or transplantation but not sudden cardiac death or implantable cardioverter defibrillator shocks. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing provides prognostic information in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Submaximal exercise parameters, such as ventilatory efficiency and anaerobic threshold, measured alone or in combination with peak oxygen consumption, predict death from heart failure.


Target site specificity of the Tos17 retrotransposon shows a preference for insertion within genes and against insertion in retrotransposon-rich regions of the genome.
Because retrotransposons are the major component of plant genomes, analysis of the target site selection of retrotransposons is important for understanding the structure and evolution of plant genomes. Here, we examined the target site specificity of the rice retrotransposon Tos17, which can be activated by tissue culture. We have produced 47,196 Tos17-induced insertion mutants of rice. This mutant population carries approximately 500,000 insertions. We analyzed >42,000 flanking sequences of newly transposed Tos17 copies from 4316 mutant lines. More than 20,000 unique loci were assigned on the rice genomic sequence. Analysis of these sequences showed that insertion events are three times more frequent in genic regions than in intergenic regions. Consistent with this result, Tos17 was shown to prefer gene-dense regions over centromeric heterochromatin regions. Analysis of insertion target sequences revealed a palindromic consensus sequence, ANGTT-TSD-AACNT, flanking the 5-bp target site duplication. Although insertion targets are distributed throughout the chromosomes, they tend to cluster, and 76% of the clusters are located in genic regions. The mechanisms of target site selection by Tos17, the utility of the mutant lines, and the knockout gene database are discussed. --The nucleotide sequence data were uploaded to the DDBJ, EMBL, and GenBank nucleotide sequence databases under accession numbers AG020727 to AG025611 and AG205093 to AG215049.


Outcome evaluation in a surgical intensive care unit in Barbados.
The performance of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scoring system was prospectively assessed in the surgical intensive care unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Barbados. A total of 309 patients admitted consecutively during a 2-year period (1999-2001) were evaluated. Demographic data, diagnosis, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, duration of stay and hospital outcome were recorded. The predicted mortality for every patient and the costs incurred were also calculated. The overall observed mortality rate was 15.9% while the mean predicted mortality rate for our case-mix was 16.4%, which is comparable to results from developed countries. The cost incurred per patient was much lower at $13,636 (Barbados), compared to the patients' cost in North America ($60,000 Barbados).


Knockdown of fatty acid binding protein 4 exacerbates Bacillus Calmette-Guerin infection-induced RAW264.7 cell apoptosis via the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway.
Mycobacterial infection can induce alveolar macrophage apoptosis, which plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that fatty acid oxidation is involved in apoptosis during various pathological processes, including bacterial infection. However, whether fatty acid oxidation regulates mycobacterial infection-induced macrophage apoptosis remains unclear. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate the role of fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) which is a carrier protein for fatty acids, in regulating apoptosis in RAW264.7 cells infected with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG). In our study, the impact of BCG infection on apoptosis and fatty acid oxidation in RAW264.7 cells was examined. Notably, we found that FABP4 was overexpressed during this process. Furthermore, small interfering RNAs targeting FABP4 were used to investigate the role of FABP4 in regulating apoptosis and fatty acid oxidation in BCG-infected RAW264.7 cells. The results indicated that mycobacterial infection promoted apoptosis and enhanced fatty acid oxidation in RAW264.7 cells. Moreover, FABP4 knockdown exacerbated BCG-induced apoptosis and upregulated the expression of p-PERK, p-eIF2α and chop, which are endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers. In addition, FABP4 knockdown promoted fatty acid oxidation and ROS production, which result in the activation of ER stress. Our data suggested that FABP4 knockdown exacerbated BCG-induced apoptosis in RAW264.7 cells via the ER stress pathway.


Label-free target protein characterization for small molecule drugs: recent advances in methods and applications.
Target protein identification is the key to identification of the mechanisms, side effects, and evaluating druglikeness of small-molecule drugs. The commonly used "labeled" target-characterization methods, including activity-based proteome profiling (ABPP), require the synthesis of a derivatized probe, which are time-consuming and may affect the active drug conformation. Label-free target identification methods do not involve any chemical modification of small-molecules drugs and have received increasing attention in recent years. We reviewed the basic principles, workflow, applications, advantages, and disadvantages of the promising label-free target identification methods, including cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA), thermal proteome profiling (TPP), pulse proteolysis (PP), stability of proteins from rates of oxidation (SPROX), drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS), limited proteolysis-coupled mass spectrometry (LiP-MS) and solvent-induced protein precipitation (SIP). We also reviewed the prospective applications of these label-free methods for efficient target identification. The approaches based on peptide mapping using high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) may provide more information regarding comprehensive target proteins and binding sites, which may be useful for target identification in multi-target or complex drug systems.


A Delphi Consensus Approach for Difficult-to-Treat Patients with Severe Hemophilia A without Inhibitors.
Over the past decade, there has been an increase in novel therapeutic options to treat hemophilia A. It is still unclear how these novel treatments are used in the management of patients with hemophilia A, particularly those with challenging clinical scenarios who are typically excluded in clinical trials. This study aimed to understand the areas of consensus and disagreement among hematologists regarding the preferences toward therapeutic approaches for difficult-to-treat patients with severe hemophilia A without inhibitors. During February-June 2020, a three-round modified Delphi study was conducted to generate consensus among 13 US experts in the field of hemophilia. Experts were asked about their preferences toward therapeutic options for patients with challenging clinical situations, including age-related morbidities (eg, myocardial infarction, joint arthropathy), increasing demand for high-impact physical activities, early onset osteoporosis, and newborns with hemophilia A. Consensus was defined as ≥75% agreement between the panelists. Consensus was reached on many, but not all cases, leaving uncertainty about appropriateness of therapeutic approaches for some patients where clinical evidence is not available or driven by physicians' or patients' preferences toward therapeutic options. A majority of panelists preferred FVIII replacement therapy rather than emicizumab prophylaxis for the challenging cases presented due to established evidence on safety, efficacy, and level of bleed protection for FVIII treatment. Recommendations emerging from this study may help guide practicing hematologists in the management of challenging hemophilia A cases. Future studies are needed to address treatment options in the clinical cases where no consensus was reached.


3,5,3'-Triiodothyronine actively stimulates UCP in brown fat under minimal sympathetic activity.
To investigate the role of type II 5'-deiodinase (5'D-II) in the expression of mitochondrial uncoupling protein (UCP) in brown adipose tissue (BAT), we injected intact male rats with reverse (r) 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3; 100 micrograms. 100 g body wt-1. day-1), an inhibitor of 5'D-II, for 2-5 days. UCP decreased by approximately 20% in rats kept at 28 degreesC and failed to increase during cold exposure (4 degreesC). Next, thyroxine treatment (1-10 micrograms. 100 g body wt-1. day-1) increased nuclear T3 in rats kept at 28 or 4 degreesC. In these rats, nuclear T3 correlated positively with UCP. In addition, T3 (1-50 micrograms. 100 g body wt-1. day-1) given to intact rats (5-15 days; 28 degreesC) induced an approximately twofold increase in UCP. In these T3-treated animals, the interscapular BAT thermal response to norepinephrine infusion also correlated positively with T3 dose and UCP content. Treatment with propranolol or reserpine failed to block the T3 induction of UCP (approximately 1.8- and approximately 2.3-fold). The results emphasize the importance of local 5'D-II and reveal an independent role of T3 in the expression of UCP.


Effect of flaxseed poultice compress application on pain and hand functions of patients with hand osteoarthritis.
This randomized controlled intervention study investigated the effect of flaxseed poultice compress application on pain and hand functions in patients with primary interphalangeal hand osteoarthritis (OA). The study sample consisted of 82 patients who met the inclusion criteria in the Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic at a University Hospital between January 15, 2017, and May 15, 2018. Patients included in the sample groups were selected randomly. Three sample groups were formed: intervention group I (flaxseed poultice compress) (n = 33), intervention group II (hot compress) (n = 29), and control group (n = 20). The interventions were applied once a day for 7 days in a row. These patients also continued their routine pharmacological treatment. descriptive characteristics identification form, visual analog scale (VAS), Australian-Canadian (AUSCAN) Osteoarthritis (OA) Hand Index, and side effect evaluation form were used as data collection tools. The means of VAS scores of patients in the intervention group I were 6.03 ± 0.25 on day 0, 2.2 ± 0.30 on day 8, and 3.39 ± 0.32 on day 15. The means of AUSCAN total scores of patients in the intervention group I were 40.84 ± 1.76 on day 0, 14.03 ± 1.66 on day 8, and 15.78 ± 1.66 on day 15. The present study showed that pain significantly decreased and the hand function efficiency increased in patients treated with flaxseed poultice compress compared with the hot compress and control groups. In addition to pharmacological treatment, flaxseed poultice compress intervention is recommended to be used as a nursing intervention for reducing pain and increasing hand functions for patients with hand OA in cooperation with the physicians and other health professionals.


Association of oral health-related quality of life and Alzheimer disease: A systematic review.
Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is a subjective measure that assesses a person's perception of oral health. Patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) suffer from impaired cognitive function and a compromised ability to perform activities of daily living. Further exploration is needed to clarify whether OHRQoL is negatively impacted by cognitive degeneration and oral health conditions among patients with AD. The purpose of this systematic review was to increase understanding of OHRQoL among patients with AD and explore factors that may affect OHRQoL. Searches were conducted in PubMed, the Cochrane Library database, Medline, EBSCO, ProQuest, and EMBASE until August 30, 2018, with no date restrictions. The initial search targeted quantitative observational studies published in English that included the keywords AD, oral, prosthesis, and OHRQoL. Data extraction was independently conducted by 2 reviewers. OHRQoL was investigated as the outcome. Cognitive status and oral health conditions were treated as exposures. Tools used to measure OHRQoL included the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and the Oral Health Impact Profile. The research adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Six studies were included. The sample sizes ranged from 30 to 226 participants, 5 studies used cross-sectional designs, and 1 was a nonrandomized controlled trial. Three studies reported higher OHRQoL scores among participants with AD than those among controls, but only 1 study showed a statistically significant difference. A statistical analysis was conducted with 4 studies that reported GOHAI scores, and no significant differences were found in GOHAI scores between participants with AD and controls (standard mean difference: 0.09; 95% confidence interval: -0.66 to 0.85). All studies that explored factors affecting OHRQoL showed different associations between cognitive impairment, oral health conditions, and OHRQoL. One study showed that cognitive impairment was negatively associated with OHRQoL. Three studies found oral health conditions (including periodontitis, gingival bleeding, probing depth >4 mm, and number of natural teeth) impaired the OHRQoL of participants with AD. Three studies reported that prosthetic type and quality positively affected OHRQoL among participants with AD. OHRQoL may not fully represent actual oral health problems of patients with AD. Clinical dentists should evaluate oral problems in this population, preferably by using both subjective and objective examinations, including oral and dental conditions. This will ensure oral problems among patients with AD can be detected early and timely treatment provided.


A novel five-way translocation t(7;11;9;22;9)(q22;q13;q34;q11.2;q34) involving Ph chromosome in a patient of chronic myeloid leukemia: a case report.
About 5-10 % of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients show variant Philadelphia (Ph) translocations. The formation mechanisms and clinical significance of variant Ph translocations remain unclear. We report a CML case with a novel five-way complex translocation. Although the result of initial G-banding was 46,XY,t(7;11;9)(q22;q13;q34),t(9;22)(q34;q11.2), fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) demonstrated t(7;11;9;22;9)(q22;q13;q34;q11.2;q34) consisting of sequential rearrangements involving five chromosomes. The patient was successfully treated by imatinib and obtained a major molecular response. To our knowledge, this is the tenth CML case with a complicated Ph translocation involving five chromosomes and the third one treated by imatinib. Good response with imatinib therapy suggested that a single-event rearrangement was involved in the chromosomal changes.


Absolute TiN(111) step energies from analysis of anisotropic island shape fluctuations.
In situ high-temperature (1165-1248 K) scanning tunneling microscopy was used to measure fluctuations around the equilibrium shape of two-dimensional vacancy islands on TiN(111) terraces. From the equilibrium shape, the ratio of the two <110> step energies was found to be 0.72 +/- 0.02. Combining this with the results of an exact approach for analysis of shape fluctuations, applicable to highly anisotropic islands, we obtain absolute values for step energies and step stiffnesses as a function of orientation.


C-reactive protein, left ventricular mass index, and risk of cardiovascular disease in essential hypertension.
We examined the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI), and investigated prospectively the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in asymptomatic subjects with essential hypertension. A total of 629 subjects (mean age 62 years, 51% female) free of prior CVD were included in this study. In cross-sectional analysis at baseline, patients were divided into three groups according to serum CRP levels: <1, 1 to 2, and >2 mg/L. In multivariate analysis, LVMI increased in a stepwise fashion with increasing CRP levels in both men (127.2+/-2.9, 138.7+/-4.1, 141.8+/-3.5 g/m(2), respectively; F=6.85, p=0.001) and women (119.5+/-3.6, 129.2+/-4.9, 130.2+/-4.8 g/m(2); F=4.23, p=0.031). During follow-up (mean 32 months), 52 subjects (19 female) developed CVD. Kaplan-Meier analysis with log-rank tests showed a significantly poorer event-free survival rate in the group with elevated CRP levels (> or =1 mg/L) (chi(2)=8.22, p<0.01) and that with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (chi(2)=19.91, p<0.01). When participants were divided into four groups on the basis of CRP level (<1 or > or =1 mg/L) and the absence or presence of LVH, the group with LVH/CRP> or =1 mg/L showed markedly poorer event-free survival (chi(2)=28.02, p<0.01), and the adjusted hazard ratio by multivariate Cox regression analysis was 2.65 (95% confidence interval [CI]=1.55-5.46, p<0.01). In the subgroup with LVH (n=362), a significantly lower event-free survival rate of CVD was also observed in the group with CRP> or =1 mg/L (hazard ratio [HR] 1.37, 95% CI: 1.02-1.85, p=0.025). Our findings demonstrate that the CRP level is independently associated with LVMI, and suggest that measurement of CRP may provide clinically important prognostic information to supplement LVH.


2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) induces microglial nitric oxide production and subsequent rat primary cortical neuron apoptosis through p38/JNK MAPK pathway.
It has been widely accepted that microglia, which are the innate immune cells in the brain, upon activation can cause neuronal damage. In the present study, we investigated the role of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in regulating microglial nitric oxide production and its role in causing neuronal damage. The study revealed that TCDD stimulates the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) as well as the production of nitric oxide (NO) in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Further, a rapid activation of p38 and JNK MAPKs was found in HAPI microglia following TCDD treatment. Blockage of p38 and JNK kinases with their specific inhibitors, SB202190 and SP600125, significantly reduced TCDD-induced iNOS expression and NO production. In addition, it was demonstrated through treating rat primary cortical neurons with media conditioned with TCDD treated microglia that microglial iNOS activation mediates neuronal apoptosis. Lastly, it was also found that p38 and JNK MAPK inhibitors could attenuate the apoptosis of rat cortical neurons upon exposure to medium conditioned by TCDD-treated HAPI microglial cells. Based on these observations, we highlight that the p38/JNK MAPK pathways play an important role in TCDD-induced iNOS activation in rat HAPI microglia and in the subsequent induction of apoptosis in primary cortical neurons.


Health risk assessment of toxic metal(loids) (As, Cd, Pb, Cr, and Co) via consumption of medicinal herbs marketed in Malawi.
This study aimed to assess the potential health risks associated with consuming three commonly consumed medicinal herbs in Malawi: Azadirachta indica, Mondia whitei, and Moringa oleifera. The concentrations of five metal(loids) (As, Cd, Pb, Cr, and Co) were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, while their safety was assessed by comparing the measured values with the legislated maximum contaminant levels (MCL)and reported metal(loids) concentrations in other countries. The results indicated significant variations of metal(loids) concentrations amongst the studied medicinal herbs, with Azadirachta indica containing the highest mean As (0.078 ± 0.010 mg kg-1) and Cd (0.049 ± 0.05 mg kg-1) concentrations and Mondia whitei and Moringa oleifera contained the highest mean Co (1.01 ± 0.05 mg kg-1) and Cr (1.42 ± 1.18 mg kg-1) concentrations, respectively. However, the mean concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, Cr, and Co fell below the MCL set by World Health Organization (WHO), Alimentarius Commissions, and European Commission. The estimated daily intake (EDI) for each metal(loid) was less than 1, indicating that the studied medicinal herbs do not pose serious health risks to non-regular consumers. The study also emphasizes the importance of assessing the potential risks associated with consuming medicinal herbs contaminated with heavy metals or metalloids, as it can seriously threaten human health.


Temporary abdominal closure using an i.v. bag silo for severe trauma.
Patients with severe abdominal trauma injuries can have improved outcomes if a priority-oriented approach is taken to surgical intervention. This includes temporary abdominal closure and planned reoperation to complete complex, lengthy procedures when the patient is stabilized. Temporary abdominal closure can be achieved safely and cost-effectively by using a presterilized 3-liter cystoscopy fluid i.v. bag. This article discusses the rationale for temporary abdominal closure and planned reoperation, physiologic considerations in abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS), abdominal injuries or conditions leading to ACS, and manifestations of ACS. It compares and contrasts various materials used for temporary abdominal closure, illustrates bag preparation and silo application and removal, and analyzes complex intraoperative and postoperative nursing activities.


Entropy effects on the ion-diffusion rate in transmembrane protein channels.
We treat the transport of univalent cations through pore-like protein channels in biological membranes analytically, using two models (A + B) for the channel and the ion-channel interaction. A Lennard-Jones-type repulsion between the ions and the pore wall is introduced. We also include Van der Waals- and coulomb-type interactions between polar ligands of the pore-forming protein (e.g., carbonyl groups directed towards the axis of the channel) and the migrating particles. In model A, the polar groups are assumed to occur in pairs of dipoles pointing in opposite directions (as in the gramicidin A channel), while in model B the channel is treated as a pore with a radially isotropic charge distribution. In both models the ion-channel interaction leads to the occurrence of periodic potentials, corresponding to quasi-equilibrium and transition state sites of the ion in the pore. The diffusion rate can be calculated employing rate-theoretical concepts on the basis of microscopic parameters. It is demonstrated that the anomaly (inversion of the normal mass effect) for the transport rates of different ions can be related to differences in the activation entropy. The latter quantity is estimated analytically for both models. As a test, we performed numerical calculations with parameters based on the gramicidin A model. The results are in good agreement with experimental data and data from computer simulations. This shows that simple analytic expressions are well suited for predicting trends in the ionic conductivity of protein channels on the basis of microscopic interactions.


A stochastic nonlinear autoregressive algorithm reflects nonlinear dynamics of heart-rate fluctuations.
Current methods for detecting nonlinear determinism in a time series require long and stationary data records, as most of them assume that the observed dynamics arise only from the internal, deterministic workings of the system, and the stochastic portion of the signal (the noise component) is assumed to be negligible. To explicitly account for the stochastic portion of the data we recently developed a method based on a stochastic nonlinear autoregressive (SNAR) algorithm. The method iteratively estimates nonlinear autoregressive models for both the deterministic and stochastic portions of the signal. Subsequently, the Lyapunov exponents (LE) are calculated for the estimated models in order to examine if nonlinear determinism is present in the deterministic portion of the fitted model. To determine if nonlinear dynamic analysis of heart-rate fluctuations can be used to assess arrhythmia susceptibility by predicting the outcome of invasive cardiac electrophysiologic study (EPS), we applied the SNAR algorithm to noninvasively measured resting sinus-rhythm heart-rate signals obtained from 16 patients. Our analysis revealed that a positive LE was highly correlated to a patient with a positive outcome of EPS. We found that the statistical accuracy of the SNAR algorithm in predicting the outcome of EPS was 88% (sensitivity=100%, specificity=75%, positive predictive value=80%, negative predictive value=100%, p=0.0019). Our results suggest that the SNAR algorithm may serve as a noninvasive probe for screening high-risk populations for malignant cardiac arrhythmias.


Clinical, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluations of metronomic UFT and cyclophosphamide plus celecoxib in patients with advanced refractory gastrointestinal cancers.
To evaluate UFT and cyclophosphamide (CTX) based metronomic chemotherapy plus celecoxib (CXB) for the treatment of patients with heavily pre-treated advanced gastrointestinal malignancies. Thirty-eight patients received 500 mg/mq(2) CTX i.v bolus on day 1 and, from day 2, 50 mg/day CTX p.o. plus 100 mg/twice a day UFT p.o. and 200 mg/twice a day CXB p.o. Tegafur, 5-FU, 5-FUH(2), GHB and uracil pharmacokinetics were assessed. Plasma vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), soluble VE-cadherin (sVE-C) and thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) levels were detected by ELISA and real-time PCR of CD133 gene expression on peripheral blood mononuclear cell was also performed. Seventeen patients (45%) obtained stable disease (SD) with a median duration of 5.8 ms (range, 4.2-7.4). Median progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 2.7 ms (95% CI, 1.6-3.9 ms) and 7.1 ms (95% CI, 4.3-9.9 ms), respectively. No toxicities of grade >1 were observed. Pharmacokinetics of 27 patients (13/14, SD/progressive disease, PD) after the first treatment of UFT revealed that 5-FU AUC and C(max) values greater than 1.313 h × μg/ml and 0.501 μg/ml, respectively, were statistically correlated with stabilization of disease and prolonged PFS/OS. VEGF and sVE-C plasma levels were greater in the PD group when compared to SD group. CD133 expression increased only in the PD patients. Metronomic UFT and CTX with CXB in heavily pre-treated gastrointestinal patients were well tolerated and associated with interesting activity. Potential predictive pharmacokinetic parameters and pharmacodynamic biomarkers have been found.


Receptor regulation and target cell responses: studies in the ovarian luteal cell.
Studies of hormone-induced 'desensitization' in the luteinized rat ovary show that changes in receptor number and adenylate cyclase at the cell surface result in an altered biological effect of luteinizing hormone on progesterone production. The sensitivity of these effects to changes in gonadotropin levels suggests that receptor turnover or processing is involved in the normal mechanism of hormone action.


[A preschooler with a skin lesion on the face].
A 4-year-old girl presented to the paediatric department with a red squamous spot around her right eye. Based on the clinical presentation and anamnesis, we suspected a zoonotic dermatomycosis obtained via her guinea pigs. PCR of the skin flakes revealed dermatophytes.


Identification and analysis of mouse non-coding RNA using transcriptome data.
Transcripts are expressed spatially and temporally and they are very complicated, precise and specific; however, most studies are focused on protein-coding related genes. Recently, massively parallel cDNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has emerged to be a new and promising tool for transcriptome research, and numbers of non-coding RNAs, especially lincRNAs, have been widely identified and well characterized as important regulators of diverse biological processes. In this study, we used ultra-deep RNA-seq data from 15 mouse tissues to study the diversity and dynamic of non-coding RNAs in mouse. Using our own criteria, we identified totally 16,249 non-coding genes (21,569 non-coding RNAs) in mouse. We annotated these non-coding RNAs by diverse properties and found non-coding RNAs are generally shorter, have fewer exons, express in lower level and are more strikingly tissue-specific compared with protein-coding genes. Moreover, these non-coding RNAs show significant enrichment with transcriptional initiation and elongation signals including histone modifications (H3K4me3, H3K27me3 and H3K36me3), RNAPII binding sites and CAGE tags. The gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) result revealed several sets of lincRNAs associated with diverse biological processes such as immune effector process, muscle development and sexual reproduction. Taken together, this study provides a more comprehensive annotation of mouse non-coding RNAs and gives an opportunity for future functional and evolutionary study of mouse non-coding RNAs.


Zinc Supplementation Improved Neuropeptide Y, Nesfatin-1, Leptin, C-reactive protein, and HOMA-IR of Diet-Induced Obese Rats.
Obesity is a mild chronic inflammation that causes many metabolic diseases. It was aimed to investigate some parameters affective on the energy metabolism by adding zinc (Zn, ZnSO4) to drinking water of diet-induced obese rats. Five-week aged, male Sprague Dawley rats divided into as control group, consuming standard rat diet, and high-fat diet (HFD) group. After obesity induced by feeding HFD for 8 weeks, the obese rats were divided into Zn-supplemented obese group (HFD + obese + Zn; 150 mg Zn/L (for 6 weeks), 235 mg Zn/L (7th week), 250 mg Zn/L (8th week) in drinking water) and obese group (HFD + obese). Mean body weight, serum concentrations of C-reactive protein, neuropeptide-Y, leptin, insulin fasting blood glucose, and HOMA-IR were statistically decreased by given Zn in HFD + obese + Zn group compared to HFD + obese rats. It was observed that the total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL cholesterol levels of HFD + obese + Zn group became closer to the control group level, and Zn supplementation caused a statistically significant decrease in cholesterol profile than HFD + obese rats. Also, increased mean serum nesfatin-1 level, an effective protein for the formation of satiety, was analyzed in HFD + obese + Zn group when compared to HFD + obese ones. Serum triglyceride concentration tended to decrease with the effect of Zn in obese rats. In conclusion, it can be said that oral use of Zn could improve energy balance and prevent the occurrence of metabolic diseases related to obesity depending on the anti-inflammatory effect of Zn.


Morphologic analysis of long-term bone marrow cultures that support B-lymphopoiesis or myelopoiesis.
A comparative morphological analysis of the Whitlock-Witte long-term B-cell culture and the predominantly myeloid Dexter long-term bone marrow culture demonstrates that similarities and differences exist between the two systems. Cells from the long-term B-cell cultures have a characteristic lymphoid morphology, whereas those from the Dexter cultures are predominantly granulocytes and macrophages along with a few undifferentiated blast cells. A multilayered stromal cell layer is a common feature of both systems. Scanning electron micrographs show the cells in this layer to be large, irregularly shaped and flattened. The data further indicate that there are unique features in the relationship between developing B cells and stromal cells in the long-term B-cell cultures. Large, mononuclear cells are present that have numerous membrane infoldings within which numerous lymphoid cells lie. The relationship of these cells to macrophages and epithelial/reticular cells is discussed.


"The women, they maltreat them… therefore, we cannot assure that the future society will be good": Male perspectives on gender-based violence: A focus group study with young men in Haiti.
The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of violence against women (VAW) held by Haitian men to gain a better understanding of why VAW occurs. Women in Haiti have experienced significant violence, both before and following the 2010 earthquake. Fifteen men aged 26 to 47 participated in a focus group. The data revealed three themes: men's beliefs about VAW and its context, factors influencing VAW, and recommended interventions. When approaching VAW, men must be part of the collective effort. Their insights are valuable when planning and implementing interventions to decrease VAW in Haiti and worldwide.


Do we need a forensic science teaching network?
The challenging events of the past year have forced those of us working in higher education to adapt our teaching practices to conform to the restrictions put in place. For many this has been an opportunity to take a fresh view of the way material has been delivered in the past, and critically reflect on how it might be delivered in the future. There has been an explosion of innovative ideas and the introduction of support networks such as '#RemoteForensicCSI' to aid with sharing these new innovations and examples of good practice. However, the past year has also helped to highlight a lack of an established network that could support the teaching of forensic science in the UK. Teaching networks within the UK exist for related disciplines, such as the Royal Society of Chemistry's Higher Education Chemistry Teaching Network, but no network focuses on the teaching challenges specific to forensic science. Such a network could help to address the gap in pedagogical research to help support more effective teaching and give learners the best opportunities possible. This would complement the work of the Chartered Society of Forensic Science including upholding accreditation standards and the existing Link Member Scheme, whilst providing an environment to specifically support the teaching of forensic science. Any network could also look to link with other networks internationally such as the Council of Forensic Science Educators in the USA and identify examples of good practice worldwide that could be used to enhance and inform forensic science teaching in the UK. The teaching of forensic science is multifaceted with a need to strike a balance between practical skills and theoretical knowledge. Like many vocational courses forensic science teaching staff have a diverse range of backgrounds, encompassing both academic and practitioner experience. This results in a range of experiences and approaches to teaching and delivery, creating a fantastic melting pot for ideas, but outlets for sharing these innovative approaches are limited. This article will highlight some of the pedagogical gaps within forensic science teaching and areas that we could learn from. Most importantly, it will issue a clarion call to those working in this area to push for a UK Forensic Teaching Network.


The apparent diet of predators and biases due to different handling times of their prey.
In order to estimate the true diet of predators, the prey of a number of predators is recorded at one time. Such sampling underestimates the true diet during a period of time. Where handling times of different types of prey are very different, these estimates will be biased, because prey that take a relatively long time to be eaten will be overestimated. We examined a rocky intertidal predatorprey system and demonstrated the existence of such bias. A number of hypothetical correlates of the bias were also investigated. As anticipated, variations in handling times were a major factor, but neither taxonomic affinity nor absolute size of the prey could predict the degree of underestimation in the true diet for any given type of prey. A previously described correction for this type of bias was tested, but found to be unsatisfactory. We suggest that it was too insensitive to variability in handling times.A simple computer model incorporating differences among prey in their handling times was also unable to predict the bias, but did indicate that non-random selection of prey was occurring.We concluded that where such biases are likely to occur, information on the handling times of different prey and/or accurate estimates of the true diets of the predators are essential for the predatory interaction to be interpreted properly. These results were discussed in relation to published accounts of diets of predators in rocky intertidal habitats. Many studies have not presented data on handling times of prey in the field, and the magnitude and importance of potential biases in these studies are therefore difficult to assess.


Serum miRNAs as biomarkers for the rare types of muscular dystrophy.
Muscular dystrophies are a group of disorders that cause progressive muscle weakness. There is an increasing interest for the development of biomarkers for these disorders and specifically for Duchene Muscular Dystrophy. Limited research however, has been performed on the biomarkers' development for the most rare muscular dystrophies, like the Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy, Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy and Myotonic Dystrophy type 2. Here, we aimed to identify novel serum-based miRNA biomarkers for these rare muscular dystrophies, through high-throughput next-generation RNA sequencing. We identified many miRNAs that associate with muscular dystrophy patients compared to controls. Based on a series of selection criteria, the two best candidate miRNAs for each of these disorders were chosen and validated in a larger number of patients. Our results showed that miR-223-3p and miR-206 are promising serum-based biomarkers for Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy type 1, miR-143-3p and miR-486-3p for Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy type 2A whereas miR-363-3p and miR-25-3p associate with Myotonic Dystrophy type 2. Some of the identified miRNAs were significantly elevated in the serum of the patients compared to controls, whereas some others were lower. In conclusion, we provide new evidence that certain circulating miRNAs may be used as biomarkers for three types of rare muscular dystrophies.


Paving the cowpath in research within pure mathematics: A medium level model based on text driven variations.
In this paper we show how simple text-driven variations of given statements in mathematics can lead to interesting new problems and push forward a whole theory around simple initial questions. We exemplify this in two cases. Case 1 deals with problem-posing activities suitable for pupils and case 2 is a rational reconstruction of the organisation of mathematical knowledge within problems of graph colorings. Mathematicians learn to systematically look for subsequent problems around a given problem. We argue that this toy-model captures a nontrivial part of professional mathematical research within the pure fields and conjecture that it even grasps high level developments in mathematics. By doing this, we implicitly encourage a very simplistic view on criteria, so to speak a "cowpath" approach to progress in mathematics. The term "cowpath" is borrowed from architecture and software design, where it is commonly used. While we can contemplate which pathways are ideal, we may also just plant grass and see where people choose to walk. Those pathways are also self-enforcing, since we are less hesitant to walk on those rather than criss-cross the landscape.


Ion-exclusion chromatography of compounds of biological interest.
The principle of ion exclusion was examined as a method for the separation of small ionic compounds. The systems employed consisted of very porous column packings, substituted with fixed charges, which were eluted by buffer solutions of low ionic strength. DEAE-Sephadex A-50 was principally employed, and it was shown that there was a linear relationship between the net charge on a cation and its partition coefficient into the gel phase. A similar relationship existed in the chromatography of amino acids on various columns bearing fixed negative charges. It was concluded that this was an efficient form of chromatography, which gave results directly related to the ionic charge of the sample being examined. The charge characteristics of biologically active compound could be determined by this method.


The impact of COVID-19 vaccines on the Case Fatality Rate: The importance of monitoring breakthrough infections.
This study aimed to test the behavior of the case fatality rate (CFR) in a mixed population of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals by illustrating the role of both the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing deaths and the detection of infections among both the vaccinated (breakthrough infections) and unvaccinated individuals. We simulated three hypothetical CFR scenarios that resulted from a different combination of vaccine effectiveness in preventing deaths and the efforts in detecting infections among both the vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. In the presence of vaccines, the CFR depends not only on the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing deaths but also on the detection of breakthrough infections. As a result, a decline in the CFR may not imply that vaccines are effective in reducing deaths. Likewise, a constant CFR can still mean that vaccines are effective in reducing deaths. Unless vaccinated people are also tested for COVID-19 infection, the CFR loses its meaning in tracking the pandemic. This shows that unless efforts are directed at detecting breakthrough infections, it is hard to disentangle the effect of vaccines in reducing deaths from the probability of detecting infections on the CFR.


Social networks and marital status predict mortality in older women: prospective evidence from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF).
To assess the relationship between social network size and prospective mortality risk among a large sample of older, Caucasian women. The study included 7524 Caucasian community-dwelling women, age 65 or older (mean age = 74.1), who participated from four U.S. communities. Study participants completed a protocol that included anthropomorphic and health assessments at baseline and the Lubben Social Network Scale at year 2. We followed participants for an average of 6 years after they had completed the year-2 assessment. We used hospital records and a copy of the participant's official death certificate to document mortality and cause of death in accordance to ICD-9 revision codes. A total of 1451 deaths (19.3% of sample) were observed over follow-up, 215 (3.4%) due to cardiovascular causes. Higher social network scores were a robust predictor of lower multivariate-adjusted mortality (RR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.86-0.98), controlling for age, comorbid disease, body mass, smoking, depression, and education. However, social network benefits were attenuated after controlling for marital status. Married participants showed lower total (RR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.74-0.94) and CVD (RR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.43-0.81) covariate-adjusted death rates compared with unmarried participants. Social network scores and marriage were each associated with reduced prospective mortality risk among older women. The relationships shown here suggest that much of the protection afforded by larger social networks in older women results from marriage rather than other forms of social relationships. Mechanisms at the physiological or behavioral level explaining social relationship benefits remain important areas for future research.


Disodium cromoglycate suppresses the induction of cysteinyl leukotriene synthesis during granulocytic differentiation in HL-60 cells.
Disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) and nedocromil sodium are anti-asthma drugs that have a variety of physiological and biological effects. We examined whether DSCG affects the induction of cysteinyl Leukotriene (cysLT) synthesis during dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-induced granulocytic differentiation in HL-60 cells. HL-60 cells were differentiated to mature granulocyte-like cells by DMSO in the presence or absence of DSCG for 5 days. Then, we measured A23187-stimulated production of LTC4, an initial product of cysLTs. We also examined the mRNA expression and enzyme activity of LTC4 synthase and other LT-synthetic enzymes. The amount of LTC4 production was 732.0+/-19.0 pg/10(6) cells in DMSO-differentiated HL-60 cells. The value was significantly decreased to 420.7+/-22.7 pg/10(6) cells in the presence of DSCG at 100 microg/ml. The DMSO-induced mRNA expression and enzyme activity of LTC4 synthase was also suppressed by DSCG. Our results indicate that DSCG suppresses the DMSO-induced LTC4 synthase-activity by inhibiting mRNA expression of LTC4 synthase, which might be a novel anti-allergic action of DSCG.


Lower rates of hypoglycemia during maintenance treatment with insulin degludec/insulin aspart versus biphasic insulin aspart 30: a combined analysis of two Phase 3a studies in type 2 diabetes.
Insulin degludec/insulin aspart (IDegAsp) is a soluble coformulation of the basal analog insulin degludec and the rapid-acting prandial insulin aspart in a single injection. The present combined analysis of two Phase 3a trials compared the incidence of hypoglycemia in participants treated twice daily with IDegAsp or biphasic insulin aspart 30 (BIAsp 30). Hypoglycemia data were analyzed from two similarly designed randomized controlled open-label treat-to-target Phase 3a clinical trials of adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Participants were treated twice daily with IDegAsp or BIAsp 30, with breakfast and their main evening meal. Over 26 weeks, the rates of overall confirmed, nocturnal confirmed and severe hypoglycemic events were 19%, 57%, and 39% lower, respectively, with IDegAsp (n = 504) than BIAsp 30 (n = 364); estimated rate ratios were 0.81 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.67, 0.98; P = 0.0341), 0.43 (95% CI 0.31, 0.59; P = 0.0001), and 0.61 (95% CI 0.26, 1.45; P = NS). The between-treatment differences were more pronounced during the maintenance period (≥16 weeks); compared with BIAsp 30, rates of overall confirmed, nocturnal confirmed and severe hypoglycemic events with IDegAsp were 0.69 (95% CI 0.55, 0.87; -31%; P = 0.0015); 0.38 (95% CI 0.25, 0.58; -62%; P < 0.0001), and 0.16 (95% CI 0.04, 0.59; -84%; P = 0.0061), respectively. Compared with BIAsp 30 twice daily, IDegAsp twice daily provided similar improvements in glycemic control with a lower risk of hypoglycemia, particularly nocturnal hypoglycemia, in subjects with T2D previously treated with insulin.


Gamma interferon is a major suppressive factor produced by activated human peripheral blood lymphocytes that is able to inhibit foamy virus-induced cytopathic effects.
The activation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes by mitogens or by triggering the T-cell receptor with anti-CD3 antibodies leads to the production of a potent soluble inhibitory activity against foamy virus-induced cytopathic effects in vitro. The inhibitory activity acts in a species-specific manner. As a consequence, the isolation of foamy viruses from blood lymphocytes of infected humans is accelerated in a heterologous coculture system. Antibodies against gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) are able to suppress most of the inhibitory activity, suggesting that IFN-gamma is the dominant component.


A note on an antimicrobial agent in disc paper and a modified assay procedure for detecting antimicrobials in milk.
Commercially available disc paper used for antibiotic sensitivity tests was shown to contain an unidentified, water-soluble agent inhibitory to Bacillus stearothermophilus which gave false positive results in an antimicrobial assay for milk. The agent however, was found to be inactive against a range of common pathogenic bacteria. It was easily removed by washing the discs in distilled water before use.


Constraints for symptomatic radiation pneumonitis of helical tomotherapy hypofractionated simultaneous multitarget radiotherapy for pulmonary metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma.
This study was aimed to identify the clinical and dosimetric parameters that predict symptomatic radiation pneumonitis (SRP, radiation pneumonitis≥2 grade) in patients with pulmonary metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after helical tomotherapy (HT) hypofractionated simultaneous multitarget radiotherapy. 62 patients with 407 pulmonary metastases from HCC were consecutively treated with HT. The median radiation dose was a 49.7Gy in 4.0Gy/fraction to 95% of the planning target volume (PTV). The associations between the clinical and dosimetric data and incidences of SRP were analyzed. The dose-pneumonitis relationship was analyzed based on Biologically Effective Dose (BED). Univariate analysis showed that the gross tumor volume (GTV), PTV, median lung dose (MLD), the number of pulmonary metastatic lesions (NPML), and the percentage of non-target normal lung (NTNL) volume receiving more than a BED of 3-50Gy (VBED3-50) were associated with SRP. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that VBED20 and NPML were significant parameters (both P<0.001) CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that SRP can be predicted with NPML>5 and VBED20≥30.4% with the α/β ratio of 3Gy.


Adjunctive analgesic therapy.
Adjuvant analgesics are drugs that have weak or nonexistent analgesic action when administered alone but can enhance analgesic actions when coadministered with known analgesic agents. Such agents are often administered in cases of refractory pain. For some chronic pain syndromes, however, they may constitute a first-line approach. Because pain is such an individual experience, analgesic regimens may require several drugs at varying dosages to confer a comfortable state. Adjunctive therapies such as the tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsants, N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor antagonists and low-dose intravenous local anesthetics, to name a few, have proved to be efficacious in relieving certain types of pain, especially neuropathic and cancer pain. Their use in animals is increasing, with anecdotal reports of some success.


Debonding growth evaluation in CFRP-reinforced steel structures based on correlation analysis using guided waves.
Externally bonded carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) reinforcement is becoming increasingly popular in the field of structural retrofitting due to its considerable efficiency. However, debonding failure occurs sometimes at the interface between CFRP and steel substrate, which is found to be fatal for the CFRP-reinforced structures. Thus, the bonding condition between two materials should be closely monitored to ensure structural serviceability. A linear guided wave based method employing the correlation analysis is adopted in this paper to monitor the growth of debonding failure generated by fatigue in a CFRP-strengthened steel structure from a relatively small scale (smaller than 20 mm in diameter). The correlation coefficients (CC) between the benchmark signals and the signals after certain cycles of loading are calculated individually. Subsequently, the damage index (DI) is extracted on the basis of CC to illustrate the extent of debonding. Finally, the possible debonding position in the structure is predicted by a probability based imaging method.


Effects of nifedipine on contractile responses to potassium, histamine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine in isolated human pulmonary vessels.
Isolated human pulmonary arteries and veins cut to ring preparations responded with maximum contractions to potassium (127 mM; K), histamine (90 microM), and 5-hydroxytryptamine (47 microM; 5-HT). Nifedipine (0.003-3 microM) had a concentration-dependent relaxant effect on contractions induced by K, histamine, or 5-HT. The magnitudes of the relaxant effect of nifedipine were equal in arteries and veins, except in the highest concentrations used, in which case the effect was more pronounced on K-induced contractions in veins than in arteries. The effect of nifedipine was less pronounced on contractions induced by histamine or 5-HT than on K-induced contractions, and was more pronounced on histamine- than on 5-HT-induced contractions. In Ca-free medium, the response to K was nearly abolished in both arteries and veins. When the Ca concentration was increased from 0 to 4 mM without nifedipine, the contractile response to K was completely restored, while in the presence of nifedipine the response to extracellular Ca was nearly abolished in both types of vessel. The results indicate that active tone induced by K in pulmonary vessels is dependent on Ca entry from the extracellular medium. Nifedipine has a relaxant effect on both arteries and veins. In both types of vessel contractions induced by histamine or 5-HT are more resistant to the effect of nifedipine than contractions mediated by depolarization.


Photo-Induced Polymer Cyclization via Supramolecular Confinement of Cyanostilbenes.
Efficient synthesis of cyclic polymers has received much attention in polymer chemistry field. Although photochemical cycloaddition of terminal π-bonded units provides a plausible way toward cyclic polymerization, it remains challenging to avoid side reactions by manipulating the reaction selectivity. Herein supramolecular confinement has been developed as a promising strategy to address this issue, by introducing highly directional hydrogen bonds to the photo-reactive cyanostilbenes. The cyanostilbenes units on both ends of a telechelic macromonomer are orientationally aligned with high local concentrations, yielding [2+2] photo-cycloaddition products upon 430 nm light irradiation. It leads to the formation of cyclic polymers in the self-assembled state, in stark contrast to Z-E isomerization of cyanostilbenes in the monomeric state. Overall, supramolecular confinement effect exemplified in the current study provides new avenues toward cyclic topological polymers with high synthetic efficiency.


Use of biological mesh in facilitation of early closure in potentially infected abdominal wall defects.
Abdominal wall defects with exposed bowels present a significant risk of iatrogenic and spontaneous intestinal fistulation, and early wound closure is warranted. We describe our experience with the use of biological mesh (BM) for facilitation of secondary abdominal wall closure in patients with abdominal wall defects after severe complications, including surgically inaccessible enteric fistulas. The present study is a prospective cohort study comprising ten patients with abdominal wall defects treated with BM. At reconstructive surgery with BM, six patients had stomas, four had wounds complicated by intestinal fistulas and three had both. In five cases, the abdominal wall was closed without complications. The remaining five patients had unsuccessful primary healing of the skin, but all subsequently healed by granulation on the mesh. In two cases, BM was implanted directly on exposed bowel with inaccessible fistulas still present. Patients were discharged a median of 15 days (6-35 days) after insertion of the BM. The median follow-up was 11 months (1.5-18.5 months). Only one patient developed a hernia. BM can be used in contaminated defects, even when primary skin closure is not achieved, or with fistulas still present causing continuous contamination of the surgical site and mesh. BM facilitates early closure of the abdomen. not relevant. not relevant.


Specificity of fibrinopeptide A (FpA) as a marker for gastrointestinal cancers before and after surgery.
In 70 patients affected by gastrointestinal malignancies the plasma fibrinopeptide A (FpA) levels were assessed both before and at various intervals after the operation. At the same time other more commonly used tests of coagulation were carried out. In all the patients plasma FpA levels were shown to be variously elevated, so that they could give useful clues to the diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and follow-up of the gastrointestinal malignancies. In all the patients the coagulation tests fell into the normal ranges. However in the patients affected by recto-sigmoid adenocarcinoma an increase of circulating fibrin degradation products (FDPs) was observed which paralleled the increase of plasma FpA. In conclusion, in gastrointestinal malignancies the increase of plasma FpA levels suggests the cancer-induced start of the coagulation cascade. The assay of this peptide proves to be a reliable marker for these diseases.


Correlation between maternal stress and children's stress.
Mothers (N = 168, M age = 37.0 yr., SD = 4.6) responded to a questionnaire of scales measuring sources of stress and symptoms of stress within themselves, and symptoms of stress in their 5-8-yr.-old children (61 girls, 98 boys; M age = 7.3 yr., SD = 1.0). Scores on all scales intercorrelated significantly, indicating a relationship between maternal stress and stress of the child. Both types of stress also correlated with the frequency of punishment of the child. Both maternal stress and frequency of punishment predicted stress symptoms in the children, maternal stress being a somewhat stronger predictor.


Unlike hypoxia, hypoglycemia does not preferentially destroy GABAergic neurons in developing rat neocortex explants in culture.
We tested whether hypoglycemia, like hypoxia, would preferentially destroy GABAergic nerve cells in the neocortex. To this end, rat neocortex explants dissected from 6-day-old rat pups and cultured up to a developmental stage approximately comparable to that of the newborn human neocortex, were exposed to hypoglycemia for different periods. Quantitative light microscopic and immunocytochemical evaluation of the cultures demonstrated that hypoglycemia does not preferentially destroy GABAergic but rather non-GABAergic neurons, a finding quite opposite to what was found after hypoxia. Recent biochemical data from other laboratories which seem to support this difference in neuronal vulnerability are discussed. It is concluded that perinatal hypoglycemia may not form such a serious threat with respect to the genesis of epilepsy as does hypoxia.


Feasibility of Using Rice Leaves Hyperspectral Data to Estimate CaCl2-extractable Concentrations of Heavy Metals in Agricultural Soil.
Heavy metals contamination is a serious problem of China. It is necessary to estimate bioavailability concentrations of heavy metals in agricultural soil for keeping the food security and human health. This study aimed to use hyperspectral data of rice (Oryza sativa) leaves as an indicator to retrieve the CaCl2-extractable concentrations of heavy metals in agricultural soil. Twenty-one rice samples, soil samples and reflectance spectra of rice leaves were collected, respectively. The potential relations between hyperspectral data and CaCl2-extractable heavy metals (E-HM) were explored. The partial least-squares regression (PLSR) method with leave-one-out cross-validation has been used to predict concentrations of CaCl2-extractable cadmium (E-Cd) and concentrations of CaCl2-extractable lead (E-Pb) in farmland soil. The results showed that the concentrations of E-Cd in soil had significant correlation with concentrations of Cd in rice leaves; the number of bands associated with E-Cd was more than that of E-Pb. Four indices (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), carotenoid reflectance index (CRI), photochemical reflectance index 2 (PRI2), normalized pigments chlorophyll ratio index (NPCI)) were significant (P < 0.05) and negatively related to the E-Cd concentrations. The PLSR model of E-Cd concentrations performed better than the PLSR model of E-Pb concentrations, which with R2 = 0.592 and RMSE = 0.046. We conclude that if the rice was sensitive to E-HM and/or the crop was stressed by the E-HM, the hyperspectral data of field rice leaves hold potentials in estimating concentration of E-HM in farmland soil. Therefore, this method provides a new insight to monitoring the E-HM content in agricultural soil.


Long-term patient follow-up should be routinely implemented in radiotherapy units to detect late adverse effects after cancer treatment.
Editorial comment to Urosymphyseal fistula after pelvic radiotherapy - an entity in patients with significant comorbidity requiring multidisciplinary management Scand J Urol. 2023.


Renal sodium retention during volume expansion in experimental nephrotic syndrome.
We have studied sodium retention during volume expansion in rats with autologous immune complex nephropathy (AICN), a model of nephrotic syndrome (NS) in which GFR after volume expansion was not different from that in adjuvant-injected controls (C). AICN rats developed heavy proteinuria (298 +/- 27 vs. less than 10 mg/day), hypoalbuminemia (2.14 +/- 0.15 vs. 3.08 +/- 0.12 g/100 ml) and hypercholesterolemia (181 +/- 22 vs. 58 +/- 4 mg/100 ml). After saline, there were no significant differences in blood pressure (119 +/- 2 vs. 114 +/- 2 mm Hg), renal plasma flow (4.9 +/- 0.41 vs. 4.1 +/- 0.28 ml/min), inulin clearance (1.37 +/- 0.06 vs. 1.55 +/- 0.10 ml/min), or SNGFR (47 +/- 2 vs. 53 +/- 4 nl/min). Sodium excretion, however, was significantly lower in NS rats (4.7 +/- 1.1 vs. 9.2 +/- 1.2 muEq/min). Proximal sodium reabsorption was decreased in NS rats (35 +/- 2 vs. 41 +/- 2%, 2.5 +/- 0.2 vs. 3.3 +/- 0.2 nEq/min). Sodium delivery into the loop, however, was equal in NS and C, since the slightly lower filtered load in NS rats offset the depression in proximal reabsorption. Sodium reabsorption by the loop and by the distal convoluted tubules were equal in NS and C. Thus, sodium delivered into the cortical collecting ducts was the same in both groups (0.33 +/- 0.17 vs. 0.34 +/- 0.07 nEq/min; 4.5 +/- 0.6% of filtered sodium vs. 4.4 +/- 0.3%). The percent of filtered sodium excreted in the urine, however, was significantly lower in the NS rats, 2.18 +/- 0.48% vs. 4.0 +/- 0.58%. We conclude that antinatriuresis in this model of NS is determined beyond the superficial late distal convoluted tubule. The inability to excrete the sodium load during volume expansion is due to either enhanced reabsorption by the collecting duct or to abnormal function in deep nephrons.


Inefficient megakaryopoiesis in mouse hematopoietic stem-progenitor cells lacking T-bet.
Differentiation of hematopoietic stem-progenitor cells (HSPCs) into mature blood lineages results from the translation of extracellular signals into changes in the expression levels of transcription factors controlling cell fate decisions. Multiple transcription factor families are known to be involved in hematopoiesis. Although the T-box transcription factor family is known to be involved in the differentiation of multiple tissues, and expression of T-bet, a T-box family transcription factor, has been observed in HSPCs, T-box family transcription factors do not have a described role in HSPC differentiation. In the current study, we address the functional consequences of T-bet expression in mouse HSPCs. T-bet protein levels differed among HSPC subsets, with highest levels observed in megakaryo-erythroid progenitor cells (MEPs), the common precursor to megakaryocytes and erythrocytes. HSPCs from T-bet-deficient mice exhibited a defect in megakaryocytic differentiation when cultured in the presence of thrombopoietin. In contrast, erythroid differentiation in culture in the presence of erythropoietin was not substantially altered in T-bet-deficient HSPCs. Differences observed with respect to megakaryocyte number and maturity, as assessed by level of expression of CD41 and CD61, and megakaryocyte ploidy, in T-bet-deficient HSPCs were not associated with altered proliferation or survival in culture. Gene expression micro-array analysis of MEPs from T-bet-deficient mice exhibited diminished expression of multiple genes associated with the megakaryocyte lineage. These data advance our understanding of the transcriptional regulation of megakaryopoiesis by supporting a new role for T-bet in the differentiation of MEPs into megakaryocytes.


[The Kroonstad clamp--a useful aid in pediatric anesthesia].
A simple and effective clamp for the fixation of endotracheal tubes in paediatric patients is described. This technique has major advantages compared with conventional fixation methods.


Synaptic transmission in the retina.
A recent highlight in the study of the retina has been the publication of evidence that the response of the ON bipolar cells is generated by a cGMP-mediated second messenger system. This GTP-binding protein mechanism is activated by the binding of glutamate, the photoreceptor neurotransmitter, to the 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (APB) class of receptor.


Ambulatory central BP and arterial stiffness in patients with and without intradialytic hypertension.
Increased arterial stiffness is suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of intradialytic-hypertension (IDH). Ambulatory pulse-wave-velocity (PWV) is an independent predictor for all-cause-mortality in haemodialysis and its prognostic power is better than office PWV. This is the first study examining ambulatory central blood pressure (BP) and arterial stiffness parameters in patients with and without IDH. This study examined 45 patients with IDH (SBP rise ≥10 mmHg from pre- to post-dialysis and post-dialysis SBP ≥150 mmHg) in comparison with 197 patients without IDH. All participants underwent 48-h ABPM with Mobil-O-Graph-NG; parameters of central haemodynamics, wave reflection and PWV were estimated. Age, dialysis vintage and interdialytic weight gain did not differ between-groups. IDH patients had higher 48-h cSBP (131.7 ± 16.2 vs. 119.2 ± 15.2 mmHg, p < 0.001), 48-h cDBP (86.7 ± 12.7 vs. 79.6 ± 11.5 mmHg, p < 0.001) and 48-h cPP (45.5 ± 10.4 vs. 39.8 ± 10.0 mmHg, p = 0.001) compared to patients without IDH. Similarly, during day- and nighttime periods, cSBP/cDBP and cPP levels were higher in IDH-patients compared to non-IDH. Forty-eight-hour augmentation pressure and index, but not AIx(75) were higher in IDH patients; 48-h PWV (10.0 ± 2.0 vs. 9.2 ± 2.1 m/s, p = 0.017) was significantly higher in patients with IDH. The two study groups displayed different trajectories in central BP and PWV over the course of the recording; IDH patients had steadily high values of the above variables during the 2 days of the interdialytic-interval, whereas non-IDH patients showed a gradual elevation, with significant increases from the 1st to 2nd 24 h. IDH patients have significantly higher levels of ambulatory central BP and arterial stiffness parameters and a different course over the 48-h period compared with non-IDH patients. Increased arterial stiffness could be a prominent factor associated with the high burden of cardiovascular disease in this population.


Kinematic variability of the head, lumbar spine and knee during the "walk and turn to sit down" task in older and young adults.
This study investigates the kinematic variability of the head, lumbar spine and knee during the various walk and turn to sit phases in older and young adults. Sixteen older adults and eighteen young adults were recruited for this study. Each subject performed the "Walk and turn to sit down" test. A 16-channel telemetry system with electrogoniometers and an inclinometer was used to record the kinematic data. The turning step was divided into braking, mid-stance, swing and terminal load phases for kinematic analysis. The results showed that the older adults had a lower displacement angle and velocity of the lumbar spine, head and knee during different turning phases than the young adults. However, older adults performed turning with a higher variability in angular velocity of head flexion than the young adults during the turning step. The onset of lumbar movement and lateral flexion of the head occurred significantly earlier in older adults than in the young adults during turning. Older adults more cautiously control their motion by changing their trunk movement amplitude, velocity and timing in relation to their lower extremity movements during turning. The larger variability in angular velocity of head flexion may imply that older adults cannot precisely estimate the required movement for smooth turning.


A case-control study of large bowel cancer and hormone exposure in women.
Several lines of evidence indicate a potential role for hormonal or reproductive factors in the subsequent development of large bowel cancer in women. To evaluate the relationship between hormone exposure and large bowel cancer a case-control study was carried out in 18 Illinois hospitals. Female cases, ages 45-74 (n = 90), and controls (n = 208) were identified from an ongoing large bowel cancer study. Data were obtained from medical records, personal interviews, and a subsequent mail survey with a questionnaire specific to hormone usage. Menopausal estrogen use was found to be protective with respect to the subsequent development of large bowel cancer with an odds ratio of 0.6 (95% CI, 0.33-0.99). This effect remained after controlling individually for age at diagnosis, ever pregnant (yes/no), parity, age at first birth, hysterectomy with documented oophorectomy, cholecystectomy, and appendectomy. Simultaneous adjustment, using logistic regression, for age at diagnosis, parity, hysterectomy, and cholecystectomy resulted in an adjusted odds ratio for menopausal estrogen use and large bowel cancer of 0.5 (95% CI, 0.27-0.90). Subsite analysis revealed the protective effect to be strongest for the rectal cancer cases. These data support the hypothesis that exogenous hormones may alter the risk of large bowel cancer in women.


Hydrogels by irradiation of a synthetic heparinoid polyelectrolyte.
Gamma irradiation of aqueous solutions of a synthetic heparinoid polyelectrolyte results in the formation of hydrogels, varying in water content and mechanical strength. The equilibrium water content and the mechanical strength of the hydrogels are dependent on the initial polyelectrolyte concentration, the molecular weight of the polyelectrolyte, the percentage of double bonds in the polyelectrolyte and the radiation dose. The polyelectrolyte hydrogels do not deplete Antithrombin III from blood and there is no activation of factor XII according to an in vitro kallikrein generation test. However, in a very sensitive test for factor XII activation (contact promoted shortening of the thrombotest) a slight activation of this factor was observed.


The properties of ZnO nanofluids and the role of H2O2 in the disinfection activity against Escherichia coli.
This work investigates the disinfection property of ZnO nanofluids, focusing on H2O2 production and the disinfection activities of ZnO suspensions with different particles/aggregates. The possible disinfection mechanisms of ZnO suspensions are analysed. In this work, a medium mill was used to produce ZnO suspensions with different sizes of particles/aggregates. During the milling process, five ZnO suspension samples (A-E) were produced. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) analyses revealed that after milling, the size of ZnO particles/aggregates in the suspensions decreased. Disinfection tests, H2O2 detection assays and fluorescent analyses were used to explore the disinfection activities and mechanism of ZnO suspensions. Disinfection tests results showed that all the produced ZnO suspension exhibited disinfection activity against Escherichia coli. ZnO suspensions with smaller particles/aggregates showed better disinfection activities. The presence of H2O2 in ZnO suspension was analysed. The H2O2 detection assay suggested that there is 1 μM H2O2 in 0.2 g/l ZnO Sample A, while there was no H2O2 present in ZnO Sample E. Though results showed that there was no H2O2 present in ZnO Sample E, Sample E with a size of 93 nm showed the best disinfection activities. Fluorescence tests detected that the interaction between E. coli lipid vesicles and ZnO Sample E was much faster and more efficient. This study firstly demonstrated that ZnO suspensions with different particles/aggregates produced different amount of H2O2. Results suggested that H2O2 is responsible for the disinfection activity of larger ZnO particles/aggregates while the interaction between smaller ZnO particles/aggregates and vesicle lipids is responsible for the disinfection activity of smaller ZnO particles/aggregates.


Studies on enhancing operational stability of a reusable laccase-based biosensor probe for detection of ortho-substituted phenolic derivatives.
An amperometric principle-based biosensor containing immobilized enzyme laccase from Trametes versicolor was developed for detection of ortho-substituted phenolic derivatives. Different immobilization methods for Trametes versicolor laccase enzyme on cellophane membrane and the enhancement of operational stability of the immobilized enzyme electrode using various protein-based stabilizing agents were studied. Among tested methods of immobilization, co-cross-linking method with bovine serum albumin was superior to the other methods in terms of sensitivity, limit of detection, response time, and operating and thermal stability. Biosensor response reached steady state within 3 min and exhibited maximum activity at 45 °C and pH 6.8. The sensitivity of the ortho-substituted phenols for the test biosensor developed with co-cross-linking method of immobilization using bovine serum albumin as the protein-based stabilizing agent was in the order: 2-aminophenol > guaiacol(2-methoxyphenol) > catechol(2-hydroxyphenol) > cresol(2-methyl phenol) > 2-chlorophenol. Validation of the newly developed biosensor by comparison with HPLC showed good agreement in the results. A newly developed biosensor was applied for quantification of ortho-substituted phenols in simulated effluent samples.


HIV prevention risks for Black women in Canada.
The future availability of HIV vaccines can increase options available to Canadian Black women for risk reduction. However, current conceptual frameworks do not adequately address barriers to HIV prevention for this population, and may be inadequate to address challenges with vaccines. This study explored knowledge and attitudes regarding HIV vaccines and associated prevention methods to inform appropriate conceptual frameworks for their dissemination to Canadian Black women. We completed four 90-min focus groups with women (n=26) of African or Caribbean origins, and six interviews with key informants providing health and social services in the Black communities of Toronto. The participants suggested that there were significant risks associated with seeking prevention information and attempting to reduce exposure to HIV infection. They described individual, familial, community and institutional domains of risk and predicted the same spectrum of risk for HIV vaccines. Participants advocated for education, empowerment and institutional change to create a supportive environment for vaccines and other HIV prevention methods. They further indicated that preparation for vaccine dissemination will need to prioritize building trust between women of the Black communities and institutions in the research, health and government sectors.


Coexistence of Tetranychus urticae (Acarina: Tetranychidae) with different capacities for diapause: comparative life-history traits.
Individuals of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acarina: Tetranychidae), with and without a capacity for diapause, coexist in central Japan. Diapause appears to be adaptive because females in diapause suffered less mortality than non-diapausing individuals when frozen at -24°C for more than 4 h. However non-diapausing females showed good survival up to 4 h of freezing. Active non-diapausing mites survived on rose leaves in Kyoto (35°N) throughout the winters of 1988-1989 and 1989-1990. Cultures of mites with low (LD) and high (HD) diapause capacities at 18°C and 9L-15D photoperiod were successfully selected from the rose population and from a population on chrysanthemum in Nara (34.4°N). Their life-history traits at 15, 20, 25 and 30°C were characterized. HD and LD mites from both populations were of similar ages at first reproduction at 15-30° C. However, at temperatures ≥20° C, HD individuals produced more eggs than LD individuals, resulting in higher fecundity and intrinsic rate of natural increase. These traits allow HD individuals, which stop breeding between October and April, to increase faster in summer than LD individuals. This provides a mechanism, together with climatic fluctuations, in maintaining the coexistence of diapausing and non-diapausing T. urticae in Kyoto where winter conditions are rarely lethal to the non-diapausing individuals.


Corn silk extract inhibit the formation of Nε-carboxymethyllysine by scavenging glyoxal/methyl glyoxal in a casein glucose-fatty acid model system.
Herein, corn silk extract and its flavonoids were used to inhibit the formation of Nε-carboxymethyllysine (CML) in a casein glucose-fatty acid model system. Under these optimum extraction conditions, nine major flavonoids were identified and quantified by HPLC-MS/MS. The percent inhibition of CML formation by corn silk extract was 76.57%. The inhibitory mechanism of corn silk extract toward CML formation was further investigated by examining the trapping of glyoxal/methyl glyoxal by the major flavonoids (5 mM) using HPLC-ESI-MS, and mono-, di-, and tri-adducts were found for some flavonoid compounds. The antioxidant activity of the corn silk extract was evaluated by the DPPH and ABTS assays. The scavenging activity of the corn silk extract for DPPH and ABTS was 84.38% and 89.11%, respectively. The results suggested that corn silk extract inhibited CML formation through glyoxal/methyl glyoxal scavenging or by its antioxidant activity attributed to its flavonoid content.


Water absorption characteristics of two types of acrylic resin obturators.
The mechanisms of water accumulation in the inner space of a closed hollow obturator are not understood, and it is not known whether the porosity of acrylic resin is involved in these mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate water absorption by solid and closed hollow obturators and to determine the mechanisms of water accumulation in the inner space of the closed hollow obturator. Twenty solid and 20 closed hollow spherical specimens (30 mm in diameter) were fabricated from heat-polymerized acrylic resin (Acron Clear). Closed hollow specimens consisted of 2 hemispheres (30 mm in diameter, 1.5 mm in thickness) joined with autopolymerizing resin (Unifast II). Ten solid and 10 closed hollow specimens were immersed in distilled water at 37 degrees C, while the other specimens were stored in an atmosphere of 100% relative humidity at 37 degrees C. Each specimen was weighed every 24 hours for 180 days, and weight changes between each group were compared by 2-way ANOVA and the Tukey HSD test. Split-plot design ANOVA was used to compare the course of the weight change over 180 days (alpha=.05). The weight of the closed hollow specimens increased immediately and became saturated by day 30, with an increase of 1.44% from the initial weight. Water accumulation was not observed inside the closed hollow specimen during the 180-day storage period. The weight of solid specimens increased more slowly than that of closed hollow specimens; by day 180 the weight of the latter had increased by 1.16%. However, no significant difference in changes in mean mass of the same type of specimen was observed between the 2 storage conditions. These results suggest that water accumulation inside a closed hollow obturator is unrelated to the water absorption properties of the acrylic resin.