The strategic impact of a changing curriculum and learning environment on medical students' academic performance.
In recent years, the administration of Meharry Medical College, School of Medicine (SOM), Nashville, Tennessee, recognized the need to modify the curriculum to help improve student academic performance especially on the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) US Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) steps 1 and 2. Thus, a number of changes occurred with respect to the traditional curriculum in the SOM, resulting in an integrated organ system-based curriculum design. The change in the learning environment was studied to determine the impact on performance after the introduction of the integrated organ system-based curriculum as compared to that of the traditional curriculum. With the utilization of a cadre of variables, it was believed that the strategic impact anticipated would provide a predictive validity profile to assist in the identification of students "at risk" of failure so that proactive intervention methodology could be made available to facilitate the students' successful progression during matriculation in the SOM. The purpose of this study was to analyze whether students trained with the integrated organ systems curriculum perform better than students trained with the traditional medical school curriculum on the medical education preclinical subject board examinations, and the NBME USMLE steps 1 and 2 examinations. From the 584 students studied in the control group (graduation classes for years 2005, 2006, and 2007) and the intervention group (graduation classes for years 2008, 2009, and 2010), significant improvement in performance on the NBME USMLE steps 1 and 2 examinations was noted following the introduction of the integrated organ system-based curriculum particularly among "at-risk" students. Data access availability from the School of Medicine of Meharry Medical College automatically gave reason for a preferential comparative relationship and study of the resulting strategic impact on cohorts graduating in years 2005-2010. Thus, this longitudinal retrospective review was to determine whether or not students' academic performance profiles might provide some valid predictive information to help identify "at-risk" students early in their pursuit of a health professions career.


[Unexpected deposits in the upper gastrointestinal tract : When medical history matters].
In order to regulate their phosphate uptake, patients with end-stage renal disease rely on phosphate binders such as lanthanum carbonate (LC). The earliest histopathological reports of this rare entity in the gastrointestinal mucosa were described and published in 2015.We present a case of an 80-year-old patient with LC gastro-enteropathy. Histopathologically it can mimic other drug-induced depositions and even infectious or neoplastic entities. Evaluation of the patient's medical and especially drug history is essential to obtain the appropriate diagnosis. We present an overview of the clinical presentation and histological differential diagnosis of LC.


Evaluation of in vivo anti-malarial potential of omidun obtained from fermented maize in Ibadan, Nigeria.
The menace of resistance to anti-malarial drugs is a great challenge to malaria control, necessitating the search for new anti-malarial agents. This search has led to the exploration of natural products for efficacy in malaria therapy. Omidun is the supernatant of fermenting maize (ogi) slurry that has been widely investigated and reported to possess several health benefits and it is used traditionally as solvent for preparing anti-malarial herbs. However, there is no information on the anti-malarial activity of omidun itself. This study was conducted to investigate the prophylactic, curative and suppressive anti-malarial potential of omidun. Experimental mice in the curative group were infected with 1 × 106 cells of Plasmodium berghei strain ANKA and treated with either 0.2 ml of omidun containing 3 × 109 cfu/ml of viable lactic acid bacteria or 0.2 ml of 5 mg/kg of chloroquine (positive control) or 0.2 ml of saline (negative control) for 4 days from day 3 post infection. The prophylactic group of mice were pre-treated with either omidun, chloroquine or saline for 4 days before infection with P. berghei, while the suppressive group was treated with omidun or chloroquine or saline and infected with P. berghei simultaneously. A group of mice were uninfected but treated (with omidun and control samples), while a final group was uninfected and untreated (controls). Parasitaemia and histopathology analysis were done in all groups. The curative and suppressive groups showed a significant difference between the omidun-treated mice (100% parasitaemia reduction) and the untreated mice (54.5% parasitaemia increase). There was no significance difference between the omidun treatment and chloroquine (positive control) treatment in suppressive group as both treatment had 100% parasitaemia reduction. The omidun prophylactic treatment however did not show any parasitaemia suppression, but a significant difference was observed between the omidun treatment (85% increase) and the chloroquine (positive control) treatment (100% reduction) in the group. Omidun treatment is non-toxic to the kidney. This study provides scientific evidence supporting omidun usage in the treatment of malaria. Consequently, further work may yield the specific component of omidun responsible for the anti-malarial activity.


Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) correlates with long-term survival in patients with advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC): a study from the Tumor Bank Ovarian Cancer (TOC) Consortium.
The impact of angiogenesis on long-term survival of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) patients remains unclear. This study investigated whether angiogenic markers correlated with 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) in a large cohort of matched advanced HGSOC tissue samples. Tumor samples from 124 primary HGSOC patients were retrospectively collected within the Tumor Bank Ovarian Cancer ( http://www.toc-network.de ). All patients were in advanced stages (FIGO stage III-IV). No patient had received anti-angiogenesis therapy. The cohort contains 62 long-term survivors and 62 controls matched by age and post-surgical tumor residuals. Long-term survivors were defined as patients with no relapse within 5 years after the end of first-line chemotherapy. Controls were patients who suffered from first relapse within 6-36 months after primary treatment. Samples were assessed for immunohistochemical expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) A and VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2). Expression profiles of VEGFA and VEGFR2 were compared between the two groups. Significant correlation between VEGFA and VEGFR2 expression was observed (p < 0.0001, Spearman coefficient 0.347). A high expression of VEGFR2 (VEGFR2high) was found more frequently in long-term survivors (77.4%, 48/62) than in controls (51.6%, 30/62, p = 0.001), independent of FIGO stage and VEGFA expression in multivariate analysis (p = 0.005). Also, VEGFR2high was found the most frequently in women with PFS ≥ 10 years (p = 0.001) among all 124 patients. However, no significant association was detected between VEGFA expression and 5-year PFS (p = 0.075). VEGFR2 overexpression significantly correlated with long-term PFS in HGSOC patients, independent of age, FIGO stage, tumor residual and VEGFA expression.


Morphology and innervation of the vestibular lagena in pigeons.
The morphological characteristics of the pigeon lagena were examined using histology, scanning electron microscopy, and biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) neural tracers. The lagena epithelium was observed to lie partially in a parasagittal plane, but was also U-shaped with orthogonal (lateral) directed tips. Hair cell planar polarities were oriented away from a central reversal line that ran nearly the length of the epithelium. Similar to the vertebrate utricle and saccule, three afferent classes were observed based upon their terminal innervation pattern, which include calyx, dimorph, and bouton fibers. Calyx and dimorph afferents innervated the striola region of the lagena, whereas bouton afferents innervated the extrastriola and a small region of the central striola known as the type II band. Calyx units had large calyceal terminal structures that innervated only type I hair cells. Dimorph afferents innervated both type I and II hair cells, with calyx and bouton terminals. Bouton afferents had the largest most complex innervation patterns and the greatest terminal areas contacting many hair cells.


Effects of nitrogen inputs on freshwater wetland ecosystem services - a Bayesian network analysis.
Increased nitrogen (N) inputs to freshwater wetlands potentially affect the interaction between nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and outflow water quality. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of N inputs on N removal, as well as the interaction between N2O emissions and outflow water quality, using a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN). The BBN was developed by linking wetland classification, biogeochemical processes, and environmental factors. Empirical data for 34 freshwater wetlands were gathered from a comprehensive review of published peer-reviewed and gray literature. The BBN was implemented using 30 wetlands (88% of the case file) and evaluated using a single test file containing 4 wetlands (12% of the case file). The BBN implies it is not average annual total N load entering the wetland, but the N removal efficiency that influences the interactions between N2O emissions and outflow water quality. Even though the network has a very low error rate indicating a high predictive accuracy, additional testing and larger training and testing datasets would increase confidence in the model's ability to provide robust predictions and to reduce the uncertainty resulting from an incomplete dataset and knowledge gaps regarding the interactions between N2O emissions and outflow water quality.


Surgical management of nonrenal genitourinary manifestations in children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura.
The aim of this study was to present the current experience and evidence relating to surgical evaluation and management of nonrenal genitourinary presentation in children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP). Henoch-Schönlein purpura is the most common systemic vasculitis in childhood. Presenting symptoms include a rash, arthralgia, abdominal pain, and, frequently, renal involvement. Genitourinary symptoms are infrequently reported; however, surgical evaluation is often required. A MEDLINE literature search of the last 3 decades was conducted using the terms Henoch-Schönlein purpura in combination with acute scrotum or genitourinary, genital, or related symptoms as the keywords. Reference lists of retrieved articles were reviewed for further relevant articles. Case reports were included when no larger case series were found. Articles of foreign language were included if abstracts proved sufficient information. Genitourinary manifestations are mainly anecdotally reported. Scrotal pain and swelling were the most frequent nonrenal genitourinary symptoms reported in children with HSP, occurring in about 13% of boys evaluated for HSP. No prospective, population-based reports on genitourinary manifestations in HSP were found, thus making estimation of the true incidence difficult. A wide variety of nonrenal genitourinary pathology may be expected by surgical evaluation of patients with HSP. Most cases are self-limited in nature. Scrotal symptoms are frequent, but testicular torsion is highly unlikely when the diagnosis of HSP is established. Clinical vigilance should be paid to patients with possible obstructive ureteritis, for whom prompt surgical intervention may be indicated.


Familial hypophosphatemic rickets causing ocular calcification and optic canal narrowing.
In a case of familial hypophosphatemic rickets, marked bone thickening caused narrowing of the optic canals, resulting in bilateral optic atrophy. The case also showed metastatic calcification in the walls of both globes.


Possible role of the brainstem in the mediation of prepulse inhibition in the rat.
Bilateral stimulation of electrodes aimed at the cuneiform nucleus produced significant inhibition of the startle response produced by presentation of an 8-kHz, 110-dB tone. Stimulation of electrodes aimed at the deep mesencephalic nucleus also reduced the magnitude of the startle response, but the effect was less than that following stimulation sites near the cuneiform nucleus. Histological reconstruction of the electrode tip locations revealed a significant negative correlation between the maximum magnitude reduction of the acoustic startle response following an electrical prepulse stimulus and the distance from the cuneiform nucleus. Histological examination also indicated that some electrodes aimed at the cuneiform nucleus were located in or near the inferior colliculus or parabrachial nucleus, all of which are thought to be part of an inhibitory circuit parallel to the acoustic startle reflex arc. These experiments support the view that the prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex originates in the brainstem.


Survival outcome by early chemoradiation therapy salvage or early surgical salvage for the treatment of hypopharyngeal cancer.
To compare survival data between patients who had surgery followed by concomitant chemoradiation therapy (CCRT) versus CCRT followed by early surgical salvage. Retrospective study. We retrospectively analyzed 202 patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma (HPC) who were treated with different treatment strategy according to the choice of the patients by surgery first or CCRT first. In 72 (35.6%) cases, the primary treatment was surgery. Postoperative radiation therapy was given to 47 patients. Radiation therapy was the primary treatment in 130 (64.4%) patients; among them, 69 (34.2%) patients received salvage surgery within 2 months after CCRT course if there was a residual tumor visible on post-CCRT CT image or clinically residual tumor. The 5-year disease-specific survival rate was 80% for stage I-II, 44.8% for stage III, and 14.3% for stage IV disease. Surgery plus concomitant chemoradiotherapy led to a better survival rate than CCRT plus salvage surgery in patients with stage III-IV HPC.


Quality of life in persons with dementia using regional dementia care network services in Germany: a one-year follow-up study.
The majority of individuals with dementia live in the community; thus, regional dementia care networks are becoming increasingly more important for the provision of care. To date, four different types of dementia care networks have been identified in Germany (stakeholder, organisation, hybrid, mission); however, the effect on the quality of life of persons with dementia using such network services has not yet been examined. Moreover, the possible differences in the effect on the quality of life among the four types of dementia care networks have not been investigated. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to describe the changes over time in the quality of life of persons with dementia, assessing the association with the different types of dementia care networks. Within the DemNet-D study, face-to-face interviews with persons with dementia and their primary caregivers were conducted to collect data of typical outcome parameters, such as quality of life (Quality of Life Alzheimers Disease: QoL-AD), sociodemographic data, social index (Scheuch-Winkler), depression (Geriatric Depression Scale: GDS), challenging behaviour (Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory: CMAI), capacities of daily living (Instrumental Activity of Daily Living: IADL), impairment due to dementia (FAST), and caregiver burden. In addition to these parameters, the differences in quality of life scores among the four types of dementia care networks were analysed using multi-level analysis. In total, 407 persons with dementia (79.1 years; 60.1% female) and their caregivers were included in the analysis. Over 75% of the persons with dementia showed moderate to (very) severe impairments of dementia and at least one challenging behaviour. At baseline, 60.6% had a low social index. Quality of life was stable over one-year on a level slightly above average (baseline 29.1; follow-up 28.7). Multi-level analyses (p < 0.001; R2 = 0.183) show that persons with dementia with higher QoL-AD scores at baseline were associated with a decline at follow-up. No significant differences among the types of dementia care networks were found. Users of dementia care network services showed a stable QoL-AD score over time at a level slightly above average, indicating no decrease or worsening over time as expected. Therefore, dementia care network services can be considered as a beneficial model of care in terms of the quality of life of persons with dementia, regardless of their special organisational type.


Fulminant hepatic failure associated with propylthiouracil: a case report with treatment emphasis on the use of plasmapheresis.
Propylthiouracil is a commonly used medication for hyperthyroidism. Though propylthiouracil-induced hepatotoxicity is a rarely encountered problem, death due to fulminant hepatic failure may occur. In the English literature, only 34 cases have been described with severe hepatotoxicity secondary to this drug. Here we report a case of fulminant hepatic failure due to propylthiouracil and review the issues of treatment and management with special emphasis on the use of plasmapheresis in such situations.


Aggregates Dramatically Alter Fibrin Ultrastructure.
Among the many factors influencing fibrin formation and structure (concentration, temperature, composition, pH, etc.), it has been suggested that the polydispersity of fibrinogen may play an important role. We propose here a detailed investigation of the influence of this parameter on fibrin multiscale structure. Two commercial fibrinogen preparations were used, a monodisperse and a polydisperse one. First, the respective compositions of both fibrinogen preparations were thoroughly determined by measuring the fibrin-stabilizing factor; fibronectin; α, β, and γ intact chain contents; the γ/γ' chains ratio; the N-glycosylation; and the post-translational modifications. Slight variations between the composition of the two fibrinogen preparations were found that are much smaller than the compositional variations necessary to alter significantly fibrin multiscale structure as observed in the literature. Conversely, multiangle laser light scattering-coupled size exclusion chromatography and dynamic light scattering measurements showed that the polydisperse preparation contains significant amounts of aggregates, whereas the other preparation is essentially monodisperse. The multiscale structure of the fibrins produced from those two fibrinogen preparations was determined by using x-ray scattering, spectrophotometry, and confocal microscopy. Results show that fibers made from the aggregate-free fibrinogen present a crystalline longitudinal and lateral structure and form a mikado-like network. The network produced from the aggregates containing fibrinogen looks to be partly built around bright spots that are attributed to the aggregate. The multiscale structure of mixtures between the two preparations shows a smooth evolution, demonstrating that the quantity of aggregates is a major determining factor for fibrin multiscale structure. Indeed, the effect of a few percent in the mass of aggregates is larger than any other effect because of compositional differences under the same reaction conditions. Finally, we propose a mechanistic interpretation of our results, which points at a direct role of the aggregates during polymerization, which disrupts the ideal ordering of monomers inside fibrin protofibrils and fibers.


A Novel Exonic Splicing Mutation in the TAZ (G4.5) Gene in a Case with Atypical Barth Syndrome.
Barth syndrome is an X-linked recessive disorder characterized by dilated cardiomyopathy, neutropenia, 3-methylglutaconic aciduria, abnormal mitochondria, variably expressed skeletal myopathy, and growth delay. The disorder is caused by mutations in the tafazzin (TAZ/G4.5) gene located on Xq28. We report a novel exonic splicing mutation in the TAZ gene in a patient with atypical Barth syndrome. The 4-month-old proband presented with respiratory distress, neutropenia, and dilated cardiomyopathy with reduced ejection fraction of 10%. No 3-methylglutaconic aciduria was detected on repeated urine organic acid analyses. Family history indicated that his maternal uncle died of endocardial fibroelastosis and dilated cardiomyopathy at 26 months. TAZ DNA sequencing, mRNA analysis, and cardiolipin analysis were performed. A novel nucleotide substitution c.553A>G in exon 7 of the TAZ gene was identified in the proband, predicting an amino acid substitution p.Met185Val. However, this mutation created a new splice donor signal within exon 7 causing mis-splicing of the message, producing two messages that only differ in the presence/absence of exon 5; these retain intron 6 and have only 11 bases of exon 7. Cardiolipin analysis confirmed the loss of tafazzin activity. The proband's mother, maternal aunt, and grandmother carry the same mutation. The identification of a TAZ gene mutation, mRNA analysis, and monolysocardiolipin/cardiolipin ratio determination were important for the diagnosis and genetic counseling in this family with atypical Barth syndrome that was not found to be associated with 3-methylglutaconic aciduria.


Spontaneous cerebral air embolism associated with remote lung surgery.
Airembolism without obvious trauma or surgery is rare. Case report. Four years after resection of a non-small cell lung cancer, a 57-year-old man presented with recurrent episodes of sudden onset neurological deficits. Head computer tomographic (CT) scans suggested air embolism, and further investigations showed a potential anastomosis between a pulmonary air cavity and a pulmonary vein. He was treated surgically by debridement of the bronchovascular bundles surrounding the air cavity. The patient had no further neurologic deficits during 10 months of post-surgical follow-up. In the absence of trauma, sinus disease, recent surgery, or vascular procedures, the presence of air in the brain is unusual, and pulmonary sources of air embolism should be considered.


Associations between executive functioning, challenging behavior, and quality of life in children and adolescents with and without neurodevelopmental conditions.
The present study sought to clarify the impact of executive and social functioning on challenging behavior and the downstream influence of challenging behavior on quality of life and functioning in a large transdiagnostic sample. Understanding these relationships is crucial for developing and designing tailored intervention strategies. In a cross-sectional study, parent informants of 2,004 children completed measures of executive and social functioning, challenging behavior, child and family quality of life, and reported on functional impacts of challenging behavior. Using structural (path) modeling, analyses evaluated the associations between executive and social functioning, including emotion regulation and risk avoidance, with overall and specific types of challenging behavior. Structural models also examined the influence of challenging behavior on child and family quality of life, including measures of the immediate and extended environment, and functional impacts on the parent/child as well as interactions with the medical/legal systems. Finally, mediational models explored the direct and indirect effects of executive and social functioning on quality of life and impact measures via challenging behavior. Results indicated that executive functioning accounts for substantial variance (R 2 = 0.47) in challenging behavior. In turn, challenging behavior accounts for substantial variance in child and family quality of life (R 2 = 0.36) and parent/child impacts (R 2 = 0.31). Exploratory mediational models identified direct effects from executive and social functioning measures on quality of life and functional impacts and indirect effects for executive functioning via challenging behavior. These findings support the development of new intervention strategies and suggest the need to measure executive functioning when assessing and tailoring the treatment of challenging behavior in clinical practice.


A role for 5-HT1A receptors in the basolateral amygdala in the development of conditioned defeat in Syrian hamsters.
The basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) is a key brain region regulating behavioral changes following stressful events, including social defeat. Previous research has shown that activation of serotonin (5-HT) 1A receptors in the BLA reduces conditioned fear and anxiety-like behavior. The objective of this study was to test whether 5-HT1A receptors in the BLA contribute to conditioned defeat in male Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). We tested whether injection of the selective 5-HT1A receptor agonist flesinoxan (400 ng, 800 ng, or 1200 ng in 200 nl saline) into the BLA prior to social defeat would reduce the acquisition of conditioned defeat, and whether a similar injection prior to testing would reduce the expression of conditioned defeat. We also tested whether injection of the selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY-100635 (400 ng or 1600 ng in 200 nl saline) into the BLA prior to social defeat would enhance the acquisition of conditioned defeat, and whether a similar injection prior to testing would enhance the expression of conditioned defeat. We found that injection of flesinoxan into the BLA decreased both the acquisition and expression of conditioned defeat. However, injection of WAY-100635 into the BLA did not alter the acquisition or expression of conditioned defeat. These data indicate that pharmacological activation of 5-HT1A receptors in the BLA is sufficient to impair the acquisition and expression of conditioned defeat. Our results suggest that pharmacological treatments that activate 5-HT1A receptors in the BLA are capable of reducing the development of stress-induced changes in behavior.


Romantic relationship group intervention for men with early psychosis: A feasibility, acceptability and potential impact pilot study.
To assess the feasibility, acceptability and potential impact of a cognitive behavioural group intervention occurring over 12 sessions and focusing on romantic relationships for single men with early psychosis. Recruitment, drop-out and participation rates were collected. An A-B-A within-subject design (n = 7), where each participant acted as his own control, was used to determine potential impact (on social functioning, romantic relationship functioning, self-esteem, theory of mind [ToM] and self-stigma) across time (six time points). Feasibility and acceptability were established. As for the potential impact of the intervention, participants did not all evolve the same way. Improvements were found on social functioning ("behaviours" subscale), romantic relationship functioning and ToM ("mentalizing" subscale). More studies are warranted to expand on these results and to further help men with early psychosis in their social and romantic development.


Combined effects of ultrasound and antioxidants on the quality maintenance of bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) adductor muscles during cold storage.
The combined effects of ultrasound and the antioxidants of bamboo leaves (AOB) on the quality maintenance of the adductor muscle of scallops (AMSs) during cold storage was investigated. Ultrasound power at 350 W coupled with AOB solution (2% w/v) (UAOB-350) was applied to treat the AMSs according to Taylor diagram analysis. The microstructure, oxidative changes (lipid and protein oxidation), total numbers of colonies, total volatile basic nitrogen, and texture of the AMSs during 6 days of cold storage were analysed. The results indicated that UAOB-350 treatment could effectively retard protein and lipid oxidation and bacterial growth and maintain better microstructure and texture characteristics than AOB solution treatment alone, prolonging the shelf life of the AMSs by 2 days during storage at 4 °C. These results indicate that the UAOB-350 combination method has promising potential to maintain the quality and extend the shelf life of AMSs during cold storage.


The Leriche syndrome. A comparative investigation using angiography, computed tomography and ultrasonography.
Nine patients with Leriche syndrome were examined with angiography, computed tomography and routine abdominal ultrasonography. The diagnosis was readily obtained with angiography and computed tomography, while ultrasonography conducted with a linear array real time scanner failed to establish essential features of the disorder. This is mainly because the thrombosed portion of the aorta does not produce any striking alteration of the echo structure of the vessel. Contrast computed tomography defines the abnormalities of the aorta in great detail.


Role of artificial intelligence in peptide vaccine design against RNA viruses.
RNA viruses have high rate of replication and mutation that help them adapt and change according to their environmental conditions. Many viral mutants are the cause of various severe and lethal diseases. Vaccines, on the other hand have the capacity to protect us from infectious diseases by eliciting antibody or cell-mediated immune responses that are pathogen-specific. While there are a few reviews pertaining to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for SARS-COV-2 vaccine development, none focus on peptide vaccination for RNA viruses and the important role played by AI in it. Peptide vaccine which is slowly coming to be recognized as a safe and effective vaccination strategy has the capacity to overcome the mutant escape problem which is also being currently faced by SARS-COV-2 vaccines in circulation.Here we review the present scenario of peptide vaccines which are developed using mathematical and computational statistics methods to prevent the spread of disease caused by RNA viruses. We also focus on the importance and current stage of AI and mathematical evolutionary modeling using machine learning tools in the establishment of these new peptide vaccines for the control of viral disease.


An inhibitory monoclonal anti-protein antibody and an anti-peptide antibody share an epitope on rat cytochrome P-450 enzymes CYP1A1 and CYP1A2.
A monoclonal antibody, 12/2/3/2, which was raised against purified rat CYP1A1 recognises specifically rat and mouse CYP1A1 and CYP1A2, but not any cytochrome P-450 present in hepatic microsomal fractions from rabbit, guinea pig, hamster or human. By comparing the primary sequences of cytochromes P-450 to which 12/2/3/2 does and does not bind, 10 possible locations for its epitope were found. Of these, one was extremely hydrophilic and, hence, predicted to be the most antigenic in the native protein. An antibody was produced against the synthetic peptide corresponding to this region (Gly-Arg-Asp-Arg-Gln-Pro-Arg-Leu: residues 356-363 and 350-357 of rat CYP1A1 and CYP1A2, respectively). The antibody bound to rat, mouse and hamster CYP1A1 and to rat and mouse CYP1A2, but did not bind to any protein present in hepatic microsomal fractions from the rabbit, guinea pig or human. The binding of the anti-peptide antibody to CYP1A1 or CYP1A2 was partially antagonised by the monoclonal antibody. However, whereas the monoclonal antibody inhibited both CYP1A1- (aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase) and CYP1A2-(high-affinity phenacetin O-deethylase) dependent monooxygenase activity, the anti-peptide antibody was without effect on these activities. Antigen denaturation by 8 M urea or 0.05% (w/v) SDS had no effect on binding of the anti-peptide antibody to cytochrome P-450, whilst binding of the monoclonal antibody was reduced by more than 1000-fold. The anti-peptide antibody partially antagonised the binding of 12/2/3/2 to urea-denatured but not native cytochrome P-450. These data suggest that whilst the complete binding site for the monoclonal antibody is discontinuous, sufficient of the epitope is linear, so that when the antigen is denatured the monoclonal antibody is still able to bind and this binding is antagonised by the anti-peptide antibody. However, inhibition of catalytic activity by the monoclonal antibody must require binding to discontinuous residues.


Pediatric endothelial keratoplasty: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis.
Recently, endothelial keratoplasty (EK) has been increasingly considered the first intervention in pediatrics with isolated corneal endothelial dysfunction. This systematic review aims to investigate the current evidence about the advantages, disadvantages, technical challenges, and clinical outcomes of EK in the pediatric group. All the English literature relevant to pediatric EK was searched in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane databases with appropriate keywords. Relevant data were pooled to conduct an individual participant data meta-analysis. Of 1646 articles found initially, 35 articles were finally eligible to be included in our study. A total of 154 eyes of 107 patients underwent Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK). Congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy (CHED) was the most reported indication for pediatric DSAEK (108 eyes). Descemet's membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) was performed in 2 eyes of 2 cases, one with PPCD and another one in a patient with Kearns-Sayre syndrome. Owing to some specific anatomical and physiological pediatric characteristics, some modifications in a standard procedure were suggested. The average follow-up period was 23.80 ± 20.18 months (3 months to 8.5 years). Seventy-six eyes who had a mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 1.36 ± 0.70 (0.49 to 3) logMAR preoperatively found mean BCVA of 0.51 ± 0.33 (0.04 to 2) logMAR postoperatively. Graft dislocation was the most reported complication (26 eyes). The rate of other complications was low. Endothelial cell loss was reported from 8.3 to 63.7% after pediatric EK with follow-up duration from 3 months to 8.3 years. EK procedures, despite some technical challenges, are feasible surgical techniques with acceptable visual and anatomical outcomes in the management of pediatrics with corneal endothelial dysfunction and minimal stromal involvement.


A Systematic Review of the Effects of Urban Living on Suicidality and Self-Harm in the UK and Ireland.
We conducted a systematic review to answer the following: (a) Is there any evidence to support increased prevalence of suicidality and self-harm (i.e. self-harm or suicidality) in urban versus rural environments? (b) What aspects of the urban environment pose risk for suicidality and self-harm? Thirty-five studies met our criteria. Our findings reflect a mixed picture, but with a tendency for urban living to be associated with an increased risk of suicidality and self-harm over rural living, particularly for those living in deprived areas. Further research should focus on the clustering and additive effects of risk and protective factors for suicidality and self-harm in urban environments.


Mental illness stigma and associated factors among Arabic-speaking refugee and migrant populations in Australia.
Arabic-speaking refugee and migrant populations form a significant proportion of Australia's population. Despite high levels of psychological distress among Arabic-speaking populations, low uptake of mental health services has been demonstrated. Evidence suggests poor levels of mental health literacy (MHL) and high levels of stigmatising attitudes among Arabic-speaking populations, which may act as barriers to help-seeking behaviours. This study aimed to explore the relationships between measures of mental illness stigma, socio-demographic factors and psychological distress, as well as to determine the factors associated with MHL (i.e., correct recognition of mental illness and knowledge of causes) among Arabic-speaking refugee and migrant populations in Australia. Participants were recruited from non-government organisations in Greater Western Sydney that provided support services to Arabic-speaking migrants and/or refugees. As this study is nested within an interventional pilot study evaluating a culturally tailored MHL program, only the pre-intervention survey responses for 53 participants were utilised. The survey measured key aspects of MHL (i.e., recognition of mental illness, knowledge of causes), levels of psychological distress (using K10 scale), and stigmatising attitudes towards mental illness (using Personal Stigma Subscales and Social Distance Scale). The Personal Stigma subscale of 'Dangerous/unpredictable' was strongly positively correlated with participants' K10 psychological distress scores and strongly negatively correlated with years of education completed. There were moderate negative correlations between two Personal Stigma subscales ('Dangerous/unpredictable' and 'I-would-not-tell-anyone') and the length of stay in Australia. Being female was associated with an increase in personal stigma demonstrated by higher scores for 'I-would-not-tell-anyone' subscale than males. Similarly, increase in age was associated with a decrease on scores of the personal stigma 'Dangerous/unpredictable'. While future research with larger sample size are needed, the study findings can be considered as adding to the evidence base on mental illness related stigma in Arabic-speaking populations. Further, this study provides a starting point in developing the rationale for why population sub-group specific interventions are required to address mental illness stigma and improve MHL among Arabic-speaking refugee and migrant populations in Australia.


Production and property of beta-lactamases in Streptomyces.
The production of beta-lactamases by 100 strains of Streptomyces was studied. About one-half of the strains produced more than 2.3 U of beta-lactamase per ml, and another half produced less than 1.4 U/ml. The amounts of beta-lactamases produced by two strains were in the order of those produced by Bacillus cereus 569/H and Bacillus licheniformis 749/C. These Streptomyces enzymes function primarily as penicillinases rather than cephalosporinases. Properties such as pH optimum, substrate specificity, and heat stability suggest that these Streptomyces beta-lactamases are closely related to each other. In contrast to bacterial beta-lactamases, Streptomyces beta-lactamases were insusceptible to inactivation by N-bromosuccinimide and only slightly susceptible to iodine. This suggests that the construction mode of the active site would be different from other beta-lactamases. Studies on the minimum inhibitory concentrations of benzylpenicillin to seven Streptomyces strains and on their maximum beta-lactamase production indicate that the susceptibility of Streptomyces to penicillin is not directly related to the beta-lactamase production.


PLCɛ and the RASSF family in tumour suppression and other functions.
Not all proteins implicated in direct binding to Ras appear to have a positive role in the generation and progression of tumours; examples include Phospholipase C epsilon (PLCɛ) and some members of the Ras-association domain family (RASSF). The RASSF family comprises of ten members, known as RASSF1 to RASSF10. PLCɛ and RASSF members carry a common Ras-association domain (RA) that can potentially bind Ras oncoproteins and mediate Ras-regulated functions. RASSF1 to RASSF6 also share a common SARAH domain that facilitates protein-protein interactions with other SARAH domain proteins. The majority of the family are frequently downregulated by epigenetic silencing in cancers. They are implicated in various important biological processes including apoptosis, microtubule stabilisation and cell cycle regulation. Recent studies have reinforced the tumour suppressive properties of the RASSF family, with new evidence of emerging pathways and novel functions that suggest a wider role for these proteins. This review will first describe an emerging role of PLCɛ in tumour suppression and then focus on and summarise the new findings on the RASSF family in the last five years to consolidate their well-established functions, and highlight the new regulatory roles of specific RASSF members.


Phenotypic and genotypic comparisons of CCR5- and CXCR4-tropic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 biological clones isolated from subtype C-infected individuals.
Individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtype C infrequently harbour X4 viruses. We studied R5 and X4 biological clones generated from HIV-1 subtype C-infected individuals. All subtype C R5 viruses demonstrated slower profiles of replication on CD4(+) lymphocytes in comparison to subtype B viruses, whereas subtype C X4 viruses replicated with comparable efficiency to subtype B X4 viruses. No differences were identified in CC or CXC chemokine inhibitions (RANTES and SDF-1alpha, respectively) between subtype C and subtype B viruses. Immature dendritic cells were shown in coculture experiments to similarly enhance the infection of subtype C and subtype B R5 as well as X4 viruses. By amino acid sequence analysis, we showed that the R5 and X4 subtype C gp120 envelope gene alterations were similar to those for a switching subtype B virus, specifically with respect to the V3 charge and envelope N-linked glycosylation patterns. By phylogenetic analysis, we showed that one patient was infected with HIV-1 C' and the other was infected with HIV-1 C" and that one of the patients harbored a virus that was a recombinant in the gp120 env gene between an R5 and an X4 virus, with the resultant virus being R5. No differences were identified between the long terminal repeat regions of the subtype C R5 and X4 biological clones. These results indicate that even though R5 subtype C viruses are restrictive for virus replication, the R5-to-X4 phenotype switch can occur and does so in a manner similar to that of subtype B viruses.


[Malignant degeneration of experimental ulcerative colitis of the rat following s.c. injection of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (author's transl)].
Animal experiments were performed to answer the question whether ulcerative colitis is predisposed to malignant degeneration. Male Wistar rats were given aqueous solutions of degraded Carrageenan (4%; w/v). After induction of ulcerative colitis, 1,2-Dimethylhydrazine (DMH; 132 mg/kg body weight) was applicated during a period of 7 weeks. 17 of 18 rats developed multiple adenocarcinomas in the distal colon 15 weeks after the last injection of DMH. The Carrageenan induced colitis was localized predominantly in the distal part of the large bowel. Only 3 rats of a control group of 18 animals exposed to DMH only showed carcinomas of the colon. The difference is proven significant (P less than 0.01). Carrageenan for itself caused no malignancy. The results of the experiments demonstrate that, during ulcerative colitis, the colon of the rat is more susceptible to induction of cancer than the intact one.


Lifestyle Modification: Evaluation of the Effects of Physical Activity and Low-Glycemic-Index Mediterranean Diet on Fibrosis Score.
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is one the most prevalent causes of chronic liver disease worldwide. In the absence of an approved drug treatment, lifestyle modification is the first intervention strategy. This study aimed to estimate the main effect of two different physical activity (PA) programs, and a Low-Glycemic-Index Mediterranean Diet (LGIMD), or their combined effect on liver fibrosis parameters in subjects with NAFLD. Subjects with moderate or severe NAFLD grade of severity (n = 144) were randomly assigned to six intervention arms for three months: LGIMD, PA programs, and their combination. Data were collected at baseline, 45 days, and 90 days. Transient elastography was performed to assess the outcome. at 90 days, a statistically significant reduction in kPa was found among subjects following LGMID (-2.85, 95% CI -5.24, -0.45) and those following an LGIMD plus PA1 (-2.37, 95% CI -4.39, -0.35) and LGIMD plus Pa2 (-2.21, 95% CI -4.10, -0.32). The contrast between time 2 and time 1 of the LGIMD plus PA2 treatment showed a statistically significant increase, and vice versa: the contrast between time 3 and time 2 of the same treatment showed a statistically significant reduction. The PA1 and PA2 arms also showed reduced kPa, although the results did not reach statistical significance. The intervention arms, LGIMD, LGIMD+PA1, and LGIMD+PA2, reduced the fibrosis score.


Computer versus visual analysis of exercise thallium-201 images: a critical appraisal in 325 patients with chest pain.
Although computer-aided analysis of planar thallium images has been previously reported to be superior to visual analysis, a segment-by-segment comparison of all thallium variables (presence of initial defect, presence of redistribution, and presence of abnormal lung:heart thallium ratio) has not been performed with the use of both methods. In the present study, such a comparison was performed to determine which thallium variable(s) are superior, when the computer method is used. In addition, both methods were compared to determine their correlations with the angiographic extent of coronary artery disease (no disease, or one-vessel disease vs multivessel, or left main disease) and the occurrence of future events (cardiac-related death or nonfatal myocardial infarction). Computer-aided analysis was superior to visual analysis (an average of three independent blinded observers) for detection of coronary disease because: (1) it was more specific for detecting initial defects despite having the same sensitivity (89.6% vs 91.0%, p = NS) and (2) it was more sensitive for detecting redistribution in the territory of a stenosed vessel (68% vs 46%, p less than 0.001). However, absolute myocardial clearance of thallium had very poor specificity compared to visually assessed redistribution. Only when segmental clearance was considered abnormal on a relative basis (if it was slower by 98% or more than the fastest clearing segment in the heart) did abnormal clearance achieve the same specificity (99%) and a better sensitivity (60% vs 48%, p less than 0.01) than visual analysis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Fusiform aneurysm of the basilar artery presenting as a cerebellopontine angle mass.
It is extremely rare that nonsaccular intracranial aneurysms are located at the cerebellopontine angle. A 60-year-old woman presented with dizziness and left-sided sensorineural hearing loss that had developed gradually for 6 months. Magnetic resonance imaging scan and magnetic resonance angiography revealed that the basilar artery was ectatic and markedly displaced to the cerebellopontine angle. The association between otoneurological findings and radiological findings is discussed.


A fragment of substance P with specific central activity: SP(1-7).
Amino-terminal fragments of substance P (SP), SP(1-7) and SP(1-8), were found to produce naloxone-reversible antinociception in the mouse similar to that produced by SP. Similar to SP, these peptides produce antinociception only within a narrow dose range. They have no activity on smooth muscle or blood pressure. These results suggest that contrary to peripheral effects of SP, which are mediated by receptors which recognize the carboxy-terminal part of the SP molecule, certain central actions of SP are mediated by receptors which recognize the amino-terminal part of the SP molecule. SP may be metabolized to this active fragment prior to its action at these receptors.


Which hospital-acquired conditions matter the most in trauma? An evidence-based approach for prioritizing trauma program improvement.
Prevention of hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) is a focus of trauma center quality improvement. The relative contributions of various HACs to postinjury hospital outcomes are unclear. We sought to quantify and compare the impacts of six HACs on early clinical outcomes and resource utilization in hospitalized trauma patients. Adult patients from the 2013 to 2016 American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program Participant Use Data Files who required 5 days or longer of hospitalization and had an Injury Severity Score of 9 or greater were included. Multiple imputation with chained equations was used for observations with missing data. The frequencies of six HACs and five adverse outcomes were determined. Multivariable Poisson regression with log link and robust error variance was used to produce relative risk estimates, adjusting for patient-, hospital-, and injury-related factors. Risk-adjusted population attributable fractions estimates were derived for each HAC-outcome pair, with the adjusted population attributable fraction estimate for a given HAC-outcome pair representing the estimated percentage decrease in adverse outcome that would be expected if exposure to the HAC had been prevented. A total of 529,856 patients requiring 5 days or longer of hospitalization were included. The incidences of HACs were as follows: pneumonia, 5.2%; urinary tract infection, 3.4%; venous thromboembolism, 3.3%; surgical site infection, 1.3%; pressure ulcer, 1.3%; and central line-associated blood stream infection, 0.2%. Pneumonia demonstrated the strongest association with in-hospital outcomes and resource utilization. Prevention of pneumonia in our cohort would have resulted in estimated reductions of the following: 22.1% for end organ dysfunction, 7.8% for mortality, 8.7% for prolonged hospitalization, 7.1% for prolonged intensive care unit stay, and 6.8% for need for mechanical ventilation. The impact of other HACs was comparatively small. We describe a method for comparing the contributions of HACs to outcomes of hospitalized trauma patients. Our findings suggest that trauma program improvement efforts should prioritize pneumonia prevention. Therapeutic/Care Management; Level IV.


Exocytosis plays an important role in catecholamine secretion from human pheochromocytoma.
Plasma dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBY) activity, urinary catecholamine (CA) and vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) were studied pre- and postoperatively in 20 patients with pheochromocytoma. Preoperative plasma DBH activities were distributed widely, ranging from normal to very high; the mean value of DBH as well as urinary CA and VMA was significantly greater than that of normal subjects. Postoperative falls of plasma DBH activity, of urinary CA and of VMA were by 76%, 96% and 83% of the preoperative level, respectively. Significant correlations were observed between postoperative falls of individual DBH activities, urinary VMA and weight of the tumors, whereas there was correlation neither between preoperative DBH activity and urinary CA, nor between the rate of postoperative falls of these respective values. These findings suggest that pheochromocytoma is capable of secreting DBH, and wide variations in the rate of DBH output from these tumors may account for varying capacity of CA biosynthesis in the tumor. Further, it may be concluded that the process of exocytosis plays an important role in the mode of CA secretion by these tumors, although secretion through diffusion may be operating as well.


The high-affinity immunoglobulin E receptor as pharmacological target.
The high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin E is expressed mainly on mast cells and basophils, but also on neutrophils, eosinophils, platelets, monocytes, Langerhans and dendritic cells, airway smooth muscle cells and some nerve cells. Its main function is, upon its engagement by IgE and specific antigen, to trigger a powerful defense against invading pathogens and a rapid neutralization of dangerous toxic substances introduced in the body. This powerful response could be wielded against tumors. But, when control over this receptor is lost, its unchecked activation can induce an array of diseases, some of which can lead to death. In this review we will summarize the pharmacological approaches and strategies that are currently used, or under study, to harness or wield activation of this receptor for therapeutic purposes.


Predicting protein-ligand binding residues with deep convolutional neural networks.
Ligand-binding proteins play key roles in many biological processes. Identification of protein-ligand binding residues is important in understanding the biological functions of proteins. Existing computational methods can be roughly categorized as sequence-based or 3D-structure-based methods. All these methods are based on traditional machine learning. In a series of binding residue prediction tasks, 3D-structure-based methods are widely superior to sequence-based methods. However, due to the great number of proteins with known amino acid sequences, sequence-based methods have considerable room for improvement with the development of deep learning. Therefore, prediction of protein-ligand binding residues with deep learning requires study. In this study, we propose a new sequence-based approach called DeepCSeqSite for ab initio protein-ligand binding residue prediction. DeepCSeqSite includes a standard edition and an enhanced edition. The classifier of DeepCSeqSite is based on a deep convolutional neural network. Several convolutional layers are stacked on top of each other to extract hierarchical features. The size of the effective context scope is expanded as the number of convolutional layers increases. The long-distance dependencies between residues can be captured by the large effective context scope, and stacking several layers enables the maximum length of dependencies to be precisely controlled. The extracted features are ultimately combined through one-by-one convolution kernels and softmax to predict whether the residues are binding residues. The state-of-the-art ligand-binding method COACH and some of its submethods are selected as baselines. The methods are tested on a set of 151 nonredundant proteins and three extended test sets. Experiments show that the improvement of the Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) is no less than 0.05. In addition, a training data augmentation method that slightly improves the performance is discussed in this study. Without using any templates that include 3D-structure data, DeepCSeqSite significantlyoutperforms existing sequence-based and 3D-structure-based methods, including COACH. Augmentation of the training sets slightly improves the performance. The model, code and datasets are available at https://github.com/yfCuiFaith/DeepCSeqSite .


Taste effectiveness of some D- and L-amino acids in mice.
To measure the hedonic effectiveness of some D-amino acids two-bottle preference tests were carried out on ddy mice, and subsequently conditioned taste aversion (CTA) experiments were performed to determine to what degree hedonic responses to D- and L-amino acids are related to sweet taste in mice. Mice showed preferences for D-Trp, D-His, and D-Leu over certain concentration ranges, but were behaviorally neutral to D-Ser and D-Val up to 0.1 M. The preference magnitudes for D-amino acids increased with increasing molecular weight (MW) or the bulk of the side chain. CTA experiments using 0.2 M sucrose as a conditioning stimulus and 4 D- and 6 L-amino acids as test stimuli indicated that generalization of sucrose taste became stronger with increasing MW of D-amino acids and decreasing MW of L-amino acids. There was a highly significant positive correlation between the degree of generalization of sucrose taste and the preference magnitude for D- and L-amino acids. The results indicate that preferences for D- and L-amino acids in mice result from sweet taste produced by these chemicals. Comparison of the results with the human psychophysical data reveal similarity between humans and ddy mice in taste sensitivity to amino acids.


Modified montmorillonite synergizes with Co-MOF@PBO fabric to improve the wear resistance of PBO/phenolic resin composites.
Co-MOF (cobased metal-organic frame) nanosheets were developed onto the surface of PBO (poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole)) fabric, and OMMT (modified montmorillonite) was incorporated into phenolic resin synergistically to improve the wear resistance of PBO/phenolic resin composites. Co-MOF nanosheets with a large specific surface area exhibited strong interlocking and excellent compatibility between the fabric and resin. In addition, OMMT possessed excellent affinity with phenolic resin and a larger lamellar space, and then polymer chains could be conveniently entangled into interlayers, which further confined the movement of molecular chains caused by friction heat. In addition, a weak interlayer force was conducive to facilitating the formation of a uniform and robust transfer-film on the counterpart. It was demonstrated that the Co-MOF@PBO/OMMT composites presented optimal tribological behavior due to the synergistic effect between interfacial modification and OMMT reinforcement.


Ultrasonically induced cell damage and membrane lipid peroxidation by photofrin II: mechanism of sonodynamic activation.
Ultrasonically induced cell damage and active oxygen generation with photofrin II were compared using the same in vitro insonation setup. Sarcoma 180 cells suspended in an air-saturated phosphate-buffered saline solution were exposed to ultrasound at 2 MHz for not more than 60 s in the presence and absence of photofrin II. The trypan blue exclusion test was used to determine viability. Lipid peroxidation in cell membranes was estimated by measuring the quantity of reactive substance produced from thiobarbituric acid added immediately after the cells had been exposured to ultrasound. Significant enhancement of the rates of ultrasonically induced cell damage and lipid peroxidation was demonstrated with photofrin II (20-80 µg/ml), and the two rates were closely associated. Enhancement of both rates by photofrin II was suppressed by 10 mM of histidine. These results suggest that ultrasonically generated active oxygen is a primary factor in ultrasonically induced cell damage in the presence of photofrin II.


Impairment of IL-12-dependent STAT4 nuclear translocation in a patient with recurrent Mycobacterium avium infection.
We examined the immunological abnormality in a patient with recurrent Mycobacterium avium infection. T cells from the patient showed decreased ability both to produce IFN-gamma and to proliferate in response to IL-12. Despite decreased expression of IL-12R beta1 and beta2 chains in the patient's PHA-activated T cells, there was no difference in IL-12-induced tyrosine and serine phosphorylation of STAT4 in PHA-activated T cells between the patient and healthy subjects, suggesting that IL-12R signals are transmitted to STAT4 in the patient's PHA-activated T cells. Using EMSA, confocal laser microscopy, and Western blotting, we demonstrated that the nuclear translocation of STAT4 in response to IL-12 is reduced in PHA-activated T cells from the patient when compared with those from healthy subjects. Leptomycin B was used to examine whether nuclear export of STAT4 is increased in the patient's T cells. However, leptomycin B treatment did not reverse impaired IL-12-induced nuclear accumulation of STAT4. Although the exact mechanism responsible for the impaired STAT4 nuclear translocation in this patient remains unclear, the absence of mutation in the IL-12Rbeta1, IL-12Rbeta2, STAT4, and STAT4-binding sequence of the IFN-gamma gene and preservation of STAT4 tyrosine and serine phosphorylation suggest the existence of a defective STAT4 nuclear translocation. This defect is likely responsible for the impaired STAT4 nuclear translocation in IL-12-stimulated T cells, leading to impairment of both IFN-gamma production and cell proliferation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a patient with atypical mycobacterial infection associated with impairment of STAT4 nuclear translocation.


Leveraging multi-mode microextraction and liquid chromatography stationary phases for quantitative analysis of neurotoxin β-N-methylamino-L-alanine and other non-proteinogenic amino acids.
Effective quantitative analysis of BMAA (β-N-methylamino-L-alanine) and its isomers without the need for derivatization has always been an analytical challenge due to their poor retention and separation on various liquid chromatography stationary phases. Previous studies that utilized conventional hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) demonstrate false negatives compared to reverse-phase workflows with derivatization. This work evaluates the chromatographic behavior of BMAA and its isomers, in their underivatized forms, on selected stationary phases, in particular fluorophenyl-based columns, to attain effective retention and separation. Detection and quantification were achieved with an ion-trap mass spectrometer. Extraction and preconcentration were achieved via solid phase microextraction (SPME) by assessing the effectiveness of multiple extraction phases, including hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced (HLB) and mixed-mode (MM). A MM extraction phase consisting of C8 and benzene sulfonic acid moieties provided ideal extraction performance for BMAA and its isomers (2,4-diaminobutyric acid, DABA; N-(2-aminoethyl) glycine, AEG). Chromatographic separation was achieved within 8 min on a fluorophenyl stationary phase, ensuring high throughput without derivatization, and showing exceptional improvement from conventional HILIC methods. Limits of quantification in water for BMAA and AEG were 2.5 µg L-1 and DABA was 5 µg L-1, with linear dynamic ranges from 2.5 µg L-1 - 200 µg L-1 for BMAA and AEG and 5 µg L-1 - 200 µg L-1 for DABA.


Artificial intelligence in pharmacy practice: Attitude and willingness of the community pharmacists and the barriers for its implementation.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capacity of machines to perform tasks that ordinarily require human intelligence. AI can be utilized in various pharmaceutical applications with less time and cost. To evaluate community pharmacists' willingness and attitudes towards the adoption of AI technology at pharmacy settings, and the barriers that hinder AI implementation. This cross-sectional study was conducted among community pharmacists in Jordan using an online-based questionnaire. In addition to socio-demographics, the survey assessed pharmacists' willingness, attitudes, and barriers to AI adoption in pharmacy. Binary logistic regression was conducted to find the variables that are independently associated with willingness and attitude towards AI implementation. The present study enrolled 401 pharmacist participants. The median age was 30 (29-33) years. Most of the pharmacists were females (66.6%), had bachelor's degree of pharmacy (56.1%), had low-income (54.6%), and had one to five years of experience (35.9%). The pharmacists showed good willingness and attitude towards AI implementation at pharmacy (n = 401). The most common barriers to AI were lack of AI-related software and hardware (79.2%), the need for human supervision (76.4%), and the high running cost of AI (74.6%). Longer weekly working hours (attitude: OR = 1.072, 95% C.I (1.040-1.104), P < 0.001, willingness: OR = 1.069, 95% Cl. 1.039-1.009, P-value = 0.011), and higher knowledge of AI applications (attitude: OR = 1.697, 95%Cl (1.327-2.170), willingness: OR = 1.790, 95%Cl. (1.396-2.297), P-value < 0.001 for both) were significantly associated with better willingness and attitude towards AI, whereas greater years of experience (OR = 20.859, 95% Cl (5.241-83.017), P-value < 0.001) were associated with higher willingness. In contrast, pharmacists with high income (OR = 0.382, 95% Cl. (0.183-0.795), P-value = 0.010), and those with<10 visitors (OR = 0.172, 95% Cl. (0.035-0.838), P-value = 0.029) or 31-50 visitors daily (OR = 0.392, 95% Cl. (0.162-0.944), P-value = 0.037) had less willingness to adopt AI. Despite the pharmacists' positive willingness and attitudes toward AI, several barriers were identified, highlighting the importance of providing educational and training programs to improve pharmacists' knowledge of AI, as well as ensuring adequate funding support to overcome the issue of AI high operating costs.


Purification and characterization of a serine carboxypeptidase from Kluyveromyces marxianus.
We purified a carboxypeptidase (CPY) from the yeast of Kluyveromyces marxianus. This enzyme was purified 170 times from a soluble extract of 100000 x g. Purification consisted in a fractionated precipitation with ammonium sulfate and two chromatographic steps consisting of anion exchange chromatography and hydrophobic interactions chromatography. The native enzyme depicted a molecular mass of 67 kDa by gel filtration. This serine carboxypeptidase depicted an optimal pH of 8.5 and was stable at a pH ranging from 6.0 to 9.0, its optimal temperature was of 45 degrees C and was unstable at temperatures above 55 degrees C; Michaelis constant and Vmax for N-benzoyl-l-tyrosine-p-nitroanilide were of 29 microM and 612 microM/min mg of protein, respectively. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by phenylmethylsufonyl fluoride (PMSF) and, to a lesser degree, by trans-epoxysuccinyl-l-leucylamido-(4-guanidine)-butane. This study indicated that K. marxianus carboxypeptidase could be an alternative to other animal-source carboxypeptidases in the industry.


Sex-specific association of ACAT-1 rs1044925 SNP and serum lipid levels in the hypercholesterolemic subjects.
Acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) is a key enzyme in cellular cholesterol homeostasis and in atherosclerosis. The cellular cholesterol efflux correlated with serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations has shown to be impaired in hyperlipidemic mice. The present study was carried out to clarify the association of ACAT-1 rs1044925 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and serum lipid levels in the hyperlipidemic subjects. A total of 821 unrelated subjects (hyperlipidemia, 476; normolipidemia, 345) aged 15-80 were included in the study. Genotyping of the ACAT-1 rs1044925 SNP was performed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism combined with gel electrophoresis, and then confirmed by direct sequencing. There was no significant difference in the genotypic and allelic frequencies of ACAT-1 rs1044925 SNP between the normolipidemic and hyperlipidemic subjects. The levels of total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C and apolipoprotein (Apo) AI in hyperlipidemic subjects were different between the AA and AC/CC genotypes in male but not in female (P < 0.05-0.01), the C allele carriers had higher serum TC, HDL-C and ApoAI levels than the C allele noncarriers. The association of genotypes and serum HDL-C and ApoAI levels in hyperlipidemia was found mainly in the male subjects with hypercholesterolemia but not in those with hypertriglyceridemia. There were no significant differences in serum lipid levels between the AA and AC/CC genotypes in the normolipidemic subjects. The present study shows that the C allele carriers of ACAT-1 rs1044925 SNP in male hyperlipidemic subjects had higher serum TC, HDL-C and ApoAI levels than the C allele noncarriers. There is a sex (male)-specific association of ACAT-1 rs1044925 SNP and serum HDL-C and ApoAI levels in the hypercholesterolemic subjects.


Women with pure stress urinary incontinence symptoms assessed by the initial standard evaluation including measurement of post-void residual volume and a stress test: are urodynamic studies still needed?
The significance of preoperative urodynamic studies in women with a "clinically-defined pure stress urinary incontinence (SUI) symptom" has been debated in recent years. We evaluated changes of reliability of pure SUI symptoms for prediction of pure urodynamic SUI (USUI) when the assessment of post-void residual (PVR) volume and a stress test, designated as the initial standard evaluation in the NICE and AUA guidelines, were added to the process for the diagnosis of pure SUI symptoms. We reviewed records of 1,019 women aged 30-80 who underwent urodynamic study for incontinence. Criteria for pure SUI symptoms were defined as absence of overactive bladder symptoms and voiding difficulties based on a frequency-volume chart and AUA Symptom Index. We then added assessment of PVR volume and a stress test to the process for clinical diagnosis. Of subjects, 211 (20.7%) could be classified as having a pure SUI symptom. Of these, only 167 (79.1%) had pure USUI and 33 (15.7%) had detrusor overactivity. Eight (3.8%) had detrusor underactivity/bladder outlet obstruction. Sensitivity and specificity of pure SUI symptoms for pure USUI were 28.6% and 89.9%. Addition of assessment of PVR volume and a stress test resulted in an increase of predictive accuracy of only 3.6%. As one-fifth of women with pure SUI symptoms exhibit the pathophysiologies that could affect the surgical outcomes despite additional use of PVR assessment and a stress test in the clinical diagnostic process, urodynamic evaluation is considered necessary before anti-incontinence surgery in this population.


Neurological complications in carotid body tumors: a 6-year single-center experience.
Carotid body tumors are considered rare. However, there has been an increase in the number of these tumors managed at our center in recent years. Delayed presentation with large tumors is common. We studied the clinical profile, interventions, and outcomes of these tumors and assessed the factors influencing operative neurological morbidity and recurrence. This retrospective study was conducted at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, a tertiary care center in south India. We analyzed the inpatient and outpatient records of patients diagnosed to have carotid body tumors undergoing excision from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2011. Patients diagnosed to have vagal paragangliomas were excluded. Thirty-four of 48 tumors were excised from 32 patients (11 female, 21 male). Average age at presentation was 38.2 years, and three patients had familial bilateral tumors. All patients presented with a painless neck mass. There were 27 Shamblin group III, six Shamblin group II, and one Shamblin group I tumor. Eleven Shamblin group II/III tumors were associated with transient cranial nerve palsy or paresis (32.3%). Two Shamblin group III tumors were associated with perioperative stroke (5.8%). Preoperative embolization was done in 17 tumors, 12 of which were associated with neurological complications (two stroke, nine nerve palsy, one hemianopia). One patient underwent thrombolysis for a middle cerebral artery thrombus and recovered completely on follow-up, and another with a capsuloganglionic infarct managed conservatively had minimal persistent disability. Three patients had persistent nerve palsy (8.8%). Although complications were more common in patients with higher Shamblin group tumors, the difference was not statistically significant. The overall rate of neurological complications is higher with tumors of higher Shamblin groups. Preoperative embolization was not effective in reducing neurological complications. The rates of postoperative stroke and permanent cranial nerve palsy after resection of large tumors are acceptable.


Two Photon lithography additive manufacturing: Video dataset of parameter sweep of light dosages, photo-curable resins, and structures.
This document describes the collection and organization of a dataset that consists of raw videos and extracted sub-images from video frames of a promising additive manufacturing technique called Two-Photon Lithography (TPL). Four unprocessed videos were collected, with each video capturing the printing process of different combinations of 3D parts on different photoresists at varying light dosages. These videos were further trimmed to obtain short clips that are organized by experimental parameters. Additionally, this dataset also contains a python script to reproduce an organized directory of cropped video frames extracted from the trimmed videos. These cropped frames focus on a region of interest around the parts being printed. We envision that the raw videos and cropped frames provided in this dataset will be used to train various computer vision and machine learning algorithms for applications such as object segmentation and localization applications. The cropped video frames were manually labelled by an expert to determine the quality of the printed part and for printing parameter optimization as presented in "Automated Detection of Part Quality during Two-Photon Lithography via Deep Learning" [1].


Ecological momentary assessment of parent-child attachment via technological devices: A systematic methodological review.
Despite extensive research about parent-child attachment using observational and self-report studies, complementary measures are needed to assess this construct objectively with ecological validity, as well as less obtrusiveness and reactivity than traditional measures. This systematic review describes existing technology-based ecologically momentary assessment (EMA) tools examining attachment-related emotions, cognition, and behaviors between the child and its parents. From the study's inception until March 2021, four databases were searched resulting in 11,910 screened citations. Finally, 18 records were included, characterized by a broad variety of assessment tools, sample characteristics, study designs, and attachment outcomes. Technology-based EMA methods comprised audio, video, diary, and sensory assessment modalities, each occuying its methodological niche. When reported, the psychometric properties of the EMA methods were evaluated as very good; however, the included studies' psychometric data was not completely examined. The main attachment outcomes assessed by EMA were emotional and cognitive reactions and actions of the children, the parents, and the dyad. Cognition was rarely assessed using EMA methods. Future research should focus on the complexity of attachment considering different ethnic backgrounds, multiple caregivers' viewpoints, gender aspects, as well as cognitive and dyadic contents in the naturalistic environment.


Performance of English stop smoking services in first 10 years: analysis of service monitoring data.
To analyse the performance of the English Stop Smoking Services from 2001/02 to 2010/11. Analysis of national service monitoring data. England. Smokers recorded as having been treated by English stop smoking services between April 2001 and March 2011. Annual figures for the number of quit dates set (throughput), the percentage of these that led to biochemically verified abstinence after four weeks (four week quit rate), and the "impact" in terms of the number of four week quitters beyond those who it is estimated would have stopped with only a prescription for smoking cessation treatment; characteristics of smokers being treated, medication used, and mode of delivery (for example, one to one, group based); variability across local services in throughput, four week quit rates, and impact for 2010/11. Throughput rose from 227,335 in 2001/02 to 787,527 (8% of all smokers) in 2010/11. The percentage of four week quitters declined slightly from 35% to 34%. Impact rose from 22,933 four week quitters created in 2001/02 to 72,411 in 2010/11 (corresponding to an estimated 21,723 12 month quitters). The services were successful in reaching disadvantaged smokers; 54% (n = 425,684) were in receipt of free prescriptions in 2010/11. Substantial variation existed across local services in throughput, success rates, and impact. The English stop smoking services have had an increasing impact in helping smokers to stop in their first 10 years of operation and have successfully reached disadvantaged groups. However, performance across local services has varied considerably.


False positives in breast cancer screening with one-view breast tomosynthesis: An analysis of findings leading to recall, work-up and biopsy rates in the Malmö Breast Tomosynthesis Screening Trial.
To analyse false positives (FPs) in breast cancer screening with tomosynthesis (BT) vs. mammography (DM). The Malmö Breast Tomosynthesis Screening Trial (MBTST) is a prospective population-based study comparing one-view BT to DM in screening. This study is based on the first half of the MBTST population (n = 7,500). Differences in FP recall rate, findings leading to recall, work-up and biopsy rate between cases recalled on BT alone, DM alone and BT+DM were analysed. The FP recall rate was 1.7 % for BT alone (n = 131), 0.9 % for DM alone (n = 69) and 1.1 % for BT + DM (n = 81). The FP recall rate for BT alone was halved after the initial phase of the trial, stabilising at 1.5 %. BT doubled the recall of stellate distortions compared to DM (n = 64 vs. n = 33). There were fewer fibroadenomas and cysts, and the biopsy rate was slightly lower for FP recalled on BT alone compared to DM alone (15.3 % vs. 27.6 %: p = 0.037 and 33.8 % vs. 36.2 %; p = 0.641, respectively). FPs increased with BT screening mainly due to the recall of stellate distortions. The FP recall rate was still well within the European guidelines and showed evidence of a learning curve. Characterisation of rounded lesions was improved with BT. • Tomosynthesis screening gave a higher false-positive recall rate than mammography • There was a decline in the false-positive recall rate for tomosynthesis • The recall due to stellate distortions simulating malignancy was doubled with tomosynthesis • Tomosynthesis found more radial and postoperative scar tissue than mammography • Tomosynthesis is better at characterising rounded lesions.


Evaluating biochemical methane production from brewer's spent yeast.
Anaerobic digestion treatment of brewer's spent yeast (SY) is a viable option for bioenergy capture. The biochemical methane potential (BMP) assay was performed with three different samples (SY1, SY2, and SY3) and SY1 dilutions (75, 50, and 25 % on a v/v basis). Gompertz-equation parameters denoted slow degradability of SY1 with methane production rates of 14.59-4.63 mL/day and lag phases of 10.72-19.7 days. Performance and kinetic parameters were obtained with the Gompertz equation and the first-order hydrolysis model with SY2 and SY3 diluted 25 % and SY1 50 %. A SY2 25 % gave a 17 % of TCOD conversion to methane as well as shorter lag phase (<1 day). Average estimated hydrolysis constant for SY was 0.0141 (±0.003) day(-1), and SY2 25 % was more appropriate for faster methane production. Methane capture and biogas composition were dependent upon the SY source, and co-digestion (or dilution) can be advantageous.


Schistosoma mansoni excretory-secretory products stimulate a p38 signalling pathway in Biomphalaria glabrata embryonic cells.
Following infection with Schistosoma mansoni larvae, haemocytes of resistant Biomphalaria glabrata snails execute a rapid defence during which they migrate towards and encapsulate the parasites. Such immediate and precise responses are thought to depend on signal transduction cascades though the signalling components involved remain largely unknown. It is proposed that mitogen-activated protein kinases may play a role in B. glabrata immune signalling, in particular p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases, which are known to be associated with stress and inflammatory signalling. Using degenerate PCR followed by Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends a full-length p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase-like cDNA was cloned from both the B. glabrata embryonic (Bge) cell line (Bge-p38) and haemocytes (Bgh-p38). In addition, B. glabrata p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase activation was examined at the protein level in Western blot analyses using an antibody that specifically recognises activated/diphosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. Results showed that Bge cell p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase was activated/phosphorylated following 30 min incubation with anisomycin, an established p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase activator. Furthermore, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase was also activated after only 5 min exposure to either the beta-glucan polymer laminarin or S. mansoni larval excretory-secretory products. In a comparative study, activated haemocyte p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase could also be detected using the anti-phosphorylated p38 antibody following cell treatment with anisomycin. However, in contrast with Bge cells, haemocyte p38 was not activated by either excretory-secretory products or laminarin treatments, suggesting fundamental differences in the role of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase in signal transduction pathways between haemocytes and Bge cells.


Connectivity among Photosystem II centers in phytoplankters: Patterns and responses.
Fast Repetition and Relaxation chlorophyll fluorescence induction is used to estimate the effective absorption cross section of PSII (σPSII), to analyze phytoplankton acclimation and electron transport. The fitting coefficient ρ measures excitation transfer from closed PSII to remaining open PSII upon illumination, which could theoretically generate a progressive increase in σPSII for the remaining open PSII. To investigate how ρ responds to illumination we grew marine phytoplankters with diverse antenna structures (Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, Ostreococcus and Thalassiosira pseudonana) under limiting or saturating growth light. Initial ρ varied with growth light in Synechococcus and Thalassiosira. With increasing actinic illumination PSII closed progressively and ρ decreased for all four taxa, in a pattern explicable as an exponential decay of ρ with increasing distance between remaining open PSII reaction centers. This light-dependent down-regulation of ρ allows the four phytoplankters to limit the effect of increasing light upon σPSII. The four structurally distinct taxa showed, however, distinct rates of response of ρ to PSII closure, likely reflecting differences in the spacing or orientation among their PSII centers. Following saturating illumination recovery of ρ in darkness coincided directly with PSII re-opening in Prochlorococcus. Even after PSII had re-opened in Synechococcus a transition to State II slowed dark recovery of ρ. In Ostreococcus sustained NPQ slowed dark recovery of ρ. In Thalassiosira dark recovery of ρ was slowed, possibly by a light-induced change in PSII spacing. These patterns of ρ versus PSII closure are thus a convenient probe of comparative PSII spacings.


Hemichorea as Presentation of Acute Cortical Ischemic Stroke. Case Series and Review of the Literature.
Hemichorea and other hyperkinetic movement disorders are a rare presentation of stroke, usually secondary to deep infarctions affecting the basal ganglia and the thalamus. Chorea can also result from lesions limited to the cortex, as shown in recent reports. Still, the pathophysiology of this form of cortical stroke-related chorea remains unknown. We report 4 cases of acute ischemic cortical strokes presenting as hemichorea, with the infarction being limited to the parietal and insular cortex in perfusion computed tomography scans and magnetic resonance imaging. These cases suggest potential dysfunction of pathways connecting these cortical regions with the basal ganglia.


Impact of chlorine or peracetic acid on inactivation of Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes in agricultural water.
Preharvest agricultural water has been recognized as one of the routes of contamination for foodborne pathogens during fruit and vegetable production. Several strategies have been proposed to reduce the risk of pathogens, including preharvest water chemigation, but literature is lacking with regards to microbiological inactivation of common bacterial foodborne pathogens associated with fresh produce contamination, Salmonella enterica, Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC), and Listeria monocytogenes, in surface irrigation water after exposure to chlorine and peracetic acid (PAA). Surface water supplied by a local irrigation district was collected over the summer of 2019. Water was autoclaved, divided into 100 mL samples, and inoculated with a cocktail of five Salmonella, STEC, or Listeria monocytogenes strains or a single strain non-pathogenic E. coli. Samples were then treated with 3, 5, or 7 ppm of free chlorine or PAA, and surviving populations were evaluated using a time-kill assay. A first-order kinetic model was used to fit the inactivation data and obtain the D-values. A secondary model was used to explain the changes due to the type of water, treatment, and microorganism. At a concentration of 3 ppm, the observed and predicted D-values of free chlorine treatments were higher than that of PAA treatments for ground and surface water. Results indicated that PAA was more effective inactivating bacteria than sodium hypochlorite at concentrations of 3 and 5 ppm for both water sources (surface and ground). However, at 7 ppm, the effectiveness of PAA and sodium hypochlorite showed no statistically significant difference for both surface and groundwater. Findings will provide information regarding efficacy of chemical sanitizers like chlorine and PAA for inactivation of Salmonella, Listeria, and STEC in surface water from which treatments can be derived. Ultimately benefitting growers in the selection of an appropriate method for in-field treatment of irrigation water if deemed necessary.


Engineering of highly immunogenic long-lived DC vaccines by antiapoptotic protein gene transfer to enhance cancer vaccine potency.
Dendritic cells (DCs) have a critical role in the induction of antigen-specific immune responses, transporting antigens from peripheral tissue to regional lymph nodes where they interact with antigen-specific T lymphocytes. Recent studies revealed that the efficacy of the T cell-dependent immune response depends on the lifespan of the antigen-presenting DCs in the lymph nodes. Here, we succeeded in engineering long-lived antigen-presenting DCs via Bcl-XL-derived hyperactive mutant antiapoptotic protein (Bcl-X FNK) gene transfer. In a B16BL6 melanoma model, these long-lived DCs exerted potent antitumor immunity that depended mainly on antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Furthermore, in vivo longevity of the long-lived DC vaccine led to antigen-specific activation of interferon-gamma-producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Thus, the long-lived DC vaccine strategy is highly useful for constructing DC vaccines, as well as other cell-based medicines, such as stem cell therapy.


Monetary rewards influence retrieval orientations.
Reward anticipation during learning is known to support memory formation, but its role in retrieval processes is so far unclear. Retrieval orientations, as a reflection of controlled retrieval processing, are one aspect of retrieval that might be modulated by reward. These processes can be measured using the event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by retrieval cues from tasks with different retrieval requirements, such as via changes in the class of targeted memory information. To determine whether retrieval orientations of this kind are modulated by reward during learning, we investigated the effects of high and low reward expectancy on the ERP correlates of retrieval orientation in two separate experiments. The reward manipulation at study in Experiment 1 was associated with later memory performance, whereas in Experiment 2, reward was directly linked to accuracy in the study task. In both studies, the participants encoded mixed lists of pictures and words preceded by high- or low-reward cues. After 24 h, they performed a recognition memory exclusion task, with words as the test items. In addition to a previously reported material-specific effect of retrieval orientation, a frontally distributed, reward-associated retrieval orientation effect was found in both experiments. These findings suggest that reward motivation during learning leads to the adoption of a reward-associated retrieval orientation to support the retrieval of highly motivational information. Thus, ERP retrieval orientation effects not only reflect retrieval processes related to the sought-for materials, but also relate to the reward conditions with which items were combined during encoding.


Lectin cytochemistry of the rabbit conjunctiva and lacrimal sac.
Four different types of lectin were applied to the rabbit conjunctiva and the lacrimal sac to examine the distribution of glycoconjugates. The conjunctival epithelium is comprised of goblet cells and nongoblet cells. The mucus granules of the goblet cells were stained with soybean agglutinin (SBA), and the cell body of the nongoblet cells was labeled with concanavalin A (Con A). The glycocalyx of the apical surfaces of the goblet cells and of the non-goblet cells was labeled with Maculura pomifera agglutinin. The lacrimal sac mucosa is comprised of superficial light and dark cells, and basal cells. The cell bodies of the light cells were stained with SBA. The glycocalyx of the apical surfaces of the light and dark cells was characteristically labeled with Con A. These results suggest that the composition of glycoconjugates is markedly different between the conjunctiva and the lacrimal sac, especially in the cell surface glycocalyx.


Nondestructive detection of nutritional parameters of pork based on NIR hyperspectral imaging technique.
Nondestructive detection of the nutritional parameters of pork is of great importance. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of applying hyperspectral image technology to detect the nutrient content and distribution of pork nondestructively. Hyperspectral cubes of 100 pork samples were collected using a line-scan hyperspectral system, the effects of different preprocessing methods on the modeling effects were compared and analyzed, the feature wavelengths of fat and protein were extracted, and the full-wavelength model was optimized using the regressor chains (RC) algorithm. Finally, pork's fat, protein, and energy value distributions were visualized using the best prediction model. The results showed that standard normal variate was more effective than other preprocessing methods, the feature wavelengths extracted by the competitive adaptive reweighted sampling algorithm had better prediction performance, and the protein model prediction performance was optimized after using the RC algorithm. The best prediction models were developed, with the correlation coefficient of prediction (RP) = 0.929, the root mean square error in prediction (RMSEP) = 0.699% and residual prediction deviation (RPD) = 2.669 for fat, and RP = 0.934, RMSEP = 0.603% and RPD = 2.586 for protein. The pseudo-color maps were helpful for the analysis of nutrient distribution in pork. Hyperspectral image technology can be a fast, nondestructive, and accurate tool for quantifying the composition and assessing the distribution of nutrients in pork.


Bradycardia-dependent aberrancy in type I second-degree atrioventricular block.
We present an example of bradycardia-dependent aberrancy in the left posterior fascicle in the presence of type I second-degree atrioventricular block occurring in the setting of acute inferior myocardial infarction. The need for prophylactic pacing of such cases is stressed.


Accuracy and precision of intraoral scanners for shade matching: A systematic review.
The use of intraoral scanners is rising in prosthetic dentistry; however, systematic analysis of their accuracy and precision for shade matching is scarce. The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the accuracy and precision of intraoral scanners for shade matching. In addition to a manual search, an electronic systematic search was conducted on MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Scopus databases. English-language original studies published between January 1, 2010 and March 1, 2022 with intraoral or digital scanners were chosen based on the keywords of tooth color or shade selection or determination, color or shade matching, accuracy, validity, or trueness, and precision, repeatability, or reproducibility as inclusive criteria. Two reviewers independently performed the literature search, selected the studies, collected the data from the studies included, and evaluated the quality of the studies included using a quality assessment method and the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Quasi-Experimental Studies. A third reviewer resolved disagreements. A total of 17 articles concerning the shade matching accuracy and precision of intraoral scanners were selected and reviewed. Among them, 4 articles evaluated only accuracy, 4 articles assessed only precision, and 9 articles investigated both accuracy and precision. Ten articles reported low levels of shade matching accuracy for intraoral scanners, while 11 articles reported high levels of shade matching precision for intraoral scanners. Based on the current literature, intraoral scanners show acceptable precision but unacceptable accuracy for shade matching.


Hyperproduction of fibrin and inefficacy of antithrombin III and alpha2 macroglobulin in the presence of bacterial porins.
Bacterial porins enhance the thrombin activity upon chromogen substrate chromozym. Should porin-dependent enhancement of thrombin activity take place also upon fibrinogen in vivo, this might greatly increase the fibrin production which, in turn, might lead to blood vessel obstruction. In this study, we demonstrate fibrin hyperproduction in a simplified coagulative system, consisting of fibrinogen and thrombin-pure molecules, in the presence of bacterial porins. In particular, bacterial porins, in the presence of thrombin, significantly increased the fibrin production compared with thrombin alone. Also, fibrin hyperproduction took place even in the presence of the thrombin inhibitors antithrombin III (AT III) or alpha2 macroglobulin (alpha2M). However, the thrombin-fibrinogen reaction in the presence of AT III or alpha2M did not generate fibrin, unless porins were present. In conclusion, porins not only enhance thrombin activity but also inhibit the antithrombin activity exerted by AT III or alpha2M. We hypothesize that, because of porins activity, fibrin is largely generated due to thrombin hyperactivation. Moreover, further fibrin is produced by thrombin, which is not blocked by two serpins for the presence of porins. These results might be relevant as to the occurrence of disseminated intravascular coagulation in sepsis by gram-negative bacteria, which are known to produce porins.


Endothelial dysfunction: clinical strategies for treating oxidant stress.
A growing body of evidence has demonstrated that oxidants play a critical role in the pathogenesis of endothelial dysfunction. Pathologic processes fundamental to development and progression of endothelial dysfunction such as the oxidation of LDL, the loss of bioavailable nitric oxide, and the vascular inflammatory response are all modulated by oxidant stress. Therapeutic strategies to reverse endothelial dysfunction have begun to focus on agents with the ability to ameliorate oxidant stress. Preclinical and clinical studies evaluating the actions of antioxidants as well as traditional cardiovascular therapies in ameliorating oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction were reviewed through the use of a MEDLINE search of English language articles published between the years of 1992 and 2002. Antioxidants appear to be an attractive candidate therapy, yet despite compelling preclinical evidence supporting their benefits, efforts to validate the use of vitamins C and E in a clinical setting have been conflicting. In contrast, conventional cardiovascular therapies such as ACE inhibitors, statins, insulin-sensitizing agents, and estrogens have been shown to alleviate endothelial dysfunction, often independent of their effects on systemic disease processes. These agents restore endothelial function through their salutary effects on pathologic vascular oxidative processes.


Naltrexone for the management of post-burn pruritus: A preliminary report.
Severe pruritus after burn continues to be a clinical challenge that is inadequately addressed by traditional therapies. The success of naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, in treating pruritus in other patient populations, supported the concept that it may also be effective in burn survivors. Thus, burn patients who were dissatisfied with itch relief obtained after a course of traditional therapy were offered naltrexone. Of the 15 subjects included in this case series, 2 discontinued treatment because of side-effects. Of the remaining 13, 72% reported that they were satisfied with the itch relief provided by naltrexone, 69% were able to decrease or stop taking other medications to reduce itch, 85% would recommend it to other burn patients, and 62% divulged that it improved their quality of life. A sub-group (n=8) completed the French-Canadian version of the Questionnaire for Pruritus Assessment before and after a 2-week course of naltrexone treatment. Comparisons of individual responses before and after naltrexone treatment revealed that the affective impact of itch appeared to be less burdensome. The majority reported either a reduction or no change in the frequency of itch experienced. All reported either a decrease or no change in the duration of itch experienced after naltrexone treatment. All items that previously increased itch were less likely to affect itch or there was no change, except with fatigue, physical effort, sweating and eating. There was a statistically significant reduction in their visual analogue scale intensity ratings of itch "at its worst". Thus, naltrexone positively impacted the itch experienced by burn patients in association with a high percentage of patient-satisfaction. Further controlled trials are recommended.