Signal transduction in mammalian oocytes during fertilization.
Mammalian embryo development begins when the fertilizing sperm triggers a series of elevations in the oocyte's intracellular free Ca(2+) concentration. The elevations are the result of repeated release and re-uptake of Ca(2+) stored in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Ca(2+) release is primarily mediated by the phosphoinositide signaling system of the oocyte. The system is stimulated when the sperm causes the hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) into inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and diacylglycerol (DAG); IP3 then binds its receptor on the surface of the endoplasmic reticulum that induces Ca(2+) release. The manner in which the sperm generates IP3, the Ca(2+) mobilizing second messenger, has been the subject of extensive research for a long time. The sperm factor hypothesis has eventually gained general acceptance, according to which it is a molecule from the sperm that diffuses into the ooplasm and stimulates the phosphoinositide cascade. Much evidence now indicates that the sperm-derived factor is phospholipase C-zeta (PLCζ) that cleaves PIP2 and generates IP3, eventually leading to oocyte activation. A recent addition to the candidate sperm factor list is the post-acrosomal sheath WW domain-binding protein (PAWP), whose role at fertilization is currently under debate. Ca(2+) influx across the plasma membrane is also important as, in the absence of extracellular Ca(2+), the oscillations run down prematurely. In pig oocytes, the influx that sustains the oscillations seems to be regulated by the filling status of the stores, whereas in the mouse other mechanisms might be involved. This work summarizes the current understanding of Ca(2+) signaling in mammalian oocytes.


Metagenomic insights into the profile of antibiotic resistomes in sediments of aquaculture wastewater treatment system.
To meet the rapidly growing global demand for aquaculture products, large amounts of antibiotics were used in aquaculture, which might accelerate the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and the propagation of antibiotic genes (ARGs). In our research, we revealed the ARGs profiles, their co-occurrence with mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and potential hosts in sediments of a crab pond wastewater purification system based on metagenomic analysis. The residual antibiotic seems to increase the propagation of ARGs in the crab pond, but there was no clear relationship between a given antibiotic type and the corresponding resistance genes. The effect of aquaculture on sediment was not as profound as that of other anthropogentic activities, but increased the relative abundance of sulfonamide resistance gene. A higher abundance of MGEs, especially plasmid, increased the potential ARGs dissemination risk in crab and purification ponds. Multidrug and sulfonamide resistance genes had greater potential to transfer because they were more frequently carried by MGEs. The horizontal gene transfer was likely to occur among a variety of microorganisms, and various ARGs hosts including Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Escherichia, and Klebsiella were identified. Bacterial community influenced the composition of ARG hosts, and Proteobacteria was the predominant hosts. Overall, our study provides novel insights into the environmental risk of ARGs in sediments of aquaculture wastewater treatment system.


Early dimercaptosuccinic acid renal scan in children with first febrile urinary tract infection.
To determine use of early Tc-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid scintigraphy in screening for vesicoureteral reflux following first febrile urinary tract infection. 43 children (1 mo-5 yr) with first febrile urinary tract infection underwent micturating cystourethrography, abdominal sonogram and early dimercaptosuccinic acid scintigraphy. Early dimercaptosuccinic acid scintigraphy had 72% sensitivity and 76% specificity for vesicoureteral reflux. For dilating vesicoureteral reflux, sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 75%, respectively. Early dimercaptosuccinic acid scintigraphy has the potential to replace micturating cystourethrography in initial evaluation of febrile urinary tract infection.


The kinetic model for slow photoinduced electron transport in the reaction centers of purple bacteria.
The present work is related to the investigation of slow kinetics of electron transport in the reaction centers (RCs) of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Experimental data on the absorption kinetics of aqueous solutions of reaction centers at different modes of photoexcitation are given. It is shown that the kinetics of oxidation and reduction of RCs are well described by the sum of three exponential functions. This allows to suggest a two-level kinetic model for electron transport in the RC as a system of four electron-conformational states which correspond to three balance differential equations combined with state equation. The solution of inverse problem made it possible to obtain the rate constant values in kinetic equations for different times and intensities of exciting light. Analysis of rate constant values in different modes of RC excitation allowed to suggest that two mechanisms of structural changes are involved in RC photo-oxidation. One mechanism leads to the increment of the rate of electron return, another one-to its drop. Structural changes were found out to occur in the RCs under incident light. After light was turned off, the reduction of RCs was determined by the second mechanism.


Phase retrieval from single interferogram without carrier using Lissajous ellipse fitting technology.
Phase extraction from single interferogram is of high significance and increasingly interest in optical metrology. In this contribute we propose an advanced Pixel-level Lissajous Ellipse Fitting (APLEF) method to extract the phase from single interferogram without carrier. At each pixel, a Lissajous figure is created by plotting N against D, where N and D are subtractions and additions of intensities of adjacent pixels in a small window. The so created Lissajous figure is already in phase quadrature because of the subtraction and addition process, and the Lissajous Figure is forced to be closed by taking the opposite values of N and D, i.e. -N and -D into account. The closed and in phase quadrature Lissajous Figure is the key point for APLEF to demodulate the single inteferogram without carrier in theoretically. The simulation shows its higher accuracy than existed SPT and Garbusi's method and the experiments finally corroborate its effectiveness.


Bilateral chronic peripheral ulcerative keratitis secondary to cat-scratch disease.
To report a case of bilateral chronic peripheral ulcerative keratitis secondary to cat-scratch disease. Case report. A 66-year-old woman was initially diagnosed with Perinaud oculoglandular syndrome in her right eye. She subsequently experienced recurrent episodes of bilateral peripheral ulcerative keratitis associated with diffuse thinning, neovascularization, and conjunctivalization of the peripheral corneas. This case report shows a sequential occurrence of bilateral chronic peripheral ulcerative keratitis after an episode of cat-scratch disease. Cat-scratch disease should be included in the differential diagnosis of bilateral chronic peripheral ulcerative keratitis.


Antipanic efficacy of paroxetine and polymorphism within the promoter of the serotonin transporter gene.
Serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the drugs of choice in the treatment of panic disorder (PD). The serotonin transporter (5-HTT) is a prime target for SSRIs. A functional polymorphism within the promoter region of the 5-HTT gene, leading to different transcriptional efficiency, was repeatedly reported to influence the response to SSRIs in mood disorders while the response of patients with OCD seems unrelated. We tested the hypothesis that allelic variation of the 5-HTT promoter could be related to the antipanic response to paroxetine. In total, 92 patients with PD completed a treatment with a variable dose of paroxetine for 12 weeks. The severity of panic-phobic symptomatology was measured before the beginning of the treatment and after 12 weeks. Allelic variation in each subject was determined using a PCR-based method. Both homozygotes for the long variant (l/l) of the 5-HTT promoter and heterozygotes (l/s) showed a better response to paroxetine than homozygotes for the short variant (s/s) (chi(2)=6.9, p<0.03). This result emerged in the whole sample, but was related only to female patients (chi(2)=7.6, p<0.02). The presence of the long allelic variant was associated with a better response of panic attacks while was not significantly associated with the response of anticipatory anxiety or phobic avoidance. In conclusion, paroxetine efficacy in PD seems to be related to allelic variation within the promoter of the 5-HTT gene in female subjects. This gender effect might be related to the genomic effects of sex hormones. Understanding the interaction between gender and genes coding for structures target of psychotropic drugs could help to individualize the pharmacological treatment of PD.


"Sleeve-rope closure" of the median sternotomy after open heart operations.
A new method of sternal osteosynthesis following median sternotomy using the "sleeve-rope" principle is introduced. This method has been successfully applied in 20 patients.


Experimental Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae challenge in swine: comparison of computed tomographic and radiographic findings during disease.
In pigs, diseases of the respiratory tract like pleuropneumonia due to Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App) infection have led to high economic losses for decades. Further research on disease pathogenesis, pathogen-host-interactions and new prophylactic and therapeutic approaches are needed. In most studies, a large number of experimental animals are required to assess lung alterations at different stages of the disease. In order to reduce the required number of animals but nevertheless gather information on the nature and extent of lung alterations in living pigs, a computed tomographic scoring system for quantifying gross pathological findings was developed. In this study, five healthy pigs served as control animals while 24 pigs were infected with App, the causative agent of pleuropneumonia in pigs, in an established model for respiratory tract disease. Computed tomographic (CT) findings during the course of App challenge were verified by radiological imaging, clinical, serological, gross pathology and histological examinations. Findings from clinical examinations and both CT and radiological imaging, were recorded on day 7 and day 21 after challenge. Clinical signs after experimental App challenge were indicative of acute to chronic disease. Lung CT findings of infected pigs comprised ground-glass opacities and consolidation. On day 7 and 21 the clinical scores significantly correlated with the scores of both imaging techniques. At day 21, significant correlations were found between clinical scores, CT scores and lung lesion scores. In 19 out of 22 challenged pigs the determined disease grades (not affected, slightly affected, moderately affected, severely affected) from CT and gross pathological examination were in accordance. Disease classification by radiography and gross pathology agreed in 11 out of 24 pigs. High-resolution, high-contrast CT examination with no overlapping of organs is superior to radiography in the assessment of pneumonic lung lesions after App challenge. The new CT scoring system allows for quantification of gross pathological lung alterations in living pigs. However, computed tomographic findings are not informative of the etiology of respiratory disease.


Pharmacist prescribing in primary care: the views of patients across Great Britain who had experienced the service.
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the views of patients across primary care settings in Great Britain who had experienced pharmacist prescribing. METHODS All Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) prescribers (n = 1622) were invited to participate. Those consenting were asked to invite up to five consecutive patients who had experienced their prescribing to participate. Patients were mailed one questionnaire and a reminder. The questionnaire included five sections: demographics; you and your pharmacist prescriber; you and your general practitioner; your views and experiences based on your most recent pharmacist prescriber consultation; and additional views. KEY FINDINGS Of the 482 (29.7%) pharmacists who responded, 92 (19.1%) were eligible to participate, of whom 49 (53.3%) consented. Of those excluded, 193 (49.5%) were prescribing in secondary care and 171 (43.8%) were not prescribing. Between September 2009 and March 2010, 143 patients were recruited. Patient response rate was 73.4% (n = 105/143). Consultation settings were largely general practice (85.7%) or community pharmacy (11.4%). Attitudes were overwhelmingly positive with the vast majority agreeing/strongly agreeing that they were totally satisfied with their consultation and confident that their pharmacist prescribed as safely as their general practitioner (GP). Pharmacists were considered approachable and thorough, and most would recommend consulting a pharmacist prescriber. A slightly smaller majority would prefer to consult their GP if they thought their condition was getting worse and a small minority felt that there had been insufficient privacy and time for all their queries to be answered. CONCLUSIONS Patients were satisfied with, and confident in the skills of, pharmacist prescribers. However, the sample was small, may be biased and the findings lack generalisability.


Nebulized Delivery of the MAPKAP Kinase 2 Peptide Inhibitor MMI-0100 Protects Against Ischemia-Induced Systolic Dysfunction.
Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) results in systolic dysfunction, myocarditis and fibrotic remodeling, which causes irreversible pathological remodeling of the heart. Associated cell death and inflammation cause cytokine release, which activates the p38 MAPK signaling pathway to propagate damaging signals via MAPKAP kinase 2 (MK2). Previously we showed that intraperitoneal injection of a cell permeable peptide inhibitor of MK2, MMI-0100, protects against fibrosis, apoptosis and systolic dysfunction in a mouse model of AMI induced by left-anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) ligation. Here we tested a new route of administration of MMI-0100: inhalation of nebulized peptide. When given within 30 min of AMI and daily for 2 weeks thereafter, both inhaled and injected MMI-0100 improved cardiac function as measured by conscious echocardiography. Limited fibrosis was observed after 2 weeks by Massons trichrome staining, suggesting that MMI-0100 protects the heart prior to the formation of significant fibrosis. These results support a nebulized route of administration of MMI-0100 can protect the myocardium from ischemic damage.


Identification of a novel ALDH1A3-selective inhibitor by a chemical probe with unrelated bioactivity: An approach to affinity-based drug target discovery.
The identification of biologically active target compounds and their binding proteins is important in mechanism-of-action studies for drug development. Additionally, the newly discovered binding proteins provide unforeseen ideas for novel drug discovery and for subsequent structural transformation to improve target specificity. Based on the lead and final candidate compounds related to the type 5 phosphodiesterase (PDE5) inhibitor E4021, we designed chemical probes and identified their target proteins by the affinity chromatography approach. Aldehyde dehydrogenase family 1 member A3 (ALDH1A3), currently reported as a cancer stem cell target, was clearly isolated as a binding protein of the lead 'immature' inhibitor probe against PDE5. In the early derivatization to the closely related structure, Compound 5 (ER-001135935) was found to significantly inhibit ALDH1A3 activity. The discovery process of a novel ALDH1A3-selective inhibitor with affinity-based binder identification is described, and the impact of this identification method on novel drug discovery is discussed.


Property based optimization of δ-lactam HDAC inhibitors for metabolic stability.
The novel δ-lactam based HDAC inhibitor, KBH-A118 (3) shows a good HDAC enzyme and cancer cell growth inhibitory activities but has undesirable pharmacokinetics profiles because of instability in mouse liver microsome. To improve metabolic stability, various analogues were prepared with substituents on aromatic ring of cap group and various chain lengths between the cap group and δ-lactam core. The newly prepared analogues showed moderate to potent in vitro activities. Among them six compounds (8a, 8e, 8j, 8n, 8t, and 8v) were evaluated on mouse liver microsome assay and it turned out that the microsomal stabilities were dependent on lipophilicity and the number of the rotatable bonds. Finally, the animal pharmacokinetic profiles of 8e displayed improving oral exposure and oral bioavailability.


Minimally invasive treatment of renal cell carcinoma: comparison of 4 different monopolar radiofrequency devices.
Radiofrequency Ablation is an investigational treatment option for RCC. The aim of our study was to test the ablation algorithms of four different RF systems in a standardized ex vivo perfused porcine kidney model. A multiline monopolar dry electrode (impedance-based system), a multiline monopolar dry electrode (temperature-based system), a single monopolar wet electrode (impedance-based system) and a single monopolar dry, internally-cooled electrode (impedance-based system) were selected. RF energy was applied at different treatment parameters (power with and without control, tissue temperature, saline enhancement) for 1, 3, 5 and 9 minutes in healthy perfused ex vivo porcine tissue. Each treatment parameter was repeated 5 times. Maximum vertical, long-axis and short-axis diameters of the macroscopic lesion were measured and lesion volumes/ shapes were calculated. Lesion volumes increased significantly with the pre-selected tissue temperature and saline enhancement. Saline enhancement created larger, but irregular shaped lesions. The impedance-based system created lesion volumes that were predictable by treatment time and generator power. Lesions were unpredictable when uncontrolled generator power was applied. The created lesion shape was dependent on the selected electrode configuration. The currently available monopolar RFA systems offer different specific technical features to control tissue ablation. Detailed knowledge of the specific characteristics of each RF system is necessary to provide a higher chance of successful clinical outcome by complete and reliable ablation.


Biomimicking Bone-Implant Interface Facilitates the Bioadaption of a New Degradable Magnesium Alloy to the Bone Tissue Microenvironment.
The most critical factor determining the success of biodegradable bone implants is the host tissue response, which greatly depends on their degradation behaviors. Here, a new magnesium-based implant, namely magnesium-silicon-calcium (Mg-0.2Si-1.0Ca) alloy, that coordinates its biodegradation along with the bone regenerative process via a self-assembled, multilayered bone-implant interface is designed. At first, its rapid biocorrosion contributes to a burst release of Mg2+ , leading to a pro-osteogenic immune microenvironment in bone. Meanwhile, with the simultaneous intervention of Ca and Si in the secondary phases of the new alloy, a hierarchical layered calcified matrix is rapidly formed at the degrading interface that favored the subsequent bone mineralization. In contrast, pure Mg or Mg-0.2Si alloy without the development of this interface at the beginning will unavoidably induce detrimental bone loss. Hence, it is believed this biomimicking interface justifies its bioadaptability in which it can modulate its degradation in vivo and accelerate bone mineralization.


The Young Researcher's Guide to Creating Data Mastersheets.
Researchers who have completed a study need to transfer their data from individual patient research files to a mastersheet. This article is a beginner's guide to creating data spreadsheets that can be shared with others and imported into statistical programs. The article discusses choice of spreadsheet software, use of separate worksheets for main data and granular data, use of columns for variables and rows for patient data, coding data, entry of data into cells in the worksheets, and other matters.


Incidence, prevalence, and comorbidities of juvenile idiopathic arthritis in Germany: a retrospective observational cohort health claims database study.
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) describes heterogenous categories of chronic inflammatory rheumatic conditions of unknown origin in children and adolescents. Epidemiological data in the literature vary, depending on geographic location, ethnicity and the case definition used. We evaluated epidemiology, especially that of the categories defined by the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR). Using data from two different longitudinal health claims databases (WIG2 and InGef) from January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2019, we looked at patients aged 2 to 15 years old with at least one main inpatient or two secondary inpatient/verified outpatient ICD-10 diagnoses in at least two different quarters within one calendar year. We calculated prevalence and incidence (per 100,000 patients) and extrapolated data to the entire German population, looking at differences in gender and age groups. Additionally, we collected data on "other" not necessary comorbidities in our JIA patient population. Of the 3-4 million patients in the databases (respectively) in 2018, we found a total of 546 (WIG2) and 849 (InGef) patients that met our JIA case definition, with an incidence of 34 (29-41) and 60 (53-67) and prevalence of 133 (122-145) and 168 (157-179). Both incidence and prevalence throughout the age range were mostly higher in females than males, however the difference between females and males increased with increasing age. Of the ILAR categories, oligoarthritis was the most prevalent (70 and 91 per 100,000), with about half of our JIA patients in this category, followed by undifferentiated arthritis (49 and 56 cases per 100,000) and rheumatoid factor negative (RF-) (31 and 39 per 100,000). Incidence in 2018 was the highest in these three categories. Atopic dermatitis, vasomotor and allergic rhinitis, and uveitis were the pre-defined comorbidities seen most often in both databases. This study provides current incidence and prevalence JIA data in Germany, contributing to knowledge on burden of disease and tools for healthcare planning.


Health-related quality of life in the first 5 years of the children born to mothers with IBD does not differ from children born to healthy mothers.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is often diagnosed in women in their reproductive years of life and therefore children are born to mothers with IBD. Health outcomes of children born to mothers with IBD seem favorable. However, little is known about the quality of life related to their health compared to children born to healthy mothers. Therefore, our first objective was to investigate the effect of having IBD during pregnancy on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of children born to mothers with IBD in the first 5 years of age compared to children born to healthy mothers. Secondly, we studied the effect of the different IBD related factors on the HRQoL. We prospectively followed 264 women with IBD, who visited the preconception outpatient clinic at our tertiary health center in the Netherlands from April 2013 through November 2016. Women of children aged 1-5 years were approached to fill in a 43-item validated TNO-AZL Preschool Children Quality of Life questionnaire (TAPQOL) to assess HRQoL (Fekkes et al., 2000; Bunge et al., 2005 [1,2]). Outcomes were compared to children of mothers without IBD. One-hundred-eighty-two women completed the TAPQOL questionnaire. In total 182 children of mothers with IBD were included [median age 3.0 years (IQR 2-4)]. From 70 healthy mothers, 70 children were included as controls. There was no significant difference in the HRQoL between children who were and were not born to mothers with IBD (P = .18). Also, no effect of the different IBD related factors was found. In this study, we found no effect of having IBD during pregnancy on the health-related quality of life of children in the first 5 years of life.


Multi-Omics Signatures Link to Ticagrelor Effects on Vascular Function in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome.
Long-term antiplatelet agents including the potent P2Y12 antagonist ticagrelor are indicated in patients with a previous history of acute coronary syndrome. We sought to compare the effect of ticagrelor with that of aspirin monotherapy on vascular endothelial function in patients with prior acute coronary syndrome. This was a prospective, single center, parallel group, investigator-blinded randomized controlled trial. We randomized 200 patients on long-term aspirin monotherapy with prior acute coronary syndrome in a 1:1 fashion to receive ticagrelor 60 mg BD (n=100) or aspirin 100 mg OD (n=100). The primary end point was change from baseline in brachial artery flow-mediated dilation at 12 weeks. Secondary end points were changes to platelet activation marker (CD41_62p) and endothelial progenitor cell (CD34/133) count measured by flow cytometry, plasma level of adenosine, IL-6 (interleukin-6) and EGF (epidermal growth factor), and multi-omics profiling at 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, brachial flow-mediated dilation was significantly increased in the ticagrelor group compared with the aspirin group (ticagrelor: 3.48±3.48% versus aspirin: -1.26±2.85%, treatment effect 4.73 [95% CI, 3.85-5.62], P<0.001). Nevertheless ticagrelor treatment for 12 weeks had no significant effect on platelet activation markers, circulating endothelial progenitor cell count or plasma level of adenosine, IL-6, and EGF (all P>0.05). Multi-omics pathway assessment revealed that changes in the metabolism and biosynthesis of amino acids (cysteine and methionine metabolism; phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis) and phospholipids (glycerophosphoethanolamines and glycerophosphoserines) were associated with improved brachial artery flow-mediated dilation in the ticagrelor group. In patients with prior acute coronary syndrome, ticagrelor 60 mg BD monotherapy significantly improved brachial flow-mediated dilation compared with aspirin monotherapy and was associated with significant changes in metabolomic and lipidomic signatures. URL: https://www. gov; Unique identifier: NCT03881943.


[Nephrectomy, donor nephrectomy, and partial kidney resection: indications for robot-assisted renal surgery].
Laparoscopic renal surgery in experienced hands is an alternative to open surgery, although the technical difficulty of, for example, intracorporeal suturing and concerns over warm ischemia time for partial nephrectomy are limitations. Previous work has demonstrated that suturing with the robotic da Vinci system is easier compared with laparoscopy. The purpose of this report was to evaluate the feasibility of robot-assisted da Vinci renal surgery. In our study, the learning curve, complication rate, and operative time were short and the intraoperative technical movements were intuitive with the da Vinci Surgical System. In our opinion, robot-assisted surgery will allow urologists to perform complex procedures with great precision, confidence, and excellent results in renal surgery.


Potential application of high hydrostatic pressure to eliminate Escherichia coli O157:H7 on alfalfa sprouted seeds.
Sprouts eaten raw are increasingly being perceived as hazardous foods as they have been implicated in Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreaks where the seeds were found to be the likely source of contamination. The objective of our study was to evaluate the potential of using high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) technology for alfalfa seed decontamination. Alfalfa seeds inoculated with a cocktail of five strains of E. coli O157:H7 were subjected to pressures of 500 and 600 MPa for 2 min at 20 degrees C in a dry or wet (immersed in water) state. Immersing seeds in water during pressurization considerably enhanced inactivation of E. coli O157:H7 achieving reductions of 3.5 log and 5.7 log at 500 and 600 MPa, respectively. When dry seeds were pressurized, both pressure levels reduced the counts by <0.7 log. To test the efficacy of HHP to completely decontaminate seeds whilst meeting the FDA requirement of 5 log reductions, seeds inoculated with a ~5 log CFU/g of E. coli O157:H7 were pressure-treated at 600 and 650 MPa at 20 degrees C for holding times of 2 to 20 min. A >5 log reduction in the population was achieved when 600 MPa was applied for durations of > or =6 min although survivors were still detected by enrichment. When the pressure was stepped up to 650 MPa, the threshold time required to achieve complete elimination was 15 min. Un-inoculated seeds pressure-treated at 650 MPa for 15 min at 20 degrees C successfully sprouted achieving a germination rate identical to untreated seeds after eight days of sprouting. These results therefore demonstrate the promising application of HHP on alfalfa seeds to eliminate the risk of E. coli O157:H7 infections associated with consumption of raw alfalfa sprouts.


Lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzymes, and benzo[a]pyrene-quinones in the blood of rats treated with benzo[a]pyrene.
The lipid peroxidation (as malondialdehyde, MDA), activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) metabolites were investigated in sera and erythrocytes of male Sprague-Dawley rats treated with BaP (20 mg per rat). MDA levels were significantly increased in sera (16.98+/-3.29 nmol/ml serum, P<0.05) 12 h after BaP treatment and persisted up to 96 h (13.80+/-1. 65 nmol/ml serum, P<0.05), but no significant change in NIDA levels was observed in erythrocytes. SOD and CAT activities were significantly increased in erythrocytes shortly after BaP exposure, and they were slightly decreased in sera, indicating an inverse correlation between lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme activity. BaP and BaP-quinones (BaP-1,6-quinone and BaP-3,6-quinone) were measured in sera during the study period. A rapid increase of unmetabolized BaP was observed in sera (41.27+/-4.14 pmol/ml serum) 3 h after BaP treatment, reaching a peak at 6 h (48.56+/-4.62 pmol/ml serum) followed by a sharp decrease. Formation of the BaP-1, 6-quinone and BaP-3,6-quinone started in sera 3 h after BaP treatment, reached a peak at 24 h (7.23+/-1.02 pmol/ml serum) and 12 h (9.20+/-0.98 pmol/ml serum), respectively, and then decreased gradually. The time-dependent pattern of serum lipid peroxidation and the level of erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes were shown to be related to the concentrations of the BaP-quinone metabolites. These results suggest that BaP treatment, probably via the formation of BaP-quinones, oxidatively altered lipids and antioxidant enzymes in the blood, and might be associated with BaP-related vascular toxicity including carcinogenesis.


Automated analysis of bone marrow aspirates from dogs with haematological disorders.
Automated analysis of bone marrow (BM) aspirates is a useful 'pre-microscopical' screen to identify hypocellular samples and those with potentially abnormal cells. In order to determine whether automated analysis could also be used to identify haemopoietic abnormalities, EDTA-anticoagulated BM aspirates from 43 dogs were analysed using the Advia 2120 instrument. Corresponding Wright-stained BM smears were evaluated microscopically to determine smear quality, cell composition and 500-cell differential counts, and correlation to automated analysis parameters was computed. Leucocyte cytograms generated by the automated analyzer were scrutinized and compared with those of 'normal' BM. Twenty-three neoplastic and 20 non-neoplastic samples were analysed, including samples from 10 cases of acute myeloid leukaemia, four cases of acute lymphocytic leukaemia, four cases of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, one case of chronic neutrophilic leukaemia, three cases of multiple myeloma, one case of myelodysplastic syndrome, five cases of non-regenerative immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia, one case of immune-mediated neutropenia, three cases of immune-mediated thrombocytopenia, six cases of inflammatory disease, three samples with myelotoxicity and two samples analysed for staging of neoplasia. Automated white blood cell (WBC) counts correlated significantly with smear cellularity, particle cellularity and particle number. There was a significant difference in WBC counts of samples with insufficient versus sufficient particles. Significant correlations between Advia percent neutrophils and microscopical determination of marrow segmented neutrophils/neutrophilic granulocyte reserve, Advia percent lymphocytes and microscopical determination of lymphocytes/rubricytes, Advia percent large unstained cells and microscopical determination of myeloblasts/promyelocytes and between Advia percent eosinophils and manual determination of eosinophils were identified. This suggested that Advia WBC counts may be used to approximate BM sample quality and that Advia differential counts may predict marrow granulocyte reserve and lymphocyte/rubricyte stores. Distinct and consistent alterations in cytogram patterns were observed in cases of acute leukaemia, but were less obvious in chronic leukaemia. Complete automated BM analysis was performed in approximately 2 min, while staining and coverslipping of BM slides required approximately 30 min. Hence, although automated analysis should not supplant microscopical evaluation of BM, it can provide useful ancillary information in a short time and flag potentially inadequate or abnormal samples.


A self-tuning Smith predictor applied to the control of blood pressure: simulation studies.
Significant time-delays occur in the response of blood pressure to drug therapy. The classical Smith predictor algorithm used to eliminate such delays is extended here to the principle of self-tuning under mis-match conditions. Two delay-free controller algorithms are investigated, being a self-tuning pole-placement and a self-tuning PID structure. Extensive simulation studies using the well-known Slate model have demonstrated the good transient performance obtained with this self-tuning Smith principle in various combinations, and under realistic variability of patient dynamics.


Cross-sectional population associations between detailed adiposity measures and C-reactive protein levels at age 6 years: the Generation R Study.
High body mass index is associated with increased C-reactive protein levels in childhood and adulthood. Little is known about the associations of detailed adiposity measures with C-reactive protein levels in childhood. We examined the associations of general and abdominal adiposity measures with C-reactive protein levels at school age. To gain insight into the direction of causality, we used genetic risk scores based on known genetic variants in adults as proxies for child adiposity measures and C-reactive protein levels. Within a population-based cohort study among 4338 children at the median age of 6.2 years, we measured body mass index, fat mass percentage, android/gynoid fat mass ratio and preperitoneal abdominal fat mass. We also measured C-reactive protein blood levels and defined increased levels as ⩾3.0 mg l(-1). Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for the weighted genetic risk scores were extracted from large genome-wide association studies on adult body mass index, waist-hip ratio and C-reactive protein levels. All fat mass measures were associated with increased C-reactive protein levels, even after adjusting for multiple confounders. Fat mass percentage was most strongly associated with increased C-reactive protein levels (odds ratio 1.46 (95% confidence interval 1.30-1.65) per increase standard deviation scores in fat mass percentage). The association was independent of body mass index. The genetic risk score based on adult body mass index SNPs, but not adult waist-hip ratio SNPs, tended to be associated with increased C-reactive protein levels at school age. The genetic risk score based on adult C-reactive protein level SNPs was not associated with adiposity measures at school age. Our results suggest that higher general and abdominal fat mass may lead to increased C-reactive protein levels at school age. Further studies are needed to replicate these results and explore the causality and long-term consequences.


Heterocyclic acetals from glycerol and acetaldehyde in Port wines: evolution with aging.
In Port wine, isomers of glycerol and acetaldehyde acetals have been found at total contents ranging from 9.4 to 175.3 mg/L. During oxidative aging, the concentrations of the 5-hydroxy-2-methyl-1,3-dioxane and 4-hydroxymethyl-2-methyl-1,3-dioxolane isomers increased with time showing a linear correlation (r > 0.95). The flavor threshold for the mixture of the four isomers was evaluated in wine at 100 mg/L. Thus, it is expected that they contribute to "old Port wine" aroma in wines older than 30 years. Experiments with model solutions and wine clearly demonstrated that SO(2) combines with acetaldehyde and blocks the acetalization reaction.


Identification of novel ligands for the RNA pseudoknot that regulate -1 ribosomal frameshifting.
In many viruses, -1 ribosomal frameshifting (-1RF) regulates synthesis of proteins and is crucial for virus production. An RNA pseudoknot is one of the essential components of the viral -1RF system. Thermodynamic or kinetic control of pseudoknot folding may be important in regulating the efficiency of -1RF. Thus, small molecules that interact with viral RNA pseudoknots may disrupt the -1RF system and show antiviral activity. In this study, we conducted virtual screening of a chemical database targeting the X-ray crystal structure of RNA pseudoknot complexed with biotin to identify ligands that may regulate an -1RF system containing biotin-aptamer as an RNA pseudoknot component. After docking screening of about 80,000 compounds, 58 high-ranked hits were selected and their activities were examined by in vitro and cell-based -1 frameshifting assays. Six compounds increased the efficiency of -1 frameshifting, and these are novel small molecule compounds that regulate the -1RF.


A comparative study on compressive deformation and corrosion behaviour of heat treated Ti4wt%Al foam of different porosity made of milled and unmilled powders.
Ti4wt%Al alloy foams of various porosities were prepared using milled and unmilled powders through space holder technique. Crystallographic and morphological change in milled powder compared to the unmilled one were also examined. Space holder content was varied to get foams of different porosities. After sintering, foams were thermally oxidized through heat treatment and characterised in terms of their pore size, pore morphology, pore interconnectivity, phase formation and compressive deformation behaviour. It was observed that plastic collapse stress, elastic modulus, plateau stress and energy absorption capacity are strong function of porosity and these are higher for the foam made of milled powder (Mf) than those of the foam made of unmilled one (Uf). Corrosion behaviour of these foams were examined. Open circuit potential, Tafel plot and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy confirm that Mf has higher corrosion resistance than Uf for the same porosity level. Also, with increasing porosity, corrosion resistance of the foam samples reduces.


Comparative life cycle cost assessment of painted and hot-dip galvanized bridges.
The study addresses the life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) of steel bridges, focusing on the maintenance activities and the maintenance scenario. Firstly, the unit costs of maintenance activities and their durability (i.e. the time between two activities) are evaluated. Pragmatic data are provided for the environment category C4 and for three activities: Patch Up, Overcoating and Remove & Replace. A comparative LCCA for a typical hypothetic steel girder bridge is carried out, either painted or hot-dip galvanized (HDG), in the environmental class C4. The LCC versus the cumulated life is provided for both options. The initial cost of the steel unpainted option is only 50.3% of the HDG option. It is shown that after 'Overcoating' occurring at 18.5 years, the total Net Present Value (NPV) of the painted option surpasses that of the HDG option. A sensitivity analysis of the NPV to the cost and service life parameters, the escalation and discount rates is then performed. The discount and escalation rates, considerably influences the total LCC, following a non-linear trend. The total LCC decreases with the discount rate increasing and, conversely, increases with the escalation rate increasing. Secondly, the influence of the maintenance scenario on the total LCC is assessed based on a probabilistic approach. A permutation of the three independent maintenance activities assumed to occur six times over the life of the bridge is considered and a probability of occurrence is associated to each unique scenario. The most probable scenarios are then classified according to their NPV or achieved service life. This approach leads to the definition of a cost-effective maintenance scenario i.e. the scenario, within all the considered permutations, that has the minimum LCC in a range of lifespan. Besides, the probabilistic analysis also shows that, whatever the scenario, the return on investment period ranges between 18.5 years and 24.2 years. After that period, the HDG option becomes economic.


Magnetic resonance imaging of anatomic and vascular characteristics in a canine model of human aging.
Dogs exhibit both neuroanatomical and cognitive changes as a function of age that parallel those seen in aging humans. This study describes in vivo changes in neuroanatomical and cerebrovascular characteristics of the canine brain as a function of age in a group of dogs ranging from 4 to 15 years old. Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure the kinetics of contrast agents in the brain. Measures of vascular volume and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability were derived from a pharmacokinetic analysis. Cortical atrophy and ventricular enlargement were characteristic features of the aged canine brain. Vascular volume did not vary as a function of age and BBB permeability exhibited a nonsignificant increasing trend with age. However, BBB dysfunction was detected in one middle-aged dog that in addition to having unusually large ventricles, demonstrated an early onset of diffuse senile plaques at postmortem. These findings indicate that BBB dysfunction detected by magnetic resonance imaging may be useful for predicting and potentially diagnosing early pathological conditions.


Pressure measurement evaluation and accuracy validation: the Gabarith test.
The dynamic distortion introduced by manometric systems has been known for many years, with several methods developed to describe and quantify the degree of distortion. We developed the Gabarith as a technique to describe more accurately, and yet more simply, the dynamic accuracy of the chain of monitoring. A pressure monitoring system transforms some input signal, i.e. the actual pressure waveform present in the artery, into some other shape of waveform, i.e. the waveform displayed on the patient monitor. This transformation is characterized by the transfer function of the total system. A complete technique to define the transfer function is to measure the response directly at many different frequencies and combine them to produce the dynamic response plot. We described the dynamic response of a monitoring chain and we simplified the communication of this dynamic response to users by developing the Gabarith, as a tolerance envelope based on the frequency content of typical pressure waveforms. If a given monitoring chain's dynamic response (including a catheter, a pressure kit and a monitor) can be shown to fall within that tolerance envelope, the chain will provide adequate dynamic accuracy. "Gabarith tested" means that a pressure kit, in combination with a catheter and a monitor, has had its frequency response function measured and that the function falls within a tolerance band for dynamic accuracy. Passing a Gabarith means that a given level of accuracy will be reached when using the sets which have passed the corresponding test.


Dielectric Spectroscopy Shows a Permittivity Contrast between Meningioma Tissue and Brain White and Gray Matter-A Potential Physical Biomarker for Meningioma Discrimination.
The effectiveness of surgical resection of meningioma, the most common primary CNS tumor, depends on the capability to intraoperatively discriminate between the meningioma tissue and the surrounding brain white and gray matter tissues. Aiming to find a potential biomarker based on tissue permittivity, dielectric spectroscopy of meningioma, white matter, and gray matter ex vivo tissues was performed using the open-ended coaxial probe method in the microwave frequency range from 0.5 to 18 GHz. The averages and the 95% confidence intervals of the measured permittivity for each tissue were compared. The results showed the absence of overlap between the 95% confidence intervals for meningioma tissue and for brain white and gray matter, indicating a significant difference in average permittivity (p ≤ 0.05) throughout almost the entire measured frequency range, with the most pronounced contrast found between 2 GHz and 5 GHz. The discovered contrast is relevant as a potential physical biomarker to discriminate meningioma tissue from the surrounding brain tissues by means of permittivity measurement, e.g., for intraoperative meningioma margin assessment. The permittivity models for each tissue, developed in this study as its byproducts, will allow more accurate electromagnetic modeling of brain tumor and healthy tissues, facilitating the development of new microwave-based medical devices and tools.


Antimicrobial peptides: Promising alternatives over conventional capture ligands for biosensor-based detection of pathogenic bacteria.
The detection of pathogenic bacteria using biosensing techniques could be a potential alternative to traditional culture based methods. However, the low specificity and sensitivity of conventional biosensors, critically related to the choice of bio-recognition elements, limit their practical applicability. Mammalian antibodies have been widely investigated as biorecognition ligands due to high specificity and technological advancement in antibody production. However, antibody-based biosensors are not considered as an efficient approach due to the batch-to-batch inconsistencies as well as low stability. In recent years, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been increasingly investigated as ligands as they have demonstrated high stability and possessed multiple sites for capturing bacteria. The conjugation of chemo-selective groups with AMPs has allowed effective immobilization of peptides on biosensor surface. However, the specificity of AMPs is a major concern for consideration as an efficient ligand. In this article, we have reviewed the advances and concerns, particularly the selectivity of AMPs for specific detection of pathogenic bacteria. This review also focuses the state-of-the-art mechanisms, challenges and prospects for designing potential AMP conjugated biosensors. The application of AMP in different biosensing transducers such as electrochemical, optical and piezoelectric varieties has been widely discussed. We argue that this review would provide insights to design and construct AMP conjugated biosensors for the pathogenic bacteria detection.


Inhibition of TRPA1 Attenuates Oxidative Stress-induced Damage After Traumatic Brain Injury via the ERK/AKT Signaling Pathway.
Neuron apoptosis is a feature of secondary injury after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Evidence implies that excess calcium (Ca2+) ions and reactive oxidative species (ROS) play critical roles in apoptosis. In reaction to increased ROS, the anti-oxidative master transcription factor, Transient receptor potential Ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) allows Ca2+ ions to enter cells. However, the effect of TBI on the expression of TRPA1 and the role of TRPA1 in TBI are unclear. In the present study, TBI in the mouse brain was simulated using the weight-drop model. The process of neuronal oxidative stress was simulated in HT22 neuronal cells by treatment with hydrogen peroxide. We found that TRPA1 was significantly upregulated in neurons at 24 h after TBI. Neuronal apoptosis was increased in the in vivo and in vitro models; however, this increase was reduced by the functional inhibition of TRPA1 in both models. After TBI, TRPA1 was upregulated via nuclear factor, erythroid 2 like 2 (Nrf2) in neurons. TRPA1-mediated neuronal apoptosis after TBI might be achieved in part through the CaMKII/AKT/ERK signaling pathway. To sum up, TBI-triggered TRPA1 upregulation in neurons is mediated by Nrf2 and the functional blockade of TRPA1 attenuates neuronal apoptosis and improves neuronal dysfunction, partially mediated through the activation of the calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) extracellular regulated kinase (ERK)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway. Our results suggest that functional blockade of TRPA1 might be a promising therapeutic intervention related to ROS and Nrf2 in TBI.


The complete nucleotide sequence and genome organization of red clover necrotic mosaic virus RNA-1.
The complete nucleotide sequence of red clover necrotic mosaic virus (RCNMV) RNA-1 has been determined. RNA-1 is 3889 nucleotides in length with a 5' terminal m7GpppA cap. The RNA contains three large open reading frames (ORFs): the 5' proximal ORF, encoding a 27-kDa polypeptide; the internal ORF, coding for a 57-kDa polypeptide; and the 3' terminal ORF, encoding the 37-kDa capsid protein. The sequence results confirm in vitro translation of 27-, 50-, and 37-kDa products but do not account for the observed 90-kDa product. A translational frameshift event from the 27- to the 57-kDa ORFs is proposed to explain the synthesis of the observed 90-kDa in vitro product. The putative translational frameshift region is structurally similar to several retrovirus frameshift regions and the putative barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) frameshift regions. Extensive amino acid homology was observed in the 57-kDa downstream ORF with the downstream domains of the carnation mottle virus (CarMV), turnip crinkle virus (TCV), maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) readthrough, and BYDV fusion proteins. The 57-kDa ORF contained the conserved "GDD" motif. A significant alignment between the capsid proteins of RCNMV, CarMV, and TCV was also observed. Given the extensive amino acid sequence similarity of RCNMV, CarMV, and TCV polymerase and capsid proteins, we speculate that they are closely related, evolutionarily.


[Expressions of NF-kappaB p65 in laryngeal carcinoma and normal mucous membrane and its clinical significance].
To evaluate expressions of NF-kappaB p65 in laryngeal carcinoma and normal mucous membrane and its clinical significance. The immunohistochemical method and the in situ hybridization were employed in detecting the NF-kappaB p65 expressions in surgical specimen from 48 laryngeal carcinoma and 20 normal mucous membrane. (1) The expression of NF kappaB p65 was higher than in normal laryngeal mucous membrane. (2) Positive expression of NF-kappaB p65 correlated with the development of distant metastasis. The results of the study show that the NF-kappaB p65 protein is a significant predictor of survival in laryngeal carcinoma patients.


Cell lineage tracing in heart development.
Photolysis-based lineage determination is especially useful in addressing late-stage lineage definitions. Although we have focused on the heart lineage, this technique is readily applicable to any region of the embryo. Furthermore, the concomitant analysis of gene expression and lineage restriction within the same embryo will help define the signaling cascades that direct normal cell fate and the regulative changes that mark vertebrate organ development.


Glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK3beta) inhibition suppresses the inflammatory response to Francisella infection and protects against tularemia in mice.
Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, is currently considered a category A bioterrorism agent due to its high virulence. Infection with F. tularensis results in an inflammatory response that plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease; however, the cellular mechanisms regulating this response are poorly understood. Glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK3beta) is a serine/threonine protein kinase that has recently emerged as a key regulatory switch in the modulation of the inflammatory response. In this study, we investigated the effect of GSK3beta inhibition in regulating F. tularensis LVS-induced inflammatory responses. F. tularensis LVS infection of murine peritoneal macrophages induced a TLR2 dependent phosphorylation of GSK3beta. Inhibition of GSK3beta resulted in a significant decrease in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6, IL-12p40 and TNF-alpha, as well as a significant increase in the production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. GSK3beta regulated the F. tularensis LVS-induced cytokine response by differentially affecting the activation of transcription factors NF-kappaB and CREB. Inhibition of GSK3beta by lithium in vivo suppressed the inflammatory response in mice infected with F. tularensis LVS and conferred a survival advantage. In addition, we show that the production of IFN-gamma contributed to the development of tularemia and to the fatal outcome of the infected animals, depending on the timing and the relative level of the IFN-gamma produced. IFN-gamma potentiated F. tularensis LVS-induced cytokine production by increasing GSK3beta activity and the nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB. Taken together, these results demonstrate a regulatory function of GSK3beta in modulating inflammatory responses that can be detrimental to the host during an F. tularensis LVS infection, and suggest that inhibition of GSK3beta may represent a novel therapeutic approach in the treatment of tularemia.


Risk factors of young ischemic stroke in Qatar.
There is limited information about risk factors of young ischemic stroke in Qatar. The aim of this study was to describe the risk factors and subtypes of young ischemic stroke among Qatari and non-Qatari residents. Hospital based prospective observational study involving all young adults (15-45 years of age) admitted to Hamad General Hospital with first-ever ischemic stroke from September 2004 to September 2005. A stroke was defined according to WHO criteria. Stroke was confirmed in 40 (32 males and 8 females). Their ages ranged from 17 to 44 years (mean 37.1+/-13.27). Thirty (75%) of the patients were non-Qatari. The most common risk factors were hypertension 16 (40%), diabetes mellitus 13 (32.5%), hypercholesterolemia 11 (27.5%), smoking 11 (27.5%), and alcohol intake 9 (22.5%). Regarding stroke subtypes, lacunar stroke syndrome (LACS) was diagnosed in 17 (42.5%), total anterior circulation stroke syndrome (TACS) in 16 (40%), partial anterior circulation stroke syndrome (PACS) in 5 (12.5%) and posterior circulation stroke syndrome (POCS) in 2 (5%). Partial anterior circulation stroke syndrome (PACS) was observed with a higher frequency in Qatari patients compared with non-Qataris (p=0.009), whereas total anterior circulation stroke syndrome (TACS) was observed more in non-Qatari than in Qatari patients (p=0.03). Average hospital stay was 18 days. In-hospital mortality was 2.5%. The risk factors of ischemic stroke in young adults are numerous. The most common were hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, smoking and alcohol intake. Only one Indonesian male patient with POCS died in the hospital.


Absence of ULK1 decreases AMPK activity in the kidney, leading to chronic kidney disease progression.
AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) inactivation in chronic kidney disease (CKD) leads to energy status deterioration in the kidney, constituting the vicious cycle of CKD exacerbation. Unc-51-like kinase 1 (ULK1) is considered a downstream molecule of AMPK; however, it was recently reported that the activity of AMPK could be regulated by ULK1 conversely. We demonstrated that AMPK and ULK1 activities were decreased in the kidneys of CKD mice. However, whether and how ULK1 is involved in the underlying mechanism of CKD exacerbation remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the ULK1 involvement in CKD, using ULK1 knockout mice. The CKD model of Ulk1-/- mice exhibited significantly exacerbated renal function and worsening renal fibrosis. In the kidneys of the CKD model of Ulk1-/- mice, reduced AMPK and its downstream β-oxidation could be observed, leading to an energy deficit of increased AMP/ATP ratio. In addition, AMPK signaling in the kidney was reduced in control Ulk1-/- mice with normal renal function compared to control wild-type mice, suggesting that ULK1 deficiency suppressed AMPK activity in the kidney. This study is the first to present ULK1 as a novel therapeutic target for CKD treatment, which regulates AMPK activity in the kidney.


Protein expression changes during cotton fiber elongation in response to low temperature stress.
Low temperature stress is one of the major abiotic stresses limiting the formation of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fiber qualities, especially fiber length. To investigate the molecular adaptation mechanisms of cotton fiber elongation to low temperature stress, two cotton cultivars, Kemian 1 (low temperature-tolerant) and Sumian 15 (low temperature-sensitive), were planted in the field at two sowing dates (25 April and 10 June). The two sowing dates resulted in different growing conditions and the main environmental difference between them was temperature, particularly the mean daily minimum temperature (MDTmin). When the sowing date was delayed, the MDTmin decreased from 26.9°C (25 April) to 20.6°C (10 June). Low temperature stress (MDTmin of 20.6°C) shortened the fiber length significantly in two cultivars, but the decreased extent was larger in Sumian 15 than that in Kemian 1. Proteomic analysis of three developmental stages (10, 15 and 20 days post-anthesis [DPA]) showed that 37 spots changed significantly (p<0.05) in abundance under low temperature stress and they were identified using mass spectrometry. These proteins were involved in malate metabolism, soluble sugar metabolism, cell wall loosening, cellulose synthesis, cytoskeleton, cellular response, and redox homeostasis. The results suggest that the enhancement of osmoticum maintenance, cell wall loosening, cell wall components biosynthesis, and cytoskeleton homeostasis plays important roles in the tolerance of cotton fibers to low temperature stress. Moreover, low levels of PEPCase, expansin, and ethylene signaling proteins may potentially lead to the low temperature sensitivity of Sumian 15 at the proteomic level.


One-year outcomes of intravitreal brolucizumab injections in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy.
To evaluate the 1-year visual outcomes and anatomic responses of Japanese patients who received intravitreal brolucizumab (IVBr) injections for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). This was a retrospective study of 17 treatment-naïve eyes with PCV that were treated with IVBr. We evaluated the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central macular thickness (CMT), central choroidal thickness (CCT) and number of injections for 1 year. The eradication of polypoidal lesions was also evaluated using by indocyanine green angiography during the 1-year follow-up. Non-infectious intraocular inflammation developed in two (11.8%) eyes; 15 eyes were assessed at the 1-year follow-up examination. The mean BCVA improved significantly from 0.28 at baseline to 0.13 (P < 0.05) at 1 year. The CMT and CCT decreased significantly after 1 year. The mean number of injections was 6.4 ± 0.13. The rate of complete resolution of polypoidal lesions at 1 year was 93.3%. A dry macula was achieved in 13 eyes (86.6%) after the loading phase and in 11 eyes (73.3%) at 1 year. The IVBr injections appeared to be effective for improving both functional and anatomic outcomes in Japanese patients with PCV, with a high regression rate of polypoidal lesions.


Adsorptive mercaptan removal of liquid phase using nanoporous graphene: Equilibrium, kinetic study and DFT calculations.
This research investigated the adsorption of tertiary butyl mercaptan (TBM) from liquid phases by using nanoporous graphene. Nanoporous graphene synthesized through chemical vapor deposition method was characterized using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method, transmission electron microscopy, field-emission scanning microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. The TBM adsorption equilibrium was investigated by using Langmuir, Freundlich, and Tempkin models. The obtained results were in good agreement with the Freundlich isotherm. The adsorption kinetics of this process was modeled by the pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticle models. The adsorption rate was obtained according to the pseudo-second-order model. The satisfactory results indicated that nanoporous graphene can be used as a good carbon nanostructure sorbent in mercaptan removal. The process reduced the sulfur content from 300 ppm to less than 10 ppm which was the standard level in environmental regulations. The capacity for TBM removal was achieved at 4.4 gr S/gr adsorbent. The desulfurization efficiency was revealed about 96.3% for nanoporous graphene at 298 K and 24 h. Moreover, density functional theory calculations were used to determine the stable configuration, adsorption energy, and electronic structure of different configurations of TBM adsorbed onto a graphene surface. TBM physically adsorbed onto the graphene surface with adsorption energies of approximately - 25 kJ/mol was indicated from DFT calculations.


Sex differences in patterns of genital sexual arousal: measurement artifacts or true phenomena?
Sex differences in patterns of sexual arousal have been reported recently. Men's genital arousal is typically more category-specific than women's, such that men experience their greatest genital arousal to stimuli depicting their preferred sex partners whereas women experience significant genital arousal to stimuli depicting both their preferred and non-preferred sex partners. In addition, men's genital and subjective sexual arousal patterns are more concordant than women's: The correlation between genital and subjective sexual arousal is much larger in men than in women. These sex differences could be due to low response-specificity in the measurement of genital arousal in women. The most commonly used measure of female sexual arousal, vaginal photoplethysmography, has not been fully validated and may not measure sexual arousal specifically. A total of 20 men and 20 women were presented with various sexual and non-sexual emotionally laden short film clips while their genital and subjective sexual arousal were measured. Results suggest that vaginal photoplethysmography is a measure of sexual arousal exclusively. Women's genital responses were highest during sexual stimuli and absent during all non-sexual stimuli. Sex differences in degree of category-specificity and concordance were replicated: Men's genital responses were more category-specific than women's and men's genital and subjective sexual arousal were more strongly correlated than women's. The results from the current study support the continued use of vaginal photoplethysmography in investigating sex differences in patterns of sexual arousal.


Cytokine Profile Associated with Selective Removal of Natural Anti-αGal Antibodies in a Sepsis Model in Gal-KO Mice.
Selective depletion of natural anti-Galα1-3Galβ1-4GlcNAc (so-called anti-αGal) antibodies is achieved in α1,3-galactosyltransferase knockout (Gal-KO) mice by administration of the soluble glycoconjugate of αGal GAS914. This molecule removed up to 90% of natural circulating anti-αGal antibodies without causing unspecific production of cytokines in wild-type (CBA) and Gal-KO mice. However, the removal of anti-αGal antibodies in Gal-KO mice with GAS914 in the context of sepsis after cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) was associated with a significant increase in the production of leptin, CXLC1, CXLC13, and TIMP-1 cytokines compared to vehicle (PBS)-treated controls. Despite the current lack of understanding of the underlying mechanism, our data suggest a putative role of natural anti-αGal antibodies in the regulation of some cytokines during sepsis.


Suicide among soldiers and young men in the Nordic countries 1977-1984.
A comparison of suicide rates among soldiers and civilians in the Nordic countries during the 8-year period 1977-1984 revealed that suicides among soldiers were more frequent in Norway than in Sweden and Finland. An in-depth study of the suicides of Norwegian soldiers during the same time period points to selection procedures and distance from home to the soldier's duty camp as possible causal factors. The suicides were frequently precipitated by an acute crisis. Preventive measures are discussed.


A multi-parametric microarray for protein profiling: simultaneous analysis of 8 different cytochromes via differentially element tagged antibodies and laser ablation ICP-MS.
The paper presents a new multi-parametric protein microarray embracing the multi-analyte capabilities of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The combination of high throughput reverse phase protein microarrays with element tagged antibodies and LA-ICP-MS makes it possible to detect and quantify many proteins or biomarkers in multiple samples simultaneously. A proof of concept experiment is performed for the analysis of cytochromes particularly of cytochrome P450 enzymes, which play an important role in the metabolism of xenobiotics such as toxicants and drugs. With the aid of the LA-ICP-MS based multi-parametric reverse phase protein microarray it was possible to analyse 8 cytochromes in 14 different proteomes in one run. The methodology shows excellent detection limits in the lower amol range and a very good linearity of R(2) ≥ 0.9996 which is a prerequisite for the development of further quantification strategies.


[Sonographically detectable changes in placental structures in pregnancy. 3. Statistical, comparison of the frequency distribution of placenta stages 0-3 in newborn infants with a birth weight of less than 2,500 grams].
The utilisation of sonographically provable changes of placental structures in 131 pregnant woman (277 examinations) shows in cases with newborn infants with a weight of birth under 2500 gram than the stage 0 is found significant frequent to the 32. week of pregnancy, the stage 1 to the 40. week of pregnancy, the stage 2 between the 29. and 40. week of pregnancy and the stage 3 between the 31. and 40. week of pregnancy. The stages 0, 1 and 2 influence in comparison with the newborn infants with a weight of birth between 2500 gram and 3999 gram not the weight in newborn infants under 2500 gram. The stage 3 will prove frequent in 13,5 times before the 34. week of pregnancy as in the comparison group with normal weight of birth.


Research on pressure stability in an air cleaning and supplying system for motorcycle users.
The article introduces the air purification system arranged on motorcycles to help provide clean air for motorcycle users. This is a new system that is being researched and tested to help reduce the harmful effects of air pollution. First, an air purification system model is proposed and a mathematical model is built. SolidWorks software is used to design 3D models and evaluate the effectiveness of the system. Finally, the article focuses on analyzing the pressure change of the air purification system when passing through the newly designed mechanical structures of the system. By examining the variation of the air flow circulating through the system from 15 l/min to 40 l/min, it has been shown that the air pressure supplied to the motorcycle users is always guaranteed to fluctuate around the standard value of 101325 Pa. This is important because, in the tidal volume range, the volume of air moved into or out of the lungs during a normal breath, is about 6.5 l/min to 8 l/min with comfortable pressure equal or greater 101325 Pa. From the results of the pressure study, the system will decide to choose the output pressure control mode to help the user feel comfortable.


Neuroprotective effects of Cerebrolysin in triple repeat Tau transgenic model of Pick's disease and fronto-temporal tauopathies.
Tauopathies are a group of neurodegenerative disorders with accumulation of three-repeat (3R) or four-repeat (4R) Tau. While 3R tau is found in Pick's disease and Alzheimer's disease (AD), 4R tau is more abundant in corticobasal degeneration, progressive supranuclear palsy, and AD. We have previously shown that Cerebrolysin™ (CBL), a neuropeptide mixture with neurotrophic effects, ameliorates the pathology in amyloid precursor protein transgenic (tg) mouse model of AD and 4R tau, however it is unclear if CBL ameliorates the deficits and neuropathology in the mouse model of Pick's disease over expressing 3R tau. Mice expressing 3R tau (L266V and G272V mutations) under the mThy-1 promoter were treated with CBL in two separate groups, the first was 3 months old (treated for 3 months, IP) and the second was 6 months old (treated for 3 months, IP) at the start of the treatment. We found that although the levels of total 3R tau were unchanged, CBL reduced the levels of hyper-phosphorylated tau in both groups of mice. This was accompanied by reduced neurodegenerative pathology in the neocortex and hippocampus in both groups and by improvements in the behavioral deficits in the nest-building test and water maze in the 3-6 month group. Taken together these results support the notion that CBL may be beneficial in other taupathy models by reducing the levels of aberrantly phosphorylated tau.


Evaluation of phytoremediation potential of Tagetes patula L. for the degradation of textile dye Reactive Blue 160 and assessment of the toxicity of degraded metabolites by cytogenotoxicity.
Tagetes patula is an annual flowering plant belonging to family Asteraceae. The present study deals with in vitro decolorization and remediation of a textile dye Reactive Blue 160 by T. patula. There was considerable (∼90%) decolorization of the dye within 4d of incubation, as confirmed by UV-vis, HPLC and FTIR analysis. The enzymes responsible for the remediation were lignin peroxidase, tyrosinase, laccase and NADH-DCIP reductase which were found in root tissues of the plantlets. GC-MS analysis of the products revealed formation of six metabolites such as sodium benzenesulfonate, 6-chloro 1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine, disodium benzene-1,4-disulfonate, sodium 3-amino-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate, 1-phenylmethanediamine and sodium 4-amino-3-carboxybenzenesulfonate after phytoremediation of Reactive Blue 160. Based on the FTIR and GC-MS results, the possible pathway for the biodegradation of Reactive Blue 160 has been traced. The non-toxic nature of the degraded products was confirmed by performing cytogenotoxicity tests on root tip cells of growing Allium cepa.


The optimization of ligature/bone defect-induced periodontitis model in rats.
The destruction of alveolar bone is a crucial manifestation of severe chronic periodontitis, which stem cell-based bioengineered therapies are expected to cure. Therefore, a cost-effective, reproducible, quantifiability and easier to administrate animal model that mimics human periodontitis is of great importance for further endeavor. In this study, we created periodontitis rat models in silk ligation group, bone defect group and bone defect/silk ligation group, respectively. Obvious periodontal inflammation but slight alveolar bone resorption was observed in the ligation group, while surgical trauma was not robust enough to continually worsen the constructed bone defect area in the bone defect group. In the bone defect/ligature group, significant and stable periodontal inflammation was the most enduring with similar evolving pathological patterns of human periodontitis. It also exhibited enhanced clinical similarity and confirmed its superiority in quantitativeness. The present rat model is the first study to reproduce a pathological process similar to human periodontitis with reliable stability and repeatability, manifesting a priority to previous methods. Day 9-12 is the best time for reproducing severe periodontitis syndromes with vertical bone resorption in this model.


Micro- and Nanostructured Lead Halide Perovskites: From Materials to Integrations and Devices.
In the past decade, lead halide perovskites have been intensively explored due to their promising future in photovoltaics. Owing to their remarkable material properties such as solution processability, nice defect tolerance, broad bandgap tunability, high quantum yields, large refractive index, and strong nonlinear effects, this family of materials has also shown advantages in many other optoelectronic devices including microlasers, photodetectors, waveguides, and metasurfaces. Very recently, the stability of perovskite devices has been improved with the optimization of synthesis methods and device architectures. It is widely accepted that it is the time to integrate all the perovskite devices into a real system. However, for integrated photonic circuits, the shapes and distributions of chemically synthesized perovskites are quite random and not suitable for integration. Consequently, controlled synthesis and the top-down fabrication process are highly desirable to break the barriers. Herein, the developments of patterning and integration techniques for halide perovskites, as well as the structure/function relationships, are systematically reviewed. The recent progress in the study of optical responses originating from nanostructured perovskites is also presented. Lastly, the challenges and perspective for nanostructured-perovskite devices are discussed.


[Association of air pollution caused by sulphur dioxide and total number of particles in suspension and daily mortality in the city of Madrid (1986-1992)].
The aim of the study is to quantify the relationship between sulphur dioxide (SO2), total suspended particulate (TSP) and daily mortality in Madrid. Data were plotted to exhibit the functional relationship between SO2, TSO and mortality. Box-Jenkins prewhitening method was used to detect lags and weights from the transfer function. Multivariate ARIMA models were built to control for confounding variables (air temperature and influenza epidemics). Graphic analysis suggested a logarithmic relationship between SO2 and mortality, and lineal relationship with TSP. No evidence of a threshold was found for each pollutant. Cross-correlation functions showed a statistically significant relationship between daily mortality caused by organic, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and air pollution. The first lag was statistically significant for TSP and the third lag for SO2. Multivariate models gave a coefficient beta = 0.039 for TSP and beta = 1.04 for SO2 indicating a 6.6% increase in mortality for each 100 micrograms/m3 increase in TSP and a 2.2% for SO2. The result suggest a causal relationship between daily mortality and air pollution in Madrid.


Sliding time of flight: sliding time of flight MR angiography using a dynamic image reconstruction method.
To obtain three-dimensional (3D) MR angiography having high contrast between vessel and stationary background tissue, a novel technique called sliding time of flight (TOF) is proposed. The proposed method relies on the property that flow-related enhancement (FRE) is maximized at the blood-entering slice in an imaging slab. For the proposed sliding TOF, a sliding stack-of-stars sampling and a dynamic MR image reconstruction algorithm were developed. To verify the performance of the proposed method, in vivo study was performed and the results were compared with multiple overlapping thin 3D slab acquisition (MOTSA) and sliding interleaved ky (SLINKY). In MOTSA and SLINKY, the variation of FRE resulted in severe venetian blind (MOTSA) or ghost (SLINKY) artifacts, while the vessel-contrast increased as the flip angle of radiofrequency (RF) pulses increased. On the other hand, the proposed method could provide high-contrast angiograms with reduced FRE-related artifacts. The sliding TOF can provide 3D angiography without image artifacts even if high flip angle RF pulses with thick slab excitation are used. Although remains of subsampling artifacts can be present in the reconstructed images, they can be reduced by MIP operation and resolved further by regularization techniques.


Historical Considerations and Surgical Quality Improvement in Robotic Prostatectomy.
Laparoscopic prostatectomy was technically challenging and not widely adopted. Robotics led to the widespread adoption of minimally invasive prostatectomy, which has been used heavily, supplanting the open and traditional laparoscopic approach. The benefits of robotic prostatectomy are disputed. Data suggest that robotic prostatectomy outcomes have improved over time.


Rhodium-catalyzed dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformations of racemic allenes by the [3+2] annulation of aryl ketimines.
Racemization required: Rhodium(I)-catalyzed C-H activation directed by unprotected ketimines initiates selective [3+2] cycloaddition with allenes, providing access to highly substituted indenylamines. The reaction proceeds through the dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation of racemic allenes. The catalyst controls the enantio- and diastereoselectivity, the regioselectivities of the C-H activation and allene incorporation, as well as the E/Z ratio.


eNOS controls angiogenic sprouting and retinal neovascularization through the regulation of endothelial cell polarity.
The roles of nitric oxide (NO) and endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) in the regulation of angiogenesis are well documented. However, the involvement of eNOS in the sprouting of endothelial tip-cells at the vascular front during sprouting angiogenesis remains poorly defined. In this study, we show that downregulation of eNOS markedly inhibits VEGF-stimulated migration of endothelial cells but increases their polarization, as evidenced by the reorientation of the Golgi in migrating monolayers and by the fewer filopodia on tip cells at ends of sprouts in endothelial cell spheroids. The effect of eNOS inhibition on EC polarization was prevented in Par3-depleted cells. Importantly, downregulation of eNOS increased the expression of polarity genes, such as PARD3B, PARD6A, PARD6B, PKCΖ, TJP3, and CRB1 in endothelial cells. In retinas of eNOS knockout mice, vascular development is retarded with decreased vessel density and vascular branching. Furthermore, tip cells at the extremities of the vascular front have a marked reduction in the number of filopodia per cell and are more oriented. In a model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR), eNOS deficient mice are protected during the initial vaso-obliterative phase, have reduced pathological neovascularization, and retinal endothelial tip cells have fewer filopodia. Single-cell RNA sequencing of endothelial cells from OIR retinas revealed enrichment of genes related to cell polarity in the endothelial tip-cell subtype of eNOS deficient mice. These results indicate that inhibition of eNOS alters the polarity program of endothelial cells, which increases cell polarization, regulates sprouting angiogenesis and normalizes pathological neovascularization during retinopathy.


Surgical Treatment of Laryngeal Paralysis.
Unilateral arytenoid lateralization is the most commonly used technique to treat laryngeal paralysis. It is important not to overabduct the arytenoid cartilage during the unilateral lateralization to minimize exposure of the rima glottides. Dogs with laryngeal paralysis treated with unilateral lateralization have a good long-term prognosis. Idiopathic polyneuropathy is the most common cause of laryngeal paralysis in dogs.


Study on sentinel symptoms and influencing factors of postoperative chemotherapy in patients with gastric cancer.
To explore the symptom clusters of gastric cancer patients receiving postoperative chemotherapy, identify the sentinel symptom of each symptom cluster, and compare the differences in sentinel symptoms of patients for gastric cancer with different characteristics. This was a cross-sectional study. Patients with postoperative gastric cancer who received chemotherapy in the medical oncology department from October 2021 to July 2022 were selected for the study using a convenience sampling method.The General Information Questionnaire and the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory Gastrointestinal Cancer (MDASI-GI) were used for the survey. A total of 245 patients participated in the study. There were five symptom clusters in the patients. Fatigue, nausea, sadness, and taste alteration were the sentinel symptoms of the disease symptom cluster, gastrointestinal symptom cluster, emotional symptom cluster, and neurotoxic symptom cluster, respectively. No clear sentinel symptom was found in the gastric-cancer-specific symptom cluster. Statistically significant differences were observed in fatigue, nausea, sadness, and taste alteration among patients receiving postoperative chemotherapy for gastric cancer with differences in gender, duration since diagnosis, tumor site, chemotherapy regimen, chemotherapy cycle, red blood cell count, hemoglobin level, albumin level, plasma D-dimer level, indirect bilirubin level, glutamic pyruvic transaminase level, total bile acid level, and uric acid level. People with postoperative chemotherapy for gastric cancer experience multiple concurrent symptoms. Of the multiple symptoms that occur simultaneously, patients tend to focus on 1 or 2 symptoms of particular significance and use the occurrence of 1 symptom to explain the others. The understanding of symptom clusters and sentinel symptoms could be beneficial to assess and manage both in postoperative patients with gastric cancer during chemotherapy. Clinical staff should use sentinel symptoms as the targets for symptom cluster evaluation and effective intervention.


An action sequence held in memory can interfere with response selection of a target stimulus, but does not interfere with response activation of noise stimuli.
Withholding an action plan in memory for later execution can delay execution of another action if the actions share a similar (compatible) action feature (e.g., response hand). We investigated whether this phenomenon, termed compatibility interference (CI), occurs for responses associated with a target as well as responses associated with distractors in a visual selection task. Participants planned and withheld a sequence of keypress responses (with their right or left hand), according to the identity of a stimulus (A), and then immediately executed a keypress response (with their right or left hand) to a second stimulus (B), according to the identity of a target letter appearing alone or among distractor letters. Distractor letters were either response compatible or incompatible with the target and appeared either simultaneously with the target (Experiments 1A and 2) or 100 msec before the target (Experiment 1B). Also, stimulus-response mapping was either 1:1 (Experiment 1) or 2:1 (Experiment 2). Results showed that the response to the Stimulus B target was delayed when it required the same response hand as Stimulus A, as opposed to a different hand. Also, the target reaction time for Stimulus B was greater when the target was flanked by incompatible distractors than when it was flanked by compatible distractors. Moreover, the degree of CI was consistent across the compatible-, incompatible-, and no-distractor conditions, indicating that CI generalizes to responses associated with a target, but not to those associated with distractors. Thus, CI occurs at a response selection, not at a response activation stage. Implications for the code occupation account for CI (e.g., Stoet & Hommel, 1999, 2002) and an alternative account for CI are discussed.


Effect of aminophyllin and dexamethasone on secretion of pulmonary surfactant in fetal rabbits.
Aminophyllin, dexamethasone, or saline was injected into 27.5-day fetal rabbits 2.5 hr before sacrifice, after which static pressure-volume curves with air were performed. In further similar experiments the lungs were lavaged with physiologic saline which was analysed for total phospholipid content. There were no changes in total lung capacity (TLC) induced with either aminophyllin or dexamethasone. The lungs of fetal rabbits injected with saline retained 44% TLC (+/-3 SE) after deflation to 10 cm H2O trans-pulmonary pressure compared with 48% TLC (+/-3 SE) in those injected with dexamethasone, a difference which was not statistically significant. In contrast, the lungs of fetal rabbits injected with aminophyllin retained 53% TLC (+/-2 SE) after deflation to 10 cm H2O pressure, a significant increase when compared with saline controls (P less than 0.01). There were no changes in lung weight or lung water. These results were interpreted to mean that aminophyllin decreased surface tension and augmented secretion of pulmonary surfactant. This was supported by finding significantly increased total phospholipid recovered in the lung lavage fluid of fetal rabbits injected with aminophyllin, 62 microgram/g dry lung weight (+/-6 SE) compared with 32 microgram/g dry lung weight (+/-3 SE) in saline controls (P less than 0.05). Phospholipid recovered from dexamethasone-injected fetal rabbits was not significantly increased, 38 microgram/g dry lung weight (+/-4 SE).


Relationship between the use of seclusion and mechanical restraint and the nurse-bed ratio in psychiatric wards in Japan.
The relationship between the number of nurses in psychiatric wards and frequency of use of seclusion and restraint has been unclear. We aimed to clarify this relationship in Japanese general psychiatric wards while controlling for patient and ward-level characteristics. We hypothesized that seclusion and mechanical restraint are less likely to be used in a ward with more nurses. We used data for individual admissions from April 2015 to March 2017 in hospitals participating in the Psychiatric Electronic Clinical Observation (PECO) system, which extracted data from each hospital's electronic health record system. We analyzed the data of 10,013 admissions in 113 wards of 23 hospitals. We examined the relationships between the number of nurses per 10 beds in each ward and the use of seclusion and mechanical restraint, controlling for the patients' age, sex, diagnosis, voluntary versus involuntary admission, prescribed dose of antipsychotics, severity of symptoms, and length of stay, in addition to ward-level characteristics including ward size, location (urban or rural), and type of ward (acute ward or not), using multilevel multivariate logistic regression analyses. The fraction of admissions exposed to at least one episode of seclusion or mechanical restraint was 36.7% and 14.9%, respectively. The odds ratios of the number of nurses per 10 beds for the use of seclusion and mechanical restraint were 2.36 and 1.74, respectively, indicating that both seclusion and mechanical restraint were actually used more frequently in wards with more nurses. A possible explanation is that patients anticipated to need coercive measures are more likely to be admitted to wards with many nurses. Increasing the number of nurses in a ward may not contribute to reducing the use of seclusion and restraint.


A grahame triple-layer model unifies mica monovalent ion exchange, zeta potential, and surface forces.
A triple-layer model of the mica/water electrical double layer (EDL) unifies prediction of zeta potential, ion-exchange, and surface-force isotherms. The theory treats cations as partially dehydrated and complexed specifically to the anionic exchange sites of mica. A diffuse layer commencing at the outer Helmholtz plane (OHP) balances the surface charge not neutralized by adsorbed cations in the inner Helmholtz plane (IHP). Ion-binding equilibrium constants are assessed from zeta-potential measurements and used thereafter to predict ion-exchange isotherms and surface forces. Basal-plane mica surface charge is almost completely neutralized by specific binding of cations, including hydronium ions. The charge in the diffuse layer is only a few percent of the mica crystallographic charge density but leads to long-range electrostatic interactions between charged surfaces. The Grahame triple-layer model of the aqueous EDL provides a robust, quantitative, and unified description of the mica/water interface.


The effects of pentoxifylline on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) fever, plasma interleukin 6 (IL 6), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in the rat.
The purpose of these studies was to test whether pentoxifylline, a drug that can inhibit the production and action of cytokines hypothesized to be endogenous pyrogens (for example, interleukin 1 and tumor necrosis factor [TNF]), is antipyretic. We also tested the effects of pentoxifylline on plasma activities of interleukin 6 (IL 6) and TNF in response to an injection of a fever-inducing dose of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Our results showed that a high dose of pentoxifylline (200 mg/kg) caused hypothermia in control rats and blocked LPS fever, while a low dose (50 mg/kg) did not have these effects. Injection of the high dose of pentoxifylline in control rats caused a rise in plasma IL 6 but not in plasma TNF. However, the peak levels of plasma IL 6 and TNF activities following an injection of LPS were significantly reduced by pretreatment with pentoxifylline. Overall, the data are consistent with the hypothesis that pentoxifylline is an antipyretic drug, which may act at least in part by inhibiting the secretion of pyrogenic cytokines.


Voice recognition--an emerging necessity within radiology: experiences of the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Voice recognition represents a technology that is finally ready for prime time use. As radiology services continue to acquire a larger percentage of the shrinking health-care dollar, decreasing operating costs and improved services will become a necessity. The benefits of voice recognition implementation are significant, as are the challenges. This report will discuss the technology, experiences of major health-care institution with implementation, and potential benefits for the radiology practice.


Characterization of HSFY, a novel AZFb gene on the Y chromosome with a possible role in human spermatogenesis.
HSFY (heat shock transcription factor, Y chromosome) has been mapped in the AZFb region of the Y chromosome, whose deletion results in severe male infertility. HSFY belongs to the heat shock factor family that has been shown to be implicated in spermatogenesis both in animals and humans. We report the characterization of the genomic structure, the number of copies on the Y chromosome and the expression of the gene. By comparison of data obtained from expression analysis and from GenBank cDNA sequences, seven exons were identified. Alternative splicing generates three different transcripts and proteins, each containing an HSF domain typical of HSF proteins. Two identical and functional full-length copies of HSFY map in palindrome P4 of AZFb, whereas four similar sequences mapping in two clusters in palindrome P1 of AZFc and P3 seem to represent pseudogenes. Sequences similar to few HSFY exons are also located in the short arm of chromosomes Y, X and 22. Expression analysis revealed that the three HSFY transcripts are differentially expressed, transcript 1 being present in many tissues including testis and ejaculated sperm, and transcripts 2 and 3 being testis-specific. These data suggest that HSFY could have an important role in human spermatogenesis.


Frontal lobe-dominant cerebral blood flow reduction and atrophy can be progressive in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
This study aimed to clarify the characteristics and progressive changes of brain image abnormalities in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Brain images of 39 adult patients (median age, 24 years) were retrospectively reviewed, along with intellectual and/or neurodevelopmental test results. On magnetic resonance imaging (n = 13), atrophy of the frontal lobe, pars opercularis (without other frontal atrophy), and cerebellum was observed in 6, 1, and 1 patients, respectively. On computed tomography (n = 32), atrophy of the frontal lobe, pars opercularis, temporal lobe, and occipital lobe was observed in 20, 1, 1, and 1 patients, respectively. Re-imaging of 12 patients revealed progression of cerebral atrophy in 6. All 18 patients who underwent single photon emission computed tomography had reduced total and/or focal blood flow. Reduced total cerebral blood flow was observed significantly more frequently in patients with deleterious Dp140 mutations compared to those without. Re-examination 4 years later revealed worsening of reduced blood flow in the frontotemporal lobe in 1 patient. Abnormalities were detected by at least one imaging modality in 32 of 39 patients. No significant relationship was observed between imaging abnormalities and developmental disorders or intelligence quotient. In conclusion, DMD patients frequently exhibit frontal lobe-dominant cerebral blood flow reduction and atrophy, and may be at risk of progressive cerebral atrophy and reduced cerebral blood flow. MRI, CT, and/or brain single photon emission CT are useful for detecting brain abnormalities in adult DMD patients.


Macro marine litter survey of sandy beaches along the Cox's Bazar Coast of Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh: Land-based sources of solid litter pollution.
Macro-sized marine litter (>2.5 cm) was collected, characterized, and enumerated along the Cox's Bazar Coast, Bangladesh. Marine litter abundance was converted to density (number of items/m2). Beach cleanliness was evaluated using the clean-coast index (CCI). Plastic polythene bags were the most abundant litter items, followed by plastic cups. Total marine litter abundance was 54,401 ± 184 items. Major sources of marine litter were from tourism, fishery and residential activities. Of 10 sites surveyed, two were classified as dirty, two were moderate, four were clean and two were very clean using the CCI. Marine litter pollution along the Cox's Bazar Coast represents a potential threat to coastal and marine environments. This baseline study will help to establish mitigation strategies that are urgently required to reduce marine litter pollution along the Cox's Bazar Coast.


Phylogenetic analysis of ancient DNA using BEAST.
Under exceptional circumstances, it is possible to obtain DNA sequences from samples that are up to hundreds of thousands of years old. These data provide an opportunity to look directly at past genetic diversity, to trace the evolutionary process through time, and to infer demographic and phylogeographic trends. Ancient DNA (aDNA) data sets have some degree of intrinsic temporal structure because the sequences have been obtained from samples of different ages. When analyzing these data sets, it is usually necessary to take the sampling times into account. A number of phylogenetic methods have been designed with this purpose in mind. Here I describe the steps involved in Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of aDNA data. I outline a procedure that can be used to co-estimate the genealogical relationships, mutation rate, evolutionary timescale, and demographic history of the study species in a single analytical framework. A number of modifications to the methodology can be made in order to deal with complicating factors such as postmortem damage, sequences from undated samples, and data sets with low information content.


Development of a colorimetric dosimeter for quality control of blood units and irradiators.
The development is reported of a reproducible colorimetric irradiation dosimeter that is easy to prepare as well as to interpret. Optimal chloroform, dithizone, and paraffin concentrations to produce a distinctive color change at > 1500 cGy (optimized for 3000 cGy) were determined by combining various concentrations of each component at 65 degrees C. The melted dosimetric material was poured into molds, allowed to solidify, and irradiated with doses ranging from 0 to 3000 cGy. Color change was evaluated visually and spectrophotometrically to determine reproducibility. Twenty-percent chloroform (wt/wt) and a dithizone concentration of 5.0 x 10(-5) M combined in paraffin (TP-2) produced optimal color change from pink to green after > 1500 cGy. The change was reproducible, and 50 individuals were able to distinguish between irradiated and nonirradiated dosimeters. Additionally, five of five of these individuals correctly ranked five dosimeters in order of increasing irradiation from 0 to 3000 cGy, in increments of 750 cGy. This dosimeter is easy to make and easy to read and may allow blood banks to show unit-by-unit quality assurance for irradiated blood components and quality control of the irradiator itself.