Novel PCR Assays Complement Laser Biosensor-Based Method and Facilitate Listeria Species Detection from Food.
The goal of this study was to develop the Listeria species-specific PCR assays based on a house-keeping gene (lmo1634) encoding alcohol acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (Aad), previously designated as Listeria adhesion protein (LAP), and compare results with a label-free light scattering sensor, BARDOT (bacterial rapid detection using optical scattering technology). PCR primer sets targeting the lap genes from the species of Listeria sensu stricto were designed and tested with 47 Listeria and 8 non-Listeria strains. The resulting PCR primer sets detected either all species of Listeria sensu stricto or individual L. innocua, L. ivanovii and L. seeligeri, L. welshimeri, and L. marthii without producing any amplified products from other bacteria tested. The PCR assays with Listeria sensu stricto-specific primers also successfully detected all species of Listeria sensu stricto and/or Listeria innocua from mixed culture-inoculated food samples, and each bacterium in food was verified by using the light scattering sensor that generated unique scatter signature for each species of Listeria tested. The PCR assays based on the house-keeping gene aad (lap) can be used for detection of either all species of Listeria sensu stricto or certain individual Listeria species in a mixture from food with a detection limit of about 10⁴ CFU/mL.


Associations between maternal adiposity and appetite-regulating hormones in human milk are mediated through maternal circulating concentrations and might affect infant outcomes.
Appetite-regulating hormones (ARH) in human milk (HM) are suggested to affect infants' milk intake and possibly infant growth. Maternal adiposity might contribute to higher levels of ARH in HM, either from the mammary gland or from raised circulating levels due to higher adiposity. Counterfactual-based mediation analysis can define indirect and direct effects between HM ARH and maternal and infant factors, and might be an important tool when investigating the mother-milk-infant triad. We aim to investigate whether potential associations between (1) maternal adiposity and HM ARH and (2) HM ARH and infant milk intake and growth are mediated through maternal and infant plasma ARH, respectively. Maternal and infant anthropometry and body composition, HM and blood samples were collected from 223 mother-infant dyads participating in the Mother, Infant and Lactation Quality study at three postpartum visits from 1 to 8.49 months. Leptin, insulin and adiponectin were analyzed using immunoassays. Mediation analyses using linear mixed-effect models were applied to investigate the direct and indirect effects through maternal and infant plasma hormone concentrations. A positive association between maternal body-mass-index (BMI) and HM leptin was mediated by maternal plasma leptin by 29% when fixing BMI to < 25 kg/m2, and through 51% when fixing BMI to ≥ 25 kg/m2 (p interaction < 0.01). There was no mediated effect through plasma insulin in the association between BMI and HM insulin (p = 0.068). We found negative and positive associations between HM insulin and total milk intake and infant weight, respectively, however, these diminished in mediation analyses with reduced sample sizes. Our main results suggest that the association between maternal adiposity and HM leptin was mediated through circulating leptin to a stronger degree for mothers with overweight compared to mothers with normal-weight. This indicates that excess maternal adiposity, and the resulting rise of circulating leptin and possible concomitant low-grade inflammation, may be reflected in HM composition. NCT03254329.


Tolerance and immunity in antigen-specific B-lymphocyte lines: early receptor binding of either antigen or tolerogen initiates an immune response.
Studies of the effect of tolerance-inducing compounds on B lymphocytes have been complicated by the fact that it is technically difficult to completely isolate the antigen-specific B cell from the effects of T cells or T-cell factors. We have used our cell lines of nonmalignant dinitrophenyl (DNP)-specific B lymphocytes derived from normal mice, which have no contaminating T cells, to study the effect of DNP-murine IgG2a (DNP-MGG), a tolerogen which is not normally immunogenic, on antigen-specific B lymphocytes. Preincubation with DNP-MGG for 48 hr, both in the presence and absence of T-cell factors from EL-4 supernatant prior to adding the antigen DNP-Ficoll, can induce tolerance in cell line B lymphocytes. The suppression is antigen-specific since preincubation with fluorescein-MGG or unconjugated MGG does not suppress the anti-DNP response. At least a 36-hr incubation is required for tolerance induction in B lymphocytes, but a 6-hr preincubation with DNP-MGG augments the immune response to DNP-Ficoll. Lymphocytes incubated for 6 or 24 hr with DNP-MGG prior to adding EL-4 supernatant and filler cells without DNP-Ficoll exhibited an immune response equal to that elicited by DNP-Ficoll and T-cell factors. A 6-hr pulse with a DNP-conjugated polymer of D-glutamic acid and D-lysine (DNP-dGL), a B-cell tolerogen which does not bind to Fc receptors, elicited the same immune response as seen with a 6-hr pulse of DNP-MGG but a 48-hr preincubation with DNP-dGL induced tolerance. Thus, it is likely that the initial binding of the tolerogen to the immunoglobulin receptor on the mature B cell elicits an activation signal similar to that seen with the antigen. The suppressive effect of the tolerogen itself appears to occur at a later stage of the process of the B-cell activation, proliferation, and differentiation.


Antibiotic-metal interactions in saline medium.
The commonly used surgical alloys, stainless steel, titanium and Vitallium, were exposed to normal saline solution containing antibiotics frequently used for the control and treatment of orthopaedic infections and the corrosion potential versus time behaviour was followed. It was found that only one antibiotic, oxytetracycline, exerted a significant effect on electrochemical behaviour, producing an anodic shift of 120-250 mV in the Ecorr of the three metals. The study indicated that oxytetracycline at addition levels of 0.01-1.0 mg/ml acts as an anodic corrosion inhibitor.


The life and work of Abu ul-Ala Shirazi (d. 1001): a Persian pioneer in the treatment of malaria, in the style of Rhazes (865-925).
Abu ul-Ala Shirazi, who lived around the 10th century at the Court of Amir Azud ul-Duleh Bueieh (902-951) from the Dailami Dynasty, found that arsenic, known as sam-al-far, could cure malaria. A clinical trial dating from the 10th century demonstrates Abu ul-Ala's intelligence and careful clinical observation, in the tradition of Rhazes' practice based on experimentation and clinical trial.


Comparison of Viremia, Cloacal Virus Shedding, Antibody Responses and Pathological Lesions in Adult Chickens, Quails, and Pigeons Infected with ALV-A.
Subgroup A of the avian leukosis virus (ALV-A) can cause severe pathological lesions and death in infected chickens, and its reported hosts have increased recently. To assess the susceptibility of adult chickens, quails, and pigeons to ALV-A, three sets of 250-day-old birds were intraperitoneally inoculated with ALV-A. Viremia and cloacal virus shedding were dynamically detected using an immunofluorescence assay (IFA), ALV-P27 antigen ELISA or RT-PCR; pathological lesions were assessed using tissue sections; ALV-A in tissues was detected by IFA; and ALV-A antibody responses were detected using antibody ELISA kits and an immune diffusion test. The results indicated that persistent viremia occurred in 80% (8/10) of infected chickens, and transient viremia occurred in 17% (2/12) of infected quails, but no viremia occurred in infected pigeons. Cloacal virus shedding occurred intermittently in 80% (8/10) of infected chickens and in 8% (1/12) of infected quails but did not occur in infected pigeons. Severe inflammatory pathological lesions occurred in the visceral tissues of most infected chickens, and mild lesions occurred in a few of the infected quails, but no pathological lesions occurred in the infected pigeons. The ALV-A virus was detected in the visceral tissues of most infected chickens but not in the infected quails and pigeons. Obviously different ALV-A antibody responses occurred in the infected chickens, quails and pigeons. It can be concluded that adult chickens, quails and pigeons have dramatically different susceptibilities to ALV-A. This is the first report on artificial infection by ALV-A in different birds.


TMF protects chondrocytes from ER stress-induced apoptosis by down-regulating GSK-3β.
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced chondrocyte apoptosis plays a critical role in osteoarthritis cartilage degeneration. Previous studies showed that 5,7,3',4'-tetramethoxyflavone (TMF) exhibited chondroprotective activity through inhibiting PGE2-induced ER stress and down regulating the expression of GSK-3β. To further investigate the role of GSK-3β in ER stress-induced chondrocytes apoptosis and the protective role of TMF, GSK-3β siRNA and pcDNA3.1-myc-GSK-3β were employed to knock down and overexpress GSK-3β, respectively, in chondrocytes. Results showed that TM-induced ER stress significantly promoted chondrocytes apoptosis. These could be effectively reversed by GSK-3β deficiency, while GSK-3β overexpression significantly up regulated ER stress and increased chondrocytes apoptosis. In addition, TMF down regulated the expression of GSK-3β and inhibited ER stress-induced chondrocytes apoptosis. Collectively, TMF is a potential natural compound with chondroprotective property through inhibition of ER stress-induced apoptosis with down regulation of GSK-3β.


Reconstruction of the burned palm: full-thickness versus split-thickness skin grafts--long-term follow-up.
The long-term results of full-thickness (N = 11) and split-thickness (N = 14) skin grafts for reconstitution of the palmar surface following release of palmar burn scar contractures in pediatric patients are compared. Patients treated with full-thickness skin grafts required 1.2 +/- 0.4 operations (mean +/- SD). Patients treated with split-thickness skin grafts required 1.3 +/- 0.6 operations (mean +/- SD). No significant difference in the number of operative procedures was noted. No functional difference existed between the two groups. The use of split-thickness skin grafts provided comparable function without increased operative procedures and was less deforming. Increased use of split-thickness skin grafts following release of palmar burn scar contractures in pediatric patients should be considered.


Plastic pellets make Excirolana armata more aggressive: Intraspecific interactions and mortality in field and laboratory ecotoxicological assays.
Microplastics, including plastic pellets, get stranded on sandy beaches. They persist in the oceans for long periods and frequently carry contaminants. Acute and chronic toxicity has been observed when marine organisms are exposed to high densities of plastic pellets in laboratory assays. We investigated the toxicity of beach-stranded plastic pellets on macrobenthic populations (Excirolana armata; Crustacea; Isopoda) under natural conditions (in situ). We simulated different pellets densities on a beach not contaminated by pellets, exposing isopods for 6 h and testing possible behavioral responses (i.e., vertical displacement) and mortality effects. No effect was observed on vertical displacement, but higher mortality was reported for organisms exposed to plastic pellets. The lowest pellet density tested commonly found in coastal areas was sufficient to trigger mortality. We also observed that lethargic individuals (near-death) were preyed on by the healthy individuals remaining in the test chambers.


Human semen relaxin and its correlation with the parameters of semen analysis.
The relaxin content of 92 normal semen samples and 85 semen samples selected at random was correlated to the parameters measured on routine semen analysis in those samples. The concentration of immunoactive relaxin in a sample of semen plasma did not correlate with any of the parameters commonly used for semen analysis: count, percent motility, grade of forward progression, volume, and morphology.


Syringomyelia secondary to thoracic spinal dural arteriovenous fistula presenting as paraparesis.
Spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (SDAVF) is also known as a type 1 spinal arteriovenous malformation, representing the most frequent vascular malformation of the spine. A high suspicion index is often required for the initial diagnosis of SDAVF because of subtle magnetic resonance imaging signs. We present the case of a patient with SDAVF associated with syringomyelia of the thoracic spinal cord and hypothesize that a fistula might induce intramedullary fluid accumulation due to venous hypertension, which leads to syrinx formation.


Nutrition and somatomedin: nutritionally regulated release of somatomedins and somatomedin inhibitors from perfused livers in rats.
Circulating somatomedin activity reflects the presence of both somatomedins and somatomedin inhibitors, factors which antagonize the growth-promoting actions of somatomedins. Although both are regulated by nutrition, somatomedin inhibitors respond more rapidly than somatomedins to refeeding in fasted animals. To explore the role of the liver in such responses, release of somatomedin activity and somatomedin inhibitor activity was assessed during perfusion of livers from normal, fasted, and fasted-refed rats. Size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) revealed that liver perfusates contain both somatomedin and somatomedin inhibitor activity of apparent molecular weight (mol wt) comparable to that found in the circulation (approximately 7,000 and approximately 30,000, respectively), as well as activity of apparently higher wt. In subsequent studies, responses to nutrition were evaluated as fluctuations in bioactivity only of mol wt comparable to that found in the circulation. Release of both somatomedin and somatomedin inhibitor activity was progressive over at least two hours of recirculating perfusion. Perfusates of livers from normal fed rats had somatomedin activity (stimulation of cartilage SO4 uptake) 94 +/- 19% above buffer (P less than .01), which fell to undetectable levels after three days of fasting. With refeeding, perfusate somatomedin activity rose within three hours to approximately 25% of levels in fed rats, but did not become significant until after 12 hours (29 +/- 7%, P less than .02). Perfusates of livers of fed rats also contained somatomedin inhibitor activity (42 +/- 10% inhibition of cartilage stimulation by normal serum), which rose after three days of fasting to 114 +/- 22% (P less than .02).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Possible mechanism of inhibition of cartilage alkaline phosphatase by insulin.
The inhibition of alkaline phosphatase by insulin is a finding reported by many researchers but the mechanism of this inhibition has not been studied. Since alkaline phosphatase is an important factor in the mechanism of calcification and an impairment of mineralisation has been observed in diabetes mellitus, a study was carried out to assess the effect of the hormone on alkaline phosphatase measured in chondrocytes, in matrix vesicles and in a purified enzyme preparation. Enzyme activity was inhibited by insulin. The lowest active concentration was 10(-6) M and maximal inhibition was obtained at about 10(-4) M. The inhibition is of the uncompetitive type. Full recovery of the hormone-inhibited enzyme was obtained with 10(-4) M 2-mercaptoethanol. Data suggest direct interaction between the alkaline phosphatase and insulin molecules, involving either disulfide cross linkages or the metal chelating activity of insulin.


Sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide of the bloom-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis PCC 7806 depends on nutrient availability.
Application of low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a relatively new and promising method to selectively suppress harmful cyanobacterial blooms, while minimizing effects on eukaryotic organisms. However, it is still unknown how nutrient limitation affects the sensitivity of cyanobacteria to H2O2. In this study, we compare effects of H2O2 on the microcystin-producing cyanobacterium Microcystis PCC 7806 under light-limited but nutrient-replete conditions, nitrogen (N) limitation and phosphorus (P) limitation. Microcystis was first grown in chemostats to acclimate to these different experimental conditions, and subsequently transferred to batch cultures where they were treated with a range of H2O2 concentrations (0-10 mg L-1) while exposed to high light (100 µmol photons m-2 s-1) or low light (15 µmol photons m-2 s-1). Our results show that, at low light, N- and P-limited Microcystis were less sensitive to H2O2 than light-limited but nutrient-replete Microcystis. A significantly higher expression of the genes encoding for anti-oxidative stress enzymes (2-cys-peroxiredoxin, thioredoxin A and type II peroxiredoxin) was observed prior to and after the H2O2 treatment for both N- and P-limited Microcystis, which may explain their increased resistance against H2O2. At high light, Microcystis was more sensitive to H2O2 than at low light, and differences in the decline of the photosynthetic yield between nutrient-replete and nutrient-limited Microcystis exposed to H2O2 were less pronounced. Leakage of microcystin was stronger and faster from nutrient-replete than from N- and P-limited Microcystis. Overall, this study provides insight in the sensitivity of harmful cyanobacteria to H2O2 under various environmental conditions.


Estimation of marginal costs at existing waste treatment facilities.
This investigation aims at providing an improved basis for assessing economic consequences of alternative Solid Waste Management (SWM) strategies for existing waste facilities. A bottom-up methodology was developed to determine marginal costs in existing facilities due to changes in the SWM system, based on the determination of average costs in such waste facilities as function of key facility and waste compositional parameters. The applicability of the method was demonstrated through a case study including two existing Waste-to-Energy (WtE) facilities, one with co-generation of heat and power (CHP) and another with only power generation (Power), affected by diversion strategies of five waste fractions (fibres, plastic, metals, organics and glass), named "target fractions". The study assumed three possible responses to waste diversion in the WtE facilities: (i) biomass was added to maintain a constant thermal load, (ii) Refused-Derived-Fuel (RDF) was included to maintain a constant thermal load, or (iii) no reaction occurred resulting in a reduced waste throughput without full utilization of the facility capacity. Results demonstrated that marginal costs of diversion from WtE were up to eleven times larger than average costs and dependent on the response in the WtE plant. Marginal cost of diversion were between 39 and 287 € Mg(-1) target fraction when biomass was added in a CHP (from 34 to 303 € Mg(-1) target fraction in the only Power case), between -2 and 300 € Mg(-1) target fraction when RDF was added in a CHP (from -2 to 294 € Mg(-1) target fraction in the only Power case) and between 40 and 303 € Mg(-1) target fraction when no reaction happened in a CHP (from 35 to 296 € Mg(-1) target fraction in the only Power case). Although average costs at WtE facilities were highly influenced by energy selling prices, marginal costs were not (provided a response was initiated at the WtE to keep constant the utilized thermal capacity). Failing to systematically address and include costs in existing waste facilities in decision-making may unintendedly lead to higher overall costs at societal level. To avoid misleading conclusions, economic assessment of alternative SWM solutions should not only consider potential costs associated with alternative treatment but also include marginal costs associated with existing facilities.


MiR-185 attenuates androgen receptor function in prostate cancer indirectly by targeting bromodomain containing 8 isoform 2, an androgen receptor co-activator.
Aberrant androgen receptor (AR) signaling functions are implicated in prostate cancer (PCa) pathogenesis. Here, we studied interactions between miR-185 and the bromodomain containing 8 isoform 2 (BRD8 ISO2) to investigate indirect mechanisms of miR-185 with respect to AR function through BRD8 ISO2 in PCa. Putative miRNA response element (MRE) of miR-185 in 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of BRD8 ISO2 mRNA was predicted by software and confirmed using dual-luciferase assays and Ago2 immunoprecipitation. BRD8 and AR expression were determined by qRT-PCR and Western blot in PCa cells and tissues. MMTV-Fluc reporter plasmids and dual-luciferase assays were used to evaluate AR activity. MRE prediction, dual-luciferase assays and Ago2 immunoprecipitation confirmed that miR-185 is capable of binding the 3'-UTR of BRD8 ISO2 mRNA. QRT-PCR and Western blot indicated that BRD8 ISO2 expression is decreased by miR-185 mimic transfection while increased by miR-185 inhibitor transfection. MMTV-Fluc reporter assays revealed that miR-185 can attenuate AR function by suppressing BRD8 ISO2. Additionally, Pearson's correlation analyses confirmed that BRD8 ISO2 mRNA expression is inversely correlated with miR-185 expression in clinical specimens. In addition to suppression of AR expression, miR-185 can attenuate AR function indirectly by suppressing BRD8 ISO2. MiR-185 and BRD8 ISO2 may be possible therapeutic targets for PCa treatment.


Sickle Cell Disease and the Kidney: Filters Gone Awry.
Throughout the lifespan, the kidney of a person with sickle cell disease is at increased risk of injury to the glomeruli, tubules, and renal vasculature. This injury manifests as urine concentrating defects, enuresis, albuminuria, acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, and end-stage kidney disease. The outcomes for patients who progress to end-stage kidney disease are poor and access to organ transplantation is limited. Therefore, identifying risk factors for progression, intervening with renoprotective agents early in life, and improving access to care are vital for sickle cell patients.


Evaluating NISCH and CDH1 Promoter Hypermethylation in Nonsmokers, Cancer Free Smokers and Lung Cancer Patients: A Case Control Study.
Lung cancer has very high mortality due to late stage diagnosis not amenable to curative resection. Cancer specific methylation patterns of tumor suppressor genes may precede precursor lesions of lung cancer. Our aim was to evaluate the promoter hypermethylation of tumor suppressor gene NISCH and CDH1 in cfDNA from plasma of lung cancer patients and its possible correlation with smoking status and various clinicopathological parameters. Forty histopathologically confirmed lung cancer cases, thirty smoker and thirty nonsmoker controls were enrolled. Plasma cfDNA was extracted and subjected to bisulfite treatment followed by MS-PCR. Serum nischarin levels were estimated by ELISA. The frequency of promoter hypermethylation of NISCH and CDH1 was significantly higher in lung cancer patients as compared to lifelong non-smoker controls (p < 0.05). It did not vary with smoking status among cancer cases. No significant association was found with staging or histological grading. NISCH methylation was found to be significantly higher among smoker controls. Pack years and packs per day were significantly higher in the methylated group. Serum nischarin levels showed no significant association with NISCH methylation or clinicopathological variables. NISCH is highly methylated in both high risk smoker controls as well as cancerousnon-smokers and may mark the convergence of varied etiologies of lung cancer. Hence NISCH and CDH1 are highly methylated in plasma cfDNA of lung cancer patients.


Short term treatment of visceral leishmaniasis of the Old World with low dose interferon gamma and pentavalent antimony.
Eight adult patients with visceral leishmaniasis acquired in mediterranean countries were treated in a prospective study with a combined immunomodulating and antiparasitic regimen consisting of low-dose interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and pentavalent antimony. The clinical outcome, hematological and parasitological parameters, the duration of treatment and number of treatment cycles as well as the cumulative dose of pentavalent antimony applied, have been evaluated. The combined treatment led to complete resolution of symptoms and parasitological cure in all cases of visceral leishmaniasis without major side effects. Combined treatment resulted in a significant reduction of duration of treatment (19 vs. 31 days, p < 0.02) and cumulative dose of pentavalent antimony (11.67 vs. 19.30 g, p < 0.02) compared to historical controls (n = 6). No relapses occurred after a median follow-up of 9 months (range: 2-28 months). We conclude that combination therapy is tolerated well and is highly effective in patients with visceral leishmaniasis. The addition of IFN-gamma to standard therapy with pentavalent antimony may reduce the cumulative dose of antimonial drugs, shortens the treatment period and probably reduces the number of relapses.


In vitro mineralization of a three-dimensional collagen matrix by human dental pulp cells in the presence of chondroitin sulphate.
These matrices were used as cell culture substrates to investigate the influence of extracellular molecules on mineralization. Pulp cells seeded in type I collagen or type I collagen-chondroitin-4-sulphate sponges were able to grow and were morphologically similar to cells responsible for reparative dentine formation in vivo. In sponges consisting of collagen only, the cells elaborated an abundant new matrix which became organized with time and consisted of collagen fibres surrounded by fibrillar material, but no mineralization was observed. In collagen-chondroitin sulphate sponges, cells deposited less and poorly organized matrix; in these, calcification occurred, increasing with time, and at the ultrastructural level, small needle-like crystals containing calcium and phosphorus were scattered throughout the sponge fibres. These observations suggest that chondroitin sulphate might influence in vitro calcification induced by pulp cells.


Gender differences in unipolar depression: an update of epidemiological findings and possible explanations.
To give an update on epidemiological findings on sex differences in the prevalence of unipolar depression and putative risk factors. Systematic review of the literature. Recent epidemiological research yields additional evidence for a female preponderance in unipolar depression, holding true across different cultural settings. Current explanations include artefacts, genetic, hormonal, psychological and psychosocial risk factors. Rather consistently, intrapsychic and psychosocial gender role related risk factors have been identified which may contribute to the higher depression risk in women. Gender role aspects are also reflected in endocrine stress reactions and possibly influence associated neuropsychological processes. There is a need for more integrative models taking into account psychological, psychosocial, and macrosocial risk factors as well as their interactions, which also connect these factors with physiological and endocrine responses. Furthermore, it is conceivable that across the life span, as well as across cultural settings, individual risk factors will add with varying emphasis to the higher prevalence of depression in women.


TEV protease cleavage in generation of artificial substrate proteins bearing neo-N-termini.
The tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease is widely used in in vitro and in vivo approaches for the removal of affinity tags from fusion proteins or the generation of proteins with a desired N-terminal amino acid. Processing of fusion proteins by the TEV protease can either be achieved by encoding the TEV protease and its recognition site on one construct (self-cleavage) or on two different constructs (co-expression). Here, we compare the efficiency of the self-splitting approach to the co-expression approach.


Ultrasonic characteristics of pancreatic tumors.
The ultrasonic features of 40 pancreatic tumors were analyzed. The tumors were categorized by texture, attenuation, shape, size, and location. Secondary effects of pancreatic duct visualization, biliary stasis, splenic vein involvement, metastases, and ascites were reviewed. Thirty of thrity-one adenocarcinomas had a similar ultrasonic texture consisting of a background of faint, low-level echoes with varying amounts of superimposed coarse echoes. Tumors are detectable prior to enlargement or distortion of the pancreas. Secondary features were present in 94% of the adenocarcinomas. Significant information regarding the possibility and complexity of resection can be provided.


[Effect of a participatory method on nutrition education in dentistry].
Based on results of a diagnostic test which measured the knowledge that University of Chile students of 5 different health careers have a food and nutrition (1982), the nutrition program of the school of Dentistry was modified from a traditional system of education (formal classes) to a participative methodology in 1984, a didactic material on nutritional recommendations. An increased level of knowledge as well as motivation was observed in those graduating in 1984, particularly the area of nutritional recommendation and diet, to which the students spent more extra time. We can conclude that the educational methodology that stresses participation and is centered around one person is very effective to teach nutrition in the school of Dentistry.


Fontan Circulation Associated Organ Abnormalities Beyond the Heart, Lungs, Liver, and Gut: A Systematic Review.
Patients with a Fontan circulation are at risk for sequelae of Fontan physiology during follow-up. Fontan physiology affects all organ systems and an overview of end-organ damage is needed. We performed a systematic review of abnormalities in multiple organ systems for patients with a longstanding Fontan circulation. We searched online databases for articles describing abnormalities in multiple organ systems. Cardio-pulmonary abnormalities, protein losing enteropathy, and Fontan associated liver disease have already extensively been described and were excluded from this systematic review. Our search returned 5,704 unique articles. After screening, we found 111 articles relating to multiple organ systems. We found abnormalities in, among others, the nervous system, pituitary, kidneys, and musculoskeletal system. Pituitary edema-relating to the unique pituitary vasculature- may affect the thyroid axis. Renal dysfunction is common. Creatinine based renal function estimates may be inappropriate due to myopenia. Both lean muscle mass and bone mineral density are decreased. These abnormalities in multiple organ systems may be related to Fontan physiology, cyanosis, iatrogenic factors, or lifestyle. Health care providers should be vigilant for hypothyroidism, visual or hearing deficits, and sleep disordered breathing in Fontan patients. We recommend including cystatin C for assessment of renal function. This review may aid health care providers and guide future research.Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021232461, PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42021232461.


Dynamic spatiotemporal brain analyses using high-performance electrical neuroimaging, Part II: A step-by-step tutorial.
Our recently published analytic toolbox (Cacioppo et al., 2014), running under MATLAB environment and Brainstorm, offered a theoretical framework and set of validation studies for the automatic detection of event-related changes in the global pattern and global field power of electrical brain activity. Here, we provide a step-by-step tutorial of this toolbox along with a detailed description of analytical plans (aka the Chicago Electrical Neuroimaging Analytics, CENA) for the statistical analysis of brain microstate configuration and global field power in within and between-subject designs. Available CENA functions include: (1) a difference wave function; (2) a high-performance microsegmentation suite (HPMS), which consists of three specific analytic tools: (i) a root mean square error (RMSE) metric for identifying stable states and transition states across discrete event-related brain microstates; (ii) a similarity metric based on cosine distance in n dimensional sensor space to determine whether template maps for successive brain microstates differ in configuration of brain activity, and (iii) global field power (GFP) metrics for identifying changes in the overall level of activation of the brain; (3) a bootstrapping function for assessing the extent to which the solutions identified in the HPMS are robust (reliable, generalizable) and for empirically deriving additional experimental hypotheses; and (4) step-by-step procedures for performing a priori contrasts for data analysis. CENA is freely available for brain data spatiotemporal analyses at https://hpenlaboratory.uchicago.edu/page/cena, with sample data, user tutorial videos, and documentation.


Aetiology and outcomes of adult superior oblique palsies: a modern series.
To establish the contemporary aetiology of adult superior oblique palsy (SOP). A retrospective consecutive case series of 150 persons diagnosed with SOP between 1 January 1999 and 31 May 2005 at a neuro-ophthalmology centre in the West Midlands, the United Kingdom. Interrogating two different hospital databases identified all cases. A case note review was performed on all participants to determine demographics and aetiology based on diagnostic criteria, neuroimaging used, and outcome. We identified 133 unilateral isolated, 7 unilateral associated with other cranial nerve involvement, and 10 bilateral cases of SOP. Eighty-six were acquired, 51 congenital, and 13 undetermined. Of the unilateral isolated cases, 38.3% were considered to be congenital, 29.3% followed trauma, 23.3% were presumed to be vasculopathic in origin, and no cause could be established in 7.5%. All presumed microvascular-associated palsies resolved within 6 months of presentation. Unilateral SOPs associated with other cranial nerve palsies were commonly caused by trauma (71.4%), followed by tumour and undetermined causes (both 14.3%). Trauma was the most frequent cause of bilateral SOP (50%), followed by tumours and undetermined causes (both 20%), with congenital causes being uncommon (10%). We present a contemporary aetiological spectrum for adult SOP, with the lowest incidence of undetermined cases published in the medical literature. Neuroimaging did not change the management for the vast majority of cases and should be prompted by atypical presentations.


Late presentation of small-bowel injury--hypoproteinaemia, anaemia and obstruction. A report of 2 cases.
In contrast with traumatic intestinal perforation, the late sequelae of lesser small-bowel injury are not readily recognised. A protracted course of protein-losing enteropathy as an intermediate result of traumatic segmental small-intestinal ischaemia, and a fibrotic stricture with anaemia, intestinal obstruction and bezoar formation as a late result, are illustrated.


Effect of ultrasound treatment on steady and dynamic shear properties of glucomannan based salep dispersions: optimization of amplitude level, sonication time and temperature using response surface methodology.
The present study investigated effect of different amplitude levels (40, 70 and 100%), sonication temperatures (40, 50 and 60°C) and exposure times (3, 7 and 11 min) on steady shear properties; apparent viscosity (η), shear stress (σ), consistency coefficient (K), flow behavior index (n) and dynamic shear properties; storage modulus (G'), loss modulus (G″), complex viscosity (η(∗)), complex modulus (G(∗)) and loss tangent (tan δ) values of glucomannan based salep solution (SS) and salep drink (SD) samples. In addition, the steady and dynamic shear properties were optimized using ridge analysis in terms of amplitude level, sonication temperature and exposure times levels. Increasing amplitude level and sonication time decreased considerably the η, σ, K, G', G″ and η* values of salep dispersions (SS and SD samples). However, sonication temperature did not have a remarkable effect on these properties.


The glucocorticoid mometasone furoate is a novel FXR ligand that decreases inflammatory but not metabolic gene expression.
The Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) regulates bile salt, glucose and cholesterol homeostasis by binding to DNA response elements, thereby activating gene expression (direct transactivation). FXR also inhibits the immune response via tethering to NF-κB (tethering transrepression). FXR activation therefore has therapeutic potential for liver and intestinal inflammatory diseases. We aim to identify and develop gene-selective FXR modulators, which repress inflammation, but do not interfere with its metabolic capacity. In a high-throughput reporter-based screen, mometasone furoate (MF) was identified as a compound that reduced NF-κB reporter activity in an FXR-dependent manner. MF reduced mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and induction of direct FXR target genes in HepG2-GFP-FXR cells and intestinal organoids was minor. Computational studies disclosed three putative binding modes of the compound within the ligand binding domain of the receptor. Interestingly, mutation of W469A residue within the FXR ligand binding domain abrogated the decrease in NF-κB activity. Finally, we show that MF-bound FXR inhibits NF-κB subunit p65 recruitment to the DNA of pro-inflammatory genes CXCL2 and IL8. Although MF is not suitable as selective anti-inflammatory FXR ligand due to nanomolar affinity for the glucocorticoid receptor, we show that separation between metabolic and anti-inflammatory functions of FXR can be achieved.


Human periodontal fibroblast response to a nanostructured hydroxyapatite bone replacement graft in vitro.
The efficacy of nanostructured hydroxyapatite (NHA) for the treatment of osseous defects has been demonstrated in recent studies, even though the underlining biological mechanism is still poorly known. This study examined the alterations in cellular adhesion and mitogenic responses in human periodontal ligament (PDL) cells treated with a novel nanostructured hydroxyapatite bone graft substitute and characterized associated changes in cellular signalling pathways. Cultured PDL cells were stimulated with NHA in a surface coated form. Proliferation was determined by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and cell adhesion was analysed by a colorimetric assay. In order to understand altered adhesion properties of PDL fibroblasts their integrin profile was analysed and the phosphorylation status of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and beta1 integrin was determined by immunoblotting. In order to understand the signalling mechanisms of increased cell proliferation of PDL cells caused by NHA, the phosphorylation status of the serine/threonine protein kinase Akt, of the signal regulated kinases ERK1/2 and of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was analysed by western blot using phospho-specific antibodies. The results indicated that NHA is a strong stimulator of PDL cell attachment and proliferation. Mechanistically, alpha5beta1 integrin-mediated cellular adhesion of PDL fibroblasts, which resulted in altered phosphorylation and activation levels of FAK. Proliferation mediated by NHA was mechanistically caused by activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway and its downstream targets ERK1/2 and Akt. In sum, our findings present evidence that alpha5beta1 integrin-mediated cellular adhesion of NHA to PDL fibroblasts, whereas proliferation was caused by activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the MAP kinase (ERK1/2) and Akt pathways.


Adult and periadolescent rats differ in expression of nicotinic cholinergic receptor subtypes and in the response of these subtypes to chronic nicotine exposure.
Adolescence is a time of significant brain development, and exposure to nicotine during this period is associated with higher subsequent rates of dependence. Chronic nicotine exposure alters expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), changing the pattern of nicotine responsiveness. We used quantitative autoradiography to measure three major subtypes of nAChRs after chronic nicotine exposure by osmotic minipump in adult and periadolescent rats. Comparison of control animals at the two different ages revealed that periadolescents express consistently greater numbers of alpha4beta2* nAChRs compared to the same brain regions of adults. Similar but less pronounced increases in alpha7 nAChRs were found in control periadolescent rats compared to adults. Binding of [(125)I]alpha-conotoxin MII (largely to alpha6* nAChRs) did not systematically differ between adults and periadolescents. The response to chronic nicotine exposure also differed by age. Up-regulation of alpha4beta2* nAChRs was prominent and widespread in adult animals; in periadolescents, alpha4beta2* up-regulation also occurred, but in fewer regions and to a lesser extent. A similar pattern of response was seen with alpha7 receptors: adults were more responsive than periadolescents to nicotine-induced up-regulation. In adult animals, chronic nicotine exposure did not cause up-regulation of alpha6* nAChRs; binding was down-regulated in three regions. Unlike the other subtypes, the response of alpha6* nAChRs to chronic nicotine was greater in periadolescents, with more regions showing greater down-regulation compared to adults. These differences in receptor expression and regulation between age groups are likely to be important given the unique vulnerability of adolescents to nicotine-induced behavioral changes and susceptibility to drug abuse.


Effects of dicyclohexane derivatives on androgen metabolism in the rat prostate.
Dicyclohexane derivatives, which inhibit the binding of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to the androgen-binding protein (ABP) of rat epididymis without interfering with their binding to the androgen receptor, show a similar selectivity in their effects on androgen metabolism. Their ability to inhibit the aromatization of testosterone has been reported previously. This paper demonstrates that they are potent inhibitors of 3 alpha(beta)-hydroxysteroid:NAD(P)+ oxidoreductase activity (3-HSD) in the particulate fraction from rat prostate gland; the values of Ki for their inhibition of this enzyme are similar to that of the Km for DHT as substrate. The dicyclohexane derivatives are markedly less effective against the cytosolic NADPH-dependent 3-HSD, and they do not appear to inhibit testosterone 5 alpha-reductase activity. These characteristics are likely to complicate the proposed use of the dicyclohexane derivatives as probes for the role of ABP in vivo. However, they may be of interest in the study of structure-activity relationships in androgen-metabolizing enzymes, particularly in the examination of the different forms of 3-HSD.


Aortic pulse wave velocity, central pulse pressure, augmentation index and chronic kidney disease progression in individuals with type 2 diabetes: a 3- year prospective study.
Pulse wave velocity (PWV), central pulse pressure and augmentation index are arterial stiffness- related hemodynamic parameters but their associations with renal outcome are still controversial. We hereby aim to study, 1) which hemodynamic parameter is independently associated with progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD), 2) the association of 3-year change in PWV with CKD progression and, 3) the additive predictive value of PWV for progressive CKD. Carotid- femoral PWV, central pulse pressure and augmentation index were measured in 1444 participants with type 2 diabetes at baseline and 3 years apart. Progressive CKD was defined as confirmed eGFR decline 40% or greater. In the follow-up, 102 participants experienced progressive CKD. All 3 hemodynamic parameters were significantly associated with progressive CKD In univariable analysis. However, only PWV remained statistically significant after adjustment for known clinical risk factors and the other 2 hemodynamic parameters (OR 1.14 [95% CI 1.01-1.29] per m/s increment). One m/s regression (decrement) in PWV in the 3-year follow-up was associated with 26% lower adjusted- risk of progressive CKD (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.56-0.97). Adding PWV onto traditional risk factor- based model significantly improved classification (net reclassification improvement 0.25, 95% CI 0.05-0.45, P = 0.01) and positive prediction rate (24.5 to 32.3%). Of 3 arterial stiffness- related hemodynamic parameters, only PWV is independently associated with progressive CKD. PWV may be a potential intervention target to mitigate risk of CKD progression and also a biomarker to improve risk-stratification of adverse renal outcome in individuals with type 2 diabetes.


Impact of staphylococcal protease expression on the outcome of infectious arthritis.
The exoproteases of Staphylococcus aureus have been proposed as virulence factors during S. aureus infections. To investigate this, we used the wild-type S. aureus strain 8325-4 and its mutants devoid of aureolysin, serine protease, and cysteine protease, respectively, in a well-established model of septic arthritis in mice. The inactivation of the exoprotease genes did not affect the frequency or the severity of joint disease. We conclude that in the model of haematogenously spread staphylococcal arthritis, the bacterial proteases studied do not act as virulence factors.


Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea among patients with rheumatoid arthritis and its association with age and body mass index: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
The study aims to recognize the prevalence and possible risk factors of obstructive sleep apnea among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We searched PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and Google scholar for potential studies published before the October 30, 2020. The study characteristics, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) events, and various types of rheumatic diseases were extracted, and the meta-analysis method was used to pool the estimates. We identified eight studies with 37 285 patients for this meta-analysis. The overall pooled prevalence of OSA was 29.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 15.2-46.7; I2 = 99.6%) in the patients with RA. Age was higher in RA patients with OSA but this was not significant. Body mass index (BMI) was significantly associated with OSA in the RA population (standardized mean difference 1.08; P = 0.044). Assessment based on the Berlin Questionnaire© for Sleep Apnea resulted in a more precise estimate of OSA prevalence with reduced heterogeneity (prevalence 45.3%; 95% CI 37.4-53.3; I2 = 58.8%). Prevalence of OSA among the RA cohort was 29.8% with significant heterogeneity. However, the prevalence was 45.3% when studies were restricted to the OSA diagnosis based on the Berlin questionnaire with very low heterogeneity. Higher BMI is the principal risk factor of OSA development in RA. Hence, controlling BMI could be a preventive strategy for OSA among RA patients.


The pathophysiological role of receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 in cardiovascular disease.
Recent studies have found that receptor interacting protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) can mediate CaMK Ⅱ phosphorylation and oxidation, open mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP), and induce myocardial necroptosis. The increased expression or phosphorylation of RIPK3 is one of the important markers of necroptosis; Inhibition of CaMK Ⅱ phosphorylation or oxidation significantly reduces RIPK3 mediated myocardial necroptosis; Studies have shown that necroptosis plays an important role in the occurrence and development of cardiovascular diseases; Using the selective inhibitor GSK '872 of RIPK3 can effectively inhibit the occurrence and development of cardiovascular diseases, and can reverse cardiovascular and cardiac dysfunction caused by overexpression of RIPK3. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the current knowledge on RIPK3 in mediating necroptosis, inflammatory response, and oxidative stress, and discussed the role of RIPK3 in cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, myocardial ischaemia, myocardial infarction, and heart failure.


Protein kinase C in pig thyroid cells: activation, translocation and endogenous substrate phosphorylating activity in response to phorbol esters.
The phorbol ester, TPA, induced the intracellular redistribution of protein kinase C in intact thyroid cells; it caused within 5 min of incubation a 90% decrease of the cytosolic protein kinase C and an increase of the membrane-associated enzyme activity which appeared to be fully activated by TPA. TSH at concentrations which gave the maximal stimulation on various parameters of iodine metabolism induced the translocation of only 10-15% of protein kinase C from the cytosol to the membrane fraction. TPA induced a 2-fold increase in the incorporation of [32P]phosphate into cellular proteins and selectively activated the phosphorylation of two molecular species: a 180,000 Da protein and to a lesser extent a 170,000 Da protein in dispersed pig thyroid cells prelabeled with [32P]orthophosphate. The effect of TPA was maximum after 5 min of incubation and was concentration-dependent between 1 nM and 1 microM. The two phosphorylated substrates were only found in the cytosolic fraction. The TPA-induced phosphorylation of the 180,000 Da protein was observed in thyroid cells in suspension, in thyroid cell monolayers and follicle-like reassociated cells. In these three experimental situations, the 180,000 Da protein was not phosphorylated in response to TSH. Incubation of thyroid cell cytosolic fraction in the presence of [32P]ATP with calcium and phospholipid led to the phosphorylation of few proteins among which a 180,000 Da component. These proteins were not phosphorylated in the cytosol of TPA-treated cells, a finding in agreement with the translocation of protein kinase C. These results indicate that (1) the activation-translocation of thyroid protein kinase C induced by TPA is associated with the phosphorylation of selective substrates, and (2) TSH, even at high concentration, failed to exert the same action as TPA on protein kinase C in pig thyroid cells.


Resolving Deleterious and Near-Neutral Effects Requires Different Pooled Fitness Assay Designs.
Pooled sequencing-based fitness assays are a powerful and widely used approach to quantifying fitness of thousands of genetic variants in parallel. Despite the throughput of such assays, they are prone to biases in fitness estimates, and errors in measurements are typically larger for deleterious fitness effects, relative to neutral effects. In practice, designing pooled fitness assays involves tradeoffs between the number of timepoints, the sequencing depth, and other parameters to gain as much information as possible within a feasible experiment. Here, we combined simulations and reanalysis of an existing experimental dataset to explore how assay parameters impact measurements of near-neutral and deleterious fitness effects using a standard fitness estimator. We found that sequencing multiple timepoints at relatively modest depth improved estimates of near-neutral fitness effects, but systematically biased measurements of deleterious effects. We showed that a fixed total number of reads, deeper sequencing at fewer timepoints improved resolution of deleterious fitness effects. Our results highlight a tradeoff between measurement of deleterious and near-neutral effect sizes for a fixed amount of data and suggest that fitness assay design should be tuned for fitness effects that are relevant to the specific biological question.


The effects of education levels of developmental care in Australia: Perceptions and challenges.
Developmental care consists of a range of clinical, infant-focused, and family-focused interventions designed to modify the neonatal intensive care environment and caregiving practices to reduce stressors on the developing brain. Since the inception of developmental care in the early 1980s, it has been recommended and adopted globally as a component of routine practice for neonatal care. Despite its application for almost 40 y, little is known of the attitude of neonatal nurses in Australia towards the intervention. The objective of this study was to establish Australian neonatal nurse perceptions of developmental care and explore associations between developmental care education levels of the nurses and personal beliefs in the application of developmental care. This involves a cross-sectional survey design. An online questionnaire was completed by 171 neonatal nurses. Participants were members of the Australian College of Neonatal Nursing (n = 783). Covariate associations between key components of developmental care and respondents' geographical location, place of employment, professional qualifications, and developmental care education level were analysed. The reporting of this study is in accordance with the Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of Health Research Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys. Differences were observed between groups for geographical location, place of employment, and professional qualification level. Rural nurses were less likely to support the provision of skin-to-skin care (odds ratio [OR]: 0.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.2-1.8) than nurses in a metropolitsan unit. Nurses working in a neonatal intensive care unit and nurses with postgraduate qualifications were more likely to support parental involvement in care ([OR: 2.3, 95% CI: 0.9-6.2] and [OR: 2.1, 95% CI: 0.6-7.4], respectively). Rural respondents were more likely to have attended off-site education (OR: 3.6, 95% CI: 1.3-9.9) than metropolitan respondents. The application of developmental care in Australia may be influenced by inadequate resources and inequitable access to educational resources, and similar challenges have been reported in other countries. Overcoming the challenges requires a focused education strategy and support within and beyond the neonatal intensive care unit.


Biochar addition stabilized soil carbon sequestration by reducing temperature sensitivity of mineralization and altering the microbial community in a greenhouse vegetable field.
Biochar is widely used for soil carbon sequestration and fertility improvement. However, the effects of biochar interacted with nitrogen (N) on the mineralization of soil organic carbon (SOC) and microbial community have not been thoroughly understood, particularly no reports have been published on the long term effects of biochar in vegetable field. Here, we examined soil properties, SOC mineralization and microbial community affecting by biochar (0, 20 and 40 t ha-1; C0, C1 and C2, respectively), N (0 or 240 t ha-1; N0 or N1, respectively) and their interaction in a greenhouse vegetable field. Results indicated that biochar addition increased soil pH, SOC, recalcitrant C pool, especially for the 40 t ha-1 treatment. Biochar addition generally decreased soil C-cycling enzyme activity while increasing N and P-cycling enzyme and oxidase activities. Biochar combined with N addition reduced SOC mineralization rate and metabolic quotient (qCO2) by 10.2-22.0% and 6.85-30.4%, respectively, across 15-35 °C and the temperature sensitivity (Q10) by 0.96-4.70%, except for the N1C2 at 25-35 °C. Apparent changes in bacterial alpha diversity and community structures were observed among treatments. Besides, biochar mixed with N application significantly enhanced the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and decreased Acidobacteria, while did not result in significant differences in fungal diversity and community composition. Redundancy analysis indicated that the microbial community composition shifts induced by the interaction between N and biochar were attributed to the changes in soil chemical properties, such as pH and SOC. Overall, the combination of biochar and N fertilizer is recommended to improve SOC sequestration potential and regulate bacterial community diversity and composition in vegetable field for sustainable intensification.


Gender-related differences in rhythm control treatment in persistent atrial fibrillation: data of the Rate Control Versus Electrical Cardioversion (RACE) study.
This study sought to compare whether gender affects the outcome of rate versus rhythm control treatment in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Large trials have shown that rate control is an acceptable alternative to rhythm control. However, the effects of treatment may differ between male and female patients. In the Rate Control versus Electrical Cardioversion (RACE) study, 522 patients (192 female) were included and randomized to rate or rhythm control. The occurrence of cardiovascular end points and quality of life (QoL) were compared between female and male patients. At baseline, female patients differed from male patients with regard to age, underlying heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and left ventricular function. Female patients had more AF-related complaints, and QoL was significantly lower. After a mean follow-up of 2.3 +/- 0.6 years, cardiovascular morbidity and mortality was equally distributed between female (21%) and male patients (19%). However, in contrast to male patients, female patients randomized to rhythm control developed more end points (adjusted hazard ratio was 3.1 [95% confidence interval 1.5 to 6.3], p = 0.002), mainly heart failure, thromboembolic complications, and adverse effects of antiarrhythmic drugs, compared with rate control randomized female patients. During follow-up, QoL in female patients remained worse compared with that for male patients. Randomized strategy did not influence QoL in female patients. In female patients with persistent AF, a rhythm control approach leads to more cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Because treatment strategy did not influence QoL in female patients, a rate control approach may be considered in these patients.


The effect of trauma backboards on computed tomography radiation dose.
To assess the effect of trauma backboards on the radiation dose at computed tomography (CT) when using automatic tube current modulation (ATCM). An anthropomorphic phantom was scanned with two commercially available CT systems (GE LightSpeed16 Pro and Siemens Definition AS+) without and with backboards. Tube current-time product (mAs), and CTDIvol (mGy) were recorded for each examination. Thermoluminescent dosimeters were used to measure skin entrance dose in the pelvis and breast. Statistical significance was determined using a two-sample t-test. In addition, an institutional review board-approved retrospective image review was performed to quantify the frequency of backboard use during CT in the emergency department. There was a statistically significant increase in maximum tube current-time product (p<0.05) and CTDIvol (p<0.05) with the presence of a backboard; tube current-time product increased up to 31% and CTDIvol increased up to 27%. There was a significant increase in skin entrance dose in the anterior and posterior pelvis (p<0.05) with the presence of a backboard; skin entrance dose increased up to 25% in the anterior pelvis. Skin entrance dose to the breast increased with a backboard, although this was not statistically significant. The frequency of backboard use during CT markedly decreased (from 77% to 3%) after instituting a multidisciplinary policy to promptly remove patients from backboards upon arrival to the emergency department after a primary clinical survey. Using backboards during CT with ATCM can significantly increase the radiation dose. Although the decision to maintain patients on backboards is multifactorial, attempts should be made to minimise backboard use during CT when possible.


Comparative effectiveness of coronary artery bypass grafting and percutaneous coronary intervention for multivessel coronary disease in a community-based population with chronic kidney disease.
Randomized clinical trials comparing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have largely excluded patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), leading to uncertainty about the optimal coronary revascularization strategy. We sought to test the hypothesis that an initial strategy of CABG would be associated with lower risks of long-term mortality and cardiovascular morbidity compared with PCI for the treatment of multivessel coronary heart disease in the setting of CKD. We created a propensity score-matched cohort of patients aged ≥30 years with no prior dialysis or renal transplant who received multivessel coronary revascularization between 1996 and 2008 within a large integrated health care delivery system in northern California. We used extended Cox regression to examine death from any cause, acute coronary syndrome, and repeat revascularization. Coronary artery bypass grafting was associated with a significantly lower adjusted rate of death than PCI across all strata of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (in mL/min per 1.73 m(2)): the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 0.81, 95% CI 0.68 to 1.00 for patients with eGFR ≥60; HR 0.73 (CI 0.56-0.95) for eGFR of 45 to 59; and HR 0.87 (CI 0.67-1.14) for eGFR <45. Coronary artery bypass grafting was also associated with significantly lower rates of acute coronary syndrome and repeat revascularization at all levels of eGFR compared with PCI. Among adults with and without CKD, multivessel CABG was associated with lower risks of death and coronary events compared with multivessel PCI.


Role of the mu immunoglobulin heavy chain transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains in B cell antigen receptor expression and signal transduction.
Membrane immunoglobulins (mIg) serve as the recognition components of B lymphocyte antigen receptors. Binding of antigen to these receptors leads to dramatic effects on B cell growth and viability. We have examined the structural elements of mIgM that are involved in antigen receptor assembly and function. Expression of transfected wild-type mIgM in a B cell line led to assembly with the other two known components of the antigen receptor, Ig-alpha and Ig-beta, expression on the cell surface, and when cross-linked by anti-IgM antibodies, stimulation of signal transductin reactions, including tyrosine protein phosphorylation, inositol phosphate production, and increases in cytoplasmic calcium concentration. Replacement of the highly conserved COOH-terminal 41 amino acids of mIgM heavy chain (mu m) with the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of human CD8 alpha resulted in a molecule which was expressed on the B cell surface at levels comparable to wild-type mIgM, but which did not form a complex with Ig-alpha or Ig-beta and did not stimulate any of the signaling reactions mentioned above. Replacement of the basic three-amino-acid cytoplasmic domain of mu m with a different but similarly charged sequence had no effect on cell-surface expression or signaling function. On the other hand, removal of the entire cytoplasmic domain resulted in a molecule which did not bind Ig-alpha and Ig-beta and which did not transduce signals. This effect is probably due to altered post-translational processing of this mutant molecule. Finally, a series of eight single-amino-acid substitutions in the transmembrane domain was constructed. Most of these resulted in the removal of hydroxyl groups from conserved residues postulated to be important for interactions with other components. Each of these mutant molecules was capable of transducing signals when cross-linked by anti-IgM, but one was partially defective. Since alteration of any single residue was not sufficient to disrupt signaling completely, the interactions required for signaling are likely to involve multiple residues, so that elimination of one hydroxyl group does not prevent the interaction. We propose that the cytoplasmic domain of mu m does not play a critical role in receptor function but that the transmembrane domain specifies interactions with other components, probably Ig-alpha and Ig-beta, required for proper antigen receptor signal transduction.


The effect of psychological interventions targeting overweight and obesity in school-aged children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Multi-component psychological interventions may mitigate overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. Evidence is, however, scattered on the effectiveness of such interventions. This study aims to review the available evidence on the effectiveness of multi-component psychological interventions on anthropometric measures of school-aged children with overweight or obesity. We systematically searched international databases/search engines including PubMed and NLM Gateway (for MEDLINE), Web of Science, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar up to November 2022 for relevant articles pertaining to psychological weight-loss interventions targeting school-aged children. Two reviewers screened and extracted pertinent data. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomized Trials. Random effect meta-analysis was used to calculate, and pool standardized mean differences (SMD). We distinguished between intervention and maintenance effects. Intervention effects were defined as the mean change in outcome measurement detected between baseline and post-treatment. Maintenance effects were defined as the mean change in outcome measurement between post-treatment and last follow-up. Of 3,196 studies initially identified, 54 and 30 studies were included in the qualitative and quantitative syntheses, respectively. Most studies reported on group-based interventions. The significant effects of intervention on BMI z-score (SMD -0.66, 95% CI: -1.15, -0.17) and WC (SMD -0.53, 95% CI: -1.03, -0.04) were observed for interventions that centered on motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy, respectively. Mean BMI and WC did not differ significantly between post-treatment and last follow-up measurement (maintenance effect), indicating that an initial weight loss obtained through the intervention period could be maintained over time. Findings indicate that motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy as interventions to reduce BMI z-score (generalized obesity) and waist circumference (abdominal obesity) are effective and durable. However, detailed analyses on individual components of the interventions are recommended in future effectiveness studies.


Determination of dextropropoxyphene and nordextropropoxyphene in urine by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.
Dextropropoxyphene and nordextropropoxyphene were extracted from urine samples with mixed mode solid-phase extraction cartridges. After elution and evaporation to dryness, the eluate was dissolved in mobile phase and each sample was injected in a LC-ESI-MS system. Quantification was carried out in the selected ion monitoring mode. This article shows the possibility to analyse drugs of abuse substances in urine with a single quadrupole mass spectrometer if only a thorough work-up procedure and a sufficient chromatographic separation is accomplished. In order to enhance the fragmentation of the analytes, in-source fragmentation was carried out. One fragment and the pseudomolecular ion per analyte together with chromatographic retention times were sufficient to verify that the sought compound was found in the samples. In- and between day variation was lower than 10% and the recovery was well above 90%. The analytes were quantified in the range 100-10000 ng/ml urine.


Accelerated recovery of hematopoiesis following sub-lethal whole body irradiation with recombinant murine interleukin-1 (IL-1).
This communication reports the results of studies designed to investigate the ability of recombinant murine interleukin-1 (rIL-1) to enhance the recovery of hematopoiesis following administration of sub-lethal whole body irradiation (2 Gy). Mice were administered rIL-1 (100 and 500 units) i.p. Twenty-four hours later these mice were administered 2 Gy radiation. Irradiated control mice were given only phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Animals were then serially sacrificed (on days 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, and 12 following irradiation) and their peripheral blood was analyzed for indices (packed red cell volume, WBC, platelets, and differential). Femoral bone marrow was harvested and assayed for their stem cell content--erythroid (CFU-E, BFU-E), granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM), and megakaryocyte (CFU-MEG). Irradiated mice pretreated with rIL-1 demonstrated accelerated hematopoietic recovery as measured by higher WBC, platelets and femoral stem cell content than PBS-treated irradiated controls. These results indicate IL-1 may be an effective radioprotective agent against the hematotoxicity induced by ionizing radiation.


Oscillatory visual mechanisms revealed by random temporal sampling.
It is increasingly apparent that functionally significant neural activity is oscillatory in nature. Demonstrating the implications of this mode of operation for perceptual/cognitive function remains somewhat elusive. This report describes the technique of random temporal sampling for the investigation of visual oscillatory mechanisms. The technique is applied in visual recognition experiments using different stimulus classes (words, familiar objects, novel objects, and faces). Classification images reveal variations of perceptual effectiveness according to the temporal features of stimulus visibility. These classification images are also decomposed into their power and phase spectra. Stimulus classes lead to distinct outcomes and the power spectra of classification images are highly generalizable across individuals. Moreover, stimulus class can be reliably decoded from the power spectrum of individual classification images. These findings and other aspects of the results validate random temporal sampling as a promising new method to study oscillatory visual mechanisms.


A systematic examination of the dynamics of water-cellulose interactions on capillary force-induced fiber collapse.
Cellulosic fiber collapse is a phenomenon of fundamental importance for many technologies that include tissue/hygiene to packaging because it governs their essential materials properties such as tensile strength, softness, and water absorption; therefore, we elaborate cellulose fiber collapse from water interactions. This is the first attempt to directly correlate fiber collapse and entrapped or hard-to-remove (HR) water content through DSC, TGA and SEM. Freeze-drying and oven drying were individually investigated for influence on collapse. SEM of the fibers at different moisture contents show that irreversible collapsing begins as entrapped water departs the fiber surface. The removal of HR water pulls cell walls closer due to strong capillary action which overwhelms the elastic force of the fiber lumen which results in partially or fully irreversible collapse. The initial moisture content and refining intensity were found to regulate HR water content and consequently played a vital role in fiber collapsing.


Risk factor profile and management of cerebrovascular patients in the REACH Registry.
Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) is a global public health problem. CVD patients are at high risk of recurrent stroke and other atherothrombotic events. Prevalence of risk factors, comorbidities, utilization of secondary prevention therapies and adherence to guidelines all influence the recurrent event rate. We assessed these factors in 18,992 CVD patients within a worldwide registry of stable outpatients. The Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health Registry recruited >68,000 outpatients (44 countries). The subjects were mainly recruited by general practitioners (44%) and internists (29%) if they had symptomatic CVD, coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and/or >or=3 atherothrombotic risk factors. The 18,992 CVD patients suffered a stroke (53.7%), transient ischemic attack (TIA) (27.7%) or both (18.5%); 40% had symptomatic atherothrombotic disease in >or=1 additional vascular beds: 36% coronary artery disease; 10% PAD and 6% both. The prevalence of risk factors at baseline was higher in the TIA subgroup than in the stroke group: treated hypertension (83.5/82.0%; p = 0.02), body mass index >or=30 (26.7/20.8%; p < 0.0001), hypercholesterolemia (65.1/52.1%; p < 0.0001), atrial fibrillation (14.7/11.9%; p < 0.0001) and carotid artery disease (42.3/29.7%; p < 0.0001). CVD patients received antiplatelet agents (81.7%), oral anticoagulants (17.3%), lipid-lowering agents (61.2%) and antihypertensives (87.9%), but guideline treatment targets were frequently not achieved (54.5% had elevated blood pressure at baseline, while 4.5% had untreated diabetes). A high percentage of CVD patients have additional atherothrombotic disease manifestations. The risk profile puts CVD patients, especially the TIA subgroup, at high risk for future atherothrombotic events. Undertreatment is common worldwide and adherence to guidelines needs to be enforced.


Inferring Multiple Sclerosis Stages from the Blood Transcriptome via Machine Learning.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) bear specific dysregulations in genes and pathways at distinct stages of multiple sclerosis (MS) that may help with classifying MS and non-MS subjects, specifying the early stage of disease, or discriminating among MS courses. Here we describe an unbiased machine learning workflow to build MS stage-specific classifiers based on PBMC transcriptomics profiles from more than 300 individuals, including healthy subjects and patients with clinically isolated syndromes, relapsing-remitting MS, primary or secondary progressive MS, or other neurological disorders. The pipeline, designed to optimize and compare the performance of distinct machine learning algorithms in the training cohort, generates predictive models not influenced by demographic features, such as age and gender, and displays high accuracy in the independent validation cohort. Proper application of machine learning to transcriptional profiles of circulating blood cells may allow identification of disease state and stage in MS.


Production of aviation fuel via catalytic hydrothermal decarboxylation of fatty acids in microalgae oil.
A series of fatty acids in microalgae oil, such as stearic acid, palmitic acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, arachidic acid and behenic acid, were selected as the raw materials to produce aviation fuel via hydrothermal decarboxylation over a multi-wall carbon nanotube supported Pt catalyst (Pt/MWCNTs). It was found that Pt/MWCNTs catalysts exhibited higher activity for the hydrothermal decarboxylation of stearic acid with a 97% selectivity toward heptadecane compared to Pt/C and Ru/C under the same conditions. And Pt/MWCNTs is also capable for the decarboxylation of different fatty acids in microalgae oil. The reaction conditions, such as Pt/MWCNTs loading amount, reaction temperature and time were optimized. The activation energy of stearic acid decarboxylation over Pt/MWCNTs was calculated (114 kJ/mol).


Glomus tumor imaging: use of MRI for localization of occult lesions.
Magnetic resonance imaging has been performed in six patients with glomus tumors of the hand and correlated with clinical surgical histopathologic findings and with angiography in one case. Two of the patients had obscure pain without the classic clinical and radiologic findings of glomus tumors. The MRI examinations depicted the tumors in excellent detail and facilitated diagnosis in the two patients with atypical presentation. In all six cases the diagnoses were confirmed at surgery. The MRI proved valuable as a noninvasive and accurate means for the early diagnosis of occult glomus tumors.


Carbon price prediction based on modified wavelet least square support vector machine.
It is widely believed that setting a sensible carbon price can contribute to the mitigation of global warming, so it is particularly major to raise the precision of carbon price prediction. As such it has important implications not only for beautifying the environment but also for promoting the benign development of the carbon trading market in China. However, consideration is given to the high non-determinacy and non-linearity of the carbon price series, a single model cannot meet the prediction accuracy anymore. Since this is the case, this paper puts forward a novel hybrid forecasting model, consisting of the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), the linearly decreasing weight particle swarm optimization (LDWPSO), and the wavelet least square support vector machine (wLSSVM). Innovatively, wLSSVM is utilized in the field of carbon price prediction for the first time. Firstly, EEMD decomposes the raw carbon price into several stable sub-sequences and a residual. Then, the inputs of each sequence are determined by the partial auto-correlation function (PACF). Next, wLSSVM optimized by LDWPSO forecasts each sequence separately. Finally, the final prediction result is obtained by adding all prediction results. For the purpose of verifying the effectiveness and superiority of the EEMD-LDWPSO-wLSSVM model, a total of 12 models were built to compare their performance in three regions of Guangdong, Hubei, and Shanghai respectively from three evaluating indicators: MAPE, RMSE, and R2. All the predicted results showed that the model presented in this paper has the best forecasting performance among all the model combinations and can substantially improve the accuracy of carbon price prediction. Therefore, the model would be an increasingly extensive application in the field of carbon price prediction in the future.


Recognizing and treating child overweight and obesity.
Primary care providers can help prevent and address child overweight and obesity, conditions that can affect children's present and future health as well as their psychologic, emotional, and social well-being. This article describes approaches to preventing, identifying, and addressing overweight and obesity using empathetic, practical, family-focused recommendations and actions.


Sex Differences in Predictors of Completion of a 6-Month Adapted Cardiac Rehabilitation Program for People With Type 2 Diabetes and No Known Cardiac Disease.
Our aim in this study was to determine sex differences and predictors of noncompletion of a comprehensive adapted cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP) for people with type 2 diabetes (no known cardiac disease). Reasons for noncompletion of a 6-month adapted diabetes exercise-based CRP were ascertained by interview between 2006 and 2017. Regression analyses were conducted to determine demographic, cardiopulmonary, medical and psychosocial predictors of noncompletion in all participants and in females and males separately. Among all participants (460 females and 375 males), predictors of dropout included higher depression score, being unemployed, higher glycated hemoglobin (A1C), younger age and fewer comorbidities. There was no difference in completion rate between females and males in bivariate (28% vs 28.3%, p=0.9) or multivariate (odds ratio=1.089, 95% confidence interval 0.79 to 1.5, p=0.6) analyses, but predictors of dropout varied. In females, these predictors included being married/partnered, living with obesity and having a higher depression score, A1C and triglycerides level, independent of age. For males, only higher depression score and younger age predicted dropout. There was no difference in medical dropouts between females and males (37.2% vs 34% of all dropouts, p=0.6) or in reasons for dropout (p>0.05 for all) or attendance to prescheduled sessions in completers (69.2±16.8% vs 70.4±18.8%, p=0.5) or dropouts (24.7±15.7% vs 25.2±16.1%, p=0.8), respectively. There was no sex difference in noncompletion, attendance or reasons for dropout from a diabetes CRP. However, being married/partnered, living with obesity and having higher A1C and triglycerides were unique predictors of dropout for females and younger age for males. Being unemployed, glycemic control and depressive symptoms are targets for promoting completion in all participants that can be addressed by multidisciplinary CRP teams.


Eye involvement in the spondyloarthropathies.
Eye inflammation, especially uveitis, is a prominent feature of spondyloarthropathies. Uveitis associated with ankylosing spondylitis and Reiter's syndrome usually is a unilateral acute anterior uveitis with a high tendency to recur sometimes in the contralateral eye. Uveitis associated with undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis may be less characteristic in its presentation, with a higher tendency to posterior pole involvement, bilaterality, and chronicity. Although acute anterior uveitis is grouped into the spectrum of human leukocyte antigen B27-related disease, other genetic and environmental factors including infections by gram-negative bacteria and gut inflammation can play a role in its pathogenesis. The prognosis of uveitis usually is excellent with topical treatment, and only those with posterior pole involvement or a high tendency to recur or to chronicity might benefit from immunosuppressive therapy.


Needle-free jet injection of hyaluronic acid improves skin remodeling in a mouse model.
The purpose of this study was to improve methods of jet injection using a mouse model. We investigated the mechanism of action, efficacy, and safety of the pneumatic device using injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) solution into a mouse model. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of an INNOJECTOR™ pneumatic device that pneumatically accelerates a jet of HA solution under high pressure into the dermis of mouse skin. We examined the treatment effects using skin hybrid model jet dispersion experiments, photographic images, microscopy, and histological analyses. Use of the INNOJECTOR™ successfully increased dermal thickness and collagen synthesis in our mouse model. Jet dispersion experiments were performed using agarose gels and a polyacrylamide gel model to understand the dependence of jet penetration on jet power. The mechanisms by which pneumatic injection using HA solution exerts its effects may involve increased dermal thickening, triggering of a wound healing process, and activation of vimentin and collagen synthesis. Collagen synthesis and increased dermal thickening were successfully achieved in our mouse model using the INNOJECTOR™. Pneumatic injection of HA under high pressure provides a safe and effective method for improving the appearance of mouse skin. Our findings indicate that use of the INNOJECTOR™ may induce efficient collagen remodeling with subsequent marked dermal layer thickening by targeting vimentin.


Management of recurrent Crohn's disease.
After partial small bowel or colonic resection for Crohn's disease, recurrence frequently follows. Within half a year 60-73% of patients have endoscopic recurrence. This percentage increases substantially in as time passes. Symptoms will not always be present when endoscopic lesions are detected. The etiology of recurrent Crohn's disease is unknown. Some studies show that initial complications or extra-intestinal manifestations are more frequently seen in patients with a recurrence. The recurrent pattern of the lesions is also comparable to the pre-surgical state. The length of recurrent ileal inflammation after ileocolonic resection correlates with the pre-surgical extent of the disease. Some investigators have found electron-microscopic lesions in histologically unaffected resection margins demonstrating the presence of lesions. Luminal factors probably plays an important role as bypassing an anastomosis prevents an endoscopic recurrence. Some factors are considered to be important to increase the chance of a recurrence. A more aggressive disease may lead to earlier recurrence. Onset of disease at a younger age, a short pre-operative time, and localization, might play an important role. Smoking certainly influences the clinical, endoscopic and surgical recurrence. The number of daily cigarettes smoked and the duration of smoking, significantly increases the risk of recurrence. The type of surgery (kind of anastomosis, multiple anastomoses, length of resection) are not important. A longer macroscopic disease-free resection margin or presence of granuloma does not influence the recurrence rate. Also, the presence of microscopic disease at the margin is not important. Prevention of recurrent disease can be provided by administrating sulphasalazine, 5-aminosalicylic acid or metronidazole. For this reason, prophylactic medication after surgical resection seems appropriate.


3D diffusion tensor imaging with 2D navigated turbo spin echo.
A Cartesian two-dimensional navigator with variable orientation for online motion correction is introduced. It corrects for all possible zeroth- and first-order phase errors due to rigid-body motion of a subject during the diffusion-weighting preparation. The technique is developed for the application of three-dimensional (3D) imaging sequences, which offer the opportunity of high-resolution diffusion-weighted imaging, or diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with isotropic voxel resolution. The navigator was applied to a displaced 3D turbo spin-echo sequence with an ECG-gated diffusion preparation to avoid phase errors due to gross brain pulsation. Online and offline corrected in vivo images acquired with this sequence are compared to investigate the advantages of online correction. Also eigenvector maps of the diffusion tensor are presented with an isotropic resolution of 1 mm3, which indicate that this new navigator technique is a promising approach for high-resolution DTI.


Effect of phencyclidine on inhibition in the hippocampal slice.
The effects of phencyclidine (PCP) on synaptic transmission were studied in the hippocampal slice. Population spikes evoked by orthodromic or antidromic stimulation were recorded from CAl pyramidal cells. Bath applied PCP (10(-4) M) reduced moderately both the orthodromic and antidromic population spikes. Lower concentrations, 5 X 10(-6) to 5 X 10(-5) M of PCP, which did not depress the population spikes, reduced inhibition of the orthodromically evoked spike in a dose dependent reversible manner. Diazepam (10(-6) to 10(-5) M) restored the inhibition despite the continued presence of PCP. It is suggested that PCP-induced seizures and other signs of hyperexcitability could be a result of reduced inhibition.


Randomized trial of olanzapine versus placebo in the symptomatic acute treatment of the schizophrenic prodrome.
The prodromal phase of schizophrenic disorders has been described prospectively. The present study aimed to determine the short-term efficacy and safety of olanzapine treatment of prodromal symptoms compared with placebo. This was a double-blind, randomized, parallel-groups, placebo-controlled trial with fixed-flexible dosing conducted at four sites. Sixty patients met prodromal diagnostic criteria, including attenuated psychotic symptoms, as determined by structured interviews. Olanzapine 5-15 mg daily or placebo was prescribed for 8 weeks. In the mixed-effects, repeated-measures analysis, the treatment x time interaction for the change from baseline on the Scale of Prodromal Symptoms total score was statistically significant, and post hoc analyses revealed that the olanzapine-placebo difference reached p<.10 by week 6 and p<.05 at week 8. Ratings of extrapyramidal symptoms remained low in each group and were not significantly different. Olanzapine patients gained 9.9 lb versus.7 lb for placebo patients (p<.001). This short-term analysis suggests olanzapine is associated with significantly greater symptomatic improvement but significantly greater weight gain than is placebo in prodromal patients. Extrapyramidal symptoms with olanzapine were minimal and similar to those with placebo. Future research over the longer term with more patients will be needed before recommendations can be made regarding routine treatment.


The suffering ape hypothesis.
The "fearful ape hypothesis" could be regarded as one aspect of a more general "suffering ape hypothesis": Humans are more likely to experience negative emotions (e.g., fear, sadness), aversive symptoms (e.g., pain, fever), and to engage in self-harming behavior (e.g., cutting, suicide attempts) because these might motivate affiliative, consolatory, and supportive behavior from their prosocial environment thereby enhancing evolutionary fitness.


Improved peroxidase-mediated biodegradation of toluene vapors in the moving-bed activated sludge diffusion (MASD) process using biosurfactant-generating biomass stimulated with H2O2.
Two strategies were attempted to improve the biodegradation and mineralization of toluene vapors in the activated sludge diffusion (ASD) process using biosurfactant-generating Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spp. mixture. Different operational parameters including toluene concentration, superficial air velocity, biomass concentration, moving-media insertion and H2O2 were evaluated on toluene removal in the ASD process within 550 days of operation. It was found that complete biodegradation and 79.8% mineralization of toluene vapors at inlet loading rate of 144 g/m3.h could be achieved in the ASD process by inserting moving media (MASD) at a volume ratio of 20% along with stimulation of bacteria with H2O2. The concentration of biosurfactant and peroxidase generated in the integrated process (H2O2-stimulated MASD reactor) was 3.7 and 2.5 times of that in the conventional ASD process. The maximum toluene elimination capacity obtained in the H2O2- stimulated MASD process was 285 g/m3.h at an inlet loading rate of around 430 g/m3.h. Accordingly, H2O2-mediated MASD process could be a promising technique for efficient biodegradation and mineralization of aromatic hydrocarbons in the contaminated air streams.


Assessment of ADCY9 polymorphisms and colorectal cancer risk in the Chinese Han population.
Recently, ADCY9 has been found to be highly expressed in colon cancer, and high ADCY9 expressionis a poor prognostic factor of colon cancer. However, no study has reported on the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of ADCY9 and colorectal cancer risk in the Chinese Han population. To evaluate the association between four ADCY9 SNPs and colorectal cancer risk, we performed a case-control study including 511 colorectal cancer patients and 511 healthy controls. SNPs were genotyped using the Agena MassARRAY platform (Agena Bioscience, San Diego, CA, USA). The distributions of alleles and genotypes frequencies between the case and control groups were compared using chi-squared. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by logistic regression adjusted for age and gender to assess the association between SNPs and colorectal cancer risk. The overall analysis found that rs2230742 was associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (AA versus GG: OR = 3.54, 95% CI = 1.16-10.86, p = 0.027; recessive model: OR = 3.55, 95% CI = 1.16-10.85, p = 0.027). Stratification analysis showed that rs2230742 was associated with an increased rectal cancer risk; rs11076810 was associated with a reduced colorectal cancer risk for age > 59 years. No association was observed between other two SNPs and colorectal cancer risk. Our findings suggest that ADCY9 polymorphisms (rs2230742 and rs11076810) have an effect on colorectal cancer risk in the Chinese Han population. Future association and functional studies are required to confirm our findings and explore the mechanism of ADCY2 in colorectal cancer.


High-performance two-dimensional montmorillonite supported-poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) hydrogel for dye removal.
High-performance two-dimensional montmorillonite supported-poly (acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) hydrogel for dye removal was investigated. Montmorillonite cooperated with acrylamide and acrylic acid via polymerization, hydrogen-bond, amidation and electrostatic interactions to form the three-dimensional reticular-structured hydrogel with the free entrance for macromolecules. Adsorption tests revealed that the efficient removal (97%) for methylene blue at high concentration (200 mg/L) could be achieved via a small dose of hydrogel (0.5 g/L) within a short time (20 min). The excellent adsorption performance was profited from the electronegative surface and fully exposed reaction sites of two-dimensional montmorillonite, which could save the treatment cost and promote the removal effect compared with the conventional adsorbents. The adsorption process of methylene blue onto hydrogel could be fitted by both the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetics models, and the adsorption isotherm corresponded to the Sips model. The mechanism analysis based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements illustrated that the reaction between carboxyl groups and methylene blue molecules as well as the cation-exchange enabled the hydrogel performing extraordinary adsorption efficiency.


Aortic and pulmonary root: are their dynamics similar?
The long-term behavior of the pulmonary autograft in the aortic position (Ross procedure) remains uncertain. Using three-dimensional (3D) sonomicrometry (200 Hz) we compared the dynamics of the aortic and pulmonary roots. Twenty-four crystals were implanted in each aortic (eight sheep) and pulmonary roots (six sheep) at: base (3 x 2), commissures (3 x 2), sinotubular junction (3 x 2), ascending aorta (3) and pulmonary trunk (3). Under stable hemodynamic conditions, geometric changes were time-related to left ventricular pressure (LV) and aortic pressure. The expansion of the aortic root is twice that of the pulmonary root. During the cardiac cycle, the aortic root volume increased by 37.7 +/- 2.7% (mean +/- SEM) versus 20.9 +/- 1.0% for the pulmonary root. Both were cone-shaped at end diastole. Because expansion at commissures was twice that of the base, both roots became more cylindrical during ejection. Although both roots started to expand prior to ejection and reached maximal expansion during the first third of ejection, the commissural and sinotubular junction dynamics were different in each root. While in the aortic root, expansion at commissural and sinotubular junction levels was significantly different (63.7 +/- 3.6% versus 37.0 +/- 2.1%), in the pulmonary root, they were similar (29.0 +/- 1.3% versus 27.7 +/- 1.4%). Expansion of the three sinuses was also different (P<0.001). In the aortic root: the right expanded more than the left and more than the non-coronary sinus. In the pulmonary root: the right sinus expanded more than the anterior more than the left. Dynamic differences might explain the global pulmonary root dilatation when subjected to systemic pressure, particularly at the level of the sinotubular junction which might result in the autograft failure. Differences in the asymmetrical expansion of the aortic and pulmonary roots should be considered for the implantation of the pulmonary autograft in the most physiological position.


Long-term oxygen therapy in patients with diagnoses other than COPD.
Long-term O2 prescription in chronic non-COPD hypoxic lung disease is, at present, based largely on physiological rather than on clinical studies. Controlled long-term studies in this field are difficult to perform. The cooperation of many centers is necessary to obtain a large and homogeneous population as the incidence of these diseases is significantly lower than COPD.


The role of surgery in diagnosis and treatment of mediastinal malignancies.
Primary mediastinal malignancies should be treated aggressively using a multidisciplinary approach since some are curable. Surgery is indicated in almost all cases of mediastinal masses with the exception of malignant lymphomas. The question of operability must be placed at the beginning of diagnostic measures in a mediastinal mass. Exact decisions about local operability are often only possible after thoracotomy. Long lasting diagnostic maneuvers are therefore to be avoided. Histological assessment of masses in the middle or anterior mediastinum is possible by mediastinoscopy or other methods. Thus in malignant lymphomas or metastases thoracotomy can be avoided. In the other mediastinal spaces exact histology remains unknown until thoracotomy. If exploration shows inoperability, mass reduction is performed to decrease the space-taking process and to provide better chances for radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Primary radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy are indicated in malignant lymphomas and germ cell tumors. After these measures the indication for surgical excision in tumors has to be proved. X-ray screening techniques need to be improved to aid in early detection, higher extirpation rates, and thus better chances for cure. Because the amount of cases in individual departments is low multicenter collaboration will be required to define the optimal combined modality approach.