The T47D cell line is an ideal experimental model to elucidate the progesterone-specific effects of a luminal A subtype of breast cancer.
Cell lines are often used as in vitro tools to mimic certain types of in vivo system; several cell lines, including MCF-7 and T47D, have been widely used in breast cancer studies without investigating the cell lines' characteristics. In this study, we compared the genome-wide binding profiles of ERα, PR, and P300, and the gene expression changes between MCF-7 and T47D cell lines that represent the luminal A subtype of breast cancer. Surprisingly, several thousand genes were differentially expressed under estrogenic condition. In addition, ERα, PR, and P300 binding to regulatory elements showed distinct genomic landscapes between MCF-7 and T47D cell lines in the same hormonal states. In particular, the T47D cell line was markedly susceptible to progesterone, whereas the MCF-7 cell line did not respond to progesterone in the presence of estrogen. Consistently, changes in the expression level of the PR-target gene, STAT5A, were only observed in the T47D cell line, not the MCF-7 cell line, when treated with progesterone. Overall, the results highlight the importance of selecting appropriate cell lines for breast cancer studies and suggest that T47D cell lines can be an ideal experimental model to elucidate the progesterone-specific effects of a luminal A subtype of breast cancer.


Clinical Correlates of Treatment Response among Patients with Schizophrenia in a Tertiary Nigerian Hospital.
A significant proportion of patients treated for schizophrenia respond poorly to medication. Few studies have systematically examined the impact of clinical characteristics of patients to antipsychotic response in our environment. The study aimed to identify clinical variables associated with response in patients with schizophrenia. A total of 172 participants diagnosed with schizophrenia, placed on antipsychotics, who presented for the first time to the hospital or have stopped medication in the preceding six months, whose responses were assessed after four to six weeks were studied. Improvement was defined as 20% or greater reduction in PANSS scores. Good response was associated with good medication adherence, good pre-morbid functioning, fewer negative symptoms, less cognitive impairment, absence of co-morbid personality disorder, and short duration of untreated psychosis. Due consideration of the impact of clinical variables could help detect poor responders early, hence avoiding unnecessary exposure to ineffective treatments and their side effects while effective interventions are delayed.


Fast capacitive probe for electromagnetic pulse diagnostic.
In this work, we report the study and the development of a capacitive probe which is suitable for getting fast and high voltage/current measurements. Due to the fact that fast pulses propagate generally in coaxial structures, the probe realized in this work was a capacitive divider with the divider electrode properly designed to assure the same characteristic impedance of the coaxial structure and the recombination time of the split signals during the propagation. It was a folded cylindrical ring of 1.4 cm long and 0.8 cm thick, which introduce a theoretical delay time of about 100 ps. Analyzing the behavior of the probe closed on 520 Omega, the voltage amplification resulted to be of (3.6+/-0.1) x 10(-4) and, as a consequence, the current attenuation factor of 56+/-1 AV. The response rise time was less than 320 ps, which was limited by oscilloscope bandwave. The capacitor probe can operate voltage measurements of the order of 100 kV.


Fusion Pacing with Biventricular, Left Ventricular-only and Multipoint Pacing in Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy: Latest Evidence and Strategies for Use.
Despite advances in the field of cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT), response rates and durability of therapy remain relatively static. Optimising device timing intervals may be the most common modifiable factor influencing CRT efficacy after implantation. This review addresses the concept of fusion pacing as a method for improving patient outcomes with CRT. Fusion pacing describes the delivery of CRT pacing with a programming strategy to preserve intrinsic atrioventricular (AV) conduction and ventricular activation via the right bundle branch. Several methods have been assessed to achieve fusion pacing. QRS complex duration (QRSd) shortening with CRT is associated with improved clinical response. Dynamic algorithm-based optimisation targeting narrowest QRSd in patients with intact AV conduction has shown promise in people with heart failure with left bundle branch block. Individualised dynamic programming achieving fusion may achieve the greatest magnitude of electrical synchrony, measured by QRSd narrowing.


[Pitfalls in magnetic resonance imaging of the knee].
Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the knee is a robust method for the evaluation of internal derangements. A knowledge of the well known technical and anatomical pitfalls avoids, in most cases, diagnostic errors. However, the differentiation between meniscocapsular separation and normal anatomy remains challenging. The high prevalence of abnormal MR findings, especially meniscal tears with up to 63% on the asymptomatic contralateral side, has to be considered in patient management.


Adding a new dimension to the weekend effect: an analysis of a national data set of electronic AKI alerts.
Increased mortality related to differences in delivery of weekend clinical care is the subject of much debate. We compared mortality following detection of acute kidney injury (AKI) on week and weekend days across community and hospital settings. A prospective national cohort study, with AKI identified using the Welsh National electronic AKI reporting system. Data were collected on outcome for all cases of adult AKI in Wales between 1 November 2013 and 31 January 2017. There were a total of 107 298 episodes. Weekday detection of AKI was associated with 28.8% (26 439); 90-day mortality compared to 90-day mortality of 31.9% (4551) for AKI detected on weekdays (RR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.08-1.14, P < 0.001, HR: 1.16 95% CI: 1.12-1.20, P < 0.001). There was no 'weekend effect' for mortality associated with hospital-acquired AKI. Weekday detection of community-acquired AKI (CA-AKI) was associated with a 22.6% (10 356) mortality compared with weekend detection of CA-AKI, which was associated with a 28.6% (1619) mortality (RR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.21-1.32, P < 0.001, HR: 1.34, 95%CI: 1.28-1.42, P < 0.001). The excess mortality in weekend CA-AKI was driven by CA-AKI detected at the weekend that was not admitted to hospital compared with CA-AKI detected on weekdays which was admitted to hospital (34.5% vs. 19.1%, RR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.69-1.91, P < 0.001, HR: 2.03, 95% CI: 1.88-2.19, P < 0.001). 'Weekend effect' in AKI relates to access to in-patient care for patients presenting predominantly to hospital emergency departments with AKI at the weekend.


Rush allergen specific immunotherapy protocol in feline atopic dermatitis: a pilot study of four cats.
Rush immunotherapy has been shown to be as safe as conventional immunotherapy in canine atopic patients. Rush immunotherapy has not been reported in the feline atopic patient. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine a safe protocol for rush immunotherapy in feline atopic patients. Four atopic cats diagnosed by history, physical examination and exclusion of appropriate differential diagnoses were included in the study. Allergens were identified via liquid phase immunoenzymatic testing (VARL: Veterinary Allergy Reference Labs, Pasadena, CA). Cats were premedicated with 1.5 mg triamcinolone orally 24 and 2 h prior to first injection and 10 mg hydroxyzine PO 24, 12 and 2 h prior to first injection. An intravenous catheter was placed prior to first injection. Allergen extracts (Greer Laboratories, Lenoir, North Carolina) were all administered subcutaneously at increasing protein nitrogen units (pnu) every 30 minutes for 5 h to maintenance dose of 15,000 pnus ml-1. Vital signs were assessed every 15 minutes. Two cats developed mild pruritus and the subsequent injection was delayed 30 minutes. No changes in either cat's vital signs were noted, nor was there any further pruritus. All four cats successfully completed rush immunotherapy. Two cats developed a dermal swelling on the dorsal neck one week later. In these four cats, this protocol appeared to be a safe regimen to reach maintenance therapy. A larger sample of feline patients is needed to determine the incidence of adverse reactions and to follow the success of ASIT based upon this method of induction.


Practical Cell Design for PTMA-Based Organic Batteries: an Experimental and Modeling Study.
Poly(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy methacrylate) (PTMA) is one of the most promising organic cathode materials thanks to its relatively high redox potential, good rate performance, and cycling stability. However, being a p-type material, PTMA-based batteries pose additional challenges compared to conventional lithium-ion systems due to the involvement of anions in the redox process. This study presents a comprehensive approach to optimize such batteries, addressing challenges in electrode design, scalability, and cost. Experimental results at a laboratory scale demonstrate high active mass loadings of PTMA electrodes (up to 9.65 mg cm-2), achieving theoretical areal capacities that exceed 1 mAh cm-2. Detailed physics-based simulations and cost and performance analysis clarify the critical role of the electrolyte and the impact of the anion amount in the PTMA redox process, highlighting the benefits and the drawbacks of using highly concentrated electrolytes. The cost and energy density of lithium metal batteries with such high mass loading PTMA cathodes were simulated, finding that their performance is inferior to batteries based on inorganic cathodes even in the most optimistic conditions. In general, this work emphasizes the importance of considering a broader perspective beyond the lab scale and highlights the challenges in upscaling to realistic battery configurations.


[Morphological and functional assessment of the oral mucosa in children with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa].
To validate modified oral index (MOI) for the assessment of the oral mucosa in children with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DYB). The study comprised 27 DYB children aged 4 to 18 years. Morphological component of MOI was documented by an intraoral camera with the registration of pathological elements in various of the oral cavity and differentiated scoring. Functional component included registration of ankyloglossia and microstomia measured by Bristol assessment system and orthodontic caliper, correspondingly, and then referred to normal age-matched values. Oral mucosa condition deteriorates in DYB children with age both in morphological and functional aspects. MOI values more than 40 should be seen as prognostically unfavorable as they are always associated with severe functional restrictions. These restrictions are always present in children older than 6. If present in younger age they may indicate poor functional status in future. The MOI may be a useful tool for the assessment of the efficacy of the pharmacological agents' impact on the oral mucosa and disease prognosis. Correlation of MOI and general condition of DYB children needs further investigation.


[Protective properties of microcrystalline cellulose in experimental diabetes mellitus in rats].
The experiments on 45 inbred male and female rats with alloxan diabetes have shown that microcrystalline cellulose at a dose of 3 g/day received per os beginning from day 15 to day 42 after alloxan administration stabilizes the animals' body mass, reduces the level of glycemia and glycosylated hemoglobin. A parallel reduction of triglyceride and total cholesterol levels and increase in plasma phospholipid content, compared to the control, are observed, as well as a considerable hypocoagulation shift in the blood aggregation system.


Developing a virtual reality application for training nuclear power plant operators: setting up a database containing dose rates in the refuelling plant.
Operators in Nuclear Power Plants can receive high doses during refuelling operations. A training programme for simulating refuelling operations will be useful in reducing the doses received by workers as well as minimising operation time. With this goal in mind, a virtual reality application is developed within the framework of the CIPRES project. The application requires doses, both instantaneous and accumulated, to be displayed at all times during operator training. Therefore, it is necessary to set up a database containing dose rates at every point in the refuelling plant. This database is based on radiological protection surveillance data measured in the plant during refuelling operations. Some interpolation routines have been used to estimate doses through the refuelling plant. Different assumptions have been adopted in order to perform the interpolation and obtain consistent data. In this paper, the procedures developed to set up the dose database for the virtual reality application are presented and analysed.


Radicular cyst masquerading as a multilocular radiolucency.
Radicular cysts are the most common cystic lesions of the jaw. Most of these lesions involve the apex of the offending tooth and appear as well-defined periapical radiolucencies. This case presents an unusually large multilocular radicular cyst crossing the midline and involving almost the entire body of the mandible. The clinical and radiographic appearance mimicked an aggressive cyst or benign tumor. The lesion was surgically excised, and the teeth were endodontically treated without any postoperative complications.


Influence of Primary Health Care Physicians' Perceived Overqualification on Turnover Intention in China.
With the aging population and increasing prevalence of chronic disease, the number of primary health care physicians in China is inadequate and physicians' turnover intention is too high. To analyze the status of primary health care physicians' turnover intention in China and the relationship between physicians' perceived overqualification and their turnover intention. With multistage stratified sampling, we randomly selected 1456 primary health care physicians as study subjects. Information on personal characteristics, job satisfaction, working pressure, turnover intention, and perceived overqualification was collected. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. We found that primary health care physicians in China have high turnover intention and perceived overqualification is positively related to turnover intention. Government and primary health care may address perceived overqualification to reduce physicians' turnover intention.


An estimation method of the half-life for a one-compartment model of a single bolus intravenous injection by a single sampling.
In clinical trials, sometimes only a single drug concentration can be measured from a patient because of the patient's burden. In this case, the sampling point is usually identical for all patients. From a single concentration, we cannot generally obtain point-estimates of each pharmacokinetic parameter. In this paper, we propose a method to estimate the half-life of a one-compartment model of a single bolus intravenous injection from a single concentration at a sampling point of or after three half-lives. We analytically show that the later the sampling point is the better estimate of the half-life we can get. This approach is illustrated by simulated concentration-data and nicorandil concentration-data. Therefore, we compared the performance of the proposed method with that of the Bayesian approach.


Determination of organic pollutants in coking wastewater by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction/GC/MS.
A method based on dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with GC/MS was developed for quantitative analysis of the major organic pollutants listed in the United States Environmental Protection Agency method 8270 and the 15 European-priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in coking wastewater. The major parameters such as extraction solvent, dispersive solvent, solution pH, and extraction time were systematically optimized. The optimum extraction conditions were found to be: 15 μL mixture of 2:1 v/v carbon tetrachloride and chlorobenzene as the extraction solvent, 0.75 mL ACN as the dispersive solvent, solution pH of 8, and extraction time of 2 min. For the major pollutants listed in the United States Environmental Protection Agency 8270, the linear ranges were 0.1 to 100 mg/L, the enrichment factors ranged from 452 to 685, and the relative recoveries ranged from 67.5 to 103.5% with RSDs of 4.0-9.1% (n = 5) at the concentrations of 10 mg/L under the optimum extraction conditions. For the 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the linear ranges were 0.1 to 100 μg/L, the enrichment factors ranged from 645 to 723, and the relative recoveries ranged from 94.5 to 107.6% with RSDs of 4.6-9.0% (n = 5) at the concentrations of 10 μg/L. The usefulness of the developed method was demonstrated by applying it in the analysis of real-world coking wastewater samples.


Skills and resources needed for liver transplantation.
Trained specialists in hepatology, liver and biliary surgery, anesthesiology and pathology must form the core of a team for liver transplantation. The hospital must be a center for organ transplantation to provide the essential infrastructure to manage specific aspects of transplantation. A well-organized blood bank is essential to cope with acute requests for large amounts of donor blood. Because of the extremely high costs, liver transplantation has to be approved medically and politically before it can be considered as a generally accepted modality of treatment.


Noninvasive prediction of the angiographic extent of coronary artery disease after myocardial infarction: comparison of clinical, bicycle exercise electrocardiographic, and ventriculographic parameters.
To assess alternative criteria for the prediction of multivessel coronary artery disease after myocardial infarction, we compared the clinical, bicycle electrocardiographic, and radionuclide ventriculographic (ejection fraction and wall motion) responses in 110 patients undergoing coronary angiography after myocardial infarction. Ninety-seven of the 110 patients had multivessel coronary artery disease (two or more diseased vessels). Clinical or electrocardiographic abnormalities were observed in 41 of 97 (sensitivity = 43%) patients with multivessel disease, and in only two of 13 (specificity = 85%) patients without multivessel disease. The average information content of these combined clinical and electrocardiographic variables relative to perfect discrimination was 5%. Among the scintigraphic parameters, the conventional criterion for ejection fraction abnormality, a rise of less than 5% had a sensitivity of 72% and a specificity of 62% for multivessel coronary artery disease, while a fall in ejection fraction of 5% or more had a sensitivity of 39% and specificity of 92% for multivessel coronary artery disease. The presence of an exercise wall motion abnormality in the nonadjacent noninfarcted (remote) region had a sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 55% for multivessel coronary artery disease. A more stringent criterion, worsening of remote wall motion with exercise, had a sensitivity of 52% and specificity of 75%. When this latter criterion was combined with a fall in ejection fraction, the sensitivity for multivessel coronary artery disease increased to 62%, specificity remained 75%, and information content increased from 5% to 10%. We conclude that conventional diagnostic criteria for abnormal clinical, bicycle electrocardiographic, or scintigraphic results do not identify patients with additional coronary artery disease after infarction with high accuracy. Two alternative ventriculographic parameters--a fall in ejection fraction and wall motion worsening--are similar to clinical parameters in specificity, but have a higher sensitivity and information content.


Outcomes of Adult Ewing Sarcoma Treated with Multimodality Therapy: A Single-Institute Experience.
Introduction Ewing sarcoma (ES) is more common in children and relatively rare in adults. Adult ES has poor prognosis than children. Treatment approaches for adults have been extrapolated from pediatric experience. Data on adult ES are very few because of its rarity in adults. The present study was done to analyze the clinical profile and outcome of adult ES. Aims The aim was to study the clinical and pathological treatment and outcomes in adult ES. Subjects and Methods Between 2010 and 2017, a total of 73 ES patients with age more than 18 years were retrospectively analyzed. Survival analysis was done by plotting Kaplan-Meier curves. Results A total of 73 patients were diagnosed with ES during 2010 to 2017. Among them, 43 (58.9%) had localized disease with a median age of 24.5 years. Males were 44 (60.3%) and females were 29 (39.7). Pain (75.3%) was the most common symptom at presentation. Nine patients had incomplete details and were excluded from the analysis. Among 21 (28.8%) patients, the lung (61.9%) was the most common site of metastasis followed by the bone, bone marrow, and brain. The median number of chemotherapy cycles in the localized disease was 14 (range 1-17), and in metastatic disease, it was 4 (range 1-7). Univariate analysis was done with respect to age (< 25 vs. ≥25), gender, elevated or normal serum lactate dehydrogenase level, tumor size (< 8 cm versus ≥8 cm), site (axial versus extremity), and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) given or not. NACT had a significant impact on overall survival (OS) and the rest had no effect. At a median follow-up of 40 months, the 3-year OS in localized disease was 87.4%. In metastatic disease, the median OS was 13 months with 3-year OS of 26%. Conclusions Outcomes with multimodality therapy in adult ES patients with localized disease are comparable to that of a pediatric cohort. However, metastatic disease has poor survival.


Draft Genome Sequence of Oral Bacterium Streptococcus mutans JH1140.
Streptococcus mutans JH1140 is an oral bacterium known to produce the bacteriocin mutacin 1140, and the strain has been genetically engineered to combat dental caries. Here, we report the 2.0-Mb draft genome of S. mutans JH1140. This genome provides new insights into the strain's superior colonization properties and its utility in replacement therapy.


Sphingobacterium populi sp. nov., isolated from bark of Populus × euramericana.
A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile bacterial strain, 7Y-4T, was isolated from bark tissue of Populus × euramericana. The isolate was able to grow between 10 and 37 °C, with optimal growth occurring at 28-30 °C. Strain 7Y-4T was positive for oxidase and catalase activities, but did not reduce nitrite from nitrate. Positive reactions were observed for the activities of β-galactosidase, urease and β-glucosidase, but negative reactions for the activities of gelatinase and the production of indole, acetoin and H2S. Citrate was not utilized. The major fatty acids of strain 7Y-4T are iso-C15 : 0 (28.6 %), C16 : 1ω7c/C16 : 1ω6c (31.8 %) and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH (23.3 %).The major polar lipids of the novel isolate include phosphatidylethanolamine, three unknown phospholipids (PL1-3) and six unknown lipids (L1-6), and the predominant menaquinone is MK-7. The DNA G+C content is 41.7 mol%. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the novel isolate shared the greatest sequence similarity with Sphingobacterium hotanense XH4T (93.50 %). On the basis of phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, strain 7Y-4T represents a novel species of the genus Sphingobacterium, for which the name Sphingobacterium populi is proposed. The type strain is 7Y-4T (=CFCC 11742T=KCTC 42247T).


Role of HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein in HIV-1 reverse transcription.
The HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein (NC) is a nucleic acid chaperone, which remodels nucleic acid structures so that the most thermodynamically stable conformations are formed. This activity is essential for virus replication and has a critical role in mediating highly specific and efficient reverse transcription. NC's function in this process depends upon three properties: (1) ability to aggregate nucleic acids; (2) moderate duplex destabilization activity; and (3) rapid on-off binding kinetics. Here, we present a detailed molecular analysis of the individual events that occur during viral DNA synthesis and show how NC's properties are important for almost every step in the pathway. Finally, we also review biological aspects of reverse transcription during infection and the interplay between NC, reverse transcriptase, and human APOBEC3G, an HIV-1 restriction factor that inhibits reverse transcription and virus replication in the absence of the HIV-1 Vif protein.


Psychometric Properties of the Italian Version of the Emiq-Hp (Exercise in Mental Illness Questionnaire-Health Professionals Version) to Investigate the Views of Health Professionals Regarding Exercise for Treatment of Mental Illness.
People with mental illness experience a significantly increased mortality rate, partly attributable to high rates of premature metabolic disease. Exercise is increasingly recognized as an evidence-based component of treatment for improving both physical and mental illness. Ensuring health care staff have the necessary competence to support and promote exercise is critical to successful implementation. The Exercise in Mental Illness Questionnaire-Health Professionals Version (EMIQ-HP) was developed to determine the knowledge, attitudes, barriers, and behaviors of health practitioners regarding the role of exercise in the treatment for mental illness. This study aimed to translate and validate the questionnaire into Italian language (EMIQ-HP-IT) and to determine its test-retest reliability. The questionnaire was translated from English to Italian then back translated using an established protocol. To determine the test-retest reliability of the EMIQ-HP-IT, mental health professionals from an Italian psychiatric hospital completed the questionnaire on two separate occasions, seven days apart. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated for each item. Twenty-five mental health professionals (4 psychiatrists, 9 psychologists, 10 nurses and 2 exercise specialists) completed the EMIQ-HP-IT. Except for two items, ICCs ranged from 0.48 to 0.92. The test-retest reliability of the EMIQ-HP-IT demonstrated comparable results to the English version. The EMIQ-HP-IT is a reliable measure of practitioners' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors regarding exercise interventions for people with mental illness.


[Immunohistochemical examination of carcinomas in the pancreatoduodenal region and its non-malignant counterparts using monoclonal antibodies against Lewis blood group-related antigens and sialyl Tn antigen].
Forty cases of carcinomas in the pancreatoduodenal region (carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater: 11 cases, carcinoma of the pancreas head (CPH): 12 cases, carcinoma of the inferior common bile duct (CIBD): 17 cases) and its non-malignant counterparts were examined immunohistochemically, using monoclonal antibodies against four Lewis (Le) blood group-related antigens and sialyl Tn antigen. TKH-2 (anti-sialyl Tn) reactivity, which is almost negative in non-malignant counterparts except for goblet cells in the duodenum, is highly positive in carcinomas, therefore, sialyl Tn antigen can be an excellent tumor marker in this region. Lex and sialyl Lex-i antigens have been regarded as pancreatic cancer-associated antigens, however, this study suggests that Lex and sialyl Lex-i are more useful markers for CIBD than CPH. Above findings imply that altered regulation of glycosyltransferase activity is associated in malignant state of the pancreas and inferior common bile duct.


Syntheses of conjugated pyrones for the enzymatic assay of lovastatin nonaketide synthase, an iterative polyketide synthase.
[reaction: see text] Lovastatin nonaketide synthase (LovB, LNKS) is an iterative type I polyketide synthase (PKS) from Aspergillus terreus that produces dihydromonacolin L (2), the biosynthetic precursor of lovastatin (1), from acetyl CoA, malonyl CoA, and S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) if the accessory protein LovC is present. In the absence of LovC, LNKS forms the conjugated pyrones 3 and 4 as truncated PKS products. Short syntheses of these pyrones provide material for the assay of LNKS activity by HPLC and radioisotope dilution analysis.


[Vitiligo--an enigmatic disease. II. Therapy of vitiligo].
The work gives a review of therapeutic methods of vitiligo. PUVA therapy, application of cortisonoids, khellin (including UVA), phenylalanine (including UVA), melagenina, and laser therapy represent non-surgical methods. Surgical methods include application of fluorouracil following dermabrasion, of autologous epidermal grafting transplantation of in vitro cultured epidermis, in vitro cultured melanocytes and micropigmentation by pigment. Auxiliary methods are represented by administration of carotene, using sunscreens and if necessary cosmetic treatment. Entire depigmentation is done in accordance with the extent of vitiligo, unsuccessful repigmentation and the age of the patient. The conclusion points out psychosocial aspects and the necessity of mutual cooperation of both, physician and patient. (Ref. 53.)


Setting up a clinical trial for a novel disease: a case study of the Doxycycline for the Treatment of Nodding Syndrome Trial - challenges, enablers and lessons learned.
A large amount of preparation goes into setting up trials. Different challenges and lessons are experienced. Our trial, testing a treatment for nodding syndrome, an acquired neurological disorder of unknown cause affecting thousands of children in Eastern Africa, provides a unique case study. As part of a study to determine the aetiology, understand pathogenesis and develop specific treatment, we set up a clinical trial in a remote district hospital in Uganda. This paper describes our experiences and documents supportive structures (enablers), challenges faced and lessons learned during set-up of the trial. Protocol development started in September 2015 with phased recruitment of a critical study team. The team spent 12 months preparing trial documents, procurement and training on procedures. Potential recruitment sites were pre-visited, and district and local leaders met as key stakeholders. Key enablers were supportive local leadership and investment by the district and Ministry of Health. The main challenges were community fears about nodding syndrome, adverse experiences of the community during previous research and political involvement. Other challenges included the number and delays in protocol approvals and lengthy procurement processes. This hard-to-reach area has frequent power and Internet fluctuations, which may affect cold chains for study samples, communication and data management. These concerns decreased with a pilot community engagement programme. Experiences and lessons learnt can reduce the duration of processes involved in trial-site set-up. A programme of community engagement and local leader involvement may be key to the success of a trial and in reducing community opposition towards participation in research.


Toward greater specificity in the nonspecific: Estimating the prevalence of diagnostic irritability and sleep symptoms in adolescents.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) descriptive criterial approach to diagnosis has been criticized for contributing to comorbidity, heterogeneity within conditions, and nonspecificity across conditions. Much research has examined comorbidity and heterogeneity, but less is known about nonspecificity. Here, we examined two nonspecific symptoms: irritability and sleep disturbance. Both are common, clinically significant, and appear in several DSM disorder criteria sets, but their transdiagnostic prevalence is unknown. Leveraging a nationally representative epidemiological study of adolescents (n = 10,148; ages = 13-18), we first identified all instances where irritability or sleep disturbance appears in DSM-5-TR criteria for bipolar, depressive, anxiety, traumatic stress, or disruptive/impulse-control disorders; then found their DSM-IV equivalents in study variables; and finally estimated their prevalence individually and cumulatively across categories. Weighted lifetime prevalence estimates were 79.5% (95% CI [77.8, 81.2]) for irritability and 60.8% [58.7, 62.9] for sleep disturbance. Associations with age and gender were significant but small. Most youth reported multiple symptoms of irritability (weighted M = 3.04, Mdn = 2) and at least one symptom of sleep disturbance (weighted M = 1.61, Mdn = 1). Both problems were extremely common among individuals with specific disorders but were underestimated by the criteria for those conditions. Results suggest that the high prevalence of DSM-defined irritability and sleep problems may be obfuscated by these symptoms being scattered across diagnostic entities. There is a need for more research on assessing, treating, and understanding problems related to irritability and sleep in their own right, cutting across, rather than confined to, particular diagnoses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).


Prevalence and factors associated with malnutrition among school adolescents of Durame Town, Kambeta Tembaro Zone, Ethiopia.
malnutrition is a major public health issue affecting adolescents globally and developing countries in particular. Adolescent period is very sensitive to malnutrition. Adolescent malnutrition can be affected by different factors. The objective of this study was to assess prevalence and associated factors of adolescent malnutrition among high school students. an institutional-based cross-sectional study was carried out among school adolescents in Durame town high schools. Of the 498 selected school adolescents, 455 (91.4 %) were included in this study. Data were entered into Epi data and exported to World Health Organization (WHO) Anthroplus and Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS). Odds ratio at 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to check for the existence and strength of association between variables. P-value less than 0.05 was used to declare significance of association. the prevalence of stunting, thinness and overweight among adolescents was 26 (5.7%), 11(2.4 %) and 42 (9.2%), respectively. Residing in rural (AOR=5.31, 95% CI: 1.03-27.27) and utilize community based nutrition (AOR=0.26, 95% CI: 0.07-0.98) were associated with thinness. Male (AOR=3.55, 95% CI: 1.62-7.81) and having cattle (AOR=2.78, 95% CI: 1.393, 5.565) were associated with overweight. around two in twenty-five adolescents are stunted. About one in twenty-five adolescents are thin. More than two in twenty-five adolescents are overweight. Sex of adolescents, having cattle were associated with overweight of adolescent. Rural residence and utilizing community based nutrition were associated with thinness. Minister of Health and other health offices should implement nutrition education to school adolescents by giving emphasis on place of residence and for both male and female adolescents.


Nonpolar m-plane GaN/AlGaN heterostructures with intersubband transitions in the 5-10 THz band.
This paper assesses intersubband (ISB) transitions in the 1-10 THz frequency range in nonpolar m-plane GaN/AlGaN multi-quantum-wells deposited on free-standing semi-insulating GaN substrates. The quantum wells (QWs) were designed to contain two confined electronic levels, decoupled from the neighboring wells. Structural analysis reveals flat and regular QWs in the two perpendicular in-plane directions, with high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy images showing inhomogeneities of the Al composition in the barriers along the growth axis. We do not observe extended structural defects (stacking faults or dislocations) introduced by the epitaxial process. Low-temperature ISB absorption from 1.5 to 9 THz (6.3-37.4 meV) is demonstrated, covering most of the 7-10 THz band forbidden to GaAs-based technologies.


The influence of autologous bone marrow stem cell transplantation on matrix metalloproteinases in patients treated for acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction.
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), regulated by tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-9 (TIMP-1) and the extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN), contributes to plaque instability. Autologous stem cells from bone marrow (mBMC) treatment are suggested to reduce myocardial damage; however, limited data exists on the influence of mBMC on MMPs. We investigated the influence of mBMC on circulating levels of MMP-9, TIMP-1, and EMMPRIN at different time points in patients included in the randomized Autologous Stem-Cell Transplantation in Acute Myocardial Infarction (ASTAMI) trial (n = 100). Gene expression analyses were additionally performed. After 2-3 weeks we observed a more pronounced increase in MMP-9 levels in the mBMC group, compared to controls (P = 0.030), whereas EMMPRIN levels were reduced from baseline to 2-3 weeks and 3 months in both groups (P < 0.0001). Gene expression of both MMP-9 and EMMPRIN was reduced from baseline to 3 months. MMP-9 and EMMPRIN were significantly correlated to myocardial injury (CK: P = 0.005 and P < 0.001, resp.) and infarct size (SPECT: P = 0.018 and P = 0.008, resp.). The results indicate that the regulation of metalloproteinases is important during AMI, however, limited influenced by mBMC.


Assessing structural insights into in-house arylsulfonyl L-(+) glutamine MMP-2 inhibitors as promising anticancer agents through structure-based computational modelling approaches.
MMP-2 is potentially contributing to several cancer progressions including leukaemias. Therefore, considering MMP-2 as a promising target, novel anticancer compounds may be designed. Here, 32 in-house arylsulfonyl L-(+) glutamines were subjected to various structure-based computational modelling approaches to recognize crucial structural attributes along with the spatial orientation for higher MMP-2 inhibition. Again, the docking-based 2D-QSAR study revealed that the Coulomb energy conferred by Tyr142 and total interaction energy conferred by Ala84 was crucial for MMP-2 inhibition. Importantly, the docking-dependent CoMFA and CoMSIA study revealed the importance of favourable steric, electrostatic, and hydrophobic substituents at the terminal phenyl ring. The MD simulation study revealed a lower fluctuation in the RMSD, RMSF, and Rg values indicating stable binding interactions of MMP-2 and these molecules. Moreover, the residual hydrogen bond and their interaction analysis disclosed crucial amino acid residues responsible for forming potential hydrogen bonding for higher MMP-2 inhibition. The results can effectively aid in the design and discovery of promising small-molecule drug-like MMP-2 inhibitors with greater anticancer potential in the future.


Selenium and immune function.
Selenium (Se), an essential nutrient required for optimal growth of mammalian cells, affects the immune functions of a host in vivo. Utilizing a mouse model system and healthy human volunteers, we have shown that Se enhances the capacity of lymphocytes to respond to stimulation with mitogen or alloantigen, to proliferate, and to differentiate into cytotoxic effector cells. Supplementation with Se resulted in a significant increase in the tumor cytotoxicity of mouse cytotoxic lymphocytes, lymphokine activated killer cells and macrophages, and human cytotoxic lymphocytes and natural killer (NK) cells. Se also appears to abrogate the age-related deficiency of lymphocytes from an aged host to respond to stimulation by proliferation and differentiation into cytotoxic effector cells. These effects occurred in the absence of changes in the endogenous levels of interleukin-1, interleukin-2, or interferon-gamma, and were related to the ability of Se to enhance the expression of the alpha (p55) and/or beta (p70/75) subunits of the interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) on the surface of activated lymphocytes and NK cells. This resulted in a greater number of functional IL-2R/cell and in enhanced proliferation and clonal expansion of cytotoxic precursor cells. The molecular mechanism that mediates the effects of Se on immune cell function does not appear to be related to the function of Se as an antioxidant or to gene activation.


Reduced toxicity, myeloablative HLA-haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide for sickle cell disease.
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) offers the possibility of cure for sickle cell disease (SCD) patients. Unfortunately, the probability of finding an HLA-matched donor for SCD patients is low. HSCT from HLA-haploidentical donors using reduced intensity conditioning, unmanipulated bone marrow and post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (ptCy) has resulted in negligible toxicity but high rates of graft rejection. We hypothesized that combining ptCy with a myeloablative reduced toxicity conditioning including serotherapy to increase immune ablation would allow for better engraftment. In a pilot approach, we treated three patients with SCD (5, 8, and 20 years old) lacking a matched donor. All patients had severe disease-related complications despite standard treatment. They received unmanipulated bone marrow from parental HLA-haploidentical donors. Conditioning consisted of alemtuzumab 0.2 mg/kg/day on days -9 and -8, fludarabine 30 mg/m2/day on days -7 to -3, treosulfan 14 g/m2/day on days -7 to -5, thiotepa 2 × 5 mg/kg/day on day -4, and cyclophosphamide 14.5 mg/kg/day on days -3 and -2. GVHD prophylaxis was performed using cyclophosphamide 2 × 50 mg/kg on days +3 and +4 and mycophenolate mofetil, tacrolimus from day +5. After a follow-up of 11, 14, and 30 months, all three patients are alive and well, off immunosuppression, and without symptoms of SCD. One patient experienced mild skin GVHD grade I, none showed chronic GVHD. Asymptomatic CMV reactivation was seen in two patients. HLA-haploidentical HSCT can extend the donor pool for patients with SCD. Whether intensification of the conditioning regimen and intensive immunosuppression leads to improvement in engraftment rates while still allowing a favorable toxicity profile deserves further investigation.


Update on SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant of Concern and Its Peculiar Mutational Profile.
The process of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genetic diversification is still ongoing and has very recently led to the emergence of a new variant of concern (VOC), defined as Omicron or B.1.1.529. Omicron VOC is the most divergent variant identified so far and has generated immediate concern for its potential capability to increase SARS-CoV-2 transmissibility and, more worryingly, to escape therapeutic and vaccine-induced antibodies. Nevertheless, a clear definition of the Omicron VOC mutational spectrum is still missing. Herein, we provide a comprehensive definition and functional characterization (in terms of infectivity and/or antigenicity) of mutations characterizing the Omicron VOC. In particular, 887,475 SARS-CoV-2 Omicron VOC whole-genome sequences were retrieved from the GISAID database and used to precisely define its specific patterns of mutations across the different viral proteins. In addition, the functional characterization of Omicron VOC spike mutations was finely discussed according to published manuscripts. Lastly, residues characterizing the Omicron VOC and the previous four VOCs (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta) were mapped on the three-dimensional structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to assess their localization in the different spike domains. Overall, our study will assist with deciphering the Omicron VOC mutational profile and will shed more light on its clinical implications. This is critical considering that Omicron VOC is currently the predominant variant worldwide. IMPORTANCE The Omicron variant of concern (VOC) has a peculiar spectrum of mutations characterized by the acquisition of mutations or deletions rarely detected in previously identified variants, particularly in the spike glycoprotein. Such mutations, mostly residing in the receptor-binding domain, could play a pivotal role in enhancing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infectivity (by increasing binding affinity for ACE2), jeopardizing spike recognition by therapeutic and vaccine-induced antibodies and causing diagnostic assay failure. To our knowledge, this is one of the first exhaustive descriptions of newly emerged mutations underlying the Omicron VOC and its biological and clinical implications.


Near-infrared intraoperative imaging during resection of an anterior mediastinal soft tissue sarcoma.
Sarcomas are rare malignancies that are generally treated with multimodal therapy protocols incorporating complete local resection, chemotherapy and radiation. Unfortunately, even with this aggressive approach, local recurrences are common. Near-infrared intraoperative imaging is a novel technology that provides real-time visual feedback that can improve identification of disease during resection. The presented study describes utilization of a near-infrared agent (indocyanine green) during resection of an anterior mediastinal sarcoma. Real-time fluorescent feedback provided visual information that helped the surgeon during tumor localization, margin assessment and dissection from mediastinal structures. This rapidly evolving technology may prove useful in patients with primary sarcomas arising from other locations or with other mediastinal neoplasms.


Beta response of LiMgPO4:Tb,B based OSL discs for personnel monitoring applications.
Properties such as high optically stimulated luminescent (OSL) sensitivity, ease of preparation and dose linearity over nine decades (µGy-kGy) make LiMgPO4:Tb, B (LMP) a unique phosphor for dosimetry applications. This led to the investigation of the beta response of highly sensitive LMP-based Teflon-embedded OSL discs for personnel monitoring applications. A PTB beta secondary standard calibration setup (BSS2), which contains three beta sources viz. (147)Pm, (85)Kr and (90)Sr/(90)Y, was used. The relative response with respect to (137)Cs photons for 0.4-mm thick LMP discs was found to be ∼7.32, ∼53.5 and 100 % for (147)Pm, (85)Kr and (90)Sr/(90)Y beta energies, respectively. The response of LMP discs under various filter combinations viz. 0.18-mm thick mylar (25 mg cm(-2)), 0.625-mm thick Poly-allyl-diglycol carbonate (PADC, 81 mg cm(-2)), 1-mm thick polythene (95 mg cm(-2)), 1-mm thick Perspex (118 mg cm(-2)), 1.25-mm thick PADC (162 mg cm(-2)) and 1.6-mm thick (189 mg cm(-2)) Perspex filters was also studied and the ratio of the response of open disc to the response under filters (DOpen/DFilter) of different thicknesses (mg cm(-2)) was evaluated. Studies were also performed for the mixed field of low- ((85)Kr) and high-energy ((90)Sr/(90)Y) beta particles and the DOpen/DFilter ratio was evaluated. The angular dependence of the response of OSL discs to (85)Kr and (90)Sr/(90)Y beta sources was also studied. Studies were also carried out for (204)Tl, (32)P, natural uranium and (106)Ru/(106)Rh beta sources and the ratios of the response of open disc to that of under 1.6-mm thick Perspex (DOpen/DFilter) filter were measured. A study with various beta sources for the evaluation of the DOpen/DFilter ratio was necessary as these ratios are used to estimate the energy of beta particles and to apply the correction factor while evaluating the beta dose/design of dose estimation algorithms.


Puberty and testosterone shape the corticospinal tract during male adolescence.
Some of the known sex differences in white matter emerge during adolescence. Here, we replicate and extend our previous findings of sex differences in the structure of the corticospinal tract (Perrin et al. 2009; Hervé et al. 2009). In a large normative sample of adolescents, we observed age × sex interactions in the signal intensity of T1-weighted (T1W) images (n = 941) and in magnetization transfer ratio (MTR; n = 761); both features were inversely associated with age in males but not in females. Moreover, we hypothesized that the age-related differences in CST structure exhibited by males would be mediated by differences in puberty stage and levels of bioavailable testosterone. We confirmed this prediction using mediation analysis with bootstrapping. These findings suggest that sex differences in the CST structure observed during male adolescence may be due to multiple processes associated with puberty, including (but not limited to) the rising levels of testosterone.


Exploring the Relationship between Teacher Knowledge and Active-Learning Implementation in Large College Biology Courses.
Not all instructors implement active-learning strategies in a way that maximizes student outcomes. One potential explanation for variation in active-learning effectiveness is variation in the teaching knowledge an instructor draws upon. Guided by theoretical frameworks of pedagogical content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, this study investigated the teaching knowledge instructors used in planning, implementing, and reflecting on active-learning lessons in large courses. We used a preinstruction interview, video footage of a target class session, and a postinstruction interview with stimulated recall to elicit the teaching knowledge participants used. We then conducted qualitative content analysis to describe and contrast teaching knowledge employed by instructors implementing active learning that required students to generate their own understandings (i.e., generative instruction) and active learning largely focused on activity and recall (i.e., active instruction). Participants engaging in generative instruction exhibited teaching knowledge distinct from that of participants focused on activity. Those using generative instruction drew on pedagogical knowledge to design lessons focused on students generating reasoning; integrated pedagogical content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge to plan lessons to target student difficulties; and created opportunities to develop new pedagogical content knowledge while teaching. This work generated hypotheses about the teaching knowledge necessary for effective, generative active-learning instruction.


Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites and body temperature in Australian merino ewes (Ovis aries) during summer artificial insemination (AI) program.
Reproductive wastage is a key issue for sheep producers, both regionally and globally. The reproductive output of farm animals can be influenced by physiological and environmental factors. Rapid and reliable quantification of physiological stress can provide a useful tool for designing and testing on-farm management interventions to improve farm animal welfare and productivity. In this study, we quantified physiological stress non-invasively using faecal glucocorticoid metabolites-FGMs analysis and body temperature measurements of 15 superovulated donor merino ewes (Ovis aries) during participation in artificial insemination (AI) program conducted during 2015/2016 Australian summer. We hypothesized that low percentage transferable embryos in donor merino ewes will be associated positively with higher body temperature and/or higher FGMs in these ewes. Temperature humidity index (THI) was calculated and found within high thermal stress range during the two AI trials. Overall, results showed none of the factors (ewe ID, AI trial no., THI or FGMs) were significant for reduced percentage transferrable embryos, except ewe body temperature was highly significant (p = 0.014). Within AI trial comparisons showed significant positive associations between higher FGMs and body temperature with reduced transferrable embryos. These results suggest that Australian merino ewes participating in summer AI trials can experience physiological stress. Prolonged activation of the stress endocrine response and high body temperature (e.g. ensued from heat stress) could impact on ewe reproductive output. Therefore, future research should apply minimally invasive physiological tools to gather baseline information on physiological stress in merino sheep to enable the development of new farm-friendly methods of managing stress.


Serial radionuclide determinations of the electron fraction with 99mTc-labeled red blood cells.
The reproducibility of area/length ejection fraction determinations was evaluated in 21 subjects using 99mTc-labeled red blood cells (99mTc-RBCs). The ejection fraction was determined within 30 minutes and 3-5 hours after a single injection of 99mTc-RBCs. The mean absolute difference between the initial and subsequent ejection fractions was 7% (maximum, 15%) (r = 0.90). 99mTc-RBCs offer a reproducible method of determining the ejection fraction which is suitable for serial noninvasive evaluations of left ventricular function.


Design and evaluation of surface functionalized superparamagneto-plasmonic nanoparticles for cancer therapeutics.
Designing a multifunctional nanomaterial is always considered as a biggest concern in the field of nanomedicine which aims to promote versatile action in a single use from tracking to therapeutics. Therefore, metallic nanoparticles are well exploited as a major platform with the assemblage of surface modifications which can be effectively engaged for plenty of applications. Here, in this work, we have successfully amalgamated gold coated magnetite core-shell nanoparticles along with bio-functionalization of folic acid and doxorubicin to explore its possibility as a distinct nanocargo for cancer nanotheranostics. This unique combination of both magnetic and optical properties makes its function to be more precise. For example, in case of in-vitro drug-release studies more than 75% of drug moieties are released at acidic pH 5.4 and exactly fitting in first order rate kinetics. As gold shell retains the superparamagnetic nature of the core it exhibited high r2 values, and because of large relaxivities (r2/r1) ratio, they are confirmed as T2-weighted contrast agent by MRI. Finally, under microwave of 2.45GHz exhibited enough heat which can induce both apoptosis & necrosis leading to cell death. Thus, we conclude that our nanoparticle can be a multitool for diagnosis and therapeutics for various human diseases.


Angular Stable Miniplate Fixation of Chronic Unstable Scaphoid Nonunion.
Background Around 5 to 15% of all scaphoid fractures result in nonunion. Treatment of long-lasting scaphoid nonunion remains a challenge for the treating surgeon. Healing of scaphoid nonunion is essential for prevention of scaphoid nonunion advanced collapse and the subsequent predictable pattern of radiocarpal osteoarthritis. Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of fixation of the scaphoid nonunion with a volar angular stable miniplate and cancellous bone grafting. We hypothesized that this technique could be successful, even in patients with previous surgery for nonunion and in patients with a long duration of nonunion. Patients and Methods A total of 21 patients enrolled in a single-center prospective cohort study. Healing of nonunion was assessed on multiplanar computed tomography scan of the wrist at a 3-month interval. Functional outcome was assessed by measuring grip strength, range of motion, and by means of the patient-rated wrist and hand evaluation (PRWHE) questionnaire. Results During follow-up, 19 out of 21 patients (90%) showed radiological healing of the nonunion. The range of motion did not improve significantly. Postoperative PRWHE scores decreased by 34 points. Healing occurred regardless of the length of time of the nonunion (range: 6-183 months) and regardless of previous surgery (38% of patients). Conclusion Volar angular stable miniplate fixation with autologous cancellous bone grafting is a successful technique for the treatment of chronic unstable scaphoid nonunion, even in patients with long-lasting nonunion and in patients who underwent previous surgery for a scaphoid fracture. Rotational interfragmentary stability might be an important determining factor for the successful treatment of unstable scaphoid nonunion. Level of Evidence Level IV.


Young people at risk for psychosis: case finding and sample characteristics of the Oulu Brain and Mind Study.
Set within the general population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986, the Oulu Brain and Mind Study aims to explore the causes and pathogenesis of psychotic illness by following young people at risk for psychosis due to having a first-degree relative with psychotic illness or due to having experienced psychotic-like symptoms themselves. We report the study methods and explore the relationship between these definitions of high risk for psychosis and operational criteria for a prodromal psychosis syndrome based on interview. Prospectively collected data from earlier follow-ups of this cohort were combined with health register data to categorize subjects as those with familial risk (n = 272), symptomatic risk (n = 117), psychosis (n = 78), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (n = 103) and a sample of controls (n = 193) drawn randomly from the remaining cohort. The Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS) was applied to all, 295 participants together with questionnaires measuring psychosis vulnerability and schizotypal traits. There were 29 (10%) current prodromal cases. Criteria for the current prodromal syndrome were fulfilled by 12% of the familial risk group and 19% of the symptomatic risk group, compared with 5% of the ADHD group and 4% of controls. We successfully detected young people with a prodromal psychosis syndrome although relatively few subjects deemed to be at high risk met the full operational criteria according to the SIPS interview. Combining methods from familial, clinical and psychometric high-risk approaches provides a tractable method for studying risk of psychosis in the general population.


Leukotriene B4 is essential for selective eosinophil recruitment following allergen challenge of CD4+ cells in a model of chronic eosinophilic inflammation.
Subcutaneous heat-coagulated egg white implants (EWI) induce chronic, intense local eosinophilia in mice, followed by asthma-like responses to airway ovalbumin challenge. Our goal was to define the mechanisms of selective eosinophil accumulation in the EWI model. EWI carriers were challenged i.p. with ovalbumin and the contributions of cellular immunity and inflammatory mediators to the resulting leukocyte accumulation were defined through cell transfer and pharmacological inhibition protocols. Eosinophil recruitment required Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II expression, and was abolished by the leukotriene B4 (LTB4) receptor antagonist CP 105.696, the 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor BWA4C and the 5-lipoxygenase activating protein inhibitor MK886. Eosinophil recruitment in EWI carriers followed transfer of: a) CD4+ (but not CD4-) cells, harvested from EWI donors and restimulated ex vivo; b) their cell-free supernatants, containing LTB4. Restimulation in the presence of MK886 was ineffective. CC chemokine receptor ligand (CCL)5 and CCL2 were induced by ovalbumin challenge in vivo. mRNA for CCL17 and CCL11 was induced in ovalbumin-restimulated CD4+ cells ex vivo. MK886 blocked induction of CCL17. Pretreatment of EWI carriers with MK886 eliminated the effectiveness of exogenously administered CCL11, CCL2 and CCL5. In conclusion, chemokine-producing, ovalbumin-restimulated CD4+ cells initiate eosinophil recruitment which is strictly dependent on LTB4 production.


Novel allosteric sites on human erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase identified by two monoclonal antibodies.
Monoclonal antibodies against human erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (acetylcholine acetylhydrolase EC 18.104.22.168) have been examined for inhibition of enzyme activity. Of sixteen antibodies analyzed, only one (C1B7) inhibited enzyme activity, indicating selection of an unusual susceptible site. The inhibitory activity of C1B7 was characterized and compared to another inhibitory antibody, AE-2, previously described by Fambrough et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 79, 1078, 1982). Maximal demonstrated inhibition was 84% for C1B7 and 72% for AE-2 and antibody inhibition of enzyme activity was equivalent for the reduced and alkylated acetylcholinesterase monomer and the intact dimer. The Ki (stoichiometry of the enzyme-antibody reaction estimated from enzyme kinetics) was 1.0 for C1B7 and 4.8 molecules of antibody per monomer of acetylcholinesterase for AE-2. The antibodies did not compete with one another for binding to acetylcholinesterase, indicating that they have different target epitopes on the enzyme. Antibody binding to the enzyme was not specifically affected by any of the anticholinesterase agents tested: (a) the irreversible esteratic site-directed inhibitor diisopropylfluorophosphate; (b) the reversible active site-directed inhibitors edrophonium, neostigmine, BW284c51, and carbachol; and (c) allosteric site-directed compounds propidium and gallamine. Kinetic analysis of their effects provide evidence that both antibodies decrease the catalytic rate of enzyme activity and have little or no effect on substrate binding.


The impact of bilateral brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity difference on cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.
This study aims to investigate the association between an elevated bilateral pulse wave velocity difference (BPWVD) and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and all-cause mortality. This study included a total of 38,356 participants. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to assess the association between high BPWVD and the increased risk of CVDs and all-cause mortality by calculating hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals. A total of 1,213 cases of CVDs were identified over a mean duration of 6.19 years, including 886 cases of cerebral infarction (CI), 105 cases of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and 222 cases of myocardial infarction (MI), along with 1,182 cases of all-cause mortality. The median BPWVD was 42 cm/s (19-80 cm/s). After adjusting for all confounders and baseline brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV), our analysis revealed a significant correlation between a higher risk of CVDs, MI, and all-cause mortality with an increase in BPWVD per standard deviation. HRs (95% confidence interval) were found to be 1.06 (1.01-1.11), 1.11 (1.02-1.21), and 1.07 (1.04-1.10), respectively. Among the participants with higher baPWV on the left side, the HRs (95% confidence interval) were 1.08 (1.02-1.14) for CVDs, 1.27 (1.10-1.46) for incident ICH, 1.16 (1.00-1.24) for incident MI, and 1.10 (1.07-1.15) for all-cause mortality, for per standard deviation increase in BPWVD. Our findings reveal a significant correlation between elevated BPWVD and the risks of developing CVDs and all-cause mortality. This highlights the importance of thoroughly evaluating BPWVD as a means of detecting individuals at risk for CVDs and mortality.


Factors related to long-term survival in patients affected by well-differentiated endocrine tumors of the pancreas.
Aim. To identify factors related to survival in patients affected by well-differentiated PETs (benign, uncertain behavior, and carcinoma) who underwent R0 pancreatic resection. Methods. Retrospective study of 74 consecutive patients followed up from January 1980 to December 2011. Prognostic factors were sex, age, type of tumor, presence of symptoms, type of surgical procedure, size of tumor, lymph nodes status, WHO classification, and TNM stage. Overall survival was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox regression analyses were used to identify the factors associated with prognosis in univariate and multivariate analysis. Results. The mean follow-up of all the patients was 106 ± 89 months. The 5-10-year long-term survival was 90.9% and 79.1%, respectively. At univariate analysis, patient age <55 years was significantly related to a better long-term survival compared to patients age ≥55 years (307 ± 15 months versus 192 ± 25 months; P = 0.010). Multivariate analysis showed that female gender (P = 0.006), patients without comorbidities (P = 0.033), and patients affected by well-differentiated benign pancreatic endocrine tumors (P = 0.008 and P = 0.002 in relation to tumors with uncertain behavior and carcinomas, resp.) were factors significantly related to a better long-term survival. Conclusions. Patients factors were strongly related to a better long-term survival in patients observed. WHO classification is a very useful prognostic tool for well-differentiated PETs.


Breastfeeding: factors associated with the continuation of breastfeeding, the current situation in Japan, and recommendations for further research.
There are a number of research reports that address the various advantages that breastfeeding brings to mothers and children, as well as to families and society, and in addition to a number of physically positive effects, breastfeeding has an important role in terms of mental and psychological effects.Ninety-five % of mothers desire to breastfeed, which reflects social acceptance, but the actual breastfeeding rate of the first month after childbirth is 42%, which accounts for about a half of all mothers. Breastfeeding is a natural behavior, but it cannot be performed only by instinct, so mothers discontinue breastfeeding for various reasons. While these reasons for the discontinuation of breastfeeding have been studied in many countries, research regarding the usability of care to support breastfeeding is being conducted in other countries at a level that can be considered evidential, but not yet in Japan. In addition, the current situation is that breastfeeding is strongly promoted but the support provided remains inadequate for mothers who cannot breastfeed, regardless of whatever efforts they make. This article will review several factors associated with the continuation of breastfeeding and the current situation in Japan, with the intention of identifying desirable areas for further research.


Epidemiology of human rotaviruses in Argentina as determined by RNA genome electrophoresis.
Rotavirus gastroenteritis was studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and by PAGE from April 1983 to April 1985 at the Buenos Aires Ricardo Gutierrez Children's Hospital and at the San Justo Children's Hospital. Based on examination of 576 cases, rotavirus was identified in 109 (18.9%) cases by ELISA and in 99 (17.2%) cases by PAGE. As a diagnostic tool PAGE presented a sensitivity of 90.8% compared with ELISA. Compared with the control SA-11 genome, 84 samples (84.9%) presented a long electropherotype and 15 isolates (15.1%) presented a short electropherotype. We detected 35 different long electropherotypes and report a short electropherotype that did not show genome variation and was responsible for an outbreak in the San Justo Children's Hospital population from September 1983 to July 1984.


Three-dimensional characterization of fibroblast foci in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
In idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), the fibroblast focus is a key histological feature representing active fibroproliferation. On standard 2D pathologic examination, fibroblast foci are considered small, distinct lesions, although they have been proposed to form a highly interconnected reticulum as the leading edge of a "wave" of fibrosis. Here, we characterized fibroblast focus morphology and interrelationships in 3D using an integrated micro-CT and histological methodology. In 3D, fibroblast foci were morphologically complex structures, with large variations in shape and volume (range, 1.3 × 104 to 9.9 × 107 μm3). Within each tissue sample numerous multiform foci were present, ranging from a minimum of 0.9 per mm3 of lung tissue to a maximum of 11.1 per mm3 of lung tissue. Each focus was an independent structure, and no interconnections were observed. Together, our data indicate that in 3D fibroblast foci form a constellation of heterogeneous structures with large variations in shape and volume, suggesting previously unrecognized plasticity. No evidence of interconnectivity was identified, consistent with the concept that foci represent discrete sites of lung injury and repair.


Intussusception associated with transient hypertension.
A three-month-old infant presented with vomiting, lethargy, and hypertension. Abdominal ultrasound suggested the diagnosis of intussusception, which was confirmed by barium enema. Hypertension, previously unreported with intussusception, only resolved after surgical resection of the lesion.


Functional status outcome measures in home health care patients with heart failure.
Elderly, chronically ill patients' ability to stay at home is dependent on their capacity to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). The Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) defines ADLs and can be evaluated in various ways. The purpose of this research was to evaluate these approaches and make recommendations for use in research. Several different approaches to the evaluation of functional status were done using ADLs (ambulation, bathing, dressing lower body, dressing upper body, feeding, grooming, toileting, and transferring) scored individually and as indices. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages depending on the research question being asked. The ADL change index score provided the most comprehensive analysis of functional status change although the categorical scores are useful for simple approaches.


[Evaluation of the "TeleCOVID Hesse" project after 1 year in operation].
The SARS-CoV‑2 pandemic posed unexpected challenges for hospitals worldwide and in addition to the supply emergency, simultaneously caused a high pressure to innovate. Due to the high number of cases of COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care, structured networking of hospitals gained particular importance. The tele-ICU communication platform TeleCOVID was developed to improve the quality of intensive care both by enabling teleconsultations and by supporting patient transfers. The present study aimed to survey user experiences with TeleCOVID. The study investigated the extent to which the app is used, the user experiences of the participating hospitals, and the resulting implications for the further development of the telemedicine application. A user survey was conducted in May 2022 using an online questionnaire. The survey contained both closed and open questions with a free text field. It was sent via the Hessian Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration (HMSI). All 135 hospitals in Hesse were contacted by e‑mail and invited to participate in the study. The results of the closed questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and the results of the open questions were clustered and thematically summarized using qualitative content analysis. The study showed that TeleCOVID was used primarily for transfer requests, followed by the need for a treatment consultation without a transfer request. Most often, ECMO treatment or treatment in a hospital of a higher care level was required. The content analysis showed that users particularly rated the possibility of a data protection-compliant and structured transfer of patient data as advantageous. It is also worth mentioning that in almost 25% of the cases a transfer of patients could be prevented by TeleCOVID. Disadvantages frequently mentioned by respondents were the lack of connection to the electronic hospital information system, the increased time required for the registration process, and the poor primary accessibility of contact persons. In a further development of the application the connection to the electronic hospital information system should be considered particularly urgent. In addition, the time expenditure should be reduced by a simplified login process. Due to interface barriers, an alternative data infrastructure would also be conceivable to create interoperability. The introduction of a web client could also increase usability. The main beneficiaries of hospital networking are physicians and patients in a context associated with a high workload and specific medical issues. Continuation and expansion of the app to intensive care medicine and beyond are therefore recommended. In further studies on the project, personal interviews with decision makers could be useful to conduct a more targeted needs analysis.


Gas embolism due to intravenous FC 80 liquid fluorocarbon.
Lethal gas embolism always occurs after FC 80 liquid fluorocarbon is injected intravenously (0.1 ml/kg body mass) in dogs breathing room air but not in dogs breathing oxygenated FC 80 liquid fluorocarbon. Gas embolism is not prevented in dogs that have been injected intravenously with FC 80 when they are exposed to 2 ATA (atmospheres absolute) 20% 02-80% N2, 9 ATA 5% O2-95% He, or 1 ATA 100%, O2. In dogs that die of FC 80-induced gas embolism, free gas in the right atrium contains approximately 0.5 g FC 80/liter, and Po2 and Pco2 in the gas are in equilibrium with their corresponding tensions in right atrial blood. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that PFC 80 in alveolar gas does not equilibrate with PFC 80 (55 mmHg) in blood. The total gas tension in pulmonary capillary blood containing FC 80 and its vapor thus exceeds the total tension of alveolar gases (atmospheric pressure). Bubbles of O2, CO2, N2, FC 80, and water vapor form in the regions of the pulmonary capillary bed where the total tension of gases dissolved in blood exceeds the absolute blood pressure.


Use of deoxyinosine-containing primers vs degenerate primers for polymerase chain reaction based on ambiguous sequence information.
The performance of oligonucleotide primers containing deoxyinosine (dl) at all ambiguous positions for polymerase chain reaction, based on ambiguous sequence information derived either from compilations of consensus nucleotide sequences or from amino acid sequences, has been evaluated in two model systems represented respectively by amplification of conserved genomic regions from different types of human papillomavirus and by amplification of a region of the human lysozyme cDNA on the basis of the protein amino acid sequence. In both instances the dl-containing primers obtained the expected amplification products. When using short primers or primers with very high dl contents, however, peculiar reaction conditions had to be adopted to obtain successful amplification and, in the latter case, performance remained suboptimal. Comparison of results with those obtained using corresponding degenerate primers showed that the use of dl-containing primers can be advantageous in terms of both specificity and yield of the amplification product. Sequence analysis of amplification products showed that dG residues are always found at positions corresponding to the dl residues of the primers.


Drain blockage by topical vancomycin powder-a case report of a potentially catastrophic complication in spine surgery.
There is evidence that application of vancomycin powder reduces the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) and is also effective for the treatment of infections requiring surgical debridement. The use of intrawound vancomycin powder is therefore becoming prevalent. Surgical drain occlusion by antibiotic powder is a potentially serious complication that has yet to be reported in the literature. We describe a 62-year-old female with L4/5 spondylodiscitis as well as an L1-S1 epidural abscess who presented with back pain, lower limb numbness and weakness. Urgent surgical drainage was performed via a hemilaminectomy and L4/5 diskectomy. Drain output was absent for the first 36 hours post-op, and upon inspection and disconnection of the distal drain tubing, vancomycin powder residue was noted to be deposited within the lumen and connection point to cause complete obstruction. Following tubing exchange, drainage output resumed. The patient experienced relief of her back and leg symptoms after surgery as well as a normalization of her inflammatory markers upon receiving a course of intravenous (IV) antibiotics. Drain occlusion from antibiotic powder may be catastrophic following spine surgery due to the risk of epidural hematoma formation followed by compression of neural elements. We review the physicochemical properties of vancomycin powder and discuss ways to prevent this complication from occurring.


Relationship between suspected reasons of intraocular inflammation and the results of diagnostic vitrectomy: an observational study.
Intraocular inflammation of the posterior segment may be associated with neoplastic, infectious, and inflammatory diseases. Biopsy of vitreous and additional ocular tissue might be required for a definitive diagnosis. We therefore aimed to investigate the safety and usefulness of diagnostic vitrectomy in intraocular inflammation. We performed an observational retrospective study of patients who underwent vitreous biopsy due to atypical intraocular inflammation, experienced failed resolution to empirical therapy, or for whom there was suspicion of an underlying neoplastic process. Seventy consecutive patients were included due to idiopathic uveitis of the posterior segment unresponsive to systemic corticosteroids (n = 33, 47%), suspected vitreoretinal or choroidal lymphoma (n = 18, 26%), viral retinitis (n = 17, 24%), and suspected endogenous endophthalmitis (n = 2, 3%). Suspected viral retinitis was most often confirmed (13/17, 76%), followed by lymphoma (6/18, 33%). Remarkably, a proportion of suspected idiopathic uveitis was infectious (7/33, 21%). The most prevalent adverse event following diagnostic vitrectomy was cataract surgery in phakic patients (n = 16/41, 39% of phakic patients). Retinal detachments were observed chiefly in infectious or neoplastic disease (n = 5, 7%) after a median time of 105 days. Diagnostic vitrectomy was helpful in substantiating the clinical suspected diagnosis of posterior segment inflammation. Potential secondary adverse events should be kept in mind.


Transitions in eigenvalue and wavefunction structure in (1+2) -body random matrix ensembles with spin.
Finite interacting Fermi systems with a mean-field and a chaos generating two-body interaction are modeled by one plus two-body embedded Gaussian orthogonal ensemble of random matrices with spin degree of freedom [called EGOE(1+2)-s]. Numerical calculations are used to demonstrate that, as lambda , the strength of the interaction (measured in the units of the average spacing of the single-particle levels defining the mean-field), increases, generically there is Poisson to GOE transition in level fluctuations, Breit-Wigner to Gaussian transition in strength functions (also called local density of states) and also a duality region where information entropy will be the same in both the mean-field and interaction defined basis. Spin dependence of the transition points lambda_{c} , lambdaF, and lambdad , respectively, is described using the propagator for the spectral variances and the formula for the propagator is derived. We further establish that the duality region corresponds to a region of thermalization. For this purpose we compared the single-particle entropy defined by the occupancies of the single-particle orbitals with thermodynamic entropy and information entropy for various lambda values and they are very close to each other at lambda=lambdad.


Age will affect the Growth and Mineralization Ability of the Rat Osteoblast.
Primary culture of rat osteoblast cells serves as a model in in vitro research of bone metabolism. But most of studies about osteoblast use fetal or newborn rats for cell isolation, including researches about the post-menopausal osteoporosis. This will affect the authenticity and reliability of the results. These differences have been a concern in recent years. So far, little research has focused on adult female rat osteoblasts. In this study, a systematic study was done regarding the proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization of adult female rat osteoblasts. The study showed that the age of the host may affect the growth and the mineralization ability of osteoblast. The result of the study suggests that in vitro studies related to osteoblasts should select the right host and appropriate observation points according to the cell growth characteristics in order to ensure the consistency of the actual changes.


The impact of anxiety on social decision-making: behavioral and electrodermal findings.
Anxiety plays an important role in social behavior. For instance, high-anxious individuals are more likely to avoid such social interactions as communicating with strangers. In this study, we investigate the impact of anxiety on social decision-making. The classic ultimatum game (UG) paradigm was utilized in concert with skin conductance recording. Behavioral results reveal that when playing as responders, high-trait anxiety (HTA) participants with lower levels of self-esteem, as well as low-trait anxiety (LTA) participants with higher levels of impulsivity, were more likely to accept human-proposed inequitable offers. In addition, the HTA participants rejected more computer-proposed inequitable offers than did LTA participants. Moreover, the skin conductance response to inequitable offers was correlated with levels of anxiety in the HTA group, but not in the LTA group. In conclusion, people differing in levels of anxiety showed distinct behavior patterns and autonomic neural responses during social decision-making, whereas the levels of self-esteem, impulsivity, and depression might be additional moderating factors. These findings contextualize high-anxious people's avoidance tendency in social interaction.


Differences between main-duct and branch-duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas.
In the last decade, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) have become commonly diagnosed. From a morphological standpoint, they are classified in main-duct IPMNs (MD-IPMNs) and branch-duct IPMNs (BD-IPMNs), depending on the type of involvement of the pancreatic ductal system by the neoplasm. Despite the fact that our understanding of their natural history is still incomplete, recent data indicate that MD-IPMNs and BD-IPMNs show significant differences in terms of biological behaviour with MD-IPMNs at higher risk of malignant degeneration. In the present paper, clinical and epidemiological characteristics, rates of malignancy and the natural history of MD-IPMNs and BD-IPMNs are analyzed. The profile of IPMNs involving both the main pancreatic duct and its side branches (combined-IPMNs) are also discussed. Finally, general recommendations for management based on these differences are given.


Natural history of intracavernous aneurysms: a consecutive single-center study of 250 patients with 276 aneurysms.
The natural history of cavernous carotid aneurysms (CCAs) is not fully understood. For robust clinical decision-making, the behavior of CCAs needs to be fully understood. The objective of this paper was to calculate the mortality and morbidity rates of patients with diagnosed but untreated CCAs from a relatively large single-center cohort. The authors identified 250 patients with 276 CCAs from August 1946 to August 2017 from an aneurysm database including 12,000 intracranial aneurysm patients. Patient and aneurysm characteristics were extracted for further analysis. The cumulative patient follow-up was 1560 years, with a mean of 6.3 years. For patients presenting with a cranial nerve deficit caused by a CCA, those with a ruptured CCA, and patients who received treatment for a CCA, the cumulative patient follow-up was 121 years, with a mean of 1.3 years. For patients with symptom-free or conservatively treated CCAs, the cumulative patient follow-up was 1093 years, with a mean of 7.2 years. Of the 276 aneurysms, 57 (21%) caused cranial nerve deficits and 18 (6.5%) other symptoms, while 201 (73%) remained symptom free. A total of 264 (96%) of the CCAs remained unruptured, and 2 were considered possibly ruptured. Ten (3.6%) ruptures of the CCAs were found. However, none of the ruptured aneurysms caused subarachnoid hemorrhage or death of the patient. Of the CCAs, 51 were multiple, and 131 patients had ≥ 1 intradural aneurysm. The CCAs were analyzed separately. The majority of the CCAs were asymptomatic during follow-up, and none caused the death of the patient. The incidence of symptoms increased with aneurysm size. Because CCAs have a benign natural course, treatment should be considered mainly if the CCA is symptomatic or grows during follow-up.


The Distinct Role of Tcfs and Lef1 in the Self-Renewal or Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells.
Tcfs and Lef1 are DNA-binding transcriptional factors in the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. In the absence of β-catenin, Tcfs and Lef1 generally act as transcriptional repressors with co-repressor proteins such as Groucho, CtBP, and HIC-5. However, Tcfs and Lef1 turn into transcriptional activators during the interaction with β-catenin. Therefore, the activity of Tcfs and Lef1 is regulated by β-catenin. However, the intrinsic role of Tcfs and Lef1 has yet to be examined. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Tcfs and Lef1 play differential roles in the regulation of self-renewal and differentiation of mouse ES cells. Interestingly, the expression of Tcfs and Lef1 was dynamically altered under various differentiation conditions, such as removal of LIF, EB formation and neuronal differentiation in N2B27 media, suggesting that the function of each Tcf and Lef1 may vary in ES cells. Ectopic expression of Tcf1 or the dominant negative form of Lef1 (Lef1-DN) contributes to ES cells to self-renew in the absence of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), whereas ectopic expression of Tcf3, Lef1 or Tcf1-DN did not support ES cells to self-renew. Ectopic expression of either Lef1 or Lef1-DN blocked neuronal differentiation, suggesting that the transient induction of Lef1 was necessary for the initiation and progress of differentiation. ChIP analysis shows that Tcf1 bound to Nanog promoter and ectopic expression of Tcf1 enhanced the transcription of Nanog. The overall data suggest that Tcf1 plays a critical role in the maintenance of stemness whereas Lef1 is involved in the initiation of differentiation.


Emotional Style Questionnaire: A multidimensional measure of healthy emotionality.
In four studies, we document the development and validation of the Emotional Style Questionnaire (ESQ)-a 24-item self-report measure that captures how people vary across 6 dimensions that make up a healthy emotional life. These 6 dimensions (Outlook, Resilience, Social Intuition, Self-Awareness, Sensitivity to Context, and Attention) are based on a theoretical framework drawn from neuroscientific studies of emotion. Study 1 reports the development of the ESQ and provides initial support for the proposed factorial structure of the scale. Study 2 confirms the adequacy of the factorial structure in a second sample and establishes the construct validity of each of the 6 subscales. In Study 3, we test the relationship between the ESQ as a measure of healthy emotionality and various indicators of psychological and physical well-being. Finally, Study 4 investigates the test-retest reliability of the scale and reveals very good reliability across an interval of 4 weeks. We conclude that the ESQ is a psychometrically solid and easily implementable instrument that can be used to gauge healthy emotionality and its components in both clinical and research settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).


Testing a Firefly-Inspired Synchronization Algorithm in a Complex Wireless Sensor Network.
Data acquisition is the foundation of soft sensor and data fusion. Distributed data acquisition and its synchronization are the important technologies to ensure the accuracy of soft sensors. As a research topic in bionic science, the firefly-inspired algorithm has attracted widespread attention as a new synchronization method. Aiming at reducing the design difficulty of firefly-inspired synchronization algorithms for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) with complex topologies, this paper presents a firefly-inspired synchronization algorithm based on a multiscale discrete phase model that can optimize the performance tradeoff between the network scalability and synchronization capability in a complex wireless sensor network. The synchronization process can be regarded as a Markov state transition, which ensures the stability of this algorithm. Compared with the Miroll and Steven model and Reachback Firefly Algorithm, the proposed algorithm obtains better stability and performance. Finally, its practicality has been experimentally confirmed using 30 nodes in a real multi-hop topology with low quality links.


Nuclear integrations of mitochondrial DNA in gorillas.
Great ape systematics, particularly at the species level and below, is currently under debate, due in part to the recent influx of molecular data. The phylogenies of previously published mitochondrial control region (or D-loop) DNA sequences in gorillas show deep splits within West African gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and very high levels of nucleotide diversity in this subspecies. Here we demonstrate that several previously reported D-loop haplotypes from West African gorillas are in all likelihood nuclear integrations of mitochondrial DNA. Revised estimates of the amount and pattern of mitochondrial DNA diversity in gorillas are provided, revealing two reciprocally monophyletic and highly divergent groups of gorillas, concurrent with their geographic distribution.


Role of calcium and cyclophilin D in the regulation of mitochondrial permeabilization induced by glutathione depletion.
The mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) is a calcium and oxidative stress sensitive transition in the permeability of the mitochondrial inner membrane that plays a crucial role in cell death. However, the mechanism regulating the MPT remains controversial. To study the role of oxidative stress in the regulation of the MPT, we used diethyl maleate (DEM) to deplete glutathione (GSH) in human leukemic CEM cells. GSH depletion increased mitochondrial calcium and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in a co-dependent manner causing loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (deltapsi(m)) and cell death. These events were inhibited by the calcium chelator BAPTA-AM and the antioxidants N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and the triphenyl phosphonium-linked ubiquinone derivative MitoQ. In contrast, the MPT inhibitor cyclosporine A (CsA) and small interference RNA (siRNA) knockdown of cyclophilin D (Cyp-D) were not protective. These results indicate that mitochondrial permeabilization induced by GSH depletion is not regulated by the classical MPT.


Lattice Boltzmann methods and active fluids.
We review the state of the art of active fluids with particular attention to hydrodynamic continuous models and to the use of Lattice Boltzmann Methods (LBM) in this field. We present the thermodynamics of active fluids, in terms of liquid crystals modelling adapted to describe large-scale organization of active systems, as well as other effective phenomenological models. We discuss how LBM can be implemented to solve the hydrodynamics of active matter, starting from the case of a simple fluid, for which we explicitly recover the continuous equations by means of Chapman-Enskog expansion. Going beyond this simple case, we summarize how LBM can be used to treat complex and active fluids. We then review recent developments concerning some relevant topics in active matter that have been studied by means of LBM: spontaneous flow, self-propelled droplets, active emulsions, rheology, active turbulence, and active colloids.


Traumatic Experiences and PTSD Symptoms in the Chinese Male Intrafamilial Physical Violence Perpetrators: A Comparative and Structural Equation Modeling Study.
We aimed to compare traumatic experiences among the groups of perpetrators with or without violent pedigree, and establish a structural model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms as mediators of traumatic experiences and severe intrafamilial physical violence among Chinese male perpetrators. A cross-sectional survey and a face-to-face interview were conducted to examine intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and violent pedigree, childhood maltreatment, other traumatic events, PTSD symptoms, and severe intrafamilial physical violence in a community sample of 229 abusive men and 303 controlled men in China. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques, the scores of the questionnaires were entered into the theoretical model and calculated. Findings demonstrated that the numbers of the traumatic events in four groups were significantly different with a declining trend, and the SEM data had an adequate fit. The loadings of pathways from childhood witness domestic violence (DV) to severe physical violence (SPV) were more salience than other pathways, and the indirect effect of every pathway, except for the childhood witness DV to PTSD symptoms, on severe intrafamilial physical violence in the model was significant. The results suggest that PTSD symptoms cluster as mediator of the intergenerational transmission of SPV perpetration in Chinese abusive men. Childhood witness IPV has effects on adulthood perpetration of IPV.


Injected silicone: radiologic appearance.
The authors describe the radiologic appearance of fluid silicone in the soft tissues of the gluteal area in a transsexual man. Thickening and striation of the soft tissues was observed in the trochanteric area in plain films. Serpiginous hyper-attenuated bands infiltrating the subcutaneous fat were seen with computed tomography. The patient was asymptomatic in the gluteal area.


Relation of long-term electronic cardiac pacing to mental status and adaptation in the institutional aged.
The long-term effects of cardiac pacemakers on the mental status and adjustment of an aged population were investigated. In an institution for the aged, 25 residents (average age, 85) in whom pacemakers had been implanted for an average of 53 months were compared to 18 residents of the same age and sex who had a slow heart rate. A semistructured interview was given to determine mental status, affective condition, perceived health, and other concerns. Cardiac status was rated for all subjects according to the criteria of the New York Heart Association. By the measures of adjustment and mental status, no differences were found between pacemaker patients and those with a slow heart rate. Cardiac status was somewhat poorer in the pacemaker group. When comparison was made between the pacemaker patients with uncompromised or only slightly compromised cardiac status and subjects with a slow heart rate and similar cardiac status, no significant differences were found in the foregoing measures. These findings suggest that although there may be changes in functioning in the acute phase following implantation of a pacemaker, there are no long-term effects on adjustment in subjects of advanced age. Adaptation in an institution for the aged may be more related to personality factors than to specific health problems.


Mining Novel Allergens from Coconut Pollen Employing Manual De Novo Sequencing and Homology-Driven Proteomics.
Coconut pollen, one of the major palm pollen grains is an important constituent among vectors of inhalant allergens in India and a major sensitizer for respiratory allergy in susceptible patients. To gain insight into its allergenic components, pollen proteins were analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis, immunoblotted with coconut pollen sensitive patient sera, followed by mass spectrometry of IgE reactive proteins. Coconut being largely unsequenced, a proteomic workflow has been devised that combines the conventional database-dependent analysis of tandem mass spectral data and manual de novo sequencing followed by a homology-based search for identifying the allergenic proteins. N-terminal acetylation helped to distinguish "b" ions from others, facilitating reliable sequencing. This led to the identification of 12 allergenic proteins. Cluster analysis with individual patient sera recognized vicilin-like protein as a major allergen, which was purified to assess its in vitro allergenicity and then partially sequenced. Other IgE-sensitive spots showed significant homology with well-known allergenic proteins such as 11S globulin, enolase, and isoflavone reductase along with a few which are reported as novel allergens. The allergens identified can be used as potential candidates to develop hypoallergenic vaccines, to design specific immunotherapy trials, and to enrich the repertoire of existing IgE reactive proteins.


Ultraviolet solar flare signatures in the framework of complex network.
Studying natural phenomena via the complex network approach makes it possible to quantify the time-evolving structures with too many elements and achieve a deeper understanding of interactions among the components of a system. In this sense, solar flare as a complex system with the chaotic behavior could be better characterized by the network parameters. Here, we employed an unsupervised network-based method to recognize the position and occurrence time of the solar flares by using the ultraviolet emission (1600 Å) recorded by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board Solar Dynamics Observatory. Three different regions, the flaring active regions, the non-flaring active regions, and the quiet-Sun regions, were considered to study the variations of the network parameters in the presence and absence of flaring phases in various datasets over time intervals of several hours. The whole parts of the selected datasets were partitioned into sub-windows to construct networks based on computing the Pearson correlation between time series of the region of interest and intensities. Analyzing the network parameters such as the clustering coefficient, degree centrality, characteristic length, and PageRank verified that flare triggering has an influence on the network parameters around the flare occurrence time and close to the location of flaring. It was found that the values of the clustering coefficient and characteristic length approach those obtained for the corresponding random network in the flaring phase. These findings could be used for detecting the occurrence times and locations of the region at ultraviolet images.