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pubmed_4_10174
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AIMS
In June 2016, Korea permitted direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) on 42 genes. However, both the market and industry have not yet been fully activated. Considering the aforementioned context, this study provides important insights.
METHODS
The Korean DTC-GT policy assessment is based on consumer preference analysis using a discrete choice experiment. In August 2016, a web-based survey was conducted to collect data from 1,200 respondents.
RESULTS
The estimation results show that consumers prefer a DTC-GT product that is cheap, tests various items or genes, offers accurate test results, and guarantees the confidentiality of all information. However, consumers are not entirely satisfied by current DTC-GT products due to the existence of insufficient and/or inadequate policies. First, the permitted testing of 42 genes is insufficient to satisfy consumers' curiosity regarding their genes. Second, the accuracy of the DTC-GT products has not been fully verified, assessed, and communicated to consumers. Finally, regulatory loopholes that allow information leaks in the DTC-GT process can occur.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings imply that DTC-GT requires an improvement in government policy-making criteria and the implementation of practical measures to guarantee test accuracy and genetic information.
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10.1159/000479290
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pubmed_203_22962
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Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma is a distinctive subtype of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, without effective therapy, although there have recently been some attempts to use lung transplantation. However, a high post-transplantation local recurrence rate is described with some controversy regarding the possible involved mechanisms, the main possibilities being the lymphatic spread and aerosolization. Presented herein is a case of a bilateral lung transplantation for a bilateral and pneumonic form of non-mucinous bronchioloalveolar carcinoma in a 43-year-old woman. The histological analysis of mediastinal lymph nodes during surgery did not show neoplastic cells. Thirty-five months after transplantation several nodular opacities in donor lungs were detected. Three pulmonary wedge resections were performed showing a non-mucinous bronchioloalveolar carcinoma with the same histological characteristics as the primary. Again, the mediastinal lymph nodes were tumor free. A complete microsatellites molecular analysis was performed to compare the primary and recurrent carcinoma using capillary electrophoresis, showing that the recurrent tumor was generated in a recipient cellular clone. The absence of lymph node metastasis and the molecular evidence of the recipient origin of the neoplasm supports the contamination of the new lungs at the time of implantation as being the reason for the high incidence of recurrence after lung transplantation in this kind of disease.
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10.1111/j.1440-1827.2005.01872.x
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pubmed_763_25155
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The lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) computes and transfers olfactory information from the olfactory bulb to the hippocampus. Here we established LEC connectivity to upstream and downstream brain regions to understand how the LEC processes olfactory information. We report that, in layer II (LII), reelin- and calbindin-positive (RE(+) and CB(+)) neurons constitute two major excitatory cell types that are electrophysiologically distinct and differentially connected. RE(+) neurons convey information to the hippocampus, while CB(+) neurons project to the olfactory cortex and the olfactory bulb. In vivo calcium imaging revealed that RE(+) neurons responded with higher selectivity to specific odors than CB(+) neurons and GABAergic neurons. At the population level, odor discrimination was significantly better for RE(+) than CB(+) neurons, and was lowest for GABAergic neurons. Thus, we identified in LII of the LEC anatomically and functionally distinct neuronal subpopulations that engage differentially in feedforward and feedback signaling during odor processing.
|
10.1038/nn.4303
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pubmed_471_9701
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BACKGROUND
The total tenderness score (TTS) is commonly used in headache practice and contributes valuable information.
OBJECTIVE
To assess muscle tenderness scores in patients diagnosed with Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and analyse their associations with various demographic and clinical parameters.
METHODS
Masticatory (MTS), cervical (CTS) and TTSs were analysed in this case-control study among 192 TMD patients and 99 controls. The study included a questionnaire and a clinical examination following RDC/TMD guidelines. Data were analysed using: Pearson's chi-square, analysis of variance, t test and Bonferroni post hoc. To examine the factors associated with MTS score in a multivariate manner, a conceptual hierarchical multiple regression model was adopted.
RESULTS
Masticatory and TTS differed between TMD sub-groups and controls. Muscle tenderness was positively associated with: female sex, whiplash history, parafunction, co-morbid pains such as headaches and body pain, pain intensity, onset, frequency and duration. In the conceptual hierarchical multiple regression model, pain onset, frequency and duration, co-morbid pains were mediators in the relationship between TMD diagnosis and MTS.
CONCLUSION
Muscle tenderness scores were positively associated with TMD disease characteristics and co-morbid pain conditions, which may reflect associations with disease severity. MTS differed between TMD populations and may be used in routine patient workup, to assess MMD severity and changes over time as well as treatments response and as a research tool. MTS can be used as a common methodology to describe both headaches and masticatory muscle disorders and to facilitate interprofessional research and crosstalk between a headache and oro-facial pain practitioners.
|
10.1111/joor.12743
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pubmed_245_14487
|
CASE
We report 3 consecutive cases of bone defects of critical size after chronic osteomyelitis in children that were treated with the induced membrane technique, in 2 girls and a boy 7 months to 7 years old. All defects were diaphyseal. The length of resection was from 4 to 12 cm (35% to 55% of the total bone length). Resection of the infected bone, filling of the defect with a cement spacer, and intramedullary fixation were followed by autologous bone-grafting 60 to 90 days later. All defects healed. At the latest follow-up, which ranged from 21 months to 6 years, no recurrence or complication had occurred.
CONCLUSION
The induced membrane technique is an attractive option for bone defects of critical size after chronic osteomyelitis in children.
|
10.2106/JBJS.CC.15.00252
|
pubmed_1073_19067
|
A solar cell based on a hot electron plasmon protection effect is proposed and made plausible by simulations, non-local modeling of the response, and quantum mechanical calculations. In this cell, a thin-film, plasmonic metamaterial structure acts as both an efficient photon absorber in the visible frequency range and a plasmonic resonator in the IR range, the latter of which absorbs and protects against phonon emission the free energy of the hot electrons in an adjacent semiconductor junction. We show that in this structure, electron-plasmon scattering is much more efficient than electron-phonon scattering in cooling-off hot electrons, and the plasmon-stored energy is recoverable as an additional cell voltage. The proposed structure could become a prototype of a new generation of high efficiency solar cells.
|
10.1364/OE.23.0A1087
|
pubmed_755_10648
|
The present studies were undertaken to determine whether interleukin 1 beta ([IL-1] 1.0 micrograms/kg, ip) pretreatment for 3 days impairs the adaptive response to sucrose feeding in rats. One week after the last IL-1 injection, when no differences in plasma glucose and serum immunoreactive insulin (IRI) levels were observed, sucrose feeding was started. Sucrose feeding for 4 weeks did not affect basal glucose levels, whereas basal IRI levels were increased in sucrose-fed rats without IL-1 pretreatment. Eight weeks later, plasma glucose levels were increased before and at 15 min after intravenous bolus of 0.5 g/kg of glucose in sucrose-fed rats with IL-1 pretreatment. Only in IL-1-treated sucrose-fed rats were basal and glucose-stimulated IRI levels significantly reduced, compared with those levels in sucrose-fed vehicle-treated rats. IL-1 decreased pancreatic IRI contents at 1 and 9 weeks after the injection. These data suggest that pancreatic damage by IL-1 attenuated insulin response to glucose stimulation after long-term sucrose feeding.
|
10.3181/00379727-200-43463
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pubmed_367_1563
|
BACKGROUND
CK19 and CD10 are useful markers in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic tumors. The authors evaluated CK19 and CD10 expression in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) obtained by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA).
METHODS
Twenty-eight patients diagnosed with pancreatic NETs based on EUS-FNA cytology were studied retrospectively (2004-2007) for immunohistochemical expression of CK19 and CD10. Immunohistochemistry was performed on cell blocks for each case. The pattern of expression for CD10 (cytoplasmic or membranous) and its intensity (0-2) were noted. The staining of the stromal elements for CD10 was recorded as negative. Cytoplasmic staining in tumor cells and percentage distribution (1+ to 4+) for CK19 were regarded as positive.
RESULTS
Twenty-three of 28 (82.14%) NETs showed positive cytoplasmic and/or membranous staining for CD10, and 25 of 28 (89.29%) cases were positive for CK19.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings demonstrate the high expression of CD10 and CK19 in pancreatic NETs. This indicates that CD10 and CK19 cannot reliably differentiate NETs from other tumors with similar cytomorphologic features (solid pseudopapillary tumors, which frequently stain with CD10, and pancreatic adenocarcinoma, which stains with CK19).
|
10.1002/cncy.20048
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pubmed_633_9705
|
A synthetic mixture of an oviposition-stimulating kairomone for the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, comprising of 83% tetradecanoic acid, 16% nonanoic acid and 1% tetradecanoic acid methyl ester (NTT, in short) was tested in a dengue endemic area in Recife, Brazil. Gravid female mosquitoes confined to a cage under semi-field conditions deposited significantly higher numbers of eggs in traps baited with NTT at doses ranging from 0.6 to 600 ng/microl than in control (water) traps. When tested in homes, egg-laying in traps baited with 60 ng NTT/microl (final concentration in trap, approximately 3.33 ng/ml) and in control traps was not significantly different, but egg deposited in traps with lower dosage (6 ng NTT/microl; final concentration in trap, approximately 0.33 ng/ml) was significantly higher than in control traps. In subsequent trials, the numbers of eggs laid in traps baited with 0.6 ng NTT/microl (final concentration in trap, approximately 0.033 ng/ml) were not significantly different from the numbers deposited in trap loaded with 6 ng NTT/microl. Egg-laying was significantly higher in these treatments than in control traps.
|
10.1111/j.1948-7134.2010.00048.x
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pubmed_291_6762
|
PURPOSE
We compared our experience with the reconstruction of proximal vs distal bulbar stricture to assess the role of excision and primary anastomosis vs graft procedures at each site.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We reviewed all urethroplasties done by a single surgeon during a 2-year period. Data analyzed included patient history and demographics, operative details, stricture length and site, and clinical outcome. The proximal bulbar urethra was defined as the segment within 5 cm of the membranous urethra and the distal bulb was defined as the adjoining segment extending to the penoscrotal junction. Cases involving the pendulous or posterior urethra were excluded from study.
RESULTS
Of 210 urethroplasties from 2007 to 2009, 112 were done for bulbar strictures, including 72 (64%) for proximal bulbar strictures. All 72 cases were treated with excision and primary anastomosis. Median stricture length was 2 cm (range 1 to 5), although 31 of 72 strictures (43%) were of intermediate length (2.5 to 5 cm). Recurrence developed in 1 case (1.4%). Distal bulbar strictures in 40 of the 112 cases (36%) were treated predominantly with substitution urethroplasty in 36 (90%), and with excision and primary anastomosis in 4 (10%). Median stricture length was 3.75 cm (range 1.5 to 20). We noted intermediate length stricture in 18 of 40 cases (45%) and recurrence in 11 (28%). Of intermediate length strictures recurrence was much rarer after excision and primary anastomosis than after graft procedures (1 of 33 or 3.0% vs 6 of 16 or 38%, p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Location is critical when selecting an appropriate technique for bulbar urethral reconstruction. Excision and primary anastomosis are superior to grafts in the proximal bulb. Grafts are often unnecessary for reconstructing proximal bulbar strictures 5 cm or less.
|
10.1016/j.juro.2010.08.034
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pubmed_303_279
|
Phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, relaxation times and nuclear Overhauser (NOE) enhancement have been measured for E. coli ribosomes, subunits and rRNA. NOE and T1 experiments reveal that the phosphorus relaxation in this organelle is largely dipolar in origin. Moreover these results imply the presence of internal motion within the RNA chain with a correlation time of about 3-5 x 10(-9) sec. In all cases the predominant resonance is centered at about -1.5 ppm (relative to 85% H3PO4) as expected for a phosphodiester linkage where there is a large degree of double helix. The linewidth narrows by about a factor of four when the ribosomal proteins are removed indicating a substantial immobilization of the RNA when it is assembled into the ribosome. In addition to the phosphodiester resonance, ribosomes also reveal one or two narrower resonances shifted to low field by 1-4 ppm. Based on the observation that these resonances show a pH dependent chemical shift, we assign them to phosphate monoesters i.e. terminal 3' or 5' phosphate groups. These terminal phosphates are due to short oligomers of RNA derived from the terminus of the chain.
|
10.1093/nar/5.10.3855
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pubmed_139_605
|
Whether the administration of corticosteroids affects the disposition of theophylline remains unclear. Increased clearance, decreased clearance, and no change in clearance are all reported with steroid doses that are used in the treatment of asthma. This study found that theophylline kinetics among two normal subjects did not change after corticosteroids, while in one normal adult, clearance was significantly higher after corticosteroids. Additional study will be needed to ascertain if oral corticosteroids given over a short period may affect theophylline disposition in some patients.
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10.2500/108854187778994473
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pubmed_1032_2920
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Few fungicides are effective against anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum spp., and emerging resistance makes the search for chemical alternatives more relevant. Isolates of the Colletotrichum acutatum species complex were collected from South Carolina and Georgia peach orchards and phylogenetic analysis of the combined internal transcribed spacer region, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and β-tubulin gene sequences separated the isolates into C. nymphaeae and C. fioriniae. The sensitivity of these and three other previously reported Colletotrichum spp. from peach, including C. fructicola, C. siamense, and C. truncatum, to demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides difenoconazole, propiconazole, tebuconazole, metconazole, flutriafol, and fenbuconazole was determined based upon mycelial growth inhibition. C. truncatum was resistant to tebuconazole, metconazole, flutriafol, and fenbuconazole and C. nymphaeae was resistant to flutriafol and fenbuconazole based on 50% effective concentration (EC50) values >100 μg/ml. C. fructicola and C. siamense were sensitive to all DMI fungicides (EC50 values of 0.2 to 13.1 μg/ml). C. fioriniae subgroup 2 isolates were less sensitive to DMI fungicides (EC50 values of 0.5 to 16.2 μg/ml) compared with C. fioriniae subgroup 1 (EC50 values of 0.03 to 2.1 μg/ml). Difenoconazole and propiconazole provided the best control efficacy in vitro to all five species, with EC50 values of 0.2 to 2.7 μg/ml. Tebuconazole and metconazole were effective against all Colletotrichum spp., except for C. truncatum. The strong in vitro activity of some DMI fungicides against Colletotrichum spp. may be exploited for improved anthracnose disease management of peach.
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10.1094/PDIS-04-16-0574-RE
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pubmed_748_22513
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Microiontophoretic application of melatonin to the perineuronal space of nerve cells in the lateral hypothalamus of WAG and Fischer-344 rats led to decreases in the frequency and regularization of the spike activity of neurons, and also blocked activation of neurons and changing the patterns of adrenaline-induced spike activity. The effects of melatonin were more marked in WAG rats, which demonstrated the more active behavior in the open field test and were predicted to be more resistant to emotional stress, than in passive Fischer-344 rats, with predisposition to emotional stress. These results suggest that the mechanism of the stress-protective action of melatonin involves suppression of the spike activity of neurons in emotiogenic brain structures and changes in their sensitivity to noradrenaline.
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10.1023/b:neab.0000022633.73030.24
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pubmed_605_20565
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In this work, laccase-TEMPO (Lac-T) treatments were applied to bleached commercial dissolving pulp in order to introduce carbonyl and carboxyl groups, which were found to improve dry and wet strength-related properties. Also the solubility behavior towards xanthate reactions was assessed. The effect of a refining step (R) before the oxidative treatment, the absence or presence of oxygen pressure, TEMPO dose (2 or 8% oven dried pulp) and reaction time (8 or 20h) were thoroughly examined. Treatments conducted in the presence of oxygen pressure exhibited greater amount of functional groups. Introducing a pre-refining treatment resulted in similar functional groups but higher wet strength was achieved. Specifically, a high W/D strength ratio was observed, indicating that wet strength-related property was satisfactorily developed. Besides the fact that all Lac-T treatments caused severe cellulose degradation, no fiber strength loss was detected. In fact, all oxidized samples presented higher Wet Zero-Span Tensile Strength, mainly in R+ Lac-T (O2) sample, which suggested the formation of hemiacetal linkages between the new introduced aldehyde groups and available free hydroxyl groups resulting from fibrillation.
|
10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.11.033
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pubmed_509_21376
|
The reproductive performance of male livestock is of economic importance, and improving semen quantity and quality, especially for artificial insemination, additionally helps to avoid the loss of valuable genotypes. The review focuses on the impact of oxidative stress on sperm production and quality in livestock, and the potential role of plant based anti-oxidants to control this impact. From scientific reports dealing with livestock, the paper compiles evidence on effective dietary measures affecting sperm production and quality. Where little or no data are available on livestock, it refers to sources regarding other mammals, including man. The review concentrates on the use of distinct plants as feed supplements rather than on ways to treat deficiencies and imbalances in energy or macro- and micronutrients. Feeding of maca (Lepidium meyenii) and khat (Catha edulis) has been shown to positively affect sperm production and quality in animals. Some evidence points to favourable effects of leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala and Leucaena pallida), sesbania (Sesbania sesban), pomegranate (Punica granatum), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) as well, but studies are either superficial or results are partially contradictory. Finally, the review considers the potential usefulness of medicinal herbs. The list of such plants includes Chinese herbs such as Lycium barbarum, Astralagus membranaceus, Acanthopanacis senticosi, Magnolia officinalis, Cornus officinalis and Psoralea corylifolia and the Indonesian plant Eurycoma longifolia. European candidate plants are Tribulus terrestris and Pendulum murex. Future research should include the screening of other plants, concentrating on the large number of plants rich in metabolites because of their presumed effectiveness. The modes of action often require clarification for the plants with demonstrated effects.
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10.1016/j.anireprosci.2012.04.002
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pubmed_92_14206
|
PURPOSE
The Self-efficacy in Infant Care Scale (SICS) was developed with acceptable psychometric properties to assess the degree of Thai mothers' belief in their ability to perform designated infant care tasks. The purpose of this study was to identify whether the SICS, with a 6-point rating scale, can be used as an alternative to a rating scale with 0-100 confidence continuum scale.
METHODS
Eligible subjects included 42 mothers with 6 or 9 years of education who took their infants to the well-baby clinic for immunizations at Samutsakorn Hospital. Each mother first completed the original scale and then the 6-point SICS rating scale. Afterwards, the mothers were asked to indicate which of the questionnaires was easier to administer.
RESULTS
Using Cronbach's α, the reliability of both scales was .95. Correlations between the same items of both response formats of the SICS revealed that only 11 pairs of items demonstrated high magnitudes of correlation. Correlations between the same subscales and between the total scales of both response formats were high but less than .95. Slightly over half of all mothers (57%) preferred the 6-point rating scale. Interestingly, 59% of the group with 6 years of education preferred the original scale, compared with only 25% of the group with 9 years of education.
CONCLUSION
The findings suggest that correlations between SICS and two different response formats do not reach the criteria for use as alternatives to each other. However, further research is needed, with particular emphasis on the investigation of construct validity and comparisons between the two scales.
|
10.1016/S1976-1317(08)60040-7
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pubmed_638_2394
|
Human ESCRT-I is a multiprotein complex that plays essential roles in HIV budding and endosomal protein sorting. All ESCRT-I complexes contain three common subunits (TSG101, VPS28, and VPS37), and a fourth subunit of yeast ESCRT-I was recently identified (Mvb12p). We now demonstrate that two related human proteins (MVB12A and MVB12B) constitute the fourth class of metazoan ESCRT-I subunits, despite lacking identifiable sequence homology to Mvb12p. Hydrodynamic studies indicate that soluble human ESCRT-I complexes contain one copy of each of the four subunit types. MVB12 subunits associate with the core region of the binary TSG101-VPS37 complex through conserved C-terminal sequence elements. Both MVB12 depletion and overexpression inhibit HIV-1 infectivity and induce unusual viral assembly defects, including aberrant virion morphologies and altered viral Gag protein processing. Taken together, these studies define the composition of human ESCRT-I complexes and indicate that the MVB12 subunits play a unique role in regulating ESCRT-mediated virus budding.
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10.1016/j.chom.2007.06.003
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pubmed_348_9076
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The Universal Protein Resource (UniProt) provides a stable, comprehensive, freely accessible, central resource on protein sequences and functional annotation. The UniProt Consortium is a collaboration between the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI), the Protein Information Resource (PIR) and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB). The core activities include manual curation of protein sequences assisted by computational analysis, sequence archiving, development of a user-friendly UniProt website, and the provision of additional value-added information through cross-references to other databases. UniProt is comprised of four major components, each optimized for different uses: the UniProt Knowledgebase, the UniProt Reference Clusters, the UniProt Archive and the UniProt Metagenomic and Environmental Sequences database. UniProt is updated and distributed every three weeks, and can be accessed online for searches or download at http://www.uniprot.org.
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10.1093/nar/gkm895
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pubmed_333_6628
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The clinical features, laboratory studies, and therapeutic responses of two boys with chronic bullous dermatosis of childhood are described. Direct immunofluorescent preparations of sections from a lesion, skin adjacent to a lesion, and uninvolved skin demonstrated linear deposition of IgA at the dermoepidermal junction in all three biopsy specimens from one patient. Similar preparations from the second child were negative for staining. No circulating antibodies to skin components were detected in either child by means of multiple substrates. Neither child had clinical manifestations nor laboratory findings suggestive of an associated gastrointestinal lesion; therefore, small bowel biopsies were not performed. Immunologic studies failed to demonstrate any of the abnormalities frequently described in dermatitis herpetiformis. Both boys responded dramatically to sulfapyridine therapy.
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pubmed_333_6628
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pubmed_33_5435
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Adiponectin and leptin link metabolic disorders and coronary artery disease (CAD). We analysed their relationship with CAD, classical risk factors and biomarkers in 287 CAD patients (cases) and 477 unaffected family members (controls) selected from the Indian Atherosclerosis Research Study (IARS). Classical risk factors included diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia and obesity markers. Novel biomarkers were measured according to manufacturer recommendations. Adverse clinical events were recorded through telephonic follow-up. Cases showed lower adiponectin levels (4684.62 ± 190.73 ng/ml) than controls (5768.86 ± 152.87 ng/ml) (p=1.58X10(-5)); Leptin levels were higher in affected males (12.47 ± 1.32 ng/ml) than in male controls (9.53 ± 1.19 ng/ml, p=0.017). Adiponectin 1st quartile showed significant protection against CAD in females when compared to 3rd (odds ratio [OR] 0.39, 0.16-0.92, p=0.032) or 4th (OR 0.32, 0.14-0.72; p=0.006) quartile group. Leptin 3rd quartile showed higher CAD risk in males as compared to 1st quartile group (OR 2.09, 1.09-4.01, p=0.028). Subjects with metabolic syndrome showed low adiponectin and high leptin levels. Adipokines showed opposing association trend with lipids, inflammatory and coagulation markers and strong correlation (r=-0.14 to 0.52) with obesity markers. Cases with recurrent event and controls who developed new cardiac event during follow up showed high adiponectin levels (p<0.05). A model that combined adiponectin, leptin and conventional risk factors yielded the best 'C' index (0.890, 0.067-0.912). CAD patients in the top adiponectin tertile showed relatively poor survival curve as compared to the bottom Adiponectin tertile group. In conclusion, our findings strengthen the reported association between low adiponectin, high leptin, obesity-related metabolic disturbances and incident CAD in Asian Indians.
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10.1160/TH12-04-0263
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pubmed_374_24187
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STUDY QUESTION
Could anogenital distance (AGD) be a non-invasive marker of endometriosis and correlated to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine revised score (r-ASRM) and ENZIAN classifications?
SUMMARY ANSWER
Surgically and histologically proven endometriosis is associated with a short AGD in women of reproductive age but not correlated either to the severity or to the location of the disease.
WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
AGD is a marker of intrauterine androgen exposure and exposure to oestrogen-like chemicals such as phthalates. Moreover, exposure to endocrine disruptors, such as organochlorine chemicals, is associated with endometriosis. It has been suggested that a short AGD in women is associated with an increased risk of endometriosis based on clinical and ultrasound exams.
STUDY DESIGN SIZE DURATION
A prospective cohort study was conducted from January 2018 to June 2019 in a tertiary-care centre including 168 adult women undergoing pelvic surgery.
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS SETTING METHODS
Of the 168 women included, 98 patients had endometriosis (endometriosis group) and 70 did not (non-endometriosis group). An operator (not the surgeon) measured the distance from the clitoral surface to the anus (AGD-AC) and from the posterior fourchette to the anus (AGD-AF) before surgery using a millimetre accuracy ruler. Endometriosis was diagnosed on exploration of the abdominopelvic cavity, and the r-ASRM and ENZIAN scores were calculated. All removed tissues underwent pathological examination.
MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
Mean (±SD) AGD-AF measurements were 21.5 mm (±6.4) and 32.3 mm (±8.1), and average AGD-AC measurements were 100.9 mm (±20.6) and 83.8 mm (±12.9) in the endometriosis and non-endometriosis groups (P < 0.001), respectively. Mean AGD-AF and AGD-AC measurements were not related to r-ASRM stage (P = 0.73 and 0.80, respectively) or ENZIAN score (P = 0.62 and 0.21, respectively). AGD-AF had a better predictive value than AGD-AC for discriminating the presence of endometriosis (AUC = 0.840 (95% CI 0.782-0.898) and 0.756 (95% CI 0.684-0.828)), respectively. For AGD-AF, an optimal cut-off of 20 mm had a specificity of 0.986 (95% CI 0.923-0.999), sensitivity of 0.306 (95% CI 26.1-31.6) and positive predictive value of 0.969 (95% CI 0.826-0.998). In multivariable analysis, the diagnosis of endometriosis was the only variable independently associated with the AGD-AF (β = -9.66 mm 95% CI -12.20--7.12), P < 0.001).
LIMITATIONS REASONS FOR CAUTION
The sample size was relatively small with a high proportion of patients with colorectal endometriosis reflecting the activity of an expert centre. Furthermore, we did not include adolescents and the AGD-AF measurement could be particularly relevant in this population.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
The measurement of AGD could be a useful non-invasive tool to predict endometriosis. This could be especially relevant for adolescents and virgin women to avoid diagnostic laparoscopy and empiric treatment.
STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS
None.
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10.1093/hropen/hoaa023
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pubmed_1113_19923
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Using a whole report-paradigm based on [Bundesen, C. (1990). A theory of visual attention. Psychological Review, 97, 523-547; Bundesen, C. (1998). A computational theory of visual attention. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B, Biological Sciences, 353, 1271-1281] theory of visual attention (TVA), [Finke, K., Bublak, P., Dose, M., Müller, H. J., & Schneider, W. X. (2006). Parameter-based assessment of spatial and non-spatial attentional deficits in Huntington's disease. Brain, 129, 1137-1151] demonstrated profound reductions in perceptual processing speed and visual working memory (WM) storage capacity in Huntington's disease (HD) patients. A comparably severe impairment of visual processing capacity has previously been reported for two simultanagnosia patients [Duncan, J., Bundesen, C., Olson, A., Humphreys, G., Ward, R., Kyllingsbaek, S., van Raamsdonk, M., Rorden, C., & Chavda, S. (2003). Attentional functions in dorsal and ventral simultanagnosia. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 20, 675-702]. To investigate whether such a deficit does also prevail in HD, the simultaneous perception of visual objects was tested in 10 HD patients under free viewing conditions and without time constraints. Objects were presented under four different conditions: (i) single, (ii) multiple adjacent, (iii) multiple embedded, and (iv) multiple overlapping. The dependent measure was the percentage of identification failures. Performance was compared to that of 15 healthy subjects matched for age, education, gender and general mental ability. For HD patients, the percentage of errors in the various testing conditions was examined for correlations with the TVA parameters of visuo-perceptual processing speed and WM storage capacity. These parameters were estimated using verbal whole report of briefly presented letters. TVA permits the two parameters to be estimated mathematically independently and relatively unaffected by any motor deficits present in HD. The identification error rate was substantially increased in HD patients, compared to control subjects, in the overlapping-figures subtest. This deficit was significantly and negatively correlated with processing speed, whereas there was no correlation with WM storage capacity. These results demonstrate the presence of deficits in simultaneous perception in HD, related to a severe reduction in perceptual processing speed. The results are discussed with respect to a dopamine mediated decline of cortical cholinergic activation, diminishing the number of visual objects that can be simultaneously represented within the visual processing system.
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10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2007.06.006
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pubmed_1113_2261
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OBJECTIVE
It is important to find ways to predict response to treatments as this may inform treatment planning. We examined rapid response in obese patients with binge eating disorder (BED) who participated in a randomized placebo-controlled study of orlistat administered with cognitive behavioral therapy delivered by guided self-help (CBTgsh) format.
METHODS
Fifty patients were randomly assigned to 12-week treatments of either orlistat+CBTgsh or placebo+CBTgsh, and were followed in double-blind fashion for 3 months after treatment discontinuation. Rapid response, defined as 70% or greater reduction in binge eating by the fourth treatment week, was determined by receiver operating characteristic curves, and was then used to predict outcomes.
RESULTS
Rapid response characterized 42% of participants, was unrelated to participants' demographic features and most baseline characteristics, and was unrelated to attrition from treatment. Participants with rapid response were more likely to achieve binge eating remission and 5% weight loss. If rapid response occurred, the level of improvement was sustained during the remaining course of treatment and the 3-month period after treatment. Participants without rapid response showed a subsequent pattern of continued improvement.
CONCLUSION
Rapid response demonstrated the same prognostic significance and time course for CBTgsh as previously documented for individual CBT. Among rapid responders, improvements were well sustained, and among non-rapid responders, continuing with CBTgsh (regardless of medication) led to subsequent improvements.
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10.1016/j.brat.2007.05.010
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pubmed_505_18847
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The capacity to employ unactivated alkyl electrophiles as coupling partners will markedly increase the already exceptional utility of metal-catalyzed cross-coupling processes. This communication describes the development of a method that achieves the first Suzuki reactions of unactivated secondary alkyl bromides and iodides. The ability to couple readily available, easy-to-handle boronic acids is an attractive feature of this catalyst system.
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10.1021/ja039889k
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pubmed_1128_5960
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Subjects at risk for specific learning disabilities were assessed on standardized measures throughout elementary and middle school following an intervention based on task analysis of kindergarten curricula and team teaching. All results were significant for the treatment group in relation to an at-risk cohort and comparable to a current random cohort and national averages.
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10.1177/002221949002300512
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pubmed_247_21442
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Rat liver perisinusoidal lipocytes (PL) cultured on uncoated plastic transform spontaneously within 6-10 d to myofibroblastlike cells (MFBlC). Parallel to the transformation the TGF alpha- and TGF beta 1-mRNA expression increased and was highest in MFBlC. Competitive radioligand binding assays demonstrated that in contrast to untransformed PL the MFBlC synthesize and secrete transforming growth factor (TGF)-alpha (15 fmol/cell per 24 h) and predominantly the latent form of TGF beta 1 (0.2 fmol/cell per 24 h). Medium conditioned by MFBlC (MFBcM) significantly stimulated PL proliferation with little effect on PL proteoglycan synthesis. By transient acidification of the MFBcM, known to activate the latent form of TGF beta 1, the stimulatory effect on PL proteoglycan synthesis was enhanced and furthermore PL transformation (measured by expression of iso-alpha smooth muscle actin and loss of retinylpalmitate) was accelerated. Preincubation of this medium with neutralizing antibodies to TGF beta resulted in (a) the growth inhibitory effect was converted to a growth stimulation and (b) the stimulatory effect on proteoglycan synthesis was abolished. In summary our data indicate that progressive activation of PL on plastic (transformation to MFBlC) leads to an enhanced expression of the TGF alpha- and TGF beta 1-mRNAs and secretion of the corresponding proteins. Medium conditioned by MFBIC stimulates proliferation, transformation, and PG synthesis of untransformed PL. These mechanisms are suggested to be relevant in self perpetuation of liver fibrogenesis.
|
10.1172/JCI115561
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pubmed_224_7907
|
Determinants of host-drug interaction comprise a complex of potentially variable factors. The complexity of this variability compromises the forecasting of favorable response in individual patients given standard therapy. Substantial success with current forms of chemotherapy may require that biochemical, pharmacologic, and clinical profiles be established for each cancer patient whereby the use of drug and drug combination can be rationally applied. The significance of evaluating clinical pharmacokinetic parameters in patients with cancer is placed in perspective with other factors relevant to individual drug response.
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10.1002/j.1552-4604.1983.tb02707.x
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pubmed_621_15633
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The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of economic status on clinical care provided to Brazilian youths with type 1 diabetes in daily practice, according to the American Diabetes Association's guidelines. This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study conducted between 2008 and 2010 in 28 public clinics in Brazil. Data were obtained from 1,692 patients (55.3 % female, 56.4 % Caucasian), with a mean age of 13 years (range, 1-18), a mean age at diagnosis of 7.1 ± 4 years and diabetes duration of 5 ± 3.7 years. Overall, 75 % of the patients were of a low or very low economic status. HbA1c goals were reached by 23.2 %, LDL cholesterol by 57.9 %, systolic blood pressure by 83.9 % and diastolic blood pressure by 73.9 % of the patients. In total, 20.2 % of the patients were overweight and 9.2 % were obese. Patients from very low economic status were less likely to attend tertiary care level when compared with those from low, medium and high economic status, 64.2 % versus 75.5 % versus 78.3 % and 74.0 %; p < 0.001, respectively. The rate of annual screening for retinopathy, nephropathy and for foot alterations was 66.2, 69.7 and 62.7 %, respectively. Insulin dose, age, very low economic status, daily frequency of self-blood glucose monitoring and female gender were independently associated with poor glycemic control. Screening for diabetic complications and attaining glucose, lipid and blood pressure goals present a challenge for young Brazilian type 1 diabetes patients. The low economic status of the majority of our patients may represent a barrier to reaching these goals.
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10.1007/s00592-012-0404-3
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pubmed_1110_15980
|
While breastfeeding initiation rates for African American mothers are low, an innovative model of group prenatal care, CenteringPregnancy, holds promise to increase breastfeeding rates. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the effects of CenteringPregnancy versus individual prenatal care on breastfeeding initiation among African American mothers. Using a systematic approach and PRISMA guidelines, 4 electronic databases were used to search the literature. English-language studies, comparing CenteringPregnancy and individual prenatal care, including African American participants, and specifying breastfeeding initiation as an outcome were screened for inclusion. Study strength and quality were assessed and 7 studies were systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed. Participation in CenteringPregnancy increased the probability of breastfeeding initiation by 53% (95% confidence interval = 29%-81%) (n = 8047). A subgroup analysis of breastfeeding initiation among only African American participants was performed on 4 studies where data were available. Participation in CenteringPregnancy increased the probability of breastfeeding initiation by 71% (95% confidence interval = 27%-131%) (n = 1458) for African American participants. CenteringPregnancy is an effective intervention to increase breastfeeding initiation for participants, especially for African Americans. To close the racial gap in breastfeeding initiation, high-quality research providing specific outcomes for African American participants in CenteringPregnancy are needed.
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10.1097/JPN.0000000000000307
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pubmed_0_951
|
Amino acid starvation by asparaginase (ASNase) enhances phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2) by general control nonderepressible 2 (GCN2) kinase, leading to reduced global mRNA translation rates. This conserves energy and allows cells time to reprogram stress-related gene expression to alleviate cell injury. This study addressed the importance of GCN2 for the immune system to adapt to amino acid starvation by ASNase. GCN2(+/+) and GCN2(-/-) mice were injected once daily with ASNase or saline for up to 7 d. In both thymus and spleen, activation of amino acid stress response genes to ASNase, such as asparagine synthetase and CAAT enhancer binding protein homologous protein, required GCN2. ASNase reduced food intake and body weight in both genotypes, but spleen and thymus wet weights and total cell numbers in thymus, spleen, bone marrow, and mesenteric lymph nodes were less in GCN2(-/-) mice treated with ASNase (genotype x ASNase, P < 0.05). In the thymus, GCN2(-/-) mice treated with ASNase demonstrated enhanced apoptosis and fewer cells in all subpopulations examined (CD3+, CD4-8-, CD4+8+, CD4+8-, CD4-8+) compared with GCN2(+/+) mice treated with ASNase (genotype x ASNase, P < 0.05). In the spleen, GCN2 deletion magnified ASNase-induced reductions in CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, CD19+ B cells, and CD11b+ leukocytes (genotype x ASNase, P < 0.05). These results indicate that loss of GCN2 enhances immunosuppression by ASNase and that this eIF2 kinase is broadly required for amino acid stress management in the immune system.
|
10.3945/jn.110.129197
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pubmed_128_22362
|
Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is characterized in humans and in animal models by a seizure-free latent phase that follows an initial brain insult; this period is presumably associated to plastic changes in temporal lobe excitability and connectivity. Here, we analyzed the occurrence of interictal spikes and high frequency oscillations (HFOs; ripples: 80-200Hz and fast ripples: 250-500Hz) from 48h before to 96h after the first seizure in the rat pilocarpine model of MTLE. Interictal spikes recorded with depth EEG electrodes from the hippocampus CA3 area and entorhinal cortex (EC) were classified as type 1 (characterized by a spike followed by a wave) or type 2 (characterized by a spike with no wave). We found that: (i) there was a switch in the distribution of both types of interictal spikes before and after the occurrence of the first seizure; during the latent phase both types of interictal spikes predominated in the EC whereas during the chronic phase both types of spikes predominated in CA3; (ii) type 2 spike duration decreased in both regions from the latent to the chronic phase; (iii) type 2 spikes associated to fast ripples occurred at higher rates in EC compared to CA3 during the latent phase while they occurred at similar rates in both regions in the chronic phase; and (iv) rates of fast ripples outside of spikes were higher in EC compared to CA3 during the latent phase. Our findings demonstrate that the transition from the latent to the chronic phase is paralleled by dynamic changes in interictal spike and HFO expression in EC and CA3. We propose that these changes may represent biomarkers of epileptogenicity in MTLE.
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pubmed_128_22362
|
pubmed_1110_326
|
The asymmetric total synthesis of the marine natural product (+)-(3E)-pinnatifidenyne was accomplished. The key features of the synthesis involve the construction of an eight-membered cyclic ether by the abnormally regioselective Pd(0)-catalyzed cyclization, the installation of a double bond in the oxocene skeleton by sequential in situ deconjugative isomerization, and the efficient introduction of the crucial chloride mediated by the substrate-controlled diastereoselective reduction.
|
10.1021/acs.joc.7b02937
|
pubmed_524_17099
|
In this study, PM2.5 samples were collected synchronously at Gaoxin and Linxiao in Luoyang City during autumn and winter (4 October 2018 to 30 January 2019). Sixteen priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) associated with fine particulate matter were analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The concentrations and composition characteristics of the PAHs on clean and polluted days were studied. Diagnostic ratio analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to identify the emission sources of PM2.5-bound PAHs and the equivalent carcinogenic concentration of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCRs) model were applied to evaluate health risks. During the sampling period, the concentrations of PAHs at Gaoxin and Linxiao ranged 24.33-90.26 ng·m-3 and 23.81-76.99 ng·m-3, respectively. With the increase in PM2.5 pollution, PAH concentrations increase significantly (the mean PAH concentration on polluted days was approximately 1.3 times higher than during clean days). PAH profiles at different polluting levels were similar; 4-ring PAHs (43%-48%) > 5-6 ring PAHs (32%-35%) > 2-3-ring PAHs (20%-22%). Diagnostic ratios and PCA demonstrated that PAHs in the study area were mainly derived from combustion sources including coal combustion, biomass burning, and motor vehicle emissions. The coal combustion was the main pollution source in the study area (clean days=49.28%-56.38%, polluted days=49.44%-60.60%). The results of the equivalent carcinogenic concentration of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and ILCR model revealed that the human health risk on polluted days was higher. Moreover, the cancer risks from adult exposure to PAHs were higher than those child exposure, which has an acceptable level of risk (<10-6).
|
10.13227/j.hjkx.202006246
|
pubmed_814_6537
|
We report the detection of individual emitters in silicon belonging to seven different families of optically active point defects. These fluorescent centers are created by carbon implantation of a commercial silicon-on-insulator wafer usually employed for integrated photonics. Single photon emission is demonstrated over the 1.1-1.55 μm range, spanning the O and C telecom bands. We analyze their photoluminescence spectra, dipolar emissions, and optical relaxation dynamics at 10 K. For a specific family, we show a constant emission intensity at saturation from 10 K to temperatures well above the 77 K liquid nitrogen temperature. Given the advanced control over nanofabrication and integration in silicon, these individual artificial atoms are promising systems to investigate for Si-based quantum technologies.
|
10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.083602
|
pubmed_755_1682
|
An Australian Babesia bigemina vaccine strain was maintained in suspension culture for 40 days. Parasite growth was compared using two tissue-culture flask sizes (25 and 75 cm2), four gas mixes (2%, 2.5%, 3% and 3.5% O2; 5% CO2; and the balance N2) and four packed blood cell (PCV) volumes (7%, 9%, 13% and 18%). The best continuous parasite yields were obtained from suspension cultures in 75-cm2 flasks at a PCV of 13% and gas mixtures of 2%-3% O2, 5% CO2 and the balance N2. Parasite yields per millilitre of culture medium were 3 times those obtained in microaerophilous stationary-phase cultures. The method has thus far been used for 6 months to produce the Australian requirements for live B. bigemina vaccine.
|
10.1007/BF00931699
|
pubmed_192_23325
|
BACKGROUND
In-patients in crisis report poor experiences of mental healthcare not conducive to recovery. Concerns include coercion by staff, fear of assault from other patients, lack of therapeutic opportunities and limited support. There is little high-quality evidence on what is important to patients to inform recovery-focused care.AimsTo conduct a systematic review of published literature, identifying key themes for improving experiences of in-patient mental healthcare.
METHOD
A systematic search of online databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO and CINAHL) for primary research published between January 2000 and January 2016. All study designs from all countries were eligible. A qualitative analysis was undertaken and study quality was appraised. A patient and public reference group contributed to the review.
RESULTS
Studies (72) from 16 countries found four dimensions were consistently related to significantly influencing in-patients' experiences of crisis and recovery-focused care: the importance of high-quality relationships; averting negative experiences of coercion; a healthy, safe and enabling physical and social environment; and authentic experiences of patient-centred care. Critical elements for patients were trust, respect, safe wards, information and explanation about clinical decisions, therapeutic activities, and family inclusion in care.
CONCLUSIONS
A number of experiences hinder recovery-focused care and must be addressed with the involvement of staff to provide high-quality in-patient services. Future evaluations of service quality and development of practice guidance should embed these four dimensions.Declaration of interestK.B. is editor of British Journal of Psychiatry and leads a national programme (Synergi Collaborative Centre) on patient experiences driving change in services and inequalities.
|
10.1192/bjp.2019.22
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pubmed_1072_337
|
The objective of the study was to describe self-reported health symptoms, the use of personal protective gear and clothing and poor safety procedures when applying pesticides among farm workers. A total of 128 adult farm workers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire during the farming season. The commonly used pesticides included profenofos, mancozeb, chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, permethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, endosulfan and carbosulfan. The majority (>90%) of farm workers used no personal protective clothing while handling pesticides. More than one-third of farm workers ate and drank without washing their hands following pesticide handling, while a smaller number smoked or chewed gum. Wearing special boots during pesticide application was found to reduce the risk of skin rash (OR = 0.2, 95% CI: 0.06-0.66), whereas smoking when applying pesticides increased the risk of chest pain occurrence (OR = 4.0, 95% CI: 1.14-15.43), as well as forgetfulness (OR = 4.0, 95% CI: 1.30-14.02). Chewing gum and eating when applying pesticides was associated with diarrhoea (OR = 11.0, 95% CI: 1.80-6.84 and OR = 7.0, 95% CI: 1.27-3.67 respectively). The increased self-reported prevalence of post-exposure adverse health effects among farm workers was associated with poor use of personal protective clothing and poor safety practices during pesticide use and handling. These data indicate the need for improved availability and use of protective equipment, and training in crop and pest management practices to prevent risky behavioursand for safer and sustainable vegetable production.
|
10.3390/toxics5040024
|
pubmed_499_17594
|
BACKGROUND
The association between blood pressure (BP) levels and BP variability (BPV) following acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) and outcome remains controversial.
AIMS
To investigate the predictive value of systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) and BPV measured using 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) methods during AIS regarding outcome.
METHODS
A total of 228 AIS patients (175 without prior disability) underwent ABPM every 20 min within 48 h from onset using an automated oscillometric device (TM 2430, A&D Company Ltd) during day time (7:00-22:59) and night time (23:00-6:59). Risk factors, stroke subtypes, clinical and laboratory findings were recorded. Mean BP parameters and several BPV indices were calculated. End-points were death and unfavourable functional outcome (disability/death) at 3 months.
RESULTS
A total of 61 (26.7%) patients eventually died. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that only mean night-time DBP (hazard ratio (HR): 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00-1.07) was an independent prognostic factor of death. Of the 175 patients without prior disability, 79 (45.1%) finally met the end-point of unfavourable functional outcome. Mean 24-h SBP (HR: 1.03; 95% CI: 1.00-1.05), day-time SBP (HR: 1.02; 95% CI: 1.00-1.05) and night-time SBP (HR: 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01-1.05), SBP nocturnal decline (HR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.88-0.99), mean 24-h DBP (HR: 1.08; 95% CI: 1.03-1.13), day-time DBP (HR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.03-1.12) and night-time DBP (HR: 1.06; 95% CI: 1.02-1.10) were independent prognostic factors of an unfavourable functional outcome.
CONCLUSIONS
In contrast with BPV indices, ABPM-derived BP levels and lower or absence of BP nocturnal decline in the acute phase are prognostic factors of outcome in AIS patients.
|
10.1111/imj.15834
|
pubmed_444_19186
|
Does a visual percept emerge to consciousness in a graded manner (i.e. evolving through increasing degrees of clarity), or according to a dichotomous, "all-or-none" pattern (i.e. abruptly transitioning from unawareness to awareness)? The level of processing hypothesis (LoP; B. Windey and A. Cleeremans, 2015) recently proposed a theoretical framework where the transition from unaware to aware visual experience is graded for low-level stimulus representations (i.e. stimulus "energy" or "feature" levels) whereas it is dichotomous for high-level (i.e. the perception of "letters", "words" or "meaning") stimulus perception. Here, we will critically review current behavioral and brain-based evidence on the LoP hypothesis and discuss potential challenges (such as differences in LoP conceptualizations, awareness scale related issues, attentional confounds and divergences on experimental factors or statistical analyses) which might be of use for future research within the field. Overall, the LoP hypothesis is a recent and promising proposal that attempts to integrate divergent evidence on the graded vs. dichotomous emergence of awareness debate. Whereas current evidence validates some of the assumptions proposed by the LoP account, there is still much work to do on both methodological and experimental levels. Future neuroimaging studies might help to disentangle the current complex pattern of results found in LoP studies and, importantly, shed some light on the ongoing debate about the search for the Neural Correlates of Consciousness (NCC).
|
10.1016/j.concog.2020.103022
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pubmed_761_11622
|
Advance preview of a subset of distractor objects improves the efficiency of visual search performance, but the causes and mechanisms of such preview benefits remain unclear. Here, we employed event-related potential (ERP) markers of the selective processing of preview displays and full search displays in lateralised preview search tasks where only one side of the search displays was task-relevant. Preview displays elicited a sustained positivity contralateral to the relevant side (PD component), indicative of the active suppression of distractor objects on this side. Lateralised ERP components to full search displays revealed qualitative differences between attentional selection processes on preview as compared to no-preview trials. When search displays were preceded by preview displays, attention was directly allocated to target objects, while distractors remained unattended. When all search display objects were presented simultaneously (no-preview), attention was directed non-selectively to objects on the task-relevant side, even when no target was present. These results suggest that behavioural preview effects in visual search can be accounted for by the inhibition of previewed distractors, and the subsequent rapid attentional selection of target objects on preview trials.
|
10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.10.016
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pubmed_222_11031
|
We developed a repeated sampling bone chamber (RSBC) and tested its suitability for studying various aspects of the bone allograft incorporation process under reproducible nonload-bearing experimental conditions in a large vertebrate. Our chamber is made of commercially pure titanium and is designed to allow bone or tissue ingrowth into a removable hollow inner core. Three chambers per animal were randomly implanted in the tibias of 10 goats and were harvested every 8 weeks. In experiment 1, two chambers were filled with a fresh-frozen structural allograft or a chip allograft, and one was left empty. In experiment 2, all chambers were left empty to measure intra- and interanimal variation. The results were evaluated by histomorphometry. Clinical results of four growth factor experiments also are presented. Using this model, we conducted 60 harvest operations (median, 4/animal; range, 2 to 8). In experiment 1, more soft tissue ingrowth and osteoclasts were measured in the chambers with allograft (P < 0.005 and P < 0.03 respectively). Bone ingrowth was scant, with no significant differences between chip graft, structural graft, and empty control chamber. Thus, the bone graft did not show any osteoinductive or osteoconductive properties. Experiment 2 indicated consistent tissue ingrowth, with greater interanimal variation than variations among the chambers in any goat. Our method forms a means of studying gradual tissue and bone ingrowth into bone grafts. The inherent low amount of bone ingrowth makes this model suitable for studying bone-inductive substances. Repeated sampling in the same animals lowered the intersample variability and reduced the number of animals that were required.
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pubmed_222_11031
|
pubmed_1127_2966
|
PURPOSE
The primary purpose of this clinical report was to compare parents' concerns about their infants' suspected motor delays with scores on the Harris Infant Neuromotor Test (HINT) and the Bayley-II Motor Scale. The second purpose was to determine whether there was agreement in categorizing the delays on the 2 tests.
SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS
Three female infants with parent-identified concerns of motor delay were assessed on the HINT and Bayley-II Motor Scale. All showed significant delays, corroborating parental concerns. On the HINT, all scored >2 SD above the mean, being categorized as significantly delayed. On the Bayley-II Motor Scale, all demonstrated significantly delayed motor performance, ie, >2 SD below the mean.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE
Pediatric physical therapists should listen to parents' concerns about their infants with suspected motor delays and provide assessments to address these concerns. When appropriate, these infants should be referred for early intervention services.
|
10.1097/PEP.0b013e3181b12fbc
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pubmed_241_19293
|
The insertion of a needle into a joint, bursa or tendon sheath is done for diagnostic and/or therapeutic reasons. The family physician can easily perform this service in his own office if correct techniques are used. The purpose of this article is to outline the diagnostic and therapeutic indications, describe the techniques and discuss the possible adverse effects of these procedures.
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pubmed_241_19293
|
pubmed_200_1389
|
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to investigate the roles of different resting-state networks in predicting both the actual level of consciousness and its recovery in brain injury patients.
METHODS
We investigated resting-state functional connectivity within different networks in patients with varying levels of consciousness: unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS; n = 56), minimally conscious state (MCS; n = 29), and patients with brain lesions but full consciousness (BL; n = 48). Considering the actual level of consciousness, we compared the strength of network connectivity among the patient groups. We then checked the presence of connections between specific regions in individual patients and calculated the frequency of this in the different patient groups. Considering the recovery of consciousness, we split the UWS group into 2 subgroups according to recovery: those who emerged from UWS (UWS-E) and those who remained in UWS (UWS-R). The above analyses were repeated on these 2 subgroups.
RESULTS
Functional connectivity strength in salience network (SN), especially connectivity between the supragenual anterior cingulate cortex (SACC) and left anterior insula (LAI), was reduced in the unconscious state (UWS) compared to the conscious state (MCS and BL). Moreover, at the individual level, SACC-LAI connectivity was more present in MCS than in UWS. Default-mode network (DMN) connectivity strength, especially between the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and left lateral parietal cortex (LLPC), was reduced in UWS-R compared with UWS-E. Furthermore, PCC-LLPC connectivity was more present in UWS-E than in UWS-R.
INTERPRETATION
Our findings show that SN (SACC-LAI) connectivity correlates with behavioral signs of consciousness, whereas DMN (PCC-LLPC) connectivity instead predicts recovery of consciousness.
|
10.1002/ana.24479
|
pubmed_637_17772
|
We herein demonstrate that DNA origami can work as a multifunctional platform integrating a chemotherapeutic drug (doxorubicin), gold nanorods and a tumour-specific aptamer MUC-1, to realize the effective circumvention of drug resistance. Doxorubicin (DOX) was loaded efficiently onto DNA origami through base pair intercalation and surface-modified gold nanorods (AuNRs) were assembled onto the DNA origami through DNA hybridization. Due to the active targeting effect of the assembled aptamers, the multifunctional nanostructures achieved increased cellular internalization of DOX and AuNRs. Upon near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation, the P-glycoprotein (multidrug resistance pump) expression of multidrug resistant MCF-7 (MCF-7/ADR) cells was down-regulated, achieving the synergistically chemotherapeutic (DOX) and photothermal (AuNRs) effects.
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10.1039/c7nr02222k
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pubmed_598_4167
|
Study Objectives
Epidemiological evidence indicates that both short and long sleep at midlife increase mortality risk, but few studies have examined how change in sleep duration between midlife and later life affects this risk. We examined the association between change in sleep duration and mortality risk.
Methods
The Singapore Chinese Health Study is a prospective cohort of 63257 Chinese in Singapore aged 45-74 years at recruitment (1993-1998). Self-reported sleep duration was collected from 39523 participants who completed both baseline (mean age 54.8 years) and follow-up II (mean age 67.9 years; 2006-2010) interviews, which were on average 12.7 years apart. Mortality data were obtained via linkage with national death registry up to December 31, 2015.
Results
Compared with participants who reported sleeping the recommended duration (7 hr) at both interviews, those with persistently short sleep (≤5 hr) had increased risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-1.53). Similarly, those with persistently long sleep (≥9 hr) had increased risk of all-cause (HR 1.47, 95% CI 1.24-1.73) and cardiovascular (HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.04-1.89) mortality. The proportion of long-sleepers increased with aging (6%-23.7%). Progression to long sleep from short (HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.24-1.81) or recommended (HR 1.43, 95% CI 1.25-1.64) duration was associated with increased all-cause mortality, especially for cardiovascular mortality. Change in sleep duration was not linked to cancer mortality.
Conclusions
Persistent short or long sleep or increasing sleep duration in late adulthood was associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality, especially from cardiovascular causes.
|
10.1093/sleep/zsy005
|
pubmed_1094_16858
|
PURPOSE
Television (TV) viewing time is associated with increased risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality. Although TV time is detrimentally associated with key inflammatory markers, the associations of TV time with other inflammatory-related mortality (with a predominant inflammatory, oxidative or infectious component, but not attributable to cancer or cardiovascular causes), are unknown.
METHODS
Among 8933 Australian adults (4593 never-smokers) from the baseline (1999-2000) Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (median follow-up, 13.6 yr), we examined TV time in relation to noninflammatory and inflammatory-related mortality (not attributable to cancer or cardiovascular causes, hereafter "inflammatory-related" mortality). Because smoking has a significant inflammatory component, we also examined this relationship in never-smokers.
RESULTS
Of 896 deaths, 248 were attributable to cardiovascular disease, 346 to cancer, 130 to other inflammatory-related causes (71 for never-smokers), and 172 to noninflammatory-related causes (87 for never-smokers). After multivariate adjustment for age, sex, education, household income, smoking status, alcohol intake, energy intake, diet, and cardiometabolic risk biomarkers (model 3), every additional hours per day of TV time was associated with increased risk of inflammatory-related mortality in the overall population (hazard ratio, 1.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-1.25) and in never-smokers (1.18; 1.00, 1.40). These results were attenuated after additional adjustment for leisure-time physical activity. After multivariate adjustment (model 3), no association was observed for noninflammatory mortality in the overall population (0.95; 0.85, 1.07), but risk tended to decrease for never-smokers (0.85; 0.75, 1.02).
CONCLUSIONS
In summary, before adjustment for leisure-time physical activity, TV time was associated with increased risk of inflammatory-related mortality. This is consistent with the hypothesis that high TV viewing may be associated with a chronic inflammatory state.
|
10.1249/MSS.0000000000001317
|
pubmed_541_7510
|
The structure of the salt of the di-mu-chloro-bis[tetrachlorozirconate(IV)] anion and the N,N'-isopropyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)benzamidinium cation, (C(16)H(29)N(2)Si)(2)[Zr(2)Cl(10)].2CH(2)Cl(2), is reported. The anion lies about an inversion centre and shows a substantially octahedral coordination around Zr, while the structure of the cation is unequivocally assigned as that of a benzamidinium ion.
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10.1107/s0108270103010035
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pubmed_987_11883
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Background The protein kinase B/mammalian target of the rapamycin (Akt/mTOR) pathway is one of the most potent prosurvival signaling cascades that is constitutively active in neuroblastoma. The eukaryotic translation elongation factor-1, alpha-2 (eEF1A2) protein has been found to activate the Akt/mTOR pathway. However, there is a lack of data on the role of eEF1A2 in neuroblastoma. The present study investigated the effect of eEF1A2 silencing on the viability of neuroblastoma cells and its possible signaling. Materials and Methods: Human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells were transfected with small interfering RNA (siRNA) against eEF1A2. After 48 h of transfection, cell viability was assessed using an MTT assay. The mRNA expression of p53, Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3 and members of the phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K)/Akt/mTOR pathway was determined using quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). The protein expression of Akt and mTOR was measured using Western blot analysis. Results: eEF1A2 knockdown significantly decreased the viability of neuroblastoma cells. No significant changes were observed on the expression of p53, Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and caspase-3 mRNAs; however, the upregulated trends were noted for the p53 and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. eEF1A2 knockdown significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of both Akt and mTOR. Almost all of the class I (PIK3CA, PIK3CB, and PIK3CD) and all of the class II PI3K genes were slightly increased in tumor cells with eEF1A2 knockdown. In addition, a slightly decreased expression of the Akt2, mTORC1, and mTORC2 was observed. Conclusion: eEF1A2 knockdown induced neuroblastoma cell death, in part through the inhibition of Akt and mTOR, suggesting a potential role of eEF1A2 as a molecular target for neuroblastoma therapy.
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10.18502/ijhoscr.v15i4.7477
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pubmed_1036_14852
|
OBJECTIVES
Record linkage between data sets is relatively simple when unique, universal, permanent, and common variables exist in each data set. This situation occurs infrequently; thus, there is a need to apply probabilistic methods to identify corresponding records. DataLink has been tested to determine if the use of clustering techniques will improve performance with a minimum decrease in accuracy.
METHODS
The study uses cancer registry data which includes hospital discharge and pathology reports from two hospitals in the Murcia Region for the years 2002-2003. These data are standardized prior to running DataLink. The original version of DataLink compares all of the records one by one, and in two later versions of the software clustering is applied which filters for one or more variables. Computing time and the proportion of detected matches have been investigated with each version.
RESULTS
The clustering versions achieve 96.1% and 96.2% accuracy, respectively. An improvement in the computational time of 97.3% and 98.6% is achieved for the two clustering versions compared with the original. The clustering versions lose 0.36% and 1.07% of real duplicates, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
DataLink implements deterministic and probabilistic record linkage to eliminate duplicates and to merge new information with existing cases. The standardization of variables to a common format has been adapted to the characteristics of Spanish language data. Clustering techniques minimize computational time and maximize accuracy in the detection of corresponding records.
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10.3414/me0529
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pubmed_217_13550
|
Fibrinogen appears to be particularly sensitive to toxic action of peroxynitrite; a potent oxidizing and nitrating species. An increased nitration of fibrinogen has been reported in cardiovascular diseases. The defense mechanisms against PN are crucial for complex hemostasis process. Flavonoids have antioxidative properties and could protect biomolecules against action of peroxynitrite. The aim of our studies was to establish, if (-)-epicatechin may in vitro protect fibrinogen molecule against peroxynitrite-induced nitration of tyrosines and change its thrombin-catalyzed polymerization. The exposure of purified fibrinogen (6 μM) to peroxynitrite (1-100 μM) resulted in both structural modifications and clotting ability of this glycoprotein. Peroxynitrite at the concentration of 1 μM increased maximum velocity of Fg polymerization, whereas exposure to 100 μM PN resulted in a significant decrease of Vmax. (-)-Epicatechin (1-100 μM) caused a dose-dependent inhibition of 3-nitrotyrosine formation in fibrinogen treated with peroxynitrite (100 μM) in both Western blot assays and C-ELISA assays. At the highest concentration of (-)-epicatechin (100 μM) the level of 3-NT in fibrinogen reached the control values. At lower doses (-)-epicatechin reduced tyrosine nitration by approx. 23% and 40% at the concentration of 1 μM and 10 μM, respectively. (-)-Epicatechin also abolished the pro-thrombotic effect of peroxynitrite on fibrinogen clotting. The presented in vitro results demonstrated for the first time that (-)-epicatechin might have protective effects against the impairment of structure and properties of Fg, caused by action of the strong biologic oxidant/nitration and inflammatory mediators.
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10.1016/j.thromres.2012.03.017
|
pubmed_727_10790
|
Two patients had entirely different clinical presentations of hysterical polydipsia: convulsions and coma in a 5-year-old boy with intrinsic renal disease and a single kidney, and abnormal behavior in a 3-year-old girl with normal kidneys. In neither case was the correct diagnosis made on initial evaluation. Physiological studies demonstrated primary polydipsia to be responsible for both clinical presentations. The differential diagnosis of polydipsia and polyuria is reviewed, and the nonuniform presentation of hysterical polydipsia is emphasized. In children with intrinsic renal disease, hysterical polydipsia may be life-threatening.
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10.1001/archpedi.1976.02120030100020
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pubmed_380_1752
|
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether increased knowledge and use of public health measures promoted for cholera prevention is reflected in lower prevalence of parasitic infection in households in a community in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, that is close to the border with the United States of America.
METHODS
Between 1994 and 1997, fecal samples from 438 children were collected through convenience sampling and then examined for helminth eggs/larvae and protozoan cysts as biologic indicators of household compliance with recommended cholera prevention measures. The suggested measures were to wash hands before meals and after defecation, to drink purified water, to wash fruits and vegetables, and to eat well-cooked food. In addition, information on the knowledge of and the use of cholera preventive measures was collected by interviews with adult informants in 252 households (186 of those households also provided a fecal sample for analysis).
RESULTS
Parasitic infections occurred in 131 of the 438 children (30%), who resided in 79 of the 186 households (42%) that provided fecal samples. Giardia lamblia accounted for 12.5% of all infections. Infections with Hymenolepis nana, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Enterobius vermicularis, Ancylostoma/Necator, Strongyloides stercoralis, Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba hartmanni, Entamoeba histolytica, Endolimax nana, and Iodamoeba bütschlii were also noted. Infected children were older and more often had an infected sibling. Households with three or more children were also more likely to have an infected child. The primary caregivers in the households where at least one child had a parasitic infection were distinguished by their inability to list at least three cholera prevention measures from memory.
CONCLUSIONS
The 42% household prevalence of parasitic infection was relatively high and indicates that some residents of this community may not have fully embraced the public health education efforts promoted for prevention of cholera. The occurrence of nonpathogenic protozoan parasites such as Endolimax nana, Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba hartmanni, and I. bütschlii are important bioindicators for the persistence of unhygienic behaviors that increase the risk of cholera and other infectious diseases dependent on fecal-oral transmission. Information obtained by similar studies can be useful for monitoring compliance with community health and hygiene programs and may indicate the need to intensify educational efforts for the prevention of diarrhea associated with enteric pathogens that cannot be controlled by drugs alone.
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10.1590/s1020-49892003000600006
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pubmed_108_22746
|
Today, more than two thirds of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) are adults. Cardiac surgery plays an essential role in restoring and maintaining cardiac function, aside from evolving medical treatment and catheter-based interventions. The aim of the present publication was to describe the spectrum of operations performed on adults with CHD (ACHD) by reviewing current literature. Currently, surgery for ACHD is predominantly valve surgery, since valvular pathologies are often either a part of the basic heart defect or develop as sequelae of corrective or palliative surgery. Surgical techniques for valve repair, established in patients with acquired heart disease (non-ACHD), can often be transferred to ACHD. New valve substitutes may help to reduce the number of redo operations. Most of valve operations yield good results in terms of survival and quality of life, with the precondition that the ventricular function is preserved. Heart failure due to end-stage CHD is the most frequent cause of mortality in ACHD. However, surgical treatment by means of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) is still uncommon and the mortality exceeds the one following other operations in ACHD. Currently, different devices are used and new technical developments are in progress. However, there still is no ideal assist device available. Therefore, heart transplantation remains the only valid option for end-stage CHD. Despite higher early mortality following heart transplantation in ACHD compared to non-ACHD, the long-term survival compares favorably to non-ACHD. There is room for improvement by refining the indications, the time of listing, and the perioperative care of ACHD transplant patients. Sudden death is the second most frequent cause of mortality in ACHD. Ventricular tachycardia is the most frequent cause of sudden death followed by coronary artery anomaly. Due to the increasing awareness of physicians and the improved imaging techniques, coronary artery anomalies are coming more into the focus of cardiac surgeons. However, the reported experience is limited and it is currently difficult to provide a standardized and generally applicable recommendation for the indication and the adequate surgical technique. With the increasing age and complexity of ACHD, treatment of rhythm disturbances by surgical ablation, pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation and resynchronisation gains importance. A risk score specifically designed for surgery in ACHD is among the newest developments in predicting the outcome of surgical treatment of ACHD. This evidence-based score, derived from and validated with data from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database, enables comparison of risk-adjusted performance of the whole spectrum of procedures performed in ACHD and helps in understanding the differences in surgical outcomes. The score is thus a powerful tool for quality control and quality improvement. In conclusion, new developments in surgery for ACHD are currently made with regard to valve surgery, which comprises more than half of all operations in ACHD and in treatment of end-stage CHD, which still yields high mortality and morbidity.
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10.21037/cdt.2018.10.06
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pubmed_463_9571
|
Spontaneous spin vortex formation in a magnetic phase transition of a trapped spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate is investigated based on mean-field theory. In a harmonic trapping potential, an inhomogeneous atomic density leads to spatial variations of the critical point, magnetization time, and spin correlation length. The Kibble-Zurek phenomena are shown to emerge even in such inhomogeneous spinor condensates, when the quench of the quadratic Zeeman energy is fast enough. For slow quench, the magnetized region gradually expands from the center of the trap, pushing out spin vortices, which hinders the Kibble-Zurek mechanism from occurring. The case of a toroidal trapping potential is also discussed.
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10.1088/0953-8984/25/40/404212
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pubmed_820_19926
|
Through experience, the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans learns to distinguish high quality bacteria--food--from low quality or toxic bacteria. Increased release of the neurotransmitter serotonin onto identified interneurons determines whether C. elegans chooses to feed or leave.
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10.1016/j.cub.2006.01.025
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pubmed_1118_13
|
Research on the ability of environmental regulations to achieve an innovation-offset effect by increasing clean energy use is required. This study aims to verify this by analysing the impact of market-incentive environmental regulation on enterprises' clean energy consumption. Using China's sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission trading system (ETS) for 2007 as a quasi-natural experiment, the difference-in-differences model and data obtained from the Chinese Industrial Enterprises Database and Chinese Industrial Enterprises Pollution Database were used to determine whether an ETS affects enterprises' clean energy consumption. The results show that an ETS encourages enterprises to utilise clean energy and has a significantly positive impact on enterprises' clean energy consumption. Moreover, this study finds that an ETS promotes clean energy consumption by improving the production of enterprises. This study verifies the rationality of China's SO2 ETS design.
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10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115613
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pubmed_520_14565
|
Non-invasive multi-scale and multimodal 3D characterization of heterogeneous or hierarchically structured intact mesoscale samples is of paramount importance in tackling challenging scientific problems. Scanning hard X-ray tomography techniques providing simultaneous complementary 3D information are ideally suited to such studies. However, the implementation of a robust on-site workflow remains the bottleneck for the widespread application of these powerful multimodal tomography methods. In this paper, we describe the development and implementation of such a robust, holistic workflow, including semi-automatic data reconstruction. Due to its flexibility, our approach is especially well suited for on-the-fly tuning of the experiments to study features of interest progressively at different length scales. To demonstrate the performance of the method, we studied, across multiple length scales, the elemental abundances and morphology of two complex biological systems, Arabidopsis plant seeds and mouse renal papilla samples. The proposed approach opens the way towards routine multimodal 3D characterization of intact samples by providing relevant information from pertinent sample regions in a wide range of scientific fields such as biology, geology, and material sciences.
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10.1038/s41598-022-21368-0
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pubmed_889_2629
|
BACKGROUND
Recent advances in sequencing technology have allowed us to investigate personal genomes to find structural variations, which have been studied extensively to identify their association with the physiology of diseases such as cancer. In particular, mobile genetic elements (MGEs) are one of the major constituents of the human genomes, and cause genome instability by insertion, mutation, and rearrangement.
RESULT
We have developed a new program, iMGEins, to identify such novel MGEs by using sequencing reads of individual genomes, and to explore the breakpoints with the supporting reads and MGEs detected. iMGEins is the first MGE detection program that integrates three algorithmic components: discordant read-pair mapping, split-read mapping, and insertion sequence assembly. Our evaluation results showed its outstanding performance in detecting novel MGEs from simulated genomes, as well as real personal genomes. In detail, the average recall and precision rates of iMGEins are 96.67 and 100%, respectively, which are the highest among the programs compared. In the testing with real human genomes of the NA12878 sample, iMGEins shows the highest accuracy in detecting MGEs within 20 bp proximity of the breakpoints annotated.
CONCLUSION
In order to study the dynamics of MGEs in individual genomes, iMGEins was developed to accurately detect breakpoints and report inserted MGEs. Compared with other programs, iMGEins has valuable features of identifying novel MGEs and assembling the MGEs inserted.
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10.1186/s12864-018-5290-9
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pubmed_444_21662
|
BACKGROUND
The rate of level V metastases is significantly low and the necessity of routine level V dissection for papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) with clinically lateral lymph node metastasis (LNM) is still controversial.
METHODS
This study enrolled 114 consecutive PTMC patients with clinically suspected lateral LNM (N1b) who underwent modified radical neck dissection (levels II to V) at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from September 2016 to July 2019. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the predictive factors of level V metastasis. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), accuracy, specificity and sensitivity were used to determine the predictive value.
RESULTS
The overall and occult rate of level V metastasis were 29.82% (34/114) and 7.02% (8/114), respectively. Univariate analysis showed that level V metastasis was significantly associated with gross extrathyroidal extension (ETE), level IV metastasis and 2-level simultaneous metastasis (all P<0.05). Gross ETE (OR =11.916, 95% CI, 1.404-102.19; P=0.023) and level IV metastasis (OR =8.497, 95% CI, 2.119-34.065; P =0.03) served as independent predictors of level V metastasis in N1b PTMC patients. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of gross ETE and level IV metastasis in predicting the level V metastasis were 25.3% vs. 82.4%, 97.5% vs. 73.8%, 82.69% vs. 76.32%, 80% vs. 57.04% and 75% vs. 90.77%, respectively. The AUC of gross ETE was lower than level IV metastasis (0.605 vs. 0.781, P=0.041).
CONCLUSIONS
Routine level V dissection is necessary in N1b PTMC patients with level IV metastasis or gross ETE. Compared with gross ETE, level IV metastasis is superior in predicting level V metastasis.
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10.21037/gs-20-232
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pubmed_377_10853
|
We develop a phenomenological theory for cross-plane transport in a semiconductor superlattice (SL) doped with nanostructures to improve the thermoelectric properties. The SL consists of an array of quantum wells equally spaced along a spatial direction separated by narrow barriers, such that, in the presence of inter-well tunneling, a miniband energy structure is established. The semi-metallic ErAs nanoparticles are embedded inside the quantum wells in the process of growth of the SL, as reported in several recent experiments. Their effect on thermoelectric transport is considered through an additional contribution to the electron scattering rate, that is correlated with a process of resonant tunneling through the nanoparticle-semiconductor interface modeled as a Schottky barrier. In a semi-classical approximation of the miniband conduction regime, we calculate the electric conductivity, the thermopower and the power factor as a function of the barrier height and demonstrate the presence of a filtering effect, whereby the Seebeck coefficient is enhanced by the additional scattering.
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10.1088/0953-8984/23/36/365802
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pubmed_392_3707
|
The judicious configuration of a flexible radiopaque suture would be exemplary to facilitate effortless tracking and precise diagnosis of the sutured surgical site by various X-ray assisted imaging modalities and simultaneously serve as a complementary tool for monitoring the fate of the suture material during the post-operative course. A unique radiopaque cellulose based surgical suture (RF) with good mechanical properties was developed by strategically controlled mercerization and bleaching of mechanically strong natural cellulosic fibers extracted from Agave sisalana plant leaves followed by the facile dip-coating of SrO integrated polylactic acid (PLA). RF exhibited admirable straight-pull tensile strength (184 MPa) and commendable contrast enhancement (277.4%) under digital X-ray radiographic imaging which was further validated by micro-CT analysis. Further, RF has a controlled hydrolytic degradation profile favorable for surgical suturing (mass loss ∼22% in 28 days). The microporous surface architecture of RF (pore size < 10 μm) as a result of SrO-PLA coating enabled the loading of antibiotic (ciprofloxacin) deep inside the pores with a cumulative release of 24% at 28 days under physiological conditions substantiating its feasibility to be used as an efficient antimicrobial suture (CRF) that prevents possible bacterial infections at the surgical site. This has been demonstrated by antibacterial disc diffusion assay performed against two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacterial strains. Significantly, both RF and CRF are highly biocompatible as confirmed by MTT assay and F-actin staining. Hence, CRF would be a good biocompatible suture candidate holding good tensile properties, exceptional antimicrobial property and intrinsic radiopacity retention for a period >28 days.
|
10.1039/d1bm01316e
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pubmed_542_9059
|
Glutamine synthetase from Rhodospirillum rubrum was purified and characterized with respect to its pH optimum and the effect of Mg2+ on its active and inactive forms. Both adenine and phosphorus were incorporated into the inactive form of the enzyme, indicating covalent modification by AMP. The modification could not be removed by phosphodiesterase. Evidence for regulation of the enzyme by oxidation was obtained. Extracts from oxygen-treated cells had lower specific activities than did extracts from cells treated anaerobically. Glutamine synthetase activity was found to decrease in the dark in phototrophically grown cells; activity was recovered on re-illumination.
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10.1128/jb.161.1.13-17.1985
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pubmed_373_18399
|
UNLABELLED
Rheumatoid factor (RF) is one of the most characteristic laboratory parameters in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and its specificity for this disease increases when the titer is high. We investigated the diagnoses associated with high titers of RF and whether they are associated with a poor prognosis of RA.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patients with RF titers higher than 300 IU/ml were studied (nephelometry) during a three-year period in a general hospital. Patients with RA were compared with other group of patients with RA and RF lower than 300 IU/ml regarding functional capacity, presence of nodules, HLA-DR4 and radiologic status, in a retrospective cohort study.
RESULTS
RF was quantitated in 2,181 patients and was higher than 300 IU/ml in 79 cases; 63 among patients in this group (80%) had RA, and the remaining patients inflammatory diseases of the connective tissue (four patients), palindromic rheumatism (two), liver disease (two), infection (one) and neoplasm (one). In two cases the diagnosis was arthrosis and in one case arthralgia of unknown origin. RA with RF higher than 300 IU/ml had a higher frequency of rheumatoid nodules than RA with RF lower than 300 IU/ml (p = 0.01; RR: 2.26; 95% CI: 1.18-4.35). The index of functional capacity and rate of HLA-DR4 and erosions was similar in both RA groups.
CONCLUSIONS
In a patient with a high RF titer, RA should be first ruled out, followed by other inflammatory diseases, collagenosis and liver diseases. The likelihood of finding a healthy patient with arthrosis or soft tissue rheumatism was very low. In RA, rheumatoid nodules were significantly associated with RF with titers higher than 300 IU/ml.
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pubmed_373_18399
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pubmed_1057_2847
|
In this work ion functionalized hydrogels as potent drug delivery systems are presented. The ion functionalization of the hydrogel enables the retention of ionic drug molecules and thus a reduction of burst release effects. Timolol maleate in combination with polymerized anionic 3-sulfopropylmethacrylate potassium and ibuprofen combined with cationic poly-[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethylammonium chloride are investigated in respect to their drug release profile. The results are showing an ion exchange depending release behavior instead of a diffusion-controlled drug release as it is known from common drug delivery systems. Furthermore, the suitability of such hydrogels for standard methods for sterilization is investigated.
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10.1002/mabi.202000152
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pubmed_123_21334
|
Stimulated neutrophils exhibit coordinated sinusoidal oscillations in filamentous actin content and cellular shape. We investigated the effect of inhibition of the small G protein Rho on neutrophil actin polymerization, shape changes and oscillations using a genetically engineered toxin that enters cells and selectively ADP-ribosylates endogenous Rho. This treatment increased the amplitudes and frequencies of shape oscillations and duration of the oscillating transient. However, it had no effect on the initial actin polymerization and shape changes induced by N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe. Regulation of these oscillations may be important for the control of neutrophil motility.
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10.1016/0014-5793(95)00880-i
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pubmed_346_5484
|
The five patients presented with sudden lumbar pain, transient collapse, and a right hypochondrium palpable mass. The location and the type of the mass could be determined by ultrasonography which showed a septated heterogenous mass displacing the retroperitoneal fat anteriorly. Computed tomography showed in two cases tiny parietal calcifications and a spontaneous hyperdensity in one case. All the patients underwent surgery and no tumoral tissue could be found.
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pubmed_346_5484
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pubmed_844_9158
|
Winter is often stressful. Increased energetic demands in winter and concurrent reductions in energy availability can lead to an energetic imbalance and compromise survival. To increase the odds of surviving winter, individuals of some nontropical rodent species have evolved mechanisms to enhance immune function in advance of harsh winter conditions. Short day lengths provide a proximate cue for enhancement of immune function, an adaptive functional response to counter environmental stress-induced reduction in immune function. In the present study, photoperiod, ambient temperature, and food availability were manipulated and reproductive function and cell-mediated immunity were assessed in adult male deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). Mice maintained in short days regressed their reproductive systems and displayed enhanced immune function compared to long-day animals. Reduced food availability elevated corticosterone concentrations and suppressed reproductive and immune function, whereas ambient temperature alone had no effect on cell-mediated immunity. The suppressive effect of food restriction on reproductive and immune function was overcome by maintaining animals in short days. However, short-day, food-restricted mice maintained at low ambient temperatures displayed reduced reproductive and immune function compared to animals maintained at mild temperatures. Taken together, these results suggest that short-day enhancement of immune function can counteract some, but not all, of the immunosuppressive effects of winter stressors. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that immune function is enhanced in short days to counteract stress-mediated immune suppression occurring during winter.
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10.1177/074873098129000093
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pubmed_664_20818
|
The title compound, 2-B(10)H(9)NH=C(CH(3))N(CH(3))CH(2)CH(2)CH(2)N(CH(3))(2)H·2C(2)H(6)OS or C(8)H(29)B(10)N(3)·2C(2)H(6)OS, is zwitterionic with the negative charge localized on the deca-borate cage and the positive charge on the terminal ammonium group. Two mol-ecules of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and one mol-ecule of the title compound constitute the asymmetric unit. One DMSO mol-ecule is disordered [ratio 0.739 (3):0.261 (3)]. The bonds and angles within the deca-borate cage are within the normal ranges. The amidine fragment of the ligand, which is expected to be planar, is significantly distorted from planarity as exemplified by four torsion angles [B-N-C-C = 8.4 (3), H-N-C-N = 5(2), N-C-N-C = 7.3 (3) and C-C-N-C = 14.8 (3)°] found within this portion of the mol-ecule. The crystal packing consists of head-to-tail-arranged dimers of the title mol-ecule held together by four mol-ecules of DMSO which are attached via strong N-H⋯O and weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.
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10.1107/S1600536811020186
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pubmed_856_19352
|
Ice-sheet responses to climate warming and associated sea-level rise depend sensitively on the form of the slip law that relates drag at the beds of glaciers to their slip velocity and basal water pressure. Process-based models of glacier slip over idealized, hard (rigid) beds with water-filled cavities yield slip laws in which drag decreases with increasing slip velocity or water pressure (rate-weakening drag). We present results of a process-based, three-dimensional model of glacier slip applied to measured bed topographies. We find that consideration of actual glacier beds eliminates or makes insignificant rate-weakening drag, thereby uniting process-based models of slip with some ice-sheet model parameterizations. Computed slip laws have the same form as those indicated by experiments with ice dragged over deformable till, the other common bed condition. Thus, these results may point to a universal slip law that would simplify and improve estimations of glacier discharges to the oceans.
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10.1126/sciadv.abe7798
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pubmed_990_13673
|
OBJECTIVE AND METHOD
Aggregating across retrospective cohort samples, this integrative review synthesizes the findings of 12 cumulative incidence studies (45 hypotheses) on anorexia nervosa secular trends.
RESULTS
(1) The female/male anorexia incidence rate ratio was estimated to be 8.20, 18.46 versus 2.25 cases per 100,000 per year, p < .05; (2) female teenagers experienced anorexia at a rate fivefold greater than other women, 50.82 versus 10.37 incident cases per 100,000 per year, p < .001; (3) no secular trend or change in the incidence of anorexia was observed among teenagers, while a near threefold increase was observed over the past 40 years among women in their 20s and 30s, 6.28 (1950-1964) versus 17.70 (1980-1992) cases per 100,000 per year, p < .05; and (4) the two cohort characteristics of age, and the age by year interaction accounted for nearly two thirds of the variability among anorexia incidence estimates, R2 = .614, F(2,27) = 21.49, p < .001. After the two factors of age and the Age x Year interaction were accounted for, none of the other study characteristics, including study year(s), were found to be significantly associated with anorexia incidence, that is, a main effect of time was not observed.
DISCUSSION
The integrative evidence across the population-based epidemiologic studies covering 40 years in this field suggests strongly that, overall, the incidence of anorexia nervosa, particularly among those very young women at greatest risk of experiencing it, has not increased significantly. However, the risk does seem to have increased significantly among women in their 20s and 30s.
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10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199805)23:4<347::aid-eat1>3.0.co;2-i
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pubmed_419_14808
|
Gay and bisexual men's experiences and worries of sexual stigma by health-care providers may delay them from seeking health-care assistance. Our study developed the Experienced and Anticipated Sexual Stigma Scale in Health-care Services (EASSSiHS) and examined its psychometric properties. The six-item EASSSiHS was first developed on the basis of the results of focus group interviews with 24 participants. Parallel analysis was used to determine the number of factors. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed to examine the factor structure. The internal consistency was examined using McDonald's omega coefficient. Concurrent validity was examined using Pearson correlations with perceived sexual stigma from family and friends, depression, anxiety, and loneliness. The results of parallel analysis and EFA indicated that the factor structure of the EASSSiHS included two factors: experienced stigma and anticipated stigma. The result of CFA further confirmed the two-factor structure. The EASSSiHS had good internal consistency and acceptable concurrent validity. The anticipated stigma factor had stronger associations with perceived sexual stigma from family members and friends, depression, anxiety, and loneliness, when compared with the experienced stigma factor. The results of this study supported the psychometric properties of the EASSSiHS for assessing experienced and anticipated sexual stigma in health-care services among gay and bisexual men. The experience and worry of sexual stigma in health-care services were not rare among gay and bisexual men; therefore, interventions to enhance the cultural competency of health-care workers are urgently required.
|
10.3390/ijerph192113877
|
pubmed_1093_18762
|
BACKGROUND
Little is known about patient preferences for selection of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) treatment. This issue is important as it affects the therapeutic choices available for patients and, in the long term, the health of CHB patients.
METHODS
The study was a questionnaire-led survey directed at patients attending a CHB follow-up clinic. Patients were asked questions regarding their knowledge on CHB treatment, preferred route and frequency of administration, duration of treatment, cost, adverse events, viral resistance, efficacy and whether treatment options were discussed with doctors. Patients were also asked to rank their priorities when selecting treatment for CHB. In addition, a summary of the profile of current agents was shown to patients who were then asked to select their preferred therapy. Finally, patients were asked questions regarding their willingness to pay for CHB treatment and expectations of treatment. Questionnaires were self-administered and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (version 10.0).
RESULTS
Lamivudine was the best-known drug among patients. Only 30% of patients were treatment-naive. Most patients preferred oral therapy with once-daily dosing and a fixed duration of treatment. Drug efficacy was considered the most important factor in drug selection. When shown the profile of the different drugs available for the treatment of CHB, entecavir was the preferred choice of therapy. The majority of patients were willing to spend no more than S$10 (USD 8) daily for therapy with expectation of cure for their disease. Overall, 92% of patients would follow doctor's recommendations.
CONCLUSIONS
Patients' preferences are important in evaluating drug selection for CHB.
|
10.3851/IMP2482
|
pubmed_398_7930
|
The development of computer data-bases and long-distance computer networks is leading to improvements in Canada's health care system. However, these developments come at a cost and require a balancing act between access and confidentiality. Columnist Michael OReilly, who in this article explores the security of computer networks, notes that respect for patients' privacy must be given as high a priority as the ability to see their records in the first place.
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pubmed_398_7930
|
pubmed_204_21855
|
BACKGROUND
Food insecurity is a growing concern in the UK. Newspaper coverage can reflect and shape public and political views. We examined how frequently food insecurity was reported on in UK newspapers, how the problem and its drivers were described, and which solutions were proposed.
METHODS
Using Factiva, we searched for news articles that were substantively about food insecurity and published in national UK newspapers between 01 January 2016 and 11 June 2019. We examined whether the number of articles differed over the study period, and conducted a thematic analysis to theoretical saturation using a random sample of articles.
RESULTS
Overall, 436 articles met our inclusion criteria and 132 (30%) were analysed thematically. Reporting was more prevalent in the summer, with mentions of 'holiday hunger' among children, and leading up to Christmas, when charity was encouraged. Articles often contained views from advocacy groups and charities, who appeared to play an important role in maintaining news interest in food insecurity. From the thematic analysis, we developed themes related to the problems ('definitions of food insecurity' and 'consequences of food insecurity for individuals'), drivers ('insufficient income as an immediate driver' and 'government versus individual responsibility'), and solutions ('charitable food aid' and 'calls for government action'). The problem of food insecurity was often defined by food bank use or hunger, but other definitions and a range of consequences for individuals were acknowledged. Articles identified government as a driver of food insecurity, especially in relation to the roll-out of Universal Credit. Few articles proposed individual failings as a driver of food insecurity. The reported existing solutions predominantly focused on food banking and redistributing 'food waste'. The public, charities, and individuals experiencing food insecurity were generally portrayed as supportive of government action to tackle food insecurity. However, contention within government regarding the extent of food insecurity, governmental responsibility and potential solutions was reported.
CONCLUSIONS
Food insecurity was a topic of significant interest within UK newspapers. Newspapers were used to call for government action and advocate for structural, income-based solutions.
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10.1186/s12889-021-11214-9
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pubmed_872_699
|
Water molecules in the DNA grooves are critical for maintaining structural integrity, conformational changes, and molecular recognition. Here we report studies of site- and sequence-specific hydration dynamics, using 2-aminopurine (Ap) as the intrinsic fluorescence probe and with femtosecond resolution. The dodecamer d[CGCA(Ap)ATTTGCG]2 was investigated, and we also examined the effect of a specific minor groove-binding drug, pentamidine, on hydration dynamics. Two time scales were observed: approximately 1 ps (bulk-like) and 10-12 ps (weakly bound type), consistent with layer hydration observed in proteins and DNA. However, for denatured DNA, the cosolvent condition of 40% formamide hydration is very different: it becomes that of bulk (in the presence of formamide). Well known electron transfer between Ap and nearby bases in stacked assemblies becomes inefficient in the single-stranded state. The rigidity of Ap in the single strands is significantly higher than that in bulk water and that attached to deoxyribose, suggesting a unique role for the dynamics of the phosphate-sugar-base in helix formation. The disparity in minor and major groove hydration is evident because of the site selection of Ap and in the time scale observed here (in the presence and absence of the drug), which is different by a factor of 2 from that observed in the minor groove-drug recognition.
|
10.1073/pnas.2336222100
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pubmed_494_18141
|
BACKGROUND
The creation of successful health policy and location of resources increasingly relies on evidence-based decision-making. The development of intuitive, accessible tools to analyse, display and disseminate spatial data potentially provides the basis for sound policy and resource allocation decisions. As health services are rationalized, the development of tools such graphical user interfaces (GUIs) is especially valuable at they assist decision makers in allocating resources such that the maximum number of people are served. GIS can used to develop GUIs that enable spatial decision making.
RESULTS
We have created a Web-based GUI (wGUI) to assist health policy makers and administrators in the Canadian province of British Columbia make well-informed decisions about the location and allocation of time-sensitive service capacities in rural regions of the province. This tool integrates datasets for existing hospitals and services, regional populations and road networks to allow users to ascertain the percentage of population in any given service catchment who are served by a specific health service, or baskets of linked services. The wGUI allows policy makers to map trauma and obstetric services against rural populations within pre-specified travel distances, illustrating service capacity by region.
CONCLUSION
The wGUI can be used by health policy makers and administrators with little or no formal GIS training to visualize multiple health resource allocation scenarios. The GUI is poised to become a critical decision-making tool especially as evidence is increasingly required for distribution of health services.
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10.1186/1476-072X-7-49
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pubmed_590_5314
|
Substituted furfuryl alcohols are extraordinarily versatile starting materials in synthesis. They are precursors to furanoxonium ion intermediates which are implicated in the Piancatelli reaction (leading to 2-cyclopentenones) and in the synthesis of novel dihydrofuran-based exo enol ether/cyclic ketal natural products. They are also intermediates in a recently discovered (4+3) cycloaddition reaction with 1,3-dienes leading to furan ring-fused cycloheptenes. Here we provide a perspective on recent developments in these areas of synthesis, alongside recent applications of the Achmatowicz reaction and [5+2] cycloaddition reactions of the resulting oxidopyrylium ions.
|
10.1039/c4cc01196a
|
pubmed_722_13972
|
OBJECTIVE
To study the efficacy of acetabular antiprotrusio cage for the reconstruction of acetabular bone defect in revision hip arthroplasty.
METHODS
Twelve cases of severe acetabular bone defect after total hip arthroplasty were revised with antiprotrusio cage and bone grafting from February 2003 to October 2008. Clinical and radiological data before and after revision surgery were collected and compared for assessment.
RESULTS
The classification of acetabular bone defect of this group of patients according to Paprosky classification was: 2 cases of type IIB, 6 cases of type IIIA and 4 cases of type IIIB. The average postoperative follow-up period was 37 months (9 - 71 months). Mean Harris score of all cases was 35.2 before revision surgery, 80.9 at the first time follow-up and 84.6 at latest follow-up. There were no prosthesis loosening and breakage. There was mild radiolucent line in Delee & Charnley III zone of the acetabulum in one patient 6 month after revision, but no deterioration was found during further follow-up. No further revision was needed in this group of patients during the follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS
Reconstruction of acetabular bone defect using antiprotrusio cage and bone grafting is a useful method to restore the bone defect and stability of the acetabulum. The outcome via short to middle term follow-up is encouraging.
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pubmed_722_13972
|
pubmed_154_7943
|
Progenics Pharmaceuticals is developing GMK vaccine (a ganglioside conjugate vaccine coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin and formulated with the adjuvant QS-21), licensed from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, for the potential treatment of melanoma and other cancers [194258], [325284]. It was previously under co-development with Bristol-Myers Squibb, but in May 2001, all rights to the GMK vaccine were returned to Progenics [409168]. It was the first of a new class of ganglioside conjugate vaccine evaluated by Progenics [194258]. GMK vaccination induces antibodies against GM2 ganglioside capable of specifically killing melanoma cells. Melanoma patients with antibodies against GM2 ganglioside have significantly improved disease-free and overall survival compared to antibody-negative subjects. The vaccine is undergoing two phase III trials, the first comparing GMK to high-dose IFNalpha in melanoma patients with more serious disease and at a high risk of relapse, and the second, in collaboration with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, comparing GMK (14 doses of GMK over three years) to no treatment other than close monitoring of malignant melanoma patients at immediate risk of relapse [409168]. In February 1999, Lehman Brothers predicted that the vaccine had a 50% probability of reaching market, with an estimated first launch date in 2002. The analysts predicted potential peak sales in 2008 of $150 million in the US and $100 million in the rest of the world at that time [319225]. In January 2000, Lehman Brothers expected that an NDA filing would take place in 2002, with possible launch of the vaccine in 2003. In addition, Lehman Brothers estimated potential peak sales at $500 million [357788]. In August 2000, Punk, Ziegel & Company predicted that Progenics Pharmaceuticals will become sustainably profitable in 2003 following the launch of GMK and PRO-542 in 2002 [390063]. In July 2001, Ladenburg Thalmann predicted a $257 million market potential for GMK in the US, with the non-US market equivalent to the US market. A launch date of 2005 in the US, with a worldwide launch in 2006, was estimated [433347].
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pubmed_154_7943
|
pubmed_1039_13299
|
The infrared CO2 analyzer continuously monitors the CO2 tension in exhaled air at end-tidal expiration. In experimental animals, we found a consistent relationship between PaCO2 and end-tidal CO2 (ET.CO2) in the normal steady state, and in acid-base disturbances (respiratory acidosis and alkalosis, and hypoperfusion acidosis). Paired data analyses of PaCO2 (X) and ET.CO2 (Y) yielded correlation coefficients of r = 0.98 (Y = 0.96X + 4.43) during progressive hypercarbia (PaCO2: 32----110 torr), and r = 0.93 (Y = 0.89X + 0.93) during hyperventilation hypocapnia (PaCO2: 41----14 torr). The relationship between PaCO2 and ET.CO2 was seen during hypovolemic shock if pulmonary perfusion was maintained uniform in all areas of lung. The ability of the ET.CO2 sensor to predict instantaneously the PaCO2 makes it attractive enough to be used in conjunction with the subcutaneous tissue pH(pHe) sensor in the management of acid-base disturbances. After hypercarbia (FiCO2 0.15 X 40 min; PaCO2/ET.CO2: 100/101 torr), when the dogs were returned to room air, abruptly both the ET.CO2 and pHe sensors were sensitive to the changes in Fi.CO2. But the response of the ET.CO2 was swifter. The advent of transcutaneous gas monitors has shown that intermittent blood gas analyses, however frequent, are inadequate for the monitoring of the rapidly altering blood gas status in the acutely ill. The ability of the pHe sensor to identify whole-body acidosis and alkalosis combined with the speed and ease of the ET.CO2 monitor in pinpointing hypercarbic and hypocarbic states makes this two-parameter system suitable for the continuous, noninvasive monitoring of the critically ill.
|
10.1016/s0022-3468(84)80364-4
|
pubmed_290_2376
|
Topical anesthetic agent causes transient insensibility to pain in a limited area of skin, and provides effective anesthesia in a short onset time, short duration, with seldom local or systemic side effects on intact skin and is simple to use. Topical formulations may offer significant benefits for prevention of procedural pain. Currently, they are considered to be the most effective anesthesia for laser treatments. Unfortunately, there is no standard anesthetic technique for this procedure. Lasers are being widely used in numerous dermatological and esthetics treatments in childhood. The advancement of new knowledge in laser technology have contributed to the development of new lasers that are commonly used in a pediatric population, such as Pulsed Dye, Carbon-dioxide and Nd:YAG laser. The most commonly used topical anesthetics in young patients for minimally or moderately painful laser cutaneous procedures are Lidocaine, Prilocaine, Tetracaine gel and combinations thereof.
|
10.1080/14764172.2019.1689273
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pubmed_739_1873
|
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of immune (systemic endotoxin administration) and metabolic (fasting) challenges on LHRH neuronal activity and transcription in the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis/medial preoptic area as well as on the expression of the LHRH receptor (LHRH-R) in the anterior pituitary of cycling female rats. The reproductive stages of adult female rats (200-250 g; 14 h of light; lights on at 0600 h) were verified by daily vaginal smears taken every morning for a minimum of three or four cycles before the experiment. The acute-phase response was induced via an i.p. injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 200 microg/100 g BW), whereas the metabolic challenge consisted of food deprivation for at least 48 h. Control and challenged rats were killed at specific times in the ovulatory cycle (1200, 1500, and 1800 h on proestrus and diestrous day 2). Frozen brains and pituitaries were mounted on a microtome, cut into 30-microm slices, and then processed for the detection of transcripts encoding either LHRH or LHRH-R by means of in situ hybridization histochemistry using intronic (heteronuclear RNA) and exonic [messenger RNA (mRNA)] riboprobes. Dual immunocytochemistry to detect Fos-immunoreactive (ir) nuclei in LHRH-ir perikarya and colocalization of LHRH mRNA with Fos protein during the day of proestrus were performed by using both in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry techniques on the same brain sections. The percentage of LHRH-ir and LHRH-expressing neurons displaying positive Fos-ir nuclei during the afternoon of proestrus was significantly inhibited 3 h after endotoxin administration. Rats exhibited an increase in the levels of LHRH primary transcript in the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis/medial preoptic area structure at 1500 h on proestrus, a phenomenon significantly attenuated by LPS injection only at this phase of the estrous cycle. On the other hand, fasting did not affect LHRH neuronal activity or gene expression in intact cycling rats, but affected these cells in animals exhibiting a disruption of the ovulatory cycle. Interestingly, LPS caused a profound down-regulation of LHRH-R gene expression in the anterior pituitary throughout the entire estrous cycle. Although food deprivation provoked a more variable pattern of LHRH-R mRNA in cycling rats, the signal for this transcript in the adenohypophysis was deeply altered in those showing a perturbed cycle. These results provide evidence that immune challenge interferes with the LHRH system at both hypothalamic and pituitary levels, whereas alteration of that neuroendocrine system in food-deprived rats seems highly associated with the impairment of reproductive cyclicity.
|
10.1210/endo.138.4.5044
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pubmed_76_18914
|
1. This study used a sensitive modification of the twitch interpolation technique to compare the extent of voluntary neural drive to the diaphragm and the elbow flexors during fatigue. For the diaphragm both inspiratory and expulsive efforts were tested, and fatigue was induced by expulsive efforts which were either maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs, 10 s duration, 50% duty cycle) or submaximal contractions (50% MVC, 3 s duration, 60% duty cycle). 2. Over the series of thirty MVCs peak elbow torque declined to 57.9 +/- 3.0% (mean +/- S.E.M.) of the initial value while maximal inspiratory pressure declined to 78.7 +/- 7.3% (P < 0.05). For the diaphragm the relative decline in voluntary peak inspiratory (and expulsive) force was similar to the decline in twitch responses to single and twin (10 ms interval) stimuli. However, for the elbow flexors the decline in twitch force was disproportionately greater than the decline in maximal voluntary force. The decline in twitch force for the diaphragm could not be attributed to failure at the neuromuscular junction. 3. At the start of the exercise, twitch potentiation (following three brief MVCs) was significantly less for the diaphragm than for the elbow flexors (20% versus 61%, P < 0.01). 4. In the unfatigued state maximal voluntary efforts by subjects activated 98.4 +/- 0.4% of the stimulated elbow flexors compared with 95.0 +/- 1.5% of the diaphragm (P < 0.05). During the exercise period there was a progressive failure in the ability to activate the limb muscle ('central fatigue'; voluntary drive declined from 98.4 +/- 0.4 to 86.8 +/- 2.2%, P < 0.01) whereas the decline in voluntary activation during inspiratory contractions was not significant (from 95.0 +/- 15 to 91.5 +/- 2.5%). 5. Voluntary activation during attempted maximal efforts was less complete for both muscles when stimuli were delivered without warning. The index of voluntary activation for unwarned stimuli was lower for the diaphragm (performing expulsive efforts, 81.0 +/- 2.8%) than for the limb muscle (89.9 +/- 1.5%, P < 0.01). 6. During repeated submaximal expulsive efforts we confirmed that subjects develop a marked inability to contract the diaphragm voluntarily, but when the diaphragm performed inspiratory manoeuvres at the same level of contractile fatigue, the index of voluntary drive was greater than 94%. 7. In conclusion, when tested with inspiratory efforts the diaphragm developed less central fatigue than the limb muscle over the same exercise period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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10.1113/jphysiol.1992.sp019284
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pubmed_774_4322
|
The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) fluvoxamine and sertraline show a high affinity for sigma-1 receptors. Fluvoxamine enhances nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells via a sigma-1 receptor-mediated mechanism, which suggests that neurogenesis may be involved in the antidepressant action of fluvoxamine. However, the effects of sertraline on neurite outgrowth remain unclear. Here, we report the effects of sertraline on NGF-induced neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells. At concentrations above 0.3 μM, sertraline inhibited neurite outgrowth induced by NGF (50 ng/mL) in PC12 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. At 0.3-3 μM, sertraline inhibited NGF-induced neurite outgrowth; however, had no effect on cell viability. This suggests that at these concentrations, sertraline inhibits NGF-induced neurite outgrowth without causing cell toxicity. Because sertraline has a high affinity for the sigma-1 receptor, we investigated whether this receptor is involved in sertraline's inhibitory effect on NGF-induced neurite outgrowth. The effect was reversed by both the sigma-1 receptor agonist PRE-084 and the sigma-1 receptor antagonist NE-100. These results suggest that sertraline inhibits NGF-induced neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells by acting as an inverse agonist of the sigma-1 receptor in this system.
|
10.1016/j.ejphar.2019.03.032
|
pubmed_491_17495
|
Although frequently called to mind by physicians, the relationship between overweight and low back pain is poorly understood and remains controversial. The present study aims to evaluate the evolution of low back pain in 65 patients planned for a bariatric surgery. The patients were enrolled prospectively. 54 patients (80%) could be evaluated 5 months after the procedure, and 47 patients (72%) were evaluated 22 months after surgery. Mean weight loss was 19 ± 9 kg (P < 0.001) at 22 months post-op. Patients demonstrated a statistically significant improvement of the NRS, Oswestry and SF-36 scores. This study suggests that low back pain might be reduced following bariatric surgery. However, the lack of dose-response effect is against a causal relationship between low back pain and obesity. Larger randomised controls are needed to determine a causal relationship.
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pubmed_491_17495
|
pubmed_437_12917
|
Neisseria gonorrhoeae is an obligate human pathogen and the causative agent of the sexually-transmitted disease gonorrhea. The control of this disease has been compromised by the increasing proportion of infections due to antibiotic-resistant strains, which are growing at an alarming rate. The MtrCDE tripartite multidrug efflux pump, belonging to the hydrophobic and amphiphilic efflux resistance-nodulation-cell division (HAE-RND) family, spans both the inner and outer membranes of N. gonorrhoeae and confers resistance to a variety of antibiotics and toxic compounds. We here report the crystal structure of the inner membrane MtrD multidrug efflux pump, which reveals a novel structural feature that is not found in other RND efflux pumps.
|
10.1371/journal.pone.0097903
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pubmed_509_5915
|
Mother and child care has been described in great detail in Ayurveda. All basic principles of Ayurveda need to be applied to deal with the problems of maternal and foetal mortality. Rules of Ahara (diet), Vihara (lifestyle), Sadavrutta (moral conduct), along with varied therapies are used in tackling the various problems. There is need to take an in depth view at causes. Major changes in lifestyle may be required. Uses of various Ayurvedic formulations like various ghrtas and tailas (ghees and oils) have given wonderful results. Ayurveda aims at producing "Supraja" or healthy progeny. Ayurveda provides answers to some of the most worrying problems facing doctors today.
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pubmed_509_5915
|
pubmed_868_18718
|
Heparanase is the only enzyme in mammals capable of cleaving heparan sulfate, an activity implicated in tumor inflammation, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Heparanase is secreted as a latent enzyme that is internalized and subjected to proteolytic processing and activation in lysosomes. Its role under normal conditions has yet to be understood. Here, we provide evidence that heparanase resides within autophagosomes, where studies in heparanase-deficient or transgenic mice established its contributions to autophagy. The protumorigenic properties of heparanase were found to be mediated, in part, by its proautophagic function, as demonstrated in tumor xenograft models of human cancer and through use of inhibitors of the lysosome (chloroquine) and heparanase (PG545), both alone and in combination. Notably, heparanase-overexpressing cells were more resistant to stress and chemotherapy in a manner associated with increased autophagy, effects that were reversed by chloroquine treatment. Collectively, our results establish a role for heparanase in modulating autophagy in normal and malignant cells, thereby conferring growth advantages under stress as well as resistance to chemotherapy. Cancer Res; 75(18); 3946-57. ©2015 AACR.
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10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-15-0037
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pubmed_363_7179
|
The possible role of bypass DNA polymerase zeta in mutagenic translesion synthesis past benzo[a]pyrene (BP) 7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide (DE) N(2)-deoxyguanosine (dG) adducts has been examined. We prepared 59-mer DNA templates containing dG adducts derived from trans opening of enantiomers of BP DE-2, in which the 7-hydroxyl group and epoxide oxygen are trans. The 10S-BP DE-dG and 10R-BP DE-dG adducts derive from the (+)- and (-)-DE-2 enantiomers, respectively. The adducted dG is located at a site identified as a G-->T mutational hotspot in random mutagenesis studies of (+)-BP DE-2 in Chinese hamster V-79 cells. Yeast pol zeta (complex of Gst-Rev3p and Rev7p) formed extension products (total of all lengths) of 71, 74 and 88% of a primer annealed to the 10S-BP DE-dG, 10R-BP DE-dG and non-adducted 59-mer templates, respectively. However, only 18 and 19% of the primer was extended to the full-length product on 10S-BP DE-dG and 10R-BP DE-dG adducted templates compared to 55% of the primer on the non-adducted template. A major 34-mer product corresponding to primer elongation up to and including the base before the adduct indicated that nucleotide incorporation opposite both adducts was strongly blocked. Full-length products were isolated from gels and subjected to PCR amplification and cloning. Sequence analysis of more than 300 clones of these full-length products on each template showed that only the correct dCMP was incorporated opposite both the adducted and non-adducted G-hotspot in the template. This corresponds to a probability of mutation lower than 0.3%, the limit of detection, and demonstrates the remarkable fidelity of yeast pol zeta in translesion synthesis past these BP DB-dG lesions in vitro.
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10.1016/s0027-5107(02)00211-7
|
pubmed_824_18256
|
Normal extracellular secretion of nephroblastoma overexpressed (NOV, also known as CCN3) is important for the adhesion, migration, and differentiation of cells. In previous studies, we have shown that the intracellular accumulation of CCN3 inhibits the growth of prominent neurons. Increased intracellular CCN3 can be induced through various processes, such as transcription, detoxification, and posttranslational modification. In general, posttranslational modifications are very important for protein secretion. However, it is unclear whether posttranslational modification is necessary for CCN3 secretion. In this study, we have conducted mutational analysis of CCN3 to demonstrate that its thrombospondin type-1 (TSP1) domain is important for CCN3 secretion and intracellular function. Point mutation analysis confirmed that CCN3 secretion was inhibited by cysteine (C)241 mutation, and overexpression of CCN3-C241A inhibited neuronal axonal growth in vivo. Furthermore, we demonstrated that palmitoylation is important for the extracellular secretion of CCN3 and that zinc finger DHHC-type containing 22 (ZDHHC22), a palmityoltransferase, can interact with CCN3. Taken together, our results suggest that palmitoylation by ZDHHC22 at C241 in the CCN3 TSP1 domain may be required for the secretion of CCN3. Aberrant palmitoylation induces intracellular accumulation of CCN3, inhibiting neuronal axon growth.
|
10.1016/j.bbrc.2017.12.128
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pubmed_399_1898
|
The authors present the clinical history of the first case of benign hemophagocytic syndrome diagnosed in Panama. The patient, a 4 year old girl, presented with fever, anemia, cervical lymphadenitis, hepatomegaly, lymphocytosis and histophagocytosis of red cells, lymphocytes, neutrophils and platelets. Spontaneous remission of the fever occurred sixty days after the onset of the disease. Although it was not possible to demonstrate serologically that the syndrome was due to acute toxoplasmosis, she was treated with sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine for fifteen days, on the 37th hospital day, and with clindamycin for ten days, consecutively. Remission occurred seventy days after the onset of fever. A second serological examination for toxoplasmosis (immunofluorescent antibodies) was positive in a titer of 1:2048 again, nine months after the first serology.
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pubmed_399_1898
|
pubmed_132_9709
|
PURPOSE
Alterations in mRNA for myelin proteins are reported in animal models of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathies (CIPN); however, ultrastructural changes in aldehyde-fixed and plastic-embedded myelin are not evident by electron microscopy. Therefore, we used X-ray diffraction (XRD) to investigate more subtle changes in myelin sheath structure from unfixed nerves.
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
We used in vivo chronic animal models of CIPN in female Wistar rats, administering cisplatin (CDDP 2mg/kg, i.p. twice/week), paclitaxel (PT 10mg/kg, i.v. once/week) or bortezomib (0.20mg/kg, i.v. three times/week) over a total period of 4weeks. Animal weights were monitored, and tail nerve conduction velocity (NCV) was determined at the end of the treatments to assess the occurrence of peripheral neuropathy. Sciatic nerves were collected and the myelin structure was analyzed using electron microscopy (EM) and XRD.
RESULTS
All the rats treated with the chemotherapy agents developed peripheral neuropathy, as indicated by a decrease in NCV values; however, light and electron microscopy indicated no severe pathological alterations of the myelin morphology. XRD also did not demonstrate significant differences between sciatic nerves in treated vs. control rats with respect to myelin period, relative amount of myelin, membrane structure, and regularity of membrane packing.
CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that experimental peripheral neuropathy caused by CDDP, PT, and bortezomib-which are among the most widely used chemotherapy agents-does not significantly affect the structure of internodal myelin in peripheral nerve.
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10.1016/j.neuro.2011.10.010
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pubmed_1055_3483
|
INTRODUCTION
Isolated nodal failure (INF) without synchronous local or distant failure is an uncommon occurrence after stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for lung cancer. Here we review the natural history and patterns of failure after post-SBRT INF with or without salvage mediastinal radiotherapy (SvRT).
METHODS
Patients treated with SBRT for non-small cell lung cancer with definitive intent were identified. Patients who experienced hilar or mediastinal INF without synchronous distant, lobar, or local failure were included and grouped according to the use of SvRT. The rates of subsequent locoregional control, distant metastases, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival were assessed.
RESULTS
Of 797 patients treated with definitive SBRT, 24 (3%) experienced INF and 15 (63%) received SvRT. The most common SvRT regimen (53%) was 45 Gy in 15 fractions. The median follow-up after INF was 11.3 months for survivors. There were no grade 3 or higher toxicities after SvRT. The 1-year Kaplan-Meier PFS and overall survival estimates were 33% and 56% for patients not receiving radiotherapy and 75% and 73% with SvRT. After SvRT, the rate of locoregional control at 1 year was 84.4%. Crude rates of distant failure were 20.0% with SvRT and 22.2% with no radiotherapy. Of the 13 deaths observed, five (38%) were related to distant progression of lung cancer, four (31%) to comorbidities, three (23%) to mediastinal progression, and one (8%) to an unknown cause.
CONCLUSIONS
INF is uncommon after SBRT. Despite the significant comorbidities of this population, intrathoracic progression remains a contributor to morbidity and mortality. SVRT for INF is well tolerated and may improve PFS.
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pubmed_1055_3483
|
pubmed_22_23274
|
The precise nature of complex structural relaxation as well as an explanation for the precipitous growth of relaxation time in cooling glass-forming liquids are essential to the understanding of vitrification of liquids. The dramatic increase of relaxation time is believed to be caused by the growth of one or more correlation lengths, which has received much attention recently. Here, we report a direct link between the growth of a specific local-geometrical-order and an increase of dynamic-length-scale as the atomic dynamics in metallic glass-forming liquids slow down. Although several types of local geometrical-orders are present in these metallic liquids, the growth of icosahedral ordering is found to be directly related to the increase of the dynamic-length-scale. This finding suggests an intriguing scenario that the transient icosahedral connectivity could be the origin of the dynamic-length-scale in metallic glass-forming liquids.
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10.1038/s41598-018-20470-6
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pubmed_386_22149
|
BACKGROUND
Research has shown that consumers prefer a pharmacist who is skilled in communication and pays particular attention to friendliness, empathy and attentiveness. Medication management interviews tend to be more time consuming than other patient-pharmacist interactions. The extra time for these interviews provides patients with an opportunity to evaluate the quality of interpersonal care provided by the pharmacist. Patient evaluations of pharmacists may influence their intentions to use medication management services. In previous studies, a conceptual model based on information-seeking theory was developed and used to explain a significant amount of the variation in consumers' and caregivers' willingness to use Australia's Home Medicines Review (HMR) service.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this paper was to extend the conceptual model to include the influence of patients' evaluation of interpersonal care provided. We aimed to test the hypothesis that patients' perceptions of how well the pharmacist listened to them during their most recent HMR interview (Listening) would increase their willingness to re-use HMR (Willingness).
METHODS
Patients (N = 595) who had experienced Australia's Home Medicines Review (HMR) within the previous 6 months completed questionnaires. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyzes were used to validate the measurement scales. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model.
RESULTS
The structural model provided a reasonable fit to the data and explained 53% of the variation in Willingness. The structural model revealed that Listening increased patients' perceptions that the HMR provided positive outcomes (Outcomes) (β = 0.37, P < 0.05) and directly and indirectly increased Willingness (β = 0.61, P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
These results suggest that patients' willingness to use a medication management service in the future is strongly influenced by their perceptions of how well the pharmacist listened to them during their last medication review interview. Improving pharmacist listening skills may be explored as a strategy for improving patient engagement with pharmacy services.
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pubmed_386_22149
|
pubmed_970_18746
|
Sterols are essential membrane components and are critical for many physiological processes in all eukaryotes. Insects and other arthropods are sterol auxotrophs that typically rely on a dietary source of sterols. Herbivorous insects generally obtain sterols from plants and then metabolize them into cholesterol, the dominant sterol in most insects. However, there is significant variation in phytosterol structure, and not all phytosterols are equally suitable for insects. In the current study, we used seven Arabidopsis thaliana lines that display altered sterol profiles due to mutations in the sterol biosynthetic pathway or to overexpression of key enzymes of the pathway, and investigated how plant sterol profiles affected green peach aphid (Myzus persicae) growth and reproduction. We also characterized the sterol profile of aphids reared on these Arabidopsis genotypes. Aphids on two mutant lines (14R/fk and ste1-1) that accumulated biosynthetic sterol intermediates (Δ8,14-sterols, and Δ7-sterols, respectively) all showed significantly reduced growth and reproduction. Aphids on SMT2COSUP plants (which have decreased β-sitosterol but increased campesterol) also displayed significantly reduced growth and reproduction. However, aphids on SMT2OE plants (which have increased β-sitosterol but decreased campesterol) performed similarly to aphids on wild-type plants. Finally, Arabidopsis plants that had an overproduction of sterols (CD-HMGROE) or decreased sterol esters (psat1-2) had no impact on aphid performance. Two noteworthy results come from the aphid sterol profile study. First, β-sitosterol, cholesterol and stigmasterol were recovered in all aphids. Second, we did not detect Δ8,14-sterols in aphids reared on 14R/fk plants. We discuss the implications of our findings, including how aphid sterol content does not appear to reflect plant leaf sterol profiles. We also discuss the potential of modifying plant sterol profiles to control insect herbivore pests, including aphids.
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10.1016/j.jinsphys.2020.104054
|
pubmed_973_6970
|
OBJECTIVE
To assess the clinical efficacy and safety of three different methods of anesthesia during transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy.
METHODS
From July 2006 to October 2008, a total of 120 patients who underwent 12-core prostate biopsy with transrectal ultrasound guidance because of elevated prostate specific antigen and/or abnormal digital rectal examination were randomized into 4 groups, each group consisted of 30 patients. Group A received no anesthesia. Group B received an injection of 10 ml dose of 1% lidocaine (5 ml per side) into the region of the prostatic vascular pedicle at the prostate base just lateral to the junction between the seminal vesicle and prostate on each side for periprostatic nerve block (PNB). Group C received intrarectal lidocaine gel plus PNB. Group D received an injection of 4 ml dose of 1% lidocaine (2 ml per side) into 2 sites of the right and left sides of prostate for intraprostatic anesthesia plus PNB. The efficiency of anesthesia was assessed by a visual analog pain scale (VAS). All patients were followed up within one week for the evaluation of complications.
RESULTS
The combination of intraprostatic anesthesia and PNB provided significantly better pain control than PNB alone. According to VAS, only group C (2.7 +/- 1.1) scores showed significantly better pain control than other groups (P < 0.05) during probe insertion, and only group D (3.9 +/- 1.3) scores showed significantly better pain control than other groups (P < 0.05) during biopsy. No difference was observed regarding the complications rate in the 4 groups (P > 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Combination of intraprostatic anesthesia and PNB is effective and safe technique during transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy without increasing the incidence of complications. PNB or PNB plus intrarectal lidocaine gel couldn't significantly reduce pain during biopsy.
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pubmed_973_6970
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pubmed_78_21909
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PURPOSE
Chemokine receptors are implicated in metastasis of several malignant tumors. This study was done to evaluate the contribution of chemokine receptors CXCR4 and CCR7 to metastasis of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Reverse transcription-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and flow cytometry were used to evaluate mRNA and protein expression of CXCR4 and CCR7 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tumor tissues and cell lines. Chemotaxis assays were used to evaluate the function of CXCR4 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Antisense CXCR4 was used to inhibit receptor expression and to block metastasis of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells in vivo in athymic mice.
RESULTS
CXCR4 protein was detected in tumor cells in 31 of 40 primary human nasopharyngeal carcinoma and in 13 of 15 lymph node metastases. CXCR4 transcripts were detected in eight CXCR4 protein-positive primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues and seven nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines tested. On the other hand, the transcripts for CCR7 were detected only in four primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues and in none of the nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines. In functional experiments, metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines that expressed high levels of CXCR4 were found to migrate in response to the CXCR4 ligand SDF-1alpha. Transfection of antisense CXCR4 in metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells inhibited the expression of CXCR4 and SDF-1alpha-induced cell migration in vitro and reduced the capacity of the tumor cells to form metastasis in the lungs and lymph nodes when injected in athymic mice.
CONCLUSION
The expression of functional CXCR4 but not CCR7 is correlated with the metastatic potential of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Therefore, CXCR4 may be considered as a potential target for the prevention of nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasis.
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10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-04-1798
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