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pubmed_1071_1740 | Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is commonly used for studying human brain function. However, several studies have shown that superficial hemodynamic changes such as skin blood flow can affect the prefrontal NIRS hemoglobin (Hb) signals. To examine the criterion-related validity of prefrontal NIRS-Hb signals, we focused on the functional signals during a working memory (WM) task and investigated their similarity with blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signals simultaneously measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We also measured the skin blood flow with a laser Doppler flowmeter (LDF) at the same time to examine the effect of superficial hemodynamic changes on the NIRS-Hb signals. Correlation analysis demonstrated that temporal changes in the prefrontal NIRS-Hb signals in the activation area were significantly correlated with the BOLD signals in the gray matter rather than those in the soft tissue or the LDF signals. While care must be taken when comparing the NIRS-Hb signal with the extracranial BOLD or LDF signals, these results suggest that the NIRS-Hb signal mainly reflects hemodynamic changes in the gray matter. Moreover, the amplitudes of the task-related responses of the NIRS-Hb signals were significantly correlated with the BOLD signals in the gray matter across participants, which means participants with a stronger NIRS-Hb response showed a stronger BOLD response. These results thus provide supportive evidence that NIRS can be used to measure hemodynamic signals originating from prefrontal cortex activation. | pubmed_1071_1740 |
pubmed_910_6412 | OBJECTIVE
This study investigated regional gray matter (GM) volume differences between suicide attempters and suicide non-attempters with major depressive disorder (MDD) and their relationship with psychological risk factors for suicidality.
METHODS
MDD patients with and without a suicide attempt history (n=19 in each group) participated. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Clinical Global Impression (severity subscale), Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI), Risk-Rescue Rating (RRR), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Barrett Impulsivity Scale, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and Ways of Coping Checklist (WCCL) were administered. T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired to evaluate changes in GM volume. Voxel-based morphometry was performed using the SPM 8 software package. Two-sample t-tests were used during second-level group comparison analysis; partial correlation analysis controlling for gender and age identified associations between regional GM volume and psychological measures.
RESULTS
Suicide attempters exhibited significantly decreased GM volume in the left angular gyrus (p<0.001, uncorrected) and right cerebellum (p<0.001, uncorrected). GM volume in the left angular gyrus was inversely correlated with BHS scores (r=-0.55, p<0.01) and positively correlated with the Seeking Social Support subscale of the WCCL (r=0.43, p<0.01).
CONCLUSION
These findings provide evidence of a neural basis of suicidal behaviors in MDD. In particular, reduced GM volume in the left angular gyrus may be a neurobiological marker of suicidality in depressed patients. | pubmed_910_6412 |
pubmed_475_21112 | We analyzed biomarker validation data of unprotected sex from women in Zimbabwe to determine whether condom and sexual behavior misreporting differs between users of different contraceptive methods. Self-reported sexual behavior was compared with the presence of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in vaginal fluid, a biomarker of semen exposure. Of the 195 women who were PSA positive, 94 (48 %) reported no sex or only condom-protected sex. Hormonal contraceptive users misreported sexual behavior less than women using non-hormonal methods (45 vs. 67 %, P = 0.03). This misclassification pattern could have implications on the elevated risk of HIV infection associated with hormonal contraception in some studies. | 10.1007/s10461-014-0741-z |
pubmed_165_14541 | During development, neurons containing gonadotropin-releasing hormone traverse fiber bundles in the nose, cross into the brain, and move through a maze of glial and axonal fibers. To test whether GnRH neurons utilize cues intrinsic to their migration route to traverse the nasal/brain boundary, tissue slices that maintain connections between the forebrain and nasal compartment were prepared from mouse embryos. Cell migration between the nasal and brain compartments was evident based on changes in cell positions after successive days in vitro. | 10.1016/s0165-3806(96)00151-4 |
pubmed_256_13074 | To determine whether dimensional scaling (relative to the human) is necessary for screwed pins used in externally applied fracture fixation studies on sheep, geometrical data were determined for six ovine tibiae. Each tibia was potted relative to a lengthwise reference axis and sectioned at 5 per cent length intervals over its central 80 per cent. Enlarged (280 per cent) images of each cross-section were digitized at 1 mm increments around the periphery of the periosteal and endosteal surfaces, the data were digitally filtered, and geometrical properties were computed to include cross-sectional area A, maximum and minimum second moments of area (Imax and Imin), polar second moment of area J, and effective polar second moment of area J(eff). Proportional scaling of geometrical properties with respect to bone length (L2 for A, and L4 for second moments of area) significantly (p < 0.000001) decreased the coefficient of variation in data by an average 36 per cent. From 30-90 per cent distal, J(eff) for the ovine tibia is smaller but within 7 per cent of J--in stark contrast with the human tibia, where J(eff) has been reported as 70-80 per cent of J over the same tibial length. While previous ovine studies involving external fixator pins have employed the same diameter of pin as has been used in humans (that is 5 or 6 mm), a 'first-order' approximation of the data for A, Imax, Imin and J(eff) suggests these pins should be scaled down to 4 mm and 4.75 mm respectively for use on the ovine tibia over the range 25-80 per cent distal along its length. | 10.1243/PIME_PROC_1995_209_315_02 |
pubmed_745_4320 | Metabolic effects of increasing nitrogen intake during total parenteral nutrition (TPN) were studied in nine septic patients. The patients were given 5% dextrose (D5W) for 1 d. For the next 6 d they received total parenteral nutrition (TPN), at 1.35 times resting energy expenditure (REE), containing either 191 or 366 mg N/(kg.d) Non-protein calories were divided equally between glucose and lipid emulsion. Three patients were studied on both diets (n = 6 for each diet). On the high- but not the low-N diet were significant increases in protein oxidation, blood urea N, O2 consumption, and CO2 production. TPN normalized most plasma amino acid levels but intramuscular amino acids remained unchanged. Transient positive N balance occurred during days 1-3 on the high- but not the low-N intake; on days 5-6 N balance did not differ significantly from zero on either diet and the improvement (165 mg N/[kg.d]) was the same for both diets. | 10.1093/ajcn/46.6.1040 |
pubmed_710_5927 | Current-day metagenomics analyses increasingly involve de novo taxonomic classification of long DNA sequences and metagenome-assembled genomes. Here, we show that the conventional best-hit approach often leads to classifications that are too specific, especially when the sequences represent novel deep lineages. We present a classification method that integrates multiple signals to classify sequences (Contig Annotation Tool, CAT) and metagenome-assembled genomes (Bin Annotation Tool, BAT). Classifications are automatically made at low taxonomic ranks if closely related organisms are present in the reference database and at higher ranks otherwise. The result is a high classification precision even for sequences from considerably unknown organisms. | 10.1186/s13059-019-1817-x |
pubmed_174_9262 | We have been studying the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from adult male rat medial basal hypothalamus (MBH) utilizing a continuous flow superfusion system. This model system allows for direct application of modifying substances into the superfusion chambers and for continuous collection of effluent for radioimmunoassay of GnRH levels. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone is rapidly released in response to specific chemical stimuli. As demonstrated by others, pulses of KCl or prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) result in sharp peaks of GnRH release followed by rapid return to baseline. Forty millimolar KCl increases [GnRH] 3- to 4-fold, consistent with a membrane-associated secretory process for GnRH release. A 50-micrograms bolus of PGE2 results in a 2-fold rise in GnRH. Norepinephrine stimulates the release of GnRH in a log-linear dose-dependent manner in the range of 10(-9) to 10(-5) M norepinephrine (NE). At 10(-11) M, NE does not increase GnRH release above baseline, whereas at 10(-9) M NE GnRH release is increased 2-fold. The alpha-receptor blocker phentolamine significantly inhibits the NE-induced rise in GnRH. Propranolol, a beta-adrenergic receptor blocker, does not inhibit the GnRH response to NE. This study demonstrates a direct, dose-dependent, alpha-mediated stimulatory effect of NE on GnRH release from superfused male rat MBH, and establishes the potential of this system for the investigation of the GnRH response to other aminergic agents and their extraneural modifiers, including steroid hormones. | 10.1095/biolreprod33.4.790 |
pubmed_466_13873 | Hyperoxia and gamma-irradiation were found to be mutagenic in a transformed Syrian hamster cell line in a dose-dependent manner. The frequency of resistance to 6-thioguanine increased from 10 per 10(6) survivors after 48 h of growth in 70% O2 to 32.6 (highly significant) after 75 h. Increasing the oxygen tension to 95% resulted in a significant mutagenic response in only 44 h. At equitoxic doses, gamma-irradiation was 4 times more mutagenic than 70% O2. After growth in hyperoxia, the cells showed an enhancement of catalase activity, glutathione peroxidase activity and glutathione levels but there was little effect on superoxide dismutase activity. Diethyldithiocarbamate (3 mM, 1.5 h) was mutagenic in normoxia and potentiated the mutagenic activity of both gamma-irradiation and hyperoxia. Cells thus treated showed an 855 reduction in superoxide dismutase activity. When diethyldithiocarbamate was used in conjunction with a direct-acting alkylating agent, the mutagenic response was only additive. Depletion of cellular glutathione with buthionine sulfoximine (0.2 mM) or inhibition of catalase activity with aminotriazole (100 mM) was also effective in potentiating the mutagenic response of gamma-irradiation and hyperoxia. The data demonstrates that endogenously produced activated oxygen species are mutagenic to hamster cells in culture and suggest that aerobic organisms are subject to an unavoidable background risk due to living in an oxygen atmosphere. | 10.1016/0027-5107(85)90016-8 |
pubmed_794_10841 | Zebrafish has become a popular model to study many physiological and pathophysiological processes in humans. In recent years, it has rapidly emerged in the study of metabolic disorders, namely, obesity and diabetes, as the regulatory mechanisms and metabolic pathways of glucose and lipid homeostasis are highly conserved between fish and mammals. Zebrafish is also widely used in the field of neurosciences to study brain plasticity and regenerative mechanisms due to the high maintenance and activity of neural stem cells during adulthood. Recently, a large body of evidence has established that metabolic disorders can alter brain homeostasis, leading to neuro-inflammation and oxidative stress and causing decreased neurogenesis. To date, these pathological metabolic conditions are also risk factors for the development of cognitive dysfunctions and neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we first aim to describe the main metabolic models established in zebrafish to demonstrate their similarities with their respective mammalian/human counterparts. Then, in the second part, we report the impact of metabolic disorders (obesity and diabetes) on brain homeostasis with a particular focus on the blood-brain barrier, neuro-inflammation, oxidative stress, cognitive functions and brain plasticity. Finally, we propose interesting signaling pathways and regulatory mechanisms to be explored in order to better understand how metabolic disorders can negatively impact neural stem cell activity. | 10.3390/ijms23105372 |
pubmed_635_20184 | INTRODUCTION
Current risk stratification tools for patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) rely on final surgical pathology but may be improved with the addition of novel serum biomarkers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the utility of preoperative NLR and PLR in predicting long-term oncologic outcomes in patients with operable CRC.
METHODS
All patients who underwent curative resection for adenocarcinoma at a large tertiary academic hospital were identified. High NLR/PLR was evaluated preoperatively and defined by maximizing log-rank statistics. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by the log-rank test. Univariate and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression was used to identify associations with outcome measures.
RESULTS
A total of 549 patients were included in the study. High NLR (≥2.6) was associated with worse RFS (hazard ratio [HR] 2.03, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.48-2.79, p < 0.001) and OS (HR 2.25, 95 % CI 1.54-3.29, p < 0.001). High PLR (≥295) also was associated with worse RFS (HR 1.68, 95 % CI 1.06-2.65, p = 0.028) and OS (HR 1.81, 95 % CI 1.06-3.06, p = 0.028). In the multivariable model, high NLR retained significance for reduced RFS (HR 1.59, 95 % CI 1.1-2.28, p = 0.013) and OS (HR 1.91, 95 % CI 1.26-2.9, p = 0.002). Significantly more patients in the high NLR group were older at diagnosis, had mucinous adenocarcinoma, higher T stage, and advanced cancer stage.
CONCLUSIONS
High preoperative NLR in this series was shown to be a negative independent prognostic factor in patients undergoing surgical resection for nonmetastatic CRC. The prognostic utility of this serum biomarker may help to guide use of adjuvant therapies and patient counselling. | 10.1245/s10434-015-4571-7 |
pubmed_813_16796 | BACKGROUND
Involvement of the serotoninergic system (S/S) in alcoholism has been suggested in both mice and humans. Previous studies have suggested the S/S genotype of the serotonin transporter gene promoter polymorphism to be associated with severe alcohol dependence marked by severe withdrawal symptoms. It has also been associated with alcoholics who exhibit a dissocial personality disorder.
METHODS
We examined the polymorphism in 166 Japanese alcoholics who experienced withdrawal seizure or delirium and 290 Japanese controls.
RESULTS
The S/S genotype was not increased in the patients. Exploratory analyses showed significantly less frequent S allele and S/S genotype frequencies in the alcoholics with a history of drinking-related arrests than in the controls (p = 0.009 and p = 0.03, respectively), perhaps reflecting previously reported harm avoidance personality traits associated with S/S. Alcoholics with the L allele had a significantly earlier onset of alcohol dependence than those with the S/S genotype (p = 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS
The present study failed to provide supportive evidence for an association of the S/S genotype with severe alcoholism marked by physical withdrawal symptoms or with antisocial behaviors among the Japanese. Although our data support involvement of the central serotoninergic system in some types of alcoholism, the potential association findings of this study emerged as only exploratory and, therefore, should be understood as tentative until replicated in other studies. | pubmed_813_16796 |
pubmed_819_2278 | BACKGROUND
We present the case report of a patient who presented with malignant glaucoma following deep sclerectomy with collagen implant in both eyes. To assess the IOP spike mechanisms in ciliary bloc glaucoma, we performed ultrasound biomicroscopy before and after the second filtration surgery (right eye).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A 60-year-old hyperopic patient with bilateral medically uncontrolled open-angle glaucoma underwent deep sclerectomy with collagen implant in the left eye and one month later in the right eye. Both eyes presented postoperatively a ciliary bloc glaucoma. Ultrasound biomicroscopy was performed pre- and postoperatively during the malignant glaucoma crisis in the right eye.
RESULTS
Preoperative ultrasound imaging showed an anterior rotation of the ciliary body. That disappeared with local application of cycloplegics. During the malignant glaucoma crisis, the ciliary body came again in touch with the lens, thus blocking the aqueous humor pathway to the anterior chamber. Malignant glaucoma occurred despite the nonperforation of the eye undergoing deep sclerectomy with collagen implant.
CONCLUSIONS
In our patient, the anterior rotation of the ciliary body and its subsequent malignant glaucoma might be either a consequence of a ciliary muscle spasm due to postoperative inflammation or of acute IOP drop. Finally, in hyperopic eyes, the ciliary muscle may be hypertrophied due to constant accommodation. | 10.1055/s-2008-1035214 |
pubmed_1067_9722 | BACKGROUND
After general or epidural anesthesia, clonidine is known to be effective in suppressing established shivering. The aim of this study was to assess the preventive effect of intrathecal clonidine on post-spinal shivering compared with intravenous (i.v.) clonidine.
METHODS
One hundred and fifty patients scheduled for orthopedic surgery were randomly allocated into three groups to receive either 1 microg/kg clonidine i.v. (IV group) or the same volume of isotonic saline (control and IT groups) at 5 min before spinal anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia was performed with 12-15 mg hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5% plus either 1 ml of saline (control and IV groups) or 150 microg clonidine (IT group). Shivering was evaluated for a period of 90 min and graded as none, mild, moderate, and severe.
RESULTS
Twenty patients (40%) in the control group and 17 patients (34%) in the IT group showed shivering compared with four (8%) in the IV group. Patients with moderate-to-severe shivering were only seen in the control and IT group, and the maximal intensity of shivering was not different between the two groups. Patients in the IV group were significantly more sedated than the other groups.
CONCLUSIONS
The intrathecal administration of clonidine 150 microg fails to prevent post-spinal shivering; by contrast, we have confirmed that i.v. clonidine 1 microg/kg is an effective method to prevent shivering in patients undergoing spinal anesthesia for orthopedic surgery. | 10.1111/j.1399-6576.2005.00783.x |
pubmed_781_7790 | INTRODUCTION
Physical inactivity and overweight are risk factors for postmenopausal breast cancer. The effect of physical activity may be partially mediated by concordant weight loss. We studied the effect on serum sex hormones, which are known to be associated with postmenopausal breast cancer risk, that is attributable to exercise by comparing randomly obtained equivalent weight loss by following a hypocaloric diet only or mainly by exercise.
METHODS
Overweight, insufficiently active women were randomised to a diet (N = 97), mainly exercise (N = 98) or control group (N = 48). The goal of both interventions was to achieve 5-6 kg of weight loss by following a calorie-restricted diet or an intensive exercise programme combined with only a small caloric restriction. Primary outcomes after 16 weeks were serum sex hormones and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). Body fat and lean mass were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
RESULTS
Both the diet (-4.9 kg) and mainly exercise (-5.5 kg) groups achieved the target weight loss. Loss of body fat was significantly greater with exercise versus diet (difference -1.4 kg, P < 0.001). In the mainly exercise arm, the reduction in free testosterone was statistically significantly greater than that of the diet arm (treatment effect ratio [TER] 0.92, P = 0.043), and the results were suggestive of a difference for androstenedione (TER 0.90, P = 0.064) and SHBG (TER 1.05, P = 0.070). Compared with the control arm, beneficial effects were seen with both interventions, diet and mainly exercise, respectively, on oestradiol (TER 0.86, P = 0.025; TER 0.83, P = 0.007), free oestradiol (TER 0.80, P = 0.002; TER 0.77, P < 0.001), SHBG (TER 1.14; TER 1.21, both P < 0.001) and free testosterone (TER 0.91, P = 0.069; TER = 0.84, P = 0.001). After adjustment for changes in body fat, intervention effects attenuated or disappeared.
CONCLUSIONS
Weight loss with both interventions resulted in favourable effects on serum sex hormones, which have been shown to be associated with a decrease in postmenopausal breast cancer risk. Weight loss induced mainly by exercise additionally resulted in maintenance of lean mass, greater fitness, greater fat loss and a larger effect on (some) sex hormones. The greater fat loss likely explains the observed larger effects on sex hormones.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01511276 . Registered on 12 January 2012. | 10.1186/s13058-015-0633-9 |
pubmed_285_17318 | The 17th meeting of the International Scientific Working Group on Tick-Borne Encephalitis (ISW-TBE), a group of neurologists, general practicioners, clinicians, travel physicians, virologists, pediatricians, and epidemiologists, was held under the title "Tick-borne encephalitis as a notifiable disease--status quo and the way forward". The conference agenda was divided into three parts on the first day: "Epidemiology & Risk areas", "Poster Walk: Epidemiological Update in Europe", and "News in TBE Research". On the second day, a World Café Working Session took place where the participants could choose three tables out of six to join for discussion. Key topics on current epidemiological developments and investigations, risk areas, cases, travel and mobility, TBE in children, vaccination rates, and latest news on vaccination were presented and extensively discussed. | pubmed_285_17318 |
pubmed_1001_3189 | The chemokine response of eight children with serologically confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was longitudinally monitored. All had raised plasma interferon gamma inducible protein (IP-10) concentrations, which suggested an active type 1 T-helper lymphocyte mediated immune response. High circulating IP-10 levels could facilitate viral clearance and might play a role in assisting the recovery of the patients. | 10.1136/adc.2004.053660 |
pubmed_50_13413 | The common dentex, Dentex dentex, is a fish species which inhabits marine environments in the Mediterranean and Northeast Atlantic regions. This is an important species from an ecological, economic and conservation perspective, however critical information on its population genetic structure is lacking. Most samples were obtained from the Mediterranean Sea (17 sites) with an emphasis around Corsica (5 sites), plus one Atlantic Ocean site. This provided an opportunity to examine genetic structuring at local and broader scales to provide science based data for the management of fishing stocks in the region. Two mitochondrial regions were examined (D-loop and COI) along with eight microsatellite loci. The COI data was combined with publicly available sequences and demonstrated past misidentification of common dentex. All markers indicated the absence of population genetic structure from the Bay of Biscay to the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Bayesian approaches, as well as the statistical tests performed on the allelic frequencies from microsatellite loci, indicated low differentiation between samples; there was only a slight (p = 0.05) indication of isolation by distance. Common dentex is a marine fish species with a unique panmictic population in the Mediterranean and likely in the Atlantic Ocean as well. | 10.1371/journal.pone.0203866 |
pubmed_872_8862 | Marine birds can drink seawater because their cephalic 'salt' glands secrete a sodium chloride (NaCl) solution more concentrated than seawater. Salt gland secretion generates osmotically free water that sustains their other physiological processes. Acclimation to saline induces interstitial water and Na move into cells. When the bird drinks seawater, Na enters the plasma from the gut and plasma osmolality (Osm(pl)) increases. This induces water to move out cells expanding the extracellular fluid volume (ECFV). Both increases in Osm(pl) and ECFV stimulate salt gland secretion. The augmented intracellular fluid content should allow more rapid expansion of ECFV in response to elevated Osm(pl) and facilitate activation of salt gland secretion. To fully utilize the potential of the salt glands, intestinally absorbed NaCl must be reabsorbed by the kidneys. Thus, Na uptake at gut and renal levels may constrain extrarenal NaCl secretion. High NaCl intake elevates plasma aldosterone concentration of Pekin ducks and aldosterone stimulates intestinal and renal water and sodium uptake. High NaCl intake induces lengthening of the small intestine of adult Mallards, especially males. High NaCl intake has little effect on glomerular filtration rate or tubular sodium Na uptake of birds with competent salt glands. Relative to body mass, kidney mass and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are greater in birds with salt glands than in birds that do not have them. Birds with salt glands do not change GFR, when they drink saline. Thus, their renal filtrate contains excess Na that is, in some species, almost completely renally reabsorbed and excreted in a more concentrated salt gland secretion. Na reabsorption by kidneys of other species, like mallards is less complete and their salt glands make less concentrated secretion. Such species may reflux urine into the hindgut, where additional Na may also be reabsorbed for extrarenal secretion. During exposure to saline, marine birds maintain elevated aldosterone levels despite high Na intake. Marine birds are excellent examples of physiological plasticity. | 10.1016/j.cbpb.2003.09.005 |
pubmed_560_2720 | In this work a novel method for introduction of ionophore and ion-exchanger to the ion-selective polyacrylate based membrane is proposed. These compounds (and optionally primary ions) are introduced to polyacrylate microspheres, used to prepare ion-selective membrane. The approach proposed here can be used to prepare membranes containing primary ions equally distributed through the receptor phase, i.e. membranes that do not require conditioning in primary ions solution and are free from problems related to slow diffusion of primary ions. Thus obtained sensors were characterized with linear responses (also at relatively high activities) and high selectivities, despite considerable reduction of ionophore and ion-exchanger amount introduced to the membrane. To be able to prepare ion-selective membranes using this approach, a method for quantification of ionophore and ion-exchanger introduced into microspheres is required. In this work a novel method utilizing high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with DAD or FLD detection is proposed. Incorporation of ionophore and ion-exchanger into the microspheres was achieved either by absorption into ready spheres or in course of photopolymerization of polymeric beads. The obtained results have proven that both procedures led to incorporation of ionophore/ion-exchanger into polymeric spheres, however, the content of the compounds in the spheres post process is different from their ratio in solution from which they had been introduced. These effects need to be considered/compensated while preparing microspheres containing ion-selective membranes. As a model system poly(n-butyl acrylate) spheres, silver selective ionophore and sodium tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate were chosen, resulting ultimately in silver-selective electrodes. | 10.1016/j.talanta.2011.10.008 |
pubmed_780_10117 | The objective of this study was to assess the effect on health-related quality of life of acupuncture and sham acupuncture as adjunctive treatment in intractable epilepsy. We performed a randomized controlled trail with two parallel treatment arms at The National Center for Epilepsy in Norway, a comprehensive epilepsy center. Thirty-four patients with long-standing drug resistant epilepsy completed the study. The intervention consisted of 20 acupuncture treatments (bilateral needling of three acupoints plus one or two individually chosen points) or sham acupuncture (bilateral needling with smaller needles of three points outside the traditional meridians) over 8 weeks. The main outcome measures were changes in mean health-related quality of life scores for the two groups after 8 weeks, using the 89-item Quality of Life in Epilepsy (QOLIE-89) questionnaire. We found no difference between the acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups in score changes in any dimension of the QOLIE-89 questionnaire, despite testing a large number of dimensions. We also found no change in QOLIE-89 scores between baseline and 8 weeks in either groups. In conclusion, we could not demonstrate a significant effect of traditional acupuncture or sham acupuncture on the health-related quality of life of patients with intractable epilepsy. | 10.1053/seiz.2000.0436 |
pubmed_722_15772 | PURPOSE
Accurate assessment of the amount of macular pigment (MPOD) is necessary to investigate the role of carotenoids and their assumed protective functions. High repeatability and reliability are important to monitor patients in studies investigating the influence of diet and supplements on MPOD. We evaluated the Macuscope (Macuvision Europe Ltd., Lapworth, Solihull, UK), a recently introduced device for measuring MPOD using the technique of heterochromatic flicker photometry (HFP). We determined agreement with another HFP device (QuantifEye; MPS 9000 series: Tinsley Precision Instruments Ltd., Croydon, Essex, UK) and a fundus reflectance method.
METHODS
The right eyes of 23 healthy subjects (mean age 33.9 ± 15.1 years) were measured. We determined agreement with QuantifEye and correlation with a fundus reflectance method. Repeatability of QuantifEye was assessed in 20 other healthy subjects (mean age 32.1 ± 7.3 years). Repeatability was also compared with measurements by a fundus reflectance method in 10 subjects.
RESULTS
We found low agreement between test and retest measurements with Macuscope. The average difference and the limits of agreement were -0.041 ± 0.32. We found high agreement between test and retest measurements of QuantifEye (-0.02 ± 0.18) and the fundus reflectance method (-0.04 ± 0.18). MPOD data obtained by Macuscope and QuantifEye showed poor agreement: -0.017 ± 0.44. For Macuscope and the fundus reflectance method, the correlation coefficient was r = 0.05 (P = 0.83). A significant correlation of r = 0.87 (P<0.001) was found between QuantifEye and the fundus reflectance method.
CONCLUSIONS
Because repeatability of Macuscope measurements was low (ie, wide limits of agreement) and MPOD values correlated poorly with the fundus reflectance method, and agreed poorly with QuantifEye, the tested Macuscope protocol seems less suitable for studying MPOD. | 10.1038/eye.2010.164 |
pubmed_1004_12915 | Since 1981 biological tolerance values for occupational exposure (BAT values) have been published in the List of MAK and BAT Values of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). In 2007 the list includes threshold limit values for more than 90 substances. The BAT value was defined as the maximum permissible quantity of a chemical substance or its metabolites or the maximum permissible deviation from the norm of biological parameters induced by these substances. The biological limit values derived by other commissions (ACGIH, SCOEL) are to be understood as averages, which may well be exceeded individually, in contrast to the BAT values that were defined as ceiling values and thus did not allow an excess of values in the individual employee. The DFG Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area has now revised the concept of biological limit values. The BAT value describes the concentration of a chemical substance, of its metabolites or of an effect indicator in appropriate biological material derived by occupational medical and toxicological criteria, at which the health of an employee is usually not affected, even after repeated or long-term exposure. In this case, derivation of the BAT value is based on the average internal exposures. With this redefinition of the German BAT value, it will be possible to better harmonize the values with those provided by other commissions, which are also based on an average concept. | 10.1007/s00420-008-0331-3 |
pubmed_690_15143 | Many individuals who exhibit self-injurious behavior (SIB) also exhibit self-restraint. Three hypotheses about the determinants of self-restraint have been suggested: (a) Self-restraint is maintained by escape from or avoidance of aversive aspects of SIB, (b) self-restraint and SIB are members of the same functional class, and (c) self-restraint and SIB are functionally independent. This study examined a method by which the relationship between self-restraint and SIB may be investigated using functional analysis. Data were collected on the self-restraint and SIB exhibited by 5 mentally retarded males, while conditions suspected to maintain SIB were manipulated. Results suggested that self-restraint, like SIB, may be maintained by idiosyncratic contingencies. Implications of an understanding of self-restraint for the analysis and treatment of SIB are discussed, as are some general possibilities for future research. | 10.1901/jaba.1992.25-433 |
pubmed_1018_22666 | While vertebrate hemoglobins typically are tetrameric and show highly regulated and cooperative ligand binding, little is known of the evolution of these properties. We are studying the structural and functional properties of the hemoglobins from Caudina arenicola, an echinoderm. The echinoderms are in the lineage most closely related to the vertebrates to express hemoglobin. C. arenicola has three sets of red cells, in the water vascular system, the coelomic cavity, and in an intestinal vein. Each of these expresses a distinct array of globins. The hemoglobins are cooperative and exhibit unusual ligand-linked associative properties, being dimeric when oxygenated and forming tetramers and higher aggregates on deoxygenation. The major coelomic hemoglobins have been subjected to a detailed examination by a combination of ligand binding analyses and protein and DNA sequencing, as well as X-ray crystallography. Two typical globin introns were identified, along with a unique intron that bisects an N-terminal extension of the globin from the remainder of the gene. X-ray crystallographic analysis shows that the subunit interfaces of C. arenicola hemoglobins differ radically from those of vertebrate hemoglobins and indeed from some other invertebrate hemoglobins, but closely resemble the packing arrangements found in a clam hemoglobin (Scapharca). However, the residues implicated in cooperativity in these two types of hemoglobins differ substantially. | pubmed_1018_22666 |
pubmed_304_20408 | Pseudomembranous colitis (PMC) is known to develop after antibiotic administration, but antituberculosis agents are rarely associated with this disorder. We report 6 cases of PMC after rifampicin administration; the clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, imaging findings, and clinical course are described. The median age of patients was 68 years (range, 54 to 82 y). All patients were diagnosed with active pulmonary tuberculosis by sputum smear and culture, and 2 suffered from type 2 diabetes mellitus. The average interval between initiation of antituberculosis therapy and the onset of diarrhea was 19.8 days. The anatomic distribution of PMC included the rectum and sigmoid colon in 5 cases and up to the hepatic flexure in 1 case. All patients were cured with medical treatment, which include discontinuation of rifampicin and oral metronidazole and vancomycin. PMC recurred in 1 patient after retreatment with rifampicin. Our findings suggest that patients who are treated with antituberculosis agents, who develop acute diarrhea during or after therapy, should be evaluated for PMC. | 10.1097/MCG.0b013e31802dfaf7 |
pubmed_5_13385 | Lesion studies have indicated that the auditory cortex is crucial for the perception of acoustic space, yet it remains unclear how these neurons participate in this perception. To investigate this, we studied the responses of single neurons in the primary auditory cortex (AI) and the caudomedial field (CM) of two monkeys while they performed a sound-localization task. Regression analysis indicated that the responses of approximately 80% of neurons in both cortical areas were significantly correlated with the azimuth or elevation of the stimulus, or both, which we term "spatially sensitive." The proportion of spatially sensitive neurons was greater for stimulus azimuth compared with stimulus elevation, and elevation sensitivity was primarily restricted to neurons that were tested using stimuli that the monkeys also could localize in elevation. Most neurons responded best to contralateral speaker locations, but we also encountered neurons that responded best to ipsilateral locations and neurons that had their greatest responses restricted to a circumscribed region within the central 60 degrees of frontal space. Comparing the spatially sensitive neurons with those that were not spatially sensitive indicated that these two populations could not be distinguished based on either the firing rate, the rate/level functions, or on their topographic location within AI. Direct comparisons between the responses of individual neurons and the behaviorally measured sound-localization ability indicated that proportionally more neurons in CM had spatial sensitivity that was consistent with the behavioral performance compared with AI neurons. Pooling the responses across neurons strengthened the relationship between the neuronal and psychophysical data and indicated that the responses pooled across relatively few CM neurons contain enough information to account for sound-localization ability. These data support the hypothesis that auditory space is processed in a serial manner from AI to CM in the primate cerebral cortex. | 10.1152/jn.2000.83.5.2723 |
pubmed_334_1880 | Centrioles duplicate once in each cell division cycle through so-called templated or canonical duplication. SAK, also called PLK4 (SAK/PLK4), a kinase implicated in tumor development, is an upstream regulator of canonical biogenesis necessary for centriole formation. We found that overexpression of SAK/PLK4 could induce amplification of centrioles in Drosophila embryos and their de novo formation in unfertilized eggs. Both processes required the activity of DSAS-6 and DSAS-4, two molecules required for canonical duplication. Thus, centriole biogenesis is a template-free self-assembly process triggered and regulated by molecules that ordinarily associate with the existing centriole. The mother centriole is not a bona fide template but a platform for a set of regulatory molecules that catalyzes and regulates daughter centriole assembly. | 10.1126/science.1142950 |
pubmed_89_15331 | INTRODUCTION
Alwyn Lishman was interested in how memory research could be applied to clinical psychiatry. After a brief review of his major contributions, this paper will focus on his research on the alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome. It will consider how his findings relate to contemporary debates, particularly on how the syndrome should be defined, and its relationship to broader alcohol-induced cognitive impairments.
METHODS
A review of the contribution of Alwyn Lishman, Robin Jacobson and colleagues to our knowledge of Korsakoff's syndrome, together with a review of the pertinent recent literature.
RESULTS
Lishman and colleagues followed earlier authors in defining the Korsakoff syndrome in terms of disproportionate memory impairment, but they also noted a variable degree of IQ, frontal-executive, and timed visuo-spatial impairment in their cases. More recent authors have included such features in their definitions of the syndrome. Lishman also argued for a specific "alcoholic dementia". The present paper argues that recent definitions of the Korsakoff syndrome confound its core and associated features, and also fail to recognise the multifactorial basis of alcohol-related brain damage.
CONCLUSIONS
Korsakoff's syndrome is best defined in terms of disproportionate memory impairment, and more widespread cognitive impairment is best encompassed within "alcohol-related brain damage". | 10.1080/13546805.2022.2067472 |
pubmed_1000_14382 | PURPOSE
Stage IV-S neuroblastoma is a metastatic disease associated with spontaneous regression and good survival, but 10% to 20% of infants die from early complications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate outcome and prognostic factors in infants with stage IV-S neuroblastoma treated prospectively with supportive care only or, in symptomatic patients, with low-dose cytotoxic therapy.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
Eighty eligible infants were studied for response and survival with supportive care or, for symptomatic patients, cyclophosphamide 5 mg/kg/d for 5 days with or without hepatic radiation of 4.5 Gy over 3 days. Staging was reviewed centrally, and MYCN gene copy number, Shimada histopathologic classification, serum ferritin levels, and bone marrow immunocytology were determined.
RESULTS
Stage IV-S and International Neuroblastoma Staging System stage 4S were 98% concordant. MYCN was not amplified in any of the tumors tested (n = 58), and Shimada histopathologic classification was favorable in 96% (n = 68/71). The 5-year event-free survival (EFS) rate for all infants was 86% and the survival rate was 92%. Supportive care was the only treatment provided for 44 (55%) of 80 infants, and their 5-year survival rate was 100%, compared with 81% survival for those requiring cytotoxic therapy for symptoms (P =.005). Five of six deaths were in infants younger than 2 months of age at diagnosis and were due to complications of extensive abdominal involvement with respiratory compromise or disseminated intravascular coagulation. Although age </= 3 months at diagnosis was significant for EFS (P =. 043), it was less significant for survival (P =.077). The only other significant factor predictive for improved survival was favorable Shimada histopathologic classification. Sites of metastatic involvement (liver, skin, or bone marrow) and surgical resection of the primary tumor were not significant for survival.
CONCLUSION
This study confirms the favorable biologic features and excellent survival of infants with stage IV-S neuroblastoma with minimal therapy. Infants younger than 2 months old at diagnosis with rapidly progressive abdominal disease may benefit from earlier and more intensive treatment. | 10.1200/JCO.2000.18.3.477 |
pubmed_955_16552 | UNLABELLED
Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), an autosomal dominant inherited disease, confers a high risk of colon cancer, and recently the gene responsible for FAP, termed adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene, was identified and fully characterized.
PURPOSE
For the presymptomatic diagnosis of FAP, we have performed linkage studies using two polymorphic systems close to or at the APC locus; cytosine-adenine dinucleotide repeat length polymorphism and restriction endonuclease RsaI site polymorphism.
METHODS AND RESULTS
Based on the two polymorphic systems, we have determined the haplotype at the APC locus in 23 individuals of two Korean families with FAP. From these haplotypes of individuals, we could make the diagnosis, whether affected or unaffected, in 74 percent of 31 at-risk persons. To decrease the chance of misdiagnosis caused by recombinant events, the use of haplotypes was better than using one polymorphic system. In addition to polymorphic analysis, we have also searched germline mutations of the APC gene in eight individuals (26 percent of all 31 at risk persons) of another two FAP families which could not be diagnosed definitely by linkage analysis. A 5 base-pairs deletion at codon 1309 was detected in one of the families, and a 5 base-pairs deletion at codon 1185 was also identified in another family by using a ribonuclease protection assay followed by DNA sequencing. From these results, we could diagnose FAP with 100 percent accuracy.
CONCLUSION
Linkage studies by the RsaI site polymorphism and cytosine-adenine repeat length polymorphism as well as the polymerase chain reaction-based sequencing method provide accurate and efficient tools for presymptomatic diagnosis of FAP in their families. | 10.1007/BF02054415 |
pubmed_563_3859 | BACKGROUND
Compound identification remains a critical bottleneck in the process of exploiting Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) metabolomics data, especially for 1H 1-dimensional (1H 1D) data. As databases of reference compound spectra have grown, workflows have evolved to rely heavily on their search functions to facilitate this process by generating lists of potential metabolites found in complex mixture data, facilitating annotation and identification. However, approaches for validating and communicating annotations are most often guided by expert knowledge, and therefore are highly variable despite repeated efforts to align practices and define community standards.
AIM OF REVIEW
This review is aimed at broadening the application of automated annotation tools by discussing the key ideas of spectral matching and beginning to describe a set of terms to classify this information, thus advancing standards for communicating annotation confidence. Additionally, we hope that this review will facilitate the growing collaboration between chemical data scientists, software developers and the NMR metabolomics community aiding development of long-term software solutions.
KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW
We begin with a brief discussion of the typical untargeted NMR identification workflow. We differentiate between annotation (hypothesis generation, filtering), and identification (hypothesis testing, verification), and note the utility of different NMR data features for annotation. We then touch on three parts of annotation: (1) generation of queries, (2) matching queries to reference data, and (3) scoring and confidence estimation of potential matches for verification. In doing so, we highlight existing approaches to automated and semi-automated annotation from the perspective of the structural information they utilize, as well as how this information can be represented computationally. | 10.1007/s11306-022-01962-z |
pubmed_948_19205 | Human first trimester extraembryonic tissues of normal and androgenetic origin (molar pregnancies) were investigated for the expression of 6 homeobox genes from the chromosome 12-encoded Hox-3 cluster by non-autoradiographic in situ hybridization with biotinylated RNA probes. By comparative in situ hybridization involving the use of exon- or region-specific RNA probes, analysis included the cellular distribution of alternative Hox-3 transcripts in chorionic villous tissues. A bias in extraembryonic distribution was seen between transcripts of the three most upstream Hox-3 genes (Hox-3.7, -3.6, and -3.1) versus transcripts of the 3 most downstream genes (Hox-3.3, 3.4, and 3.5). Only genes from the latter group are transcribed in human extraembryonic tissues including extraembryonic tissues of androgenetic origin. Moreover, comparative in situ hybridization showed that distinct alternative transcripts of Hox-3.3, Hox 3.4 and Hox-3.5 are exclusively found in trophoblast cells while others are present in chorionic villous stromal cells as well. These data demonstrate the existence of tissue- and cell-specific use of transcriptional (alternative gene promoters) or post-transcriptional (alternative splicing) regulation of homeobox genes in extraembryonic tissues. | 10.1242/dev.108.3.471 |
pubmed_194_12951 | Callan's hypothesis of the constant movement of the chromomere DNA axis was checked with the method of 3H-uridine radioautography. The hypothesis was not corroborated as the RNA synthesis proceeded in chromomeres of lampbrush chromosomes on the stationary axis with formation of transcriptional units. Data on localization and count of transcriptional units are discussed with regard to structural and functional organization of chromomere in meiotic chromosomes of eukaryotes. | pubmed_194_12951 |
pubmed_530_10304 | There is increased recognition of the importance of physician health and the need to actively maintain and promote it. Attending to the health and well-being of medical clinicians is considered an important component of professionalism, and is important for the sustainability of safe, high-quality practice of medicine. This report highlights the importance of physician health programs, describes their history and evolution as well as the variability in program structure in various states, and reviews the present status of physician health resources, especially in Wisconsin. It gives an example of a program within a large, integrated health system and emphasizes the advantages of a statewide program. | pubmed_530_10304 |
pubmed_826_21992 | BACKGROUND
Closure of donor site of the flap has special problems. Reduction of this site will decrease the morbidity of operation. In this study, we present our experience in donor site size reduction.
METHODS
Between 2006 and 2008, 15 patients with skin and soft tissue defects underwent operation. In all patients, coverage of defect was performed with various flaps. Substratum horizontal mattress suture was used to reduce donor site dimensions. In all 15 patients, size of the flaps, the defect after the flap elevation and the scar size were measured.
RESULTS
The mean size of the flap, the defect after flap elevation, and the scar after 3 months were 43.9 cm(2), 69.4 cm(2), and 32.2 cm(2), respectively. There was 46.5% reduction in the donor site after using this suture.
CONCLUSION
The substratum horizontal mattress suture was shown to de- crease the donor site dimensions and also its scar size in flap surgery. This suture is highly recommend in order to reduce donor site dimensions. | pubmed_826_21992 |
pubmed_107_20985 | This review article tries to define some guidelines how to proceed in the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. In addition, the article will discuss presently available pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments of this disease. The first part of the article will describe diagnostic measures (physical and neuropsychological examination, test manuals, laboratory and apparative tests), and which order of sequence should be observed. Special attention is paid to disorders different from Alzheimer's disease and to take care not to overlook dementia syndromes which can be treated. In the second part of the article, therapeutic strategies, both pharmacological and nonpharmacological ones, are mentioned. Approaches to treatment of cognitive core symptoms and treatment strategies with regard to secondary psychiatric symptoms which may occur in Alzheimer's disease are discussed. | 10.1055/s-2007-1002299 |
pubmed_6_21255 | BACKGROUND AND AIM
Balantidium coli is a protozoan that can infect humans and non-human primates, being the domestic pigs the animals most affected by this parasite. This study aimed to compare the performance of five coprological methods for diagnosis of Balantidium coli cysts in fecal samples from pigs.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
From September to December 2019, 558 fecal samples were collected from the rectum of backyard pigs in the Bucaramanga metropolitan area, Colombia. The average age of the sampled animals was 3-4 months. Fecal samples collected were tested using the following coprological techniques: Direct examination with Lugol's iodine solution, buffered saline, centrifugation/flotation and McMaster techniques, and Ziehl-Neelsen method.
RESULTS
The results indicate that B. coli cysts were diagnosed most frequently through direct examination with Lugol's iodine solution (52.7% of the samples) followed by direct examination with a buffered saline solution (37.6%). Moderate concordance (k=0.41; p<0.05) was determined between direct method with Lugol's iodine and buffered saline solution, McMaster and buffered saline (k=0.35; p<0.05), and centrifugation/flotation and buffered saline (k=0.28; p<0.05) showed a fair degree of concordance. The rest of the comparisons were classified as poor. The flotation techniques (centrifugation/flotation and McMaster) did not show good recovery of cysts.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded that the most efficient method for diagnosing this parasitosis was to an association between direct examination with Lugol's iodine solution and buffered saline. | 10.14202/vetworld.2021.873-877 |
pubmed_872_10327 | Myoclonic dystonia is mainly described as a familial entity. Nevertheless it is also a syndrome. In the first part of this review we discuss the diagnostic difficulties of myoclonic dystonia which are mainly explained by the numerous denominations. In a second part, these entities (essential myoclonus, benign hereditary chorea, myoclonic dystonia with dramatic response to alcohol) are described, then grouped into one single disease, namely inherited myoclonic dystonia, To date, only benign hereditary chorea family, mapped to chromosome 14q, is still considered as a separate disease. In a third part, the main causes of myoclonic dystonia syndrome are described, with special focus on inherited myoclonic dystonia or myoclonus-dystonia. Numerous mutations are described on the epsilon-sarcoglycan gene located on chromosome 7q21. The function of epsilon-sarcoglycan is still unknown. The clinical features are predominant alcohol-sensitive myoclonus (neck, arms) with mild and more restrained dystonia (torticollis, writer's cramp). Obsessive-compulsive disorder may be associated with the disease. Promising treatments may be medical (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid) and surgical (deep brain stimulation) although therapeutic abstention may be possible owing to the frequent benign course of the disease. | pubmed_872_10327 |
pubmed_510_5551 | Mefloquine and halofantrine are quinine-related aminoalcohols recently introduced for the oral treatment (both drugs) and oral chemoprophylaxis (mefloquine) of malaria. Soon after these new drugs were launched the volume of sales testified to the need for alternative treatments in view of the resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to a variety of drugs, including chloroquine, amodiaquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. Quinine remains effective but it is difficult to handle. Both mefloquine and halofantrine are remarkably effective against the intraerythrocytic pathogenic forms of malaria; they also have a rapid and prolonged action and a low toxicity. Halofantrine is sometimes incompletely absorbed. Neurological side-effects, usually moderate, have been reported with mefloquinone. Partial cross-resistance has been demonstrated within each class of antimalarials: aminoalcohols, amino-4-quinoleins (chloroquine, amodiaquine) and antifolics-antifolinics (sulfamides, pyrimethamine, proguanil), but not between the classes. Further studies are necessary concerning the absorption and tolerability of mefloquine and halofantrine, as well as the regional level of P. falciparum sensitivity to these new drugs. | 10.1016/s0248-8663(05)81359-1 |
pubmed_334_12242 | BACKGROUND
Liver cancer, a significant health problem in Chinese, can be controlled through HBV blood testing, vaccination, and community education about HBV. The PRECEDE framework has been very helpful in identifying factors associated with health practices.
OBJECTIVES
The objective was to identify factors associated with HBV testing in Chinese Canadians, using the PRECEDE framework.
METHODS
Five hundred and thirty-three randomly selected Chinese Canadian adults were interviewed about HBV blood testing practices. Factors were grouped as predisposing, reinforcing and enabling.
RESULTS
Fifty-five percent had received HBV blood testing. Several predisposing factors, all reinforcing factors and one enabling factor were associated with HBV testing in bivariate analysis. A physician's recommendation for testing was the strongest factor associated with testing in multiple logistic regression analysis (OR=4.4, p<0.0001).
INTERPRETATION
Many Chinese Canadian adults in Vancouver have not been tested for HBV. Continuing educational efforts are needed and the PRECEDE framework can inform the development of health education interventions. | pubmed_334_12242 |
pubmed_806_14370 | Environmental conditions during embryonic development can influence the mean expression of phenotypes as well as phenotypic responses to environmental change later in life. The resulting phenotypes may be better matched to their environment and more resilient to environmental change, including human-induced climate change. However, whether plasticity does improve success in an ecological context is unresolved. In a microcosm experiment, we show that developmental plasticity in embryos of the frog Limnodynastes peronii is beneficial by increasing survivorship of tadpoles in the presence of predators when egg incubation (15 or 25°C) and tadpole acclimation temperature in microcosms (15 or 25°C) coincided at 15°C. Tadpoles that survived predation were smaller, and had faster burst swimming speeds than those kept in no-predator control conditions, but only at high (25°C) egg incubation or subsequent microcosm temperatures. Metabolic rates were determined by a three-way interaction between incubation and microcosm temperatures and predation; maximal glycolytic and mitochondrial metabolic capacities (enzyme activities) were lower in survivors from predation compared with controls, particularly when eggs were incubated at 25°C. We show that thermal conditions experienced during early development are ecologically relevant by modulating survivorship from predation. Importantly, developmental thermal plasticity also impacts population phenotypes indirectly by modifying species interactions and the selection pressure imposed by predation. | 10.1242/jeb.116558 |
pubmed_1074_14756 | The link between chronic immune activation and tumorigenesis is well established. Compelling evidence has accumulated that histologic assessment of infiltration patterns of different host immune response components in non-small cell lung cancer specimens helps identify different prognostic patient subgroups. This review provides an overview of recent insights gained in the understanding of the role played by chronic inflammation in lung carcinogenesis. The usefulness of quantification of different populations of lymphocytes, natural killer cells, macrophages, and mast cells within the tumor microenvironment in non-small cell lung cancer is also discussed. In particular, the importance of assessment of inflammatory cell microlocalization within both the tumor islet and surrounding stromal components is emphasized. | 10.1097/jto.0b013e3181f387e4 |
pubmed_559_12227 | Little is known of mechanism of dialysis headache (DH). As suggested for migraine, a role for neuropeptides has been investigated. Twenty-four patients under haemodialysis were studied. Twelve of them suffered from DH. The remaining patients were headache free. Blood samples for radioimmunoassay of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP) were collected from the arteriovenous fistula before and after dialysis treatment. Basal plasma concentrations of CGRP were found to be higher in headache patients. Dialysis significantly decreased CGRP concentrations in both groups. No difference in basal plasma concentrations of SP was observed between groups. At the end of the treatment plasma SP concentrations were reduced in headache-free patients but increased in headache patients. Elevated plasma concentrations of CGRP in patients with DH could represent a biochemical factor contributing to susceptibility to headache. Because of the disputable role of SP in migraine, the significance of the increase of the peptide in plasma during DH remains to be elucidated. | 10.1111/j.1468-2982.2006.01217.x |
pubmed_238_1799 | Recent advances in experimental synthesis of nanostructures have shown that the interplay between nanoparticle shapes and sizes is crucial to achieve catalysts with high mass activity toward oxygen electroreduction. This is particularly important for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), in which expensive and scarce Pt electrocatalysts are used. In this work, we propose a theoretical approach for oxygen electroreduction on PEMFCs to identify not only the size of optimal nanoparticles, but also their shapes. Remarkably, high mass activities up to 4.28 A mgPt -1 are predicted for rod-like nanostructures. Furthermore, we examine nanostructure size effects to guide chemical routes for experimental synthesis of the identified electrocatalysts. Our fast theoretical evaluation of thousands of different nanostructures aids in the search for active catalysts, as substantially enhanced mass activities over commercial Pt/C are predicted for pure Pt electrocatalysts, thus unveiling great potential to reduce the Pt loading in PEMFCs. | 10.1039/c9na00252a |
pubmed_735_24318 | Surface charging or polarization can strongly affect the nature of interactions between charged dielectric objects, particularly when sharp dielectric discontinuities are involved. By relying on a generalized image method, we derive an analytical, perturbative theory of the polarization and the interactions between charged particles in many-body systems. The validity and accuracy of the theory are established by comparing its predictions to full-blown numerical solutions. The importance of polarizability is then demonstrated for clusters of dielectric spheres, as well as a periodic crystal of charged dielectric spheres arranged into a NaCl-type lattice. The analytical framework for understanding the consequences of polarization will enable molecular simulations of large systems of polarizable particles. | 10.1016/j.jcis.2016.02.033 |
pubmed_894_16623 | An uninterrupted avian sarcoma viral genome terminated by viral long terminal repeat sequences was cloned into a pBR322 plasmid. After introduction into a cultured avian cell, transcription of either the circular plasmid molecule or one linearized within the pBR322 sequences could initiate and terminate at long terminal repeat sequences, yielding full-sized viral RNA. A plasmid DNA molecule linearized by cleavage within the viral pol gene, on the other hand, would have to undergo ligation to yield full-sized viral RNA. Microinjection of each of these three types of DNA into the nuclei of quail cells promoted the release of similar virus titers, indicating that the plasmid DNA cleaved within the viral pol gene had been efficiently and accurately ligated. When plasmid DNA was transfected into quail cells, circular and pBR322-cleaved molecules directed the synthesis of similar virus titers, indicating that they were similarly taken up and utilized by the cells. Compared with these results, plasmid DNA cleaved within the pol gene was reduced in activity over 95% after transfection. This reduction did not result from inefficient ligation but from the generation of mutations (of limited size) during ligation of the transfected molecules. Mutations were not observed after microinjection even into the cytoplasm. Consistent with these findings, transfected DNA termini were found to be joined regardless of their structure, whereas ligation after microinjection required that single-stranded protruding DNA termini be complementary. | 10.1128/mcb.4.2.240-246.1984 |
pubmed_539_19789 | INTRODUCTION
Perinatal asphyxia (PA) and its neurologic manifestations are the most important cause of brain injury and neurologic sequelae in full-term infants. The objective of this study is to analyze the perinatal risk factors of neurologic sequelae in asphyctic term newborns.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
One hundred and fifty-six consecutive asphyctic term infants were studied prospectively during 40 months. PA was graded in two stages (severe and non-severe), hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy classification was based on Levene's criteria, and neurologic sequelae was based on Finer and Amiel-Tisson's criteria. The perinatal variables were graded as prenatal (gestational and obstetrics), neonatal (resuscitation, general data of the newborn, and organic manifestations of asphyxia) and postneonatal (neurologic sequelae with at least 24 months of follow-up). The relationships between these variables are studied by univariant and multivariant analysis (Cox's regression).
RESULTS
PA was graded as severe in 31 cases and non-severe in 125. Neurologic manifestations (hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy) during neonatal period were present in 25.6%, and extraneurologic manifestations (hypoxic-ischemic disease) in 41.7% cases. The incidence of neurologic sequelae, in 115 asphyxiated full-term infants follow-up at least 24 months, was 16.5% (19 cases). The perinatal variables associated to risk of neurologic sequelae on univariate analysis are variables of neonatal resuscitation (1 minute Apgar score < or = 4, 5 minute Apgar score < or = 6, endotracheal intubation, severity of PA) and variables of systemic manifestations (hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, cardiovascular and multi-systemic dysfunction, and mechanical ventilation). But only two variables are independently associated on multivariate analysis: severe PA (RR = 2.82; IC = 1.07-7.39) and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (RR = 4.17; IC = 1.48-11.75).
CONCLUSIONS
The best predictive risk factors for the neurological prognosis at follow-up are severe PA at birth and/or evidence of encephalopathy in neonatal period. | pubmed_539_19789 |
pubmed_207_1176 | Nonconvulsive status epilepticus (SE) accounts for approximately one-quarter of all cases of SE. The actual proportion may be higher because patients with nonconvulsive SE may go unidentified. This disorder may be divided into generalized (absence) or partial (complex partial) forms. Nonconvulsive SE may occur de novo or in patients with epilepsy. Absence SE is considered more frequent and is characterized by a continuous neurocognitive alteration. Complex partial SE may be associated with recurrent seizure activity and a cycling of the clinical states. Treatment includes antiepileptic drug(s) (AEDs) and avoidance of seizure precipitants. Electrophysiological studies are necessary to confirm the diagnosis of nonconvulsive SE and to monitor the response to AED therapy. Prompt recognition and treatment may be necessary to avoid neurological morbidity in select patients. Epilepsy with continuous spikes and waves during slow sleep (ESES) and the Landau-Kleffner syndrome are two rare childhood disorders that are difficult to classify but may be appropriate to include in a discussion of nonconvulsive SE. | 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1993.tb05903.x |
pubmed_219_8983 | This essay explores the gendered lifestyle of early twentieth-century physics and chemistry and shows how that way of life was produced through linking science and home. In 1905, the Swedish physical chemist Svante Arrhenius married Maja Johansson and established a scientific household at the Nobel Institute for Physical Chemistry in Stockholm. He created a productive context for research in which ideas about marriage and family were pivotal. He also socialized in similar scientific sites abroad. This essay displays how scholars in the international community circulated the gendered lifestyle through frequent travel and by reproducing gendered behavior. Everywhere, husbands and wives were expected to perform distinct duties. Shared performances created loyalties across national divides. The essay thus situates the physical sciences at the turn of the twentieth century in a bourgeois gender ideology. Moreover, it argues that the gendered lifestyle was not external to knowledge making but, rather, foundational to laboratory life. A legitimate and culturally intelligible lifestyle produced the trust and support needed for collaboration. In addition, it enabled access to prestigious facilities for Svante Arrhenius, ultimately securing his position in international physical chemistry. | 10.1086/676567 |
pubmed_391_22559 | Release of endogenous Asp, Glu and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has been investigated using synaptosomes prepared from rat retina. Exposure in superfusion to a depolarizing concentration of KCl (30 mM) evoked overflow of Asp and Glu, which were almost entirely Ca-dependent. However, 70% of the GABA release was Ca-independent. Dopamine (DA) almost completely inhibited the K(+)-evoked release of Asp and Glu in a concentration-dependent manner, but the release of GABA was only partly inhibited. The potencies of DA (IC50) to Asp and Glu release were 12 and 30 nM, respectively. A selective D-2 receptor antagonist, S-sulpiride, counteracted the DA-induced inhibition of Asp and Glu release, but a selective D-1 antagonist, SCH 23390, showed no effect. The data suggest that D-2 dopamine receptors located on the Asp and Glu neurons in rat retina may inhibit the release of these excitatory amino acids. | pubmed_391_22559 |
pubmed_220_14421 | Future needs and demands for oral healthcare will, it is suggested, largely determine the forum, function and size of the dental profession. With the coming of age of the dental team and the development of an ever-increasing range of new therapies, materials, procedures and devices, new organizational systems will be needed to support education and training and subsequent lifelong learning. It is concluded that it is time for the dental team and its regulation to move on. Subject to the profession embracing the future, the years ahead promise to bring many new, exciting opportunities and challenges. | 10.12968/denu.2003.30.9.474 |
pubmed_778_23191 | New research indicates an ice-free corridor may have been open for 20,000 years in North America and people could have moved southward even at Last Glacial Maximum. Isolation in America led to an adaptive radiation. A formal taxonomic review defines the early Paleoindian groups as Otomid-Sundadonts and compares conventional paleontological methodology with methods used in physical anthropology. Competing migration hypotheses are discussed. | pubmed_778_23191 |
pubmed_819_10200 | Mammalian cerebral astrocytes can be brought to express major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules upon appropriate stimulation. It is well established that this expression is subject to modulation by several neurotransmitters and cytokines. We show that the low, basal expression of MHC class II antigens on cultured rat astrocytes is concentration-dependently down-regulated by low concentrations of interleukin-4 (IL-4), reaching maximal inhibition at 10 U/ml. The higher, gamma-IFN-induced, expression of class II molecules is also decreased by increasing concentrations of IL-4, significant effects being already observed at 5 U/ml. Since the cAMP as well as the nitric oxide dependent cGMP pathway have previously been shown to mediate an inhibition on astroglial MHC class II expression, we measured the intra-cellular content of cyclic nucleotides after stimulation with IL-4. No rise in cAMP or cGMP is detected. Similarly, IL-4 does not affect the induced synthesis of nitric oxide radicals. Since MHC class II expression is a critical step in many regulatory processes of the cellular immune reaction, IL-4, via its activity on astroglial cells, emerges as an important modulator of immunological activities in the central nervous system. | 10.1002/(SICI)1098-1136(199606)17:2<175::AID-GLIA9>3.0.CO;2-1 |
pubmed_435_18761 | BACKGROUND
In Alberta, Canada, pharmacists have been granted the ability to prescribe most medications independently after completing an additional authorization process. While there are data to support the use of pharmacists' prescribing in the community setting, little is known about its use in the inpatient hospital setting.
OBJECTIVES
To describe the prescribing patterns of pharmacists in an inpatient setting including the percentage of pharmacists using their prescribing authority, the care areas where prescribing occurred, and the frequency of prescribing. Secondary objectives included describing the medications prescribed, and to determine if pharmacists are documenting their prescribing interventions.
METHODS
A descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional study of medications ordered by pharmacists through the electronic order entry system in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Prescriptions were examined in the context of how often each pharmacist prescribed, the medications prescribed, and an audit of documentation practices was performed using patient charts.
RESULTS
A total of 64,293 orders from 172 pharmacists were included in the analysis, of which 51% (n = 32,681) were discontinuation orders. It was found that 90% of pharmacists used their prescribing authority, ordering a median of 11.3 prescriptions monthly (interquartile range 4.3-32.8). Clinical areas with the most overall prescribing included critical care (854.8), oncology and palliative care (463.0), and surgery (409.3) prescriptions per pharmacist Full-Time Equivalent per year.
CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates a broad range of prescribing from pharmacists within acute care practice and a wide variety of medication prescribed. Future areas for research include barriers and enablers to pharmacist prescribing and examination of where prescribing pharmacists have the greatest value. | 10.1016/j.sapharm.2019.05.021 |
pubmed_835_9087 | We aimed to examine the effects of aerobic exercise training on renal function in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and elucidate their possible mechanisms. Adult male SHR and age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) were divided into four groups: WKY sedentary group, SHR sedentary group, low-intensity training group, and medium-intensity training group. Using molecular and biochemical approaches, we investigated the effects of 14-week training on renalase (RNLS) protein levels, renal function, and apoptosis and oxidative stress modulators in kidney tissues. In vitro, angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced human kidney proximal epithelial cells (HK-2) were treated with RNLS, and changes in apoptosis and oxidative stress levels were observed. Our results show that moderate training improved renal function decline in SHR. In addition, aerobic exercise therapy significantly increased levels of RNLS in the renal medulla of SHR. We observed in vitro that RNLS significantly inhibited the increase of Ang II-inducedapoptosis and oxidative stress levels in HK-2. In conclusion, aerobic exercise training effectively improved renal function in SHR by promoting RNLS expression in the renal medulla. These results explain the possible mechanism in which exercise improves renal injury in hypertensive patients and suggest RNLS as a novel therapy for kidney injury patients. | 10.3389/fcvm.2022.922705 |
pubmed_612_9331 | Glucose-tolerant and/or glucose-stimulated β-glucosidase is of great interest for its industrial utilization in enzymatic digestion of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production. In this study, a new gene of β-glucosidase MaGlu1A was cloned from an alginate-degrading marine bacterium Microbulbifer sp. ALW1. The gene of MaGlu1A encoded a 472-amino acid protein classified into the glycosyl hydrolase family 1 (GH1). The recombinant β-glucosidase was overexpressed and purified from Escherichia coli with a molecular mass of 65.0 kDa. Structure analysis illustrated the catalytic acid/base residue Glu186 and nucleophilic residue Glu370 in the enzyme. MaGlu1A displayed optimal activity at 40 °C and pH 4.5, respectively. It had substrate preference to the aryl-β-glycosidic bonds with glucose, fucose, and galactose moieties, in addition to cellobiose. MaGlu1A demonstrated strong stimulation to the supplemental glucose. Site-directed mutagenesis suggested an essential role of Asn242 in glucose stimulation. The enzymatic characterization of MaGlu1A provides general information about its catalytic properties facilitating its practical applications. | 10.1016/j.micres.2021.126840 |
pubmed_691_10248 | The study of health problems due to cadmium pollution in Japan originated from an endemic episode of Itai-itai disease in a rural area in north-central Japan after World War II. The disease was defined as osteomalacia with tubular changes in the kidney and considered to be associated with excess intake of cadmium. This episode motivated the Japanese Government to conduct health examinations on the general population in cadmium-polluted and non-polluted areas throughout the country since 1969. Although Itai-itai disease-like bone changes were rarely found, these studies revealed a higher prevalence of renal tubular dysfunction among elderly people in the cadmium-polluted areas. No significant difference was noted in cancer mortality, but mortality from cardiovascular diseases and all causes tended to be lower in cadmium-polluted areas. Clinical and pathological studies in man as well as experiments on primates have recently been made to elucidate the pathogenesis of Itai-itai disease and the health effects of cadmium. The lack of knowledge on the ecological and biological complex of cadmium resulted in the impediment of studies on this problem. The lesson from this experience is that basic research is essential for promoting the study of pollutants such as heavy metals, though pollution problems usually require urgent solutions. | pubmed_691_10248 |
pubmed_633_21728 | Azole fungicides are widely used in agriculture and in human mycosis. Their antifungal activity is based on their ability to inhibit CYP51, a key enzyme in the formation of fungal wall. Several azole fungicides tested in laboratory animals have been found to possess a common teratogenic potential to induce facial, axial skeleton, and limb defects. The mechanism of the teratogenic effect has been hypothesized to be related to the capability of these substances to alter embryonic retinoic acid catabolism. Although a number of human epidemiological studies were unable to demonstrate a definite relationship between azole exposure during pregnancy and birth defects, some case reports indicate a possible teratogenic effect of high doses of azoles in humans. Because of their common mechanism of action, azole fungicides should be regarded with caution for use in pregnant women. | 10.1016/j.toxlet.2010.07.005 |
pubmed_419_17939 | Fabrication of three-dimensional tissues using living cells is a promised approach for drug screening experiment and in vitro disease modeling. To study a physiological neuronal function, three-dimensional cell patterning and construction of neuronal cell network were required. In this study, we proposed a three-dimensional cell drawing methodology in hydrogel to construct the three-dimensional neuronal cell network. PC-12 cells, which were used as neuronal cell differentiation model, were dispensed into a collagen hydrogel using a micro injector with a three-dimensional position control. To maintain the three-dimensional position of cells, atelocollagen was kept at sol-gel transition state during cell dispensing. As the results, PC-12 cells were patterned in the atelocollagen gel to form square pattern with different depth. In the patterned cellular lines, PC-12 cells elongated neurites and form a continuous cellular network in the atelocollagen gel. It was suggested that our three-dimensional cell drawing technology has potentials to reconstruct three-dimensional neuronal networks for an investigation of physiological neuronal functions. | 10.3390/mi13111866 |
pubmed_12_10784 | A flow cytometric assay for the measurement of human bone marrow and blood leukocyte antigen expression, phagocytosis, and proliferation is described. Subpopulations of leukocytes were identified by their light scatter characteristics, and the expression of a myeloid differentiation antigen (designated CDw65) determined following incubation with CDw65 specific fluorescein-isothiocyanate (FITC) conjugated monoclonal antibodies (VIM2). Incubation of leukocytes with ethidium monoazide (EMA) labeled Candida albicans followed by staining with FITC conjugated VIM2 allowed the combined determination of cellular CDw65 expression and phagocytic capacity. In addition, immunostained leukocytes were fixed, and their DNA labeled with propidium iodide (PI), before CDw65 expression was measured for cells in different phases of the cell cycle. The method allows evaluation of phenotypic and functional heterogeneity, as well as cell cycle parameters, within subpopulations of cells during hematopoietic differentiation. | 10.1002/cyto.990110508 |
pubmed_840_3332 | Dendritic cells (DCs) are powerful antigen-presenting cells (APCs), that have so far been applied for cancer specific immunotherapy. Recent results suggest that matured DCs derived from human monocytes have a significant impact on the outcome of vaccination. The conventional generation of mature DCs from human monocytes in vitro has been reported to require 5 days for differentiation with granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin (IL)-4 and 2 days for stimulation. We herein report a new strategy for the functional maturation of monocyte-derived DCs within only 2 days of in vitro culture and the induction of specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) to tumor rejection peptide. The monocytes were incubated for 1 day with GM-CSF and IL-4, followed by activation with a bacterial product, OK-432 and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) for another 1 day (rapid DC). Rapid DC expressed mature DC surface markers as well as chemokine receptor 7 and secreted Th1-type cytokines. The DCs generated in this study mobilized Ca2+ in response to CCL21/6Ckine and SDF-1, but only marginally did so to Mip-1alpha. Moreover, when rapid DC were compared with mature conventional 7-day DCs, they were equally potent in inducing specific CTLs in vitro. These results indicate that the rapid DC is as effective as the monocyte-derived conventional DCs. The rapid DC would be a potentially useful new cancer-specific immunotherapy. | pubmed_840_3332 |
pubmed_239_2229 | Spatially organized macromolecular complexes are essential for cell and tissue function, but the mechanisms that organize micron-scale structures within cells are not well understood. Microtubule-based structures such as mitotic spindles scale with cell size, but less is known about the scaling of actin structures within cells. Actin-rich denticle precursors cover the ventral surface of the Drosophila embryo and larva and provide templates for cuticular structures involved in larval locomotion. Using quantitative imaging and statistical modeling, we demonstrate that denticle number and spacing scale with cell length over a wide range of cell sizes in embryos and larvae. Denticle number and spacing are reduced under space-limited conditions, and both features robustly scale over a 10-fold increase in cell length during larval growth. We show that the relationship between cell length and denticle spacing can be recapitulated by specific mathematical equations in embryos and larvae and that accurate denticle spacing requires an intact microtubule network and the microtubule minus end-binding protein, Patronin. These results identify a novel mechanism of micro-tubule-dependent actin scaling that maintains precise patterns of actin organization during tissue growth. | 10.1091/mbc.E16-10-0691 |
pubmed_173_21063 | OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to compare hair thyroid hormone (TH) levels among first-episode patients with major depressive disorder (F-MDD), recurrent patients with major depressive disorder (R-MDD) and healthy controls (HC).
METHODS
The Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were used to evaluate the clinical symptoms of patients. Electrochemiluminescence immunoassay was used to measure the hair TH levels. We compared the differences in hair TH levels among F-MDD patients, R-MDD patients, and HC.
RESULTS
Before the disease episode, hair T3 levels differed significantly between F-MDD patients and HC. In the disease episode, hair T3 levels differed significantly between F-MDD or R-MDD patients and HC; and hair T4 levels differed significantly between R-MDD patients and HC. Hair T3 levels significantly negative correlated with HAMD scores in F-MDD patients.
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggested that disease duration of recurring episodes of depression may influence hair TH levels. | 10.1111/appy.12223 |
pubmed_591_22767 | During the past three decades, the technology of implant surface modification has already formed well-developed methods including physical and chemical means. However, titanium is a kind of bioinert material, which will directly result in slowly bone-bond with bone tissue after implantation and ultimately reduce the success rate of dental implant surgery. Therefore, the introduction of bioactive substances which can effectively regulate and promote the proliferation of bone cells to modify the titanium implant surface has received tremendous attention in the research of oral implant field. The research of biological modification starts relatively late and it has not formed well-established system yet. The research progress is given in this paper concerning the bioactivators and methods used in biological modification. Furthermore, the current situation as well as the recent developments involving the biological modification of dental implant are also discussed in this review. | 10.3760/cma.j.issn.1002-0098.2017.07.012 |
pubmed_522_5867 | We report two siblings who presented with non-progressive marked sensory ataxia associated with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC). Deep tendon reflexes and H reflex were completely absent, but F waves were preserved. The sensory nerve conduction studies indicated the presence of relatively mild sensory polyneuropathy. The conventional somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) showed mildly prolonged latency for both the peripheral and cortical responses, suggesting a slowed conduction through the peripheral as well as central pathway. However, the 'proprioceptive SEPs' were absent, in conformity with complete loss of joint sense. Sural nerve biopsy revealed only mild thinning of myelin in the younger sister but was entirely normal in her brother. Taken together with the characteristic electrophysiological findings, the symptoms were considered to be due to predominant involvement of a selective population of somatosensory ganglions. The present cases showed no progression of the neurological deficit what-so-ever since birth, which strongly suggests a developmental anomaly or aplasia of a limited population of peripheral sensory neurons. | 10.1007/s00415-004-0539-4 |
pubmed_608_24653 | Psoriasis lesions are rich in IL-17-producing T cells as well as neutrophils, which release webs of DNA-protein complexes known as neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Because we and others have observed increased NETosis in psoriatic lesions, we hypothesized that NETs contribute to increased T helper type 17 (Th17) cells in psoriasis. After stimulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells with anti-CD3/CD28 beads for 7 days, we found significantly higher percentages of CD3+CD4+IL-17+ (Th17) cells in the presence versus absence of NETs, as assessed by flow cytometry, IL-17 ELISA, and IL17A/F and RORC mRNAs. Memory, but not naïve, T cells were competent and monocytes were required for CD3/CD28-mediated Th17 induction, with or without NETs. Th17 induction was enhanced by the T allele of rs33980500 (T/C), a psoriasis risk-associated variant in the TRAF3IP2 gene encoding the D10N variant of Act1, a key mediator of IL-17 signal transduction. Global transcriptome analysis of CD3/CD28-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells by RNA sequencing confirmed the stimulatory effects of NETs, demonstrated NET-induced enhancement of cytokine gene expression, and verified that the effect of Act1 D10N was greater in the presence of NETs. Collectively, these results implicate NETs and the Act1 D10N variant in human Th17 induction from peripheral blood mononuclear cells, with ramifications for immunogenetic studies of psoriasis and other autoimmune diseases. | 10.1016/j.jid.2018.11.021 |
pubmed_125_10467 | Mining topics on social media (e.g., Twitter and Facebook) is an important task for various applications, such as hot topic discovery, advertising, and promotion activities. Topic modeling techniques are helpful to find out topics that people are talking about. However, current full-analysis models cannot perform well on a focused analysis task-find out all topics related to one particular area in short documents. One reason is that the targeted topic is usually sparse in the corpus of short texts. Another one is, during clustering, even minor errors may compound and render the model useless. This article studies these problems and proposes a targeted analysis model (TAM) with reinforcement learning (RL) to extract any specific topic in a given corpus and perform fine-grained topic generation. In this work, we design a reward function of RL to prevent the false propagation problem induced by Gibbs sampling during the clustering. We amend the targeted topic modeling techniques to the case of RL and use policy search combined with the Gibbs EM algorithm for parameter estimation. Metrics of F1 score and the proposed normalized mutual information-F1 are exploited for the evaluation of clustering and topic generation, respectively. Our experiments have demonstrated that TAM can outperform state-of-the-art models-specifically achieving 25.7% improvement on the F1 score for binary clustering on average. | 10.1109/TNNLS.2020.3009247 |
pubmed_95_18799 | The prevalence of antibiotic resistance in respiratory pathogens is increasing rapidly. In the community, resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics has escalated dramatically among Moraxella catarrhalis, Haemophilus influenzae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Resistance to penicillin among S. pneumoniae has developed at an alarming rate over the past two decades. Recent studies in the United States have cited rates of penicillin resistance as high as 23.6%, with 9.5% exhibiting high-level resistance. Many of these strains are resistant to multiple antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance in hospital-acquired pathogens is a problem, which in large part reflects patterns of antibiotic use. Antimicrobial resistance may arise via multiple mechanisms. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other gram-negative bacilli have become increasingly resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics, including imipenem. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases are seen with increasing frequency in Enterobacteriaceae, primarily Klebsiella spp. Fluoroquinolone resistance has increased in P. aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus and has now been identified in Escherichia coli isolated from hematology wards. Excessive use of antibiotics may promote the emergence and spread of resistant microorganisms. Rigorous infection control measures and modification of antibiotic use patterns may limit or reduce the prevalence of resistant organisms. | pubmed_95_18799 |
pubmed_754_5032 | This study was designed to test the hypothesis that young animals with vesicoureteral reflux might be more vulnerable to renal parenchymal infection by bacteria to which they had not been previously exposed. Forty-four crossbred male piglets had surgical induction of vesicoureteral reflux at 2 weeks of age and introduction of urinary tract infection at 6 weeks. They were sacrificed at 12 weeks of age. Between the ages of 2 and 6 weeks, 22 piglets received subcutaneous injections of formalin-killed Escherichia coli in incomplete Freund's adjuvant as described. The remaining 22 piglets received incomplete Freund's adjuvant and vehicle alone. The antibody responses to antigenic challenge were weak to moderate. Immunized animals tended to have less renal scarring and better renal tubular uptake of dimercaptosuccinic acid, in addition to significantly lower serum creatinine values (p less than 0.001) and less mesangial cell proliferation in glomeruli (p = 0.05). We conclude that previous exposure to a specific bacterial strain and bacterial immunization have at least a mild protective effect on the development of reflux nephropathy. | 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)50622-9 |
pubmed_735_15118 | The ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) method was used to optimize the extraction of phenolic compounds from pumpkins and peaches. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to study the effects of three independent variables each with three treatments. They included extraction temperatures (30, 40 and 50°C), ultrasonic power levels (30, 50 and 70%) and extraction times (10, 20 and 30 min). The optimal conditions for extractions of total phenolics from pumpkins were inferred to be a temperature of 41.45°C, a power of 44.60% and a time of 25.67 min. However, an extraction temperature of 40.99°C, power of 56.01% and time of 25.71 min was optimal for recovery of free radical scavenging activity (measured by 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) reduction). The optimal conditions for peach extracts were an extraction temperature of 41.53°C, power of 43.99% and time of 27.86 min for total phenolics. However, an extraction temperature of 41.60°C, power of 44.88% and time of 27.49 min was optimal for free radical scavenging activity (judged by from DPPH reduction). Further, the UAE processes were significantly better than solvent extractions without ultrasound. By electron microscopy it was concluded that ultrasonic processing caused damage in cells for all treated samples (pumpkin, peach). However, the FTIR spectra did not show any significant changes in chemical structures caused by either ultrasonic processing or solvent extraction. | 10.1371/journal.pone.0148758 |
pubmed_438_149 | In this prospective randomized clinical study, the effectiveness of epidural steroids to reduce pain following lumbar disc surgery was assessed. Sixty-one patients undergoing lumbar discectomy were included. They were assigned randomly to receive, immediately after removal of the disc, either 80 mg methylprednisolone acetate (Depomedrol) or the same amount (2 mL) of saline. Both were soaked in 2.5 x 2.5 cm of collagen absorbable hemostat (Instat) that was left on the decompressed nerve root. All discs were removed in the same way via unilateral flavectomy. The patients were asked to grade the pain intensity daily in the first 2 weeks and 1 year after surgery. Pain intensity was evaluated by the visual analog scale from 0 to 10, zero being no pain and 10 being the most severe pain. Statistically significant back pain relief was observed on postoperative days 1, 2, 6, and 14 in the study group (the group that received steroids). No difference between the two groups was found 1 year after surgery or when leg pain was compared. No side effects that could be related to the steroids were observed. | 10.1097/00024720-200208000-00002 |
pubmed_553_2406 | The activity of the pineal enzyme arylamine: N-acetyltransferase (NAT) was determined following direct stimulation of the preganglionic or post-ganglionic nerves of the superior cervical ganglia. 1. Stimulation of the preganglionic trunks at 10 c/sec during the day or night was sufficient to increase NAT activity approximately 50-fold, to levels comparable to those observed at night in the intact animal. The time course of this effect of nerve stimulation differed between day and night. 2. The responses of pineal NAT to certain frequencies of stimulation were similar for preganglionic and post-ganglionic stimulation. In both cases the responses to stimulation at 5 c/sec appeared to be maximal, 10 c/sec causing no further increase. However, at 10 c/sec, stimulation was more effective post-ganglionically than preganglionically. 3. Various patterns of preganglionic stimulation, having the same average frequency, differed in their ability to increase the activity of NAT. Some, though not all, of these differences between patterns were observed during post-ganglionic stimulation. 4. Unilateral stimulation of the preganglionic nerves produced an increase in NAT activity that was less than half the increase produced by bilateral stimulation, suggesting that the innervation from the two ganglia interact within the pineal gland. 5. These data indicate that changes in the firing rates of sympathetic nerves innervating the pineal gland, within the range of frequencies typically observed for sympathetic neurones, would be sufficient to account for the circadian rhythm in NAT activity observed in the intact rat. Changes in the over-all pattern of sympathetic activity, in addition to changes in the total number of stimuli, could play a significant role in the pineal response. | 10.1113/jphysiol.1982.sp014341 |
pubmed_680_14692 | First-degree relatives of individuals with late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) are at increased risk for developing dementia, yet the associations between family history of LOAD and cognitive dysfunction remain unclear. In this quantitative review, we provide the first meta-analysis on the cognitive profile of unaffected first-degree blood relatives of LOAD-affected individuals compared to controls without a family history of LOAD. A systematic literature search was conducted in PsycINFO, PubMed /MEDLINE, and Scopus. We fitted a three-level structural equation modeling meta-analysis to control for non-independent effect sizes. Heterogeneity and risk of publication bias were also investigated. Thirty-four studies enabled us to estimate 218 effect sizes across several cognitive domains. Overall, first-degree relatives (n = 4,086, mean age = 57.40, SD = 4.71) showed significantly inferior cognitive performance (Hedges' g = -0.16; 95% CI, -0.25 to -0.08; p < .001) compared to controls (n = 2,388, mean age = 58.43, SD = 5.69). Specifically, controls outperformed first-degree relatives in language, visuospatial and verbal long-term memory, executive functions, verbal short-term memory, and verbal IQ. Among the first-degree relatives, APOE ɛ4 carriership was associated with more significant dysfunction in cognition (g = -0.24; 95% CI, -0.38 to -0.11; p < .001) compared to non-carriers (g = -0.14; 95% CI, -0.28 to -0.01; p = .04). Cognitive test type was significantly associated with between-group differences, accounting for 65% (R23 = .6499) of the effect size heterogeneity in the fitted regression model. No evidence of publication bias was found. The current findings provide support for mild but robust cognitive dysfunction in first-degree relatives of LOAD-affected individuals that appears to be moderated by cognitive domain, cognitive test type, and APOE ɛ4. | 10.1007/s11065-022-09555-2 |
pubmed_242_24843 | Many emphasise the need for policies that support women's agency in highly coercive settings, and the importance of involving target women in public deliberation to inform policy design. The Ugandan Marriage and Divorce Bill seeks to strengthen women's agency in marriage, but has faced many obstacles, including objections from many women themselves in public consultations. We explore key stakeholders' accounts of the difficulties facing the Bill's progress to date, through focus groups with 24 rural and urban men and women, interviews with 14 gender champions in government, non-governmental organisations and legal sectors, and 25 relevant media and radio reports. Thematic analysis revealed an array of representations of the way the Bill's progress was shaped by the public consultation process, the nature of the Ugandan public sphere, the understanding and manipulation of concepts such as 'culture' and 'custom' in public discourse, the impact of economic inequalities on women's understandings of their gendered interests and low women's trust in the law and the political process. We discuss the complexities of involving highly marginalised women in public debates about gender issues and highlight possible implications for conceptualising agency, gender and social change as tools for gender policy and activism in extreme inequality. | 10.1080/17441692.2015.1005654 |
pubmed_876_9656 | Pruritus is one of the major unsolved problems for patients receiving regular hemodialysis. In this study, we conducted a 6 month prospective and crossover trial to investigate the effect of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) membrane for renal itching. We also examined the role of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha system for pruritus in hemodialysis patients. We assessed the degree of skin itching and measured circulating levels of TNF-alpha and soluble TNF receptors (sTNFR-I, sTNFR-II) in 19 patients using hemodialysis, complicated by prolonged severe pruritus for 6 months. Serum sTNFR-I and II levels were significantly elevated in hemodialysis patients compared to normal subjects. Serum sTNFR-II levels were significantly and negatively correlated with serum albumin (r = -0.602, p = 0.007). A significant positive relationship was also found between sTNFR-I and erythropoietin dosage (r = 0.554, p = 0.016). However, no association was found between the degree of pruritus and circulating sTNFR-I and II values. Skin itching scale was significantly decreased from 2.7 +/- 0.2 to 2.1 +/- 0.3 following the use of PMMA membrane for 3 months (p < 0.05). In contrast, there was no change in itching scales during 3 months of conventional therapy (2.2 +/- 0.3 versus 2.2 +/- 0.3, p = NS). PMMA itself did not affect serum TNF-alpha and sTNFR values as well as conventional dialyzer membranes. These findings suggested that the PMMA dialyzer can improve renal itching not mediated through the modification of the TNF-alpha system. | 10.1046/j.1525-1594.2001.025006441.x |
pubmed_344_13989 | Nurse-to-nurse hostility (NNH) is an emotional challenge within a group and has a negative impact on performance, nurse satisfaction/retention, health, and patient safety. The purpose of this study was to explore confrontational anxiety scores (CAS) of acute care nurses, including perianesthesia nurses, resulting from NNH by asking: In combined groups, will high levels of individual emotional intelligence (EI) and group emotional competence (GEC) be associated with low CAS and will there be a difference in CAS between military and civilian nurses? Data were gathered from two valid and reliable self-report questionnaires. Participants rated confrontational anxiety from 1 to 5, yielding the CAS. The hypotheses were tested via t test with alpha set at 0.05 and 0.9 powered for combined groups testing. The study was underpowered for individual groups. Statistical significance (P = .02) was found in subscales "Regulation of Emotion," "Norms for Confronting Members," and "Team Self-evaluation." No statistically significant difference in CAS was found between the two populations. The results support the need to improve EI and GEC to achieve constructive and appropriate member behavior during interactions (ie, reduce anxiety and occurrence of NNH) to preserve group trust, effectiveness, and collaboration, therefore positively impacting performance, nurse satisfaction/retention, health, and patient safety. | 10.1016/j.jopan.2010.05.010 |
pubmed_139_5763 | The effects of intracerebroventricular (ICV) and intravenous (IV) administration of calcitonin and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) on feeding behavior and reticular motility were investigated in sheep. ICV calcitonin at a dose of 2 to 200 mU/kg reduced, in a dose-related manner, the immediate (0-60 min) food intake. The daily food intake was also significantly (p less than 0.05) decreased for doses up to 20 mU/kg, and the frequency of reticular contractions during the first hour of eating was decreased by 27.9%. Calcitonin at the highest IV dose (200 mU/kg) did not affect feeding behavior or reticular motility. In contrast, CGRP given ICV did not affect the first 3 hour period of food intake, while a significant increase (27.8%) in daily food intake was observed at a dose of 20 ng/kg despite immediate inhibitory effects on reticular frequency. No effect on feeding behavior and forestomach motility was noticed for a 25 times higher dose IV administered. Furthermore, CGRP given ICV (100 ng/kg) did not antagonize the immediate anorectic effects of calcitonin (200 mU/kg), although it delayed commencement of rumination and partially restored the daily food intake. These results suggest that calcitonin and CGRP play opposite roles in the central control of food intake in sheep, probably by acting on different brain structures, yet have a similar effect on reticular motility. | 10.1016/0031-9384(86)90451-8 |
pubmed_844_19296 | Restriction-modification enzymes interact with DNA sequences in a highly specific manner. Mutations within the DNA binding region of the enzymes could be expected to produce enzyme variants with changed DNA sequence specificities. We developed an efficient in vivo selection system that enabled us to detect one cell coding for a restriction-modification system with a new DNA sequence specificity in a background of more than 10(6) cells with the original DNA sequence specificity. | pubmed_844_19296 |
pubmed_1094_8207 | First described in 1959, intravascular lymphoma (IVL) remains one of the most clinically challenging diagnoses due to its diverse and non-specific clinical manifestations and evasiveness in detection by standard investigations. Indeed, IVL deserves the title of 'medicine's greatest imitator'. We highlight a case of IVL where the diagnosis came too late in the clinical course, detected by random skin biopsy. Clinicians should strongly consider this diagnosis in presentations with persistent symptomatology despite appropriate interventions. | 10.1111/imj.13414 |
pubmed_288_12102 | BACKGROUND
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is the most common hematologic malignant neoplasm in adults. We use the novel technique of period analysis to disclose the most recent trends in survival among adults diagnosed as having NHL on the population level with minimum delay.
METHODS
We estimated trends in 5- and 10-year relative survival in patients 15 years or older diagnosed as having NHL in the United States between 1990 and 2004 using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. We also estimated survival by age, location and histologic type of the tumor, sex, and race to further elucidate trends in survival in this disease.
RESULTS
Overall, 5-year relative survival increased from 50.4% to 66.8%, and 10-year relative survival increased from 39.4% to 56.3% between 1990-1992 and 2002-2004. Improvements were most pronounced in patients younger than 45 years (+26.8 and +27.1 percentage points for 5- and 10-year survival, respectively), but improvements were seen in all age groups, in both sexes, in both nodal and extranodal disease, and in both low-grade and high-grade disease. Improvements in prognosis were less in black patients than in white patients, especially in younger black patients.
CONCLUSIONS
Our period analysis discloses a strongly improved outlook for patients diagnosed as having NHL in recent years. Changes in treatment of the disease and a decrease in the number of human immunodeficiency virus-related NHL cases attributable to highly active antiretroviral therapy are probably primarily responsible for these improvements. | 10.1001/archinternmed.2007.125 |
pubmed_677_4698 | OBJECTIVE
To examine the effects of acute hyperglycemia on cognitive function and mood in people with type 2 diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Twenty subjects with type 2 diabetes, median age 61.5 years (range 53.1-72.0), known duration of diabetes 5.9 years (range 2.8-11.2), BMI 29.8 kg/m2 (range 22.0-34.6), and HbA1c 7.5% (range 6.7-8.4) were studied. Treatment modalities varied from antidiabetic medications to insulin. A hyperinsulinemic glucose clamp was used to maintain arterialized blood glucose at either 4.5 (euglycemia) or 16.5 mmol/l (hyperglycemia) on two occasions in a randomized and counterbalanced fashion. Tests of information processing, immediate and delayed memory, working memory, and attention were administered, along with a mood questionnaire, during each experimental condition.
RESULTS
Speed of information processing, working memory, and some aspects of attention were impaired during acute hyperglycemia. Subjects were significantly more dysphoric during hyperglycemia, with reduced energetic arousal and increased sadness and anxiety.
CONCLUSIONS
During acute hyperglycemia, cognitive function was impaired and mood state deteriorated in a group of people with type 2 diabetes. These findings are of practical importance because intermittent or chronic hyperglycemia is common in people with type 2 diabetes and may interfere with many daily activities through adverse effects on cognitive function and mood. | 10.2337/diacare.27.10.2335 |
pubmed_300_15031 | We present a new theoretical approach for collisional absorption of laser energy in dense plasmas which accommodates arbitrary frequencies and high intensities of the laser field by establishing a connection between laser absorption by inverse bremsstrahlung and the stopping power for ions. This relation is then applied to include strong correlations beyond the mean field approach. The results show excellent agreement with molecular dynamics simulations up to very high coupling strength. | 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.065005 |
pubmed_869_1359 | A novel genic male sterile (GMS) line in Brassica napus L., which was identified in 1999, was found to be controlled by a monogenic dominant gene, which we have designated as MDGMS. The microspores of the MDGMS abort before the degradation of the tapetal cell layer. The F1 fertility from any fertile lines crossed with MDGMS segregated and the ratio was close to 1:1. Bulked segregation analysis (BSA) was employed to identify random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers linked to the Ms gene in MDGMS. Among 880 random 10-mer oligonucleotide primers screened against the bulk DNA of sterile and fertile, one primer S243 (5'-CTATGCCGAC-3') gave a repeatable 1500-bp DNA polymorphic segment S243(1500) between the two bulks. Analysis of individual plants of each bulks and other types of GMS and cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) lines suggest that the RAPD marker S243(1500) is closely linked to the MDGMS locus in rapeseed. This RAPD marker has been converted into sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker to aid identification of male-fertility genotypes in segregating progenies of MDGMS in marker-assisted selection (MAS) breeding programs. | 10.1007/s00299-006-0276-5 |
pubmed_88_2471 | One of the most frequent anesthesiological manoeuvres is orotracheal intubation (OTI). Many complications can occur during OTI, one of these is the rupture of the trachea (TR) and/or of the bronchi. The aim of this study is to highlight the risk of TR during OTI. Over a period of three years of activity (1997-1999) in the Cardiothoracic Department of Pisa University nine patients we treated, eight of which were women ranging from 35 to 95 years of age. In the majority of the cases clinical signs like subcutaneous emphysema of the face and neck, hemoptysis and dyspnoea, variably combined were present. An X-ray of the thorax carried out on six patients did not permit the diagnosis. Bronchoscopy was the diagnostic examination in all nine patients. Seven cases were treated by senior anaesthesiologists, without stilet and OTI was easy. Predictive elements for difficult intubation were not observed in any case. Only one patient had a voluminous intrathoracic goitre dislocating the trachea. The nine patients were all treated surgically as they were all symptomatic and with important transmural lacerations that caused pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum. The survival percentage in the third month is 100%. Although rare TR must be suspected when clinical signs are present; bronchoscopy is the examination which permits diagnosis and a correct therapy. | pubmed_88_2471 |
pubmed_1021_10118 | The ability of three different oligonucleotide probes to identify different oral strains of Fusobacterium nucleatum was tested. Probes 119 and 214 were designed on the basis of known amino acid sequences from the N-terminal end of an outer membrane protein of F. nucleatum strain Fev1. Probe H 2.1, was a randomly cloned chromosomal DNA fragment of 2.1 kbp. The specificities of the probes were examined by testing each of them against a panel of five other species of Fusobacterium (six strains), oral and non-oral, and also against seven different oral species of six other genera. The chromosomal DNA of the bacteria to be examined was digested to completion using the restriction enzymes HincII, HindIII, EcoRI, EcoRV and Sau3AI. Digests were run on agarose gels and subjected to southern blotting before being hybridized with the probe in question. The results were confirmed by running a slot blot of genomic DNA from all of the 19 strains and hybridizing with a probe H 2.1. Probe H 2.1 turned out to be the most specific and useful of the three probes investigated. By use of this probe, interstrain identification of the six different strains of F. nucleatum could be performed and the strains could be distinguished from other oral species found in the oral cavity, such as Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Haemophilus aphrophilus, Capnocytophaga sputigena, Porphyromonas (Bacteroides) gingivalis, Eikenella corrodens and Leptotrichia buccalis. The probe reacted weakly with other non-oral species of the genus Fusobacterium, and there was no problem in distinguishing between the different strains. | 10.1111/j.1600-0765.1991.tb01804.x |
pubmed_830_18248 | Dynamic covalent chemistry is a powerful tool for the construction of adaptive and stimulus-responsive nanosystems. Here we report on the spontaneous formation of dynamic covalent wormlike micelles from imine-based gemini surfactants, formed upon mixing aqueous solutions of two complementary non-surface-active precursors. Resulting from the reversibility of the dynamic covalent imine bond, the wormlike micelles can be switched between an isotropic solution and the assembled state, triggered by pH and temperature. Thermodynamic modeling of the reaction equilibria shows that, although mixtures of single- and double-tailed surfactants are formed, it is mainly the double-tailed surfactant that assembles into the wormlike micelles. | 10.1021/la302294r |
pubmed_377_22127 | Pharyngolaryngeal reflux (PLR) refers to backflow of stomach contents into the throat and larynx. Its diagnosis is difficult because of a variety of atypical symptoms, low sensitivity of traditional tests of gastrointestinal tract, and no consensus on the diagnostic algorithm. The aim of this study was to provide an algorithm for the diagnosis and treatment of PLR. There were no pathognomonic symptoms or findings, but the characteristic symptoms validate the Reflux Symptom Index and Reflux Findings Score as tools in the initial diagnosis. The first approach is empirical medical treatment for 3 month, based on endoscopic findings at laryngofiberscopy; then objective demonstration of reflux events using multichannel intraluminal impedance and pH monitoring. Proton pump inhibitors represent the mainstay of therapy for the patients with PLR, but they require a more aggressive and prolonged treatment than the patients with gastroesophageal symptoms. | pubmed_377_22127 |
pubmed_984_12115 | Previous studies in Drosophila have demonstrated that whether flies fight like males or females can be switched by selectively manipulating genes of the sex determination hierarchy in male and female nervous systems. Here we extend these studies by demonstrating that changing the sex of cholinergic neurons in male fruit fly nervous systems via expression of the transformer gene increases the levels of aggression shown by the flies without altering the way the flies fight. Transformer manipulation in this way does not change phototaxis, geotaxis, locomotion or odor avoidance of the mutant males compared to controls. Cholinergic neurons must be feminized via this route during the late larval/early pupal stages of development to show the enhanced aggression phenotype. Other investigators have shown that this is the same time period during which sexually dimorphic patterns of behavior are specified in flies. Neurons that co-express fruitless and choline acetyl transferase are found in varying numbers within different clusters of fruitless-expressing neurons: together they make up approximately 10% of the pool of fruitless-expressing neurons in the brain and nerve cord. | 10.4161/fly.3.3.8989 |
pubmed_754_16958 | In this study, the relationship between actual fetal movement in utero and maternal perception was investigated with the use of two ultrasonic real-time scanners and a cardiotocogram. The movements of body, arms, legs, fetal breathing, uterine contractions and maternal perception of fetal movement were quantitatively analyzed. 37% of all fetal movements were recognized by the mother. Only 15% of isolated movements of fetal extremities were perceived by the mother. 72% of strong body movements with both hands and legs were recognized. No relationship between the duration and times of fetal movement and gestational weeks was found. On the other hand, a close relationship between the maternal perception rate and gestational weeks was found (28-30W, 48%; 34-35W, 53%; 40W, 67%; R = 0.903). As for the parity of the mother, multiparous women were found to be more sensitive than primiparous women (p less than 0.005). (This study was supported by Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung in F.R.G.). | pubmed_754_16958 |
pubmed_265_11528 | Researchers have recently called for the development of primary prevention of eating disorders programs aimed at elementary school students. The present study reports on the development of a curriculum for fifth graders designed to encourage healthy eating, exercise, and body image while discouraging calorie-restrictive dieting, exercising for weight loss, and the development of body dissatisfaction. The program consisted of ten lessons taught by the classroom teachers. The influence of the curriculum on (1) knowledge about nutrition, body fat, and dieting; (2) attitudes about fat people and own body (body esteem); and (3) behaviors, including attempts at weight reduction, consumption of fruits and vegetables, and exercising, were evaluated in a pre-post controlled experimental design. There were 222 white public school children who participated in both the pre- and posttesting, 167 of whom were in the classrooms receiving the curriculum. Results indicated that knowledge was broadly improved by the curriculum. There were information improvements in terms of nutrition, effects of dieting, and causes of body fat. Attitudinal changes were less pronounced, although the curriculum did positively affect attitudes about fat people. Behavior, including eating patterns, exercise patterns, weight reduction attempts, and teasing of fat children, was not changed by participation in the curriculum. | 10.1016/s0022-3999(97)00259-6 |
pubmed_171_17816 | Resistance to metronidazole (Met), clarithromycin (Cla) and amoxycillin (Amo) was examined using H. pylori isolates from child patients before and after treatment in the period 1997-2001. The rate of Met and Cla resistance before treatment was 35.2 and 8.6%, respectively. Six weeks after treatment 48.4% of the isolated strains were resistant to Met and 17.6% to Cla. The highest rate of resistance to both antibiotics was determined in 2001 (before treatment, 46 and 15%, respectively, and after treatment, 57.8 and 26.3%, respectively). All the strains were susceptible to Amo. Strains resistant to Met were detected more frequently in girls than in boys. | 10.1007/BF02931386 |
pubmed_888_8242 | Previous pharmacokinetic trials with standard levodopa formulations showed a different behavior of levodopa degradation in plasma of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in various advanced stages. The objective of this trial was to compare levodopa plasma metabolism in PD patients with and without previous long-term levodopa intake after oral intake of a dispensable levodopa/benserazide formulation (DLB). The over a 150 min interval computed area under the curve values of levodopa plasma levels after DLB administration were significantly (ANCOVA: F(1,19) = 7.88, P = 0.01) higher in PD patients with chronic levodopa treatment compared to patients without prior levodopa treatment. The maximum plasma levodopa concentration did not differ (ANCOVA: F(1.19) = 1.17, P = 0.29). Long-term levodopa administration results in an increased levodopa plasma bioavailability in PD patients. | 10.1016/j.neulet.2004.04.012 |
pubmed_644_15362 | The coat protein of tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV) dissociated in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), urea, and 2-mercaptoethanol (MCE) separated into six components on electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels. It was established that none of the components was a protein of host plant origin and that they were all chemically and antigenically similar. The estimated molecular weights of the components ranged from about 14,000 to more than 110,000, approximating a polymeric series of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8; over 85% of the protein was recovered in a band with a molecular weight of about 57,000. These data, together with the amino acid composition of the protein and the results of tryptic peptide mapping experiments, indicate that the TRSV capsid is constructed from a single polypeptide species containing 119 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 12,988. These results are discussed in relation to capsomeric models of the TRSV protein shell. | 10.1016/0042-6822(79)90244-7 |
pubmed_628_19326 | We report a case of renal cell carcinoma arising in bilateral original kidneys after failure of transplant graft function. A 47-year-old man had received a living related renal transplantation on December 10, 1985. He had resumed hemodialysis (HD) therapy because of graft failure on January 8, 1996. Periodic computed tomography (CT), after resumption of HD, revealed multiple cystic change in bilateral original kidneys and a mass in the right kidney. He was referred to our hospital on August 4, 1998 for management of the increased right renal lesion. Abdominal angiography demonstrated a hypervascular and solid mass not only in the right kidney but also in the left kidney. He underwent transperitoneal bilateral nephrectomy. Histopathological examination revealed renal cell carcinoma, bilaterally, with alveolar type and granular cell subtype. He was free of evidence of recurrence and metastasis for 30 months after nephrectomy. | pubmed_628_19326 |
pubmed_3_17992 | To compare backbone-induced susceptibilities with affinity changes that are caused by side-chain modifications in the respective positions, structure activity relationship studies on a series of NT(8-13) analogues were performed providing valuable insights into the major requirement for neurotensin receptor recognition and activation. The data led us to highly potent NTR1 ligands and the generation of a pharmacophore model that will be helpful for the discovery of therapeutically relevant non-peptidic NTR1 agonists. | 10.1016/j.bmcl.2008.01.110 |
pubmed_1084_346 | Parthenolide, a sesquiterpene lactone, has been reported to exhibit a variety of anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. To test the effect of parthenolide on brain inflammatory responses, brain oxidative stress and fever, we treated rats with parthenolide (1 mg/kg), simultaneously or 1 h prior to a systemic (i.p.) challenge with a moderate dose (100 μg/kg) of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The initial hypothermia was exaggerated; the second phase of the biphasic LPS-induced fever and circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) were significantly attenuated only in parthenolide-pretreated animals. In the hypothalamus, markers of NFκB/NF-IL6 pathway activation (inhibitor κBα, NF-IL6 and the serin/threonin kinase-like protein mRNA expression) and markers of oxidative stress (including nuclear respiratory factor 1) and NFκB immunoreactivity were significantly reduced while NF-IL6 immunoreactivity and suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 mRNA expression remained unaltered, 8 h after LPS-stimulation with parthenolide-pretreatment. Importantly, this response was accompanied by decreased mRNA expression of the rate limiting enzyme in prostaglandin synthesis, cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), known for its critical role in fever induction pathways. A direct action of parthenolide on brain cells was also confirmed in a primary neuro-glial cell culture of the vascular organ of the lamina terminalis a pivotal brain structure for fever manifestation with a leaky blood-brain barrier. In summary, pretreatment with parthenolide attenuates the febrile response during LPS-induced systemic inflammation by reducing circulating IL-6 and TNFα and decreasing hypothalamic NFκB/NF-IL6 activation, oxidative stress and expression of COX2. Thus parthenolide appears to have the potential to reduce brain inflammation. | 10.1016/j.cyto.2011.09.022 |
pubmed_234_15106 | Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been shown to contribute functionally to tumor metastasis. MMP inhibitors are thus being assessed for clinical utility as anti-metastatic therapeutics. Batimastat (BB-94) is a synthetic MMP inhibitor that has been shown to inhibit tumor growth and metastasis in mice. Here we assessed the ability of batimastat to inhibit liver metastases of murine B16F1 cells, after injection of cells in mice via mesenteric vein to target the liver. We then determined which of the sequential steps in metastasis were affected by batimastat, in order to identify its mechanism of action in vivo. Intravital videomicroscopy was used to assess the effect on extravasation, and a 'cell accounting' procedure was used to determine the effect on initial survival of cells. Stereological quantification of functional blood vessels was used to determine the effect on tumor vascularity, thereby avoiding problems associated with immunohistochemical detection of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells. We found that batimastat (50 mg/kg i.p. 5 h prior to and after cell injection, daily thereafter) resulted in a 23% reduction in mean diameter of liver metastases (equivalent to a 54% reduction in tumor volume), while not reducing the number of metastases. Extravasation of cells from the liver circulation was not affected: at 8, 24 and 48 h after injection of cells, the same proportion of cells had extravasated from treated vs. control mice. Batimastat also did not inhibit early survival of cells. However, batimastat-treated mice had a significantly reduced percentage vascular volume within liver metastases, indicating inhibition of angiogenesis. This study demonstrates in vivo that the mechanism by which batimastat limits growth of B16F1 metastases in liver is not by affecting extravasation, but by inhibiting angiogenesis within metastases. This finding suggests that MMP inhibitors may be appropriate for use in patients with metastatic cells that have already extravasated in secondary sites. | 10.1023/a:1006573417179 |
pubmed_872_13731 | PURPOSE
To determine concentration-dependent P-gp-mediated efflux across the luminal membrane of endothelial cells at the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in rats.
METHODS
The transport of radiolabeled colchicine and vinblastine across the rat BBB was measured with or without PSC833, a well known P-gp inhibitor, and within a wide range of colchicine and vinblastine concentration by an in situ brain perfusion. Thus, the difference of brain transport achieved with or without PSC833 gives the P-gp-mediated efflux component of the compound transported through the rat BBB. Cerebral vascular volume was determined by coperfusion with labeled sucrose in all experiments.
RESULTS
Sucrose perfusion indicated that the vascular space was close to normal in all the studies, indicating that the BBB remained intact. P-gp limited the uptake of both colchicine and vinblastine, but the compounds differ in that vinblastine inhibited its own transport. Vinblastine transport was well fitted by a Hill equation giving IC50 at approximately 71 microM, a Hill coefficient (n) approximately 2, and a maximal efflux velocity Jmax of approximately 9 pmol s(-1) g(-1) of brain.
CONCLUSIONS
P-gp at the rat BBB may carry out both capacity-limited and capacity-unlimited transport, depending on the substrate, with pharmacotoxicologic significance for drug brain disposition and risk of drug-drug interactions. | 10.1023/a:1026187301648 |
pubmed_52_20575 | The succession of mosquito species and abiotic factors affecting their distribution and abundance in rice (Oryza spp.) fields was investigated over a 16-wk rice growing cycle covering the period between January and May 2006. Fifteen experimental rice plots were sampled for mosquito larvae and characterized based on rice height, number of tillers, floating vegetation cover, water depth, water temperature, turbidity, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids, and conductivity. Microscopic identification of 3,025 larvae yielded nine mosquito species predominated by Anopheles arabiensis Patton (45.0%), Culex quinquefasciatus Say (35.8%), Anopheles pharoensis Theobald (9.0%) and Ficalbia splendens Theobald (7.1%). Other species, including Anopheles rufipes Gough, Anopheles coustani Laveran, Anonopheles maculipalpis Giles, Culex annulioris Theobald, and Culex poicilipes Theobald made up 3.1% of the total collection. Anopheles gambiae s.l., Cx. quinquefasciatus, and An. pharoensis occurred throughout the cycle, but they were more abundant up to 4 wk posttransplanting with peaks after fertilizer application. As rice plants became established, three groups of mosquitoes were recognized: the first groups included An. rufipes, Fl. splendens, and Cx. annulioris, which occurred throughout much of the second half of the rice cycle, whereas the second group included Cx. poicilipes, which was found in the middle of the rice cycle. An. coustani and An. maculipalpis formed the third group occurring toward the end of the cycle. Dissolved oxygen, number of tillers, and rice height were negatively associated with the abundance ofAn. arabiensis and Cx. quinquefasciatus larvae. In addition, Cx. quinquefasciatus also was associated with water depth (-ve) and turbidity (+ve). Abundance of An. pharoensis larvae was significantly associated with water temperature (+ve), the number of tillers (-ve), and rice height (-ve), whereas Fl. splendens was significantly associated with the number of tillers (+ve). The results demonstrate a complex nature of the interactions between some of the factors in the ecosystem and mosquito species abundance and calls for time-dependent and species-specific mosquito control operations. | 10.1603/0022-2585(2007)44[336:mssapf]2.0.co;2 |
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