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Retriever0 | Novel synthesis of 1,2-diaza-1,3-dienes with potential biological activity from cinnamic acids and diazonium salts of anilines.
Cinnamic acids are an important class of phenolic compounds, which have many beneficial effects on human health but are also interesting synthetic intermediates thanks to the presence of several reactive sites. While studying the reactivity of cinnamic acids with diazonium salts from aromatic amines, an unexpected reactivity has been discovered, leading to the formation of 1,2-diaza-1,3-dienes instead of traditional diazo-coupling products. The new compounds have been fully characterized by mono and bidimensional NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Preliminary studies on the biological activity of the compounds have been carried out testing both their antibacterial and antitumor activity, leading to promising results. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever1 | L-lanthionine oxidation by snake venom L-amino acid oxidase.
L-Lanthionine is oxidized by snake venom L-amino acid oxidase with the release of one mole of ammonia per mole of lanthionine. Spectrophotometric, chromatographic, and analytical properties are all consistent with the identification of the mono-keto derivative of lanthionine as the first enzymatic product of the reaction. This then cyclizes into a dihydrothiazine dicarboxylic acid which is further subject to spontaneous changes. Authentic samples of the thiazine derivative have been prepared by interacting L-cysteine with bromopyruvic acid. The properties of the synthetic product are described and compared with those exhibited by the enzymatic product. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever2 | Induction of action potentials in fish red muscle by denervation.
The effects of denervation on the electrical membrane properties of fish red muscle were investigated. Forty to fifty hours after denervation, miniature endplate potentials disappeared abruptly and field stimulation of the nerve within the muscle failed to evoke endplate potentials, indicating that transmission failure occurred at this time. The membrane resistance of the red muscle fibre increased after denervation. Normally innervated fish red muscles do not generate action potentials in response to either nerve or direct muscle stimulation. However, approximately 3 weeks after nerve sectioning, action potentials could be induced in the muscles. The action potential was sodium-dependent, and was sensitive to tetrodotoxin. Actinomycin D injected in the early phase after operation suppressed the induction of the action potential. These results indicate that RNA synthesis is preliminary to the induction of the action potential mechanism, and that this mechanism is under neural control. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever3 | Mitochondrial oxidative stress in the tumor microenvironment and cancer immunoescape: foe or friend?
The major concept of "oxidative stress" is an excess elevated level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are generated from vigorous metabolism and consumption of oxygen. The precise harmonization of oxidative stresses between mitochondria and other organelles in the cell is absolutely vital to cell survival. Under oxidative stress, ROS produced from mitochondria and are the major mediator for tumorigenesis in different aspects, such as proliferation, migration/invasion, angiogenesis, inflammation, and immunoescape to allow cancer cells to adapt to the rigorous environment. Accordingly, the dynamic balance of oxidative stresses not only orchestrate complex cell signaling events in cancer cells but also affect other components in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Immune cells, such as M2 macrophages, dendritic cells, and T cells are the major components of the immunosuppressive TME from the ROS-induced inflammation. Based on this notion, numerous strategies to mitigate oxidative stresses in tumors have been tested for cancer prevention or therapies; however, these manipulations are devised from different sources and mechanisms without established effectiveness. Herein, we integrate current progress regarding the impact of mitochondrial ROS in the TME, not only in cancer cells but also in immune cells, and discuss the combination of emerging ROS-modulating strategies with immunotherapies to achieve antitumor effects. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever4 | LC-MS/MS-Guided Molecular Networking for Targeted Discovery of Undescribed and Bioactive Ophiobolins from Bipolaris eleusines.
An integrated purification procedure through the LC-MS/MS-based molecular networking strategy combined with bioactive evaluation was first ushered for discovering bioactive ophiobolins from Bipolaris eleusines. Ophiobolins were mainly dispersed in five clusters, which were classified based on different ring systems and functional groups. Nine undescribed ophiobolins (1-6 and 9-11) and an undescribed natural product (8) along with two known analogs (7 and 12) were isolated in target. The undescribed structures were characterized by HR-ESI-MS, NMR spectra, and X-ray diffraction experiments. Compounds 3-12 exhibited strong phytotoxic effects on green foxtails by producing visible lesions, and compounds 1-10 and 12 displayed different levels of cytotoxic activities against cancer cell lines B16, Hep G2, and MCF-7, from which the possible structure-activity relationships were then suggested. The results have supported that bioactivity-guided molecular networking is an efficient strategy to expedite the discovery of undescribed bioactive natural products. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever5 | Perceptual and motor effects elicited by a moving visual stimulus below the forearm: an example of segmentary vection.
It has been shown in man that movement of a visual stimulus under the forearm may induce illusory sensations of movement (segmentary vection) and motor activity in the same direction, such that, for example, a sensation of elbow flexion is accompanied by EMG activity in biceps brachialis. The characteristics of these two types of activity, perceptual and motor, are analyzed and compared with analogous phenomena described for the whole body. These comparisons bring out two essential features: the effectiveness of stimuli of small surface area applied to central regions of the retina, and the non-compensatory character of the motor phenomena. The results are discussed with respect to the participation of vision in the control and regulation of limb movements. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever6 | Failure of renal dopamine response to salt loading in chronic renal disease.
Eight patients with chronic glomerulonephritis and five age-matched normal volunteers were given additional sodium chloride by mouth under conditions of metabolic balance. Whereas in the normal volunteers plasma renin activity was suppressed and urinary excretion of free dopamine increased, in the patients dopamine was not mobilised and plasma renin activity was not completely suppressed. Abnormal retention of sodium and water in glomerulonephritis may be due partly to a failure to mobilise dopamine in the kidney. Specific renal dopamine agonists may be natriuretic and hypotensive in chronic glomerulonephritis. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever7 | Obstetric patient satisfaction: asking patients what they like.
OBJECTIVE
This study was undertaken to determine pertinent attributes of women's hospital experience related to the delivery of their children and to use open-ended responses from women to develop a taxonomy for classifying patient satisfaction in obstetrics.
STUDY DESIGN
By using clinimetric methods, we interviewed 67 obstetric patients during their postpartum hospital stays, asking open-ended questions about their satisfaction with care. Responses were transcribed, arranged into distinct groups, and organized as a taxonomy of patient satisfaction.
RESULTS
The final taxonomy derived from patient responses was divided into six main axes related to physicians, nurses, other staff, special services, hospital attributes, and personal focus; a total of 51 individual items were identified related to patient satisfaction. These items have face validity, and many are not routinely included in assessments of patient satisfaction.
CONCLUSION
A simple strategy of using open-ended questions leads to a clinically relevant and easily understood classification scheme for patient satisfaction with in-hospital obstetric services. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever8 | The role of an herbal agent in treatment for Escherichia coli induced bacterial cyctitis in rats.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of the herbal agent in the prevention and treatment of bacterial cystitis in a rat model.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A total of twenty-eight male Sprague- Dawley rats were divided into four groups. Group-1 constituted the control group (operated and normal saline injected into the bladder, received only drinking water for 7 days); Group-2 constituted the no-treatment group (operated, E.coli J96 strain injected into the bladder, received only drinking water for 7 days); Group-3 constituted the short-term treatment (operated, E.coli J96 strain injected into the bladder, received the herbal agent added into drinking water for 7 days) and Group-4 constituted the long-term treatment (operated, E. coli J96 strain injected into the bladder, received herbal agent added into drinking water for 14 days). At the end of the pre-defined treatment periods of duration, the rats were sacrificed, urine samples collected from the bladder for culture and bladders were harvested for histopathological evaluation. Urine culture results and histopathological findings were comparatively evaluated between the groups.
RESULTS
Urine cultures were positive for implanted E. coli strains in 0%, 85.7%, 42.8% and 0% of rats in Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 and Group 4, respectively (p = 0.001). Although histopathological evaluation revealed increased vascular dilation in the bladder specimens obtained from Group 2 and Group 3 (p = 0.028) no significant difference was noticed in level of inflammation (p = 0.610), edema (p = 0.754) and thickness of uroepithelium (p = 0.138).
CONCLUSION
While long term (14 days) treatment with an herbal agent added into the drinking water resulted in complete clearance of urine from E. coli; shorter application of the agent revealed partial clearance. Further clinical studies are needed to support our results. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever9 | Distal coronary embolization following acute myocardial infarction increases early infarct size and late left ventricular wall thinning in a porcine model.
BACKGROUND
Distal coronary embolization (DCE) of thrombotic material occurs frequently during percutaneous interventions for acute myocardial infarction and can alter coronary flow grades. The significance of DCE on infarct size and myocardial function remains unsettled. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effects of DCE sufficient to cause no-reflow on infarct size, cardiac function and ventricular remodeling in a porcine acute myocardial infarction model.
METHODS AND RESULTS
Female Yorkshire pigs underwent 60 min balloon occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery followed by reperfusion and injection of either microthrombi (prepared from autologous porcine blood) sufficient to cause no-reflow (DCE), or saline (control). Animals were sacrificed at 3 h (n = 5), 3 days (n = 20) or 6 weeks (n = 20) post-AMI. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), serum troponin-I, and cardiac gelatinase (MMP) and survival kinase (Akt) activities were assessed. At 3d, DCE increased infarct size (CMR: 18.8% vs. 14.5%, p = 0.04; serum troponin-I: 13.3 vs. 6.9 ng/uL, p < 0.05) and MMP-2 activity levels (0.81 vs. 0.49, p = 0.002), with reduced activation of Akt (0.06 versus 0.26, p = 0.02). At 6 weeks, there were no differences in infarct size, ventricular volume or ejection fraction between the two groups, although infarct transmurality (70% vs. 57%, p< 0.04) and ventricular thinning (percent change in mid anteroseptal wall thickness:-25.6% vs. 0.7%, p = 0.03) were significantly increased in the DCE group.
CONCLUSIONS
DCE increased early infarct size, but without affecting later infarct size, cardiac function or ventricular volumes. The significance of the later remodelling changes (ventricular thinning and transmurality) following DCE, possibly due to changes in MMP-2 activity and Akt activation, merits further study. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever10 | Description of a neural sheath tumor of the trigeminal nerve: immunohistochemical and electron microscopy study.
CONTEXT
Malignant neural sheath tumors of the trigeminal nerve affecting the nasal cavity and the paranasal sinuses are extremely rare. With conventional optical microscopy, their identification is difficult, and it is necessary to confirm them by means of electron microscopy and immunohistochemical techniques.
CASE REPORT
The patient was a 41-year-old woman with a ten-month progressive history of pain followed by painful edema in the left facial region, and with symptoms of bleeding, secretion and nasal obstruction. Studies with imaging methods suggested the presence of an expansive process in the left nasal and paranasal cavities. In the biopsy, the histopathological findings from optical microscopy were suggestive of a tumor of neural origin in the trigeminal nerve. Immunohistochemical and electron microscopy studies confirmed that it was a malignant tumor of the neural sheath of the trigeminal nerve. We describe the clinical, radiological, and histological features of this tumor and review the literature. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever11 | Metabolic profiling and gene expression analysis reveal the quality deterioration of postharvest toon buds between two different storage temperatures.
Toon buds, a popular woody vegetable, contain large amounts of nutrients. However, toon buds have strong respiratory metabolism after harvest and are highly prone to decay, resulting in quality deterioration. Low temperature can effectively inhibit postharvest senescence of toon buds. GC-TOF-MS combined with quantitative real-time PCR was used to elucidate the toon bud deterioration mechanism after harvest by analyzing the difference in the relative contents of primary metabolites and their derivatives, and the expression of key genes associated with metabolic pathways in toon buds between low temperature and room temperature storages for 72 h. Results showed that the ethylene synthesis in toon buds accelerated under room temperature storage, along with significant changes in the primary metabolic pathway. The catabolism of amino acids, fatty acids, and cell membrane phospholipids was accelerated, and the gluconeogenesis synthesis was strengthened. Moreover, the sucrose synthesis was increased, the glycolysis and TCA cycle were broken down, and the pentose phosphate pathway was vigorous. As metabolic intermediates, organic acids were considerably accumulated. Moreover, varieties of toxic compounds were produced in parallel with the activation of aromatic compounds. This work provided a comprehensive understanding of the metabolic regulation, thereby revealing how low and room temperatures differentially influenced the quality deterioration of postharvest toon buds. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever12 | Towards evidence-based emergency medicine: best BETs from the Manchester Royal Infirmary. BET 1: is abdominal pain when asked to hop suggestive of appendicitis in children?
A short-cut review was carried out to establish whether abdominal pain on hopping/jumping can assist in the initial diagnosis of appendicitis in children. Four studies were directly relevant to the question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these papers are tabulated. The clinical bottom line is that the presence of abdominal pain when asked to hop seems to be both reasonably sensitive and specific to a diagnosis of appendicitis in children. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever13 | Correlation Between Salivary Biochemical Stress Indicators and Psychological Indicators.
Saliva is a complex body fluid that has various functions in the oral cavity. Central nervous system has the most important role in regulating salivation. Saliva as a sample is suitable for simplicity of sampling and because it contains analytes in the free active form. Stress is a condition in which the internal (psychophysical) balance of the body is disturbed. It activates the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, so salivary cortisol is a free cortisol indicator that correlates well with its serum value and reflects the free fraction that is biologically active. At the same time, stress conditions stimulate the sympathetic neuronal system causing change in the secretion of salivary α-amylase from salivary glands. The hypothesis of this study was that students with daily intensive physical activity are ex-posed to chronic stress compared to other students who have minimal physical activity. The study in-cluded 54 healthy volunteers, students of the University of Zagreb, divided into two groups. One volunteer group consisted of physically active volunteers (n=27) from the Faculty of Kinesiology (FK), and the other group consisted of physically inactive volunteers (n=27) from other faculties (OF). The subjects were first administered a psychological test that consisted of two questionnaires, Quality of Life Questionnaire and Questionnaire of Stressful Styles, and then underwent sampling of saliva. By comparing biochemical and psychological indicators in relation to stress, it was concluded that the two groups of students were equalized and that there was no objective support for either group to be considered exposed to chronic stress. Despite the substantial differences in physical activity, there was no difference between the two student populations. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever14 | Erythropoietin as additive of HTK preservation solution in cold ischemia/reperfusion injury of steatotic livers.
BACKGROUND
Organ shortage in liver transplantation has justified usage of marginal donor livers to expand the donor organ pool. The particular susceptibility of steatotic livers to I/R injury necessitates optimal preservation conditions in order to minimize preservation-reperfusion injury for successful transplantation.
METHODS
The effect of erythropoietin (EPO) as additive to HTK preservation solution was studied in a mouse model. Lean and steatotic livers were harvested, stored for 24 h in 4°C HTK solution containing either EPO or saline and reperfused for 2 h with 37°C Krebs-Henseleit buffer. Livers without cold storage served as sham controls.
RESULTS
Flushing of livers upon cold storage revealed a transaminase release, which was 2- to 10-fold higher in steatotic versus lean livers. EPO was effective in reducing the enzyme release to 50% in steatotic but not in lean livers. EPO prevented cold storage-induced denudation of the endothelial lining in steatotic livers, but aggravated it in lean livers. During reperfusion, steatotic livers presented with lower oxygen consumption and higher enzyme release than lean livers. In all livers, parameters of reperfusion injury remained unaffected by EPO. Expression of UCP2 was found markedly higher in steatotic livers. After I/R, steatotic livers revealed a significant drop of UCP2, whereas expression in lean livers was only slightly affected. EPO diminished Erk phosphorylation to almost the same extent in both mouse strains.
CONCLUSION
Fortification of the preservation solution by EPO ameliorates cold ischemic injury of steatotic livers and may thus be considered for use as an adjunctive agent to increase the success of transplanting steatotic livers. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever15 | Help-seeking attitudes and behaviours for mental health problems in adolescents before and during the first COVID-19 school closures in Germany.
AIM
Comparing measures of psychological wellbeing and help-seeking in youths before and within the first school closures due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic enables a better understanding of the effects the pandemic has for those seeking professional help for mental health problems.
METHODS
Data were obtained from the Germany-based ProHEAD school study. Pre-lockdown and lockdown samples (n = 648) were compared regarding pupils' psychological wellbeing, help-seeking attitudes and help-seeking behaviour.
RESULTS
Participants from the lockdown sample showed greater positive attitudes towards seeking professional help, whereas psychological wellbeing and help-seeking behaviour remained stable.
CONCLUSIONS
Possible explanations may include an increased public discourse on mental health or self-selection bias for participation during lockdown. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever16 | Jiraiya attenuates BMP signaling by interfering with type II BMP receptors in neuroectodermal patterning.
During embryogenesis, bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling needs to be finely tuned in a locally restricted manner. Here, we report a cell-intrinsic mode of BMP response control executed by the membrane protein Jiraiya. In the Xenopus embryo, zygotic Jiraiya, expressed exclusively in the neuroectoderm, is essential and sufficient for limiting dorsal neural development, which is dependent on BMP signals. In animal cap assays, Jiraiya selectively and cell-autonomously inhibits BMP signaling, while Jiraiya's knockdown enhances the signaling. In the cell, Jiraiya selectively forms a complex with type II BMP receptor (BMPRII) and downregulates the cell surface localization of functional BMPRII. This functional interaction with Jiraiya depends on the unique tail domain of BMPRII, and, in particular, the conserved EVNNNG motif, the function of which has been unknown. Thus, Jiraiya represents a cell-intrinsic cutoff mechanism for dynamic responsiveness to BMP signals via subtype-selective receptor control. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever17 | Choroidal metastasis from non-seminomatous germ cell tumour of the testis.
Ureal metastases (although an uncommon site of metastatic involvement) are seen with primary tumours of the lung and breast and, very rarely, in other primary tumours. Undescended testis predisposes to malignancy. We present a rare case of choroidal metastasis from a non-seminomatous germ cell tumour arising in an undescended testis, and describe its clinical, ultrasound and MRI findings together with a relevant review of the literature. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever18 | Legionnaires' disease in residents of England and Wales: 1998.
Two hundred and twenty-six cases of legionnaires' disease who acquired infection in 1998 have been reported to the PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre. Twenty-five cases (11%) were reported to have died. One hundred and fifteen cases were associated with travel, either abroad or in the United Kingdom, three cases acquired infection in hospital, and the remaining 108 were presumed to have acquired infection in the community. Thirty-five cases were linked to industrial or community associated outbreaks in England and Wales, 22 cases to outbreaks or clusters abroad, and the remaining 169 cases (75%) were reported as single cases. The proportion of cases diagnosed by detection of urinary antigen has continued to increase; in 1998 it contributed to the diagnosis of 117 cases. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever19 | Transfer of a rifampicin-resistant Escherichia coli strain among feedlot cattle.
AIMS
To determine the incidence of transfer of a naturally occurring rifampicin-resistant strain of Escherichia coli (RREC) among cattle in a research feedlot.
METHODS AND RESULTS
During three separate experiments, steers in three different pens were orally inoculated with RREC originally isolated from bovine faeces. Faecal swabs were performed on all steers in the feedlot at approximately 5 week intervals thereafter. Faecal grab samples were collected from steers in the inoculated and the immediately adjacent pens for up to 4 months. In all three experiments, the inoculated steers and penmates shed RREC within 48 h, and then shed intermittently throughout the sampling periods. Transfer of RREC to steers in an adjacent pen was confirmed only during the first experiment, but never to those in non-adjacent pens. All recovered RREC isolates were compared with the inoculated strain using multiple methods indicating that all RREC isolates were descendants of the original inoculated strain.
CONCLUSIONS
Detection of the RREC strain on the pen floor and within the animal handling system, but not in the feed troughs or water bowls, suggests faecal-oral to be the primary mode of transmission among animals.
SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY
The results suggest that in the absence of selective pressure, antibiotic-resistant bacteria may persist in cattle for a short duration but widespread transfer among cattle in a feedlot environment may be an exception rather than the norm. Modifications to feedlot management are discussed. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever20 | Absence of Survival Improvement for Patients with Esthesioneuroblastoma Over the Past 2 Decades: A Population-Based Study.
OBJECTIVE
Esthesioneuroblastoma (ENB) is a rare malignancy of the sinonasal tract and its infrequency has confounded efforts at clearly describing the survival trends associated with this neoplasm over the years. In this study, we reviewed survival trends in ENB and investigated the impact of treatment extent and modality on patient outcomes.
METHODS
We accessed the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result (SEER) program to identify ENB cases from 1998 to 2016. A χ2 test was used to compare the categorical covariates and a t test or Mann-Whitney U test was utilized for continuous variables. The impact of prognostic factors on survival was computed using a Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. We divided ENB patients into 4 periods including 1998-2002, 2003-2007, 2008-2012, and 2013-2016, and investigated survival trends using the Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank test.
RESULTS
ENB patients who underwent biopsy alone were associated with older age, larger tumor diameter, increased rates of tumor extension, nodal/distant metastases, and advanced stages as compared with patients undergoing tumor resection. Our results also demonstrated that surgical resection and adjuvant radiotherapy could confer survival advantages, whereas chemotherapy was associated with reduced survival in patients with ENB. Over the past 2 decades, surprisingly, there has been no change in survival rates for patient with ENB (P = 0.793).
CONCLUSIONS
Despite advanced diagnostic studies and modernized treatment approaches, ENB survival has remained unchanged over the years, calling for improved efforts to develop appropriate individualized interventions for this rare tumor entity. Our results also confirmed that surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy is associated with improved patient survival whereas the use of chemotherapy should be considered carefully. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever21 | Viral transmission and infection prevalence in a cannibalistic host-pathogen system.
Cannibalism, while prevalent in the natural world, is often viewed as detrimental to a cannibal's health, especially when they consume pathogen-infected conspecifics. The argument stems from the idea that cannibalizing infected individuals increases the chance of coming into contact with a pathogen and subsequently becoming infected. Using an insect pest, the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), that readily cannibalizes at the larval stage and its lethal pathogen, we experimentally examined how cannibalism affects viral transmission at both an individual and population level. Prior to death, the pathogen in the system stops the larval host from growing, resulting in infected individuals being smaller than healthy individuals. This leads to size-structured cannibalism of infected individuals with the larger healthy larvae consuming the smaller infected larvae, which is commonly observed. At the individual level, we show that the probability of cannibalism is relatively high for both infected and uninfected individuals especially when the cannibal is larger than the victim. However, the probability of the cannibal becoming infected given that a pathogen-infected individual has been cannibalized is relatively low. On a population level, when cannibalism is allowed to occur transmission rates decline. Additionally, by cannibalizing infected larvae, cannibals lower the infection risk for non-cannibals. Thus, cannibalism can decrease infection prevalence and, therefore, may not be as deleterious as once thought. Under certain circumstances, cannibalizing infected individuals, from the uninfected host's perspective, may even be advantageous, as one obtains a meal and decreases competition for resources with little chance of becoming infected. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever22 | [Expression of the survivin gene in the scar endometriosis and in normal human endometrium].
UNLABELLED
The survivin gene encoding a novel inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) is located on chromosome (17q25). It is expressed during development and in human cancer in vivo. Endometriosis in cicatrix after cesarean section represents the only localization of endometriotic implant which etiology is known. It is believed that during the surgical procedure when the uterine cavity is open there is a high risk of decidualized endometrium implantation. The aim of the study was to estimate the expression of the survivin mRNA in the scar endometriosis after cesarean section (n = 6) and perineum endometriosis (n = 2) and in normal human endometrium (n = 12, reference group) using reverse transcribed-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
METHODS
Total cellular RNA was isolated from the tissues using TriReagent according to the manufacturer's protocol. Total cellular mRNA was transcribed into cDNA with reverse transcriptase (RT) then the survivin gene fragment (430 bp) was amplified with PCR using specific primers. The products of the PCR reaction were separated on 2% agarose gel. The survivin gene was expressed in 4 of 6 cases of scar endometriosis after cesarean section and in 2/2 cases of perineum endometriosis. In all cases of normal endometrium we found the expression of survivin with a peak in the late proliferative phase. The antiapoptosis function of this gene product may play an important role in the endometriotic implant growth promotion. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever23 | Ultra-low microcurrent therapy: a novel approach for treatment of chronic resistant wounds.
This study was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of ultra-low microcurrent delivered by the Electro Pressure Regeneration Therapy (EPRT) device for the management of chronic wounds. In this study, 23 patients with chronic skin ulcers and 2 with abdominal dehiscence that was present for an average of 16.5 mo, who were not responsive to standard conservative treatment in a hospital setting, were treated with the EPRT device. Wounds were treated with direct current (maximum of 3 mA) of 1 polarity for 11.5 min and then with a current of the opposite polarity for another 11.5 min. Treatment was applied through ultra-low microcurrents (in the mA to nA range) conducted through special wraps applied above and below the wound. The results revealed that 34.8% of cases achieved complete wound healing after an average of 45.6 h of treatment, and 39.1% achieved >or=50% healing after an average of 39.7 h of treatment. Several patients achieved significant results after 1 to 2 treatments. The EPRT device not only accelerated healing but also appeared to negate the effect of a person's age on wound healing. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever24 | [The principles and research status of noninvasive glucose detection based on near-infrared spectrum].
It is of great clinical significance to investigate noninvasive glucose detection. As one of the most potential methods, the noninvasive glucose detection based on near-infrared has become a hot research area recently. In this paper the principles and research methods of noninvasive glucose detection based on near-infrared spectrum are introduced. With the comparison between the research status at home and abroad in recent years, we summarize and discuss crucial issues in near-infrared noninvasive glucose detection, such as the selection of measurement method, selection of measurement position and choice of wavelength, and, furthermore, setting up models. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever25 | [Hearing loss in a cultural-historical context. Part 1].
BACKGROUND
It is rare to find anything written about hearing loss or its treatment in either representative art or in a medical-historical context in ear, nose and throat journals.
METHODS
Examples dating back over the past 4000 years found in medical-historical, philosophical, and literary documents are presented and commented on.
RESULTS
The ancient Egyptians and Greeks attempted to explain deafness and sought remedies,making use not only of empiric rational means but also magic and religion. Later, in the Middle Ages, examples from Christian iconography are found demonstrating miracle healing of deafness. Education of the deaf was not considered possible from the time of Aristotle to the sixteenth century, but from then on was organized on a large scale utilizing speech with gestures. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever26 | Incisor trauma in a Turkish preschool population: prevalence and socio-economic risk factors.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to assess the prevalence of traumatic injuries of the primary incisors in preschool children from 2 to 5 years old in South-Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. Additionally, the relationship between traumatic dental injuries, parents' education level, family income, size of incisal overjet and the presence of anterior open bite were examined.
BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN
A cross-sectional survey
CLINICAL SETTINGS
Data were collected through oral examinations and structured interviews, and included socio-economic indicators.
PARTICIPANTS
A total of 727 children of both genders were included in the study. 122 of these children were aged 2; 183 aged 3; 178 aged 4 and 186 aged 5.
RESULTS
The prevalence of dental injuries was 8.0% (n = 58). The highest frequency of trauma in the primary teeth was observed at the age of 4. Boys experienced more dental injuries than girls, 12.2% and 4.0%, respectively. The most common crown fracture was in enamel only (57%) followed by crown fracture of enamel and dentin (19%).
CONCLUSION
The prevalence of dental injuries in Turkish preschool children was very low. The children with incisal overjet greater than 5mm and anterior open bite experienced more dental injuries in primary teeth than their counterparts with normal occlusion. Socio-economic indicators were not statistically significantly associated with the occurrence of traumatic dental injuries. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever27 | The Cartesian bull's eye in the classroom.
A replication of Descartes' demonstration of the inversion of the retinal image is described. Suggestions are made for both preparing a cattle eye and constructing an artificial one for purposes of classroom demonstration. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever28 | Highly sensitive and selective glucose sensor based on ultraviolet-treated nematic liquid crystals.
Glucose is an extremely important biomolecule, and the ability to sense it has played a significant role in facilitating the understanding of many biological processes. Here, we report a novel glucose sensor based on ultraviolet (UV)-treated nematic liquid crystals. Submerging UV-treated 4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) in a glucose solution (while carefully adjusting its pH to 7.5 with NaOH and HCl) triggered an optical response, from dark to bright, observed with a polarized microscope. Notably, 5CB was located inside a glucose oxidase (GOx)-modified gold grid. We exploited this pH-driven phenomenon to design a new glucose sensor. This device could detect as little as 1 pM analyte, which is 3 orders of magnitude lower than the detection limit of the most sensitive glucose sensor currently available. It also exhibits high selectivity due to GOx modification. Thus, this is a promising technique for glucose detection, not only for clinical diagnostics, but also for sensing low levels of glucose in a biological environment (e.g., single cells and bacterial cultures). | No pos | No neg |
Retriever29 | Human IVIG treatment in a neurological disease model for Enterovirus A71 infection in 28-day-old AG129 mice.
Enterovirus A71 can cause serious neurological disease in young children. Animal models for EV-A71 are needed to evaluate potential antiviral therapies. Existing models have limitations, including lack of lethality or crucial disease signs. Here we report the development of an EV-A71 model in 28-day-old mice. Virus was serially passaged until it produced consistent lethality and rear-limb paralysis. Onset of disease occurred between days 6-9 post-infection, with mortality following weight loss and neurological signs on days 9-14. In addition, a single administration of human intravenous immunoglobulin at doses of 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg at 4h post-infection was evaluated in the model. Protection from weight loss, neurological signs, and mortality (between 50 and 89%) were observed at doses of 400 mg/kg or greater. Based on these results, IVIG was selected for use as a positive control in this acute model, and suggest that IVIG is a potential therapeutic for EV-A71 infections. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever30 | Handling Missing Data in the Modeling of Intensive Longitudinal Data.
Myriad approaches for handling missing data exist in the literature. However, few studies have investigated the tenability and utility of these approaches when used with intensive longitudinal data. In this study, we compare and illustrate two multiple imputation (MI) approaches for coping with missingness in fitting multivariate time-series models under different missing data mechanisms. They include a full MI approach, in which all dependent variables and covariates are imputed simultaneously, and a partial MI approach, in which missing covariates are imputed with MI, whereas missingness in the dependent variables is handled via full information maximum likelihood estimation. We found that under correctly specified models, partial MI produces the best overall estimation results. We discuss the strengths and limitations of the two MI approaches, and demonstrate their use with an empirical data set in which children's influences on parental conflicts are modeled as covariates over the course of 15 days (Schermerhorn, Chow, & Cummings, 2010). | No pos | No neg |
Retriever31 | Krimpsiekte, associated with thalamic lesions, induced by the neurotoxic cardiac glycoside, cotyledoside, isolated from Tylecodon wallichii (Harv.) Toelken subsp. wallichii.
The specific neurotoxic principle of Tylecodon wallichii (Harv.) Toelken subsp. wallichii, the cause of krimpsiekte in small stock, was isolated and identified as the previously described cumulative bufadienolide, cotyledoside. Krimpsiekte was experimentally induced in two sheep by the repeated intravenous administration of cotyledoside at the rate of 0.01-0.015 mg/kg body mass. On day 9, both animals developed clinical signs typical of krimpsiekte, which is characterized by tremors, paresis and recumbency. Both sheep had difficulty in controlling their hindquarters when attempting to lie down. No significant electrocardiograph abnormalities were detected during the experiment which confirms that cotyledoside at low doses does not overtly affect the electrical activity of the heart. No gross lesions were observed in the sheep. The most significant microscopic lesions comprised mild brain oedema and pronounced vacuolation of the white matter of thalamic nuclei. These lesions might explain some of the motor function deficiencies clinically observed in this syndrome. The previously held contention that these neurotoxic cardiac glycosides are indeed the cause of krimpsiekte is, therefore, confirmed. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever32 | Fluorescence in situ hybridisation as an ancillary tool in the diagnosis of acral melanoma: a review of 44 cases.
Acral melanoma is associated with outcomes which are more unfavourable than those of other melanoma subtypes, and acral melanoma has higher mortality. However, histological distinction of acral melanoma from acral naevi may be difficult. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) targeting specific genes has been used as an ancillary method for differential diagnosis of melanocytic tumours, but most previous studies have focused on non-acral lesions which may have genetic alterations different from acral lesions. We evaluated use of multi-site FISH in the diagnosis of acral melanoma in a series of 82 acral melanocytic tumours. Two probe groups were applied. Probe set 1 involved a 4-probe FISH targeting 6p25 (RREB1), CEP6 (centromere 6), 6q23 (MYB) and 11q13 (CCND1). Probe set 2 involved a 3-probe FISH targeting 8q24 (MYC), 9p21 (CDKN2A) and CEP9 (centromere 9). In 44 primary acral melanomas, sensitivity was 70.5% (31/44) using probe set 1 alone, and 59.1% (26/44) using probe set 2 alone. When both probe sets were combined, sensitivity increased to 88.6% (39/44). The frequency of each gene alteration was as follows: MYC gain in 54.5% cases (24/44), RREB1 gain in 52.3% cases (23/44), CCND1 gain in 45.4% cases (20/44), MYB loss relative to CEP6 in 25.0% cases (11/44), and CDKN2A homozygous deletion in 20.5% cases (9/44). For lesions with both in situ and invasive disease, FISH findings in these two components were similar. No gene alterations were detected in any of 36 benign acral naevi. In this study FISH exhibited sensitivity and specificity in diagnosis of acral melanoma which allows its application as an auxiliary diagnostic test in acral melanocytic tumours. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever33 | Dietary intake by food group of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review.
AIMS
To synthesize peer-reviewed literature that investigates the dietary intake by food group of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and compare intakes to national and international dietary guidelines.
METHODS
Four electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and Web of Sciences) were searched for studies that investigated the dietary intake of adults (≥18 years) with T2DM using the five main food groups (fruit, vegetables, dairy, grains and meat/meat alternatives). Food group intake in serves was compared against national guidelines and fruit and vegetable intake in grams was compared against the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
RESULTS
After screening 13,662 publications, 11 studies were included. All reported cross-sectional data. Majority of participants were consuming less than the recommended serves of fruit, vegetables, grains and dairy and were meeting or exceeding the recommended serves for meat/meat alternatives. Two of six studies reported fruit and vegetable recommendations were being met, two reported dairy recommendations were being met and two reported grain recommendations were being met. Of the five studies reporting intake in grams, four met the WHO minimum intake for fruit and vegetables.
CONCLUSIONS
Individuals with T2DM do not comply with food group recommendations; particularly for fruit, vegetables, dairy and grains. Longitudinal research is required to better understand how food group intake changes over time after diagnosis. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever34 | Functional live cell imaging of the pulmonary neuroepithelial body microenvironment.
Pulmonary neuroepithelial bodies (NEBs) are densely innervated groups of neuroendocrine cells invariably accompanied by Clara-like cells. Together with NEBs, Clara-like cells form the so-called "NEB microenvironment," which recently has been assigned a potential pulmonary stem cell niche. Conclusive data on the nature of physiological stimuli for NEBs are lacking. This study aimed at developing an ex vivo mouse lung vibratome slice model for confocal live cell imaging of physiological reactions in identified NEBs and surrounding epithelial cells. Immunohistochemistry of fixed slices demonstrated that NEBs are almost completely shielded from the airway lumen by tight junction-linked Clara-like cells. Besides the unambiguous identification of NEBs, the fluorescent dye 4-Di-2-ASP allowed microscopic identification of ciliated cells, Clara cells, and Clara-like cells in live lung slices. Using the mitochondrial uncoupler FCCP and a mitochondrial membrane potential indicator, JC-1, increases in 4-Di-2-ASP fluorescence in NEB cells and ciliated cells were shown to represent alterations in mitochondrial membrane potential. Changes in the intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+](i)) in NEBs and surrounding airway epithelial cells were simultaneously monitored using the calcium indicator Fluo-4. Application (5 s) of 50 mM extracellular potassium ([K+](o)) evoked a fast and reproducible [Ca2+](i) increase in NEB cells, while Clara-like cells displayed a delayed (+/- 4 s) [Ca2+](i) increase, suggestive of an indirect, NEB-mediated activation. The presented approach opens interesting new perspectives for unraveling the functional significance of pulmonary NEBs in control lungs and disease models, and for the first time allows direct visualization of local interactions within the NEB microenvironment. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever35 | Free-Energy-Based Discrete Unified Gas Kinetic Scheme for van der Waals Fluid.
The multiphase model based on free-energy theory has been experiencing long-term prosperity for its solid foundation and succinct implementation. To identify the main hindrance to developing a free-energy-based discrete unified gas-kinetic scheme (DUGKS), we introduced the classical lattice Boltzmann free-energy model into the DUGKS implemented with different flux reconstruction schemes. It is found that the force imbalance amplified by the reconstruction errors prevents the direct application of the free-energy model to the DUGKS. By coupling the well-balanced free-energy model with the DUGKS, the influences of the amplified force imbalance are entirely removed. Comparative results demonstrated a consistent performance of the well-balanced DUGKS despite the reconstruction schemes utilized. The capability of the DUGKS coupled with the well-balanced free-energy model was quantitatively validated by the coexisting density curves and Laplace's law. In the quiescent droplet test, the magnitude of spurious currents is reduced to a machine accuracy of 10-15. Aside from the excellent performance of the well-balanced DUGKS in predicting steady-state multiphase flows, the spinodal decomposition test and the droplet coalescence test revealed its stability problems in dealing with transient flows. Further improvements are required on this point. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever36 | Bacterial Small RNAs in the Genus Herbaspirillum spp.
The genus Herbaspirillum includes several strains isolated from different grasses. The identification of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in the genus Herbaspirillum is an important stage studying the interaction of these molecules and the way they modulate physiological responses of different mechanisms, through RNA⁻RNA interaction or RNA⁻protein interaction. This interaction with their target occurs through the perfect pairing of short sequences (cis-encoded ncRNAs) or by the partial pairing of short sequences (trans-encoded ncRNAs). However, the companion Hfq can stabilize interactions in the trans-acting class. In addition, there are Riboswitches, located at the 5' end of mRNA and less often at the 3' end, which respond to environmental signals, high temperatures, or small binder molecules. Recently, CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats), in prokaryotes, have been described that consist of serial repeats of base sequences (spacer DNA) resulting from a previous exposure to exogenous plasmids or bacteriophages. We identified 285 ncRNAs in Herbaspirillum seropedicae (H. seropedicae) SmR1, expressed in different experimental conditions of RNA-seq material, classified as cis-encoded ncRNAs or trans-encoded ncRNAs and detected RNA riboswitch domains and CRISPR sequences. The results provide a better understanding of the participation of this type of RNA in the regulation of the metabolism of bacteria of the genus Herbaspirillum spp. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever37 | Single fiber reflectance spectroscopy on cervical premalignancies: the potential for reduction of the number of unnecessary biopsies.
We have assessed the value of single fiber reflectance (SFR) spectroscopy in prediction of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL). SFR was used to measure reflected light from 32 patients undergoing standard colposcopy. Seven parameters extracted from the spectra in addition to two biographic parameters were compared in biopsy-confirmed SIL versus nonSIL. The significant parameters in the model were determined using stepwise logistic regression. The classification performance was evaluated by a leave-one-out cross-validation method and reported by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Light absorption properties and biographic characteristics of the patient contributed significantly to the accuracy of the model. Combining important parameters, the best retrospective sensitivity, specificity and area under the ROC curve for SIL sites versus nonSIL were 89%, 80% and 0.89%, respectively. SFR spectroscopy shows promise as a noninvasive, real-time method to guide the clinician in reducing the number of unnecessary biopsies. Discrimination of SIL from other abnormalities compares favorably with that obtained by fluorescence alone and by fluorescence combined with reflectance spectroscopy while the simplicity and low cost of the presented system are dominant. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever38 | High-affinity IgE recognition of a conformational epitope of the major respiratory allergen Phl p 2 as revealed by X-ray crystallography.
We report the three-dimensional structure of the complex between the major respiratory grass pollen allergen Phl p 2 and its specific human IgE-derived Fab. The Phl p 2-specific human IgE Fab has been isolated from a combinatorial library constructed from lymphocytes of a pollen allergic patient. When the variable domains of the IgE Fab were grafted onto human IgG1, the resulting Ab (huMab2) inhibited strongly the binding of allergic patients' IgE to Phl p 2 as well as allergen-induced basophil degranulation. Analysis of the binding of the allergen to the Ab by surface plasmon resonance yielded a very low dissociation constant (K(D) = 1.1 x 10(-10) M), which is similar to that between IgE and Fcepsilon;RI. The structure of the Phl p 2/IgE Fab complex was determined by x-ray crystallography to 1.9 A resolution revealing a conformational epitope (876 A(2)) comprised of the planar surface of the four-stranded anti-parallel beta-sheet of Phl p 2. The IgE-defined dominant epitope is discontinuous and formed by 21 residues located mostly within the beta strands. Of the 21 residues, 9 interact directly with 5 of the 6 CDRs (L1, L3, H1, H2, H3) of the IgE Fab predominantly by hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions. Our results indicate that IgE Abs recognize conformational epitopes with high affinity and provide a structural basis for the highly efficient effector cell activation by allergen/IgE immune complexes. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever39 | Effect on essential health services during COVID-19 at the Primary level in India.
Background
Coronavirus diesease (COVID-19) led to increased demand on the Indian health system due to the pandemic as well as other communicable and non-communicable diseases. Guidance was thus issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), India, in April 2020 to maintain the delivery of essential health services.
Objectives
To determine the extent of disruptions of essential healthcare services, identify associated factors, and establish pertinent correlations to address specific needs.
Methods
The Mother and child tracking facilitation centre (MCTFC) conducted a telephonic survey with the front-line workers (FLWs) and beneficiaries in 21 Indian states. The sample size was determined using the infinite population sample size formula, and respondents were selected through a computer-generated random sequence technique. Data were quantitatively analysed using STATA-16. Descriptive univariate analysis was conducted using the Chi-square test.
Findings
The majority of the essential health services were being satisfactorily delivered by FLWs (N = 1596; accredited social health activist (ASHA) = 798, auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) = 798), where most of the beneficiaries (N = 1410; Pregnant Women = 708, Postnatal Women = 702) continued accessing services with minor issues concerning referral transport. FLWs reported issues in the provisioning of medicines (P = 0.000) for patients with non-communicable diseases and more ANMs than ASHAs reported it. FLWs commonly experienced challenges in extending services due to community resistance and unavailability of general health services at healthcare facilities, where a greater number of ASHAs faced it (P = 0.000). Both FLWs and beneficiaries (N = 3006; FLWs = 1596, beneficiaries = 1410) demonstrated appropriate COVID-19 knowledge and behavior.
Conclusion
Although overwhelmed, the Indian health system performed satisfactorily well during pandemic in terms of essential health services. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever40 | Virtual endoscopy in abdominal MR imaging.
As illustrated in this review, the diagnostic utility of VIE is highly dependent on the individual application. Virtual intraluminal endoscopy does not alter the informational content of the data set; rather, the data is presented in a different manner. In view of the considerable time requirements still associated with the VIE rendering process, the additional diagnostic value gained by VIE must be determined for each of the potential applications. Thus VIE was shown to be of no additional value in the assessment of 3D MR angiographic data sets of the abdominal aorta and renal arteries. For MR colonography, on the other hand, in vitro experiments as well as in vivo experience have demonstrated a vast diagnostic value as a primary screen supplemented by detailed analysis of reformatted images in all three orthogonal axes. In summary, virtual intraluminal imaging is a powerful tool for exploring 3D MR data sets of various abdominal structures from a different perspective. Clearly much more work is required to determine its diagnostic utility relative to its cost. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever41 | Stress, cortisol, and obesity: a role for cortisol responsiveness in identifying individuals prone to obesity.
There is a strong inter-relationship between activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis and energy homeostasis. Patients with abdominal obesity have elevated cortisol levels. Furthermore, stress and glucocorticoids act to control both food intake and energy expenditure. In particular, glucocorticoids are known to increase the consumption of foods enriched in fat and sugar. It is well-known that, in all species, the cortisol response to stress or adrenocorticotropin is highly variable. It has now emerged that cortisol responsiveness is an important determinant in the metabolic sequelae to stress. Sheep that are characterized as high-cortisol responders (HRs) have greater propensity to weight gain and obesity than low-cortisol responders (LRs). This difference in susceptibility to become obese is associated with a distinct metabolic, neuroendocrine, and behavioral phenotype. In women and ewes, HR individuals eat more in response to stress than LR. Furthermore, HR sheep have impaired melanocortin signaling and reduced skeletal muscle thermogenesis. High-cortisol responder sheep exhibit reactive coping strategies, whereas LRs exhibit proactive coping strategies. This complex set of traits leads to increased food intake and reduced energy expenditure in HR and thus, predisposition to obesity. We predict that cortisol responsiveness may be used as a marker to identify individuals who are at risk of weight gain and subsequent obesity. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever42 | Activated RHOA and peripheral axon regeneration.
The regeneration of adult peripheral neurons after transection is slow, incomplete and encumbered by severe barriers to proper regrowth. The role of RHOA GTPase has not been examined in this context. We examined the expression, activity and functional role of RHOA GTPase and its ROK effector, inhibitors of regeneration, during peripheral axon outgrowth. We used qRT-PCR, quantitative immunohistochemistry, and assays of RHOA activation to examine expression in sensory neurons of rats with sciatic transection injuries. In vitro, we exposed dissociated adult sensory neurons, not grown on inhibitory substrates, to a RHOA-ROK inhibitor HA-1077 and measured neurite initiation and outgrowth. In vivo, we exposed early regenerating axons and Schwann cells directly to HA-1077 in a conduit connecting the proximal and distal stumps of transected sciatic nerves. Intact adult dorsal root ganglia sensory neurons expressed RHOA and ROK 1 mRNAs and protein and there were rises in RHOA after injury. Activated GTP-bound RHOA, undetectable in intact ganglia, was dramatically upregulated in both neurons and axons after injury. Adult rat sensory neurons in vitro demonstrated a dose-related increase in the initiation of neurite outgrowth, and in the proportion with long neurites when they were exposed to a ROK antagonist. Regenerative bridges that were directly exposed to the ROK inhibitor had a dose-related rise in the extent and distance of in vivo axon and partnered Schwann cell regrowth within them. RHOA activation and signaling are features of adult peripheral axon regeneration within its own milieu, independent of myelin. Inhibition of its activation may benefit peripheral axon lesions. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever43 | Crystal structure of 2α-(1,1-di-phenyl-eth-yl)-4-methyl-4α,5α-diphenyl-1,3-dioxolane: the result of a non-acid pinacol rearrangement.
The title compound, C30H28O2, was obtained during recrystallization of (±)-1,2-diphenyl-1,2-propane-diol in 1-butanol, from an unexpected non-acid-catalyzed pinacol rearrangement followed by acetal formation of the newly formed aldehyde with the diol. The tri-substituted dioxolane ring has a twist conformation on the C-O bond opposite the methyl-substituted C atom. There is an intra-molecular C-H⋯π inter-action present involving one of the di-phenyl-ethyl rings and an H atom of the phenyl ring in position 4 of the dioxolane ring. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains along [001]. The chains are linked by a second C-H⋯π inter-action, forming sheets parallel to the bc plane. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever44 | Protein threading using context-specific alignment potential.
MOTIVATION
Template-based modeling, including homology modeling and protein threading, is the most reliable method for protein 3D structure prediction. However, alignment errors and template selection are still the main bottleneck for current template-base modeling methods, especially when proteins under consideration are distantly related.
RESULTS
We present a novel context-specific alignment potential for protein threading, including alignment and template selection. Our alignment potential measures the log-odds ratio of one alignment being generated from two related proteins to being generated from two unrelated proteins, by integrating both local and global context-specific information. The local alignment potential quantifies how well one sequence residue can be aligned to one template residue based on context-specific information of the residues. The global alignment potential quantifies how well two sequence residues can be placed into two template positions at a given distance, again based on context-specific information. By accounting for correlation among a variety of protein features and making use of context-specific information, our alignment potential is much more sensitive than the widely used context-independent or profile-based scoring function. Experimental results confirm that our method generates significantly better alignments and threading results than the best profile-based methods on several large benchmarks. Our method works particularly well for distantly related proteins or proteins with sparse sequence profiles because of the effective integration of context-specific, structure and global information.
AVAILABILITY
http://raptorx.uchicago.edu/download/. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever45 | Detection of canine Schistosoma japonicum infection using recombinant thioredoxin peroxidase-1 and tandem repeat proteins.
Humans and dogs live very close together and share various pathogens causing zoonotic parasitoses like schistosomiasis. A previous population genetics study done for schistosomes in the Philippines suggested that there is a high transmission level of Schistosoma japonicum among humans and dogs proving that the latter are important reservoirs for this zoonotic parasite. A more sensitive and specific test detecting schistosome infection in dogs will therefore strengthen the zoonotic surveillance, which might help in the possible elimination of this ancient disease. In this study, recombinant thioredoxin peroxidase-1 (SjTPx-1) and tandem repeat proteins (Sj1TR, Sj2TR, Sj4TR, Sj7TR) previously tested on human and water buffalo samples were used to assess its diagnostic applicability to dogs. Fifty-nine dog serum and stool samples were collected in the schistosomiasis-endemic municipalities of Calatrava, Negros Occidental and Catarman, Northern Samar in the Philippines and examined using the ELISA as compared to microscopy and fecal sample-based PCR. Samples positive for Babesia gibsoni and Dirofilaria immitis were also used to check for cross-reaction. Results showed that SjTPx-1 (80% sensitivity, 92.3% specificity) and Sj7TR (73.3% sensitivity, 92.3% specificity) have good potentials for diagnosing S. japonicum infection in dogs. These diagnostic antigens will therefore improve the surveillance in the transmission of the parasites from dogs to humans. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever46 | [Effect of sand therapy on femur mechanical properties of arthritis in rabbits and finite element analysis].
OBJECTIVE
To determine the effect of sand therapy on the changes the femur mechanical properties of arthritis in rabbits in treatment.
METHODS
Right knees of New Zealand rabbits were fixed for 6 weeks by plaster, and taken off after 6 weeks. The rabbits were divided into a sand therapy group and a control group. The sand therapy group was treated for 20 d, the control group did not receive any treatment. After 20 days, 7 workpieces were taken from the sand therapy group, and 5 from the control group. After compression experiment, sigma-epsilon curves were obtained.Finite element method was used to analyze the stress cloud and the deformation cloud.
RESULTS
The sand therapy group showed high compressive strength. The stress of the control group was lower than that of the sand therapy group (P<0.05). When the surface materials were destroyed, the workpieces from the sand therapy group still bore large load, which matched the property that bone material was a typical multi-storey composite material. The stress cloud also found that the long axle suffered larger stress than the short axle, and the workpieces were more likely destroyed from the long axle.
CONCLUSION
Sand therapy can improve the mechanical properties of the bone. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever47 | The validity of causal claims with repeated measures designs: A within-study comparison evaluation of differences-in-differences and the comparative interrupted time series.
Modern policies are commonly evaluated not with randomized experiments but with repeated measures designs like difference-in-differences (DID) and the comparative interrupted time series (CITS). The key benefit of these designs is that they control for unobserved confounders that are fixed over time. However, DID and CITS designs only result in unbiased impact estimates when the model assumptions are consistent with the data at hand. In this paper, we empirically test whether the assumptions of repeated measures designs are met in field settings. Using a within-study comparison design, we compare experimental estimates of the impact of patient-directed care on medical expenditures to non-experimental DID and CITS estimates for the same target population and outcome. Our data come from a multi-site experiment that includes participants receiving Medicaid in Arkansas, Florida, and New Jersey. We present summary measures of repeated measures bias across three states, four comparison groups, two model specifications, and two outcomes. We find that, on average, bias resulting from repeated measures designs are very close to zero (less than 0.01 standard deviations; SDs). Further, we find that comparison groups which have pre-treatment trends that are visibly parallel to the treatment group result in less bias than those with visibly divergent trends. However, CITS models that control for baseline trends produced slightly more bias and were less precise than DID models that only control for baseline means. Overall, we offer optimistic evidence in favor of repeated measures designs when randomization is not feasible. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever48 | The prognostic value of biventricular long axis strain using standard cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
BACKGROUND
Long axis strain (LAS) is a parameter derived from standard cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging. However, the prognostic value of biventricular LAS in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is unknown.
METHODS
Patients with HCM (n = 384) and healthy volunteers (n = 150) were included in the study. Left ventricular (LV)-LAS was defined as the percentage change in the length measured from the epicardial border of the LV apex to the midpoint of a line connecting the mitral annulus at end-systole and end-diastole. Right ventricular (RV)-LAS represented the percentage change of length between epicardial border of the LV apex to the midpoint of a line connecting the tricuspid annulus at end-systole and end-diastole. The primary endpoint was a combination of all-cause death and sudden cardiac death aborted by appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator discharge and cardiopulmonary resuscitation after syncope. The secondary endpoint was a combination of the primary endpoint and hospitalization for congestive heart failure.
RESULTS
Twenty-nine patients (7.6%) achieved the primary endpoint, and the secondary endpoint occurred in 66 (17.2%) patients. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, RV-LAS was an independent prognostic factor for the primary (hazard ratio (HR), 1.13) and secondary (HR, 1.11) endpoints. In the subgroup of patients with a normal RV ejection fraction (EF) (>45.0%, n = 345), impaired RV-LAS was associated with adverse outcomes and might add incremental prognostic value to RVEF and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) (p < 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS
RV-LAS is an independent predictor of adverse prognosis in HCM in addition to RVEF and TAPSE. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever49 | Composite correction of a unilateral cleft lip nose deformity and alveolar bone grafting.
BACKGROUND
Managing the cleft lip nasal deformity has always been a challenge. Even now, there is no single established universally accepted method of correction. The open alveolar gap and the ipsilateral hypoplastic maxilla are two major problems in achieving consistently good results in a cleft lip nasal deformity. In our study, after first assuring the orthodontic realignment of maxillary arches, we combined bone grafting in the alveolar gap and along the pyriform margin, with a formal open rhinoplasty approach.
METHODS
All the patients underwent orthodontic treatment for preparation of the alveolar bone grafting. During the process of alveolar bone graft, a strip of septal cartilage graft was harvested from the lower border of the septum which also helps to correct the septal deviation. The cancellous bone graft harvested from the iliac crest was used to fill the alveolar gap and placed along the pyriform margin to gain symmetry. Through open rhinoplasty along the alar rim and additionally using Potter's incision extending to the lateral vestibule, the lateral crura of the alar cartilage on the cleft side was released from its lateral attachment and advanced medially as a chondromucosal flap in a V-Y fashion, in order to bring the cleft-side alar cartilage into a normal symmetric position. The harvested septal cartilage graft was used as a columellar strut. The cleft nostril sill was narrowed by a Y-V advancement at the alar base and any overhanging alar rim skin was carefully excised to achieve symmetry.
RESULTS
The results of this composite approach were encouraging in our series of 15 patients with no additional morbidity and a better symmetry of the nose and airway especially in the adolescent age group.
CONCLUSION
This concept of simultaneous approach when appropriate for nasal correction at the time of alveolar bone grafting showed an encouraging aesthetic and functional outcome. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever50 | Hybrid adeno-associated virus bearing nonhomologous inverted terminal repeats enhances dual-vector reconstruction of minigenes in vivo.
We have previously demonstrated that hybrid adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors bearing nonhomologous inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) enhance directional intermolecular recombination and the efficiency of dual-AAV vector trans-splicing in cultured cells. Using hybrid-ITR vectors carrying two exons of a lacZ minigene, we demonstrate that this dual-vector approach also mediates higher levels (3- to 6-fold) of gene reconstitution in mouse skeletal muscle, liver, and heart. Inhibition of the proteasome by systemic administration of Doxil (Food and Drug Administration-approved lipid-formulated doxorubicin) further enhanced dual-vector trans-splicing 6- to 12-fold in two mouse strains. Hence, using hybrid-ITR AAV vectors in combination with proteasome modulation enhanced dual-vector delivery of a transgene approximately 36-fold over the current dual-vector trans-splicing approaches. These data provide in vivo evidence that ITR sequence-dependent homologous recombination, rather than nonhomologous end joining, is the predominant mechanism for AAV genome heterodimerization. Hence, enhanced directional recombination provided by hybrid-ITR vectors may be a useful in vivo strategy for improving dual-vector delivery of transgenes larger than the AAV packaging limit. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever51 | Preliminary experience at a Canadian centre with directional coronary atherectomy for complex lesions.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate preliminary experience of directional coronary atherectomy for complex coronary artery lesions.
DESIGN
Nonrandomized, sequential patients with coronary arterial lesions that were ostial, eccentric, bulky, recurrent or membranous.
SETTING
Cardiac catheterization laboratory of a tertiary referral general hospital.
PATIENTS
Twenty-three patients with angina pectoris refractory to medical therapy who were suitable candidates for coronary bypass surgery.
INTERVENTIONS
Directional coronary atherectomy with associated balloon angioplasty, if required, to reduce lesion stenosis to less than 25%.
MAIN RESULTS
Primary success was achieved in 29 of 33 lesions (88%) by atherectomy alone and in 31 of 33 lesions (94%) by additional use of balloon angioplasty. Atherectomy retrieved tissue in 30 of 33 attempts (91%). One patient suffered Q wave myocardial infarction; one had acute occlusion after atherectomy requiring emergency balloon angioplasty; and one required repair of a false aneurysm of the femoral artery.
CONCLUSIONS
Directional coronary atherectomy is safe and efficacious for ostial, bulky and eccentric lesions not optimally suited to balloon angioplasty. Lesions which have tortuous segments immediately beyond, restricting movement of the stiff nose-cone, and which are membranous or bandlike, may not be indicated for directional coronary atherectomy. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever52 | Quantitative and molecular analysis of buspirone hydrochloride polymorphs.
Quantitative and molecular analysis have been performed on two main polymorphs of buspirone hydrochloride (BUS-HCl). Quantitative analysis of solid-state composition of pharmaceutical powders is necessary to ensure safety and efficacy of drug substance and to validate the production processes. In this study, X-ray powder diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry have been used for the quantitative analysis of two polymorphic forms of BUS-HCl. In addition, single crystal X-ray study of Form 1 revealed its crystal structure, however, a similar study on Form 2 was not possible due to the difficulties encountered in producing it. Molecular analysis including partial charge analysis has been performed by using Gaussian simulation package to find the electro-negativity pattern in molecule. 1H and 13C solid-state NMR spectra of polymorphs were recorded and also regression equations and QM theory were developed to predict the 1H and 13C NMR spectra through the use of atomic environmental descriptors. The NMR differences between the two polymorphs were discussed by using prediction and experimental results and description of each NMR shift for carbon and hydrogen atoms. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever53 | Butyrivibrio spp. and other xylanolytic microorganisms from the rumen have cinnamoyl esterase activity.
High concentrations of hydroxycinnamic acids in the hemicellulosic fraction of dry season tropical grasses may influence the rate of microbial degradation of arabinoxylans by ruminant animals. The ability of 22 strains of Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, other ruminal bacteria (Ruminococcus albus SY3, Ruminococcus flavefaciens RF1,Prevotella ruminicola AR20) and the ruminal phycomycete Neocallimastix patriciarum CX to digest the tropical grass Heteropogon contortus(spear grass) and hydrolyse esterified ferulic and p-coumaric acid was examined. Significant digestion (8-36%) of spear grass occurred with the B. fibrisolvens strains H17c, A38, LP92-1-1, 49,R. albus SY3 and N. patriciarum. Hydrolysis of ester-linked ferulic and p-coumaric acid occurred with all organisms except B. fibrisolvens strains GS113, OB156 and LP1028 and P. ruminicola AR20. The ratio of ferulic to p-coumaric acid hydrolysed by different strains of Butyrivibrio spp. varied markedly from 0.96 for AR 51 to 0.16 for A38. Butyrivibrios which were fibrolytic (H17c and A38) had higher extracellular cinnamoyl esterase activity than bacteria that did not digest spear grass fibre (LP 91-4-1 and AR 20) which had low activities or only produced cell associated enzyme. Cell associated and extracellular esterase activity were induced when Butyrivibrio spp. strains H17c, A38 and E14 and the Ruminococcus spp. were grown on birchwood xylan but induction did not occur to the same extent with N. patriciarum. This is the first reported observation of cinnamoyl esterase activity in the genus Ruminococcus. The fungus N. patriciarum had significantly higher digestibility of spear grass and solubilisation of phenolic acids than the bacteria. The study shows that high levels of extracellular cinnamoyl esterases are characteristic of a selection of fibre-degrading ruminal bacteria and fungi which probably indicates that these enzymes are common amongst xylanolytic ruminal microorganisms. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever54 | Creating a center for global health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Globalization, migration, and widespread health disparities call for interdisciplinary approaches to improve health care at home and abroad. Health professions students are pursuing study abroad in increasing numbers, and universities are responding with programs to address these needs. The University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison schools of medicine and public health, nursing, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and the division of international studies have created an interdisciplinary center for global health (CGH). The CGH provides health professions and graduate students with courses, field experiences, and a new Certificate in Global Health. Educational programs have catalyzed a network of enthusiastic UW global health scholars. Partnerships with colleagues in less economically developed countries provide the foundation for education, research, and service programs. Participants have collaborated to improve the education of health professionals and nutrition in Uganda; explore the interplay between culture, community development, and health in Ecuador; improve animal health and address domestic violence in Mexico; and examine successful public health efforts in Thailand. These programs supply students with opportunities to understand the complex determinants of health and structure of health systems, develop adaptability and cross-cultural communication skills, experience learning and working in interdisciplinary teams, and promote equity and reduce health disparities at home and abroad. Based on the principles of equity, sustainability, and reciprocity, the CGH provides a strong foundation to address global health challenges through networking and collaboration among students, staff, and faculty within the UW and beyond. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever55 | Crying-induced bronchospasm in childhood asthma: response to medical management.
Crying-induced bronchospasm (CIB), cough and/or wheeze greater than or equal to 5 minutes during or after crying behavior, is a common feature of childhood asthma. Sixty CIB patients were evaluated during a 6-month clinical treatment study consisting of environmental and pharmacologic (xanthines, beta-agonist stimulants, and corticosteroids) interventions. Both CIB (P = .007) and non-CIB (P = .0005) symptoms were significantly reduced. CIB asthma had lesser reduction in wheezing than non-CIB (P less than .001), suggesting that nebulized medication and/or behavioral interventions may be of benefit to further reduce CIB symptoms. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever56 | Exposure to diesel exhaust fumes in the context of exposure to ultrafine particles.
OBJECTIVES
Diesel exhaust fumes emission is a significant source of ultrafine particles, the size of which is expressed in nanometers. People occupationally exposed to diesel exhaust particles include mainly workers servicing vehicles with engines of this type. This article presents the analysis of measurements of ultrafine particle concentrations occurring in the bus depot premises during the work connected with everyday technical servicing of buses.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The measurements were carried out in the everyday servicing (ES) room of the bus depot before, during and after the work connected with bus servicing. Determinations included: particle concentrations in terms of particle number and particle surface area, and mass concentrations of aerosol.
RESULTS
Mean value of number concentration of 10- to 1000-nm particles increased almost 20-fold, from 7600 particles/cm3 before starting bus servicing procedures to 130 000 particles/cm3 during the bus servicing procedures in the room. During the procedures, the mean surface area concentration of particles potentially deposited in the alveolar (A) region was almost 3 times higher than that of the particles depositing in the tracheo-bronchial (TB) region: 356.46 μm2/cm3 vs. 95.97 μm2/cm3, respectively. The mass concentration of the fraction of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter 0.02-1 μm (PM1) increased 5-fold during the analyzed procedures and was 0.042 mg/m3 before, and 0.298 mg/m3 while the procedures continued.
CONCLUSIONS
At the time when bus servicing procedures continued in the ES room, a very high increase in all parameters of the analyzed particles was observed. The diesel exhaust particles exhibit a very high degree of fragmentation and, while their number is very high and their surface area is very large, their mass concentration is relatively low. The above findings confirm that ultrafine particles found in diesel exhaust fumes may be harmful to the health of the exposed people, and to their respiratory tract in particular. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever57 | Narrative Review Concerning the Clinical Spectrum of Ophthalmological Impairments in Parkinson's Disease.
Ophthalmic non-motor impairments are common in Parkinson's disease patients, from the onset of the neurodegenerative disease and even prior to the development of motor symptoms. This is a very crucial component of the potential for early detection of this disease, even in its earliest stages. Since the ophthalmological disease is extensive and impacts all extraocular and intraocular components of the optical analyzer, a competent assessment of it would be beneficial for the patients. Because the retina is an extension of the nervous system and has the same embryonic genesis as the central nervous system, it is helpful to investigate the retinal changes in Parkinson's disease in order to hypothesize insights that may also be applicable to the brain. As a consequence, the detection of these symptoms and signs may improve the medical evaluation of PD and predict the illness' prognosis. Another valuable aspect of this pathology is the fact that the ophthalmological damage contributes significantly to the decrease in the quality of life of patients with Parkinson's disease. We provide an overview of the most significant ophthalmologic impairments associated with Parkinson's disease. These results certainly constitute a large number of the prevalent visual impairments experienced by PD patients. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever58 | Small-sized polymeric micelles incorporating docetaxel suppress distant metastases in the clinically-relevant 4T1 mouse breast cancer model.
BACKGROUND
The small size of ultra-small nanoparticles makes them suitable for lymphatic delivery, and many recent studies have examined their role in anti-metastasis therapy. However, the anti-metastatic efficacy of small-sized nanocarriers loaded with taxanes such as docetaxel has not yet been investigated in malignant breast cancer.
METHODS
We encapsulated docetaxel using poly(D,L-lactide)1300-b-(polyethylene glycol-methoxy)2000 (mPEG2000-b-PDLLA1300) to construct polymeric micelles with a mean diameter of 16.76 nm (SPM). Patient-like 4T1/4T1luc breast cancer models in Balb/c mice, with resected and unresected primary tumors, were used to compare the therapeutic efficacies of SPM and free docetaxel (Duopafei) against breast cancer metastasis using bioluminescent imaging, lung nodule examination, and histological examination.
RESULT
SPM showed similar efficacy to Duopafei in terms of growth suppression of primary tumors, but greater chemotherapeutic efficacy against breast cancer metastasis. In addition, lung tissue inflammation was decreased in the SPM-treated group, while many tumor cells and neutrophils were found in the Duopafei-treated group.
CONCLUSION
Small-sized mPEG2000-b-PDLLA1300 micelles could provide an enhanced method of docetaxel delivery in breast cancer metastasis, and may represent a valid chemotherapeutic strategy in breast cancer patients with resected primary tumors. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever59 | De novo TRIM8 variants impair its protein localization to nuclear bodies and cause developmental delay, epilepsy, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.
Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is the main pathology underlying steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) and a leading cause of chronic kidney disease. Monogenic forms of pediatric SRNS are predominantly caused by recessive mutations, while the contribution of de novo variants (DNVs) to this trait is poorly understood. Using exome sequencing (ES) in a proband with FSGS/SRNS, developmental delay, and epilepsy, we discovered a nonsense DNV in TRIM8, which encodes the E3 ubiquitin ligase tripartite motif containing 8. To establish whether TRIM8 variants represent a cause of FSGS, we aggregated exome/genome-sequencing data for 2,501 pediatric FSGS/SRNS-affected individuals and 48,556 control subjects, detecting eight heterozygous TRIM8 truncating variants in affected subjects but none in control subjects (p = 3.28 × 10-11). In all six cases with available parental DNA, we demonstrated de novo inheritance (p = 2.21 × 10-15). Reverse phenotyping revealed neurodevelopmental disease in all eight families. We next analyzed ES from 9,067 individuals with epilepsy, yielding three additional families with truncating TRIM8 variants. Clinical review revealed FSGS in all. All TRIM8 variants cause protein truncation clustering within the last exon between residues 390 and 487 of the 551 amino acid protein, indicating a correlation between this syndrome and loss of the TRIM8 C-terminal region. Wild-type TRIM8 overexpressed in immortalized human podocytes and neuronal cells localized to nuclear bodies, while constructs harboring patient-specific variants mislocalized diffusely to the nucleoplasm. Co-localization studies demonstrated that Gemini and Cajal bodies frequently abut a TRIM8 nuclear body. Truncating TRIM8 DNVs cause a neuro-renal syndrome via aberrant TRIM8 localization, implicating nuclear bodies in FSGS and developmental brain disease. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever60 | One-pot synthesis of a shape-persistent endo-functionalised nano-sized adamantoid compound.
A simple approach by reversible imine condensation to shape-persistent endo-functionalised nanocage compounds is presented. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever61 | Lionfish, Pterois volitans Linnaeus 1758, the complete mitochondrial DNA of an invasive species.
The lionfish, Pterois volitans, native from the Indo-Pacific, has been found in Atlantic and Caribbean waters and is considered as an invasive species. Here we sequence its mitogenome (Genbank accession number KJ739816), which has a total length of 16,500 bp, and the arrangement consist of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes and 22 transfer RNA similar to other Pteroinae subfamily (family Scorpaenidae). This mitogenome will be useful for phylogenetic and population genetic studies of this invasive species. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever62 | Innovative Design Methodology for Patient-Specific Short Femoral Stems.
The biomechanical performance of hip prostheses is often suboptimal, which leads to problems such as strain shielding, bone resorption and implant loosening, affecting the long-term viability of these implants for articular repair. Different studies have highlighted the interest of short stems for preserving bone stock and minimizing shielding, hence providing an alternative to conventional hip prostheses with long stems. Such short stems are especially valuable for younger patients, as they may require additional surgical interventions and replacements in the future, for which the preservation of bone stock is fundamental. Arguably, enhanced results may be achieved by combining the benefits of short stems with the possibilities of personalization, which are now empowered by a wise combination of medical images, computer-aided design and engineering resources and automated manufacturing tools. In this study, an innovative design methodology for custom-made short femoral stems is presented. The design process is enhanced through a novel app employing elliptical adjustment for the quasi-automated CAD modeling of personalized short femoral stems. The proposed methodology is validated by completely developing two personalized short femoral stems, which are evaluated by combining in silico studies (finite element method (FEM) simulations), for quantifying their biomechanical performance, and rapid prototyping, for evaluating implantability. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever63 | Screening for tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection among undocumented immigrants at an unspecialised health service unit.
SETTING
Practical or cost-effective strategies to identify undocumented immigrants with latent tuberculosis infection and to deliver treatment for latent TB infection are still unavailable.
OBJECTIVES
To compare completion rates of screening procedures for TB infection and disease among undocumented immigrants at specialised (TB) and unspecialised health services in Italy.
DESIGN
A TB unit (TBU) and an unspecialised health service unit for migrants (MHCU) served as recruitment sites for recent undocumented immigrants from TB endemic areas. The screening included a symptom questionnaire, a tuberculin skin test and a chest X-ray.
RESULTS
Of 1318 eligible subjects, 1232 (93.4%) accepted the screening. Screening was completed by 993 (80.6%) individuals overall, 86.5% and 71.4% at the TBU and MHCU services, respectively. In a multivariate analysis model, the only variable associated with an increased probability of completing screening was being enrolled at the TBU site (OR 2.5, 95%CI 1.8-3.5; P < 0.001). Three hundred and ninety-two subjects (39.4%) had a TST test of > or = 10 mm. Eight cases of active tuberculosis were detected, with a calculated prevalence of disease of 650/100,000.
CONCLUSIONS
Undocumented immigrants to Italy can be screened for TB at an unspecialised health service unit, although not as efficiently as at a specialised TB unit. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever64 | Spectroscopy and metastability of CO2 2+ molecular ions.
The spectroscopy and metastability of the carbon dioxide doubly charged ion, the CO(2) (2+) dication, have been studied with photoionization experiments: time-of-flight photoelectron photoelectron coincidence (TOF-PEPECO), threshold photoelectrons coincidence (TPEsCO), and threshold photoelectrons and ion coincidence (TPEsCO ion coincidence) spectroscopies. Vibrational structure is observed in TOF-PEPECO and TPEsCO spectra of the ground and first two excited states. The vibrational structure is dominated by the symmetric stretch except in the TPEsCO spectrum of the ground state where an antisymmetric stretch progression is observed. All three vibrational frequencies are deduced for the ground state and symmetric stretch and bending frequencies are deduced for the first two excited states. Some vibrational structure of higher electronic states is also observed. The threshold for double ionization of carbon dioxide is reported as 37.340+/-0.010 eV. The fragmentation of energy selected CO(2) (2+) ions has been investigated with TPEsCO ion coincidence spectroscopy. A band of metastable states from approximately 38.7 to approximately 41 eV above the ground state of neutral CO(2) has been observed in the experimental time window of approximately 0.1-2.3 mus with a tendency towards shorter lifetimes at higher energies. It is proposed that the metastability is due to slow spin forbidden conversion from bound excited singlet states to unbound continuum states of the triplet ground state. Another result of this investigation is the observation of CO(+)+O(+) formation in indirect dissociative double photoionization below the threshold for formation of CO(2) (2+). The threshold for CO(+)+O(+) formation is found to be 35.56+/-0.10 eV or lower, which is more than 2 eV lower than previous measurements. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever65 | The Zero Acceptance of Pain (ZAP) Quality Improvement Project: evaluation of pain severity, pain interference, global quality of life, and pain-related costs.
The Zero Acceptance of Pain (ZAP) Quality Improvement Project was a multi-site effort to improve the lives of outpatients with cancer pain by enhancing the clinical practice of pain assessment and management. Independent samples of patients completed self-report measures of severity of pain, pain interference, global quality of life, pain treatment satisfaction, general medical treatment satisfaction, pain attitudes, and pain-related medical costs before and after the implementation of ZAP. Results suggested that ZAP decreased the severity of recent pain, decreased interference of pain on daily functioning, and improved satisfaction with pain treatment and attitudes about addiction to opioid medication. Direct medical costs consisting of pain-related hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and physician office visits were greatly reduced. In summary, the findings of this study support the idea that clinic-based efforts to improve the practice of pain management are effective in improving the lives of cancer patients who are experiencing pain. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever66 | Ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential frequency tuning in certain Menière's disease.
Ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMP) represent extraocular muscle activity in response to vestibular stimulation. To specify the value of oVEMP in the diagnostics of Menière's disease, the amplitude ratio between 500 and 1000 Hz stimuli was investigated. Thirty-nine patients with certain Menière's disease, i.e. definite Menière's disease with visualization of endolymphatic hydrops by magnetic resonance imaging and 19 age-matched healthy controls were enrolled in this study. oVEMP were recorded using 500 and 1000 Hz air-conducted tone bursts. For Menière's ears, the 500/1000 Hz amplitude ratio (mean ratio = 1.20) was significantly smaller when compared to unaffected ears of Menière's patients (mean ratio = 1.80; p = 0.008) or healthy controls (mean ratio = 1.81; p = 0.011). The amplitude ratio was neither correlated with the degree of endolymphatic hydrops nor with the duration of disease. While an older age was associated with a diminished amplitude ratio in healthy controls, there was no correlation between the amplitude ratio and age in Menière's ears. Hence, the calculation of the oVEMP 500/1000 Hz amplitude ratio may be a valuable diagnostic tool for Menière's disease. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever67 | Bifunctional dendrimers: from robust synthesis and accelerated one-pot postfunctionalization strategy to potential applications.
A fourth wheel: Two sets of bifunctional AB(2)C dendrimers having internal acetylene/azides and external hydroxy groups were constructed utilizing benign synthetic protocols. An in situ postfunctionalization strategy was successfully carried out to illustrate the chemoselective nature of these dendrimers. The dendrimers were also transformed into dendritic nanoparticles or utilized as dendritic crosslinkers for the fabrication hydrogels. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever68 | Treat-to-target in spondyloarthritis: implications for clinical trial designs.
Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a chronic inflammatory disease involving the spine and peripheral joints, and extra-articular manifestations such as uveitis, psoriasis and bowel inflammation. The treatment goals for SpA are maintenance of physical function, control of disease activity and prevention of radiographic progression. However, unlike the well-established treat-to-target (T2T) guidance in rheumatoid arthritis, the T2T concept for treating SpA is still immature. Clinical evidence of T2T in SpA is still lacking. To develop evidence of T2T in SpA, several research agendas need to be accomplished. Firstly, a well-accepted measureable treatment target needs to be defined through expert consensus. Secondly, a T2T treatment algorithm for monitoring disease activity and adjusting therapies needs to be generated. Finally, well-designed comparative clinical trials to compare this T2T strategy with the current standard of treatment should be conducted to demonstrate long-term benefits and risks. In SpA clinical trials, T2T comparative studies should have a clear disease definition for enrollment of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), psoriatic arthritis, axial SpA or non-radiographic axial SpA. Endpoints should be assessment with AS International Working Group criteria for 20% improvement (ASAS20), ASAS40, and the Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) with inactive and moderate disease activity at month 3. Long-term efficacy endpoints such as the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spinal Score (mSASSS) of radiographic progression and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) score at 2 years are encouraged. More sensitive assessment tools to detect structural damage and new bone formation, such as low-radiation computerized tomography (CT), are promising. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever69 | Effect and Mechanism of Bifidobacterium animalis B94 in the Prevention and Treatment of Liver Injury in Rats.
Objective
To investigate the effect of Bifidobacterium animalis B94 on the prevention and treatment of liver injury in rats and to elucidate the underlying mechanism of this relationship.
Methods
Specific pathogen-free (SPF) rats were selected as the healthy control group, liver injury group and B94 treatment group, with 6 rats in each group. After the model was established, the experimental animals were tested for serum liver function indicators, gut microbiota composition, metabolite composition, and histopathology.
Results
The albumin/globulin ratio and serum TBA, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and indirect bilirubin levels in the B94 treatment group were significantly lower than those in the liver injury group. 16S rRNA analysis showed that the gut microbiota of the three groups of rats were significantly different. Metabolic profile analysis showed that there were significant differences in the gut metabolomes of the three groups. Haematoxylin-eosin staining of the intestinal mucosa and liver tissues showed that the degree of liver and intestinal tissue damage in the B94 treatment group was significantly lower than that in the liver injury group.
Conclusion
Bifidobacterium animalis B94 can affect the process of liver injury in rats by improving liver function, reducing intestinal damage, and regulating gut microbiota and metabolite production. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever70 | Kinky microtubules: bending and breaking induced by fixation in vitro with glutaraldehyde and formaldehyde.
We have employed video-enhanced light microscopy to study alterations of the overall shape of microtubules that are produced by the aldehyde fixation methods commonly employed to study them in vitro. Changes brought about by these methods include deformation and breakage. The severity of the effects depends on the fixative employed and increases with its concentration, and with the time of fixation. The changes are observed under a variety of conditions, such as brief exposure to 3.7% formaldehyde, or somewhat longer exposure to glutaraldehyde at concentrations as low as 0.05%. The observed distortion explains why microtubules usually appear curved or sinuous in electron micrographs while appearing relatively rigid and linear in video-enhanced light microscopy. The observed breakage implies that caution must be used in inferring length distributions from measurements of aldehyde-fixed microtubules. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever71 | Expansion of an iliac aneurysm after treatment with multilayer stent: an unusual case.
A 62 year old man, suffering from arterial hypertension and no other significant comorbidities come to our attention for the presence of an asymptomatic 29 mm left common iliac artery (CIA) aneurysm and bladder cancer. Given the young age of the patient, we opted for endovascular treatment that would allow to maintain the patency of the hypogastric artery. In June 2011, the patient underwent an endovascular exclusion of the left iliac artery aneurysm corrected by multilayer stent placement (Cardiatis 16x120mm) and post-dilatation with 14x40 mm balloon (Medtronic Reliant). At the 3 months follow-up, a CT-angio was made, showing a Type I endoleak with complete perfusion of the aneurismal sac. We analysed the CT-Angio using OsiriX and at the 3D reconstruction a poor adhesion of the stent to the proximal neck was detected. We decided to intervene by implanting two balloon-expendable covered stents (Atrium Adventa; 16x40 mm) The aneurysm sac remained stable for 9 months but at 12 months follow-up the aneurysm presented a diameter of 39mm. Due to the increase of the aneurysm sac, we decided to implant a stent-graft 16-10x95+10-10x80 mm (Medtronic Endurant) with complete exclusion of the aneurysm and internal iliac artery occlusion. At one month follow-up the patient is completed asymptomatic with no endoleak at the Duplex scan and at the CT-Angio. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever72 | Developmental tasks of terminally ill patients.
Erikson's epigenetic stages provide a conceptual map of how a person responds to the knowledge of having a terminal illness. The patient initially reworks developmental tasks that have been resolved and then works at an accelerated pace to accomplish tasks that remain ahead. This acceleration is an attempt to attain a wholeness of self and life in light of the threat of imminent death and self-perceived shortened life span. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever73 | Lyme borreliosis: insights into tick-/host-borrelia relations.
Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a serious infectious disease of humans and some domestic animals in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is caused by certain spirochetes in the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) species complex. The complex consists of 11 species (genospecies). Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.), Borrelia garinii and Borrelia afzelii are the major agents of human disease. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. species are transmitted mainly by ticks belonging to the Ixodes ricinus species complex plus a few additional species not currently assigned to the complex. B. burgdorferi infections may produce an acute or chronic disease with a wide array of clinical symptoms such as erythema migrans (EM), carditis, arthritis, neuroborreliosis, and acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA). Differences in LB spirochetes 'genospecies' and strains/isolates determine the occurrence and severity of this multi-system disease. Accurate and reliable identification of the LB spirochetes in ticks as well as knowledge of their prevalence are essential for prevention against the disease and development of an effective vaccine. An overview of the knowledge of molecular factors with emphasis on potential protein-carbohydrate interactions in the tick-borrelia system is the main focus of this review. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever74 | Anastomotic biliary stricture following liver transplantation and management analysis: 15 years of experience at a high-volume transplant center.
INTRODUCTION
The occurrence of anastomotic biliary stricture (BS) remains an essential issue following liver transplantation (LT). The present study aimed to compare our findings regarding the incidence of anastomotic BS to what is known.
METHODS
The present study is a single-center, retrospective cohort study of a total number of 717 consecutive patients (426 men and 291 women) who had undergone LT from January 2001 to March 2016. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the risk factors associated with anastomotic BS development.
RESULTS
Post-transplant anastomotic BS developed in 70 patients (9.8%). In the Cox multivariate analysis (a stepwise forward conditional method), factors including biliary leak (hazard ratio [HR]: 6.61, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.08-17.58, p < 0.001), hepatic artery thrombosis (HR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.03-5.88; p = 0.003), and acute rejection (HR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.16-3.37; p = 0.006) were identified as independent risk factors for the development of anastomotic BS. Surgery in 6 cases (66.7%), followed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ECRP) with a metal stent in 18 cases (62.1%), percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage in 9 (20.9%), and ERCP with a single plastic stent in 8 (18.2%), had the highest effectiveness rates in the management of BS, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
Risk factors including biliary leak, hepatic artery thrombosis, and acute rejection were independently associated with an anastomotic BS. ERCP with a metal stent may be considered as an effective treatment procedure with a relatively low complication rate in the management of benign post-LT anastomotic BS. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever75 | What price quality? Assuring the quality of case-managed in-home care.
Case managed community-based long-term care has now become an established component of the service delivery system in the United States. As case management has developed, it has gone through an evolutionary process. In the initial phase of case management, considerable attention was placed on gaining access to resources by the case manager. This article addresses issues of assuring the quality of case-managed care. It focuses on the current concerns and potential problems associated with evaluating the effectiveness of services arranged by case managers, and describes a model, developed in Ohio, to ensure the quality of care. In addition, it discusses the continued challenges for and costs of quality assurance and notes the difficulty of obtaining empirical data in the effort to assure quality. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever76 | Structural characterization of the extracellular polysaccharide from Vibrio cholerae O1 El-Tor.
The ability to form biofilms is important for environmental survival, transmission, and infectivity of Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera in humans. To form biofilms, V. cholerae produces an extracellular matrix composed of proteins, nucleic acids and a glycoconjugate, termed Vibrio exopolysaccharide (VPS). Here, we present the data on isolation and characterization of the polysaccharide part of the VPS (VPS-PS), which has the following structure: -4)-α-GulpNAcAGly3OAc-(1-4)-β-D-Glcp-(1-4)-α-Glcp-(1-4)-α-D-Galp-(1- where α-D-Glc is partially (∼20%) replaced with α-D-GlcNAc. α-GulNAcAGly is an amide between 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-α-guluronic acid and glycine. Apparently, the polysaccharide is bound to a yet unidentified component, which gives it high viscosity and completely suppresses any NMR signals belonging to the sugar chains of the VPS. The only reliable method to remove this component at present is a treatment of the whole glycoconjugate with concentrated hydrochloric acid. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever77 | Medical costs of children admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit: The role and possible economic impact of WES in early diagnosis.
It has been estimated that at least 6.0% of neonates admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit remains genetically undiagnosed because genetic testing is not routinely performed. The objective of this study is to provide an overview of average healthcare costs for patients admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and to assess possible impact of implementing Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) on these total healthcare costs. Hereto, we retrospectively collected postnatal healthcare data of all patients admitted to the level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Radboudumc (October 2013-October 2015) and linked unit costs to these healthcare consumptions. Average healthcare costs were calculated and a distinction between patients was made based on performance of genetic tests and the presence of congenital anomalies. Overall, on average €26,627 was spent per patient. Genetic costs accounted for 2.3% of all costs. Healthcare costs were higher for patients with congenital anomalies compared to patients without congenital anomalies. Patients with genetic diagnostics were also more expensive than patients without genetic diagnostics. We next modelled four scenarios based on clinical preselection. First, when performing trio-WES for all patients instead of current diagnostics, overall healthcare costs will increase with 22.2%. Second, performing trio-WES only for patients with multiple congenital anomalies will not result in any cost changes, but this would leave patients with an isolated congenital anomalies untested. We therefore next modelled a scenario performing trio-WES for all patients with congenital anomalies, increasing the average per patient healthcare costs by 5.3%. This will rise to a maximum of 5.5% when also modelling for an extra genetic test for clinically selected patients to establish genetic diagnoses that are undetectable by WES. In conclusion, genetic diagnostic testing accounted for a small fraction of total costs. Implementation of trio-WES as first-tier test for all patients with congenital anomalies will lead to a limited increase in overall healthcare budget, but will facilitate personalized treatments options guided by the diagnoses made. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever78 | Clindamycin/primaquine versus trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole as primary therapy for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in AIDS: a randomized, double-blind pilot trial.
The aim of this double-blind pilot trial was to compare clindamycin/primaquine with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) as primary treatment for AIDS-related Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). The focus was on toxicity and tolerability since comparisons of efficacy were limited by the small sample size. Sixty-five individuals with a first episode of possible PCP were randomly assigned to receive clindamycin/primaquine (34 patients) or TMP-SMZ (31 patients). PCP was subsequently proven microbiologically in 27 and 22 of the patients in these respective groups. Half of the participants had an arterial partial oxygen pressure at enrollment of < or = torr. The incidence and severity of adverse reactions were lower--but not significantly lower (P = .07 and .08, respectively)--with clindamycin/primaquine. The markers of severity improved in a similar manner regardless of which regimen was administered. No significant differences were documented in outcome, duration of survival, length of the PCP-free interval, or rate of relapse. The results of this pilot study show a trend toward less toxicity with clindamycin/primaquine than with TMP-SMZ. This result must be confirmed by larger-scale clinical trials, which are also needed to better compare the efficacy of the two regimens. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever79 | [Combination chemotherapy of CDDP and etoposide in advanced non-small cell carcinoma of the lung].
Twenty-seven patients with advanced and previously untreated non-small cell carcinoma of the lung received combination chemotherapy with CDDP (100 mg/m2 iv on day 1) and etoposide (100 mg/m2 iv on day 2, 4 and 6). Eleven partial responses were observed (response rate of 40.7%), and the median survival of patients was 44.4 weeks. Toxicity was tolerable with moderate myelosuppression. This combination chemotherapy should be recommended for further clinical trials. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever80 | Clinical governance and operations management methodologies.
The clinical governance mechanism, introduced since 1998 in the UK National Health Service (NHS), aims to deliver high quality care with efficient, effective and cost-effective patient services. Scally and Donaldson recognised that new approaches are needed, and operations management techniques comprise potentially powerful methodologies in understanding the process of care, which can be applied both within and across professional boundaries. This paper summarises four studies in hospital Trusts which took approaches to improving process that were different from and less structured than business process re-engineering (BPR). The problems were then amenable to change at a relatively low cost and short timescale, producing significant improvement to patient care. This less structured approach to operations management avoided incurring overhead costs of large scale and costly change such as new information technology (IT) systems. The most successful changes were brought about by formal tools to control quantity, content and timing of changes. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever81 | Attitudes about tuberculosis prevention in the elimination phase: a survey among physicians in Germany.
BACKGROUND
Targeted and stringent measures of tuberculosis prevention are necessary to achieve the goal of tuberculosis elimination in countries of low tuberculosis incidence.
METHODS
We ascertained the knowledge about tuberculosis risk factors and stringency of tuberculosis prevention measures by a standardized questionnaire among physicians in Germany involved in the care of individuals from classical risk groups for tuberculosis.
RESULTS
510 physicians responded to the online survey. Among 16 risk factors immunosuppressive therapy, HIV-infection and treatment with TNF-antagonist were thought to be the most important risk factors for the development of tuberculosis in Germany. Exposure to a patient with tuberculosis ranked on the 10th position. In the event of a positive tuberculin-skin-test or interferon-γ release assay only 50%, 40%, 36% and 25% of physicians found that preventive chemotherapy was indicated for individuals undergoing tumor necrosis factor-antagonist therapy, close contacts of tuberculosis patients, HIV-infected individuals and migrants, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
A remarkably low proportion of individuals with latent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis belonging to classical risk groups for tuberculosis are considered candidates for preventive chemotherapy in Germany. Better knowledge about the risk for tuberculosis in different groups and more stringent and targeted preventive interventions will probably be necessary to achieve tuberculosis elimination in Germany. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever82 | Descriptive morphometry and stereology in accessing the testis structure and function of the marsupial Philander frenatus (Olfers, 1818) (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae).
Philander frenatus is an important marsupial for the maintenance and conservation of the Atlantic Rainforest, however, it has biological characteristics that are still little explored. The study of the reproductive biology is an important key to understand the species reproductive strategies and to improve the development of conservation and management activities. The present study aimed to conduct a histological and morphometric investigation of the testis structure and function of P. frenatus. The average body and testicular weight were 445 g and 0.74 g, respectively, with a gonadosomatic index of 0.17%. The seminiferous tubules occupying 64.95% of the organ, totalising 9.26 m per gram of testis. The tubulesomatic and epitheliumsomatic indexes were 0.10% and 0.07%, respectively. Philander frenatus showed cell loss of approximately 98% during the proliferative phase and the spermatogenic yield was 10.3 cells. The high loss during the mitotic phase contributed to the low spermatogenic yield. The testicular parenchyma was composed of 35% of intertubular components, one of the highest proportions observed in mammals. Leydig cells were responsible for approximately 25% of the testes, followed by lymphatic space (6.44%), blood vessels and connective tissue (4% together). The organisation of the intertubular components resembles the Fawcett III category. The volume and number of Leydig cell per gram of testis were 2,627.12 µm3 and 91.28 × 106 cells, respectively. High investment in the intertubular compartment, specifically number and volume of Leydig cells in P. frenatus is consistent with territorial behaviour and polygynic mating system, which have greater androgenic capacity. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever83 | Carotid artery plaque intervention with Tongxinluo capsule (CAPITAL): A multicenter randomized double-blind parallel-group placebo-controlled study.
To determine whether the traditional Chinese medicine Tongxinluo (TXL) is efficacious at retarding the progression of carotid atherosclerotic lesions, a total of 1,212 patients with a focal intima-media thickness (IMT) of ≥1.2 mm of the carotid arteries received TXL or placebo capsules in addition to current routine therapy. The primary outcome was between-group differences in annualized change in mean IMT of 12 sites of bilateral carotid arteries over 24 months. The secondary outcomes were between-group differences in plaque area, vascular remodeling index (RI), serum levels of lipids and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and a composite of first major cardiovascular events. The results showed that the annualized change in mean IMT in the TXL and placebo groups was -0.00095 (95% CI, -0.00330 to 0.00141) mm and 0.01312 (95% CI, 0.01076 to 0.01548) mm, respectively, with a difference between the two groups of -0.01407 (95% CI, -0.01740 to -0.01073) mm (P < 0.001). Compared with placebo, TXL treatment significantly reduced the change from baseline in the plaque area and RI, as well as the first major cardiovascular events. In conclusion, TXL retarded the progression of mean IMT, plaque area and vascular remodeling of the carotid artery with a good safety profile. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever84 | Retrospective Observational Real-World Outcome Study to Evaluate Safety Among Patients with Erectile Dysfunction (ED) with Co-Possession of Tadalafil and Anti-Hypertensive Medications (anti-HTN).
BACKGROUND
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common condition affecting male adults and may be associated with hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and obesity. Phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors, such as tadalafil, are the first-line drug therapy for ED. Studies and the current prescribing information of these PDE5 inhibitors indicate they are mechanistic mild vasodilators and, as such, concomitant use of a PDE5 inhibitor with anti-hypertensive medication may lead to drops in blood pressure due to possible drug-drug interaction.
AIM
Evaluate risks of hypotensive/cardiovascular outcomes in a large cohort of patients with ED that have co-possession of prescriptions for tadalafil and hypertensive medications versus either medication/s alone.
METHODS
A cohort study conducted within an electronic health record database (Optum) representing hospitals across the US. Adult male patients prescribed tadalafil and/or anti-hypertensive medications from January 2012 to December 2017 were eligible. Possession periods were defined by the time patients likely had possession of medication, with propensity score-matched groups used for comparison.
OUTCOMES
Risk of hypotensive/cardiovascular outcomes were measured using diagnostic codes and NLP algorithms during possession periods of tadalafil + anti-hypertensive versus either medication/s alone.
RESULTS
In total there were 127,849 tadalafil + anti-hypertensive medication possession periods, 821,359 anti-hypertensive only medication possession periods, and 98,638 tadalafil only medication possession periods during the study; 126,120 were successfully matched. Adjusted-matched incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for the anti-hypertensive only possession periods compared with tadalafil + anti-hypertensive periods of diagnosed outcomes were all below 1. Two outcomes had a 95% confidence interval (CI) that did not include 1.0: ventricular arrhythmia (IRR 0.79; 95% CI 0.66, 0.94) and diagnosis of hypotension (IRR 0.79; 95% CI 0.71, 0.89).
CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
Provides real world evidence that co-possession of tadalafil and anti-hypertensive medications does not increase risk of hypotensive/cardiovascular outcomes beyond that observed for patients in possession of anti-hypertensive medications only.
STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS
EHR data are valuable for the evaluation of real world outcomes, however, the data are retrospective and collected for clinical patient management rather than research. Prescription data represent the intent of the prescriber and not use by the patient. Residual bias cannot be ruled out, despite propensity score matching, due to unobserved patient characteristics and severity that are not fully reflected in the EHR database.
CONCLUSION
In the studied real world patients, this study did not demonstrate an increased risk of hypotensive or cardiovascular outcomes associated with co-possession of tadalafil and anti-hypertensive medications beyond that observed for patients in possession of anti-hypertensive medications only. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever85 | Myoepithelial cells in the control of mammary development and tumorigenesis: data from genetically modified mice.
Until recently, myoepithelial cells-the second major cell population in the mammary epithelium-were not considered to play an important role in the morphogenetic events during gland development. Mouse mutants with changes in the gene expression pattern characteristic of the basal myoepithelial cell layer have been generated and used to show that these cells influence the proliferation, survival and differentiation of luminal cells, modulate stromal-epithelial interactions and actively participate in mammary morphogenesis. Various cellular and molecular mechanisms may underlie the observed phenotypes. These include an unbalanced expression of matrix degrading metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their inhibitors, leading to changes in the composition and organization of the (extracellular matrix) ECM, the production of soluble growth factors affecting stromal and epithelial cell growth and differentiation and direct signaling through cell-cell contacts between the myoepithelial and luminal cell layers. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever86 | 111In-tropolonate labelled platelets; studies in normals and in patients with thrombocytopenia.
Human platelets were labelled with aqueous 111In-tropolonate in comparison with 111In-oxinate. In normals the labelling efficiency with 111In-tropolonate was higher (93% +/- 2%) than with 111In-oxinate (67% +/- 8%) (P less than 0.05). In cases of severe thrombocytopenia, lower labelling efficiencies were obtained. In six normals a mean platelet life of 9 days +/- 3 days and an initial recovery of 59% +/- 15% were obtained. In twelve patients with thrombocytopenia the mean platelet life was 4 days +/- 4 days and the initial recovery was 58% +/- 20%. The absolute uptake of radioactivity in spleen and in liver in both groups are reported. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever87 | Human embryonic stem cell-derived neural stem cells encapsulated in hyaluronic acid promotes regeneration in a contusion spinal cord injured rat.
spinal cord injury (SCI) is a traumatic damage that can causes a loss of neurons around the lesion site and resulting in locomotor and sensory deficits. Currently, there is widely attempts in improvement of treatment strategy and cell delivering to the central nervous system (CNS). The usage of hyaluronic acid (HA), the main components of the ECM in CNS tissue and neural stem cells (NSCs) niche, is a good selection that can increase of viability and differentiation of NSCs. Importantly, we demonstrate that encapsulation of human embryonic stem cell derived-neural stem cells (hESC-NS) in HA-based hydrogel can increased differentiation these cells into oligodendrocytes and improved locomotor function. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever88 | Intercostal neuralgia caused by a parosteal lipoma of the rib.
Parosteal lipoma is an extremely rare benign tumor that is composed mainly of mature adipose tissue, and it has an intimate relationship to the underlying periosteal bone. We believe that only three cases have been previously reported that have described parosteal lipoma of the rib. Although parosteal lipoma is asymptomatic, motor and sensory function deficits have been reported that were caused by the tumor compressing the neuromuscular bundles in the proximal forearm and the sciatic nerve. We present here an exceedingly rare case of intercostal neuralgia caused by a parosteal lipoma of the rib. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever89 | Entamoeba histolytica induced NETosis and the dual role of NETs in amoebiasiss.
Entamoeba histolytica (Eh), a microaerophilic parasite, causes deadly enteric infections that result in Amoebiasis. Every year, the count of invasive infections reaches 50 million approximately and 40,000 to 1,00,000 deaths occurring due to amoebiasis are reported globally. Profound inflammation is the hallmark of severe amoebiasis which is facilitated by immune first defenders, neutrophils. Due to size incompatibility, neutrophils are unable to phagocytose Eh and thus, came up with the miraculous antiparasitic mechanism of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). This review provides an in-depth analysis of NETosis induced by Eh including the antigens involved in the recognition of Eh and the biochemistry of NET formation. Additionally, it underscores its novelty by describing the dual role of NETs in amoebiasis where it acts as a double-edged sword in terms of both clearing and exacerbating amoebiasis. It also provides a comprehensive account of the virulence factors discovered to date that are implicated directly and indirectly in the pathophysiology of Eh infections through the lens of NETs and can be interesting drug targets. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever90 | Analysis of the expression of peptide-major histocompatibility complexes using high affinity soluble divalent T cell receptors.
Understanding the regulation of cell surface expression of specific peptide-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) complexes is hindered by the lack of direct quantitative analyses of specific peptide-MHC complexes. We have developed a direct quantitative biochemical approach by engineering soluble divalent T cell receptor analogues (TCR-Ig) that have high affinity for their cognate peptide-MHC ligands. The generality of this approach was demonstrated by specific staining of peptide-pulsed cells with two different TCR-Ig complexes: one specific for the murine alloantigen 2C, and one specific for a viral peptide from human T lymphocyte virus-1 presented by human histocompatibility leukocyte antigens-A2. Further, using 2C TCR- Ig, a more detailed analysis of the interaction with cognate peptide-MHC complexes revealed several interesting findings. Soluble divalent 2C TCR-Ig detected significant changes in the level of specific antigenic-peptide MHC cell surface expression in cells treated with gamma-interferon (gamma-IFN). Interestingly, the effects of gamma-IFN on expression of specific peptide-MHC complexes recognized by 2C TCR-Ig were distinct from its effects on total H-2 Ld expression; thus, lower doses of gamma-IFN were required to increase expression of cell surface class I MHC complexes than were required for upregulation of expression of specific peptide-MHC complexes. Analysis of the binding of 2C TCR-Ig for specific peptide-MHC ligands unexpectedly revealed that the affinity of the 2C TCR-Ig for the naturally occurring alloreactive, putatively, negatively selecting, complex, dEV-8-H-2 Kbm3, is very low, weaker than 71 microM. The affinity of the 2C TCR for the other naturally occurring, negatively selecting, alloreactive complex, p2Ca-H-2 Ld, is approximately 1000-fold higher. Thus, negatively selecting peptide-MHC complexes do not necessarily have intrinsically high affinity for cognate TCR. These results, uniquely revealed by this analysis, indicate the importance of using high affinity biologically relevant cognates, such as soluble divalent TCR, in furthering our understanding of immune responses. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever91 | L1 syndrome mutations impair neuronal L1 function at different levels by divergent mechanisms.
Mutations in the human L1CAM gene cause neurodevelopmental disorders collectively referred to as L1 syndrome. Here, we investigated cellular pathomechanisms underlying two L1 syndrome mutations, R184Q and W1036L. We demonstrate that these mutations cause partial endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention of L1, reduce L1 cell surface expression, but do not induce ER stress in neuronal NSC-34 cells. We provide evidence that surface trafficking of mutated L1 is affected by defective sorting to ER exit sites and attenuated ER export. However, in differentiated neuronal cultures and long-term cultured hippocampal slices, the L1-R184Q protein is restricted to cell bodies, whereas L1-W1036L also aberrantly localizes to dendrites. These trafficking defects preclude axonal targeting of L1, thereby affecting L1-mediated axon growth and arborization. Our results indicate that L1 syndrome mutations impair neuronal L1 function at different levels, firstly by attenuating ER export and secondly by interfering with polarized neuronal trafficking. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever92 | Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from industry.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented change throughout society.1 As the articles in this supplement outline, all segments of the broader cardiovascular community have been forced to adapt, to change models of care delivery, and to evolve and innovate in order to deliver optimal management for cardiovascular patients. The medtech/device industry has not been exempt from such change and has been forced to navigate direct and indirect COVID-associated disruption, with effects felt from supply chain logistics to the entire product lifecycle, from the running of clinical trials to new device approvals and managing training, proctoring and congresses in an increasingly-online world. This sea-change in circumstances itself has enforced the industry, in effect, to disrupt its own processes, models and activities. Whilst some of these changes may be temporary, many will endure for some time and some will doubtless become permanent; one thing is for sure: the healthcare ecosystem, including the medical device industry, will never look quite the same again. Although the pandemic has brought a short- to medium-term medical crisis to many countries, its role as a powerful disruptor cannot be underestimated, and may indeed prove to be a force for long-term good, given the accelerated innovation and rapid adaptation that it has cultivated. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever93 | [Pascal's disease in 1647].
Blaise Pascal's serious physiological disorders could be the consequence of a long exposition to mercury fumes as he was studying the first device of vacuum. Weakness headache, paralysis of the lower limbs were described by his sisters. Probably such were the causes of his bad health and of the disorders which hit him until his death. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever94 | Role of rs1466535 low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) gene polymorphism in carotid artery disease.
OBJECTIVE
An association between rs1466535 low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) gene polymorphism and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) was recently demonstrated. It has not yet been defined if this association is specific for AAA or related to atherosclerosis per se. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the role of the rs1466535 polymorphism in conferring genetic susceptibility for carotid artery stenosis (CAS).
METHODS
The rs1466535 polymorphism was evaluated in n = 814 patients with CAS and n = 814 subjects without evidence of carotid atherosclerosis by TaqMan technology.
RESULTS
The percentage of T allele rs1466535 carriers was significantly higher in CAS patients (49.3%) than in controls (43.9%, p = 0.032). At the multiple logistic regression analysis, the allele T carrier status did not remain a significant determinant of CAS.
CONCLUSIONS
The rs1466535 LRP1 polymorphism is not a significant and independent risk factor for CAS. Our result suggests this polymorphism in the LRP1 gene is not associated with atherosclerosis in general as it is not associated with CAS (this study), whereas it is strictly associated with AAA (our previous paper). | No pos | No neg |
Retriever95 | Respiratory exposure to graphene quantum dots causes fibrotic effects on lung, liver and kidney of mice.
Graphene quantum dots (GQDs), as a novel graphene-based nanoparticle, presented a bright prospect in fields of biomedicine due to their excellent optical property. However, the biosafety assessment of GQDs is far behind their rapid development, which could restrict their wilder applications. This study focused on the potential adverse effects of two kinds of promising GQDs, i.e. nitrogen-doping graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) and amino-modified graphene quantum dot (A-GQDs) on primary target organs of GNMs, including lung, liver and kidney. The intranasal instillation used here was to imitate the respiratory exposure of GQDs that is a commonly exposure route of GQDs in the environment. Although no severe damages associated with general health occurred in mice treated with GQDs, the fibrosis evidenced by statistically significant increases in the area of collagen I and TGF-ß1 and p-Smad3 expressions were observed in the lung, liver and kidney tissues. Interestingly, the fibrotic effect induced by GQDs could be effectively alleviated by a ferroptosis-specific inhibitor, which demonstrated a close relationship of fibrosis and ferroptosis. This study not only provides new insights on the toxicity mechanisms of GQDs, but also offers some efficient ways to control toxicity of GQDs, like dosage threshold and small molecular drugs. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever96 | A Novel Molecular Cytogenetic Finding of Leiomyomatosis Peritonealis Disseminata.
BACKGROUND
Leiomyomatosis peritonealis disseminata (LPD) is a rare disease characterised by the subperitoneal proliferation of smooth muscle cells that form benign nodules. A few studies have aimed to reveal the pathogenesis of LPD without reaching a clear explanation.
METHODS
Karyotype analysis and array-comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) of a human LPD case were performed to evaluate the role of chromosomal abnormalities in LPD pathogenesis.
RESULTS
The LPD nodules showed a 45, XX, del(7p), t(11; 17) (q23;q25),-22 de novo karyotype, and the aCGH analysis confirmed these deletions at 7p22.3-p12.1 (1,862,362-52,766,911 bp) and 22q11.23-q13.33 (21,973,915-49,265,116 bp) with lengths of 50.9 Mb and 27.3 Mb, respectively.
CONCLUSION
In this study, we described two large novel aberrations - deletions in chromosome 7 and 22 - that might play an important role in LPD disease. These findings might contribute to new insights to unravel the pathogenesis of LPD and develop further clinical treatments. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever97 | Perinatal development of the rat kidney: apoptosis and epidermal growth factor.
Localization of apoptotic cells in the kidney of perinatal rats was examined by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated d-UTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) method and electron microscopy. Perinatal changes in the percentage of kidney cells with DNA fragmentation were determined by flow cytometric analysis. Through observation of two successive sections, the relationship between the localization of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) positive cells and TUNEL positive cells in the kidney was determined. From fetal day 18 to neonatal day 5, TUNEL positive cells were noted in immature glomeruli, collecting ducts and interstitium. Electron microscopically, chromatin condensed nuclei and apoptotic bodies were seen in the same tissue component as the TUNEL positive cells. The percentage of DNA fragmented cells significantly increased from fetal days 18 to 20 and significantly decreased from fetal days 20 to 22, while they still remained low in the neonatal period. The TUNEL positive cells in immature glomeruli and collecting ducts were not reactive to the EGFR antibody. The TUNEL positive cells were not observed in the proximal tubular cells, which were positive to EGFR antibody. These results indicate that apoptotic cells are present in the kidney throughout the perinatal period in the rat and that EGF plays an important role in perinatal development of the rat kidney. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever98 | Rapid retrograde transport of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase as examined by the stop-flow technique.
We have studied the retrograde axonal transport of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) with the aid of a new stop-flow technique. Rabbit sciatic nerves in vitro were incubated in chambers which exposed different regions to oxygenated physiological saline solution at different temperatures. These chambers contained no mechanical barriers that could generate local compression or anoxia. When the proximal halves of nerves were cooled to 2 degrees C while the distal halves were kept at 37 degrees C, a peak of DBH activity began to accumulate in the middle. Accumulation was detectable after 1.5 h of proximal cooling, and the amount of activity in the peak increased linearly with time for up to 4.5 h. The rate of this accumulation was only about 20% of the rate at which DBH activity accumulates proximal to locally cooled regions. Retrograde accumulation of DBH activity is not an artifact that depends upon the simple juxtaposition of cooled and warmed regions; it does not occur when nerves are locally warmed to 37 degrees C while being kept elsewhere at 2 degrees C. When nerves that had been proximally cooled for 3h were rewarmed, the accumulated DBH activity was asymmetrically displaced toward the proximal end. The migrating wave lacked a definite peak, but appeared as a shoulder with a well-defined front that moved steadily at about 12mm/h. We take this as direct evidence for retrograde axonal transport of DBH. The maximum velocity of this transport is very similar to the velocity of orthograde transport previously determined by stop-flow techniques. | No pos | No neg |
Retriever99 | Measuring Protective Behavioral Strategies for Marijuana Use Among Young Adults.
OBJECTIVE
Marijuana use can result in a variety of negative consequences, yet it remains popular among young adults and the general public at large. Combined with the growing empirical support for the benefits of medicinal marijuana as well as the steady increase in popular opinion regarding its legalization, it is of growing importance to identify strategies that may mitigate the harms related to marijuana use, reduce consumption levels, and limit resulting negative consequences among young adults who use marijuana. The purpose of this study was to develop and conduct initial psychometric analyses on a new scale, which we named the Protective Behavioral Strategies for Marijuana (PBSM) scale.
METHOD
A sample of undergraduate college students who reported past-6-month marijuana use (n = 210) responded to the initial pool of PBSM items and completed measures of marijuana use, consequences from marijuana use, alcohol use, and protective behavioral strategies for alcohol.
RESULTS
Results from an iterative principal component analyses process yielded a single-factor structure with 39 items. The PBSM mean composite score negatively associated with marijuana use and consequences, with the strongest correlations evident for pastmonth users. The PBSM also significantly positively correlated with alcohol protective strategies.
CONCLUSIONS
Protective behavioral strategies for marijuana appear to be a measurable construct that are related to marijuana frequency and consequences, and thus may be a useful component of intervention and prevention programs with young adults. More work testing the PBSM items with larger and more diverse samples of young adults is encouraged. | No pos | No neg |
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