Reduction in eel resources and catches of glass eels as seedlings for aquaculture have been a serious concern in recent years in both Europe and East Asia. Thus, technical advancement to produce eel seeds for artificial cultivation is most desired. Fundamental information on oocyte maturation and ovulation and its application ...

Shifts in biological communities are occurring at rapid rates as human activities induced global climate change increases. Understanding the effects of the change on biodiversity is important to reduce loss of biodiversity and mass extinction, and to insure the long-term persistence of natural resources and natures' services. Especially in remote ...

Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic systemic disease in which patients develop persistent inflammation of the skin and joints, leading to disability and joint damage. The extracellular component hyaluronan (HA) plays an important role in regulatory processes such as inflammation, wound healing and tumour progression. At any site of inflammation HA ...

BACKGROUND: Growth retardation is a considerable clinical problem in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Optimization of metabolic and nutritional parameters does not always lead to improved growth. Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) treatment has been used to improve height. Several studies in the literature have shown increased growth velocity, ...

INTRODUCTION: Caesarean section is one of the common operations in medicine. As almost all interventions, the quality of the operation depends on the training and skills of the surgeon. This study aims at characterising the learning curve of caesarean section. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All patients with a singleton pregnancy who ...

Arthrogryposis represents a group of heterogeneous disorders, characterized by contractures of multiple joints at birth. Involvement of the hip is very common (55-90% of patients) ranging from soft tissue contractures to subluxation and dislocation. Isolated contracture of the hip can usually be managed conservatively: compensative mechanisms and contractures of other ...

BACKGROUND: The weight of surgical radicality, together with a lack of anatomical theoretical basis for surgery and inappropriate practical skills, can lead to serious impairments to bladder, rectal, and sexual functions after laparoscopic excision of deep infiltrating endometriosis. Although the "classical" laparoscopic technique for endometriosis excision involving segmental bowel resection ...

Paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP) is an autoimmune blistering disease associated with lymphoproliferative neoplasms and characterized by antibodies against plakins and desmoglein 3 (Dsg3). Anti-Dsg3 antibodies have a primary role in blister formation in PNP. In this study, we used phage display to clone monoclonal anti-Dsg3 antibodies from a PNP patient to ...

Chronic non-healing wounds are a major health problem with resident bacteria strongly implicated in their impaired healing. A rapid-screen to provide detailed knowledge of wound bacterial populations would therefore be of value and help prevent unnecessary and indiscriminate use of antibiotics-a process associated with promoting antibiotic resistance. We analysed chronic ...

The definition of "genetic testing" is not a simple matter, and the term is often used with different meanings. The purpose of this work was the collection and analysis of European (and other) legislation and policy instruments regarding genetic testing, to scrutinise the definitions of genetic testing therewith contained the ...

Biological soil crusts, formed by an association of soil particles with cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses, fungi and bacteria in varying proportions, live in or directly on top of the uppermost soil layer. To evaluate their role in the global carbon cycle, gas exchange measurements were conducted under controlled conditions. Moss-dominated soil ...

To investigate the prognostic significance of resting heart rate in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), independent of other known factors. Patients 40 years of age or older who had been admitted with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) to one of the 94 hospitals participating in the Prevalence of Peripheral Arterial ...

The validity of predicting peak oxygen uptake ([Formula: see text]) in sedentary participants from a perceptually regulated exercise test (PRET) is limited to two cycle ergometry studies. We assessed the validity of a treadmill-based PRET. Active (n = 49; 40.7 ± 13.8 years) and sedentary (n = 26; 33.4 ± 13.2 y) participants completed two PRETS (PRET 1 and ...

Lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) is involved in the modulation of acute liver injury and failure caused by acetaminophen (APAP). Although the biological activity of LBP is concentration dependent, little is known about its levels in acute liver failure. Serum and hepatic LBP were measured in acute APAP-induced liver injury in ...

CNS lesions generally result in impaired function because regeneration of the adult CNS of mammals is poor. A variety of lesion models has been described that serve to further the understanding of the pathophysiology of the damaged tissue. A central cause of aborted regeneration is the glial scar that expresses ...

Stroke is an enormous public health problem with an imperative need for more effective therapy. Free radicals have been reported to play a role in the expansion of ischemic brain lesions, and the effect of free radical scavengers is still under debate. The present study investigated the neuroprotective effect of ...

opgB gene of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium was identified earlier in a genome-wide screen for mice virulence (Valentine et al. in Infect Immun 66:3378-3383, 1998). Although mutation in opgB resulted in avirulent Salmonella strain, how this gene contributes to pathogenesis remains unclear. Based on DNA homology, opgB is predicted to ...

Multiple-allergen testing for high throughput and high sensitivity requires the development of miniaturized immunoassays that allow for a large test area and require only a small volume of the test analyte, which is often available only in limited amounts. Developing such miniaturized biochips containing arrays of test allergens needs application ...

BACKGROUND: Post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a group of life-threatening complications of organ transplantation, which occurs most frequently in pediatric patients. This retrospective study evaluates a single-institution experience of five cases of PTLD after living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT). PATIENTS AND METHOD: We reviewed the records of 78 pediatric patients (<18 years ...

Elutriate bioassays are among numerous methods that exist for assessing the potential toxicity of sediments in aquatic systems. In this study, interlaboratory results were compared from 96-h Ceriodaphnia dubia and Pimephales promelas static-renewal acute toxicity tests conducted independently by two laboratories using elutriate samples prepared from the same sediment. The ...

Monitoring neuroaxonal loss in multiple sclerosis is an important objective to study the pathogenesis and response to treatment of the disease. The release of neurofilaments is a potential surrogate biomarker of neurodegeneration. One route to explore this aspect further is through the use of animal models that have well-defined, and ...

Substantial data indicate that the oncogene microRNA-155 is significantly elevated in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and regulates multiple genes associated with cancer cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasiveness. Thus, miR-155 can theoretically become a target to enhance the chemotherapeutic effect in cancer therapy. So far, the effect of down-regulating miR-155 to enhance ...

BACKGROUND: In the replacement of missing teeth, a paradigm shift is currently observed with immediate implant placement and/or restoration, particularly in the aesthetic zone. In molar sites, however, anatomical, occlusal and biomechanical considerations remain deterrent factors influencing the outcome of this treatment paradigm. The aim of this report was to ...

OBJECTIVES: To define a set of indicators that could be used to improve quality in intensive care medicine. METHODOLOGY: An European Society of Intensive Care Medicine Task Force on Quality and Safety identified all commonly used key quality indicators. This international Task Force consisted of 18 experts, all with a ...

Bevacizumab and the antimetabolites capecitabine and gemcitabine have been shown to improve outcomes when added to taxanes in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The primary aims of this trial were to determine whether the addition of capecitabine or gemcitabine to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel, followed by doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide, would ...

Objective: To evaluate the impact of forced use therapy on posture in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. Design: Single group pre- and post-training assessments. Subjects: Eight children (mean age 10.5 years (standard deviation 1.26 years)) with hemiplegic cerebral palsy Levels I and II on the gross motor function classification scale. ...

BACKGROUND: Failure to follow up microbiology results pending at the time of hospital discharge can delay diagnosis and treatment of important infections, harm patients, and increase the risk of litigation. Current systems to track pending tests are often inadequate. OBJECTIVE: To design, implement, and evaluate an automated system to improve ...

Stoichiometric and Cu-poor Cu(0.95-x)Mn(0.05)InSe(2) (x = 0-0.20) compounds were synthesized by high-temperature, solid-state reactions. The presence of copper vacancies is revealed by Rietveld refinements of combined neutron and x-ray powder diffraction data. The antiferromagnetic interaction is depressed by the copper deficiency, which may be explained as the competition between the antiferromagnetic Mn-Se-Mn ...

PURPOSE: This study investigates whether positron emission tomography (PET) can be used to monitor the inflammatory response and its correlation with the later fibroproliferative phase in an experimental model of acute lung injury. METHODS: Hydrochloric acid (0.1 N, pH 1, 1.5 ml/kg) was instilled into the right bronchus of mice. A group ...

The purpose of this study was to compare the cardiorespiratory response and mechanical efficiency (ME) of highly trained spinal cord injured (SCI) handcyclists with untrained SCI men. Ten trained handcyclists (≥2 years training) and ten untrained but physically active SCI men completed an incremental exercise test to exhaustion and a sub-maximal ...

Recycling of civic paper waste by enzyme-based technology is nowadays a point of much concern for pollution-less green environment. In this study, the deinking effectiveness of purified xylanase from a newly isolated bacterium was evaluated for recycling of laser jet paper waste. A potent xylanases-producing bacterium from the microbial consortia ...

Whilst joint attention (JA) impairments in autism have been widely studied, little is known about the early development of gaze following, a precursor to establishing JA. We employed eye-tracking to record gaze following longitudinally in infants with and without a family history of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at 7 and ...

There is a growing need for successful bone tissue engineering strategies and advanced biomaterials that mimic the structure and function of native tissues carry great promise. Successful bone repair approaches may include an osteoconductive scaffold, osteoinductive growth factors, cells with an osteogenic potential and capacity for graft vascularisation. To increase ...

In the present study, we conduct an experiment using a one-paired dynamically scaled model of an insect wing, to investigate how asymmetric strokes with different wing kinematic parameters are used to control the aerodynamics of a dragonfly-like inclined flapping wing in still fluid. The kinematic parameters considered are the angles ...

Strongly (001) oriented BiOCl nanoflakes have been prepared at room temperature by the controlled hydrolysis of bismuth chloride in the presence of acetylacetone. The nanoflakes thermally treated in air up to 600 °C have been studied by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Composition, ...

OBJECTIVE: To report the audiological outcomes of cochlear implantation in two patients with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss secondary to superficial siderosis of the CNS and discuss some programming peculiarities that were found in these cases. METHOD: Retrospective review. Data concerning clinical presentation, diagnosis and audiological assessment pre- and ...

BACKGROUND: Persistent postoperative elevation of parathyroid hormone (POePTH) following successful parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is presumed to result from bone remineralization. Predicting which patients may need treatment is difficult. This study investigated whether preoperative serum osteocalcin (OC), a bone turnover marker involved in mineralization, can predict POePTH. METHODS: A ...

Aims: Previous studies for approved indications (on-label) have shown the good safety and efficacy profiles of the Nobori DES. We conducted a prospective, multicentre study to validate the clinical performance of this stent in a real-world setting. Methods and results: A total of 3,067 consecutive patients undergoing a percutaneous coronary ...

Coordination of actions with events in extracorporeal space is essential for many everyday tasks. In the present study, we investigated how transformations, like in tool use, and varying the spatial context affect action coordination. For this aim, we used a circling task that required participants to coordinate the visual feedback ...

Increases in food production and the ever-present threat of food contamination from microbiological and chemical sources have led the food industry and regulators to pursue rapid, inexpensive methods of analysis to safeguard the health and safety of the consumer. Although sophisticated techniques such as chromatography and spectrometry provide more accurate ...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the contribution of posterior circulation to memory function by comparing memory scores between patients with and without a foetal-type posterior cerebral artery (FTP) during the intracarotid amobarbital procedure (IAP) in epilepsy patients. Patients undergoing bilateral IAP between January 2004 and January 2010 ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate feasibility of systematic neonatal screening for sickle cell disease in Chhattisgarh. METHODS: A pilot study was done from February 2008 through January 2009 in Department of Pediatrics & Neonatology, Pt. J.N.M. Medical College & Dr.B.R.A.M. Hospital, Raipur (Chhattisgarh) on a total of 1,158 neonates. Blood samples from ...

Cryptosporidiosis caused by Cryptosporidium spp. is an important diarrhoeal disease observed in farm animals and humans, especially in young or immunocompromised individuals. A novel cell culture assay for testing extracts and pure compounds against Cryptosporidium parvum in 96-well microplate format was established and evaluated. It is based on previously described ...

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a predictor of morbidity and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Dialysis patients show cyclic changes in PWV related to their hydration status and blood pressure. Our aim is to assess the impact of daily dialysis on PWV. We performed a randomized crossover ...

Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia (IPEH) or Masson tumor has only been reported intracranially in 20 cases and can present as a congenital finding. This pathologic entity is an important diagnostic consideration when evaluating an infant with a congenital intracranial mass. We report a third case of a neonate who presented ...

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of single-port surgery (SPS) for laparoscopic extraperitoneal aortic dissection. METHODS: From December 2010 to April 2011, all patients referred for aortic lymph node staging underwent a laparoscopic extraperitoneal approach with a single-port device. The extraperitoneal approach was performed using only one 3-4 cm ...

In the acute phase of atopic dermatitis (AD), T-helper type 2 (Th2) cytokines characterize the inflammatory response in the skin. IL-33 is a new tissue-derived cytokine, which is mainly expressed by cells of barrier tissues, and is known to activate Th2 lymphocytes, mast cells, and eosinophils. IL-33 signals through a ...

A novel polymer, poly(2-(N -carbazolyl)ethyl methacrylate) end-capped with fullerene (PCzMA-C(60) ), has been synthesized via living anionic polymerization. Electrically programmable flash memory devices were easily fabricated with this polymer by using solution coating and metal deposition. This polymer was found in these devices to exhibit bipolar and unipolar switching behaviors ...

The iron(iii) and aluminium(iii) complexes of 1,3-di(4-pyridyl)propane-1,3-dionato (dppd) and 1,3-di(3-pyridyl)propane-1,3-dionato (dmppd), [Fe(dppd)(3)] 1, [Fe(dmppd)(3)] 2, [Al(dppd)(3)] 3 and [Al(dmppd)(3)] 4 have been prepared. These complexes adopt molecular structures in which the metal centres contain distorted octahedral geometries. In contrast, the copper(ii) and zinc(ii) complexes [Cu(dppd)(2)] 5 and [Zn(dmppd)(2)] 6 both ...

Agricultural practices, such as spreading liquid manure or the utilisation of land as animal pastures, can result in faecal contamination of water resources. Rhodococcus coprophilus is used in microbial source tracking to indicate animal faecal contamination in water. Methods previously described for detecting of R. coprophilus in water were neither ...