Bladder carcinoma is the most common malignancy of the urinary tract. Approximately 75-85% of patients with bladder cancer present with a disease that is confined to the mucosa (stage Ta, carcinoma in situ) or submucosa (stage T1). These categories are grouped as nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Although the management ...

In recent years, attachment theory, which was originally formulated to describe and explain infant-parent emotional bonding, has been applied to the study of adolescent and adult romantic relationships and then to the study of psychological processes, such as interpersonal functioning, emotion regulation, coping with stress, and mental health. In this ...

We obtained novel peptides that selectively bind to self-assembling peptide nanomaterials from a random peptide library displayed on phages. Affinity-dependent peptide screening gave phage clones displaying peptides with selective affinities against two kinds of highly networked nanofibers constructed of β-sheet peptides. Both peptide nanofibers have similar primary structures. Binding analyses ...

Accurate sodium replacement during prolonged exercise is possible when sweat rate and sweat sodium content are directly measured. Few athletes have access to sweat sodium content measurement, as the equipment needed to perform such analyzes is costly, laboratory-based or requires technical skills. Using 70 sweat samples collected in 24 athletes ...

Combination therapy has been identified as a promising strategy to improve stroke management. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence from animal models of ischemic stroke to determine whether combining treatments improved efficacy. Multiple databases were searched and data were extracted from focal ischemia experiments comparing control groups, ...

Previous works from our laboratory demonstrated that the monoclonal antibody (MAb) called R7B4 is directed to an epitope shared by various receptors corresponding to the type I cytokine receptor family, containing the common motif WSXWS or the homologous F(Y)GEFS. Later a consensus peptide significantly recognized by the MAb was identified ...

It is well-known that phosphinic acids do not undergo direct esterifications with alcohols under thermal conditions. However, the esterifications take place under microwave (MW) irradiation due to the beneficial effect of MW. As a comparison, maximum 12-15% conversions were observed on traditional heating. It was proved experimentally that the MW-assisted ...

When cardiac tissue is exposed to hypoxia, myocytes are damaged, while fibroblasts are activated. However, it is unknown what changes are induced by hypoxia in cardiac fibroblasts. In this study, using the whole cell patch-clamp technique, we investigated the effect of hypoxia on membrane currents in fibroblasts primarily cultured from ...

A novel colorimetric sensor for rapid and label-free detection of vanillin was developed based on the combination of photonic crystal and molecular imprinting technique. The sensing platform of molecularly imprinted photonic hydrogel (MIPH) was prepared by non-covalent and self-assembly approach using vanillin as a template molecule. Morphology characterization by scanning ...

We report a giant Seebeck coefficient (S) thermoelectric (TE) material-MnO(2) powder-and the design of a practical MnO(2) TE generator to light up a regular light emitting diode (LED). The S of MnO(2) powder was measured to be higher than 20 000 μV K(-1), which is about 100 times higher than the state-of-the-art of ...

Meta-analysis has proven a useful tool in genetic association studies. Allelic heterogeneity can arise from ethnic background differences across populations being meta-analyzed (for example, in search of common frequency variants through genome-wide association studies), and through the presence of multiple low frequency and rare associated variants in the same functional ...

Excessive anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists is a serious condition with a substantial risk of an adverse outcome. We thus found it of interest to review a large case series to characterize the underlying causes of excessive anticoagulation. Patients were identified both retrospectively and prospectively. The inclusion criteria were an ...

One of the diagnostic challenges in cardiology is the assessment of patients with suspected cardiomyopathies. The traditional approach involves clinical history and examination, followed by echocardiography and invasive angiography. Advances in cardiac MRI enable cardiologists to comprehensively assess both ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathies, providing information regarding cardiac anatomy, myocardial and ...

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for the treatment of chronic total occlusion (CTO) is one of the most technically challenging areas of interventional cardiology. When CTO is combined with angulation and tortuosity of the coronary artery, the technical complexity of PCI for CTO is magnified. In this report, we describe a ...

Abstract Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third-leading cause of death in the United States. Despite clinical practice guidelines endorsed by national organizations, the management of COPD deviates from guideline recommendations. Patients with COPD are frequently underdiagnosed and misdiagnosed, due in large part to the lack of spirometry testing. ...

The wet form of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in Caucasians. Our purpose was to assess influence of gene polymorphisms A69S (rs10490924) and R38X (rs2736911) ARMS2 and Y402 (rs1061170) CFH on wet ARMD risk in a Polish population. 130 unrelated patients (90 with wet ...

Background:There is evidence linking oral propionate to a reduction in food intake, which could confer functional food properties in the fight against obesity. However, propionate is typically volatile with a pungent smell and taste and so incorporating into foods naturally, at levels acceptable to the consumer is a novel approach.Subjects/methods:Twenty ...

As human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients now live longer while receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), chronic kidney disease (CKD) has emerged as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among urban HIV population. Risk factors associated with CKD in such HIV-infected population include aging, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, co-infection with ...

Along with antioxidant properties, carnitine is an important regulator of lipid metabolism in humans. While beneficial effects of carnitine have been demonstrated in animal models of Huntington's disease (HD), metabolism of carnitine has not been studied in humans with this illness. In this retrospective database review from 23 patients admitted ...

Background: Hypoxic preconditioning of bone marrow cells (BMCs) from young healthy individuals can enhance the cells' therapeutic potential. Considering that the response to hypoxia may differ according to the quality of the cells, we assessed the effect of hypoxic preconditioning on BMCs from aged mice and compared the difference in ...

RT-PCR to detect Alkhumra virus (ALKV) RNA in plasma or serum has been the standard practice to confirm this infection in the first seven days of illness. In this study, RT-PCR detection of viral RNA from the plasma, serum, and buffy coat (BC) was compared to virus isolation. Plasma, serum, ...

Abstract SOD1, ANG, TARDBP and FUS mutations have been associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Our goal was to extend molecular genetic analysis to newly identified ALS genetic loci and to determine the frequency of mutations, distribution of disease genes, and variant spectrum of these genes in a large United ...

Fifty years ago type 2 diabetes mellitus was very rare in Greenland. Recent epidemiological studies have found a high prevalence of diabetes among Greenlanders comparable to levels among Inuit populations in Canada and Alaska. In 2008 a national diabetes programme was implemented aiming to improve the care for patients with ...

Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic inflammatory arthritis that affects about 5-25% of patients with psoriasis. The prevalence varies from 20-420 per 100,000 population across the world except in Japan where it is 1 per 100,000. Psoriatic arthritis affects both genders equally and in more than half it follows long-standing psoriasis. ...

Introduction: Common etiological agents for community-acquired lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) include Streptococcus pneumoniae, Hemophilus influenzae and Mycoplasma pneumoniae and can be easily managed with oral or intravenous antibiotics. However, LRTI in patients with underlying illnesses, such as cystic fibrosis (CF) and immune deficiency, or on ventilator support is difficult ...

Cyclo-bis-(urea-3,6-dichlorocarbazole) (1) forms a 1 : 2 complex with CH(3)CO(2)(-) and H(2)PO(4)(-) through hydrogen bonding with the two urea moieties, resulting in fluorescence enhancement via a combined photoinduced electron transfer (PET) and energy transfer mechanism. The binding mechanism involves a conformational change of the two urea receptors to a trans orientation after ...

In Escherichia coli K12, succinate was not the dominant fermentation product from xylose. To reduce by-product formation and increase succinate accumulation, pyruvate formate lyase and lactate dehydrogenase, encoded by pflB and ldhA genes, were inactivated. However, these mutations eliminated cell growth and xylose utilization. During anaerobic growth of bacteria, organic ...

Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) in the young (aged 1-35 years), although presumably rare, is always a tragic and devastating event often occurring in apparently healthy persons. Through the last decades, research have been undertaken to estimate the incidence rate and underlying causes of these deaths. However, because autopsy is not ...

Evidence regarding the use of inner speech by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is equivocal. To clarify this issue, the current study employed multiple techniques and tasks used across several previous studies. In Experiment 1, participants with and without ASD showed highly similar patterns and levels of serial recall ...

Aim: To evaluate in vitro the erosive effects of beverages in the presence or absence of caries simulation (acidogenic challenge) on the microhardness of primary enamel. Forty human primary teeth were submitted to the erosive effects: 3×20-min-long daily immersion in fresh orange juice (orange group), strawberry yogurt drink (yog group), ...

Saphenous vein grafts are prone to degeneration and occlusion. Vein graft disease continues to be a significant problem in maintaining long-term benefits after coronary artery bypass surgery. The neointimal hyperplasia and aggressive atherosclerosis that occur in saphenous vein grafts make interventions particularly challenging due to plaque embolization and the no-reflow ...

Anthropometric measures of body composition and arterial stiffness are commonly used as indicators of cardiovascular risk. Little is known, however, about the association of the anthropometric measures with arterial stiffness, especially in a healthy, generally non-obese population. In a sample of 352 healthy subjects (200 premenopausal women), 3 arterial stiffness ...

STUDY DESIGN.: Retrospective review of 750 consecutive multilevel cervical spine decompression surgeries performed by a single spine surgeon. OBJECTIVE.: To determine the incidence of C5 palsy in a large consecutive series of multilevel cervical spine decompression procedures. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA.: Palsy of the C5 nerve is a well-known potential ...

Early onset in bipolar disorder (BPD) has been associated with greater familial risk and unfavorable clinical outcomes. We pooled data from seven international centers to analyze the relationships of family history and symptomatic as well as functional measures of adult morbidity to onset age, or onset in childhood (age <12), ...

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a rare but devastating event among young people. The precise scale of the event remains undefined. This uncommon but catastrophic event usually is proved to be the consequence of varied unsuspected congenital or acquired cardiovascular diseases. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and coronary artery anomalies are the two ...

Lettuce downy mildew (Bremia lactucae) is a rapidly adapting oomycete pathogen affecting commercial lettuce cultivation. Oomycetes are known to use a diverse arsenal of secreted proteins (effectors) to manipulate their hosts. Two classes of effector are known to be translocated by the host: the RXLRs and Crinklers. To gain insight ...

Essential oils are known to possess antimicrobial activity against a wide spectrum of bacteria and fungi. In the present work the composition and the antifungal activity of the oils of Juniperus communis subsp. alpina (Suter) Čelak were evaluated. Moreover, the skin cytotoxicity, at concentrations showing significant antifungal activity, was also ...

Mice carrying a deletion of the adhesive extracellular domain of the desmosomal cadherin desmoglein 2 develop an arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy-like phenotype with ventricular dilation, fibrosis and arrhythmia. To unravel the sequence of myocardial alterations and to identify potential pathomechanisms, histological analyses were performed on mutant hearts from the juvenile ...

Background  Persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities have had regrettably few opportunities to voice their opinions on aspects of research with which they have had direct experience. Understanding and responding to these views can contribute to policies and practices that increasingly treat people as they desire to be treated. Methods  ...

We demonstrated the replacement of the Pt catalyst normally used in the counter electrode of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) by a nanocomposite of dry spun carbon multi-walled nanotube (MWNT) sheets with graphene flakes (Gr-F). The effectiveness of this counter electrode on the reduction of the triiodide in the iodide/triiodide ...

Gazpacho is a ready-to-use vegetable soup containing tomato, cucumber and pepper, olive oil, and other minor constituents such as onion, garlic, wine vinegar, sea salt, and water. In this work, changes in individual phenolic and carotenoid compounds of commercial gazpachos, as well as in their hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant capacity ...

Although zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) have been applied in nanotechnology, their kinetics and tissue distribution in vivo are unknown. Here we compared the kinetics and tissue distribution of 10 nm (65)ZnONPs, 71 nm (65)ZnONPs and (65)Zn(NO(3))(2) in mice after intravenous injection. The areas under the curves and the half-lives in the second compartment ...

Among the small number of expression systems validated for the mass production of eukaryotic membrane proteins (EMPs), the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris stands as one of the most efficient hosts. This system has been used to produce crystallization-grade proteins for a variety of EMPs, from which high-resolution 3D structures have ...

Improved protein assays promise to offer new insights into biological processes as well as the identification of new, clinically important biomarkers. In recent years, a number of approaches have been developed where protein-binding reagents, typically antibodies, are equipped with DNA strands to enable protein analyses via powerful nucleic acid detection ...

Photodynamic therapy is increasingly being utilized to treat thoracic malignancies. For patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, photodynamic therapy is primarily employed as an endobronchial therapy to definitely treat endobronchial, roentgenographically occult, or synchronous primary carcinomas. As definitive monotherapy, photodynamic therapy is most effective in treating bronchoscopically visible lung ...

Abstract Lightweight ambulatory oxygen devices are provided on the assumptions that they enhance compliance and increase activity, but data to support these assumptions are lacking. We studied 22 patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease receiving long-term oxygen therapy (14 men, average age = 66.9 y, FEV(1) = 33.6%pred, PaO(2) ...

The bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is associated with a high prevalence of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). Although abnormal hemodynamics has been proposed as a potential pathogenic contributor, the native BAV hemodynamic stresses remain largely unknown. Fluid-structure interaction models were designed to quantify the regional BAV leaflet wall-shear stress over ...

Chen H-L, Tsang LL-C, Concejero AM, Huang T-L, Chen T-Y, Ou H-Y, Yu C-Y, Chen C-L, Cheng Y-F. Segmental regeneration in right-lobe liver grafts in adult living donor liver transplant. Clin Transplant 2012 DOI: 10.1111/j.1399-0012.2011.01587.x. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract:  Our aim is to evaluate the relationship ...

OBJECTIVE: To review cost-of-illness studies (COIs) and cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) of eating disorders (EDs) and to describe their methodological quality. METHOD: A systematic literature search was done. Search results passed through a selection process, included studies were classified as COIs, CEAs, or "other cost studies" (OCS). Costs were inflated and ...

Now in its 9th year, the Vascular Interventional Advances (VIVA) Symposium has demonstrated comprehensive, objective, cutting-edge continuing education in the field of vascular medicine and intervention. With a faculty representing expertise across all specialties, and using a proprietary system of interactive educations (Laptop Learning), attendees listen to presentations and debates, ...