Seasonal influenza causes clinical illness and hospitalization in all age groups; however, conventional inactivated vaccines have only limited efficacy in young children. MF59 (®) , an oil-in-water emulsion adjuvant, has been used since the 1990s to enhance the immunogenicity of influenza vaccines in the elderly, a population with waning immune ...

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is implicated in localized aggressive periodontitis. We report the first genome sequence of an A. actinomycetemcomitans strain isolated from an Old World primate.

Medical Education 2012: 46: 267-276 Objectives  We reviewed papers describing the development of instruments for assessing clinical communication in undergraduate medical students. The instruments had important limitations: most lacked a theoretical basis, and their psychometric properties were often poor or inadequately investigated and reported. We therefore describe the development of ...

The diagnosis of prostatic adenocarcinoma relies on a constellation of architectural, cytological, and immunohistochemical features. Although the diagnosis of prostatic adenocarcinoma is straightforward in most cases, due to earlier detection of the disease in the modern era, pathologists have become increasingly challenged in diagnosing small foci of cancer when only ...

Here we describe five Shewanella baltica genomes recovered from the same sample, as well as 12 years apart from the same sampling station. These genomes expand the collection of previously sequenced S. baltica strains and represent a valuable resource for assessing the role of environmental settings on genome adaptation.

Background: Differences in genes encoding enzymes involved in the biotransformation of a large number of compounds, such as CYP2D6, are related to inter-individual and inter-ethnic variability in the metabolism of many drugs, which have also been linked to susceptibility to cancer and other health outcomes. Therefore, populations are likely to ...

PURPOSE/QUESTION: To assess whether individuals born with nonsyndromic oral clefts displayed a higher frequency of dental anomalies. SOURCE OF FUNDING: Information not available. TYPE OF STUDY/DESIGN: Systematic review with meta-analysis of the data. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 2: Limited-quality, patient-oriented evidence. STRENGTH OF RECOMMENDATION GRADE: Grade B: Inconsistent or limited-quality ...

In this issue, Lai-Cheong et al. report a patient with Kindler syndrome who showed revertant mosaicism: a patch of normal-looking skin attributable to a reverse mutation. The molecular basis of the reverted patch appeared to be the deletion of a duplicated cytosine, thus restoring the reading frame of FERMT1 transcripts. ...

Concerns about academic honesty in higher education are widespread. To address this issue, faculty took part in a 3-year trial of a highly successful approach to academic honesty. Guiding this approach were an appreciation of student context, faculty orientation to student engagement, and available antiplagiarism technology.

The autopoietic development of the preimplantation embryo may in part be explained by the actions of autocrine tropic ligands. The net effect of these mediators is to support the survival of cells within the early embryo. In the mouse, the actions of autocrine ligands are required by the 2-cell stage ...

Medical Education 2012: 46: 289-298 Objectives  Using a large image bank, we systematically examined how the use of different ratios of abnormal to normal cases affects trainee learning. Methods  This was a prospective, double-blind, randomised, three-arm education trial conducted in six academic training programmes for emergency medicine and paediatric residents ...

Pseudomonas stutzeri strain ZoBell, formerly a strain of Pseudomonas perfectomarina (CCUG 16156 = ATCC 14405), is a model organism for denitrification. It was isolated by ZoBell in 1944 from a marine sample, and here we report the first genome draft of a strain assigned to genomovar 2 of the species ...

Medical Education 2012: 46: 277-288 Context  Assessment centres used in evaluating the non-cognitive attributes of medical school candidates must generate scores that reflect as accurate a measurement as possible of these attributes. Thus far, reliability coefficients for such centres have been based on limited samples and individual administrations, without reference ...

PURPOSE/QUESTION: To evaluate the scientific evidence regarding laser technology for removal of carious tissue. SOURCE OF FUNDING: Information is not available. TYPE OF STUDY/DESIGN: Systematic review. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 2: Limited-quality, patient-oriented evidence. STRENGTH OF RECOMMENDATION GRADE: Grade B: Inconsistent or limited-quality patient-oriented evidence.

We report the complete genome sequence of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris A76, a dairy strain isolated from a cheese production outfit. Genome analysis detected two contiguous islands fitting to the L. lactis subsp. lactis rather than to the L. lactis subsp. cremoris lineage. This indicates the existence of genetic exchange ...

Although certain rare actinomycetes have been recognized as prolific sources of bioactive natural products, their potential for producing biologically active metabolites still remains unexplored. With the aim of gaining global insights into the genetic background and the metabolic capability of Saccharomonospora azurea SZMC 14600, whole-genome sequencing was performed.

: The classic pediatric pelvic fracture (PPF) classification was developed by Torode and Zeig in 1985 and is based exclusively on plain radiographs. The purpose of this study was to propose a modification to a previously accepted PPF classification scheme and discuss the significance of this modification with respect to ...

Background and objectives Antibody persistence and immune memory against hepatitis A (HAV) in adults in a low endemicity country, 15 y after immunisation with two doses of HAV vaccine has been demonstrated. This communication provides additional information on antibody persistence up to Year 17 from two of the longest follow-up ...

: The Dega osteotomy is a versatile procedure that is widely used to treat neuromuscular hip dysplasia. There is a paucity of the English language literature on its use in acetabular dysplasia seen in developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). : A retrospective radiographic and chart review was performed for ...

: There is limited information on osteoarticular infections in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of HIV on the epidemiology of osteoarticular infections in a setting with a high prevalence of pediatric HIV infection. : A retrospective evaluation of children presenting ...

Freshly collected samples of Tylos europaeus from Korba beach (northeast of Tunisia) were housed in an environmental cabinet at controlled temperature (18°C ± .5°C) and photoperiod. Locomotor activity was recorded under two photoperiodic regimens by infrared actography every 20 min by multichannel data loggers. One regimen simulated the natural light-dark cycle on the ...

Osteoid osteoma is a benign tumor that can be seen in both cortical or cancellous bone. Radiographic appearance is usually diagnostic. It consists of a small nidus usually less than 1.5cm and a surrounding bony sclerosis. We present one case of osteoid osteoma with an unusual (nearly completely calcified) nidus.

Mutations in the myocilin gene (MYOC) are the most common known genetic cause of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). The purpose of this study was to determine whether topical ocular sodium 4-phenylbutyrate (PBA) treatment rescues glaucoma phenotypes in a mouse model of myocilin-associated glaucoma (Tg-MYOC(Y437H) mice). Tg-MYOC(Y437H) mice were treated with ...

This work reports the effects of the bioflavinoids genistein and daidzein on lipid bilayers as determined by volume measurements, X-ray scattering, and molecular dynamics simulations. The experimental and simulated total molecular volumes were found to be in outstanding agreement with each other before the addition of genistein and daidzein and ...

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are restricted by the non-polymorphic MHC class I-like protein, CD1d, and activated following presentation of lipid antigens bound to CD1d molecules. The prototypical iNKT cell agonist is α-galactosyl ceramide (α-GalCer). CD1d-mediated activation of iNKT cells by this molecule results in the rapid secretion of ...

Quantification of chemical toxicity continues to be generally based on measured external concentrations. Yet, internal chemical concentrations have been suggested to be a more suitable parameter. To better understand the relationship between the external and internal concentrations of chemicals in fish, and to quantify internal concentrations, we compared three toxicokinetic ...

Axonal growth cones turn away from repulsive guidance cues. This may start with reduced protrusive motility in the region the growth cone leading margin that is closer to the source of repulsive cue. Using explants of E7 chick temporal retina, we examine the effects of two repulsive guidance cues, ephrin-A2 ...

We previously identified a series of methylsulfonylnitrobenzoates (MSNBs) that block the interaction of the thyroid hormone receptor with its coactivators. MSNBs inhibit coactivator binding through irreversible modification of cysteine 298 of the thyroid hormone receptor (TR). Although MSNBs have better pharmacological features than our first generation inhibitors (β-aminoketones), they contain ...

In recent years, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) has been increasingly accepted as a functional metric of mean blood glucose in the treatment of diabetic patients. Importantly, HbA1c provides an alternate measure of total glycemic exposure due to the representation of blood glucose throughout the day, including post-prandially. In this article, we ...

Breast cancer remains one of the most prevalent and lethal malignancies in women. The inability to diagnose small volume metastases early has limited effective treatment of stage 4 breast cancer. Here we report the rational development and use of a multifunctional superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION) for targeting metastatic breast ...

1-Nitropyrene (1-NP), a mutagen and potential carcinogen, is the most abundant nitro polyaromatic hydrocarbon in diesel exhaust, which reacts with DNA to form predominantly N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-1-aminopyrene (dG(AP)). If not repaired, this DNA lesion is presumably bypassed in vivo by any of human Y-family DNA polymerases kappa (hPolκ), iota (hPolι), eta (hPolη), ...

The molecular nature of transducin-α subunits (Gα(t)) may contribute to the distinct physiology of cone and rod photoreceptors. Biochemical properties of mammalian cone Gα(t2) subunits and their differences with rod Gα(t1) are largely unknown. Here, we examined properties of chimeric Gα(t2) in comparison with its rod counterpart. The key biochemical ...

Second-order nonlinear optical imaging of chiral crystals (SONICC), which portrays second-harmonic generation (SHG) by noncentrosymmetric crystals, is emerging as a powerful imaging technique for protein crystals in media opaque to visible light because of its high signal-to-noise ratio. Here we report the incorporation of both SONICC and two-photon excited fluorescence ...

Submillimeter single-crystal monolayer and multilayer graphene domains were prepared by an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition method with suppressing nucleation on copper foils through an annealing procedure. A facile oxidation visualization method was applied to study the nucleation density and morphology of graphene domains on copper foils. Scanning electron microscopy, ...

OBJECTIVE: The pandemic influenza (H1N1) 2009 virus, which combined genes from swine, human and avian influenza viruses, emerged in April 2009 and spread globally within the next month. The post-pandemic serological response to the influenza A(H1N1) 2009 virus in non-vaccinated individuals from the central part of Slovenia was studied. METHODS: ...

High frequencies of chromosomal anomalies are reported in human and non-human primate in vitro-produced preimplantation embryos. It is unclear why certain embryos develop aneuploidies while others remain euploid. A differential susceptibility to aneuploidy is most likely a consequence of events that occur before oocyte collection. One hypothesis is that the ...

Blepharospasm in connection with chronic subdural haematoma is an uncommon pathology and usually subsides after treatment of the haematoma. Different mechanical and vascular factors may play a role by affecting domapinergic transmission in basal ganglia. A case of a 72-year-old patient is presented, who developed transient blepharospasm as a result ...

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) of the pancreas is a distinct entity characterized by papillary proliferations of mucin-producing epithelial cells with excessive mucin production and cystic dilatation of the pancreatic ducts. The clinical presentation often involves recurrent episodes of pancreatitis associated with the temporal obstruction of the main pancreatic duct ...

Over the past decade, vitamin D has generated considerable interest as potentially having important effects on the vasculature and the kidney. Animal and human data indicate that vitamin D suppresses the activity of the renin-angiotensin system and improves endothelial function. Observational studies in humans suggest that low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) ...

PURPOSE: Paralysis in spinal metastasis is often caused by anterior dural compression, and anterior approach has been frequently chosen for decompression despite its dreadful complications. On the other hand, the effectiveness of posterior indirect decompression has not specifically established. The objective of the present study was to investigate the anatomical ...

It has been previously showed that fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) has anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects on several experimental inflammation models. However, the effects and mechanism of FBP on Zymosan-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in mice had not been tested. In this study, our aim was to assess the anti-inflammatory activities of FBP ...

We conducted an epidemiological study concerning carbapenem-non-susceptible clinical isolates of Acinetobacter spp. in Japan by molecular procedures including carbapenemase gene identification and amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis. Among 598 clinically isolated Acinetobacter spp. in 2007, 27 (4.5%) were non-susceptible to carbapenems. Most carbapenem-non-susceptible Acinetobacter baumannii (13/14) belonged to clonal complex ...

Fresh rhizome of Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch. (Saeng-jihwang in Korean: SJH) has been prescribed for the treatment of diabetes-associated complications. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the underlying mechanisms of the efficacy of SJH in diabetes-related complications. Decoction was obtained after boiling SJH in water and subsequent lyophilization. ...

Many laboratories use enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for the diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). More recently, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnosis has been described as a sensitive test. Real-time PCR for the detection of C. difficile toxin A and B genes was evaluated. A prospective evaluation was performed on stool ...

The objective of the present study was to demonstrate the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive properties of agaricoglycerides of the fermented mushroom of Grifola frondosa (AGF). The effects of AGF on interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) levels, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) levels, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) ...

The roots of Sophora flavescens was reported to possess many pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory, antiashmatic, antithelmintic, free radical scavenging and antimicrobial activities. However, the low saturated solubility and dissolution velocity of S. flavescens lead to poor bioavailability. The S. flavescens nanoparticles (SFNP) were prepared by a combination of ultrasound and ...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the diagnosis, epidemiology, risk factors, and treatment of chylous ascites after colorectal cancer surgery. METHODS: Among 907 patients who underwent colorectal cancer resection at our institution between 2006 and 2009, chylous ascites developed in 9. We analyzed the clinical data for these 9 patients. RESULTS: Five of ...

Gram-negative microorganisms are rarely implicated in causing infective endocarditis (IE). Although the traditionally identified risk factor for Gram-negative endocarditis has been intravenous drug abuse, recent studies have revealed that healthcare contact and the presence of prosthetic cardiac devices are primary risk factors for IE secondary to non-HACEK Gram-negative bacteria. We ...

We view the response decrement resulting from extinction treatment as an interference effect, in which the reactivated memory from acquisition competes with the reactivated memory from extinction for behavioral expression. For each of these memories, reactivation is proportional to both the strength of the stimulus-outcome association and the quality of ...

Migraine is considered one of the most prevalent neurological disorders but its underlying pathophysiology is poorly understood. Over the past two decades, it became widely accepted that activation of primary afferent nociceptive neurons that innervate the intracranial meninges serves as a key process that mediates the throbbing head pain of ...