This review reflects and expands on the contents of my presentation at the Thomas W. Smith Memorial Lecture at American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, 2011. "Decoding the cardiac message" refers to accumulating results from ongoing microRNA research that is altering longstanding concepts of the mechanisms for, and consequences of, messenger ...

Solvated electrons are powerful reagents in the liquid phase that break chemical bonds and thereby create additional reactive species, including hydrogen atoms. We explored the distinct chemistry that ensues when electrons are liberated near the liquid surface rather than within the bulk. Specifically, we detected the products resulting from exposure ...

Aim:  The aim of the present study was to establish Thai-specific reference ranges of triple markers for fetal Down syndrome as a function of gestational age as well as weight correction models and to compare the false positive rates when using Thai-specific model relative to Caucasian-specific model. Material and Methods:  ...

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to present our 8-year experience with partial adrenalectomy via the retroperitoneal approach for the treatment of Cushing's adenoma. METHODS: A total of 93 patients who underwent adrenal surgery for Cushing's adenoma from March 2003 to December 2010 were enrolled in this study. Preoperative, ...

This study evaluated an evidence-based education booklet developed for patients undergoing spinal surgery which was used as a treatment intervention in a multi-centre, factorial, randomised controlled trial (FASTER: Function after spinal treatment, exercise and rehabilitation) investigating the post-operative management of spinal surgery patients. This study sought to determine the acceptability ...

Oesophageal carcinoma remains one of the most common forms of cancer. Resection in the form of oesophagectomy and gastric interposition remains the standard surgical treatment and is associated with a high rate of post-operative morbidity. We report a case of a 71-year old male who underwent successful Ivor-Lewis oesophageal resection ...

A mixture of cyclic gold(i) complexes [Au(2)(μ-cis-dppen)(2)]X(2) (X = OTf 1, PF(6)3) and [Au(cis-dppen)(2)]X (X = OTf 2, PF(6)4) is obtained from the reaction of [Au(tht)(2)]X (tht = tetrahydrothiophene) with one equivalent of cis-dppen [dppen = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethylene]. The analogous reaction with trans-dppen or dppa [dppa = bis(diphenylphosphino)acetylene] affords the cyclic ...

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a rare congenital disorder in which phagocytes cannot generate superoxide (O (2) (-) ) and other microbicidal oxidants due to mutations in one of the five components of the O (2) (-) -generating NADPH oxidase complex. The most common form is caused by mutations in ...

Rhizoma Smilacis Glabrae (RSG) is a commonly used herbal material in functional food and Traditional Chinese Medicine. A HPLC chromatographic fingerprint was developed for its quality control and species differentiation. Nine peaks were found in the chromatogram of RSG and all these peaks were identified by diode array detection and ...

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated degradation (ERAD) is a protective mechanism against ER stress in which unfolded proteins accumulated in the ER are selectively transported to the cytosol for degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. We cloned the novel ubiquitin ligase HRD1, which is involved in ERAD, and showed that HRD1 promoted amyloid ...

In an earlier study, biocatalytic carbon oxyfunctionalization with water serving as oxygen donor, e.g., the bioconversion of quinaldine to 4-hydroxyquinaldine, was successfully achieved using resting cells of recombinant Pseudomonas putida, containing the molybdenum-enzyme quinaldine 4-oxidase, in a two-liquid phase (2LP) system (Ütkür et al. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 38:1067-1077, 2011). ...

This study evaluated the levels of bone morphogenetic protein receptors BMPRIB and BMPRII mRNA in goat follicles and the effects of bone morphogenetic protein-15 (BMP-15) on the in vitro development of cultured preantral follicles. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to analyze the levels of BMPRIB and BMPRII mRNA ...

Aim:  The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and inhibition by nitric oxide (NO) of spontaneous contractions of uterine rings from pregnant inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase knockout (iNOS KO) mice. Material and Methods:  iNOS ...

The autologous transplantation of hair follicles that have been separated into single follicular units is an accepted treatment for androgenetic alopecia. Recent studies demonstrate that the multiple stem cell populations and surrounding cutaneous tissues coordinately regulate the hair follicle functions and skin homeostasis. Therefore, the critical issues for consideration regarding ...

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for unresectable colorectal liver metastases can reduce tumor size, which sometimes leads to curative resection. The aim of the present study was to identify and describe patients with initially unresectable liver-only metastases from colorectal cancer who obtained sufficient chemotherapeutic benefit that eventually lead to the removal of ...

Introduction: This glossary is a tool for clinicians who have to confront topics in which medical, scientific and technical jargon is closely linked. It provides definitions for the key concepts and terms of pharmaceutical care, clinical pharmacy, and research in the health care system in clinical settings. It includes items ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the requirement for temporary and permanent pacemaker insertion and the incidence of the problems regarding the rhythm following heart transplantation with the bicaval or biatrial technique in the early postoperative period. METHODS: Sixty-one patients underwent orthotopic heart transplantation between the dates ...

Unlike small molecule drugs, therapeutic protein pharmaceuticals must not only have the correct amino acid sequence and modifications, but also the correct conformation to ensure safety and efficacy. Here, we describe a method for comparison of therapeutic protein conformations by hydroxyl radical protein footprinting using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) as ...

The study aims to provide an ease-of-use approach for senior patients to utilize remote healthcare systems. An ease-of-use remote healthcare system (RHS) architecture using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and networking technologies is developed. Specifically, the codes in RFID tags are used for authenticating the patients' ID to secure and ease ...

Hospital use near the end of life is often undesirable to patients, represents considerable Medicare cost, and varies widely across regions. To concurrently examine regional and patient factors, including disability and functional decline, associated with end-of-life hospital use. We sampled decedents aged 65 and older (n = 2,493) from the ...

Knyazev, G. G., Barchard, K. A., Razumnikova, O. M. & Mitrofanova, L.G. (2012). The relationship of positive and negative expressiveness to the processing of emotion information. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. The tendency to express emotions non-verbally is positively related to perception of emotions in oneself. This study examined its relationship ...

Adaptation of cells to environmental changes requires dynamic interactions between metabolic and regulatory networks, but studies typically address only one or a few layers of regulation. For nutritional shifts between two preferred carbon sources of Bacillus subtilis, we combined statistical and model-based data analyses of dynamic transcript, protein, and metabolite ...

Purpose: As a well-known measure for quantifying functional mobility in elderly persons, Berg Balance Scale (BBS) was used in the present study to evaluate its psychometric properties among a sample of 106 elderly individuals speaking Persian language. Method: After forward-backward translation process, videotapes were recorded from all participants while performing ...

Porcine heart valves and bovine pericardium exhibit suitable properties for use as substitutes in cardiothoracic surgery, but must meet several requirements to be safe and efficient. Treatment with glutaraldehyde (GA) render some of these requirements, but calcification and degradation post-implant remain a problem. This study aimed to identify additional biochemical ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between socio-demographic and clinical factors, and time from consultation to diagnosis and treatment for men with prostate cancer. METHODS: Men diagnosed with prostate cancer (n = 1,064, response rate = 82%) were recruited through participating urologists and hospital outpatient clinics in Queensland, Australia, and completed telephone interviews and self-administered ...

Gene copy number profiles of primary lung tumors were screened for high-level amplifications. We detected 22 high-level amplifications in various loci, including 14q13. This locus is known to harbor the adenocarcinoma (AC) lineage-specific target gene NKX2-1, which is not expressed in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). As the 14q amplification was ...

The objective of this study was to identify the social factors that explain the differences in knowledge with regards to HIV/AIDS among immigrants in the Basque Country (Spain). We conducted a cross-sectional study based on information obtained in the Basque Health Survey for 754 immigrants from: 86 China, 368 Latin ...

Ecology Letters (2012) ABSTRACT: Understanding effects of species loss in complex food webs with multiple trophic levels is complicated by the idiosyncrasy of the predator effects on lower trophic levels: direct and indirect effects intermingle and may increase, decrease or not affect ecosystem functioning. We introduce a reductionist approach explaining ...

The microstructure of Ti-35Nb-7.2Zr-5.7Ta (TNZT) and Ti-35Nb-7.2Zr-5.7Ta-0.5B (TNZTB) alloys under different heat treatment conditions has been analyzed. The solution-treated and water-quenched TNZT sample consists mainly of β phase with a very small amount of fine athermal ω precipitate. Precipitation of α can be observed when solution-treated samples are directly aged ...

Betula alnoides has been widely used in local traditional medicinal treatment for a variety of diseases, wounds and to cure diabetes. The air-dried, powdered (200 g) bark was extracted with 80% methanol at room temperature. The combined 80% methanolic extract was partitioned with organic solvents to yield n-hexane, ethyl acetate ...

Epidemiological studies on the distribution of leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum Nicolle, 1908 (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) have been based principally on serological surveys of the canine reservoir. This methodology is useful due to the facility of sampling, the rapidity in obtaining results, its consistency and because it allows the detection of ...

Individuals with a personal history of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) are known to have an increased risk of subsequent cancers. However, most of the studies regarding this fact were done on Caucasian populations. We investigated whether Korean patients with NMSC have an increased risk of developing second cancers compared to ...

BACKGROUND: Voice and swallowing symptoms following thyroidectomy in the absence of any demonstration of laryngeal nerves injury are usually considered a functional outcome of uncomplicated operations, mainly related to scar formation and emotional reaction. They could be related to unapparent laryngeal nerve or cricothyroid (CT) muscle injuries detectable only by ...

In the somatic cell nucleus, there are several universal domains such as nucleolus, SC35-domains, Cajal bodies (CBs) and histone locus bodies (HLBs). Among them, CBs were described more than 100 years ago; however, we still do not have a final understanding of their nature and biological significance. The giant nucleus of ...

Three heterocyclic systems were selected as potential bioisosteres of the amide linker for a series of 1,6-disubstituted-4-quinolone-3-carboxamides, which are potent and selective CB2 ligands that exhibit poor water solubility, with the aim of improving their physicochemical profile and also of clarifying properties of importance for amide bond mimicry. Among the ...

Background: The perceived control of intrusive thoughts is important in our understanding of a variety of psychological disorders, but particularly in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Little research has explored thought control strategies in younger populations, despite the frequent onset of OCD in childhood. Aims: This study examined thought control strategies ...

Zhang, J., Lin, N. & Li, D. (2012). Mosuos' awareness of taxonomic relations in word associations, lexicon decisions and semantic categorizations. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. The development of representations for taxonomic categories is influenced by many factors, such as age, life experiences, and education. It was hypothesized that Mosuos might ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop chronotherapeutic drug delivery system of indomethacin using polyethylene oxide (PEO) with a predetermined lag time of 6 h by compression coating technique. Materials and methods: Solid dispersions (SD) of indomethacin were prepared using novel carrier sucrose fatty acid ester (SFE 1815) ...

PURPOSE: We aimed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of combination preoperative chemoradiotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with advanced esophageal cancer. METHODS: We performed a phase I dose-escalation trial of docetaxel at 25-40 mg/m(2) in four planned dose levels in 3-6 patient cohorts on days 1, 15, 29, and ...

We report a case of delayed-interval delivery of a dichorionic, diamniotic twin pregnancy with the survival of both twins. The patient presented at 22 weeks and 1 day of gestation with vaginal bleeding and preterm labor. Five days later, the first twin was born. The second twin remained in utero. The management consisted ...

A novel asymmetric formal [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction for the synthesis of 1,3-dioxolanes using cinchona-alkaloid-thiourea-based bifunctional organocatalysts is reported. The reaction proceeds via the formation of hemiacetal intermediates between γ-hydroxy-α,β-unsaturated ketones and aldehydes.

Study purpose was to examine the validity of a 13-item short form of the Medication Adherence Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (MASES-SF) in an independent sample of 150 hypertensive Turkish patients. This is a methodological study and 150 adult patients, who are receiving medication for hypertension in the last one year, were ...

Here we prepared three-dimensional (3D) porous-structured biodegradable polymer scaffolds for tissue regeneration using room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) as a novel porogen, and addressed their biological properties, including in vitro cell growth and differentiation and in vivo tissue compatibility. RTIL based on 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium ([bmim]) bearing hydrophilic anion Cl was introduced ...

A sensitive and rapid analytical methodology based on derivatization followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed for the quantitative determination of the toxic contaminant ethyl carbamate (EC, urethane, C(2) H(5) OCONH(2) ) in alcoholic samples. EC was extracted using liquid-liquid extraction technique, and then silylated with bis-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide, analysed finally ...

A 55-year old female was referred to the Department of Neurosurgery, Kitasato Hospital, because of a hearing impairment. Neuroimaging revealed a typical meningioma attached to the falx in the right frontal region. During surgery, an encapsulated, circumscribed, reddish-gray, slightly hard tumor attached to the falx was completely removed by an ...

Mirror, mirror. The ionization of chiral molecules with circularly polarized light creates an enhancement of the photoelectron angular distribution in the forward direction relative to the laser beam. The mirror-image distribution is obtained with the mirror-image enantiomer. The effect allows enantiomers to be distinguished in the gas phase. To date ...

This study investigated dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in gasses emitted from waste incinerators and thermal processes in central and western parts of India. The concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDDs/DFs) ranged from 0.0070 to 26.8140 ng toxicity equivalent (TEQ)/Nm(3), and those of dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) ranged from 0.0001 × 10(-1) ...

Avocado seed contains elevated levels of phenolic compounds and exhibits antioxidant properties. We investigated the effect of Avocado Seed Flour (ASF) on the lipid levels in mice on a hyperlipidemic diet. The concentration of phenols was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography, antioxidant activity was evaluated using the Trolox equivalent antioxidant ...

After 380 patient-years of darunavir/ritonavir monotherapy in the MONET trial, no patient has developed phenotypic resistance to darunavir. This analysis of all samples with HIV RNA >50 copies/mL is more detailed than most other trials, where only confirmed elevations above 400 copies/mL are tested for resistance. There has also been ...

Infection is a significant cause of death in patients with aplastic anaemia (AA). However, few studies have examined the characteristics of infections in patients with AA, especially in children. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the incidence and types of infections in a large cohort of paediatric ...