The effect of base pairing and solvation on pyramidalization of the glycosidic nitrogen found in the residues of parallel G-quadruplex with NDB ID UDF062 is analyzed and explained with theoretical calculations. Extent of the pyramidalization depends on local geometry of the 2'-deoxyguanosine residues, namely on their glycosidic torsion and sugar ...

Gerodontology 2012; doi: 10.1111/j.1741-2358.2012.00647.x Validity and reliability of a visual scoring method for masticatory ability using test gummy jelly Background:  For quantitative evaluation of masticatory ability of the elderly patients, there should be a simple and reliable method without special techniques and instruments. Objective:  The purpose of this study was ...

This article describes the first reported microwell whole-cell bioconversion using a water immiscible substrate that matches the specific activity and yield achieved in a 1.2 L stirred tank bioreactor. Maximum yields of 0.6g/L(total) 1-dodecanol achieved in 24 hours compare favourably to 0.28g/L(total) 1-dodecanol after 48 hours obtained in a stirred ...

A rapid and quantitative analytical method for the simultaneous determination of green tea catechins using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry was developed. Total analytical run time was 3.5 min for the detection of (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epicatechin-3-O-gallate (ECG), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG) and myricetin as the internal standard (IS) in rat plasma. ...

Abstract Opportunity for parasites to manipulate host behavioral phenotype may be influenced by several factors, including the host ecology and the presence of cohabiting parasites in the same host. Metacercariae of Ornithodiplostomum ptychocheilus and "black spot" Crassiphiala bulboglossa have similar life cycles. Each parasite uses a littoral snail as a ...

  We present the case of an infant with presumed Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Through a history, physical, and histopathology, we were able to diagnose the patient with kwashiorkor. Physicians should be aware of this disorder, which is commonly thought of as a developing world problem, because it is increasing in incidence ...

The purpose of this article was to address the clinically relevant question: In the presence of anxiety and/or depression, do patients who have had heart surgery engage in self-management behaviors following hospital discharge? A systematic review of 16 studies that examined the psychological condition of patients who had coronary artery ...

Previous studies have suggested methods for predicting third molar tooth eruption radiographically. Still, this prediction is associated with uncertainty. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the association between cephalometric measurements on profile and panoramic radiographs and to find a simple and reliable method for predicting the eruption ...

Octaprenyl diphosphate synthase (OPPS) catalyzes consecutive condensation reactions of farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) with five molecules of isopentenyl diphosphates (IPP) to generate C40 octaprenyl diphosphate (OPP), which constitutes the side chain of ubiquinone or menaquinone. To understand the roles of active site amino acids in substrate binding and catalysis, site-directed mutagenesis ...

Purpose: Conventional radiography is a well-established method for imaging of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) structures. However, the dental computer tomography becomes more important for the visualization of teeth in the jaw-bone. The applicability of dental computer tomography for the visualization of the TMJ it not yet been proven. The aim ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the acute effects of exercise intensity on anxiety, mood states and hunger in obese adolescents. METHODS: Subjects were eight male obese adolescents (age 15.44 +/- 2.06y; BMI 33.06 +/- 4.78 kg/m2). Each subject underwent three experimental trials: 1) Control, seated ...

Hb S [β6(A3)Glu→Val, GAG>GTG] is a β-globin gene variant that has a very low incidence in the Thai population. Coinheritance of Hb S and β(0)-thalassemia (β-thal) can result in severe clinical conditions. This study reports the case of a Thai patient with a compound heterozygosity for Hb S and β(0)-thal ...

During the past decade, novel disposable cell culture vessels (generally referred to as Process Scouting Devices or PSDs) have become increasingly popular for laboratory scale studies and seed culture generation. However, the lack of engineering characterization and online monitoring tools for PSDs makes it difficult to elucidate their oxygen transfer ...

Tetralogy of Fallot is the most common cyanotic congenital heart defect and accounts for about 5% of all congenital cardiopathies. The definitive treatment modality for tetralogy of Fallot is reparative surgery, which is recommended to be performed by the time of diagnosis. Without surgical repair, most patients would die during ...

Influenza A virus (IAV) induces apoptosis of infected cells. In response to IAV infection, p53, a tumor suppressor involved in regulating apoptosis and host antiviral defense, accumulates and becomes activated. This study was undertaken to examine the mechanism of p53 accumulation in IAV-infected cells. Here we show that p53 accumulation ...

Objective.  Previous studies have seldom compared functional capacity in children following Fontan procedure alongside those with Glenn operation as destination therapy. We hypothesized that Fontan circulation enables better midterm submaximal exercise capacity as compared to Glenn physiology and evaluated this using the 6-minute walk test. Design and Patients.  Fifty-seven children ...

Context:There are no known effective and reliable biomarkers to distinguish benign thyroid nodules from papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC). Previous studies have indicated that serum microRNA (miRNA) profiles may be diagnostic and/or prognostic markers for numerous other cancers.Objective:We studied circulating miRNA profiles in patients with PTC or benign nodules and healthy ...

Individuals with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) live with a risk of reactivation, and several treatments for chronic inflammatory conditions are highly associated with such reactivation. A new Janus kinase inhibitor, tofacitinib (CP-690550), has shown promising results for treatment of inflammatory disorders, thus raising concerns of risk of active tuberculosis. Our ...

Sick and injured children, like combatants wounded by shot and shell in war, are disproportionately represented in the tallies of both man-made and national disasters. Paediatricians have a particularly proud heritage of military service, a nexus dating in Australia from the early 19th century. This paper traces this link between ...

Age is an important prognostic factor of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). In this study, we investigated the prognosis and prognostic factors of PTC in patients younger than 20 years. We enrolled 110 patients who underwent initial surgery at Kuma Hospital between 1987 and 2008. Tumor size > 4 cm, metastatic ...

We present a proof of concept for the dynamic control over the plasmon resonance frequencies in a hybrid metal-semiconductor nanoshell structure with Ag core and TiO_{2} coating. Our method relies on the temporary change of the dielectric function \epsilon of TiO_{2} achieved through temporarily generated electron-hole pairs by means of ...

BACKGROUND: Electronic personal health records offer a promising way to communicate medical test results to patients. We compared the usability of tables and horizontal bar graphs for presenting medical test results electronically. METHODS: We conducted experiments with a convenience sample of 106 community-dwelling adults. In the first experiment, participants viewed ...

Objective(s): To investigate the expression of periostin in the eutopic and ectopic endometrium of women diagnosed as endometriosis and evaluate the role of periostin in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Study design: In this study, the expression of periostin was evaluated in the endometrial specimens from 35 women diagnosed as endometriosis ...

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that dietary betaine might improve nutrient digestibilities in pigs due to its osmoprotective properties. This in vitro study was performed to assess the potential of supplemented betaine sources to affect fermentation characteristics of different carbohydrate and protein combinations, under conditions of osmotic stress. In vitro fermentation ...

Background: Cow's milk allergy (CMA) is an important problem worldwide and the development of an in vivo system to study new immunotherapeutic strategies is of interest. Intolerance to soybean formula has been described in CMA patients, but it is not fully understood. In this work, we used a food allergy ...

Crystal structures of Gloeobacter violaceus ligand-gated ion channel (GLIC), a proton-gated prokaryotic homologue of pentameric ligand-gated ion channel (LGIC) from G. violaceus, have provided high-resolution models of the channel architecture and its role in selective ion conduction and drug binding. However, it is still unclear which functional states of the ...

Methotrexate (MTX) is a cheap and efficacious drug in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) treatment. If JIA patients are unresponsive to MTX, early and effective combination treatment with biologicals is required to prevent joint damage. The authors developed a prediction model to identify JIA patients not responding to MTX. In a ...

The USA300 methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) genetic background has rapidly emerged as the predominant cause of community-associated S. aureus infections in the U.S. However, epidemiologic characteristics of S. aureus household transmission are poorly understood. We performed a cross-sectional study of adults and children with S. aureus skin infections and ...

The efficacy of targeted therapies in patient populations selected for treatment on the basis of the molecular features of their tumours is shifting the current focus of treatment to biomarker-driven clinical trials. Phase I trials provide an arena for early hypothesis testing, examining not only safety and toxicity, but also ...

BackgroundAlthough long-term trends in local labour market conditions are likely to influence health, few studies have assessed whether this is so. This paper examines whether (1) trends in local employment rates have relevance for mortality and morbidity outcomes in England and (2) trends are stronger predictors of these outcomes than ...

This case describes an extrauterine fetus that was discovered in an apparently healthy bitch 5 mo after whelping. The extrauterine fetus was surgically removed, and the bitch made a complete recovery. The topic of canine ectopic pregnancy is discussed, and a review of previously reported cases is presented.

Background: In medical education, peer-assisted learning (PAL) refers to teaching occurring between fellow students. Few descriptions of its use to teach clinical examination have been published. Student Grand Rounds (SGR) is a student-led initiative whereby senior students volunteer to teach clinical examination to pre-clinical peers. Student tutors attend a modified ...

Here we report the successful synthesis of superconducting potassium doped few-layer graphene (K-doped FLG) with a transition temperature of 4.5 K, which is one order of magnitude higher than that observed in the bulk potassium-GIC (graphite intercalation compound), KC8 (Tc = 0.39 K). The realization of super-conductivity in K-doped FLG ...

Human CAP10-like protein 46 kDa (hCLP46), as a protein O-glucosyltransferase in mammalian cell lines, modifies the epidermal growth factor-like repeat of Notch receptor and regulates Notch signal pathway, which plays a significant role in carcinogenesis of mammalian. O-glucosylation, modified by rumi in drosophila and poglut in mouse to Notch and other ...

Transthyretin (TTR), a β-strand rich tetrameric protein present in human serum and cerebrospinal fluid is involved in the transport of thyroxine and retinol binding protein:retinol complex (holo-RBP). TTR forms two T4 binding sites at the center of the dimer-dimer interface and contains holo-RBP binding sites on both faces of the ...

BACKGROUND: Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is diagnosed at the metastatic stage. We aimed to identify hidden primary cancers in CUP patients by comparison with cancers in family members. We take use of the fact that the cause of death in CUP patients is often coded as the cancer in ...

Real-world visual scenes are complex cluttered, and heterogeneous stimuli engaging scene- and object-selective cortical regions including parahippocampal place area (PPA), retrosplenial complex (RSC), and lateral occipital complex (LOC). To understand the unique contribution of each region to distributed scene representations, we generated predictions based on a neuroanatomical framework adapted from ...

BACKGROUNDDe novo somatic copy number aberrations (SCNAs) in eutopic and ectopic endometria are thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. In this study we used, for the first time, high-density single nucleotide polymorphism-array technology for accurate detection of SCNAs, inherited DNA copy number variations (CNVs) and copy-neutral loss ...

Objective: To evaluate the quality of evidence produced by studies of the chronic care model (CCM). Study Design: Systematic review using a grading system in which grades are assigned on the basis of the hierarchy of evidence, study limitations, and analytical attempts to mitigate limitations. Data Collection: Systematic literature search ...

Lysosomes serve key degradative functions for the turnover of membrane lipids and protein components. Its biogenesis is principally dependent on exocytic traffic from the late endosome via the trans-Golgi network, and it also receives cargo to be degraded from the endocytic pathway. Membrane trafficking to the late endosome-lysosome is tightly ...

Background: Chemotherapy is the principal treatment method for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Treatment with platinum-based and novel chemotherapeutic regimens, compared to monotherapy, slightly increases the response rates to 20-40%. The predictive and prognostic values of molecular factors are highly variable; however, data on clinical-demographic factors are still ...

Ordered array of Au semishells on TiO2 spheres with controlled size are prepared by combining the nanosphere self-assembly and atomic layer deposition (ALD). This ordered 2-D structure with designed array of metal nanogaps can be used as ultra-sensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates with high reproducibility and stability. More importantly, ...

Alterations in gene expression after chemotherapy may potentially help to identify mediators that induce suppression or regeneration in bone marrow. This paper reports our observation that the expression of the chemokine Mig (monokine induced by interferon γ) and its receptor CXCR3 was significantly activated in mice following treatment with the ...

Background. Although seasonal variation in tuberculosis incidence has been described in several recent studies, the mechanism underlying this seasonality remains unknown. Seasonality of tuberculosis disease may indicate the presence of season-specific risk factors that could potentially be controlled if they were better understood. We conducted this study to determine whether tuberculosis ...

The F420 strain, isolated from raw goat milk and identified as Enterococcus hirae , was selected because of its strong activity against Gram-positive bacteria, including Listeria monocytogenes . Interestingly, the F420 strain lacks the virulence genes and decarboxylase activity of histidine, lysine, and ornithine, and it is susceptible to 11 ...

As the demand for renewable energy resource is growing rapidly worldwide, a variety of energy materials and technologies are being developed. In this review, we aim to summarize recent developments in the state-of-the-art research on energy harvesting technologies such as thin-film Si or Ge, CdTe, GaAs, organic, hybrid, and dye-sensitized ...

A 2.5 yr old sexually intact male vizsla was admitted to the Iowa State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital for persistent diarrhea, weight loss, and panhypoproteinemia. Examination revealed an emaciated condition and melena. Two masses were palpated in the cranial abdomen. Hematology and serum biochemistry exhibited a regenerative anemia and confirmed ...

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) is postulated to modulate insulin action by dephosphorylating the insulin receptor signaling proteins and attenuating insulin signaling. We sought to determine the relationship of skeletal muscle PTP1B to whole-body insulin sensitivity. We studied 17 African Americans with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and 16 without ...

Background: Differences in electrical properties between left and right atria (LA and RA) after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for atrial fibrillation (AF) are currently poorly understood. Magnetocardiograms were used to investigate the effect of PVI on bi-atrial magnetic field changes and their relationship to clinical outcomes. Methods and Results: This ...

The macrocyclic urea 2, a byproduct in the synthesis of benzoxaborole 1, was identified to be a novel and potent HCV protease inhibitor. We further explored this motif by synthesizing additional urea-based inhibitors and by characterizing them in replicase HCV protease-resistant mutants assay. Several compounds, exemplified by 12, were found ...