Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells proliferate rapidly and divide symmetrically producing equivalent progeny cells. In contrast, lineage committed cells acquire an extended symmetrical cell cycle. Self-renewal of tissue-specific stem cells is sustained by asymmetric cell division where one progeny cell remains a progenitor while the ...

Pur-alpha is an essential protein for postnatal brain development which localizes specifically to dendrites where it plays a role in the translation of neuronal RNA. Mice lacking Pur-alpha display decreased neuronogenesis and impaired neuronal differentiation. Here we examined two Rho GTPases, Rac1 and RhoA, which play opposing roles in neurite ...

In areolar "loose" connective tissue, fibroblasts remodel their cytoskeleton within minutes in response to static stretch resulting in increased cell body cross-sectional area that relaxes the tissue to a lower state of resting tension. It remains unknown whether the loosely arranged collagen matrix, characteristic of areolar connective tissue, is required ...

Par-4 is a pro-apoptotic, tumor suppressor protein that induces apoptosis selectively in cancer cells. Endoplasmic reticulum-stress and higher levels of protein kinase A in tumor cells confer the coveted feature of cancer selective response to extracellular and intracellular Par-4, respectively. Recent studies have shown that systemic Par-4 confers resistance to ...

The mechanisms of hematogenous leukocyte trafficking at the human blood-nerve barrier (BNB) are largely unknown. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). We developed a cytokine-activated human in vitro BNB model using primary endoneurial endothelial cells. Endothelial treatment with 10 U/ml tissue necrosis factor-α ...

High-dose antimicrobial-loaded bone cement (ALBC) is used to treat orthopaedic infections. High-dose ALBC is not commercially available and requires surgeon directed formulation, and there are several different methods used to mix high-dose ALBC. We asked whether the mixing method affected antimicrobial elution and mechanical properties of high-dose ALBC. ALBC was ...

Acute silencing of caveolin-1 (Cav-1) modulates receptor-mediated contraction of airway smooth muscle. Moreover, COX-2- and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO)-derived prostaglandin and leukotriene biosynthesis can influence smooth muscle reactivity. COX-2 half-life can be prolonged through association with Cav-1. We suggested that lack of Cav-1 modulated levels of COX-2 which in turn modulated tracheal ...

Enterococcal periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) are rare after joint arthroplasty. These cases are usually reported in series of PJIs caused by other pathogens. Because few studies have focused only on enterococcal PJIs, management and control of infection of these cases have not yet been well defined. We asked (1) what ...

The Brazilian public health system does not provide electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which is limited to a few academic services. National mental health policies are against ECT. Our objectives were to analyze critically the public policies toward ECT and present the current situation using statistics from the Institute of Psychiatry of ...

Protein kinase CK2 participates in a wide range of cellular events, including the regulation of cellular morphology and migration, and may be an important mediator of angiogenesis. We previously showed that in the retina, CK2 immunolocalizes mostly to vascular endothelium and astrocytes in association with the cytoskeleton. Additionally, CK2 inhibitors ...

Given the strong link between use of unopposed estrogens and development of endometrial cancers, estrogens are usually prescribed with a progestin, particularly for women with intact uteri. Some studies suggest that sequential use of progestins may increase risk; however, the moderating effects of usage patterns or patient characteristics, including body ...

Implant failure after symphyseal disruption and plating reportedly occurs in 0% to 21% of patients but the actual occurrence may be much more frequent and the characteristics of this failure have not been well described. We therefore determined the incidence and characterized radiographic implant failures in patients undergoing symphyseal plating ...

The Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) group revised and validated the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) classification criteria in order to improve clinical relevance, meet stringent methodology requirements, and incorporate new knowledge regarding the immunology of SLE. The classification criteria were derived from a set ...

The goal of the present study was to determine whether the intravenous administration of iron in the postoperative period of colon cancer surgical patients suffices to reduce the number of transfusions necessary. The study was designed as a retrospective observational study conducted over a three-year period. A paired case-control design ...

Spatial working memory can maintain representations from vision, hearing, and touch, representations referred to here as spatial images. The present experiment addressed whether spatial images from vision and hearing that are simultaneously present within working memory retain modality-specific tags or are amodal. Observers were presented with short sequences of targets ...

The current paradigm of cancer care relies on predictive nomograms which integrate detailed histopathology with clinical data. However, when predictions fail, the consequences for patients are often catastrophic, especially in prostate cancer where nomograms influence the decision to therapeutically intervene. We hypothesized that the high dimensional data afforded by massively ...

Treatment of neonatal mice with the phytoestrogen genistein (50 mg/kg/day) results in complete female infertility caused in part by preimplantation embryo loss in the oviduct between Days 2 and 3 of pregnancy. We previously demonstrated that oviducts of genistein-treated mice are "posteriorized" as compared to control mouse oviducts because they ...

Vanillin is one of the major components of vanilla, a commonly used flavoring agent and preservative and is known to exert potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In this work, vanillin-incorporated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) films and scaffolds were fabricated to evaluate the effects of vanillin on the inflammatory responses and extracellular ...

Canakinumab is a high-affinity human monoclonal anti-interleukin-1β (IL-1β) antibody of the IgG1/κ isotype designed to bind and neutralize the activity of human IL-1β, a pro-inflammatory cytokine. Canakinumab is currently being investigated on the premise that it would exert anti-inflammatory effects on a broad spectrum of diseases, driven by IL-1β. This ...

Purpose: To describe a bilateral involutional lower eyelid ectropion in a patient with cutis laxa, a paraneoplastic process in multiple myeloma. Design: Case report. Results: A 60-year-old male presented with a marked involutional left lower eyelid ectropion. Systemic history included cutis laxa, a paraneoplastic feature of multiple myeloma. After surgical ...

Clinical studies and new guidelines are frequently being published in the area of preoperative fasting. A growing population of patients with obstructive sleep apnea is being referred for outpatient procedures including adenotonsillectomy. Recently published preoperative fasting guidelines for pediatric patients are covered along with studies comparing gastric volume following different ...

Purpose: To report the nature of periorbital trauma after pit bull attacks. While these attacks have been well-characterized in the popular media, no case series has documented the ophthalmic manifestations of this trauma. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all cases of pit bull terrier attacks that presented to the oculoplastic and ...

Purpose: Bioactive glass and bioactive glass-ceramic cone implants were placed in the rabbit eviscerated socket to assess their biocompatibility. Methods: Fifty-one Norfolk albino rabbits underwent evisceration of the right eye followed by implantation of cones made from Bioglass(®) 45S5 (control group) and two types of bioactive glass-ceramic (Biosilicate(®)), a single- ...

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest (COI) is used by biomedical journals to guarantee credibility and transparency of the scientific process. COI disclosure, however, is neither systematically nor consistently dealt with by journals. Recent joint editorial efforts paved the way towards the implementation of uniform vehicles for COI disclosure. This ...

Purpose: To report the results of Mersilene mesh wrapped hydroxyapatite orbital implantation. Materials and methods: Records of 63 patients operated between April 2002 and March 2006 were retrospectively reviewed. Parameters studied included sex, cause of enucleation, length of follow-up after operation, implant exposure, secondary implantation, and surgeon experience. Student's t-test ...

An accurate study of ancient medicine reveals that our forebears developed a large number of surgical ideas and techniques considered to be quite modern. Although the contribution of Aulus Cornelius Celsus to the development of several branches of surgery has already been celebrated, scant attention has been focused on his ...

Orbital fine needle aspiration biopsy is a useful diagnostic adjuvant. In this case, an FNAB showed lymphocytes. The surgeon felt that this diagnosis was possibly inaccurate, and therefore took out the tumor en bloc. This was a mucoepidermoid carcinoma involving the lacrimal gland that had been heavily infiltrated by lymphocytes.

Osteocytes, the cells residing within the bone matrix and comprising 90% to 95% of the all bone cells, have long been considered quiescent bystander cells compared to the osteoblasts and osteoclasts whose activities cause bone gain and loss, and whose dysfunction lead to growth defects and osteoporosis. However, recent studies ...

To our knowledge, pleomorphic liposarcoma (PL) of the orbit has only been reported in the literature four times. This rarity makes it more difficult to diagnose and to treat in this clinical setting. A 62-year-old female presented with pruritus, edema, proptosis and diplopia 5 months OS. Imaging revealed an intraorbital ...

Aims: To describe the morphometric relationships and bony composition of the nasolacrimal fossa in a Caucasian population with particular reference to the lacrimo-maxillary suture (LMS). Methods: Forty-seven orbits from 24 formalin fixed cadavers were exenterated. Morphometric measurements were taken between anatomical landmarks forming the lacrimal fossa on the medial orbital ...

An amelanotic, circum-corneal nevus in a 2-year-old child is described. The nevus presented at birth as a red spot in the nasal conjunctiva that subsequently enlarged to completely encircle the cornea. The tumour was partially removed three times, but at the age of 6 years, the nevus still covers the ...

Retraction of the lower eyelid can be consequence of medical and surgical conditions. Various kinds of allotransplants and biomaterial have been used to correct it; we report on the surgical correction of lower lid retraction with a decellularized porcine derived membrane (Tarsys(®)). A 49-year-old patient with a history of adenoid ...

Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) has been reported to be a key component of the functional priming, of both myeloid and nonmyeloid cells, that is thought to contribute to the lung's increased susceptibility to injury following shock. Not surprisingly, we found that mice deficient in TNF-α exhibited reduced acute lung ...

Idiopathic orbital inflammatory syndrome (IOIS) is a nonspecific inflammation of orbital tissue. As it is a diagnosis of exclusion, systemic testing and, at times biopsy, is utilized to rule out other inflammatory etiologies. Since some inflammatory etiologies that masquerade as typical IOIS can be vision or life threatening, it is ...

Background: Sebaceous carcinoma (SbCC) is a rare malignancy that often mimics benign conditions. Lymphatic involvement, large T3 tumors herald a dismal survival for patients. We present our series of 13 cases of locally advanced SbCC of the eyelid treated at a surgical oncology unit and describe the clinical profile, patterns ...

Increased expression of thymidylate synthase (TS) is thought to be associated with resistance to TS-targeting drugs, e.g., pemetrexed. TS protein expression (PE) and gene copy number (GCN) were assayed using immunohistochemistry and silver in situ hybridization, respectively, on primary tumors of 189 resected non-small cell lung patients. Associations with pathological ...

We report a case of longitudinal avulsion of the inferior rectus muscle following orbital floor fracture and describe its clinical presentation, computed tomography (CT) features and management. A 53-year-old man felt vertical diplopia in all gaze immediately after the trauma. Orthoptic assessment showed left over right hypertropia of 20 prism ...

Angioedema is a serious complication of renin-angiotensin system inhibitor therapy. The incidence is 0.1-0.7%. It consists of nonpitting edema and involves the face and lips. In severe cases, it extends to pharyngeal and laryngeal structures. Decreased degradation of bradykinin and its metabolites is thought to be a culprit. When the ...

Orbitofrontal cholesterol granuloma is a rare entity that has a predilection for men in their fourth or fifth decade and occurs almost exclusively within the frontal bone overlying the lacrimal fossa. Surgery by drainage and curettage is virtually curative in all cases and recurrence is very rare. We describe the ...

Intracranial injury secondary to orbital surgery is a rare event. We report a case of intracranial arterial avulsion secondary to exenteration which resulted in intracranial hemorrhage and neurologic injury.

Recent studies show that electrophysiological markers of auditory processing such as the cortical 100 ms response (M100) and the mismatch field, derived from magnetoencephalography, might be used to identify children with autism spectrum disorders--M100 peak latency--and to stratify children with autism according to the degree of language impairment--mismatch field peak ...

Accumulated amyloid-β (Aβ) is a well-known cause of neuronal apoptosis in Alzheimer's disease and exerts its action partly by inducing mitochondrial dysfunction. Previous studies have suggested a neuroprotective role for mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channel openers against Aβ damages, but the molecular details were unclear. Recent evidence indicates that endoplasmic ...

At least four allosteric sites have been found to mediate the dose-dependent effects of gallamine on the binding of [(3)H]quinuclidinylbenzilate (QNB) and N-[(3)H]methylscopolamine (NMS) to M(2) muscarinic receptors in membranes and solubilized preparations from porcine atria, CHO cells, and Sf9 cells. The rate of dissociation of [(3)H]QNB was affected in ...

A series of novel 3-nitro-1H-1,2,4-triazole-based (and in some cases 2-nitro-1H-imidazole-based) amides and sulfonamides were characterized for their in vitro antitrypanosomal and antileishmanial activities as well as mammalian toxicity. Out of 36 compounds tested, 29 (mostly 3-nitro-1H-1,2,4-triazoles) displayed significant activity against Trypanosoma cruzi intracellular amastigotes (IC(50) ranging from 28 nM to ...

Previously, we showed that microRNA (miRNA) signatures derived from the peripheral blood of mice are highly specific for both radiation energy (γ-rays or high linear energy transfer [LET] (56)Fe ions) and radiation dose. Here, we investigate to what extent miRNA expression signatures derived from mouse blood can be used as ...

Cryptococcosis remains a major opportunistic infection in AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, but few data exist from its western part. We report data from Bobo Dioulasso University Hospital, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, with a steady decline from 14 to two cases per year from 2002 to 2010 which contrasts with the increase ...

Post-translational modification of proteins by ubiquitin (Ub) regulates a host of cellular processes, including protein quality control, DNA repair, endocytosis, and cellular signaling. In the ubiquitination cascade, a thioester-linked conjugate between the C-terminus of Ub and the active site cysteine of a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2) is formed. The E2~Ub conjugate ...

Binding isotope effects for l-aspartate reacting with the inactive K258A mutant of PLP-dependent aspartate aminotransferase to give a stable external aldimine intermediate are reported. They provide direct evidence for electronic ground-state destabilization via hyperconjugation. The smaller equilibrium isotope effect with deazaPLP-reconstituted K258A indicates that the pyridine nitrogen plays an important ...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is linked to the aberrant assembly of the amyloid β-protein (Aβ). The (21)AEDVGSNKGA(30) segment, Aβ(21-30), forms a turn that acts as a monomer folding nucleus. Amino acid substitutions within this nucleus cause familial forms of AD. To determine the biophysical characteristics of the folding nucleus, we studied ...

A nuclease-resistant RNA enzyme, constructed entirely from L-ribonucleotides, was shown to undergo ligand-dependent, self-sustained replication with exponential growth. The catalytic motif is based on a previously described RNA ligase that can undergo either self- or cross-replication but had been limited in its application to ligand sensing due to its susceptibility ...