Many patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) experience severe pruritus. This study evaluated serum levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in patients with CTCL. Although serum NGF and BDNF levels in patients with CTCL were not significantly higher than in healthy controls, serum NGF levels ...

Anemia and iron deficiency are quite prevalent in patients with heart failure (HF) and may overlap. Both anemia and iron deficiency are associated with worse symptoms and adverse clinical outcomes. In the past few years, there has been an enormous interest in the subject of iron deficiency and its management ...

Two of the domains most widely shared among R genes are the nucleotide binding site (NBS) and protein kinase (PK) domains. The present study describes and maps a number of new oat resistance gene analogues (RGAs) with two purposes in mind: (1) to identify genetic regions that contain R genes ...

Background: Past studies have shown that diurnal blood pressure varies between working women with and without children. Understanding of how perceptual and behavioural factors affect this relationship is limited. Aim: The study aim was to evaluate whether perceptions and behaviours differentially influenced ambulatory blood pressure variation across changing daily environments ...

The immunosuppression that occurs after burn injury causes an increase in susceptibility to infection. The aim was to investigate time-related alterations in various cytokines following thermal injury and to modulate cytokines by use of an immunomodulant, cimetidine. Male Balb/c mice were anesthetized and given a 10% total body surface area ...

BACKGROUND: There is relatively little in the medical literature relating to complaints about the healthcare process. The aim of this study was to report the frequency and content of patient complaints against a University Hospital Surgical Department. In particular, the study aimed to relate the number of complaints to the ...

AIMS: To investigate the effect of the P-glycoprotein inhibitor verapamil on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of dabigatran etexilate (DE). METHODS: In this two-part multiple crossover trial in 40 healthy subjects, DE 150 mg was given alone or with verapamil at different doses, duration of treatment (single vs. multiple dosing), formulations, ...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine whether methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization affects surgical site infections (SSI) after major gastrointestinal (GI) operations. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all patients undergoing major GI surgery from December 2007 to August 2009. All patients were tested for MRSA ...

The successes of targeted drugs with companion predictive biomarkers and the technological advances in gene sequencing have generated enthusiasm for evaluating personalized cancer medicine strategies using genomic profiling. We assessed the feasibility of incorporating real-time analysis of somatic mutations within exons of 19 genes into patient management. Blood, tumor biopsy ...

The drug-metabolizing enzyme CYP1A2 contributes to the metabolism of a number of commonly used medicines and displays wide interindividual variability. The aim of this study was to investigate CYP1A2 activity in a population of South Asian ancestry and compare it with a population of European ancestry. CYP1A2 activity was determined ...

Trabecular bone has a complicated porous microstructure and consists of interconnected plates and rods known as trabeculae. The microarchitecture of the trabeculae contributes to load distribution capacity and, particularly, the optimal bone strength. Many previous studies have shown that morphological parameters are used to characterize the microarchitecture of trabecular bone, ...

This article describes research that focuses on the concern that researchers are unable to fully realize the potential value of their collective efforts because they do not have shared conceptual or operational tools for communicating assumptions, ideas, research strategies, or findings with others outside, or even within their disciplines. This ...

ABSTRACT: Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be identified prior to the occurrence of dementia by using biomarkers. Three phases of AD are recognized: an asymptomatic biomarker-positive phase, a phase with positive biomarkers and mild cognitive deficits, and a dementia phase. Codification of these phases was first accomplished in 2007 by an ...

BACKGROUND: Rotating-platform TKA, although purported to have superior kinematics, has shown no clinical advantages over those of fixed-bearing TKA. Our design-matched retrieval study aimed to investigate if differences in bearing wear damage exist between fixed- and mobile-bearing TKAs with similar condylar geometry. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We asked whether (1) the rotating platform's ...

The colonic epithelium is composed of a polarized monolayer sheathed by a layer of pericryptal myofibroblasts (PCMFs). We mimicked these cellular compartments in vitro to assess the effects of paracrine-acting PCMF-derived factors on tight junction (TJ) integrity, as measured by transepithelial electrical resistance (TER). Coculture with 18Co PCMFs, or basolateral ...

Protein kinase C (PKC) signaling pathway is recognized as an important molecular mechanism of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the regulation of neuronal plasticity and survival. Genistein, the most active molecule of soy isoflavones, exerts neuroprotective roles in AD. However, the detailed mechanism has not been fully understood yet. The present ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Alternative splicing expands proteome diversity to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Distinct receptor variants have been identified for a secretin family GPCR, the calcitonin receptor (CTR). The possible functional contributions of these receptor variants are further altered by their potential interactions with receptor activity-modifying proteins (RAMPs). One variant ...

BACKGROUND: We examined whether or not peripheral nerves can be regenerated using uncultured adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADRCs). We also searched for humoral factors that might promote the proliferation or migration of Schwann cells. METHODS: Thirty rats were randomly assigned to three groups. A 10 mm sciatic nerve defect was bridged using ...

Depression is a common, disabling, and costly condition encountered in older patients. Effective strategies for detection and treatment of late-life depression are summarized based on a case of a 69-year-old woman who struggled with prolonged depression. Clinicians should screen older patients for depression using a standard rating scale, initiate treatment ...

A novel phase modulation method for dynamic manipulation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) with a phase engineered optical vortex (OV) beam illuminating on nanoslits is experimentally demonstrated. Because of the unique helical phase carried by an OV beam, dynamic control of SPP multiple focusing and standing wave generation is realized by changing ...

Adult neurogenesis is often considered an archaic trait that has undergone a 'phylogenetic reduction' from amphibian ancestors to humans. However, adult neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus might actually be a late-evolved trait. In non-mammals, adult hippocampal neurogenesis is not restricted to the equivalents of the dentate gyrus, which also ...

The ability of immobilized lipase from Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme RM IM) to catalyze the reaction of high-acid rice bran oil (RBO) and monoglyceride (MG) for diacylglycerol-enriched rice bran oil (RBO-DG) preparation was investigated. The effects of substrate ratio, reaction temperature, time, and enzyme load on the respective content of free ...

Although radiographic measurements are used in multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED) during correction of lower-limb alignment, the reliabilities of the measurements are unclear. We determined interobserver and intraobserver reliabilities of the measurement methods used in evaluation of lower-limb alignment in MED. After consensus building, we included 10 radiographic measurement methods widely ...

Growth retardation remains a clinical problem in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) prior to and during end-stage renal disease. The growth of approximately 40 % of children on dialysis is stunted. Even so, growth hormone treatment (GH) is not used in the majority of small children prior to transplantation. ...

The first enantioselective approach to 13a-methylphenanthroindolizidine alkaloids is reported, featuring an efficient stereoselective Seebach's alkylation and Pictet-Spengler cyclization. The proposed and other three most probable structures were ruled out, indicating hypoestestatin 1 needs further assignment.

Addition of 1.0 mM LaCl(3) to aqueous ammonium acetate solutions containing proteins in their folded native forms can result in a significant increase in the molecular ion charging obtained with electrospray ionization as a result of cation adduction. In combination with m-nitrobenzyl alcohol, molecular ion charge states that are greater ...

Small amounts of base (e.g., 10% potassium t-butoxide or sodium methoxide) have been found to promote equilibration of the kinetically favored products from Ir-catalyzed C-H polyborylations of aromatic compounds. In the presence of excess borylating agent, bis(pinacolato)diborane (B(2)pin(2)), repetitive deborylation/reborylations reposition the Bpin substituents until a pattern that accommodates the ...

The mitogenic lectins are invaluable tools to study the biochemical changes associated with lymphocyte activation and proliferation of various immune cells. Rachycentron canadum lectin (RcaL) was detected and purified from serum of cobia fish. The aim of this study was to evaluate the proliferative response and cytokine production in splenocytes ...

In western women, the endometrium is frequently exposed, even after menopause, to the endogenous hormonal stimulation. Such a stimulation increases the risk of pathologic conditions such as endometrial hyperplasia and type I (endometrioid) endometrial adenocarcinoma. Metabolic syndrome, obesity, insulin resistance and type II diabetes promote the endometrial stimulation, and are ...

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Offspring of diabetic mothers have increased risk of the metabolic syndrome in adulthood. Studies examining BP in offspring of diabetic mothers have conflicting conclusions. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting offspring BP in children born to diabetic mothers. METHODS: Citations were identified in PubMed. Authors ...

The autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a significant hereditary component, but the implicated genetic loci are heterogeneous and complex. Consequently, there is a gap in understanding how diverse genomic aberrations all result in one clinical ASD phenotype. Gene expression studies from autism brain tissue have demonstrated that aberrantly expressed protein-coding ...

BACKGROUND: CRTh2 (chemoattractant-receptor homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells) is expressed by Th2 cells and other cells involved in allergic inflammation. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CRTh2 (rs11571288, rs545659, rs634681) have been associated with various phenotypes of allergy in ethnically distinct populations. Here, we assessed the association between CRTh2 rs533116 ...

Gradual degradation seems inevitable for non-recombining sex chromosomes. This has been supported by the observation of degenerated non-recombining sex chromosomes in a variety of species. The human Y chromosome has also degenerated significantly during its evolution, and theories have been advanced that the Y chromosome could disappear within the next ...

In a 2010 review in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Nick Holford noted that in neonates and young infants, maturation of the organs responsible for drug clearance is a more important determinant of pharmacokinetics (PK) than is body size.(1) Here we review recent developments that provide new insights into how physiological ...

Health status, health services utilization and mortality differ by marital status for both sexes in most conditions, but little is known about dermatological diseases. We evaluated whether marital status is associated with the impact that dermatological diseases have on quality of life (QoL). Data from two surveys on dermatological outpatients ...

In this study of the project DyAdd (Adult Dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorder in Finland), classical eyeblink conditioning (EBC) was investigated in both delay and trace paradigms in adults (18-55 years) with dyslexia (n = 37), attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 21), their comorbid combination (n = 8), and healthy controls (n = 35). In addition, the profiles ...

In this report a textile azo dye Remazol orange was degraded and detoxified by bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa BCH in plain distilled water. This bacterial decolorization performance was found to be pH and temperature dependent with maximum decolorization observed at pH 8 and temperature 30 °C. Bacterium tolerated higher dye concentrations up to ...

Oral intake of Lactobacillus pentosus strain b240 (b240) has been shown to enhance the secretion of salivary secretory IgA in elderly adults. However, its clinical benefits remain to be determined. We tested the hypothesis that b240 exerts a protective effect against the common cold in elderly adults. The design of ...

It is generally thought that the terrestrial atmosphere at the time of the origin of life was CO(2)-rich and that organic compounds such as amino acids would not have been efficiently formed abiotically under such conditions. It has been pointed out, however, that the previously reported low yields of amino ...

To clarify the epidemiology of viral acute respiratory infections (ARIs), we isolated 305 human parainfluenza virus type 1 (HPIV1), 154 HPIV2 and 574 HPIV3 strains from 16,962 nasopharyngeal swabs obtained between 2002 and 2011 at pediatric clinics in Yamagata, Japan. The total isolation frequency for HPIV1-3 was 6.1%. Unlike HPIV1 ...

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether it is possible to use an automated measurement tool to clinically classify clients who are wheelchair users with severe musculoskeletal deformities, replacing the current process which relies upon clinical engineers with advanced knowledge and skills. Clients' body shapes were captured using ...

BACKGROUND: Early recurrence after surgery for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is often observed in spite of pathologically proven early-stage disease. The aim of this study was to identify biomarkers that might be useful in predicting postoperative early recurrence of lung cancer. In this study we evaluated the perioperative nutritional status ...

A sensitive and efficient analytical method for triclosan (TCS) determination in water, which involves enrichment with bamboo-activated charcoal and detection with HPLC-ESI-MS, was developed. The influence of several operational parameters, including the eluant and its volume, the flow rate, the volume andacidity of the sample, and the amount of bamboo-activated ...

Naturally occurring clavam metabolites include the valuable β-lactamase inhibitor, clavulanic acid, as well as stereochemical variants with side-chain modifications, called the 5S clavams. Because of the clinical importance of clavulanic acid, most studies of clavam biosynthesis are based on the industrial producer species Streptomyces clavuligerus. Well-characterized early steps in clavam ...

Sulfur mustard (SM) is a chemical warfare agent with cytotoxic effect and a tight link to oxidative stress (OS). Depletion of antioxidants is considered as a cause of detrimental consequence and belongs to the important steps leading to cell death. The oxidative injury appearing after SM exposure is not well ...

Many important crop species have genomes originating from ancestral or recent polyploidisation events. Multiple homoeologous gene copies, chromosomal rearrangements and amplification of repetitive DNA within large and complex crop genomes can considerably complicate genome analysis and gene discovery by conventional, forward genetics approaches. On the other hand, ongoing technological advances ...

Increasing cadmium (Cd) accumulation in agricultural soils is undesirable due to its hazardous influences on human health. Thus, having more information on spatial variability of Cd and factors effective to increase its content on the cultivated soils is very important. Phosphate fertilizers are main contamination source of cadmium (Cd) in ...

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nation's view on One Health is broad as it extends from human, animal-domestic and wildlife-and environmental health. Though the nidus of work originated within FAO's animal health service of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department, it is clearly an area of ...

Although it has been suggested that many effects of emotion on memory are attributable to attention, in the present study we addressed the hypothesis that such effects may relate to a number of different factors during encoding or postencoding. One way to look at the effects of emotion on memory ...

Azo and diazo compounds include Sudan dyes, which were widely used in industry. Although they are not permitted in food, they had been found contaminating different food products and their presence is investigated regularly (since 2003) in these products. Sudan III, as well as Sudan Black B, was included in ...