Ultrasound detection of sub-clinical atherosclerosis (ATS) may help identify individuals at high cardiovascular risk. Most studies evaluated intima-media thickness (IMT) at carotid level. We compared the relationships between main cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) and five indicators of ATS (IMT, mean and maximal plaque thickness, mean and maximal plaque area) at ...

Mussels are widespread in coastal environments and experience various physical, chemical, and bacteriological conditions. Owing to the increase of coastal urbanization, mussels are now commonly exposed not only to indigenous bacteria, but also to enteric bacteria originating from pulsed and chronic sewage discharges into coastal environments. Due to its broad ...

BACKGROUND: Craniocervical arterial dissection is a common cause of ischemic stroke in the young to middle-aged population. There have been a number of previous studies where radiological features have been described but few with detailed mapping of infarct topography and none where these features have been related to the reported ...

Polymerase/nicking enzymes and nucleic-acid scaffolds are implemented as DNA machines for the development of amplified DNA-detection schemes, and for the design of logic gates. The analyte nucleic acid target acts, also, as input for the logic gates. In the presence of two DNA targets, acting as inputs, and appropriate DNA ...

Phenols and carboxylic acids are efficiently arylated with diaryliodonium salts. The reaction conditions are mild, metal free, and avoid the use of halogenated solvents, additives, and excess reagents. The products are obtained in good-to-excellent yields after short reaction times. Steric hindrance is very well tolerated, both in the nucleophile and ...

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing trend to treating proximal vessel occlusions with intravenous-inter-arterial (IV-IA) thrombolysis. The best dose of IV tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) remains undetermined. We compared the combination of full-dose IV recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) and IA thrombolytic therapy to IA therapy. METHODS: Between 2002 and 2009, ...

In our previous paper (Nagy et al. in J Biol Chem 285:38811-38817, 2010) by using a multilayered model system, we showed that, from α-casein, aggregates (similar to natural casein micelles) can be built up step by step if Ca-phosphate nanocluster incorporation is ensured between the protein adsorption steps. It remained, however, ...

Diabetes Mellitus is characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and associated with an increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Oxidative stress is the result of accumulation of free radicals in tissues which specially affects beta cells in pancreas. Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a family of antioxidant enzymes that include several classes ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasing due to lifestyle changes, particularly affecting those genetically at risk. We developed DiAlert as a targeted group-based intervention aimed to promote intrinsic motivation and action planning for lifestyle changes and weight loss in first degree relatives of patients with type ...

BACKGROUND: Ischemic bowel disease and stroke have been noted to have shared pathomechanisms. However, data regarding the stroke occurrence following ischemic bowel disease are still lacking. AIM: The aim of this study is to explore the risk of stroke in patients with ischemic bowel disease during a one-year follow-up period ...

Vanadium complexes are potent hypoglycemic agents and of great potential for therapeutical treatment of diabetes. In the present work, a novel vanadium compound, bis ((5-hydroxy-4-oxo-4H-pyran-2-yl)methyl benzoatato) oxovanadium (IV) (BBOV) has been synthesized. Treatment of STZ-induced diabetic rats with BBOV restored the blood glucose to normal level and ameliorated glucose tolerance. ...

Chitosan/hydroxyapatite composite microparticles were prepared by a solid-in-water-in-oil emulsification cross-linking method. The characteristics and activity in presence of simulated body fluid for 14 and 21 days were investigated. The size distribution, surface morphology, and microstructure of these biomaterials were evaluated. The scanning electron microscopy revealed an aggregate of microparticles with a ...

The oxygenation state of erythrocytes is known to impact several cellular processes. As the only known O2 binding protein in red blood cells, hemoglobin has been implicated in the oxygenation-mediated control of cell pathways and properties. Band 3, an integral membrane protein linked to the spectrin/actin cytoskeleton, preferentially binds deoxygenated ...

The production of object and action words can be dissociated in aphasics, yet their anatomical correlates have been difficult to distinguish in functional imaging studies. To investigate the extent to which the cortical neural networks underlying object- and action-naming processing overlap, we performed electrostimulation mapping (ESM), which is a neurosurgical ...

Comorbidity has large impact on colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment and outcomes and may increase as the population ages. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and time trends of comorbid diseases in CRC patients from 1995-2010. The Eindhoven Cancer Registry registers comorbidity in all patients with primary CRC in the South ...

Today's most basic and important total knee replacement design concepts arose out of an earlier era in which 2 distinct approaches emerged, functional and anatomic. Functional approaches simplified knee kinetics, were easier to implant, and gained widespread popularity, in part, from their inventory control. Anatomic approaches were an attempt to ...

Life space crisis intervention (LSCI) is a therapeutic and verbal strategy used to intervene when children are in crisis. It has its roots in the work of Aichorn, Redl, Wineman and Bettelheim, and is part of the milieu-therapeutic tradition. In 2000, LSCI was introduced at the Orthopedagogical Observation and Treatment ...

PURPOSE: Effective intraprocedural anticoagulation for catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation is critical to minimize the risk of cerebral thromboembolism. The effect of dabigatran on anticoagulation with heparin during the procedure is unknown. This study compares heparin anticoagulation in patients treated with dabigatran vs. patients on uninterrupted warfarin. METHODS: Seventy-six consecutive ...

Abstract Although established risk factors such as immunodeficiency and viral infections may be responsible for a portion of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) cases, the vast majority of NHL cases remain unexplained. The role of dietary nitrate and nitrite in NHL risk is of interest since they are precursors of N-nitroso compounds ...

Background. To date, no valid instrument is available that focuses on specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) issues that affect thyroid cancer survivors. The objective of this study was to develop and pretest a thyroid cancer specific HRQoL questionnaire that can be used in addition to the more general European ...

BACKGROUND: Frequency, factors associated with, and impact on outcome of haemorrhagic transformation in young adults with ischaemic stroke are unknown. METHODS: Consecutive young patients (age 15-49) with first-ever ischaemic stroke were included, having their first brain computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging within seven-days of stroke onset, and second within seven-days from ...

Interactions between biomolecules and inorganic surfaces play an important role in natural environments and in industry, including a wide variety of conditions: marine environment, ship hulls (fouling), water treatment, heat exchange, membrane separation, soils, mineral particles at the earth's surface, hospitals (hygiene), art and buildings (degradation and biocorrosion), paper industry ...

Metal-free fullerene (C(60) ) was found to be an effective catalyst for the reduction of azo groups in basic aqueous solution under UV irradiation in the presence of NaBH(4) . Use of NaBH(4) by itself is not sufficient to reduce the azo dyes without the assistance of a metal catalyst ...

The aim of this study was to assess the anion transport in equine erythrocytes through the measurement of the sulfate uptake operating from band 3 using different experimental temperatures and buffer solutions. Blood samples of six clinically healthy horses were collected via jugular vein puncture, and an emochrome-citometric examination was ...

BACKGROUND: Galectin-3 has been independently correlated with malignant behavior in human colon cancer. The involvement of galectin-3 in the invasiveness of colon cancer cells remains to be determined. We investigated whether galectin-3 was involved in the colon cancer cell migration mediated by certain kinase pathways. METHODS: We studied 2 colon ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe audiological and radiological characteristics, and other secondary aspects, in a family carrying a T961G mutation in the 12S rRNA mitochondrial gene. Design: Case report. Study sample: Six members of a family participated in an audiological evaluation that included pure-tone audiometry, immittance ...

INTRODUCTION: Heart rate variability (HRV) is widely used to characterize cardiac autonomic function by measuring beat-to-beat alterations in heart rate. Decreased HRV has been found predictive of worse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. HRV is determined from time intervals between QRS complexes recorded by electrocardiography (ECG) for several minutes to 24 h. Although ...

The majority of the literature on poisonous plant species in China is published in Chinese and not available to the majority of interested researchers and grassland managers in other countries. Therefore, a review of the Chinese literature was conducted to summarize the occurrence of poisonous plant species on temperate grasslands ...

OBJECTIVE: Clinical and epidemiological research suggest that bone mineral density (BMD) in women is shaped by various reproductive factors such as parity and lactation patterns. However, the extent of these effects on BMD remains unclear because of contradictory findings and a focus on industrialized populations. Because fertility patterns in these ...

Caspase-14 is an important protease in the proper formation of a fully functional skin barrier. Newborn mice that are deficient in caspase-14 exhibit increased transepidermal water loss and are highly sensitive to UVB-induced photodamage. Decreased caspase-14 expression and incomplete caspase-14 processing in lesional psoriatic parakeratotic stratum corneum has been reported ...

The emergence and rapid development of activatable contrast agents (CAs), whose relaxivity changes in response to the variation of a specific marker in the surrounding physiological microenvironment, have expanded the scope of MRI beyond anatomical and functional imaging to also convey information at the cellular and molecular level. The essence ...

This article provides an overview of the clinical profile of rotavirus vaccine RIX4414 (Rotarix™) in the prevention of rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) in developing countries, followed by a review of pharmacoeconomic analyses with the vaccine in low- and middle-income countries. RVGE is associated with significant morbidity and mortality among children <5 ...

Although the performance of transparent conducting oxides based on bixbyite In(2)O(3) (Sn doped In(2)O(3): ITO) and wurtzite ZnO (Al, In, and Ga doped ZnO) is sufficient in conventional optoelectronic devices, their flexibility remains insufficient for demands in mobile and foldable electronics generation. A lot of alternative materials such as metallic ...

Low vitamin D status has been associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality primarily in selected groups, smaller studies, or with self-reported vitamin D intake. We investigated the association of serum vitamin D status with the incidence of a registry-based diagnosis of ischemic heart disease (IHD), stroke, and all-cause mortality ...

The stability of biochar carbon (C) is the major determinant of its value for long-term C sequestration in soil. A long-term (5 year) laboratory experiment was conducted under controlled conditions using eleven biochars made from five C3 biomass feedstocks (Eucalyptus saligna wood and leaves, papermill sludge, poultry litter, cow manure) ...

In this paper we present a mathematical model for the aggregation and diffusion of A[Formula: see text] amyloid in the brain affected by Alzheimer's disease, at the early stage of the disease. The model is based on a classical discrete Smoluchowski aggregation equation modified to take diffusion into account. We ...

Hoop-shaped π-conjugated molecules such as cycloparaphenylene (CPP) have attracted the attention of many chemists because they exhibit interesting properties due to the distorted π-electron system. To gain a systematic understanding of the properties that result from distorted π-electron systems, it is important to know precisely how these properties depend on ...

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease that attacks anagen hair follicles. Gene array in graft-induced C3H/HeJ mice revealed that genes involved in retinoic acid (RA) synthesis were increased, whereas RA degradation genes were decreased in AA compared with sham controls. This was confirmed by immunohistochemistry in biopsies from patients ...

Clinical manifestations in children living with HIV/ AIDS differ from those in adults due to poorly developed immunity that allows greater dissemination throughout various organs. In developing countries, HIV-infected children have an increased frequency of malnutrition and common childhood infections such as ear infections, pneumonias, gastroenteritis and tuberculosis. The symptoms ...

In our study, a structure-based virtual screening study was conducted to identify potent ITK inhibitors, as ITK is considered to play an important role in the treatment of inflammatory diseases. We developed a structure-based pharmacophore model using the crystal structure (PDB ID: 3MJ2) of ITK complexed with BMS-50944. The most ...

CD43 is a transmembrane sialoglycoprotein. Normally the molecule is only produced by white blood cells where it regulates functions such as intercellular adhesion, intracellular signaling, apoptosis, migration and proliferation. Two CD43 antibodies were used to interrogate 66 cases of non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 24 cases of small ...

Microtubule-based transport is required for plasmid translocation to the nucleus during transfections, and having stable structures could enhance this movement. In previous studies, in which the cytoskeleton was disrupted, we found that populations of microtubules remain that are stable and highly acetylated. By increasing the levels of acetylated tubulin through ...

The use of artificial freezing tests, identification of biomarkers linked to or directly involved in the low-temperature tolerance processes, could prove useful in applied strawberry breeding. This study was conducted to identify genotypes of diploid strawberry that differ in their tolerance to low-temperature stress and to investigate whether a set ...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify what acute care variables and/or perceived recovery factors could predict decreased participation in physical activities post-mild stroke. Methods: Secondary analysis of persons with mild stroke. Participants were split into two groups based on the percentage of high-demand leisure (HDL) activities retained ...

SUMMARY By building reconstruction models for a case of gastroenteritis in the general population moving through different steps of the surveillance pyramid we estimated that millions of illnesses occur annually in the European population, leading to thousands of hospitalizations. We used data on the healthcare system in seven European Union ...

Purpose: We follow-up on the experience started 3 years ago with the introduction in a pediatric neurorehabilitation hospital of an ICF-CY based form for rehabilitation projecting/programming, by probing the impact that this process had on stakeholders to establish its long term cost/benefit ratio. Methods: Two hundred and two rehabilitation projects/programs ...

Twelve endophytic bacteria were isolated from the meristem of in vitro Cymbidium eburneum orchid, and screened according to indole yield quantified by colorimetric assay, in vitro phosphate solubilization, and potential for plant growth promotion under greenhouse conditions. Eight strains with positive results were classified into the genus Paenibacillus by FAME ...

Carotenoid β-hydroxylases attach hydroxyl groups to the β-ionone rings (β-rings) of carotenoid substrates, resulting in modified structures and functions of carotenoid molecules. We cloned and characterized two genes (each with three homeologs), HYD1 and HYD2, which encode β-hydroxylases in wheat. The results from bioinformatic and nested degenerate PCR analyses collectively ...

Capsaicin (CAP), the active substance of red hot peppers, has been reported to stimulate development of the gonad. Ghrelin is an acylated polypeptide hormone that is secreted predominantly by endocrine cells of the stomach. There is evidence that ghrelin is involved in reproductive function. Ghrelin significantly inhibits testosterone secretion in ...

PURPOSE: The effect of thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) on anastomotic leakage (AL) after anterior resection for colorectal cancer is controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk factors including TEA for the occurrence of AL after anterior resection for colorectal cancer. METHODS: This retrospective study included 1,312 ...