BACKGROUND: Atypical antipsychotic agents have been associated with cerebrovascular adverse events, particularly in elderly dementia patients. However, limited evidence exists regarding comparative cerebrovascular profiles of individual atypical agents, particularly in community settings. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of cerebrovascular events associated with use of ...

Although the role of the hippocampus in spatial cognition is well accepted, it is unclear whether its involvement is restricted to the mnemonic domain or also extends to perception. We used fMRI to scan neurologically healthy participants during a scene oddity judgment task that placed no explicit demand on long-term ...

Background/Aims: Acute phase C-reactive protein (CRP), elevated in obesity and inflammation, is a major binding protein for leptin. It is thought that CRP contributes to leptin resistance by preventing leptin from crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Here we determined how CRP interacts with the BBB and whether it deters leptin ...

Purpose:  In chronic epilepsy, a substantial proportion of up to 30% of patients remain refractory to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). An understanding of the mechanisms of pharmacoresistance requires precise knowledge of how AEDs interact with their targets. Many commonly used AEDs act on the transient and/or the persistent components of the ...

The potential of laser desorption postionization mass spectrometry (LDPI-MS) imaging for small molecule quantification is demonstrated here. The N-methylpiperazine acetamide of (MPA) ampicillin was adsorbed into polyelectrolyte multilayer surface coatings composed of chitosan and alginate, both high molecular weight biopolymers. These MPA-ampicillin spiked multilayers were then shown to inhibit the ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat is a candidate radiosensitizer in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Radiosensitivity is critically influenced by hypoxia; hence, it is important to evaluate the efficacy of potential radiosensitizers under variable tissue oxygenation. Since fluoropyrimidine-based chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is the only clinically validated regimen in LARC, ...

Multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis are associated with worse treatment outcomes for patients, including higher mortality, than for drug sensitive tuberculosis. Delamanid (OPC-67683) is a novel anti-tuberculosis medication with demonstrated activity against multidrug-resistant disease.Patients who participated in the previously reported randomised, placebo-controlled trial of delamanid and the subsequent open-label extension ...

Overnight polysomnography (PSG) is an expensive procedure can only be used in a minority of cases, although it remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of sleep disordered breathing (SDB). The objective of this study was to develop a simple tool, PSG validated, to screen SDB, reducing the use of ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The optical stimulation of neurons from pulsed infrared lasers has appeared over the last years as an alternative to classical electric stimulations based on conventional electrodes. Laser stimulation could provide a better spatial selectivity allowing single-cell stimulation without prerequisite contact. In this work we present relevant physical ...

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a common cause of mortality, with an annual incidence in the United States ranging from 180,000 to 450,000 cases annually.(1) Given the frequency and gravity of SCD, there has been considerable effort directed towards decreasing the burden of SCD.(2) Most of these efforts have focused ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Nucleoside analogs used in the chemotherapy of solid tumors, such as the capecitabine catabolite 5[prime]-deoxy-5-fluorouridine (5[prime]-DFUR) trigger a transcriptomic response that involves the aquaglyceroporin aquaporin 3 along with other p53-dependent genes. Here, we examined whether up-regulation of aquaporin 3 (AQP3) mRNA in cancer cells treated with 5[prime]-DFUR represents ...

First principles simulations have been performed for near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure (NEXAFS) spectra of neutral arginine at different K-edges in the solid phase as well as X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) of neutral, deprotonated, and protonated arginines in the gas phase. Influences of the intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds (HBs) and ...

Abstract Prevalence is one of the few estimates that rarely are reported with an appropriate measure of error in the parasitological literature. A minimum sample size recommendation of 15 samples, based on the relationship between sample size and standard error, likely has led to a false degree of confidence because ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:The yield of DSA in patients with SAH and negative initial noninvasive neurovascular examinations (CTA or MRA) is not well-understood. This study aimed to determine the yield of DSA for the detection of causative vascular lesions in this clinical scenario.MATERIALS AND METHODS:We examined the yield of DSA for ...

Endometriosis is common in women with infertility but its management is controversial and varied. This article summarises the consensus developed by a group of Australasian subspecialists in reproductive endocrinology and infertility (the Australasian CREI Consensus Expert Panel on Trial evidence group) on the evidence concerning the management of endometriosis in ...

The study of the spatial distribution of relatives in a population under contrasted environmental conditions provides critical insights into the flexibility of dispersal behaviour and the role of environmental conditions in shaping population relatedness and social structure. Yet few studies have evaluated the effects of fluctuating environmental conditions on relatedness ...

Cardiovascular disease accounts for significant morbidity and mortality in COPD. Its prevalence and mechanisms of association have not been elucidated. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of echocardiographic abnormalities and potential risk factors in patients with COPD at their first exacerbation requiring hospital admission.Transthoracic echocardiography was prospectively performed in ...

Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) allows microscopic imaging of the alveoli during bronchoscopy. The objective of the study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of pCLE for amiodarone-related pneumonia (AMR-IP).Methods: Alveolar pCLE was performed in 36 non-smoking patients including 33 consecutive patients with acute or subacute interstitial lung disease (ILD), ...

ABSTRACT Janus-type dendritic poly(amido amine) (PAMAM) amphiphiles Dm-Lac-D3DNQ were synthesized by connecting hydrophobic diazonaphthoquinone (DNQ)-decorated PAMAM dendron D3 (generation 3) and hydrophilic lactose (Lac)-decorated PAMAM dendrons Dm (generations 0 to 2, m = 02) via click chemistry. They self-assembled into the DNQ-cored micelles dangled by densely free Lac groups in ...

ABSTRACT: Significant advances in our understanding of the biology of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) have been achieved in recent years. These insights have led to the introduction of novel targeted therapies, revolutionising the management of patients with advanced disease. Nevertheless, there are still no biomarkers in routine clinical use in ...

Oncolytic viruses are promising therapeutics that can selectively replicate in and kill tumour cells. However, repetitive administration of viruses provokes the generation of neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) that can diminish their anticancer effect. In this work, we selected DNA aptamers against the antigen binding fragment (Fab) of anti-vesicular stomatitis virus polyclonal ...

The androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-inducible transcription factor that mediates androgen action in target tissues. Upon ligand binding, the AR binds to thousands of genomic loci and activates a cell-type specific gene program. Prostate cancer growth and progression depend on androgen-induced AR signaling. Treatment of advanced prostate cancer through ...

Although interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an important biological mediator playing an indispensable role in inflammation and cancer, few inhibitors and suppressors are known. In the present study, the underlying mechanisms of a novel chemically synthesized compound SK-1009, which has suppressive properties on IL-6 production in human macrophage cells, were examined. SK-1009 ...

Luminescent materials have found a wide variety of applications, including information displays, lighting, X-ray intensification and scintillation, and so on. Therefore, much effort has been devoted to exploring novel luminescent materials so far. In the past decade, defect-related luminescent materials have inspired intensive research efforts in their own right. This ...

The digestion of food ingredients depends on the action of the gut microbiota and has a significant influence on the health, especially in case of metabolic diseases of the host organism. Despite the relevance of the structure and functionalities in the microbiota for the metabolism of the host the spatial ...

Objectives  To compare the effects of sedative doses of acepromazine, xylazine or xylazine/ketamine administered to horses after isoflurane anesthesia on the quality of recovery and anesthesia recovery times. To determine if recovery scores improve after repeated consecutive anesthetic episodes. Study design  Prospective, randomized, crossover study. Animals  Fifteen adult research horses, ...

Variation within proteasome β (PSMB) genes, which encode the β subunits of the 20S proteasome, may impact proteasome function, assembly, and/or binding of proteasome inhibitors. To investigate the potential association between PSMB gene variants and treatment-emergent resistance to bortezomib, and/or long-term outcomes, PSMB gene sequence variation was characterized in tumor ...

OBJECTIVE: Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) from burning tobacco products causes disease and premature death among non-smoking adults and children. The objective of this study was to determine the nature, extent and demographic correlates of SHS exposure among adults in low- and middle-income countries with a high burden of tobacco ...

Cilia are found on most human cells and exist as motile cilia or non-motile primary cilia. Primary cilia play sensory roles in transducing various extracellular signals, and defective ciliary functions are involved in a wide range of human diseases. Centrosomes are the principal microtubule-organizing centers of animal cells and contain ...

We describe a microfluidic device for the extraction, purification and stretching of human chromosomal DNA from single cells. A two-dimensional array of micropillars in a microfluidic polydimethylsiloxane channel was designed to capture a single human cell. Megabase-long DNA strands released from the cell upon lysis are trapped in the micropillar ...

AIMS: Some of the well-known functional alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) gene variants (e.g. ADH1B*2, ADH1B*3 and ADH1C*2) that significantly affect the risk of alcohol dependence are rare variants in most populations. In the present study, we comprehensively examined the associations between rare ADH variants [minor allele frequency (MAF) <0.05] and alcohol ...

One of the ways in which therapists treat anxiety disorders is to expose patients to a fear-evoking stimulus within a safe environment before encouraging more positive stimulus-related thoughts. In the study reported here, we adapted these psychotherapeutic principles of exposure therapy to test the hypothesis that imagining a positive encounter ...

The impact of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) on renal allograft outcomes is debatable, with small cohort studies reporting controversial results. The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate long-term clinical effects of early VUR in a large cohort of kidney transplant patients. Posttransplantation voiding cystourethrography was used to evaluate 646 ...

Introduction:  Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) has replaced surgery in most institutions. Despite improvements in techniques and the devices available, closure of large PDA in very small infants remains a challenge. Aim : To assess the challenges, feasibility, and efficacy of device closure of large PDA, in infants ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Recently, there has been considerable effort to promote the use of health information technology (HIT) in order to improve health care quality. However, relatively little is known about the extent to which HIT implementation is associated with hospital patient care quality. We undertook this study to determine the ...

The murine macrophage-like cell line J774.1 was treated with heat-killed cells of Lactobacillus GG (LGG) and L. gasseri TMC0356 (TMC 0356). Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12, and tumor necrosis factor-α were profiled from the J774.1 cells using enzyme-linked immunoSorbent assay methods. The conditioned medium from cultured J774.1 cells was transferred to the ...

Excess thyroid hormone is associated with increased bone loss and fracture risk in older women, but few data exist in men. We sought to determine if thyroid function is independently associated with bone loss and fracture risk in older men. Data were analyzed from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) ...

BACKGROUND:Ten to seventy percent of rotator cuff repairs form a recurrent defect after surgery. The relationship between retraction of the repaired tendon and formation of a recurrent defect is not well defined.Purpose/ HYPOTHESES:To measure the prevalence, timing, and magnitude of tendon retraction after rotator cuff repair and correlate these outcomes ...

Abstract  Acute coronary obstruction is one of the most feared complications associated with transcatheter aortic valve-in-valve implantation. Strategies for assessing the risk of coronary occlusion during these procedures as well as preventive measures are discussed. (J Card Surg 2012;**:1-4).

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is a rare B-cell malignancy, with no standard treatment other than splenectomy. Rituximab has shown encouraging results. We therefore retrospectively assessed 43 patients from two centres, who received rituximab, either alone or with chemotherapy. All patients responded, 34/43 (79%) achieving a complete response (CR), compared ...

The clinical need for alternative strategies in bacterial remediation is apparent due to the rising global health concern of microbial drug resistance. In this work, we delineate a novel antibacterial concept that utilizes hyperosmotic stress (H) in concert with membrane disrupting nanoemulsions (NE). The antibacterial effects of either H or ...

Post-transcriptional gene regulation is prevalent in the nervous system, where multiple tiers of regulatory complexity contribute to the development and function of highly specialized cell types. Whole-genome studies in Drosophila have identified several hundred genes containing long 3' extensions in neural tissues. We show that ELAV (embryonic-lethal abnormal visual system) ...

Proinsulin has been characterized as a neuroprotective molecule. In this work we assess the therapeutic potential of proinsulin on photoreceptor degeneration, synaptic connectivity and functional activity of the retina in the transgenic P23H rat, an animal model of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (RP). P23H homozygous rats received an intramuscular injection ...

Chemoresistance to platinum therapy is a major obstacle that needs to be overcome in the treatment of ovarian cancer patients. The high rates and patterns of therapeutic failure seen in patients are consistent with a steady accumulation of drug-resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs). This study demonstrates that the Notch signaling ...

Abstract Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine the possibility of utilizing CT bone density data to predict the initial implant stability and stress around an integrated implant.Methods and Results: Multislice CT (MSCT) data for the mandibular bone density of a 62-year-old man were analyzed with simulation software ...

In this study, we investigated which enzymes are involved in debranching amylopectin during transient starch degradation. Previous studies identified two debranching enzymes, isoamylase 3 (ISA3) and limit dextrinase (LDA), involved in this process. However, plants lacking both enzymes still degrade substantial amounts of starch. Thus, other enzymes/mechanisms must contribute to ...

Coiled-coil helix coiled-coil helix domain-containing protein 3 (ChChd3) is a mitochondrial inner membrane (IM) protein facing toward the intermembrane space (IMS). In the IMS, ChChd3 complexes with multiple proteins at the crista junctions and contact sites and plays a key role in maintaining crista integrity. ChChd3 is myristoylated at the ...

Pulmonary cachexia is a prevalent, debilitating and well-recognized feature of COPD associated with increased mortality and loss of peripheral and respiratory muscle function. The exact cause and underlying mechanisms of cachexia in COPD are still poorly understood. Increasing evidence however shows that pathological changes in intra-cellular mechanisms of muscle mass ...

A highly sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the determination of limonin in beagle dog plasma using nimodipine as internal standard. The analyte and internal standard (IS) were extracted with ether followed by a rapid isocratic elution with 10 m m ammonium acetate buffer-methanol (26:74, ...

In mice and humans, it has been shown that embryonic and adult fibroblasts can be reprogrammed into pluripotency by introducing four transcription factors, Oct3/4, Klf4, Sox2 and c-Myc (OKSM). Here we report the derivation of iPSCs from adult canine fibroblast by retroviral OKSM transduction. The isolated canine iPSCs (ciPSCs) were ...