OBJECTIVES: Venous filling time (VFT90) is the time taken to reach 90% of the venous volume in the calf. It is recorded by air-plethysmography (APG(®)) and is assumed to measure global venous reflux duration. However, this has never been confirmed by duplex. The aim of the study was to compare ...

Purpose. Morbidity and mortality conference (MMC) serves an important role in medical care and education. We restructured our Department of Pediatrics MMC to focus on multidisciplinary participation and improved communication among disciplines, quality improvement, and system changes for safer clinical care and enhanced learning from adverse outcomes. Method. The structure ...

Genetic variation has a significant effect on behavior, fitness, and response to toxicants; however, this is rarely considered in ecotoxicological studies. We compared fitness-related behavioral traits, breeding activity, and the effects of exposure to the environmental estrogen ethinylestradiol (EE(2)) on reproduction in a laboratory (Wild Indian Karyotype, WIK) strain and ...

The baculovirus Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) initiates apoptosis in diverse insects through events triggered by virus DNA (vDNA) replication. To define the proapoptotic pathway and its role in antivirus defense, we investigated the link between the host's DNA damage response (DDR) and apoptosis. We report here that AcMNPV elicits ...

The significance of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathies (BSE) in cattle for controlling the BSE epidemic is poorly understood. Here we report a case of atypical H-type BSE born after the implementation of the reinforced feed-ban in Europe. This supports an etiology of H-type BSE unrelated to that of classical BSE.

PURPOSE:: To describe and evaluate a modified technique for blepharoptosis repair via Müller's muscle-conjunctival resection. METHODS:: An observational case series is reported. Records of 29 consecutive patients (42 eyelids) with blepharoptosis undergoing internal ptosis repair between January 2008 and December 2010 were reviewed including detailed preoperative and postoperative evaluations, eyelid ...

OBJECTIVE Elevated presynaptic striatal dopaminergic function is a robust feature of schizophrenia. However, the relationship between this dopamine abnormality and the response to dopamine-blocking antipsychotic treatments is unclear. The authors tested the hypothesis that in patients with schizophrenia the response to antipsychotic treatment would be related to the severity of ...

We developed a new triangular fibrocartilage complex reconstruction technique for distal radioulnar joint instability in which the palmar portion of the triangular fibrocartilage complex was predominantly reconstructed, and evaluated whether such reconstruction can restore stability of the distal radioulnar joint in seven fresh cadaver upper extremities. Distal radioulnar joint instability ...

Whether response to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) differs between those infected with HIV-1 subtype A or B, remains unclear. We compared virologic and immunologic response to cART in individuals infected with subtype A or B in an ethnically homogenous population. Data derived from the Athens Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (AMACS) ...

Asthma is the most common chronic condition affecting children and a prominent chief complaint in pediatric emergency departments (ED). We aimed to determine parental preference between short- and long-term courses of oral corticosteroids for use in children with mild to moderate asthma presenting to our pediatric ED with acute asthma ...

In many animals, limb movements transition between gait patterns with increasing locomotor speed. While in for tetrapod systems, several well-developed models in diverse taxa (e.g. cat, mouse, salamander, turtle) have been used to study motor control of limbs and limb gaits, virtually nothing is known from fish species, including zebrafish, ...

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Diabetic patients with wounds are at risk of protein malnutrition, have low arginine plasma levels and suffer from delayed wound healing. We sought to determine the efficacy of arginine plus proline supplementation on protein and amino acid metabolism and on wound repair in a model of diabetic rats. METHODS: ...

A 15-month-old female child presented with progressive right-sided facial swelling, nasal obstruction, and deviation of the nose to the left. Computed tomography revealed a cystic mass in the maxillary sinus with disruption of the medial orbital floor. Incisional biopsy of this mass was nondiagnostic and the mass continued to grow ...

We present the case of a 59-year-old woman whose silicone punctal plugs migrated distally causing lacrimal obstruction. The plugs were removed from the lacrimal sac during endoscopic endonasal dacrocystorhinostomy and is illustrated by endoscopic photographs and videos taken at the time of surgery. This case highlights the potential complications of ...

Grain boundaries in graphene are formed by the joining of islands during the initial growth stage, and these boundaries govern transport properties and related device performance. Although information on the atomic rearrangement at graphene grain boundaries can be obtained using transmission electron microscopy and scanning tunnelling microscopy, large-scale information regarding ...

Diarylalkynes are chemo- and stereoselectively hydromagnesiated in high yields at room temperature with an iron hydride species generated in situ from FeCl2 and EtMgBr. Functional groups such as bromide, iodide, amine, hydroxyl, and alkene are well tolerated. Under similar conditions, diynes are chemo-, regio-, and stereoselectively hydromagnesiated. The resulting alkenylmagnesium ...

What are the neural mechanisms underlying improvement in perceptual performance due to learning? A recent study using motion-direction discrimination suggested that perceptual learning is due to improvements in the "readout" of sensory signals in sensory-motor cortex and not to improvements in neural sensitivity of the sensory cortex. To test the ...

Over decades, all attempts to translate acute stroke neuroprotectants from discovery in lower-order species to human clinical use have failed. This raised concerns about the predictive validity of preclinical studies in animals for outcomes in human stroke trials. To bridge this translational gap, we used high-order gyrencephalic nonhuman primates subjected ...

Objective With the increasing use of the endoscope in neurosurgery, transsphenoidal surgery has undergone a considerable technical evolution. However, most recently reported advances relate to the approach to the sella turcica or to extended transsphenoidal approaches, whereas the dissection technique for pituitary tumor removal itself has received more limited attention. A ...

Bunyamwera virus (BUNV) is the prototype virus for both the genus Orthobunyavirus and the family Bunyaviridae. BUNV has a tripartite, negative-sense RNA genome. The coding region of each segment is flanked by untranslated regions (UTRs) that are partially complementary. The UTRs play an important role in the virus life cycle ...

ABSTRACT: Colonic adenocarcinoma revealed by metastatic anorectal fistula is rare, with few cases in the literature. Such lesions can be taken for the more common manifestation of a benign perianal abscess or fistula. Once diagnosed, the management of such conditions remains controversial. We herein report two cases with perianal fistula ...

PURPOSE: To compare the conventional localized point-resolved spectroscopy (PRESS) with localized 2D intermolecular single-quantum coherence (iSQC) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and obtain in vivo MRS spectrum of rat brain using the latter technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A brain phantom, an intact pig brain tissue, and mature Sprague-Dawley rat were studied ...

We conducted active laboratory-based surveillance for isolates from patients with invasive infections across China from August 2009-July 2010. DNA sequencing methods were used to define species, and susceptibility to fluconazole and voriconazole performed by the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute M-44A2 disk diffusion method but using up-to-date clinical breakpoints or epidemiological ...

Debates about involving people with dementia in qualitative research are extensive, yet the range of methods used is limited. Researchers tend to rely on interview and/or observation methods to collect data, even though these tools might preclude participation. I modified the conventional diary interview method to include photo and audio ...

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori is the leading risk factor for gastric cancer, yet only a fraction of infected individuals ever develop neoplasia. METHODS: To identify potential predictive biomarkers, we assessed the association of 15 antibodies to Helicobacter pylori proteins and gastric cancer in a nested case-control study. Blood levels of antibodies ...

Interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3) plays an important role in virus and double-stranded RNA-mediated induction of type I interferon and RANTES (regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted), DNA damage signaling, tumor suppression, and virus-induced apoptosis. IRF-3 had recently been shown to contribute to T cell activation in ...

Bat echolocation is primarily used for orientation and foraging but also holds great potential for social communication. The communicative function of echolocation calls is still largely unstudied, especially in the wild. Eavesdropping on vocal signatures encoding social information in echolocation calls has not, to our knowledge, been studied in free-living ...

We previously demonstrated that Siglec-15, a member of the Siglec family of glycan-recognition proteins, is expressed on a subset of macrophages and preferentially recognizes the sialyl-Tn (sTn) antigen, a tumor-associated glycan structure. In this study, we report on the biological significance of the Siglec-15-mediated interaction between monocytes/macrophages and cancer cells. ...

Embryonic (ES) and epiblast (EpiSC) stem cells are pluripotent but committed to an embryonic lineage fate. Conversely, trophoblast (TS) and extraembryonic endoderm (XEN) stem cells contribute predominantly to tissues of the placenta and yolk sac, respectively. Here we show that each of these four stem cell types is defined by ...

Temporal controlled degradation of key cell division proteins ensures a correct onset of the different cell cycle phases and exit from the cell division program. In light of the cell cycle, the Anaphase-Promoting Complex/Cyclosome (APC/C) is an important conserved multi-subunit ubiquitin ligase, marking targets for degradation by the 26S proteasome. ...

We investigated the feasibility of using mobile phone text messaging (SMS) to promote adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV-infected pregnant women recently diagnosed with HIV. Seven HIV-positive women (15-33 weeks gestation) from two urban antenatal clinics received mobile phones and were invited to use text messaging to discuss HIV, health ...

OBJECTIVE:: To evaluate the effect of continuous blood purification on cardiac function and plasma vasoactive substances in endotoxic shock in piglets. DESIGN:: This was a randomized controlled trial in an animal laboratory in a tertiary care pediatric center. MATERIALS AND METHODS:: Twenty-three healthy Shanghai white piglets weighing 8-14 kg were ...

Qualitative researchers cannot rely on research ethics to be a static practice. In this article we discuss how observation of guidelines for inquiry and international agreements on the dignity of health care research are not sufficient on their own to ensure that the challenges inherent in the everyday management of ...

In this contribution, we present a constitutive model to describe the mechanical behaviour of microbial biofilms based on classical approaches in the continuum theory of polymer networks. Although the model is particularly developed for the well-studied biofilms formed by mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, it could easily be adapted to other ...

The nuclear export protein XPO1 is overexpressed in cancer, leading to the cytoplasmic mislocalization of multiple tumor suppressor proteins. Existing XPO1-targeting agents lack selectivity and have been associated with significant toxicity. Small molecule selective inhibitors of nuclear export (SINEs) were designed that specifically inhibit XPO1. Genetic experiments and X-ray structures ...

The origin and evolution of "ORFans" (suspected genes without known relatives) remain unclear. Here we take advantage of a unique opportunity to examine the population diversity of thousands of ORFans, based on a collection of 35 complete genomes of isolates of E. coli and Shigella (which is included phylogenetically within ...

Prosthetic replacement of the ocular surface ecosystem is a treatment developed by the Boston Foundation for Sight that uses a Food and Drug Administration-approved prosthetic device for the treatment of severe ocular surface disease to improve vision and discomfort in addition to supporting the ocular surface. Facial nerve paralysis has ...

The Medicare Shared Savings Program, created under the Affordable Care Act, will reward participating accountable care organizations that succeed in lowering health care costs while improving performance. Depending on how the organizations perform on several quality measures, they will "share savings" in Medicare Part A and B payments-that is, they ...

Male sex determination is initiated through the testis determining factor SRY that promotes Sertoli cell differentiation and subsequent gonadal development. The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) gene Tcf21 was identified as one of the direct downstream targets of SRY. The current study was designed to identify the downstream targets of TCF21 and ...

The mitochondrial DNA m.13513G>A mutation in the ND5 subunit gene is a frequent cause of Leigh syndrome. Patients harboring this mutation typically present with ptosis and cardiac conduction abnormalities, particularly Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, and have a late clinical onset, which contrasts with the typical infantile form. The authors describe a patient ...

OCT2 is the entry step for organic cation (OC) secretion by renal proximal tubules. Although many drugs inhibit OCT2 activity, neither the mechanistic basis of their inhibition nor their transport status is generally known. Using representatives of several structural classes of OCT2 inhibitory ligands recently described by Kido et al. ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Several biomarkers have been associated with an increased risk of ischaemic stroke. However, the association between these biomarkers and functional outcome from cerebral ischaemic events is unclear. We aimed to assess the patterns of association between cardiovascular disease biomarkers and functional outcomes after incident ischaemic cerebral events ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Exposure to ozone activates innate immune function and causes neutrophilic (PMN) airway inflammation that in some individuals is robustly elevated. The interplay between immuno-inflammatory function and genomic signaling in those with heightened inflammatory responsiveness to ozone is not well understood.ObjectivesDetermine baseline predictors and post exposure discriminators for the ...

Several strategies for eradicating Pseudorabies virus (Aujeszky's disease) in Chiang-Mai and Lampoon Provinces, Thailand, were compared using a computer simulation model, the North American Animal Disease Spread Model (NAADSM). The duration of the outbreak, the number of affected herds and the number of destroyed herds were compared during these simulated ...

Trichosporon mycotoxinivorans is a novel pathogen recently described in cystic fibrosis patients. We report the first case of a disseminated fatal infection with T. mycotoxinivorans associated with invasive Aspergillus fumigatus and Scedosporium apiospermum infection after lung and liver transplantation in a cystic fibrosis patient.

Chromosome segregation in mitosis is orchestrated by the dynamic interactions between the kinetochore and spindle microtubules. Our recent study shows that mitotic motor CENP-E cooperates with SKAP to orchestrate an accurate chromosome movement in mitosis. However, it remains elusive how kinetochore core microtubule binding activity KMN (KNL1-MIS12-NDC80) regulates microtubule plus-end ...

OBJECTIVES: To date no complete genetic structure of acquired DNA harbouring a d-Ala-d-Ser operon in an Enterococcus is known. We wished to characterize the acquired DNA harbouring the vanE operon located in the Enterococcus faecalis N00-410 chromosome. METHODS: Whole genome sequencing of E. faecalis N00-410 was conducted by massively parallel ...

Experimental studies of translation have found that short genes tend to exhibit greater densities of ribosomes than long genes in eukaryotic species. It remains an open question whether the elevated ribosome density on short genes is due to faster initiation or slower elongation dynamics. Here we address this question computationally ...

Detection of magnetic resonance as a force between a magnetic tip and nuclear spins has previously been shown to enable sub-10 nm resolution 1H imaging. Maximizing the spin force in such a magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM) experiment demands a high field gradient. In order to study a wide range ...

Crop domestications are long-term selection experiments that have greatly advanced human civilization. The domestication of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) ranks as one of the most important developments in history. However, its origins and domestication processes are controversial and have long been debated. Here we generate genome sequences from 446 ...