Carbon containing nano-sized molybdenum sulfide composites (MoS(x)C(y)) obtained by thermal decomposition reactions of (R(4)N)(2)MoS(4) (R = -H (C(0)), -CH(3) (C(1)), -C(3)H(7) (C(3)), and -C(6)H(13) (C(6))) show promising performance in visible-light driven photocatalytic hydrogen generation.

Criminal suspects with distinctive facial features, such as tattoos or bruising, may stand out in a police lineup. To prevent suspects from being unfairly identified on the basis of their distinctive feature, the police often manipulate lineup images to ensure that all of the members appear similar. Recent research shows ...

CAPs off to the S-S bond: Application of a strategy involving the introduction of intramolecular disulfide bonds to amphipathic cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAPs) led to decreased α-helicity and hydrophobicity. The mutant peptides were observed to have significantly increased (250-fold) minimum hemolytic concentrations while maintaining MIC values against E. coli, affording more ...

Tris[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borane reacts with the sterically demanding Arduengo carbenes 1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-ylidene and 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazolin-2-ylidene to form isolable normal adducts. In the case of 1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-ylidene, the adduct exhibits dynamic behaviour in solution and frustrated-Lewis-pair (FLP) reactivity. Fast cleavage of dihydrogen and THF, the CH activation of phenylacetylene, and carbon dioxide fixation were achieved by ...

BACKGROUND: Engineered mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) were used in many preclinical studies of gene directed enzyme/prodrug therapy. We aimed to compare the efficacy of two most frequently used systems, and evaluate extent of bystander effect mediated by therapeutic MSC towards cell lines derived from different tumours. METHODS: Two approaches were ...

PURPOSESeveral reports suggest that cisplatin is associated with an increased risk of thromboembolism. However, because the excess risk of venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) with cisplatin-based chemotherapy has not been well described, we conducted a systemic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials evaluating the incidence and risk of VTEs associated ...

Extrinsic signaling cues in the microenvironment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) contribute to disease progression and therapy resistance. Yet it remains unknown how the bone marrow niche where AML arises is subverted to support leukemic persistence at the expense of homeostatic function. Exosomes are cell membrane-derived vesicles carrying protein and ...

Regulatory agencies require testing of chemicals and products to protect workers and consumers from potential eye injury hazards. Animal screening, such as the rabbit Draize test, for potential environmental toxicants is time-consuming and costly. Therefore, virtual screening using computational models to tag potential ocular toxicants is attractive to toxicologists and ...

PURPOSE: To measure the maximum entrance skin dose (MESD) on patients undergoing carotid artery stenting (CAS) using embolic-protection devices, to analyze the dependence of dose and exposure parameters on anatomical, clinical, and technical factors affecting the procedure complexity, to obtain some local diagnostic reference levels (DRLs), and to evaluate whether ...

Abstract Objective: To describe maxillary growth and maturation during infancy and early childhood. Materials and Methods: Serial cephalograms (N  =  210) of 30 subjects (15 females and 15 males) from the Bolton-Brush Growth Study were analyzed. Each subject had a series of six consecutive cephalograms taken between birth and 5 years ...

BACKGROUND: In the decade after the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, a high incidence of leukemia was observed among atomic bomb survivors. However, the incidence of other cancers gradually increased, while that of leukemia decreased after this period. We evaluated the clinical outcome of early gastric cancer and microsatellite stability ...

Sedimentation and remobilization processes of radiocesium were investigated from time-series observations at nine stations in the coastal area of Ibaraki, 70-110 km south of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (1FNPP). Sediment samples were collected four times between June 2011 and January 2012, and concentrations of radiocesium as well as sediment ...

Purpose:  To estimate the lifetime prevalence of neurocysticercosis (NCC)-associated epilepsy and the proportion of NCC among people with epilepsy in three Burkina Faso villages. Methods:  Three villages were selected to represent three types of pig-rearing methods: (1) Batondo, where pigs are left to roam; (2) Pabré, where pigs are mostly ...

Asymmetric iodolactonization of γ- and δ-unsaturated carboxylic acids has been explored in the presence of six different chiral organocatalysts 5-8. The catalyst 6b was found to facilitate the cyclization of 5-arylhex-5-enoic acids 1 to the corresponding iodolactones 2 with up to 96% ee. By this protocol, unsaturated carboxylic acids are ...

Palladium-catalyzed hydrogenation of an octahedral zinc trans-ditriflate hemiporphyrazine "HpH(2)Zn(OTf)(2)" furnishes a new macrocycle "HpH(6)Zn(OTf)(2)". This reaction is fully reversible upon heating in nitrobenzene, and the conversion is easily monitored by changes in color and fluorescence properties. The reversible cycling between these molecules may find future applications in hemiporphyrazine-based catalysts and/or ...

Anaplasma marginale is an etiologic agent of bovine anaplasmosis. This study aimed to molecularly detect and characterize A. marginale that is prevalent in Mongolian cattle populations. A highly specific and sensitive nested PCR (nPCR) method based on the Msp5 gene was developed to detect A. marginale (Msp5 nPCR). The method ...

High fluoride concentrations (up to 11 mg/L) have been reported in the groundwater of the Guarani Aquifer System (Santa Maria Formation) in the central region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil. In this area, dental fluorosis is an endemic disease. This paper presents the geochemical data and ...

Nearly monodisperse Au nanorods (NRs) with different aspect ratios were separated from home-synthesized polydisperse samples using a gradient centrifugation method. The morphology, size and its distribution, and photo-absorption property were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and UV-visible spectroscopy. Subsequently, using colloidal Au NRs (36.2 nm ×10.7 nm) with 97.4% ...

A 31-year-old man presented with acute left hemiplegia. History revealed a tuberculous pneumonia partially treated 10 months before, and headache and left leg jerks occurring recently. Upon examination, he was drowsy, with rightward gaze and head deviation and left hemiplegia. MRI showed an infarct on the right anterior and middle ...

Objective: Community exercise programs are effective in improving aerobic capacity after stroke, but individual variability in training responses has not previously been studied. This study examined explanatory factors for post-program responses in aerobic capacity (VO2peak) with respect to training parameters and participant characteristics. Design: Secondary analysis of data from a ...

Carbyne radicals: Reactions of trihaloalkyl compounds with Cr(2+) or V(2+) in aqueous solutions yield alkynes and other products. Stepwise halogen abstractions from the trihaloalkyls form alkyl carbyne triradicals in solution. These radicals undergo coupling reaction producing triply bonded alkyne molecules. This process is not metal-assisted and does not occur in ...

PURPOSEOn initial publication of GI Intergroup Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 98-11 [A Phase III Randomized Study of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), Mitomycin, and Radiotherapy Versus 5-Fluorouracil, Cisplatin and Radiotherapy in Carcinoma of the Anal Canal], concurrent chemoradiation (CCR) with fluorouracil (FU) plus mitomycin (MMC) decreased colostomy failure (CF) when compared with ...

Tasquinimod is an orally active antiangiogenic drug that is currently in phase III clinical trials for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer. However, the target of this drug has remained unclear. In this study, we applied diverse strategies to identify the histone deacetylase HDAC4 as a target for the antiangiogenic ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: We have recently described a method for the construction of an informative gene expression correlation landscape for a single tissue, longissimus muscle (LM) of cattle, using a small number (less than a hundred) of diverse samples. Does this approach facilitate interspecies comparison of networks? FINDINGS: Using gene expression ...

OBJECTIVE: To quantify short- and long-term associations between dietary patterns defined a priori and bone mineral density (BMD) during adolescence. DESIGN: Dietary patterns were defined at 13 years old using a Mediterranean diet (MD) quality index, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet index and the Oslo Health Study ...

The perception of adipose tissue has changed considerably with the dramatic increase in the incidence of obesity and obesity-related comorbidities over the past 3 decades. Excess fat is no longer associated with wealth, but is instead recognized as a risk factor for many diseases. Adipose tissue is increasingly being identified ...

We propose a novel sloped dielectric geometry in graphene as a band engineering method for widening the depletion region and increasing the electrical rectification effect in graphene pn junctions. Enhanced current-rectification was achieved in a bilayer graphene with a sloped dielectric top gate and a normal back gate. A bias ...

Stimulus from the environment that guides behavior and informs decisions is encoded in the firing rates of neural populations. Neurons in the populations, however, do not spike independently: spike events are correlated from cell to cell. To what degree does this apparent redundancy have an impact on the accuracy with ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Homeodomain transcription factors play critical roles in metazoan development. BELLRINGER (BLR), one such transcription factor, is involved in diverse developmental processes in Arabidopsis, acting in vascular differentiation, phyllotaxy, flower and fruit development. BLR also has a redundant role in meristem maintenance. Cell wall remodelling underpins many of these ...

M1-type macrophages are capable of inducing lysis in various types of cancer cells, but the mechanism of action is unclear. It has been noted that an "unknown protein" produced together with protease by activated macrophages is responsible for this action. It has been recently reported that activated M1-type macrophages can ...

Gene-inactivation experiments have indicated that the putative prenyltransferase XptB from Aspergillus nidulans was likely to be responsible for the prenylation of 1,7-dihydroxy-6-methyl-8-hydroxymethylxanthone. Recently, it was suggested that this enzyme might also accept as substrate the benzophenone arugosin H, which is assumed to be a precursor of prenylated xanthones. In this ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The 'overall insecticidal effect' is a key measure used to evaluate public health pesticides for indoor use in experimental hut trials. It depends on the proportion of mosquitoes that are killed out of those that enter the treated hut, intrinsic mortality in the control hut, and the ratio ...

An efficient palladium-catalyzed CH functionalization of aldehydes with various N-substituted N-heteroarene-2-carboxamides has been developed for the synthesis of secondary imides. The reaction tolerates various functionalities, such as methoxy, fluoro, chloro, and bromo groups. A tentative radical mechanism for a Pd(II) /Pd(IV) catalytic cycle is proposed.

The crystal structures of bis-pyridine stabilized iodine dications [PhI(pyr)(2)](2+) are reported as triflate salts, representing the first ligand supported iodine dications to be structurally characterized. The pyridine complexes are susceptible to ligand exchange in reaction with stronger N-based donors such as 4-dimethylaminopyridine. Attempts to extend this reactivity to N-heterocyclic carbene ...

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE: The present study was undertaken to examine the incidence and management of surgical site infection (SSI) in patients submitted to transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TA-TAVI). METHODS: From April 2007 to December 2011, 154 patients underwent TA-TAVI with an Edwards Sapien bioprosthesis (ES) at the Institut Universitaire de ...

de novo cyclic pseudopeptides composed of α-amino and aza-β3-amino acids were designed with the aim to obtain potential new antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial Cyclic PseudoPeptides (ACPPs) are based on the properties of Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs), so they are cationic and amphiphilic. Aza-β3-amino acids enhance the in vivo half-life of these compounds ...

Alterations in the methylation of promoters of cancer-related genes are promising biomarkers for the early detection of disease. Compared with single methylation alteration, assessing combined methylation alterations can provide higher association with specific cancer. Here we use cationic conjugated polymer-based fluorescence resonance energy transfer to quantitatively analyse DNA methylation levels ...

Breast cancer patients whose tumors achieve a pathological complete response (pCR) with neoadjuvant chemotherapy have a prognosis which is better than that predicted for the stage of their disease. However, within this subgroup of patients, recurrences have been observed. We sought to examine factors associated with recurrence in a population ...

Flexible and highly conductive single-walled carbon nanotube/polycellulose papers (SWCNT/PPs) were developed as current collectors for lithium-ion batteries by a simple and scalable process. The flexible electrodes based on SWCNT/PP conductors consisted of a unique three-dimensional interwoven structure of electrode materials and cellulose fibers with CNTs and exhibited flexibility, good electrochemical ...

Nonlinear dynamical systems have been used in many disciplines to model complex behaviors, including biological motor control, robotics, perception, economics, traffic prediction, and neuroscience. While often the unexpected emergent behavior of nonlinear systems is the focus of investigations, it is of equal importance to create goal-directed behavior (e.g., stable locomotion ...

In the structure-from-motion paradigm, physical motion on a screen produces the vivid illusion of an object rotating in depth. Here, we show how to dissociate illusory depth and illusory rotation in a structure-from-motion stimulus using a rotationally asymmetric shape and reversals of physical motion. Reversals of physical motion create a ...

BACKGROUND: EXAGGERATED NEOINTIMAL HYPERPLASIA IS CONSIDERED AS THE PRIMARY MECHANISM FOR INCREASED RESTENOSIS IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES MELLITUS (DM) TREATED WITH BARE-METAL STENT. HOWEVER, THE VESSEL RESPONSE IN DM AND NON-DM TREATED WITH DIFFERENT DRUG-ELUTING STENTS (DES) HAS NOT BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY EVALUATED.METHODS AND RESULTS: WE INVESTIGATED 3D INTRAVASCULAR ULTRASOUND (POSTPROCEDURE ...

Melibiose monohydrate has shown promise when employed as a pharmaceutical excipient, but its physical properties have not been adequately characterized. Therefore, two different melibiose monohydrate batches were analyzed as received or after storage under different relative humidity (RH) atmospheres. The particle size distributions and specific surface areas of the two ...

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) signaling essentially regulates a wide range of biological responses. Although multiple regulators at different layers of the receptor-effectors axis have been identified, the mechanisms of homeostatic BMP signaling remain vague. Herein we demonstrated that myotubularin-related protein 4 (MTMR4), a FYVE domain-containing dual-specificity protein phosphatase (DUSP), preferentially ...

In the search for better predictors of cardiovascular events, pulse wave velocity (PWV) has gained considerable interest. We compared three single-location methods to locally estimate PWV based on simultaneous measurements of pressure (P), velocity (U) or arterial diameter (D): the PU, ln(D)U and QA-method. First, the performance of these methods ...

Certain functional groups/structural motifs are known to generate chemically reactive metabolites that can covalently modify essential cellular macromolecules, and therefore have the potential to disrupt biological function and elicit idiosyncratic adverse drug reactions. In this report, we describe the bioactivation of 5-substituted 2-(alkylthio)-1, 3, 4 thiadiazoles and 2-(alkylthio)-1, 3-benzothiazoles, which ...

The chemotherapeutic activities of many anticancer and antibacterial drugs arise from their interactions with nucleic acid substrates. Some of these ligands interact with DNA in a way that causes conformational changes or damage to the nucleic acid targets, ultimately altering recognition by key DNA-specific enzymes, interfering with DNA transcription or ...

Abstract Background. The choice of the optimal benzodiazepine to treat prehospital status epilepticus is unclear. Lorazepam is preferred in the emergency department, but concerns about nonrefrigerated storage limits emergency medical services (EMS) use. Midazolam is increasingly popular, but its heat stability is undocumented. Objective. This study evaluated temperature-dependent degradation of ...

The definitive diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) requires invasive procedures for demonstration of parasites in tissue smear or culture. These procedures need expertise and laboratory supports and cannot be performed in the field. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the existing rK-39 immunochromatographic nitrocellulose strips test (ICT) ...

PURPOSE: TO INVESTIGATE COMPOSITIONS OF SILICA-COLLAGEN HYBRID MATERIALS AS POTENTIAL ARTIFICIAL CORNEAL SUBSTITUTES, AND HOW THESE COMPONENTS AFFECT THE OPTICAL AND BIOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THE HYBRIDS, AND THEIR BIOCOMPATIBILITY IN AN ORGAN CULTURE MODEL. METHODS: Hybrid materials were created from different proportions of collagen and silica precursors, and manufactured to ...