Abstract Conclusion: Superselective intra-arterial chemotherapy, which enables local control and laryngeal preservation, is a safe and useful therapy for preservation of nutrition, speech, and swallowing functions. Objective: To improve the laryngeal preservation rate in patients with hypopharyngeal piriform sinus squamous cell carcinoma by superselective intra-arterial chemotherapy. Methods: Fifty-seven patients received ...

Purpose: To investigate the imaging features of intrahepatic biliary cystadenoma and cystadenocarcinoma on B-mode and contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Materials and Methods: The B-mode and contrast-enhanced ultrasound features of 6 intrahepatic biliary cystadenomas and 7 intrahepatic biliary cystadenocarcinomas were retrospectively analyzed, and the differences between cystadenomas and cystadenocarcinomas were compared. Results: There ...

In this study, a dose-response assessment was performed to understand the relation between supplementation of media with L-ascorbic acid or vitamin C and porcine oocyte maturation and the in vitro development of parthenotes (PA) and handmade cloned (HMC) embryos. Various concentrations (0, 25, 50 and 100 μg/ml) of vitamin C ...

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists have demonstrated clinical efficacy in the treatment of acute migraine. Herein, we describe the design, synthesis, and preclinical characterization of a highly potent, oral CGRP receptor antagonist BMS-927711 (8). Compound 8 has good oral bioavailability in rat and cynomolgus monkey, attractive overall preclinical properties, ...

Context: The number of patients with cancer is increasing. New therapeutic agents to overcome drug-resistant tumors are urgently needed. Cyrtosperma johnstonii N.E. Br. (Araceae) is used for treatment of cancer in Thai traditional medicine. This study aimed to evaluate antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity of C. johnstonii extracts on human cancer ...

Objective:Uniform histopathologic guidelines were applied to diagnose chorioamnionitis and estimate the accuracy of clinical signs in term parturients.Study Design:A retrospective cohort study utilized slides from term parturient placentas with Amniotic Fluid Infection Nosology Committee guidelines as the gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for fever, maternal tachycardia and fetal tachycardia ...

Erythropoietin (EPO) has been used for the management of renal anemia. Recent studies suggest the pleiotropic properties of EPO in various tissues such as brain, kidney and vasculature. Diabetes mellitus is a major risk for development of vascular impairment. The aim of the present study was to investigate the hypothesis ...

Iron overload due to regular transfusions of packed red cells can cause multiple organ damage. Iron chelation therapy (ICT) is important in patients with aplastic anemia (AA) who require blood transfusions as supportive management. With the introduction of the oral iron chelator deferasirox, ICT has become more widely available and ...

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) RNA detection is reportedly more specific for the detection of anogenital precancer than HPV DNA but it is unknown whether this is due to detection of RNA or due to HPV genotype restriction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 363 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive men who have sex with ...

Divinyl reductase (DVR) converts 8-vinyl groups on various chlorophyll intermediates to ethyl groups, which is indispensable for chlorophyll biosynthesis. Up to date, five DVR activities have been detected, but adequate evidence of enzymatic assays using purfied or recombinant DVR proteins have not been demonstrated, and it is unclear whether one ...

Sulfite reductase catalyzes the six-electron reduction of sulfite to sulfide. The active site, found in the hemoprotein subunit (SiRHP), sits on the distal face of a negatively charged porphyrinoid called siroheme whose central iron atom is coupled to a proximal Fe4S4 cluster. Four positively charged amino acids are positioned around ...

The mechanisms controlling vascular development, both normal and pathological, are not yet fully understood. Many diseases, including cancer and diabetic retinopathy, involve abnormal blood vessel formation. Therefore, increasing knowledge of these mechanisms may help develop novel therapeutic targets. The identification of novel proteins or cells involved in this process would ...

Bridge flocculated colloidal gels are used in many important processes and products such as gel casting for advanced ceramics, precursor inks for 3D printing and waste treatment strategies. An important aspect of polymer bridged gels that makes them excellent candidates for these applications is the precise control it affords for ...

The β-hemolytic group A streptococcus (GAS) is a major pathogen that readily uses hemoglobin to satisfy its requirements for iron. The streptococcal hemoprotein receptor in GAS plays a central role in heme utilization and binds fibronectin and laminin in vitro. Shr inactivation attenuates the virulent M1T1 GAS strain in two ...

We describe a phage display approach that we have previously used to generate conformation-sensor antibodies that specifically recognize and stabilize the oxidized, inactive conformation of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B). We use a solution-based panning and screening strategy conducted in the presence of reduced active PTP1B, which enriches antibodies to ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Frontolimbic circuits are involved in learning and decision-making processes thought to be affected in substance-dependent individuals. We investigated frontolimbic cortical morphometry in substance-dependent men and women and determined whether morphometric measurements correlated with decision-making performance.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Twenty-eight abstinent SDI (17 men/11 women) were compared with 28 controls (13 ...

Approximately 13% of African American men are disqualified from voting because of a felony conviction. I used ecosocial theory to identify how institutionalized racism helps perpetuate health disparities and to explore pathways through which felon disenfranchisement laws may contribute to racial health disparities in the United States. From a literature ...

We present a simple method for calculating the magnetization in spin-locking (SL) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in which a simple matrix equation was derived for solving the time-dependent Bloch equations in the 2-pool chemical exchange model. We also present a method for visualizing the trajectory of a magnetization vector in ...

After protein phosphorylation on certain serine or threonine residues preceding a proline (pSer/Thr-Pro), the function of certain phosphorylated protein is further regulated by cis-trans conformational change. Due to the lack of any tool to detect such two conformations in cells, however, it is not even known whether any cis or ...

Previous volunteer studies of an effect-site controlled, patient-maintained sedation system using propofol have demonstrated a risk of over-sedation. We have incorporated a reaction-time monitor into the handset of the patient-maintained sedation system to add an individualised patient-feedback mechanism. This study assessed if such reaction-time feedback modification would reduce the risk ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Neuromuscular electrostimulation has become a promising issue in cardiovascular rehabilitation. However there are few articles published in the literature regarding neuromuscular electrostimulation in patients with heart failure during hospital stay. METHODS: This is a randomized controlled pilot trial that aimed to investigate the effect of neuromuscular electrostimulation in ...

Abstract Objectives: To evaluate whether transvaginal ultrasound cervical length (TVU CL) can predict antepartum bleeding (APB) in women with low-lying placenta. Study design: A retrospective study was performed including pregnancies with low-lying placenta for which third trimester TVU CL was available. Multiple pregnancies were excluded. Short cervix was defined as ...

The Chromosome-centric Human Proteome Project (C-HPP) aims to define all proteins encoded in each chromosome and especially to identify proteins that currently lack evidence by mass spectrometry. The C-HPP also prioritizes particular protein subsets such as membrane proteins, post-translational modifications, and low-abundance proteins. In this study, we aimed to generate ...

The effect of repeated administration of centhaquin to pregnant rats on postnatal development, and expression of ETA and ETB receptors was determined. Pregnant rats were treated daily with either saline or centhaquin for 2 weeks. Male rat pups were sacrificed on day 1, 7, 14 and 28 of birth. Brain, ...

Four binuclear dysprosium compounds incorporating the radical ligand 2-(4-oxidopyridyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazolin-1-oxyl-3-oxide (PyNONIT) have been successfully synthesized under appropriate conditions. Centrosymmetric bimetallic Dy(2)O(2) cores in all of the compounds through double-μ(2)-oxygen atoms of the N-oxide groups are realized in a metal-radical approach for the first time. Dimers 1 and 2, of the same ...

Brachytherapy is a common clinical technique involving implantation of sealed radioactive "seeds" within a tumor to selectively irradiate the tumor mass while minimizing systemic toxicity. To mitigate the disadvantages associated with complex surgical implantation and subsequent device removal procedures, we have developed an alternative approach using a genetically encoded peptide ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies revealed significantly lower mortality rates in cancer patients receiving cardiac glycosides, which turned on interest in the anticancer properties of these drugs. However, cardiac glycosides have also been shown to stimulate cell growth in several cell types. In the present investigation we analyzed the pro-death and ...

Abstract Background: Selective participation in retrospective studies of families recruited after the patient's death may threaten generalizability of reports on end-of-life experiences. Objectives: To assess possible selection bias in retrospective study of dementia at the end of life using family reports. Methods: Two physician teams covering six nursing home facilities ...

Two new chemically stable [acid and base] 2-D crystaline COFs (TpPa-1 and -2) were synthesized using combined reversible and irreversible organic reaction. Synthesis of COFs were done by the Schiff base reaction between Triformylphloroglucinol (Tp) and paraphenylenediamine (Pa-1) or 2, 5-dimethyl-paraphenylenediamine (Pa-2) in mesitylene dioxane 1: 1 combination. The expected ...

Spider silk fibers have impressive mechanical properties and are primarily composed of highly repetitive structural proteins (termed spidroins) encoded by a single gene family. Most characterized spidroin genes are incompletely known because of their extreme size (typically >9 kb) and repetitiveness, limiting understanding of the evolutionary processes that gave rise ...

Purpose: To check the feasibility of the easy quantification of tumor vascularization derived from dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) in comparison to dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomography (DCE-CT) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Materials and Methods: 19 patients with cirrhosis and histologically proven HCC prospectively underwent CEUS (SonoVue) and CT (Imeron400). Following ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Interleukin (IL)-18, an important proinflammatory cytokine, plays a potential pathological role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Studies on the relationship of IL-18 gene promoter rs1946518 (-607A/C) polymorphism, rs187238 (-137G/C) polymorphism with RA and SLE are inconclusive. The aim of this study was to get ...

A series of formal donor-acceptor adducts of aminoborane (H(2)BNH(2)) and its N-substituted analogues (H(2)BNRR') were prepared: LB-H(2)BNRR'(2)-BH(3) (LB = DMAP, IPr, IPrCH(2) and PCy(3); R and R' = H, Me or tBu; IPr = [(HCNDipp)(2)C:] and Dipp = 2,6-iPr(2)C(6)H(3)). To potentially access complexes of molecular boron nitride, LB-BN-LA (LA = ...

In the largest sample studied to date, we measured cognitive functioning in children and adolescents with pediatric multiple sclerosis (n = 187) as well as those with clinically isolated syndrome (n = 44). Participants were consecutively enrolled from six United States Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence. Participants had a ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: An in vitro artificial feeding technique for hard ticks is quite useful for studying the tick-pathogen interactions. Here, we report a novel semi-artificial feeding technique for the adult parthenogenetic tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, using mouse skin membrane. Findings: Skin with attached adult ticks was removed from the mouse body ...

RATIONALE: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) has been associated with increased cancer mortality, but whether it is also associated with cancer incidence is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether OSA is associated with increased cancer incidence in a large clinical cohort. METHODS: Multicenter, clinical cohort study including consecutive patients investigated for suspected ...

The few controlled studies that have been carried out have shown that bilateral internal globus pallidum stimulation is a safe and long-term effective treatment for hyperkinetic disorders. However, most recent published data on deep brain stimulation (DBS) for dystonia, applied to different targets and patients, are still mainly from uncontrolled ...

Abstract Staurosporine, a non-specific protein kinase inhibitor, has been shown to induce neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells, but the mechanism by which staurosporine induces neurite outgrowth is still obscure. In the present study, we investigated whether the activation of Rac1 was responsible for the neurite outgrowth triggered by staurosporine. Staurosporine ...

The discoidin domain receptors (DDRs) are collagen binding receptor tyrosine kinases that play important roles in cell migration, invasion and adhesion. Crosstalk between growth factor signaling and components of the extracellular matrix are drivers of cellular function but the integrated signaling networks downstream of such crosstalk events have not been ...

We sought to determine how the aging left ventricle (LV) responds to sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation. Three separate echocardiographic experiments were conducted in 11 healthy young (26 ± 1 yr) and 11 healthy older (64 ± 1 yr) adults. Tissue Doppler imaging was used to measure systolic myocardial velocity ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: To investigate organisational factors influencing the implementation challenges of redesigning services for people with long term conditions in three locations in England, using remote care (telehealth and telecare). METHODS: Case-studies of three sites forming the UK Department of Health's Whole Systems Demonstrator (WSD) Programme. Qualitative research techniques were ...

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of irradiation with a low-level laser therapy (LLLT), wavelength 830 nm, for treating pain inherent to tooth movement caused by orthodontic devices, simulated by positioning interdental elastomeric separators. Methods: Sixty orthodontic patients were randomly assigned to ...

Self-folded magnetic microtools with sharp ends are directed at enabling drilling and related incision operations of tissues, ex vivo, in a fluid with a viscosity similar to that of blood. These microtools change their rotation from a horizontal to a vertical one when they are immersed into a rotational magnetic ...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of relative humidity on the migration of benzophenone from paperboard into the food simulant Tenax®. Kinetic migration investigations were carried out with three relative humidities in the interval between 39% and >73%. All investigations were carried out at a constant ...

We appreciate Ford's documentation of the many ways in which climate change threatens the traditional lifestyles and health of indigenous and other populations.(1) As Ford states, the impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples are primarily studied in Australia and the Arctic, leaving much unknown about their global scale and ...

OBJECTIVES: Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) play an important role in the epidemiological literature, particularly in evaluations of occupational hazards. While some authors have argued that comparisons of SMRs should be avoided, many investigators find such analyses appealing particularly when data are sparse. For example, calendar period-specific SMRs often are examined ...

In Arabidopsis thaliana, the circadian clock regulates the photoperiodic plant growth including the elongation of hypocotyls in a short-days (SDs)-specific manner. The clock-controlled PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4) gene encoding a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor plays crucial roles in this regulation. The SDs-specific elongation of hypocotyls is best explained by ...

The anthracycline anticancer agent doxorubicin has long been recognized to induce a dose-limiting cardiotoxicity and may be associated with genes relevant to doxorubicin disposition. Recent reports suggest a role for a number of single nucleotide polymorphisms in anthracycline cardiotoxicity in children. We describe two adult sisters with anthracycline cardiotoxicity that ...

This study investigated for the first time maximum force production, shortening velocity (Vmax) and power output in permeabilised single muscle fibres at 12 C from lion (Panthera leo) and caracal (Caracal caracal), and compared the values to that of single fibres from human cyclists. Additionally, the use and validation of ...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in devastating motor and sensory deficits secondary to disrupted neuronal circuits and poor regenerative potential. Efforts to promote regeneration through cell extrinsic and intrinsic manipulations have met with limited success. Stem cells represent an as yet unrealized therapy in SCI. Recently, we identified novel culture ...