BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Polychemotherapy protocols schedule vinca alkaloids and cell cycle-arresting drugs on the same day, e.g., for treatment of neuroblastoma and Ewing sarcoma. Here we studied, whether this combination enables optimal anti-tumor effects of vinca alkaloids. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Vinca alkaloids were tested in a preclinical mouse model in vivo ...

Cancer stem cells have been described in various cancers including squamous tumours of the skin by their ability to reform secondary tumours upon transplantation into immunodeficient mice. Here, we used transplantation of limiting dilution of different populations of FACS-isolated tumour cells from four distinct mouse models of squamous skin tumours ...

Abstract The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality sponsored two telemedicine research reviews. The latest review concluded that telemedicine is most relevant to specialties, such as psychiatry and neurology, where high levels of patient interaction are crucial to assessment. Telemedicine research studies cited in the reviews having positive findings in ...

Incorporation of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) into the coating layer of film-coated tablets is a method mainly used to formulate combination tablets. Uniform and precise spray coating of an API represents, however, a substantial challenge that could be overcome by applying Raman spectroscopy as process analytical tool. In the ...

Although gemcitabine is the standard chemotherapeutic drug for treatment of pancreatic cancer, almost all patients eventually develop resistance to this agent. Previous studies identified Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) as the mediator of gemcitabine resistance, but the molecular mechanism remains unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that Plk1 phosphorylation of Orc2 ...

ABSTRACT Purpose: To study the possible mechanism and treatment for pigment dispersion glaucoma (PDG) caused by single-piece acrylic (SPA) intraocular lens (IOL) ciliary sulcus fixation in Asian eyes. Materials and methods: Patients referred for PDG caused by SPA IOL ciliary sulcus fixation to our hospital from April 2005 to June ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas putida exerts a filamentous phenotype in response to environmental stress conditions that are encountered during its natural life cycle. This study assessed whether P. putida filamentation could confer survival advantages. Filamentation of P. putida was induced through culturing at low shaking speed and was compared to culturing ...

We present a case of non-involuting congenital haemangioma (NICH) of the right eyelid which was present at birth as a purpuric macule but increased in size to cause significant obstruction of vision. At four years of age the lesion was treated with fluroscopic ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy using 0.5% sodium tetradecyl suphate ...

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological condition first described by Georges Gilles de la Tourette in 1885. TS was largely thought of as a rare and bizarre condition until the 1960s, when the beneficial effects of neuroleptics on tic symptoms led to an exponential increase in neuroscientific research. Today TS ...

This paper reports on the fabrication of cotton fabrics with single-faced superhydrophobicity using a simple foam finishing process. Unlike most commonly reported superhydrophobic fabrics, the fabrics developed in this study exhibit asymmetric wettability on their two faces: one face showing superhydrophobic behaviors (highly non-wetting or water-repellent characteristics) and the other ...

In this study, a simple and effective silver ink formulation was developed to generate silver tracks with high electrical conductivity on flexible substrates at low sintering temperatures. Diethanolamine (DEA), a self-oxidizing compound at moderate temperatures, was mixed with silver ammonia solution to form a clear and stable solution. After inkjet-printed ...

AIMS: To test aripiprazole for efficacy in decreasing use in methamphetamine-dependent adults, compared to placebo. DESIGN: Participants were randomized to receive 12 weeks of aripiprazole or placebo, with a 3 month follow-up and a platform of weekly 30-minute substance abuse counseling. SETTING: The trial was conducted from January 2009 to ...

An overview of the municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Beijing, a city with a resident population of about 19.61 million in 2010, is presented in the article. Economic development and population growth have resulted in a MSW generation increase from 2.96 million tons in 2000 to 6.20 million tons ...

The presence of potentially persistent and bioactive human metabolites in surface waters gives rise to concern; yet little is known to date about the environmental fate of these compounds. This work investigates the direct photolysis of human metabolites of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SMX). In particular, we determined photolysis kinetics and ...

The detection of mechanical stress in polymeric materials through optical variations has attracted considerable interest over the past ten years. In this tutorial review, the current state of knowledge concerning the preparation of polymers with mechanochromic features is summarized. Two types of procedures are illustrated and thoroughly discussed along with ...

Holothuria polii (Delle Chiaje, 1823) (Holothuriidae) is a sea cucumber inhabiting Mediterranean Sea coast of Egypt. The bioactive compound of its tegument has antifungal, antibacterial and antiparasitic effects. The present study aims to elucidate the structure of the bioactive material of H. polii for pharmacological and chemotaxonomic purposes. Furthermore, the ...

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Daily interruption of sedation (IS) has been implemented in 30- 40% of intensive care units worldwide and may improve outcome in medical intensive care patients. Little is known about the benefit of IS in acutely brain-injured patients. METHODS: This prospective observational study was performed in a neuroscience intensive ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Gastric intestinal metaplasia (IM) usually appears in flat mucosa and shows few morphologic changes, making diagnosis using conventional endoscopy unreliable. Magnifying narrow-band imaging (NBI) endoscopy enables evaluation of detailed morphological features that correspond with the underlying histology. The aim of this study was to investigate and clarify the ...

AimsDigoxin is frequently used for rate control of atrial fibrillation (AF). It has, however, been associated with increased mortality. It remains unclear whether digoxin itself is responsible for the increased mortality (toxic drug effect) or whether it is prescribed to sicker patients with inherently higher mortality due to comorbidities. The ...

Reserve and National Guard forces have been mobilized to an unprecedented degree in recent overseas conflicts. There is concern that rates of psychological problems may continue to rise for many years after deployment. The authors conducted a cohort study of 552 United Kingdom Reservists who deployed to Iraq in 2003 ...

Abstract Escherichia coli is a pathogen of major importance in swine and public health. To determine the prevalence of Shiga toxigenic E. coli (STEC) and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), samples were collected from the feces and carcasses of swines. In total, 441 samples were collected in four samplings, of which ...

Identification of key molecules that drive angiogenesis is critical for the development of new modalities for the prevention of solid tumor progression. Using multiple models of colorectal cancer, we show that activity of the extracellular matrix-modifying enzyme lysyl oxidase (LOX) is essential for stimulating endothelial cells in vitro and angiogenesis ...

Abstract Objective: This study investigated clinicians' perspectives during a quality improvement project to promote breastmilk feedings in premature infants. Study Design: From 2009 to 2010, 11 hospitals in the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative participated in a project to promote breastmilk feedings in premature infants. Audio recordings of monthly meetings ...

The co-processing of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) with an excipient which has a high glass transition temperature (Tg) is a recognised strategy to stabilise the amorphous form of a drug. This work investigates whether co-processing a model API, sulfadimidine (SDM) with a series of low Tg excipients prevents or reduces ...

The strong reciprocity model of the evolution of human cooperation has gained some acceptance, partly on the basis of support from experimental findings. The observation that unfair offers in the ultimatum game are frequently rejected constitutes an important piece of the experimental evidence for strong reciprocity. In the present study, ...

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT? AND WHAT DOES THE STUDY ADD?: Removing of prostate for the treatment of localized prostate cancer is associated with a variable loss of erectile function due to injury of the nerves of erection during operation. Some researchers have reported that after nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy (RP), ...

Dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) are abnormal connections between arteries and veins that are classified by location, morphology or direction of venous drainage. Treatment of DAVFs is undertaken in patients with severe symptoms or those with retrograde cortical venous drainage and/or venous ectasia. Much is written regarding the treatment of DAVFs ...

Clinical response to therapeutic treatments often varies among individual patients, ranging from beneficial effect to even fatal adverse reaction. Pharmacogenomics holds the promise of personalized medicine through elucidating genetic determinants responsible for pharmacological outcomes (e.g., cytotoxicities to anticancer drugs) and therefore guide the prescription decision prior to drug treatment. Besides ...

G-quadruplexes are higher-order nucleic acid structures which can form in G-rich telomeres and promoter regions of oncogenes. Telomeric quadruplex stabilization by small molecules can lead to telomere uncapping followed by DNA damage response and senescence, as well as chromosomal fusions leading to deregulation of mitosis followed by apoptosis, and down-regulation ...

ABSTRACT: Approaches for regulatory element discovery from gene expression data usually rely on clustering algorithms to partition the data into clusters of co-expressed genes. Gene regulatory sequences are then mined to find over-represented motifs in each cluster. However, this ad-hoc partition rarely fits the biological reality. We propose a novel ...

Our purpose was to assess sustained delivery and enhanced efficacy of pirfenidone-loaded nanoparticles after intratracheal instillation.Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles containing pirfenidone (NPs) were prepared and characterized. Biodistribution of NPs and solution was assessed using LC-MS after intratracheal administration in C57Bl/6 mice at 3 and 24 h and 1 week post-administration. Efficacy was tested ...

The full text of the Preface is given in the PDF file. References [1] Nagayam B A et al 2012 J. Neural Eng. 9 065001 [2] Wise A K et al 2012 J. Neural Eng. 9 065002 [3] Davis T S et al 2012 J. Neural Eng. 9 065003 [4] ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Uninterrupted transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 of clade 2.2.1 in Egypt since 2006 resulted in establishment of two main genetic clusters. The 2.2.1/C group where all recent human and majority of backyard origin viruses clustered together, meanwhile the majority of viruses derived from vaccinated ...

OBJECTIVES: Piezoelectric surgery (PS) is meant to be a gentle osteotomy method. The aim of this study was to compare piezosurgical vs. conventional drilling methods for implant site preparation (ISP) - focusing on load-dependent thermal effect on hard tissue and the expenditure of ISP time. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three hundred ...

The second Diabetes Glucose and Myocardial Infarction (DIGAMI 2) study randomised patients with diabetes and myocardial infarction to insulin or oral-based treatment. To determine the effects of insulin-based treatment, the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (DTSQ) and the Psychological General Well-Being (PGWB) Index were administered at baseline and 12 months. Insulin-treated ...

Image monitors and viewing boxes have a crucial role in the diagnostic process. Modern radiology uses different modalities to produce digital images which are to be viewed in different parts of the radiology department and throughout the hospital, sometimes simultaneously, via the Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS). Therefore, the ...

ABSTRACT: Nipple adenoma is a relatively rare benign breast neoplasm, and cases of the disease arising from the axillary accessory breast have very seldom been reported in the English literature. We report a case of nipple adenoma arising from axillary accessory breast including clinical and pathological findings. An 82-year-old woman ...

Two kinds of laser diodes (LDs) comprised of ZnO/MgxZn1-xO (ZnO/MZO) multiple quantum wells (MQWs) grown on GaN (MQWs/GaN) and Si (MQWs/Si) substrates, respectively, have been constructed. The LD with MQWs/GaN exhibits ultraviolet random lasing under electrical excitation while that with MQWs/Si nearly not. In the MQWs/Si, ZnO/MZO MQWs are consisted ...

Objective: To report a rare case of hypophosphatemic rickets (HR) leading to extensive cardiac complications.Methods: We present the clinical course and autopsy findings of a patient with HR, treated with chronic phosphate-only therapy as a child, who subsequently developed tertiary hyperparathyroidism leading to extensive cardiac calcifications and complications. We also ...

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore the occurrence and determinants of poor response to short-term pre-operative erythropoietin treatment and the effect of such poor response on transfusion in total hip arthroplasty patients. METHODS: We studied total hip arthroplasty patients who received erythropoietin before surgery. The primary outcome was the pre-operative ...

Informal payments-payments made from patients to health personnel in excess of official fees-are widespread in low-income countries. It is not obvious how such payments affect health worker effort. On the one hand, one could argue that because informal payments resemble formal pay for performance schemes, they will incite higher effort ...

Reconstruction of digital defects using the venous flap offer several advantages but remained unpopular owing to levels of venous congestion rates. We performed animal studies to test the hypothesis that an arterio-venous shunt increases pressure for peripheral flap perfusion and decreases venous congestion. Using an abdominal adipofascial flap model in ...

Biliary anastomotic strictures after liver transplantation are a major source of morbidity and graft failure; however, repeated endoscopic therapy has shown variable long-term success rates. Thus the aim of this prospective case series was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of using paclitaxel-eluting balloons in 13 patients requiring treatment for ...

Chemical probing of RNA and DNA structure is a widely used and highly informative approach for examining nucleic acid structure and for evaluating interactions with protein and small-molecule ligands. Use of capillary electrophoresis to analyze chemical probing experiments yields hundreds of nucleotides of information per experiment and can be performed ...

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To develop and to test the psychometric properties of the Chinese Health Literacy Scale for Diabetes. BACKGROUND: Patients with diabetes encounter many challenges when making health decisions in their daily lives, as they have access to many different kinds of health information. Health literacy issues are new ...

Several studies in rodent models have shown that glycogen synthase kinase 3 β (GSK3β) plays an important role in the actions of antispychotics and mood stabilizers. Recently it was demonstrated that GSK3β through a β-arrestin2/protein kinase B (PKB or Akt)/protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) signaling complex regulates dopamine (DA)- and lithium-sensitive ...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: We sought to evaluate the long-term impact of post-cardiac surgery atrial fibrillation on the risk of stroke and survival. METHODS: Patients undergoing isolated CABG surgery from April 1, 1995 to March 31, 2007 were identified (n = 8058). Long-term stroke data were compiled using Cox modeling adjusted for clinical ...

INTRODUCTION: Autosomal dominant hyperimmunoglobulinemia E syndrome (HIES), also called Job's syndrome, is a primary immunodeficiency characterized by the triad of elevated immunoglobulin E levels, eczema, and infections. Its clinical course manifests as recurrent skin and pulmonary infections, and variable skeletal, connective tissue, and vascular abnormalities. There is evidence of abnormal ...

Simple, fast, and sensitive HPLC coupled with an electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of cnidilin and its two metabolites, 3″,8-methoxy-isoimperatorin (M1) and 5″-hydroxyl-8-methoxy-isoimperatorin (M2), in rat plasma has been developed. Pimpinellin was used as the internal standard and the total analysis time was 7 min. ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Parastomal hernia is a common complication of a colostomy. Ultimately, one-third of patients with a parastomal hernia will need surgical correction due to frequent leakage or life-threatening bowel obstruction or strangulation. However, treatment remains a challenge resulting in high recurrence rates. Two single center trials demonstrated that the ...