During the course of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) 30-90% of patients develop a renal manifestation which has proven to be decisive for morbidity and mortality. Histologically six different classes have been described leading to different treatment strategies. In mesangial proliferative lupus nephritis (class II) extrarenal manifestations determine the immunosuppressive treatment. ...

A hybridization barrier leads to the inability of seed formation after intergeneric crossings between Brassica rapa and Raphanus sativus. Most B. rapa lines cannot set intergeneric hybrid seeds because of embryo breakdown, but a B. rapa line obtained from turnip cultivar 'Shogoin-kabu' is able to produce a large number of ...

(13)C spin diluted protein samples can be produced using [1-(13)C] and [2-(13)C]-glucose (Glc) carbon sources in the bacterial growth medium. The (13)C spin dilution results in favorable (13)C spectral resolution and polarization transfer behavior. We recently reported the combined use of [1-(13)C]- and [2-(13)C]-Glc labeling to facilitate the structural analysis ...

PURPOSE: Chance fractures are an uncommon spine injury in the paediatric population. As such there is a relative paucity of evidence in the literature to guide management decisions. We present our single centre experience in the operative management of these injuries. METHODS: All patients presenting to a tertiary paediatric trauma ...

Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is a natural organic phenolic compound that is found in many plants, fruits and vegetables. CGA has beneficial bioactivities and strong therapeutic effects in inflammatory processes. CGA-rich fractions have analgesic activity but CGA has not been tested previously in neuropathic pain, which results from tissue damage, inflammation ...

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate patients who had open reduction and external fixation of displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures with supercutaneous calcaneal locking plates used as external fixators. Between October 2007 and June 2009, 25 cases were performed. According to the Sanders classification system, 17 cases were ...

To explore the effect of alcoholic extract of Bacopa monniera (AEBM) on high cholesterol diet-induced rats. The shade-dried and coarsely powdered whole plant material (Bacopa monniera) was extracted with 90% ethanol, finally filtered and dried in vacuum pump. The experimental rats were divided into 4 groups: control (group-I), Rats fed ...

Essential oils are volatile compounds that have been used since Middle Ages as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, sedative, local anesthetic and food flavoring agents. In the current study, essential oils of Pelargonium graveolens L'Her and Vitex agnus-castus L. were analyzed for their antibacterial activities. The chemical compositions of essential oils were characterized ...

Thirty to sixty percent of patients with ESRD on dialysis have coronary heart disease, but the optimal strategy for coronary revascularization is unknown. We used data from the United States Renal Data System to define a cohort of 21,981 patients on maintenance dialysis who received initial coronary revascularization with either ...

To detail the presentation of a male adolescent competitive high-level soccer player with left sided low back pain that occurred while playing soccer. This case will outline the importance of early detection, risk of progression and management of active spondylolysis in adolescent athletes. The patient initially presented to a chiropractic ...

Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is a painful condition secondary to bisphosphonate (BP) therapy. It occurs at a much higher rate in patients receiving intravenous (IV) versus oral BP treatment. BPs are prescribed in the treatment of bone diseases such as osteoporosis, multiple myeloma, cancer metastases and Paget disease. Patients' ...

A 3-month-old boy was transferred to our hospital because of a cardiac tumor in the right heart, which had been prenatally diagnosed by fetal echocardiography. During the operation, the tumor was found on the Chiari's network in the right atrium. The tumor was excised and the ventricular septal defect was ...

Accumulating research indicates that physical activity is motivated by automatic evaluations of physical activity. Little is known about the stability of automatic evaluations or how their dynamics impact physical activity. We tested the measurement invariance and stability of university students' (N = 164) automatic evaluations of physical activity. In addition, ...

This study investigated the rapid onset of bronchodilation effect and compared lung function changes following budesonide/formoterol (Symbicort Turbuhaler®) inhalation in Chinese patients with moderate-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchial asthma. In this open-label, parallel-group clinical study, patients eligible for study were divided into COPD group (n=62, mean age ...

The vector mosquitoes of dengue and chikungunya fever, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus have adapted to feed on humans and undergo larval and pupal development in natural and artificial freshwater collections. Although several studies reported, still, much information is required to understand the successful survival of Aedes mosquitoes in small ...

Mirabegron is a novel, once-daily, orally active, first-in-class, potent β(3)-adrenoceptor agonist recently approved by Food and Drug Administration for overactive bladder therapy. Phase II studies and four large-scale phase III multinational randomized, controlled trials have supported the efficacy and tolerability of mirabegron in the clinical trial setting of patients with ...

Does more mean better, different, or worse, asks Lance Lanyon.

For reliable detection of explosives, a combination of methods integrated within a single measurement platform may increase detection performance. However, the efficient field testing of such measurement platforms requires the use of inexplosive simulants that are detectable by a wide range of methods. Physical parameters such as simulant density, elemental ...

Chronic idiopathic colonic pseudo-obstruction (CICP) is characterized by the chronic disturbance of colonic motility without mechanical obstruction, any underlying disease or medication. Currently, there are no established medical treatments for CICP. A 62-year-old female who had undergone right hemicolectomy for splenic flexure syndrome caused by idiopathic megacolon was referred to ...

OBJECTIVE: Many electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are marketed as safer tobacco alternative products or effective cessation therapies. ENDS samples were evaluated for design features, including nicotine and glycols content. This could be useful in developing a legal framework to handle ENDS. METHODS: Identification of the nicotine, glycerol and propylene ...

PURPOSE.: The purpose of this study was to investigate the sonographic (US) appearances of submandibular glands in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma after external beam radiotherapy (RT) and compare them with those of healthy subjects. METHODS.: A total of 81 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with RT and 66 healthy subjects were ...

To investigate the pharmacokinetics and disposition of [(14)C]pomalidomide following a single oral dose to healthy male subjects. Eight subjects were administered a single 2 mg oral suspension of [(14)C]pomalidomide. Blood (plasma), urine and feces were collected. Mass balance of radioactivity and the pharmacokinetics of radioactivity, pomalidomide and metabolites were determined. ...

Coliform bacteria (CB), fecal coliforms (FC), Escherichia coli, diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes (DEP) and Salmonella frequencies were determined for fresh carrot juice from restaurants in Pachuca city, Mexico. Two hundred and eighty carrot juice samples were purchased in three types of restaurants: (A), national chain restaurants; (B), local restaurants; and ...

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used for diagnosing osteochondral lesions in the talus. The purpose of this study was to directly compare the MRI with the arthroscopic findings. MR images of 42 ankles were retrospectively reviewed during a period of 67 months. The osteochondral lesions were evaluated by both ...

Abstract Understanding situations that increase HIV risk among men who have sex with men (MSM) requires consideration of the context in which risky behaviors occur. Relationships are one such context. This study examines the presence and predictors of unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) in the past 3 months among 566 MSM ...

Unprotected sexual activity is an important reason for the currently growing incidence of HIV infection in Iran. Recognizing barriers to safe sexual practice and affordance of behavioral changes can improve planning for condom promotion. The main objective of our study is to evaluate the opinions of HIV-positive men on condom ...

Sports-related concussion has gained widespread interest and media attention in recent years due to the potential dangers and long-term consequences. Despite several international consensus statements there remains a great deal of uncertainty surrounding these injuries. This paper is a review of recent literature on the topic of concussion, consisting of: ...

Both extreme heat and cold can be challenging for athletes during training and competition. One role of the team physician is to educate coaches and athletes on the risks of exposure to these conditions and how to best prevent and manage their adverse effects. Heat illness varies in degree from ...

Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors (SH-WFS) have little sensitivity in depth and hence are unsuitable for microscopy and are limited for retinal imaging. We demonstrate the first direct Shack-Hartmann measurement of wavefront originating from a multiple-layer target, in the presence of significant stray reflections that render a standard SH-WFS inoperable. A coherence-gate ...

We produce 1.5 cycle (10.5 fs), 1.2 mJ, 3 kHz carrier-envelope-phase-stable pulses at 2.1 μm carrier wavelength, from a three-stage optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier system, pumped by an optically synchronized 1.6 ps Yb:YAG thin disk laser. A chirped periodically poled lithium niobate crystal is used to generate the ultrabroad spectrum needed for a 1.5 cycle ...

We show that an inhomogeneous defocusing nonlinearity that grows toward the periphery in the positive and negative transverse directions at different rates can support strongly asymmetric fundamental and multipole bright solitons, which are stable in wide parameter regions. In the limiting case, when nonlinearity is uniform in one direction, solitons ...

Pulmonary carcinoid tumorlet is a rare pathology and appears to be always associated with other lesions such as bronchiectasis and fibrosis. While the caus e-effect relationship between tumorlet and the accompanying pathological changes in the surrounding mesenchymal tissue remains to be defined, it has been postulated that pulmonary fibrosis may ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Conventional prenatal screening tests, such as maternal serum tests and ultrasound scan, have limited resolution and accuracy. METHODS: We developed an advanced noninvasive prenatal diagnosis method based on massively parallel sequencing. The Noninvasive Fetal Trisomy (NIFTY) test, combines an optimized Student's t-test with a locally weighted polynomial regression ...

OBJECTIVES: Previous research among foragers and theory suggests that nonmaternal caregivers offer essential assistance, which supports female reproduction and the costs associated with lengthy child development. Mothers' face trade-offs in energy allocation between work and childcare, particularly when mothers have an infant. These trade-offs likely have crucial impacts on the ...

Esophageal food bolus impaction may require an urgent endoscopy. Glucagon is often administered to promote spontaneous passage of the food bolus. Eosinophilic esophagitis is increasingly recognized as a cause of dysphagia, and food impaction is often the presenting symptom. Our study was aimed at determining the effectiveness of glucagon in ...

To review international findings on the prevalence of diagnosed disorders, generalizability of dimensional scales, and distributions of dimensional scores for school-age children and to address the conceptual and clinical issues raised by the findings. A review of findings for interviews (Development and Well-Being Assessment, Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children) and ...

Abstract Individuals with perinatally-acquired HIV (PHIV) are surviving into young adulthood. Previous literature has explored the sexual behavior of those with PHIV. However, their perspectives on navigating romantic relationships are not well understood. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 young adults living with PHIV recruited from two pediatric infectious disease ...

To explore the effect of AIBL on Oncomelania hupensis, the intermediate snail host of Schistosoma japonicum. The enzyme histochemical profiles of cholinesterase, cytochrome oxidase, lactate dehydrogenase, nitric oxide synthase, and succinate dehydrogenase in the soft tissues of Oncomelania hupensis, the intermediate host snail of Schistosoma japonicum, were analyzed before and ...

Accurately tracking core-contributed publications is an important and often difficult task. Many core laboratories are supported by programmatic grants (such as Cancer Center Support Grant and Clinical Translational Science Awards) or generate data with instruments funded through S10, Major Research Instrumentation, or other granting mechanisms. Core laboratories provide their research ...

We propose a technique for measuring infrared femtosecond pulses: transient-grating self-referenced spectral interferometry. Based on this technique, we built an extremely simple, alignment-free device and successfully characterized both 38 fs pulses at 800 nm and sub-two-cycle 10 fs pulses at 1.75 μm.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) includes provisions to shift the U.S. health care system to address achieving wellness rather than just treating illness. In this Open Forum, the Prevention Committee of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry describes opportunities created by the ACA for improving prevention of mental illnesses ...

This study examined whether (a) training and competition influence achievement goals, effort, enjoyment, tension, and performance; (b) achievement goals mediate the effects of training and competition on effort, enjoyment, tension, and performance; and (c) the context influences the relationships between goals and effort, enjoyment, tension, and performance. Participants (32 males, ...

BACKGROUND: Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) belongs to a group of neutrophilic dermatoses and is often associated with systemic disorders. The authors present a patient with a recalcitrant PG that did not respond to systemic standard therapies, and discuss further treatment options with impact on quality of life. CASE REPORT: A 42-year-old ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Hospitalization costs in clinical trials are typically derived by multiplying the length of stay (LOS) by an average per-diem (PD) cost from external sources. This assumes that PD costs are independent of LOS. Resource utilization in early days of the stay is usually more intense, however, and thus, ...

The few studies dealing with the positive effects of health and well-being of older people are only one-sided. The aim of the study therefore was to analyze the effects of Nintendo-Wii® bowling on daily function, state of dementia, quality of life, cognition and motor skills in retirement home inhabitants. The ...

AIMS: Although endothelial cell senescence is known to play an important role in the development of cardiovascular pathologies, mechanisms that attenuate this process have not been extensively investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate whether SIRT6, a member of the sirtuin family of NAD(+)-dependent protein deacetylases/ADP-ribosyltransferases, protects endothelial ...

BACKGROUND: Utility of diagnostic adjuncts (DAs) in an adult population with a low oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC) prevalence is unclear. In this study, we compare the effectiveness of DAs and clinicians' conventional oral examination (COE) in detecting oral and pharyngeal cancers (OPC), in high-risk (HR) users, low-risk (LR) and ...

Linezolid is an important agent for the treatment of infections because of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE). This study identified independent predictors for isolation of linezolid-resistant VRE (LZD-R-VRE) and analyzed outcomes associated with linezolid resistance. Immunosuppression, prior surgery, and previous exposure to β-lactam antibiotics were independent predictors for isolation of LZD-R-VRE but ...

Colorectal cancers are mostly sporadic; some cases of familial clustering and autosomal dominant conditions are also known to occur. Juvenile polyposis syndrome (JPS) is an autosomal dominant condition caused by the mutation of the SMAD4 or the BMPR1A genes. JPS is characterized by hamartomatous polyps developing in the upper and ...

Nonlinear dynamics of wave packets in parity-time-symmetric optical lattices near the phase-transition point is analytically studied. A nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation is derived for the envelope of these wave packets. A variety of phenomena known to exist in this envelope equation are shown to also exist in the full equation, including ...