The dynamics of serum adsorption on bare and monoethylene glycol adlayer-modified gold surfaces is investigated using acoustic wave physics. Hydration experiments support the pivotal role ascribed to water in the antifouling of surfaces. Behavioural discrepancy is interpreted in terms of difference in water structuring properties (surface kosmotropicity).

The objective of the study was to determine how performance on cognitive assessments administered in the subacute phase of mild stroke change or remain stable over time. A prospective longitudinal cohort pilot study was used to assess the cognitive status of participants with mild stroke (n = 20) at two time points: ...

Curli fibrils, the best-characterized functional bacterial amyloids, are an important component of enterobacterial biofilms. We have previously shown that curli fibrils are recognized by the Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2/TLR1 heterodimer complex. Utilizing polarized T-84 cells, an intestinal epithelial cell line derived from colon carcinoma grown on semi-permeable tissue culture inserts, ...

Infection with human rhinovirus (HRV) is thought to result in acute respiratory exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). Consequently, prevention of HRV infection may provide therapeutic benefit to these patients. As all major group HRV serotypes infect cells via an interaction between viral coat proteins and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the use of guideline-recommended prescription medications for diabetes among Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) with Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MAPDs) in the presence of potential selection bias. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Chronic Condition Data Warehouse (2006, 2007). ...

In the present study, a visible-light responsive plasmonic photocatalytic composite material is designed by rationally selecting Au nanocrystals and assembling them with the TiO2 based photonic crystal substrate. The selection of the Au nanocrystals is so that their surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) wavelength matches the photonic band gap of the ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Toxoplasma gondii is a highly prevalent protozoan parasite infecting a wide range of animals and humans. The epidemiological and biological diversity of T. gondii has resulted in a high genetic variation and unusual population structure in this parasite. This study examined sequence diversity in dense granule 5 (GRA5) ...

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common condition in the Emergency Department and its incidence increases exponentially with age [1]. PE remains largely underdiagnosed and inappropriately treated, resulting in suboptimal outcomes. This is partly due to the fact that clinical symptoms and signs are nonspecific [2]. © 2012 International Society on ...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating form of dementia that imposes a severe burden on health systems and society. Although several aspects of AD pathogenesis have been elucidated over the last few decades, many questions still need to be addressed. In fact, currently available medications only provide symptomatic improvement in ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The intricate interactions between the immune, endocrine and central nervous systems shape the innate immune response of the brain. We have previously shown that estradiol suppresses expression of immune genes in the frontal cortex of middle-aged ovariectomized rats, but not in young ones reflecting elevated expression of these ...

Mixed metal sulfides containing combinations of W, Fe, Mo, Ni, and Ru were synthesized and screened for activity and stability for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in aqueous hydrobromic acid (HBr). Co- and Ni-substituted RuS2 were identified as potentially active HER electrocatalysts by high-throughput screening (HTS), and the specific compositions ...

A deeper understanding of the mechanisms that control responses to inflammation is critical to the development of effective therapies. We sought to define the most proximal regulators of the Cullin (Cul)-RING ligases, which play a central role in the stabilization of NF-κB and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). In these studies, we ...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To study longitudinal prevalence of otitis media with effusion (OME) in children between 7 and 16 years of age by cleft group, and hearing sensitivity across time and across frequencies. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective and longitudinal. METHODS: All children with cleft palate born from 1991 to 1993 were included in ...

The small GTPase Rap1 regulates inside-out integrin activation and thereby influences cell adhesion, migration, and polarity. Several Rap1 effectors have been described to mediate the cellular effects of Rap1 in a context-dependent manner. Radil is emerging as an important Rap effector implicated in cell spreading and migration, but the molecular ...

The Drosophila Sex-lethal (Sxl) gene encodes a female-specific RNA binding protein that in somatic cells globally regulates all aspects of female-specific development and behavior. Sxl also has a critical, but less well understood, role in female germ cells. Germ cells without Sxl protein can adopt a stem cell fate when ...

The induction of angiogenesis is essential for successful engraftment of freely transplanted cells or cellular composites. How to augment angiogenesis to ensure an appropriate viability of the grafts is still under investigation. This study evaluated the proangiogenic capability of different syngeneic free liver transplants and elucidated the origin of the ...

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is a clinical syndrome of late-preterm and full-term infants associated with failure of the normal fetal-to-neonatal circulatory transition. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that risk for PPHN is increased after antenatal exposure to nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), with particular emphasis ...

The human ABCG2 multidrug transporter actively extrudes a wide range of hydrophobic drugs and xenobiotics recognized by the transporter in the membrane phase. In order to examine the molecular nature of the transporter and the effects of the lipid environment, we have established an efficient protocol for the purification and ...

The two enantiomers of 2-(2-hydroxybiphenyl-4-yl)propanoic acid ((S)- and (R)-BPOH) have been selected as probes for human serum albumin (HSA). Photophysical characterization in the absence of protein led to emission maxima, singlet energies, quantum yields and fluorescence lifetimes values of 332 nm, 91 kcal mol-1, 0.28 and 1.8 ns for BPOH ...

The ability of cells to invade into the dermis is a critical event in the development of cutaneous melanoma and ultimately an indicator of poor prognosis. However, the molecular events surrounding the acquisition of this invasive phenotype remain incompletely understood. Mutations in B-RAF are frequent in melanoma and are known ...

Influence of Hofmeister ions has been investigated on the size and guest encapsulation stability of a polymeric nanogel. While variations in macroscopic phase transitions have been observed in response to the presence of salts, changes in the size and host-guest behavior of polymeric aggregates in the presence of salts have ...

We propose to estimate average exposure (or treatment) effects from observational data for multiple exposure groups by fitting an approximation of the marginal sample distribution of the response variable in each exposure group to the data. The marginal sample distribution is a function of the true distribution of the response ...

The French Alzheimer Plan 2008-2012 anticipates the implementation of new Units specialized in cognitive rehabilitation and psycho-behavioral therapy of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Conceived for AD and other dementia patients of all ages, their objectives are to propose a cognitive rehabilitation program, to prevent or treat psycho-behavioral crises, and to ...

Abstract Objective. In general the analytical epidemiological studies evaluated cases with congenital heart defects together. However, different congenital heart defect entities have different etiology, and in the vast majority of patients the underlying causes are unclear. Thus the objective of the study was to evaluate the possible etiological factors in ...

Herein is described a facile, in situ, ink-regulating approach to rapidly achieve reversible water wettability and adhesion transition, with a large degree of contrast, on the superhydrophobic TiO(2) nanotube array film. The ink printing and removal process allows the wettability and reversible adhesion transitions to be realized. Experimental results demonstrate ...

Binding of noble metal clusters (Mn, M = Cu, Ag, and Au; n=2-4) with rare gas atoms (Rg = Kr, Xe, and Rn) has been investigated at the density functional (CAM-B3LYP) and ab-initio (MP2) levels of theory. The calculation shows significant affinity of neutral metal clusters for interaction with rare ...

The extensive use and misuse of antibiotics during the last seven decades has led to the evolution and global spread of a variety of resistance mechanisms in bacteria. Of high medical importance are β-lactamases, a group of enzymes inactivating β-lactam antibiotics. Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are particularly problematic because of their ability ...

Obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) is the primary cause of late morbidity and mortality following lung transplantation. Current animal models do not reliably develop OB pathology. Given the similarities between ferret and human lung biology, we hypothesized an orthotopic ferret lung allograft would develop OB. Orthotopic left lower lobe transplants were successfully ...

We report the synthesis of cationic sterically-stabilized diblock copolymer nanoparticles via polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) using a RAFT aqueous dispersion polymerization formulation. The cationic steric stabilizer is a macromolecular chain transfer agent (macro-CTA) based on quaternized poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PQDMA), while the hydrophobic core-forming block is based on poly(2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate) (PHPMA). The ...

Approximately 80% of adult Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients become chronically infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and consequently require antibiotic therapy at intervals throughout their lives. Achieving lethal concentrations of antibiotics in the lung remains a challenge. Recent evidence from Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus suggests that the generation of hydroxyl radicals ...

Throughout evolution, plants have evolved sophisticated adaptive responses that allow them to grow with a limited supply of phosphate, the preferential form in which the essential macronutrient phosphorus is absorbed by plants. Most of these responses are aimed to increase phosphate availability and acquisition through the roots, to optimize its ...

We present a novel microfluidic platform to examine biological assemblies at high-resolution. We have engineered a functionalized chamber that serves as a "nanoscale biosphere" to capture and maintain rotavirus double-layered particles (DLPs) in a liquid environment. The chamber can be inserted into the column of a transmission electron microscope while ...

This case report describes a preterm newborn infant who was treated with a single dose of rasburicase for an increase in uric acid level. He died on the third day as a result of complications of hemolysis, which appeared to be precipitated by rasburicase. The patient's death was preceded by ...

Habitat use is widely known to be influenced by abiotic and biotic factors, such as climate, population density, foraging opportunity and predation risk. The influence of the life-history state of an individual organism on habitat use is less well understood, especially for terrestrial mammals. There is good reason to expect ...

Streptococcus pneumonaie is a diverse species causing invasive as well as localized infections that result in massive global morbidity and mortality. Strains vary markedly in pathogenic potential, but the molecular basis is obscured by the diversity and plasticity of the pneumococcal genome. In the present study, S. pneumoniae serotype 3 ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the aesthetic and functional outcomes of a full-thickness skin graft and a separately harvested auricular cartilage graft for nasal alar defects created by Mohs micrographic surgery. DESIGN Twenty patients with deep Mohs micrographic surgery defects of the nasal ala who underwent reconstruction with a full-thickness skin graft ...

Studies of spontaneous behavior to assess memory are widespread, but often the relationships of objects to contexts and spatial locations are poorly defined. We examined whether object-location memory was maintained following global, but not local, changes to the geometric shape of an arena. Rats explored two trial-unique objects in a ...

Just a little bit: The remarkable influence of a small change in the molecular geometry on the self-assembled structures of the acidic form of sophorolipids (SLs) derived from oleic, elaidic, and stearic acid is demonstrated. Most interestingly helical structures were seen only from SLs derived from elaidic acid (the trans ...

The explicit--hydrogen version of the transferable potentials for phase equilibria (TraPPE--EH) force field is extended to various substituted benzenes through the parameterization of the exocyclic groups -F, -Cl, -Br, -C≡N, and -OH and to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons through the parameterization of the aromatic linker carbon atom for multiple rings. The ...

Abstract Purpose: Human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are thought to be a major target of radiation-induced leukemogenesis and also provide a relevant cellular model for assessing cancer risk. Cluster of designation 133+ (CD133+) is a marker found in human progenitor and hematopoietic stem cells. Our study examined repair of radiation-induced ...

Epigenetic processes are primary candidates when searching for mechanisms that can stably modulate gene expression and metabolic pathways according to early life conditions. To test the effects of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on the epigenome of the next generation, cord blood and placenta tissue were obtained from 88 newborns of ...

Proteins destined for the thylakoid lumen of chloroplasts must cross three membranes en route. The chloroplast Twin Arginine Translocation (cpTat) system facilitates transport of about half of all proteins that cross the thylakoid membrane in chloroplasts. Known mechanistic features of the cpTat system are drastically different from other known translocation ...

Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) conjugation affects a broad range of processes in plants, including growth, flower initiation, pathogen defense, and responses to abiotic stress. Here, we investigate in vivo and in vitro a SUMO conjugating enzyme with a Cys to Ser change in the active site, and show that it ...

Unravelling the mechanisms involved in adaptation to understand plant morphological evolution is a challenging goal. For crop species, identification of molecular causal polymorphisms involved in domestication traits is central to this issue. Pearl millet, a domesticated grass mostly found in semi-arid areas of Africa and India, is an interesting model ...

This article describes a new approach for studying collaborative memory that examines people's editing processes for naturally occurring memory errors. In this approach, memories of individuals are combined via a chaining method in which each participant indirectly receives information from the previous participant. Participants were asked to individually study word ...

Despite the scarcity of geographical barriers in the ocean environment, delphinid cetaceans often exhibit marked patterns of population structure on a regional scale. The European coastline is a prime example, with species exhibiting population structure across well-defined environmental boundaries. Here we undertake a comprehensive population genetic study on the European ...

Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (S. Typhi) was estimated to cause over 200,000 deaths and more than 21 million illnesses worldwide, including over 400,000 illnesses in Africa. The current study was conducted in four villages on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, in 2010. We present data on policy makers', health administrators', and village ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) remains as one of the most neglected tropical diseases with over 60% of the world's total VL cases occurring in the Indian subcontinent. Due to the invasive risky procedure and technical expertise required in the classical parasitological diagnosis, the goal of the VL experts has ...

The endogenous phospholipid lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) regulates fundamental cellular processes such as proliferation, survival, motility, and invasion implicated in homeostatic and pathological conditions. Hence, delineation of the full range of molecular mechanisms by which LPA exerts its broad effects is essential. We report avid binding of LPA to the receptor ...

Muscular dystrophies are heritable and heterogeneous neuromuscular disorders characterized by the primary wasting of skeletal muscle, usually caused by mutations in the proteins forming the link between the cytoskeleton and the basal lamina. Due to mutations in the dystrophin gene, DMD patients suffer for progressive muscle atrophy and exhaustion of ...