Summary Objective: While propranolol pharmacokinetics has been extensively studied in adults, this study reports the first evaluation of propranolol pharmacokinetics in term and preterm neonates. Methods: Propranolol concentrations were measured in four term and thirty-two preterm newborns treated with oral propranolol at the dose of 0.5 or 0.25 mg/kg every ...

Blastic plasmacytoid DC neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare haematopoietic malignancy with an aggressive behaviour. We evaluated five patients allografted as consolidative treatment with an unrelated donor in first or subsequent remission. Four patients received a reduced intensity-conditioning regimen because of age or co-morbidities. As the stem cell sources, two umbilical ...

Noble metallic nanostructures exhibit a phenomenon known as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) in which the Raman scattering cross-sections are dramatically enhanced for the molecules adsorbed thereon. Due to their wide accessible potential range in aqueous solutions and the high biocompatibility, Au supports are preferred for spectro-electrochemical investigations. But the optical ...

Proton transfer involving internal water molecules that provide hydrogen bonds and facilitate proton diffusion has been identified in some membrane proteins. Arg-94 in cytochrome b of the Rhodobacter sphaeroides bc(1) complex is fully conserved and is hydrogen-bonded to the heme propionate and a chain of water molecules. To further elucidate ...

IL-1β is a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine produced in response to infection or injury. It is synthesized as an inactive precursor that is activated by the protease caspase-1 within a cytosolic molecular complex called the inflammasome. Assembly of this complex is triggered by a range of structurally diverse damage or pathogen ...

Local comparisons with a few people displace the influence of general comparisons with many people during self-evaluation of performance and ability. The current research examined whether this local dominance effect obtains in the domain of health risk perception, an outcome of critical importance given its direct relation to preventative health ...

The late-onset type of ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency is almost asymptomatic before an abrupt onset of metabolic crisis in adolescence. This study focused on coagulopathy in OTC deficiency. We collected laboratory data regarding coagulation from OTC-deficient patients in Kyushu University Hospital in Japan or from cases reported from previous articles. ...

We designed a facile one-pot method to synthesize iron oxide/activated carbon nanotubes (IO/ACNTs) using as-prepared carbon nanotubes (APCNTs) modified by alkali solid-activation. The open-ended CNTs and iron oxide loading could be realized in one step. The resulting IO/ACNT hybrids, as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), exhibited high reversible ...

Bacterial infections are a common and serious complication of type 2 diabetes (T2D). The prevalence of melioidosis, an emerging tropical infection caused by the Gram negative bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei, is increased in people with T2D. This is the first study to compare murine models of T2D and melioidosis. Susceptibility and ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: A large proportion of the annual 3.3 million neonatal deaths could be averted if there was a high uptake of basic evidence-based practices. In order to overcome this 'know-do' gap, there is an urgent need for in-depth understanding of knowledge translation (KT). A major factor to consider in ...

The quest to map brain connectivity is being pursued worldwide using diffusion imaging, among other techniques. Even so, we know little about how brain connectivity measures depend on the magnetic field strength of the scanner. To investigate this, we scanned ten healthy subjects at 7 and 3 Tesla - using ...

Using a field sample of 101 virtual teams, this research empirically evaluates the impact of traditional hierarchical leadership, structural supports, and shared team leadership on team performance. Building on Bell and Kozlowski's (2002) work, we expected structural supports and shared team leadership to be more, and hierarchical leadership to be ...

Background: To examine the association between clinical and radiographic periodontitis measurements during two years of periodontal maintenance. Methods: Secondary analyses were performed from a two-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of subantimicrobial doxycycline (SDD) in 128 postmenopausal osteopenic women with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis. ...

The neurotoxicity of (±)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; "Ecstasy") is influenced by temperature and varies according to species. The mechanisms underlying these two features of MDMA neurotoxicity are unknown, but differences in MDMA metabolism have recently been implicated in both. The present study was designed to 1) assess the effect of hypothermia on ...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: Patients with empty nose syndrome experience considerable discomfort in their daily lives and treatment is difficult for their physicians. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcome of an empty nose syndrome treatment via reconstruction of the inferior turbinate with porous polyethylene (Medpor). DESIGN AND METHOD: A ...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate in a large, nationally representative cohort the association between high serum transferrin saturation (TS) and hospital length of stay and mortality in older adults. DESIGN: Prospective cohort. SETTING: Longitudinal analyses of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey linked to Medicare claims from 1991 through 2006. ...

The plant hormones cytokinins (CKs) regulate multiple developmental and physiological processes in Arabidopsis thaliana. Responses to CKs vary in different organs and tissues, e.g., the response to CKs has been shown to be opposite in shoot and root samples. However, the tissue-specific targets of CKs and the mechanisms underlying such ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The secondary metabolites of higher plants include diverse chemicals, such as phenylpropanoids, alkaloids and isoprenoids. Although these compounds are widely used in human health care and nutrition services, their availability is limited by regional variations, and isolation of single compounds from plants is often difficult. Recent advances in ...

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of the phosphate binder lanthanum carbonate has been demonstrated for hemodialysis patients, but no studies have focused on patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). We evaluated whether lanthanum carbonate could control phosphate levels in patients on CAPD. METHODS: In this 48-week open-label prospective study, 28 patients ...

OBJECTIVES: To identify interaction structures (i.e., patterns of reciprocal interaction) that characterize the treatments of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) in crisis. DESIGN: A 6-month naturalistic psychotherapy process and outcome study in which interaction structures were correlated with outcome data. METHODS: Five BPD patients in crisis participated in 6 months ...

Four butenolides, ramariolides A-D (1-4), have been isolated from the fruiting bodies of the coral mushroom Ramaria cystidiophora. Their structures were elucidated by analysis of 1D and 2D NMR data and a single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of 1, and their absolute configurations were established using Mosher's method. The major metabolite, ...

Malaria parasitemia enhances replication of human immunodeficiency virus. Antiretroviral drugs that possess antiplasmodial activity may reverse such an effect. Activity of the antiretroviral drugs lamivudine (L), zidovudine (Z), nevirapine (N), and stavudine (S) against Plasmodium berghei inoculated into 70 adult albino mice was investigated. Eight groups of five animals each ...

Although disordered chromatin organization has long been recognized as a feature of cancer, the molecular underpinnings of chromatin structure, epigenetic regulation, and their relationships to transcription are only beginning to be understood. Cancer genome sequencing studies have revealed a novel theme: frequent mutation of epigenetic regulators. Among these, the ARID1A/BAF250A ...

We introduce a simple process to synthesize few-layered MoS(2) nanosheets supported on coaxial carbon nanotubes through an l-cysteine-assisted hydrothermal route, in which l-cysteine, a cheap and ordinary amino acid, plays a fundamental role in controlling the morphology of the hybrid material and the binder to help the growth of MoS(2) ...

A direct catalytic asymmetric γ-addition of allyl cyanide to aldehydes promoted by soft Lewis acid/hard Brønsted base cooperative catalysis is described. The resulting homoallylic alcohols bearing a Z-configured α,β-unsaturated nitrile allow rapid access to enantioenriched δ-valerolactones.

Interleukin (IL)-27 consists of the cytokine subunit p28 and the non-signaling α-receptor EBI3. p28 was shown to additionally act via the non-signaling membrane-bound IL-6 α-receptor (IL-6R) as an agonistic cytokine but also as an gp130 β-receptor antagonist leading to inhibition of IL-6 signaling. Here, we developed a strategy for bacterial ...

The Shrew Gymnure Neotetracus sinensis belongs to family Erinaceidae, and distributes in China, Myanmar, and northern Vietnam. In this study, the whole mitochondrial genome of N. sinensis was first sequenced and characterized. The genome is 16,982 bases in length. Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods were used to construct phylogenetic ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Despite positive reports on the efficacy of stem cell therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, the nature of stem cell homing to ischemic tissues remains elusive. RESULTS: We used a mouse model of peripheral tissue ischemia to study the survival and homing capacity of dual reporter gene ...

The question of why readers sometimes skip words has important theoretical implications for our understanding of perception, cognition, and oculomotor control during reading (Drieghe, Rayner, & Pollatsek, 2005). In this article, the E-Z Reader model of eye-movement control in reading (Reichle, 2011) was used to examine the behavioral consequences of ...

The P450 enzyme XiaM was identified as a candidate to form the C-24 carboxyl group in xiamycin A (1). Alteration of medium composition led to the discovery of four new compounds from the ΔxiaM and the ΔxiaK (encoding an aromatic ring hydroxylase) mutants. Biotransformation experiments revealed that XiaM was capable ...

Emergence of persistent activity in networks can be controlled by intracellular signalling pathways but the mechanisms involved and their role are not yet fully explored. Using calcium imaging and patch-clamp we examined the rhythmic activity in preBötzinger complex (preBötC) in the lower brainstem that generates the respiratory motor output. In ...

Mikrocytos mackini, causative agent of Denman Island disease in Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas and other oyster species, was found in 2011 in a previously unreported host, the Kumamoto oyster C. sikamea, in Humboldt Bay, California, USA. The detection was also the first reported finding of M. mackini in California. Prevalence ...

Hydrolytic enantioselective protonation of dienyl esters and a β-diketone catalyzed by phase-transfer catalysts are described. The latter reaction is the first example of an enantio-convergent retro-Claisen condensation. Corresponding various optically active α,β-unsaturated ketones having tertiary chiral centers adjacent to carbonyl groups were obtained in good to excellent yields and enantiomeric ...

Natural killer cell (NK cell)-based immunotherapy of cancer is hampered by the transient effector function of NK cells. Recently, mouse IL-12/15/18-preactivated NK cells were shown to persist with sustained effector function in vivo. Our study investigated the antitumor activity of such NK cells. A single injection of syngeneic IL-12/15/18-preactivated NK ...

Aggregation behaviors in mixtures of an anionic gemini surfactant 1,3-bis(N-dodecyl-N-propylsulfonate sodium)-propane (C12C3C12(SO3)2) and a cationic single-chain surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) have been investigated in aqueous solutions at pH 9.5 by turbidity, rheology, isothermal titration microcalorimetry (ITC), cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Reversible aggregate transitions from spherical micelles ...

Patients on antithrombotic therapy (ATT) have the highest risk of ongoing bleeding and mortality. Hemospray (Cook Medical, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA) is a novel hemostatic agent for the treatment of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB). Initial reports on its use appear promising in terms of initial hemostasis and rebleeding rates. It ...

When stressed, people typically show elevated rates of displacement behaviour - activities like scratching and face touching that seem irrelevant to the ongoing situation. Growing evidence indicates that displacement behaviour may play a role in regulating stress levels, and thus may represent an important component of the coping response. Recently, ...

Introduction: Regulation of phosphate homeostasis is essential for mineralization and enchondral ossification. Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) and its obligatory co-receptor Klotho (KL) play a key role in this process by influencing both renal phosphate reabsorption and vitamin D metabolism. In disease, excessive action of FGF23 leads to hypophosphatemic rickets ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:Adults born preterm score lower on performance-based tests of executive functioning (EF) than their term-born peers. These test scores do not necessarily translate to application of these skills in an everyday environment. The objective of the study was to test differences between very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 ...

The applicability of gallium-based liquid metal alloy has been limited by the oxidation problem. In this paper, we report a simple method to remove the oxide layer on the surface of such alloy to recover its non-wetting characteristics, using hydrochloric acid (HCl) vapor. Through the HCl vapor treatment, we successfully ...

Myoblast differentiation into mature myotubes is a critical step in the development and repair of human skeletal muscle. Here we show that small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based silencing of the Ste20-like mitogen-activated protein 4 kinase 4 (Map4k4) in C2C12 myoblasts markedly enhances expression of myogenic differentiation genes, myoblast fusion, and myotube ...

OBJECTIVE: Conventional hemodialysis (HD) predominates over peritoneal dialysis (PD) around the world. Prospective and comparative studies comparing the costs of these modalities are scarce. In the present prospective assessment, we describe the resources used and total patient costs for both HD and PD. Methodology: We assessed 249 patients on HD ...

The Q method, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, refers to the qualitative analysis of Q-sorts based on quantitative techniques. It is used to research individual subjective experience, analyzing consensus and divergence to identify and categorize subjects' viewpoints. The sorting process is completely performed by the subjects, independent of study researchers. ...

A two-dimensional morphology characterizes the nanoflakes that are obtained in the bottom-up synthesis of a single-crystalline coordination polymer, Ni(H(2) O)(2) [Ni(CN)(4) ]⋅x H(2) O. The 10 nm-thick nanoflakes are well-dispersed in solution and have a very high accessible surface area (240 m(2)  g(-1) ). Thermal treatment leads to nanoporous NiO with ...

Light controlled: A material that allows for insulin to be released in a controlled fashion by using light was prepared. A subcutaneous reservoir of such materials could allow for the noninvasive control of blood sugar. Insulin (blue in picture) was linked to an insoluble resin (green) through a photocleavable linker ...

Abstract Objectives: To compare vaginal with intramuscular progesterone administration to prevent preterm labor in women with singleton pregnancies and at increased risk of preterm birth. Study design: Prospective comparative clinical trial. Population: One hundred and sixty pregnant women at 20-24 weeks gestation at risk of preterm labor were classified into: ...

In a different light: In a provocative look at nanoscience, Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann considers the structural and electronic perplexities of dimensionality, the consequences of bond severance in nano-object formation, the implications of simple acid-base chemistry for stabilization of nanostructures, and what lessons might be learned from surface science on ...

γ-Secretase is a large enzyme complex comprising presenilin, nicastrin, presenilin enhancer 2, and anterior pharynx-defective 1 that mediates the intramembrane proteolysis of a large number of proteins including amyloid precursor protein and Notch. Recently, a novel γ-secretase activating protein (GSAP) was identified that interacts with γ-secretase and the C-terminal fragment ...

The objective of this case-control study was to identify any association of metformin intake with the survival of patients with ovarian cancer. In this retrospective case-control study, women with ovarian cancer who received metformin (cases) were compared with women with ovarian cancer who did not receive metformin (controls). A 2-layered ...

Drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria is a major public health problem. Elevated pfmdr1 gene copy number (CN) is known to decrease parasite sensitivity to the commonly used antimalarial, mefloquine (MFQ). To understand the relationship between pfmdr1 CN and mefloquine resistance, we evaluated pfmdr1 transcript levels in three P. falciparum strains with ...