There is an abundance of evidence showing that repeated use of 3,4-methlylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) is associated with brain dysfunction, memory disturbance, locomotor hyperactivity, and hyperthermia. MDMA is toxic to both the serotonergic neurons and dopaminergic system. Adenosine is an endogenous purine nucleoside with a neuromodulatory function in the central nervous ...

A limited amount of research indicates patient requests play a major role in genetic counselors' self-disclosure decisions and that disclosure and non-disclosure responses to patient requests may differentially affect genetic counseling processes. Studies further suggest patient requests may be more common in prenatal settings, particularly when counselors are pregnant. Empirical ...

Otherwise uncomplicated infections with Streptococcus pyogenes can cause two insidious immune sequelae known as post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (PSGN) and acute rheumatic fever (ARF). These diseases follow with a latency of a few weeks or months after primary infection and are responsible for high mortality and morbidity. PSGN has also been linked ...

AIM: The aim was to compare the efficacy and toxicity of paclitaxel plus platinum (TP) with gemcitabine plus platinum (GP) in untreated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer by a meta-analysis. METHODS: An extensive literature search was performed for relevant randomized controlled trials. Studies were evaluated for eligibility and quality, and then ...

Domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) fulfill various roles ranging from food and entertainment to religion and ornamentation. To survey its genetic diversity and trace the history of domestication, we investigated a total of 4938 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) fragments including 2843 previously published and 2095 de novo units from 2044 domestic ...

AIM: To assess and characterize pollution micro-particles and bacterial growth on customized titanium abutments after steaming, ultrasonic and plasma cleaning treatments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty commercially available implant abutments, after customization, were randomly divided into 3 groups of 10 and cleansed by steam (considered as control group), ultrasonic cleaning (test ...

Platinum(ii) complexes comprising abnormal diimidazolylidene ligands were synthesized from cis-PtMe(2)(DMSO)(2) using microwave-assisted double C-H bond activation. NMR analysis revealed an unusual solvolysis process, induced by coordinating solvents such as DMSO and MeCN, which has not been observed in related normal dicarbene complexes. NMR and IR spectroscopy and crystallographic analysis of ...

The present meta-analysis integrates results from 127 papers on attachment stability towards mothers and fathers, respectively, from infancy to early adulthood. More than twenty-one thousand attachments (n = 21,072) and 225 time intervals were explored, ranging from half a month to 29 years (348 months). An overall coefficient of r = .39 between times ...

We focus on two aspects: First, we argue that it is necessary to include implicit forgiveness as an additional adaptive behavioral option to the perception of interpersonal transgressions. Second, we present one possible way to investigate the cognitive-affective underpinnings of revenge and forgiveness: a functional MRI (fMRI) approach aiming at ...

Dietary pattern changes may be one of the key factors associated with increasing asthma prevalence. Observational studies have found negative associations between fruit, vegetable and fish consumption and risk of asthma. Experimental studies have also shown that probiotics can modulate the immune system. However, each dietary component exhibits a modest ...

We question whether the postulated revenge and forgiveness systems constitute true adaptations. Revenge and forgiveness are the products of multiple motivational systems and capacities, many of which did not exclusively evolve to support deterrence. Anger is more aptly construed as an adaptation that organizes independent mechanisms to deter transgressors than ...

In this paper, we focus on the multiple-channel reactions of CH(2)XO (X = F, Cl, Br) radicals with the NO radical by means of direct dynamic methods. All structures of the stationary points were obtained at the MP2/6-311+G(d,p) level and vibrational frequency analysis was also performed at this level of ...

Fibroblasts can be reprogrammed by ectopic expression of reprogramming factors to yield induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells that are capable of transdifferentiating into diverse types of somatic cell lines. In this study, we examined if functional cardiomyocytes (CMs) can be produced from mouse cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), using iPS cell factor-based ...

Most forms of cerebral ischemia are characterized by damage to the entire neurovascular unit, which leads to an increase in the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In response to permanent focal cerebral ischemia in mice, we detected an early concomitant increase in the expression of the vascular endothelial growth ...

This paper addresses the question 'what are the variables influencing social interactions and learning during Authentic Early Experience (AEE)?' AEE is a complex educational intervention for new medical students. Following critique of the existing literature, multiple qualitative methods were used to create a study framework conceptually orientated to a socio-cultural ...

Nicotine, the main tobacco alkaloid leading to smoking dependence, rapidly crosses the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to become concentrated in the brain. Recently, it has been shown that nicotine interacts with some organic cation transporters (OCT), but their influence at the BBB has not yet been assessed in vivo. In this ...

McCullough et al. argue that humans possess evolved computational systems for implementing retaliatory behavior that both deters aggression and promotes subsequent reconciliation. However, they do not apply this analysis to the sphere of intergroup relations. We believe their model can be usefully extended to this domain and discuss why this ...

OBJECTIVE: The present study was conceived in response to a perceived lack of data about the nutritional status of free-living elderly Yoruba people living in a poor urban area in south-western Nigeria. The major focus was to assess the micronutrient status of elderly Yoruba people living in a slum of ...

McCullough et al. argue that revenge has a future-oriented function, that is, to deter future harms by changing other individuals' incentives toward the self. Recent research has shown that people seek revenge even when harms are unintentional. This commentary reports these results and proposes that revenge may also serve to ...

Aim  Satellite cells are the stem cells residing in muscle responsible for skeletal muscle growth and repair. Skeletal muscle in cerebral palsy (CP) has impaired longitudinal growth that results in muscle contractures. We hypothesized that the satellite cell population would be reduced in contractured muscle. Method  We compared the satellite ...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this narrative review is to discuss the impact of clinical practice guidelines on the outcomes of care and patient safety. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The care provided to patients has a high degree of variability, including some care that is discordant with available evidence. This inconsistency has implications ...

To date, TM AFM (tapping mode or intermittent contact mode Atomic Force Microscopy) is the most frequently applied direct imaging technique to visualize surface nanobubbles at the solid-aqueous interface. On the one hand, AFM is the only profilometric technique that provides estimates of the bubbles' nanoscopic dimensions. On the other ...

From the outset multiple causes have been suggested for changes in melanic gene frequency in the peppered moth Biston betularia and other industrial melanic moths. These have included higher intrinsic fitness of melanic forms and selective predation for camouflage. The possible existence and origin of heterozygote advantage has been debated. ...

A total of 84 European hares collected from eleven Serbian regions investigated upon cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) presence. Strong statistically significant correlations between Cd concentrations in kidney and liver were registered in animals older than 12 months. Significant differences between Zn concentrations in liver in comparison to kidney were found ...

Proteins from buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) are strong allergens that can cause serious symptoms, including anaphylaxis, in patients with hypersensitivity. In this study, we successfully developed a modified lactic acid bacterial vector (pNSH) and a recombinant strain of Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 (NZ9000) that produced a major allergenic storage protein of buckwheat, ...

When several treatment arms are administered along with a control arm in a trial, dropping the non-promising treatments at an early stage helps to save the resources and expedite the trial. In such adaptive designs with treatment selection, a common selection rule is to pick the most promising treatment, for ...

Previously, imaging and analysis with cathodoluminescence (CL) detectors required using high accelerating voltages. Utilization of lower accelerating voltage for microanalysis has the advantages of reduced beam-specimen interaction volume, and thus better spatial resolution, as well as reduction in electron beam induced damage. This article will highlight recent developments in field ...

Osteosarcomas of hands or feet are rare, and seemingly these cases differ in presentation and behavior compared to those in usual locations. The clinico-pathological presentation of patients with osteosarcomas of the hand or foot was studied and compared with published cases. Forty osteosarcomas were identified among 4,221 cases, representing 0.95 % ...

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of tamoxifen (TAM), methoxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) and their combined treatment on cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer SKOV3/DDP cells, as well as the potential mechanisms. METHODS: MTT assay was used to investigate the effect of different concentrations (0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and ...

PURPOSE: Two of the most common joint diseases are rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). Cartilage degradation and erosions are important pathogenetic mechanisms in both joint diseases and have presently gained increasing interest. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of the synovial fluid environment of ...

BACKGROUND: Dealing with cancer pain implies assessing the intensity and other attributes of pain and identifying appropriate outcomes and endpoints to evaluate the effect of treatments. METHODS: In the context of an observational longitudinal prospective study, 1461 painful cancer patients were evaluated at baseline and weekly over 4 weeks. Four ...

The common sole, Solea solea (Linneus, 1758), and the Senegalese sole, Solea senegalensis (Kaup, 1858), are two important commercial species that coexist in the NW Mediterranean. In order to assess the species' ability to respond to chemical insults, a comparison of activities on enzymes involved in xenobiotic metabolism was carried ...

McCullough et al. propose an evolved cognitive revenge system which imposes retaliatory costs on aggressors. They distinguish between this and other forms of punishment (e.g., those administered by judges) which are not underpinned by a specifically designed evolutionary mechanism. Here we outline mechanisms and circumstances through which the revenge system ...

This study aims to establish pilocarpine-induced rat model of status epilepticus (SE), observe the activity of calpain I in the rat hippocampus and the subsequent neuronal death, and explore the relationship between calpain I activity and neuronal death in the hippocampus. Fifty-eight adult male Wistar rats were assigned randomly into ...

PURPOSE OF WORK: To elucidate the mechanisms of high performance by soy peptides during yeast fermentation in low temperature stress conditions and to identify a type of soy peptide that is suitable for yeast fermentation at low temperatures during brewing. The growth of a tryptophan auxotrophic yeast strain in a ...

Xenobiotic compounds undergo a critical range of biotransformations performed by the phase I, II, and III drug-metabolizing enzymes. The oxidation, conjugation, and transportation of potentially harmful xenobiotic and endobiotic compounds achieved by these catalytic systems are significantly regulated, at the gene expression level, by members of the nuclear receptor (NR) ...

Few studies have examined indoor air quality in First Nations communities and its impact on cardiorespiratory health. To address this need, we conducted a cross-over study on a First Nations reserve in Manitoba, Canada including 37 residents in 20 homes. Each home received an electrostatic air filter and a placebo ...

McCullough et al.'s functionalist model of revenge is highly compatible with the person-centered approach to moral judgment, which emphasizes the adaptive manner in which social perceivers derive character information from moral acts. Evidence includes act-person dissociations in which an act is seen as less immoral than a comparison act, yet ...

Insofar as South Africa underwent a rapid transformation from apartheid to democracy, it may provide a unique laboratory for investigating aspects of revenge and forgiveness. Here we suggest that observations and data from South Africa are partially consistent with the hypotheses generated by MCullough and colleagues. At the same time, ...

The aim of the current study was to explore the use of the tracer 13C as an internal marker to assess feed fraction-specific digesta passage kinetics through the digestive tract of dairy cows. Knowledge on feed-specific fractional passage rates is essential to improve estimations on the extent of rumen degradation ...

Accidental sand aspiration is an unusual but potentially life-threatening condition in children. Sand aspiration often occurs in cases of near drowning and accidental burial in sand. The authors report a case of accidental sand aspiration in a 14-mo-old girl while she was playing with sand. Though child was symptomatic and ...

6-(N,N-Dimethylamino)-2-(naphthalene-1-yl)-4-quinazolinone (DPQZ)-induced apoptosis was accompanied by the characteristics of DNA fragmentation and phosphatidylserine externalization in human oral cancer HSC-3 cells. The IC(50) (half maximal inhibitory concentration) value of DPQZ is about 0.25 μM at 24 h. The interference in the dynamics of tubulin and cell division of DPQZ, like vinblastine (0.01 μM), has ...

A general molecular mechanics (MM) model for treating aqueous Cu(2+) and Zn(2+) ions was developed based on valence bond (VB) theory and incorporated into the atomic multipole optimized energetics for biomolecular applications (AMOEBA) polarizable force field. Parameters were obtained by fitting MM energies to that computed by ab initio methods ...

Both the morphogenesis and the molecular pathways of thyroid cancers are controversial. Programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) is a tumor suppressor gene whose expression is controlled by miR-21. By applying immunohistochemistry for PDCD4 and both quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and in situ hybridization for miR-21, this study explored PDCD4 expression ...

Although many of the biological features of microfold cells (M cells) have been known for many years, the molecular mechanisms of M-cell development and antigen recognition have remained unclear. Here, we report that Umod is a novel M-cell-specific gene, the translation products of which might contribute to the uptake function ...

In this paper, we describe a turn-on fluorescent probe for Zn(2+) and Cd(2+) ion detection and discrimination. This probe, N'-bis-(N,N-di-(2-pyridylmethyl)-ethane-1,2-diamine)-perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic-diimide (PDI-DIDPA), exhibits very low fluorescence at pH above 6.0 due to the photo-induced electron transfer (PET) process from 2-pyridylmethyl-amine (DPA) to perylene tetracarboxylic diimide (PDI). Zn(2+) and Cd(2+) can chelate ...

Background. Maintenance of on-call referrals databases is on the rise in neurosurgical units across the UK and helps provide data to estimate workload. We hypothesize that these databases underestimate the workload and propose the use of the number of telephone calls to the on-call registrar as an easily obtainable and ...

Individual and joint toxicity of three chloroacetanilide herbicides to a freshwater cladoceran were studied. The 48 h-LC(50) values of alachlor, acetochlor and butachlor to Daphnia carinata Dc42 were 11.1, 11.8 and 3.45 mg L(-1), respectively. The toxicity was significantly (p < 0.05) related to hydrophobicity. The additive indexes of binary mixtures of three herbicides were ...

BACKGROUND: Because of the lack of published data and the relative rarity of lateral incisional hernia (LIH), their repair remains a major challenge for surgeons. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the outcome of LIH treated by the retromuscular approach (RMA) with a polyester standard mesh. METHODS: ...

Boron is an essential micronutrient for plants, but can above certain concentrations be toxic to living organisms. A major environmental concern is the removal of boron from contaminated water and fly ash. For this purpose, the samples were collected from a fly ash dumping site, Nagasaki prefecture, Japan. The chemical ...