Aim: To identify predictors of postoperative ascites after liver resection for patients with or without preoperative portal vein embolization (PVE). Methods: Patients undergoing PVE prior to hepatectomy (PVE group; n = 37) were compared with patients who underwent liver resection without PVE (n = 503). Ascites was defined as postoperative ...

Human melanocortin 2 receptor accessory protein (hMRAPα) is hypothesised to have functions beyond promoting human melanocortin 2 receptor (hMC2R) functional expression. To understand these potential functions we characterised effects of hMRAPα-FLAG or untagged hMRAPα co-expression with each of the five hMCR subtypes (HA N-terminal tagged and untagged) exogenously expressed in ...

BACKGROUND: Antibodies against gastrointestinal antigens may indicate altered microbiota and immune responses in the gut. Recent experimental data suggest a connection between gastrointestinal immune responses and CNS autoimmunity. METHODS: Antibodies against gliadin, tissue transglutaminase (tTG), intrinsic factor (IF), parietal cells (PC) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ASCA) were screened in the sera ...

To maintain homeostasis, hypothalamic neurons in the arcuate nucleus must dynamically sense and integrate a multitude of peripheral signals. Blood-borne molecules must therefore be able to circumvent the tightly sealed vasculature of the blood-brain barrier to rapidly access their target neurons. However, how information encoded by circulating appetite-modifying hormones is ...

A line of transgenic Yorkshire pigs referred to as the Cassie (CA) line was generated, which possessed a stable, low copy number phytase transgene insertion that enabled phytase secretion in the saliva. This study was conducted to assess growth and efficacy for improving P, Ca, and other macro-mineral utilization in ...

This study aimed to develop a model for predicting anemia using the inosine triphosphatase (ITPA) genotype and to evaluate its relationship with treatment outcome. Patients with genotype 1b chronic hepatitis C (n = 446) treated with peg-interferon alpha and ribavirin (RBV) for 48 weeks were genotyped for the ITPA (rs1127354) and IL28B ...

Zoonotic agents such as Brucella spp., Salmonella spp., Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella spp., all considered high-risk zoonotic pathogens by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), may cause no symptoms of infection in free-range pigs yet still have a significant public health impact. A serological survey was therefore performed to determine ...

This study reports on dual on-column Fabry-Pérot (FP) cavity sensor-based gas chromatography (GC) of mixtures of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) utilizing an on-chip device, the so called "microfabricated passive preconcentrator/injector (μPPI)". Comprehensive analysis of the sampling, desorption/injection, and compound separation performance of the μPPI-based optofluidic GC system is described. Here, ...

Programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) acts as a tumor suppressor gene, which suppresses tumor growth, infiltration and metastasis. Our previous studies demonstrated that PDCD4 had an important role in the development of ovarian cancer and glioma. Recent studies show that PDCD4 is also involved in various inflammatory diseases. However, its ...

Hospitals are implementing a risk management system to avoid patient or surgery mix-ups. The trend is to use preoperative checklists. This work deals specifically with a type of patient identification, which is realized by storing patient data on a patient-fixed medium.In 127 ENT surgeries data relevant for patient identification were ...

We investigated the effectiveness of routine preventive measures for anemia in Beninese pregnant women during pregnancy. Anemia (hemoglobin < 110 g/L) was common: 68.3% at first antenatal visit (ANV1), 64.7% at second antenatal visit (ANV2), and 40.6% at delivery. Parasitic infections and nutritional deficiencies were the most preventable causes. After ...

Directed forgetting requires the voluntary control of memory. Whereas many studies have examined directed forgetting in long-term memory (LTM), the mechanisms and effects of directed forgetting within working memory (WM) are less well understood. The current study tests how directed forgetting instructions delivered in a WM task influence veridical memory, ...

In this review, the recent advancements and technical challenges associated with the production of ethanol, butanol and isobutanol via bioconversion routes from celluloses of woody materials are reviewed. Physicochemical processes, e.g. steam explosion, seem to be the most viableprocessfor pretreating woody materials. Although enzymatic hydrolysis is selective, it is rather ...

Chronic challenge of renin-angiotensin causes recruitment of renin-producing cells in the kidney along the media layer of afferent arterioles and hypertrophy of cells in the juxtaglomerular apparatus. This study aimed to define the role of nitric oxide (NO) with regard to the recruitment pattern of renin-producing cells and to the ...

A common synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism in exon 12 of the LDL receptor (LDLR) gene, rs688, has been associated with increased plasma total and LDL-cholesterol in several populations. Using immortalized lymphoblastoid cell lines from a healthy study population, we confirmed an earlier report that the minor allele of rs688 is ...

Seeking explanations is central to science, education, and everyday thinking, and prompting learners to explain is often beneficial. Nonetheless, in 2 category learning experiments across artifact and social domains, we demonstrate that the very properties of explanation that support learning can impair learning by fostering overgeneralizations. We find that explaining ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: To investigate the association between serum glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in an elderly Chinese population. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed among the 949 retired elderly employees of Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company Ltd., Ningbo, China. RESULTS: A total of 257 (27.08%) ...

Purpose:To investigate the clinical features and outcomes of type B multibarreled (multiple false lumens) aortic dissection (AD) compared with those of double-barreled (single false lumen) AD by using computed tomography (CT).Materials and Methods:The ethics committee approved this study. Informed consent was waived. A total of 221 consecutive patients (127 men; ...

OBJECTIVES: Bortezomib is an effective anti-myeloma therapy but clinical benefit can be limited by neurotoxicity. In newly diagnosed, older patients, modification of the bi-weekly dosing schedule to weekly regimens improves tolerability whilst maintaining efficacy. There is less information on the efficacy and tolerability of weekly bortezomib regimens in the relapsed/refractory ...

A survey of five journals of physiology or pharmacology for the year 2011 showed that Fisher's exact test was used three times as frequently as Pearson's chi-squared test. I shall argue that neither test is appropriate for analysing 2 × 2 tables of frequency in biomedical research. Pearson's test requires ...

The metal-organic framework (MOF) was first utilized as the sensing platform for assaying biomolecules. It has also been demonstrated that this novel strategy is effective and reliable for detection of HIV DNA and thrombin with high sensitivity and selectivity.

Gas driven: A high-yield approach to sequential fluoride ion abstraction from SbF(3) in the presence of 2,2'-bipyridine gives a series of complexes containing [SbF(2) ](+) , [SbF](2+) , and [Sb](3+) acceptors. The thermodynamically favorable rapid elimination of gaseous Me(3) SiF provides a potentially general approach to enhance the Lewis acidity ...

As dominant members of marine mesozooplankton communities, copepods play critical roles in oceanic food webs and biogeochemical cycling. Despite the ecological significance of copepods, little is known regarding the causes of copepod mortality, and up to 35% of total copepod mortality cannot be accounted for by predation alone. Viruses have ...

Status epilepticus is among the most common neurologic emergencies, with a mortality rate of up to 20%. The most important therapeutic goal is fast, effective, and well-tolerated cessation of status epilepticus. Intravenous phenytoin/fosphenytoin, phenobarbital, or valproate is the current standard treatment after failure of benzodiazepines. Lacosamide as a new antiepileptic ...

Mutations of GBA1, the gene encoding glucocerebrosidase, represent a common genetic risk factor for developing the synucleinopathies Parkinson disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies. PD patients with or without GBA1 mutations also exhibit lower enzymatic levels of glucocerebrosidase in the central nervous system (CNS), suggesting a possible link between ...

Polymyxins are old antimicrobials, discontinued for many years because of nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity reports and reintroduced recently due to the increasing frequency of multiresistant gram negative infections. There are very few data related to toxicity and efficacy from transplanted patients, which are the major aims of this study. All solid ...

Small, glutamine-rich, tetratricopeptide repeat protein 2 (Sgt2) is the first known port of call for many newly synthesized tail-anchored (TA) proteins released from the ribosome and destined for the GET (Guided Entry of TA proteins) pathway. This leads them to the residential membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum via an alternative ...

The pnictides RE(2)Mn(3)Cu(9)Pn(7) (Pn = P, As) have been prepared by stoichiometric reaction of the elements at 800 °C. They are quaternary ordered variants of the hexagonal Zr(2)Fe(12)P(7)-type structure (Pearson symbol hP21, space group P6̅, Z = 1; a = 9.6444(3)-9.5970(7) Å, c = 3.9027(1)-3.7761(3) Å for RE(2)Mn(3)Cu(9)P(7) (RE = ...

Current leukaemia therapy focuses on increasing chemotherapy efficacy. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been proposed for carrying and delivery drugs to improve killing of cancer cells. We have shown that MSCs loaded with Paclitaxel (PTX) acquire a potent anti-tumour activity. We investigated the effect of human MSCs (hMSCs) and mouse ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Antonovsky's sense of coherence (SOC) as well as psychoeducational interventions has a convincing impact on the quality of life (QOL) of patients suffering from schizophrenia. This study explores the influence of SOC on QOL among participants of a PEFI group (PG) compared to a control group (CG). METHODS: ...

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: The Hypoxia Inducible Factor (HIF)-1 pathway can stimulate tumor cell migration and metastasis. Furthermore, hypoxic tumors are associated with a poor prognosis. Besides the HIF-1 pathway, the unfolded protein response (UPR) is also induced by hypoxic conditions. The PKR-like ER kinase (PERK)/activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4)-arm of the ...

Although glucocorticoids are a profoundly important class of antiinflammatory and immunosuppressive agents, their actions in dendritic cells (DC) are not well understood. We found that dexamethasone, a potent glucocorticoid, selectively induced apoptosis in mature, but not in immature, DC in healthy mice, in mice with experimental airway inflammation, and in ...

Nucleic acid-reactive B cells frequently arise in the bone marrow but are tolerized by mechanisms including receptor editing, functional anergy, and/or deletion. TLR9, a sensor of endosomal dsDNA, both promotes and regulates systemic autoimmunity in vivo, but the precise nature of its apparently contradictory roles in autoimmunity remained unclear. In ...

Abstract Objective. This in vitro study evaluated the effect of soft-start curing mode by LED unit on the marginal microleakage of silorane composite restoration. Materials and methods. Class V cavities were prepared on the buccal surfaces of 80 extracted molars at the cementoenamel junction and randomly divided into eight groups. ...

The demyelinating peripheral neuropathy Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 4B (CMT4B) is characterized by axonal degeneration and myelin outfoldings. CMT4B results from mutations in either myotubularin-related protein 2 (MTMR2; CMT4B1) or MTMR13 (CMT4B2), phosphoinositide (PI) 3-phosphatases that dephosphorylate phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PtdIns3P) and PtdIns(3,5)P(2), lipids which regulate endo-lysosomal membrane traffic. The catalytically active MTMR2 ...

The past fifty years have seen a surge in the use of materials for clinical application, but in order to understand and exploit their full potential, the scientific complexity at both sides of the interface-the material on the one hand and the living organism on the other hand-needs to be ...

Background:  Special attention has been given to the effect of vitamin D supplementation on fertility outcomes in both sexes. Aims:  The purpose of this narrative review was to elucidate the role of vitamin D in male and female reproduction, providing current evidence from both animal and human studies. Materials and ...

Purpose:To develop criteria to identify thresholds for the minimally acceptable performance of physicians interpreting diagnostic mammography studies.Materials and Methods:In an institutional review board-approved HIPAA-compliant study, an Angoff approach was used to set criteria for identifying minimally acceptable interpretive performance for both workup after abnormal screening examinations and workup of a ...

What is known and Objective:  Long-acting intramuscular penicillin G injection is an important product for the management of some severe infections. However, testing the bioequivalence of such long-acting formulations is difficult. Our aim was to undertake such a test using a generic formulation containing 1 200 000 IU of benzathine penicillin G powder ...

Whether introduced species invasions pose a major threat to biodiversity is hotly debated. Much of this debate is fueled by recent findings that competition from introduced organisms has driven remarkably few plant species to extinction. Instead, native plant species in invaded ecosystems are often found in refugia: patchy, marginal habitats ...

The aim of this study is to perform a cost analysis to compare adjuvant radiation therapy schedules following breast conserving surgery. Treatment planning and delivery utilization data were modeled for a series of 10 different breast RT techniques. The whole breast (WB) regimens consisted of: (1) Wedge based WB (25 ...

The Piwi protein subfamily is essential for Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) biogenesis, transposon silencing, and germ-line development, all of which have been proposed to require Piwi endonuclease activity, as validated for two cytoplasmic Piwi proteins in mice. However, recent evidence has led to questioning of the generality of this mechanism for ...

We have evaluated the in vitro activity of voriconazole against 61 strains of Aspergillus fumigatus by using broth microdilution, disk diffusion, and minimal fungicidal concentration procedures. We observed an excellent correlation between the results obtained with the three methods. Five percent of the strains showed MICs ≥ epidemiological cut-off value ...

Satellite cells are the resident stem cell population of adult skeletal muscle tissue that is responsible for growth and regeneration. The cells typically congregate near the tips of the muscle fibers and in close proximity to the neural muscular junction (NMJ). Ephrin-A5 is a chemotactic molecule that participates in the ...

Rapid changes in cellular morphology require a cell body that is highly flexible yet retains sufficient strength to maintain structural integrity. We present a mechanism that meets both of these requirements. We demonstrate that compression (folding) and subsequent dilation (unfolding) of the coupled plasma membrane-cortex layer generates rapid shape transformations ...

Colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF1) and interleukin-34 (IL-34) are functional ligands of the CSF1 receptor (CSF1R) and thus are key regulators of the monocyte/macrophage lineage. We discovered that systemic administration of human recombinant CSF1 ameliorates memory deficits in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. CSF1 and IL-34 strongly reduced excitotoxin-induced ...

Good, cheap light: A new type of D-π-A metal-free organic dye for solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells, employing a hydrazone fragment as π-conjugated bridge, is presented. These dyes are obtained from relatively cheap starting materials, without the use of expensive catalysts, rigorously anhydrous or oxygen-free conditions. The whole synthesis process is ...

Traditionally, neurotransmitters are associated with a fast, or phasic, type of action on neurons in the central nervous system (CNS). However, accumulating evidence indicates that γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate can also have a continual, or tonic, influence on these cells. Here, in voltage- and current-clamp recordings in rat brain ...

We synthesized a series of crosslinked photoresponsive polymeric particles with photolabile monomers and crosslinkers through miniemulsion polymerization. These particles are quite stable in dark, while light irradiation caused the breakage of particles and the efficient release of encapsulated contents up to 95 % based on Nile red fluorescence. Photoswitches of ...

The aim of this study was to determine the external validity of Taekwondo-specific exercise protocols. 10 male international Taekwondo competitors (age 18±2 years) took part in a championship combat and an exercise protocol that simulated the activity pattern of Taekwondo combat. Heart rate and venous blood samples were obtained in ...