Extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTL) is an aggressive disease with poor prognosis, requiring risk stratification. However, the prognosis of ENKTL is not fully defined and needs supplementation. We hypothesised that fasting blood glucose (FBG) may be a new prognostic factor for ENKTL. We retrospectively analysed 130 patients ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Injection drug users (IDUs) represent a significant proportion of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). The low treatment uptake among these patients results in a low treatment effectiveness and a limited public health impact. We hypothesised that a general practitioner (GP) providing an opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) for ...

Drug treatment for osteoporosis typically begins with an oral bisphosphonate, regardless of initial bone mineral density (BMD) or fracture risk, and decisions to continue or change treatment are often based on evidence of response to treatment based on changes in BMD, bone turnover markers, and occurrence of fractures. This pattern ...

A temporal discounting paradigm was used to examine decision making for hypothetical monetary reward following traumatic brain injury (TBI). A case-control design compared individuals following moderate or severe TBI with a healthy control group matched for age and gender. The impact of intelligence, impulsivity, and mood on temporal discounting performance ...

AIMS: To explore tobacco dependence (TD) diagnosis and treatment utilization, and identify predictors of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), among Veterans with substance use disorders (SUDs) enrolled in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) SUD residential treatment programs (SRTPs). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: VHA SRTPs, which treat Veterans with SUD and multiple ...

OBJECTIVESDiabetes is associated with oxidative stress and increased mortality, but a possible correlation between leukocyte-endothelium interactions, oxidative stress, and silent myocardial ischemia (SMI) is yet to be confirmed.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSMitochondrial dysfunction and interactions between leukocytes and human umbilical vein endothelial cells were evaluated in 200 type 2 diabetic patients ...

Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus, GBS) is a frequent commensal organism of the vaginal tract of healthy women. However, GBS can transition to a pathogen in susceptible hosts, but host and microbial factors that contribute to this conversion are not well understood. GBS CovR/S (CsrR/S) is a two component regulatory ...

AIM: The aim of this study is to evaluate the breadth and depth of the allied health workforce providing renal services in Queensland, Australia. METHODS: Workforce statistics were reported for allied health renal services (excluding transplant) across all 14 publically funded regions across Queensland, Australia. Dietetics, pharmacy, podiatry, psychology and ...

A label-free assay is reported in this work for the detection of DNA with enhanced sensitivity using complex DNA structures (DNA tetrahedrons) based on the biolayer interferometry. The DNA tetrahedrons help to amplify the optical signals of the biolayer interferometry, thus improving the detection limit of DNA by about 100-fold. ...

GRL-0519 (1) is a potent antiviral inhibitor of HIV-1 protease (PR) possessing tris-tetrahydrofuran (tris-THF) at P2. The high resolution X-ray crystal structures of inhibitor 1 in complexes with single substitution mutants PRR8Q, PRD30N, PRI50V, PRI54M, and PRV82A were analyzed in relation to kinetic data. The smaller valine side chain in ...

As engineered nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly used, their entry into the environment has become an important topic for water sustainability. Recent investigations point to the critical role of natural organic matter (NOM) in altering the persistence of NPs by complexing with their surfaces. The NP-NOM complex, in turn, is the ...

Non-Abelian topological superconductors are characterized by the existence of zero-energy Majorana fermions bound in the quantized vortices. This is a consequence of the nontrivial bulk topology characterized by an odd Chern number. It is found that in topological semimetals with a single two-band crossing point all the gapped superconductors are ...

Background: Mutagenesis screens can establish mouse models of utility for the study of critical biological processes such as iron metabolism. Such screens can produce mutations in novel genes or the establishment of novel alleles of known genes, both of which can be useful tools for study. Design and Methods: To ...

Background:Neo-tAnGo, a National Cancer Research Network (NCRN) multicentre randomised neoadjuvant chemotherapy trial in early breast cancer, enroled 831 patients in the United Kingdom. We report a central review of post-chemotherapy histopathology reports on the surgical specimens, to assess the presence and degree of response.Methods:A central independent two-reader review (EP and ...

The polyethylenimine (PEI) derivatives (PTn) are prepared by treating PEI25k with Tris(hydroxymethyl) acrylamidomethane via the Michael addition. These PTns can effectively condense nucleic acids into nanosized particles with positive surface charges. The PTns show lower cytotoxicity and better serum-resistant capacity than PEI25k. Specially, the transfection efficiency of PT26/DNA is 29-fold ...

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecological malignancy due to detection at a late stage when the disease has metastasized. One likely progenitor cell type of ovarian cancer is the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE), which proliferates rapidly in the presence of inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress following ovulation. To determine whether ...

All four diastereomers of a typical saturated oligoisoprenoid, 4,8,12-trimethylnonadecanol, are made by an iterative three step cycle with the aid of traceless thionocarbonate fluorous tags to encode configurations. The tags have a minimum number of total fluorine atoms, starting at zero and increasing in increments of one. With suitable acquisition ...

Following the discovery that in Arabidopsis, a third isoenzyme of NADH-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) is expressed in the mitochondria of the root companion cells, we have re-examined the GDH isoenzyme composition. By analyzing the NADH-GDH isoenzyme composition of single, double and triple mutants deficient in the expression of the three ...

Objective: Review of the literature on the role of surgery in the management of head and neck cancer in the era of organ preservation. Method: Literature search based on the essential practice guidelines set out by the US National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Results: Despite the increasing popularity of non-surgical treatment ...

Abstract Objective. Development of ascites in patients with liver cirrhosis is an ominous sign with a poor outcome. A liver transplantation must be considered, and it then becomes important to know if there are any factors indicating a worsened prognosis. Material and methods. We used official registers for a follow-up ...

Abstract Background. Low-dose aspirin (LDA) is the most commonly prescribed antiplatelet agent for prevention of cardiovascular events following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Long-term treatment with LDA has serious adverse effects, including gastrointestinal (GI) hemorrhage. Most studies have focused only on upper GI bleeding and few studies have evaluated the effect ...

Gene silencing in budding yeast relies on the binding of the Silent Information Regulator (Sir) complex to chromatin, which is mediated by extensive interactions between the Sir proteins and nucleosomes. Sir3, a divergent member of the AAA+ ATPase-like family, contacts both the histone H4 tail and the nucleosome core. Here, ...

A library of electrocatalysts for water electrolysis under acidic conditions was created by ink jet printing metal oxide precursors followed by pyrolysis in air to produce mixed metal oxides. The compositions were then screened in acidic electrolytes using a pH sensitive fluorescence indicator that became fluorescent due to the pH ...

Abstract Adult cardiomyocytes have little ability to regenerate, thus cardiac regeneration therapy represents a potential method for treating severe heart failure. Human amniotic mesenchymal cells (hAMCs) have the potential to be a useful cell source for cardiac regeneration therapy. We attempted to isolate stem cells from hAMCs and differentiate them ...

Inclusion of low levels of antibiotics in the feed of domestic food animals promotes improved growth, animal performance and overall health benefits. However, this practice has come under scrutiny due to concerns over such feeding on bacterial antibiotic resistance and potential impact on human health. There is a paucity of ...

We investigate different processes for optimizing the formation of Ohmic contacts to InAs nanowires. The nanowires are grown via molecular beam epitaxy without the use of metal catalysts. Metallic contacts are attached to the nanowires by using an electron beam lithography process. Before deposition of the contacts, the InAs nanowires ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: With the rising demand for osseointegrated titanium implants for replacing missing teeth, often in patients with a history of periodontitis, implant-related infections have become an issue of growing concern. Novel methods for treating and preventing implant-associated infections are urgently needed. The aim of this study was to investigate ...

Stigmasterol and sitosterol, important sterols present in plants, are known to influence permeability and fluidity characteristics of the plasma membrane and other organellar membranes. We had previously demonstrated that the Arabidopsis Atcyp710A1 gene, which catalyzes conversion of sitosterol into stigmasterol, plays a role in plasma membrane permeability, thus influencing leakage ...

In plants, the nitrate transporters, NRT1.1 and NRT2.1, are mainly responsible for nitrate uptake. Intriguingly, both nitrate transporters are located in a complementary manner in different cells layers of the mature root suggesting that their coordination should occur during nitrate uptake and plant growth. This hypothesis was examined on 5-d-old ...

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are trimeric cation-selective proton-gated ion channels expressed in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The pore-forming transmembrane helices in these channels are linked by short loops to the palm domain in the extracellular region. Here, we explore the contribution to proton gating and desensitization of Glu-79 ...

Mango malformation is the most threaten disease that limits mango production, worldwide. For a long time, due to its complex nature, the cause and causal agents were strongly disputed. Diverse Fusaria, including Fusarium mangiferae, are known to be associated with the disease. There are indications that augmented level of endogenous ...

Gemini surfactants consisting of two melamine scaffolds connected by a n-hexyl linker, and functionalised with a 1-propylammonium polar head and a lipophilic chain having variable carbon length (from C8 to C16) were synthesised. These were then used successfully for the transfection of A549, U87MG AND BRISTOL 8 cell lines with ...

BACKGROUND: Phenotypic biomarkers of DNA damage repair may enhance cancer risk prediction. The γ-H2AX formed at the sites of double strands break (DSB) after ionizing radiation (IR) is a specific marker of DNA damage. METHODS: In an ongoing case-control study, the baseline and IR-induced γ-H2AX levels in peripheral blood lymphocytes ...

OBJECTIVES: Patients with breast cancer following mastectomy and silicone implant reconstruction may have enlarged internal mammary lymph nodes with pathological uptake on positron emission tomography with (18)F fluorodeoxyglucose. This lymphadenopathy is usually considered as metastatic in nature, but has also been reported to be related to other conditions, including silicon ...

Intrinsic magnetoelectric coupling describes the interaction between magnetic and electric polarization through an inherent microscopic mechanism in a single-phase material. This phenomenon has the potential to control the magnetic state of a material with an electric field, an enticing prospect for device engineering. Here, we demonstrate 'giant' magnetoelectric cross-field control ...

Sensory substitution is a promising technique for mitigating the loss of a sensory modality. Sensory substitution devices (SSDs) work by converting information from the impaired sense (e.g., vision) into another, intact sense (e.g., audition). However, there are a potentially infinite number of ways of converting images into sounds, and it ...

Therapeutics must diffuse through the brain extracellular space (ECS) in order to distribute within the central nervous system (CNS) compartment; this requirement holds both for drugs that are directly placed within the CNS (i.e. central input) and for drugs that cross the barriers separating blood and brain following systemic administration. ...

AIM: Despite advances in radiotherapy delivery, the prognosis of lung cancer remains poor. Higher doses of radiation have been associated with improved outcomes but may result in higher toxicities. Respiratory gated radiotherapy (RGRT) has the potential to reduce pulmonary toxicity but there are significant limitations and pitfalls to its use. ...

Arabidopsis thaliana lines expressing only one cruciferin subunit type (double-knockout; CRUAbc, CRUaBc, or CRUabC) or devoid of cruciferin (triple-knockout; CRU-) or napin (napin-RNAi) were generated using combined T-DNA insertions or RNA interference approaches. Seeds of double knockout lines accumulated homohexameric cruciferin and contained similar protein levels as the wild type ...

Two concise and high-yielding diastereoselective syntheses of 4-aryl-3-methyl-4-piperidinemethanols were realized from 1,3-dimethyl-4-piperidinone. The key reactions to control the C3-C4 relative stereochemistry were the alkoxymethylation of a metalloenamine generated from 4-aryl-3-methyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine that afforded the (3R*,4S*)-form, and the nucleophilic substitution of a fluoroarene with deprotonated 3-methyl-4-piperidinenitrile giving the (3R*,4R*)-isomer. The corresponding fluoromethyl ...

Background. Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) is an emerging sexually transmitted infection (STI) that is potentially associated with serious reproductive tract sequelae in women. This study aimed to estimate rates of MG incidence and treatment failure and provide estimates of organism load for MG infections.Methods. 1110 women aged 16 to 25 years were recruited ...

In the mouth, proline-rich proteins (PRP), which are major components of stimulated saliva, interact with tannins contained in food. We report in vitro interactions of the tannin epigallocatechin gallate (EgCG), with a basic salivary PRP, IB5, studied through electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and dynamic ...

ObjectiveThe goal was to determine the prevalence of high-risk HPV16 using saliva in a screening population in Detroit, Michigan.Materials and MethodsReal-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was applied to detect HPV16 in saliva DNA from 349 screening subjects without head and neck cancer (HNC), 156 with HNC, and 19 controls. Cut ...

Several methods are available to estimate the total and residual amount of heterogeneity in meta-analysis, leading to different alternatives when estimating the predictive power in mixed-effects meta-regression models using the formula proposed by Raudenbush (1994, 2009). In this paper, a simulation study was conducted to compare the performance of seven ...

The pathophysiology of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) should be approached as a multifactorial process. In several stages of NASH, a link between disease progression and hepatic microvasculature changes can be made. In this study we investigated the role of angiogenesis in two mice models for NASH, and the effect of a ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: RNA silencing affects a broad range of regulatory processes in all eukaryotes ranging from chromatin structure maintenance to transcriptional and translational regulation and longevity of the mRNAs. Particularly in plants, it functions as the major defense mechanism against viruses. To counter-act this defense, plant viruses produce suppressors of ...

Background. Recent identification of acquired mutations in key components of the spliceosome machinery strongly implicates abnormalities of mRNA splicing in the pathogenesis of myelodysplastic syndromes. However, questions remain as to how these aberrations functionally combine with the growing list of mutations in genes involved in epigenetic modification and cell signalling/transcription ...

Age- and sex-dependence of subclass specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) Fc N-glycosylation was evaluated for 1709 individuals from two isolated human populations. IgGs were obtained from plasma by affinity purification using 96-well protein G monolithic plates and digested with trypsin. Fc N-glycopeptides were purified and analyzed by negative-mode MALDI-TOF-MS with 4-chloro-α-cyanocinnamic ...

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Two recent models are in use for analysis of allosteric drug action at receptor sites remote from orthosteric binding sites. One is an allosteric two-state mechanical model derived in 2000 by David Hall. The other is an extended operational model developed in 2007 by Arthur Christopoulos's group. The ...

Fluid/solid interfaces containing single layer graphene are important in the areas of chemistry, physics, biology, and materials science, yet this environment is difficult to access with experimental methods, especially under flow conditions and in a label-free manner. Herein, we demonstrate the use of second harmonic generation (SHG) to quantify the ...