PURPOSE: To synthesize a trifluorinated bile acid that can be used for (19)F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of bile acid enterohepatic circulation, characterize its in vitro transporter affinity, stability, and (19)F-MRI signal, and assess its ability to concentrate in the gallbladder of C57BL/6 mice. METHODS: Target compound CA-lys-TFA was synthesized ...

Chinese translation The federal Electronic Health Record Incentive Program requires electronic reporting of quality from electronic health records, beginning in 2014. Whether electronic reports of quality are accurate is unclear. To measure the accuracy of electronic reporting compared with manual review. Cross-sectional study. A federally qualified health center with a ...

Abstract RhoGTPases are defined as a family of 20 small G proteins playing important roles in almost every cellular process. RhoGTPases are guanine nucleotide-binding proteins existing in two forms: the active form which is GTP bound and the inactive one that being GDP bound. RhoGTPase-activating proteins known as RhoGAPs constitute ...

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus complex (ABC) isolates are often multidrug-resistant, including to carbapenems. Chromogenic media can facilitate the rapid detection of Gram-negative bacteria, often with the addition of supplements to a base chromogenic medium to detect resistance. We examined various combinations of available media to detect imipenem resistance among 107 ABC ...

Objective: Proteases of the disintegrin and metalloproteinase family (also known as ADAM proteins) are involved in various physiological and pathological processes. This study assessed the expression of disintegrin and metalloproteinase family proteins 10, 12 and 17 in cholesteatoma. Materials and methods: The study evaluated cholesteatoma specimens from 19 patients, and ...

The present study investigated the inhibitory effect of cannabidiol (CBD), a major constituent of marijuana, on the catalytic activity of cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19). (S)-Mephenytoin 4'-hydroxylase activities of human liver microsomes (HLMs) and recombinant CYP2C19 were inhibited by CBD in a concentration-dependent manner (IC(50) = 8.70 and 2.51 µM, respectively). ...

Endothelium-bound extracellular superoxide dismutase (eEC-SOD), a major antioxidative enzyme in the vasculature, is involved in anti-atherogenesis by inhibiting low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation. The objective was to investigate whether the polyphenol-rich juar tea had beneficial effects on LDL oxidation and eEC-SOD levels in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS). A total of ...

Molecular classification of ERG-rearranged prostate cancer clarifies the role of TMPRSS2-ERG in the development and progression of prostate cancer. The objective of the present study was to identify direct ERG target genes in ERG-rearranged prostate cancer. Two independent cohorts of primary prostate cancer (cohort A, n=48; cohort B, n=31), a ...

Although alpha-fetoprotein is currently the major serologic biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), it cannot efficiently distinguish this cancer from other forms of liver disease in early diagnosis due to its low sensitivity. The aim of this study is to compare human carboxylesterase 1 (hCE1) biomarker sensitivity and specificity versus alpha-fetoprotein ...

OBJECTIVE: A previous study of a recovery-oriented assertive community treatment initiative (PACT) in Washington State found reductions in state psychiatric hospital use and related costs for PACT participants, especially in the first six months after enrollment and for consumers who were high users of the state psychiatric hospital before ACT ...

The oncogene RAS is known to induce genomic instability, leading to cancer development; the underlying mechanism, however, remains poorly understood. To better understand how RAS functions, we measured the activity of the functionally related genes Aurora-A and BRCA2 in ovarian cancer cell lines and tumor samples containing RAS mutations. We ...

Context:The care of patients with hypothalamic obesity is challenging.Objective:To compare body composition, basal metabolic rate (BMR) and metabolic outcomes of adults, with lesional or genetic hypothalamic obesity, with obese patients suffering from primary obesity, once matched for body mass index (BMI).Design and patients:Adults with hypothalamic obesity of genetic origin (Prader ...

Background. There are large geographic differences in breast cancer risk but whether survival differs between low- and high-risk groups is less well-established. As the survival of cancer depends on the level of healthcare and awareness of disease risks, subtle differences in cancer biology cannot be revealed in international comparisons. Instead, ...

Rheumatic fever is one of the most-neglected ailments, and its pathogenesis remains poorly understood. The major thrust of research has been directed towards cross-reactivity between streptococcal M protein and myocardial α-helical coiled-coil proteins. M protein has also been the focus of vaccine development. The characteristic pathological findings suggest that the ...

Abstract Objective: To measure skin thickness in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in comparison to controls and to examine a possible association with sex steroids, body mass index, lipid profile and hyperinsulinemia. Methods: Thirty patients with confirmed PCOS were compared to thirty-two women presenting for infertility workup. Skin thickness ...

AIMS: Lower vaginal swabs were collected to compare the intrapartum polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to the standard antepartum culture for detection of group B streptococcus (GBS) colonisation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four hundred and forty-five pregnant women with documented antepartum GBS cultures, who did not receive either antepartum or intrapartum ...

With the increasing number of available predictive biomarkers clinical management of cancer is becoming increasingly reliant on the accurate serial monitoring of tumor genotypes. We tested whether tumor-specific copy number changes can be inferred from the peripheral blood of patients with cancer. To this end we determined the plasma DNA ...

This study aims to measure the serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) (25-OH-D(3)) in 302 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), studying the association to disease activity. Three hundred two RA patients underwent clinical examination and serological analysis. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D(3) was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Vitamin D(3) deficiency defined ...

rSj16, a recombined protein from Schistosoma japonicum, has been identified as an anti-inflammatory molecule. In this study, we demonstrated that rSj16 strongly suppressed the growth of murine myeloid leukemia WEHI-3B JCS cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. rSj16 induced apoptosis by increasing the proportion of sub-G1 apoptotic cells as ...

The gene BglNH encoding a β-glucosidase was cloned from a marine streptomycete. Sequence analysis revealed that BglNH encoded a 456-aa peptide with a calculated mass of 51 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of BglNH showed the highest identities of 61 % with known β-glucosidases and contained a catalytic domain which belonged ...

Study design:A 6-month follow-up study.Objectives:To investigate the outcome of transanal irrigation (TAI) in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to identify factors significantly related to clinical success.Setting:Survey for community-dwelling patients with SCI in South Korea.Methods:Between December 2010 and March 2012, TAI was initiated with 52 patients (41 men; age: ...

Abstract This study was meant to determine the inhibitory activity of tannins and flavonoid compounds from Geranium robertianum, Helleborus purpurascens and Hyssopus officinale plant polyphenol rich extracts against urease and α-chymotrypsin. The G. robertianum, H. purpurascens and H. officinale extracts were purified and concentrated by microfiltration and ultrafiltration. Phenolic compounds ...

We report a method for preparing cell-laden hydrogel tubes. This method uses a coaxial double-orifice spinneret, simpler than triple-orifice spinnerets which have been used for preparing similar constructs. The intended application was to create a template for preparing filament-like structures composed of two heterogeneous living cell layers. An aqueous solution ...

Background  Scintigraphy, the gold standard to measure gastric emptying, is expensive and not widely available. Therefore, we compared emptying of radiopaque markers (ROM) from the stomach, by use of fluoroscopy, with scintigraphy in patients with insulin-treated diabetes. Methods  On the same day we measured gastric emptying of 20 ROM using ...

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has been correlated with low serum ferritin and iron deficiency. As a secondary analysis of a study of H. pylori reinfection, we investigated the association of H. pylori infection and the effect of its eradication on serum ferritin and iron deficiency. METHODS: Alaska Native adults undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy ...

Studying genetic determinants of intermediate phenotypes is a powerful tool to increase our understanding of genotype-phenotype correlations. Metabolic traits pertinent to the central nervous system (CNS) constitute a potentially informative target for genetic studies of intermediate phenotypes as their genetic underpinnings may elucidate etiological mechanisms. We therefore conducted a genome-wide ...

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common and potentially life-threatening infection. Innate immunity is the first line of defence, and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) produced by white blood cells and at epithelial barriers participate by killing microorganisms and neutralizing bacterial toxins. We wanted to investigate whether concentrations of AMPs (1) are ...

Background. This study investigates the use of (18)F-fluoromisonidazole (FMISO) PET-guided radiotherapy dose painting for potentially overcoming the radioresistant effects of hypoxia in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Material and methods. The study cohort consisted of eight patients with HNSCC who were planned for definitive radiotherapy. Hypoxic subvolumes were ...

Efficient segmentation of tumors in medical images is of great practical importance in early diagnosis and radiation plan. This paper proposes a novel semi-automatic segmentation method based on population and individual statistical information to segment brain tumors in magnetic resonance (MR) images. First, high-dimensional image features are extracted. Neighborhood components ...

The protein L-isoaspartyl methyltransferase (PIMT) repairs damaged aspartyl residues in proteins. It is commonly described as a cytosolic protein highly expressed in brain tissues. Here, we report that PIMT is an active monomeric as well as a multimeric protein in mitochondria isolated from neuroblastoma cells. Upon treatments with mitochondrial uncoupler ...

Study design:Literature review.Objectives:Globally map non-traumatic spinal cord injury (NTSCI) incidence, prevalence, survival, level of injury and aetiology. Propose a research framework for NTSCI prevention and launch a repository of NTSCI data.Setting:Initiative of the International Spinal Cord Society Prevention Committee.Methods:Literature search of Medline and Embase (1959-June 2011). Relevant articles in any ...

QUESTION Does an integer score based on readily available risk factors predict risk for mortality in patients with heart failure (HF) and reduced or preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (EF)? METHODS DESIGN Collaborative study using individual patient data from 30 cohort studies (median follow-up 2.5 y) participating in the Meta-Analysis ...

Studies in preclinical models have demonstrated the superior anti-tumor effect of CpGoligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) when administered at the tumor site rather than systemically. We evaluated the effect of aerosolized CpG-ODN on lung metastases in mice injected with immunogenic N202.1A mammary carcinoma cells or weakly immunogenic B16 melanoma cells. Upon reaching the ...

In this paper, we propose a novel method for segmentation of the left ventricle, right ventricle, and myocardium from cine cardiac magnetic resonance images of the STACOM database. Our method incorporates prior shape information in a graph cut framework to achieve segmentation. Poor edge information and large within-patient shape variation ...

Commensal bacteria regulate the homeostasis of host effector immune cell subsets. The mechanisms involved in this commensal-host crosstalk are not well understood. Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) not only create a physical barrier between the commensals and immune cells in host tissues, but also facilitate interactions between them. Perturbations of epithelial ...

Rice glutelin is a multi-subunit storage protein and has high nutritional value. However, many glutelin subunits are still not identified by experiment approach. In this study, a novel subunit (OsGluBX) was discovered by sequence alignment in the UniProtKB database. And then, the OsGluBX of rice from japonica cv. Nipponbare and ...

PURPOSE:To examine whether clinically significant patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) or indomethacin treatment are associated with plus disease or retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) requiring treatment. METHODS:Retrospective, cross-sectional study. Charts were reviewed for gestational age, birth weight, birth head circumference, birth length, maternal characteristics, gender, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, neurologic comorbidities, PDA and its ...

Serious, life-threatening conditions may result from too much gastric acid secretion by parietal cells, too little secretion of gastric acid and intrinsic factor by parietal cells, or loss of secreted gastric hydrochloric acid from the body. Understanding the physiology and pathophysiology of gastric secretion and its regulation can improve patient ...

To quantitatively characterize domain-specific cognition in individuals with symptomatic lacunar stroke in a systematic review. Systematic searches of MEDLINE and EMBASE were conducted. Inclusion criteria were all articles published prior to December 2011 evaluating domain-specific cognitive status in individuals with a symptomatic lacunar infarct. Data extraction identified cognitive domains with ...

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a genetic disorder characterized by extremely high levels of plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL), due to defective LDL receptor-apolipoprotein B (APOB) binding. Current therapies such as statins or LDL apheresis for homozygous FH are insufficiently efficacious at lowering LDL cholesterol or are expensive. Treatments that target APOB100, ...

ABSTRACT: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious health issue. There have been widespread research efforts in the area of IPV over the past several decades, primarily focusing on obstetrics, emergency medicine, and primary care settings. Until recently there has been a paucity of research focusing on IPV in surgery, ...

Microbial production of ethanol might be a potential route to replace oil and chemical feedstocks. Bioethanol is by far the most common biofuel in use worldwide. Lignocellulosic biomass is the most promising renewable resource for fuel bioethanol production. Bioconversion of lignocellulosics to ethanol consists of four major unit operations: pretreatment, ...

Pharmacodynamic (PD) analysis requires accurate and precise quantification of enzyme activity targeted by anticancer agents in surrogate cells like peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Enzyme activity is normally reported per mass unit of protein input. However, high and fluctuating hemoglobin (Hb) contamination strongly influences the protein content of PBMC cytosolic ...

Objective:Rapid growth, possibly occurring in critical periods in early life, may be important for the development of obesity. It is unknown whether this is influenced by postnatal exposures such as age-relevant sources of stress. Frequent house moves may be one such stressor. We aimed to examine if there is a ...

Two quite sensible ways of recording audiometric threshold data emerged in the early 1920s. They were advanced by Edmund Prince Fowler, an otologist, and by Harvey Fletcher, a physicist. Either would probably have been better than the present system, and would have preserved scientific tradition relative to the orientation of ...

Thrombospondin-related anonymous protein (TRAP), localized in the micronemes and on the surface of sporozoites of infamous malaria parasite Plasmodium, is a key molecule upon infection of mammalian host hepatocytes and invasion of mosquito salivary glands. TRAP contains two adhesive domains responsible for host cell recognition and invasion, and is known ...

PTEN plays a well-established role in the negative regulation of the PI3K pathway which is frequently activated in several cancer types, including breast cancer. A nuclear function in the maintenance of chromosomal stability has been proposed for PTEN but is yet to be clearly defined. In order to improve understanding ...

QUESTION Is biomarker- or symptom-based adjustment of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) dose better than physician assessment-based adjustment for preventing treatment failure in adults with mild to moderate asthma? METHODS DESIGN Randomized, placebo-controlled, 3-group trial (Best Adjustment Strategy for Asthma in the Long Term [BASALT] trial). ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00495157. ALLOCATION Unclear allocation concealment.* ...

We here report the results of a Phase I/IIa open-label four dose-escalation clinical study assessing the safety, tolerability, and possible therapeutic efficacy of a single intramuscular administration of DVC1-0101, a new gene transfer vector based on a nontransmissible recombinant Sendai virus (rSeV) expressing the human fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) gene ...

BACKGROUND: Resting echocardiographic measures of cardiac function such as left ventricular ejection fraction correlate poorly with exercise capacity. Assessment during exercise using measures less dependent on hemodynamic loading conditions, such as tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), may more accurately characterize the relationship between cardiac function and exercise capacity. METHODS AND RESULTS: ...