Abstract Purpose: We sought to evaluate the effects of intraoperative adjunctive autologous serum in idiopathic full-thickness macular hole surgeries, and to compare the surgical outcomes with a no-serum control group. Methods: In this retrospective, case-control study, 38 consecutive eyes received vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane removal for idiopathic full-thickness macular ...

ObjectiveAdenotonsillectomy (TA), performed for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or recurrent tonsillitis (RT), has been associated with weight gain after surgery. The objective of this study was to look at a large population of children undergoing TA and the demographic factors that contribute to postoperative weight gain.Study DesignCase series with retrospective ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Brucella is a group of bacteria that causes brucellosis, which can affect population health and reproductive success in many marine mammals. We investigated the serological prevalence of antibodies against Brucella bacteria in a declining harbor seal population in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. RESULTS: Prevalence ranged from 16 ...

We report a novel phase separation phenomenon observed in the growth of ternary InxGa1-xAs nanowires by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. A spontaneous formation of core-shell nanowires is investigated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, revealing the compositional complexity within the ternary nanowires. It has been found that, for InxGa1-xAs nanowires, high ...

We compared in conscious rabbits, sedated using pentobarbital intravenous (i.v.) infusion (5 mg kg(- 1) h(- 1)), the effect of a static magnetic field (SMF), generated by Nd(2)-Fe(14)-B magnets, on microcirculation during its 40 min local exposure to the microvascular network in cutaneous tissue [20 sham exposure and 20 SMF (0.25 T) exposure runs] or to sinocarotid ...

Retention times in reversed-phase liquid chromatography were quantitatively analyzed in silico using alkanes as standard compounds, much like they have been used for Kovats indices in gas chromatography. The molecular interaction energy was calculated between an analyte and a model hydrophobic phase using a molecular mechanics program. The solvation energy ...

Mammalian skeletal muscles undergo adaptation in response to changes in the functional demands upon them, involving mechanical-stress-induced cellular signaling called "mechanotransduction". We hypothesized that p130Cas, which is reported to act as a mechanosensor that transduces mechanical extension into cellular signaling, plays an important role in maintaining and promoting skeletal muscle ...

It has been proposed that the reinforcing properties of drugs of abuse are due, in part, to their ability to enhance memory consolidation. To test this hypothesis, heroin (0.03-3 mg/kg, SC) and d-amphetamine (0.5-2 mg/kg, SC) were administered to male Sprague-Dawley rats immediately or 4 h after training on win-stay ...

Activation of a cellular senescence program is a common response to prolonged oncogene activation or tumor suppressor loss, providing a physiological mechanism for tumor suppression in premalignant cells. The link between senescence and tumor suppression supports the hypothesis that a loss-of-function screen measuring bona fide senescence marker activation should identify ...

CD8(+) T cells play a crucial role in the clearance of intracellular pathogens through the generation of cytotoxic effector cells that eliminate infected cells and long-lived memory cells that provide enhanced protection against reinfection. We have previously shown that the inhibitor of E protein transcription factors, Id2, is necessary for ...

Recent clinical trials have shown that evasion of CD8(+) T cell responses against viral capsid is critical for successful liver-directed gene therapy with adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors for hemophilia. Preclinical models to test whether use of alternate serotypes or capsid variants could avoid this deleterious response have been lacking. Here, ...

It has been proposed that numerical and temporal information are processed by partially overlapping magnitude systems. Interactions across different magnitude domains could occur both at the level of perception and decision-making. However, their neural correlates have been elusive. Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans, we show that the ...

Cigarette smoking is a lifestyle behavior associated with significant adverse health effects including subfertility and premature ovarian failure. Cigarette smoke contains a number of chemicals, many of which are involved in the generation of reactive oxygen species, which can lead to apoptosis and autophagy. Autophagy is a fundamental process that ...

A key component of executive control and decision making is the ability to use the consequences of chosen actions to update and inform the process of future action selection. Evaluative signals, which monitor the outcomes of actions, are critical for this ability. Signals related to the evaluation of actions have ...

A novel method has been devised for the synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted pyrrole derivatives through the coupling of α-diazoketones with β-enaminoketones and esters using 10 mol % of Cu(OTf)(2). A wide range of 2,3-disubstituted indole derivatives were also prepared from α-diazoketones and 2-aminoaryl or alkyl ketones. The synthetic versatility of this ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Huanglongbing (HLB) is arguably the most destructive disease for the citrus industry. HLB is caused by infection of the bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter spp. Several citrus GeneChip studies have revealed thousands of genes that are up- or down-regulated by infection with Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus. However, whether and how these ...

Very little is known about the effects of an organic or conventional diet on animal physiology and health. Here we report the effect of contrasting crop protection (with or without chemosynthetic pesticides) and fertilization (manure or mineral fertilizers) regimes on feed composition and growth and physiological parameters of rats. The ...

This paper is meant to provide guidance to anyone wishing to write a neurological guideline for diagnosis or treatment, and is directed at the Scientist Panels and task forces of the European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS). It substitutes the previous guidance paper from 2004. It contains several new aspects: ...

Aim: The influence of culture substrate stiffness (in the kPa range) on chondrocyte behaviour has been described. Here we describe the response to variations in substrate stiffness in a soft range (2-20 Pa), as it may play a role in understanding cartilage physiopathology. Methods: We developed a system for cell ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Comorbidity in patients with diabetes is associated with poorer health and increased cost. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and ingredient cost of comorbidity in patients >=65 years with and without medication treated type 2 diabetes using a national pharmacy claims database. METHODS: The ...

The NS5A protein of hepatitis C virus plays roles in both virus genome replication and the assembly of infectious virus particles. NS5A comprises three domains, separated by low complexity sequences. Whilst the function of domain I appears to be predominantly involved with genome replication, the roles of domains II and ...

Some serine hydrolases also catalyze a promiscuous reaction- reversible perhydrolysis of carboxylic acids to make peroxycarboxylic acids. Five X-ray crystal structures of these carboxylic acid perhydrolases show a proline in the oxyanion loop. Here, we test whether this proline is essential for high perhydrolysis activity using Pseudomonas fluorescens esterase (PFE). ...

We estimated the effect of sexual behavior, age and immunodeficiency on the number of High-Risk Human-Papillomavirus (HR-HPV) in the anal canal among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM). Anal samples were genotyped with Linear Array and risk factors were investigated with Poisson regression. Of 586 MSM, 69% were ...

Radio frequency wave (RFW) generated by base transceiver station (BTS) has been reported to make deleterious effects on reproduction, possibly through oxidative stress. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of RFW generated by BTS on oxidative stress in testis and the prophylactic effect of vitamin C by measuring ...

Agrobacterium vitis, the causal agent of grape crown gall, can have severe economic effects on grape production. The bacterium survives systemically in vines and therefore is disseminated in propagation material. We developed an assay, for use in indexing programs, that is efficient and sensitive for detecting A. vitis in grape ...

Tendons are tough fibrous tissues that facilitate skeletal movement by transferring muscular force to bone. Studies into the effects of mechanical stress on tendons have shown that these can either accelerate healing or cause tendon injuries depending on the load applied. It is known that local strain magnitude and direction ...

We demonstrate all-electrical spin injection, transport and detection in heavily n-type doped Si nanowires using ferromagnetic Co/Al(2)O(3) tunnel barrier contacts. Analysis of both local and non-local spin valve signals at 4 K on the same nanowire device using a standard spin-transport model suggests that high spin injection efficiency (up to ...

Four metal-organic frameworks (MOF) with tetravalent uranium have been solvothermally synthesized by treating UCl(4) with rigid dicarboxylate linkers in N,N-dimethylfomamide (DMF). The use of the ditopic ligands 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylate (1), 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate (2), terephthalate (3), and fumarate (4) resulted in the formation of three-dimensional networks based on the hexanuclear uranium-centered motif [U(6) ...

Comment on: Link JM, et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2012; 109:19685-90.

Most current Bayesian SEIR (Susceptible, Exposed, Infectious, Removed (or Recovered)) models either use exponentially distributed latent and infectious periods, allow for a single distribution on the latent and infectious period, or make strong assumptions regarding the quantity of information available regarding time distributions, particularly the time spent in the exposed ...

An intriguing finding in motor control studies is the marked effect of risk on movement decision making. However, there are inconsistent reports of risk-sensitivity across different movements and tasks, with both risk-seeking and risk-averse behavior observed. This raises the question of whether risk-sensitivity in movement decision making is context-dependent and ...

The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes Clinical Practice Guideline for management of blood pressure (BP) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) supersedes the 2004 Kidney Disease Quality Outcomes Initiative document on this topic. The new guideline has been designed to assist clinical decision making in patients with CKD who are not ...

Electrostatic potential (ESP) is a useful physicochemical property of a molecule that provides insights into inter- and intra-molecular associations, as well as prediction of likely sites of electrophilic and nucleophilic metabolic attack. Knowledge of sites of metabolic attack is of parameter importance in DMPK research since drugs frequently fail in ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Biological scientists have long sought after understanding how genes and their structural/functional changes contribute to morphological diversity. Though both grain (BTx623) and sweet (Keller) sorghum lines originated from the same species Sorghum bicolor L., they exhibit obvious phenotypic variations. However, the genome re-sequencing data revealed that they exhibited ...

The effect of cationic liposomes (CLs) on mRNA conformation and translation was studied, focusing on membrane heterogeneity. CLs, composed of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphocholine/1,2-dioleoyl-3-timethylammonium propane (DOPC/DOTAP) and DOPC/3β-[N-(N',N'-dimethylaminoethane)-carbamoyl]cholesterol (DOPC/DC-Ch), inhibited mRNA translation in an Escherichia coli cell-free translation system. Analysis of the membrane fluidity and polarity indicated a heterogeneous DOPC/DC-Ch (70/30) membrane, while ...

Adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) naturally infects the liver after intravenous injection making it a candidate for hepatocyte-directed gene transfer. While Ad5 can be efficient, most of the dose is destroyed by liver Kupffer cells before it can reach hepatocytes. In contrast, Ad5 bearing the hexon from Ad6 (Ad5/6) evades Kupffer ...

The sodium-sulfur (NAS) battery is a candidate for energy storage and load leveling in power systems, by using the reversible reduction of elemental sulfur by sodium metal to give a liquid mixture of polysulfides (Na(2) S(n) ) at approximately 320 °C. We investigated a large number of reactions possibly occurring in ...

Fish oil omega-3 fatty acids, mainly eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, are used in the management of several diseases in companion animal medicine, many of which are inflammatory in nature. This review describes metabolic differences among omega-3 fatty acids and outlines potential adverse effects that may occur with their supplementation ...

The U.S. Department of Justice's investigations into financial relationships between surgical device manufacturers and orthopaedic surgeons have raised the question as to whether surgeons can continue to collaborate with industry and maintain public trust. We explored postoperative patients' views on financial relationships between surgeons and surgical device manufacturers, their views ...

Shielded metal arc welding using covered electrodes is the most common welding process. Sometimes the covering contains naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs). In Spain the most used electrodes are those covered with rutile mixed with other materials. Rutile contains some detectable natural radionuclides, so it can be considered a NORM. ...

BACKGROUND:Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used as a preoperative tool to estimate the size of articular cartilage defects to optimize treatment selection. However, the reliability of MRI sizing of cartilage defects is not well understood.Hypothesis/ PURPOSE:The purpose of this investigation was to compare the size of knee articular cartilage ...

Patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) represent a potential source for developing novel drug- and cell- therapies. Although increasing numbers of disease-specific iPSCs have been generated, there has been limited progress in iPSC-based drug screening/discovery for liver diseases, and the low gene targeting efficiency in human iPSCs warrants further improvement. ...

ABSTRACT: We report a case of early bioprosthetic valve calcification in a 76 year-old woman who had received supplementation with alfacalcidol, an analogue of vitamin D, for 3 years after her initial valve replacement. She underwent aortic valve replacement at the age of 71 and subsequently complained of shortness of ...

Poly/oligo(amidoamine)s (PAAs) have recently been recognised for their potential as well-defined scaffolds for multiple carbohydrate presentation and as multivalent ligands. Herein, we report two complimentary strategies for the preparation of such sequence-defined carbohydrate-functionalised PAAs that use photochemical thiolene coupling (TEC) as an alternative to the established azide-alkyne cycloaddition ("click") reaction. ...

BACKGROUND: The multicenter PROTECT AF study was conducted to determine whether percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) closure with a filter device (Watchman) was noninferior to warfarin for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients (n = 707) with nonvalvular AF and at least one risk factor (age ...

The first asymmetric total synthesis of hyperiones A and B, two norlignans from Hypericum chinense, has been accomplished following a chemoenzymatic approach. Key features of this synthesis include the lipase-catalyzed enantioselective desymmetrization of a prochiral allenic diol and a silver-mediated cycloisomerization of the resulting axially chiral product to furnish the ...

Background The psychological benefits of exercise are repeatedly and consistently reported in the literature. Various forms of exercise, varying in duration and intensity, yield comparably positive changes in affect, which sheds doubt on the significance of exercise characteristics in the acute mental health benefits resulting from physical activity. Aims Based ...

Rationale: Creatine is thought to be involved in the spatial and temporal buffering of ATP in energetic organs such as heart and skeletal muscle. Creatine depletion affects force generation during maximal stimulation, while reduced levels of myocardial creatine are a hallmark of the failing heart, leading to the widely held ...

OBJECTIVESConcomitant ablation is an established therapy in cardiac surgical patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Post-discharge care seems to be an essential factor for clinical outcome. We analysed the influence of event recorder (ER) implantation and therapy guidance by the results of continuous rhythm monitoring of consecutive postoperative follow-up by our ...

A series of four new palladium(II) complexes of 2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinoline-3-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazones with triphenylphosphine as coligand have been synthesized and characterized by the aid of various spectral techniques. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the unsubstituted thiosemicarbazone ligand acted as monobasic tridentate (ONS(-)) in the cationic [Pd(H-Qtsc-H)(PPh(3))]Cl complex, whereas the monosubstituted ...