In this topical review, progress achieved in amperometric sensing of different analytes over conducting polymer-based hybrid electrocatalysts is summarized. We report a variety of synthetic methods and the resulting hybrid assemblies, with the effectiveness of such strategies, for designing conjugated polymer-based hybrids as robust sensors for amperometric detection. Beyond incorporation ...

The present study aimed to examine the association between frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption and cognitive functioning following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Sixty moderately to severely injured individuals had completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) to measure preinjury alcohol use soon after injury and were recruited and ...

ABSTRACT Obesity is an established risk factor for cognitive impairment. Theories of cognitive reserve suggest that premorbid factors, such as intellectual ability, may attenuate the expression of cognitive impairment due to age or disease. The current study examined whether cognitive reserve, defined as estimated premorbid intellectual ability, moderates the relationship ...

Disordered copper metabolism may be important in the aetiology of Parkinsonism, as caeruloplasmin is a key enzyme in handling oxidative stress and is involved in the synthesis pathway of dopamine. The human Cu metabolism of ten Parkinsonism patients was compared to ten healthy controls with the aid of a stable ...

This study examined peer relationships in children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) relative to children with orthopedic injuries (OI), and explored whether differences in peer relationships correlated with white matter volumes. Classroom procedures were used to elicit peer perceptions of social behavior, acceptance, and friendships for eighty-seven 8- to 13-year-old ...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ~21-nucleotide long endogenous small RNAs that regulate gene expression through post-transcriptional or transcriptional gene silencing and/or translational inhibition. miRNAs can arise from the "exon" of a MIRNA gene, from an intron (e.g. mirtrons in animals), or from the antisense strand of a protein coding gene (natural antisense ...

Malaria is one of the world's leading killer infectious diseases with high incidence and morbidity. The problem of multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum has been aggravating particularly in Southeast Asia. Therefore, development of new potential antimalarial drugs is urgently required. The present study aimed to investigate antimalarial activities of a total of ...

SUMMARY Tuberculosis is emerging/re-emerging in captive elephant populations, where it causes morbidity and deaths, although no case of TB in wild African elephants has been reported. In this paper we report the first case of fatal TB in an African elephant in the wild. The infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis was ...

Aminopeptidase N (APN) inhibitors have been reported to be effective in treating of life threatening diseases including cancer. Validated ligand- and structure-based pharmacophore mapping approaches were combined with Bayesian modeling and recursive partitioning to identify structural and physicochemical requirements for highly active APN inhibitors. Based on the assumption that ligand- ...

BACKGROUND: Staged thyroidectomy has been recommended when loss of the signal from intraoperative nerve monitoring is observed after first-side dissection of the recurrent laryngeal nerve. There is no high-quality evidence supporting this recommendation. In addition, it is not clear whether signal loss predicts postoperative vocal cord paralysis. METHODS: This was ...

Clotrimazole is an azole fungicide used as a human pharmaceutical that is known to inhibit cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymatic activities, including several steroidogenic CYP. In a previous report, we showed that a 7-day exposure to clotrimazole induced the expression of genes related to steroidogenesis in the testes as a compensatory ...

The high prevalence of type 2 diabetes and its uneven distribution among human populations is both a major public health concern and a puzzle in evolutionary biology. Why is this deleterious disease so common, while the associated genetic variants should be removed by natural selection? The 'thrifty genotype' hypothesis proposed ...

The synthesis and characterization of one novel proligand and six novel vanadium(iii) trichloride complexes is described. The controlled radical polymerization activity towards vinyl acetate of these, and eight other bis(imino)pyridine vanadium trichloride complexes previously reported, is investigated. Those complexes possessing variation at the N-aryl para-position with no steric protection offered ...

PURPOSE: It has been reported that restless legs syndrome (RLS) might be associated with multiple psychosomatic symptoms. We aimed to identify which psychosomatic symptom is the most related in RLS patients compared to healthy controls. We also attempted to determine the relation between psychosomatic comorbidity and RLS severity regardless of ...

This study demonstrated the improved polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production via high cell density cultivation of Bacillus megaterium BA-019 with balanced initial total sugar concentration and carbon to nitrogen (C/N) weight ratio. In the 10 L stirred fermentor operated at 30 °C, pH 7.0, 600 rpm, and 1.0 vvm air, with the initial total sugar concentration ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Deviations in composition and diversity of intestinal microbiota in infancy have been associated with both the development and recurrence of atopic eczema. Thus, we decided to use a deep and global microarray-based method to characterize the diversity and temporal changes of the intestinal microbiota in infancy and to ...

The history of centralized matches for postgraduate selection is briefly discussed with a focus on the match instituted by the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN) in 2001] Survey data, conducted both by APPCN and independently, are summarized. In general, despite incomplete participation and an estimated 30% rate ...

BACKGROUND: The specificity of breast MRI is only moderate. The unsatisfactory specificity of breast MRI has prompted evaluation of high signal intensity (SI) on T2-weighted imaging (T2WI). The purpose of the study was to investigate the prevalence of prepectoral edema determined using high SI on T2WI with fat-suppression 3 T MRI ...

We present a study through extensive simulation that considers the impact of inhomogeneous optical scattering coefficient distribution on recovery of optical absorption coefficient maps using tomographic photoacoustic data collected from media mimicking breast tissue. We found that while the impact of scattering heterogeneities/targets is modest on photoacoustic recovery of optical ...

PURPOSE: To compare pretherapy (124)I PET/CT and posttherapy (131)I SPECT/CT in the identification of pathological lesions and the staging of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma. METHODS: (124)I SPECT with low-dose CT in addition to a standard whole-body scan was performed 5 days following (131)I therapy with the administration of 1,110-7,728 MBq. Pretherapy ...

Arsenic contamination in a water system is an urgent environmental problem that has caused severe endemic arsenicosis in south and southeast Asian countries. It is well known that microbially mediated arsenic metabolism can enhance arsenic mobility, bioavailability, and toxicity. Here, for the first time, we applied the Illumina high-throughput metagenomic ...

PURPOSE: Higher plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) levels are associated with a decreased incidence of colorectal cancer, but the influence of plasma PLP on survival of patients with colorectal cancer is unknown. We prospectively examined whether prediagnostic plasma PLP levels are associated with mortality among colorectal cancer patients. METHODS: We included ...

Immunologic interventions in a subset of breast cancer patients represent a well-established therapeutic approach reflecting individualized treatment modalities. Thus, the therapeutic administration of monoclonal antibodies targeting tumor-associated antigens (TAA), such as Her-2/neu, represents a milestone in cancer treatment. However, passive antibody administration suffers from several drawbacks, including frequency and long ...

Few studies have evaluated the effects of alcohol consumption on the incidence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Therefore, the objective of the present study was to examine the association between alcohol consumption and incident MetS in a population of US men. This is a prospective study of 7483 Caucasian men, ...

Microsatellite stable (MSS), CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP)-negative colorectal tumors, the most prevalent molecular subtype of colorectal cancer, are associated with extensive copy number alteration (CNA) events and aneuploidy. We report on the identification of characteristic recurrent CNA (with frequency >25%) events and associated gene expression profiles for a total ...

Vomiting is a protective reflex that results in forceful ejection of stomach contents up to and out of the mouth. It is a common complaint and may be the presenting symptom of several life-threatening conditions. It can be caused by a variety of organic and nonorganic disorders; gastrointestinal (GI) or ...

It has been accepted that the dynamic responses of ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) microbubbles will be significantly affected by the encapsulating shell properties (e.g., shell elasticity and viscosity). In this work, a new model is proposed to describe the complicated rheological behaviors in an encapsulating shell of UCA microbubbles by ...

Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is caused by translocation of the MYC gene to an immunoglobulin locus resulting in its constitutive expression depending on the activity of the immunoglobulin (Ig) enhancer elements. Treatment of BL cell lines with epigenetic modifiers is known to repress B-cell specific genes and to up-regulate B-cell-inappropriate genes ...

Objectives. Ambulatory systolic-diastolic pressure regression index (ASDPRI) is a composite marker of cardiovascular properties. The study was conducted to investigate the relationship between ASDPRI and cardiovascular events in patients with significant coronary atherosclerosis confirmed in angiography. Methods. Associations between ASDPRI and cardiovascular events were examined in 891 subjects referred for ...

Bacterial cellulases have taken on satisfactory application performance and economic value in detergent industry. Neutral endoglucanase (EG1) gene was cloned from Bacillus subtilis and expressed Pichia pastoris in our previous study. Redesigned endoglucanases enhanced cellulase domain, added and deleted carbohydrate-binding module (CBM), named EG2, EG3, and EG4, respectively, were constructed ...

Abstract 9-Substituted (pyrazol-5-yl)methyl- or (2-pyrazolin-5-yl)methyl-9H-purines were synthesized from 9-allyl-6-chloro-9H-purine through the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with nitrile imines, prepared in situ from the corresponding hydrazone and NBS/Et(3)N under MW or from hydrazinoylchloride and Et(3)N under reflux. The coupling of new 6-chloropurines with amines in H(2)O under microwaves resulted quantitatively to modified ...

PURPOSE: To enable comparison of test results, a widely available measurement system for the pivot shift test is needed. Simple image analysis of lateral knee joint translation is one such system that can be installed on a prevalent computer tablet (e.g. iPad). The purpose of this study was to test ...

The purpose of this work is to characterize the interactions of two disulfide-constrained cyclic tetrapeptides [c(Ac-Cys-Pro-Phe-Cys-NH(2)), SS1; c(Ac-Cys-Pro-Gly-Cys-NH(2)), SS2] with Cu(2+) ions in order to facilitate the design of cyclic peptides as sensors for metal ions. The Cu(2+)-peptide complex cations at m/z 569.1315 for Cu(2+)-SS1 and m/z 479.0815 for Cu(2+)-SS2 ...

PURPOSE: The aim of this pilot study was to explore heterogeneity in the temporal behavior of intratumoral [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) accumulation at a regional scale in patients with cervical cancer undergoing chemoradiotherapy. METHODS: Included in the study were 20 patients with FIGO stages IB1 to IVA cervical cancer treated with combined ...

The influenza pandemic of 1918-19 was the single most lethal short-term epidemic of the twentieth century. For Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, the most widely used estimate of mortality from that pandemic is 1.5 million. We estimated mortality from the influenza pandemic in Java and Madura, home to ...

While the importance of intrafamilial communication of hereditary cancer risk has been acknowledged, the factors that promote and act as barriers to patients disclosing their information to their families are complex and emerging. This raises the question: How are patients guided in practice to contemplate intrafamilial communication? Focusing on breast ...

RNA interference (RNAi) is an evolutionary conserved gene regulation pathway that has emerged as an important discovery in the field of molecular biology. One of the important advantages of RNAi in therapy is that it brings about efficient downregulation of gene expression by targeting complementary transcripts in comparison with other ...

Two neutral cyclometalated platinum(ii) complexes, Pt(DPP)(acac) and Pt(BPP)(acac) (DPP = 2,4-diphenylpyridine, BPP = 2-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-4-phenylpyridine, acac = acetylacetone), have been synthesized and characterized by (1)H NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, elemental analyses and by X-ray crystallography for Pt(DPP)(acac). Electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of the two complexes in the absence or presence of coreactant ...

To extend the knowledge of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) habitats, bacterial communities were examined in two hypersaline sulphidic basins in Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The 2 m thick seawater-brine haloclines of the deep anoxic hypersaline basins Bannock and L'Atalante were sampled in intervals of 10 cm with increasing salinity. (15)N isotope pairing incubation ...

RATIONALE: Cigarette smokers typically display impulsivity by preferring immediate rewards over larger, delayed rewards at shorter delays than do non-smokers. Suggesting causality, nicotine injections in rats increase the choice for an immediate reward over a larger, delayed reward. OBJECTIVES: To examine the generality of this latter effect, the present study ...

Increasing evidence suggests that 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels are associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS). In 2010, we explored the association of serum 25(OH)D and PTH levels with MetS in 1,390 Chinese participants, aged 20-83 years. Anthropometric phenotypes, blood pressure, and the incidence of MetS were evaluated. In ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the role of sociodemographic and nutritional factors in the incidence of births affected by neural tube defects (NTD) in the North Indian population. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Government hospitals of Delhi, India. SUBJECTS: Subjects comprised 284 mothers of NTD children (cases) and 568 mothers of healthy children ...

Sixty specimens of the "cururu" toad, Rhinella icterica (Spix 1824) (Bufonidae), were collected in Campo Belo do Sul, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil, between May 2009 and January 2011, and were examined for the presence of helminth parasites. Nine species of adult helminths were found: Catadiscus cohni, Rudolphitrema rudolphii, Cylindrotaenia ...

Soil organic matter (SOM) is involved in many important ecosystem processes. Ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry has become a powerful technique in the chemical characterization of SOM, allowing assignment of elemental formulae for thousands of peaks resolved in a typical mass spectrum. We investigated how the addition of N, S, and ...

The objective of this study is to examine the association between physical and sexual violence exposure and somatic symptoms among female adolescents. We studied a nationally representative sample of 8,531 females, aged 11-21 years, who participated in the 1994-1995 Wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). ...

In general, the presence of metabolic syndrome is associated with significant cardiovascular mortality and represents a growing public health concern in the USA. Patients with schizophrenia have a three times greater risk of death than the general population, with cardiovascular disease being the most common cause of this mortality. Use ...

SYMPTOMS: A 40 year old, disoriented, HIV- and Hepatitis B positive male patient was admitted with 40.3 °C. Clinically he presented a sinustachycardia (160/min) and hypotension (70/60 mmHg). INVESTIGATIONS/DIAGNOSIS: Laboratory analyses showed elevated infection parameters, azotemia, proteinuria and thrombopenia. CD(4+)T-helper cells: 320/µl (32 %), HIV RNA: < 40 copies/ml, Hepatitis B DNA: 20800 copies/ml. ...

This article presents recent progress in the conversion of propargyl vinyl ethers into heterocyclic scaffolds and how this goal can be reached in a diversity-oriented approach. The article also includes examples of transformations of propargyl vinyl ethers where the propargyl vinyl ether moieties are formed in situ. Furthermore, related reactions ...

Summary Knowledge on parthenogenetic activation of oocytes is important to improve the efficiency of nuclear transfer (NT) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) because artificial activation of oocyte (AOA) is an essential step to achieve embryo production. Although different procedures for AOA have been established, the efficiency of in vitro production ...

Amine elimination of rare-earth-metal tris(silylamide) complexes Ln[N(SiHMe(2))(2)](3)(THF)(x) (Ln = Sc, x = 1; Ln = Y, x = 2) with 1 equiv. of the amidines [PhC(N-2,6-R(2)C(6)H(3))(2)]H afforded a series of neutral mono(amidinate) rare-earth-metal bis(silylamide) complexes [PhC(N-2,6-R(2)C(6)H(3))(2)]Ln[N(SiHMe(2))(2)](2)(THF)(y) (R = Me, Ln = Sc, y = 0 (); R = Me, Ln ...