BACKGROUND: We conducted Phase 2 of the Asthma Insights and Reality in the Asia-Pacific (AIRIAP 2) survey in 2006 to determine the level of asthma control in this region and the validity of the Asthma Control Test™ (ACT) and childhood ACT (C-ACT) in relation to asthma control. METHODS: Pediatric participants ...

BACKGROUND: Nucleotides released to the extracellular space stimulate purinergic receptors, and their effects are modulated by ectonucleotidases. The role of ATP in the allergic bronchospasm has been scantly studied. METHODS: We used several techniques (plethysmography, organ baths, confocal microscopy, RT-PCR, ATP measurement) to explore the role of nucleotides and ectonucleotidases ...

The present study was aimed at the identification of proteins that are differentially expressed in the urine of patients with prostate cancer (PCa), those with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and age-matched healthy male control subjects. Using a combination of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry, significantly lower expression of ...

Introduction: Nausea and vomiting are well recognized in different clinical situations, suggesting that no single mechanism is likely to be responsible for their production. Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) can have a negative impact on quality of life and this may lead to a refusal of curative therapy or to ...

As bread is the most relevant source of available carbohydrates in the diet and as lowering dietary glycaemic index (GI) is considered favourable to health, many studies have been carried out in order to decrease the GI of bread. The most relevant strategy that has been applied so far is ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Lead is a heavy metal and important environmental toxicant and nerve poison that can destruction many functions of the nervous system. Lead poisoning is a medical condition caused by increased levels of lead in the body. Lead interferes with a variety of body processes and is toxic to ...

Morphological studies of the gastrointestinal tract of blue-and-yellow macaws (Ara ararauna) are scarce. In view of the paucity of information regarding the digestive tract of macaws, this study aims to describe the gross anatomical features (oesophagus to cloaca) as part of a broad study of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of ...

Recent advances in molecular organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have shown 10% power conversion efficiency (PCE) for single-junction cells, which put them in direct competition with PVs based on amorphous silicon. Incorporation of plasmonic nanostructures for light trapping in these thin-film devices offers an attractive solution to realize higher-efficiency OPVs with PCE≫10%. ...

For surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates with nonspherical symmetry, it is critical to correlate spectroscopy measurements with imaging by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). However, the deposition of carbon resulting from e-beam exposure during SEM imaging contaminates the surface of nanoparticles, potentially preventing their further functionalization with Raman probe molecules. In ...

Carbohydrates on cell surfaces are critical components of the extracellular landscape and contribute to cell signalling, motility, adhesion and recognition. Multivalent effects are essential to these interactions that are inherently weak. Carbohydrate-functionalised surfaces meet an important need for studying the multivalent interactions between carbohydrates and other biomolecules. Innovations in nanomaterials ...

We have developed a synergic micro-extraction procedure based on ionic liquid for the preconcentration and determination of glucocorticoids in water samples. Using non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 (TX-100) as synergic reagent, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM]PF(6) ) accomplished extraction rapidly without heating in water bath. One key property of ionic liquids that highlights ...

Anticholinesterase pesticides have been widely used in agricultural and domestic settings and can be detected in the environment after long-term use. Although the acute toxic effects of chlorpyrifos and carbaryl have been well described, little is known about the chronic toxicity of the pesticides mixture. To investigate their chronic neurotoxicity, ...

Soil microbes in forest land are crucial to soil development in extreme areas. In this study, methods of conventional culture, PLFA and PCR-DGGE were utilized to analyze soil microbial quantity, fatty acids and microbial DNA segments of soils subjected to different site conditions in the Tarim Desert Highway forest land. ...

Ryanodine Receptors (RyRs) are the largest known ion channels. They are Ca(2+) -release channels found primarily on the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of myocytes. Several hundred mutations in RyRs are associated with skeletal or cardiomyocyte disease in humans. Many of these mutations can now be mapped onto the high-resolution structures of ...

Diatom settlement and cell division is important in two major aspects. Firstly, biofouling is a costly problem in the shipping industry that necessitates the effective inhibition of diatom settlement and proliferation. Secondly, biological coatings on the basis of ordered and densely packed cell lawns of diatom are useful for nano- ...

In an era of scientific method, precision of nomenclature and an electronically accessible publication record, the early history of keratoconus still remains, in parts, as complex and perplexing as the disease itself. Historically, the disease has been somewhat confusingly referred to by several different terms, including hyperkeratosis, ochlodes, conical formed ...

Osteopontin (OPN), a multifunctional glycoprotein, has three transcripts that have distinct roles in tumors in vitro. Whether OPN transcripts have different functions in tumor processes in vivo is unclear. It has been reported that immune cell-derived OPN can promote tumor formation. We propose a hypothesis that tumor-derived OPN may facilitate ...

PURPOSE: Ultrasound (US) has been used in the management of carpal tunnel syndrome since the 1980s. The first report of US-guided carpal tunnel release (CTR) was published in 1997, with cadaver and clinical reports confirming the safe navigation of surgical tools with US for division of the transverse carpal ligament. ...

This Review investigates the development of Angewandte Chemie since the founding of the journal in 1887 and analyzes how its content reflects the changes in chemical research over these 125 years. Although Angewandte Chemie was originally founded as a journal for applied ("angewandte")-technical and analytical-chemistry, numerous review articles and abstracts ...

PURPOSE: A number of studies have shown that the levels of some proteins in the aqueous humor (AH) are altered and correlate with the mechanisms or prognosis of many eye diseases. To identify the possible mechanisms that lead to the development of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a proteomic analysis ...

An ONIOM-XS MD simulation has been performed to characterize the "structure-making" ability of Na(+) in dilute aqueous solution. The region of most interest, i.e., a sphere that includes Na(+) and its surrounding water molecules, was treated at the HF level of accuracy using LANL2DZ and DZP basis sets for the ...

A simple and versatile fabrication process is used to define conducting polymer microelectrode arrays (MEAs), patterning at the same time the recording electrodes as well as the insulating layer. Thanks to the low impedance of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) electrodes, these MEAs allow in vitro recording of action potentials from rat hippocampus ...

We announce the establishment of a new family of macrocycles-the asararenes, which are based on para-methylene linked "asarol methyl ether" (1,2,4,5-tetramethoxybenzene) units. Macrocycles with 6-12 aromatic units have been synthesized and isolated in a single step from asarol methyl ether and paraformaldehyde. Even larger rings, with up to 15 asarol ...

METHODS: Tumor necrosis factor receptor associated factor-1 (TRAF-1) and TRAF-2 are involved in TNF-α/TNF-R signaling pathways. This study aimed to investigate the expression of TRAF-1 and TRAF-2 in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. OBJECTIVE: Immunostaining, Western blot and Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to detect the expression of ...

The paper presents a new concept of preparative solution isoelectric focusing (sIEF) where time requirements and efficiency are similar to gel based IEF whereas simple fraction handling as well as quick and complete protein recovery typical for solution based IEF methods are maintained. The presented method is based on the ...

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication in critically ill patients and is associated with a high mortality. Clinicians have limited tools to predict the course of AKI at the time of serum creatinine increase. We evaluated the diagnostic and prognostic utility of urinary cystatin C (uCysC) in ...

Transcription factors ATF2 (activating transcription factor 2) and ATF7 (activating transcription factor 7) are highly homologous members of the activator protein 1 (AP-1) family. Their activities are growth factor and stress stimulated and they strictly require phosphorylation by mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases for their transcriptional functions. In samples of human ...

As the pressure for providing liver transplantation to more and more candidates increases, transplant programs have begun to consider deceased donor characteristics that were previously considered unacceptable. With this trend, attention has focused on better defining those donor factors that can impact the outcome of liver transplantation. This review examines ...

Animal health surveillance programmes may change in response to altering requirements or perceived weaknesses but are seldom subjected to any formal evaluation to ensure that they provide valuable information in an efficient manner. The literature on the evaluation of animal health surveillance systems is sparse, and those that are published ...

In light of recent interest in societal subjective well-being, policies that seek to improve the economy and labor markets need to address the question of whether economic factors matter for worker well-being, specifically job satisfaction. In a worldwide representative poll of 136 nations, economic factors are associated with job satisfaction ...

SCOPE: Pterostilbene (trans-3,5-dimethoxy-4'-hydroxystilbene, PTS) possesses various health-promoting effects. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of aqueous solubility, fasting, dose escalation, and dosing route on its bioavailability in Sprague-Dawley rats. METHODS AND RESULTS: Upon intravenous administration (2.5 mg/kg), PTS had rapid clearance (Cl = 68.2 ± 9.8 mL/min/kg) and moderate ...

The overall goal of this work is to demonstrate how resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals may be used to objectively parcellate functionally heterogeneous subregions of the human amygdala into structures characterized by similar patterns of functional connectivity. We hypothesize that similarity of functional connectivity of subregions with ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the new DXA VAT method on an Asian Chinese population by comparing to a reference method, computed tomography (CT). DESIGN AND METHODS: In total, 145 adult men and women volunteers, representing a wide range of ages (19 to 83 years) and BMI values (18.5 to 39.3 kg/m(2) ...

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed whether the subjective experience of patients with schizophrenia improved after switching from an oral antipsychotic to flexibly-dosed paliperidone extended-release. METHODS: We conducted a 24-week, multicenter, non-comparative, open-label trial. A total of 387 patients with schizophrenia participated the study. The primary study outcome was the change in ...

The input of phosphorus (P) through atmospheric deposition can be a major source of P to fresh water bodies, and may strongly affect their biogeochemistry. In Lake Kinneret (LK), northern Israel, dust deposition provides a significant fraction of the bio-available P input. Here we demonstrate that the oxygen isotopic composition ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The aim of this research was to determine the intensity and mechanisms of the cytotoxic actions of five extracts isolated from the endemic plant species Helichrysum zivojinii Cernjavski & Soska (family Asteraceae) against specific cancer cell lines. In order to evaluate the sensitivity of normal immunocompetent cells implicated ...

Pseudo-progression (PsP) refers to the paradoxical increase of contrast enhancement within 12 weeks of chemo-radiation therapy in gliomas attributable to treatment effects rather than early tumor progression (ETP). This study was performed to evaluate the utility of morphologic imaging features, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and radiation dosimetric analysis of magnetic resonance ...

This review, compiled for celebrating the decennial of the series of issues of Electrophoresis on bioanalysis, does not cover much heri (yesterday in Latin), since this was extensively described by my previous review Electrophoresis 2004, 25, 2111-2127, nor, for that matter cras (tomorrow, in Latin) since making predictions on future ...

In this study, we determined serum levels of metallothioneins (MTs) and zinc in children with solid tumours (neuroblastoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, medulloblastoma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma and nephroblastoma) by differential pulse voltammetry Brdicka reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Zn(II) level in patients sera was 40% compared to controls, contrariwise, MT level was ...

Abstract Objective. To determine thresholds of maternal glycemia at which specific adverse pregnancy outcomes occur in high-risk population. Methods. A total of 1,002 pregnant women with risk factors for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) underwent an originally modified glucose tolerance test (OGTT) with 75g of glucose. Information on OGTT results and ...

Omega-6 (n-6) arachidonic acid (AA) and its pro-inflammatory metabolites, including prostaglandin E2 (PGE(2) ), are known to promote tumorigenesis. Delta-6 desaturase (D6D) is the rate-limiting enzyme for converting n-6 linoleic acid (LA) to AA. Our objective was to determine if AA synthesis, specifically D6D activity, and PGE(2) levels are increased ...

The review gives an update about the methodological and instrumental developments in micellar electrokinetic chromatography as a type of capillary electrophoresis analytical technique. Here, the last two years development of the technique are particularly presented. Recent approaches to improve sensitivity are discussed. Newly introduced concentration techniques and experimental methods for ...

Single and large-area aligned crystalline microribbons of 6,13-dichloropentacene (DCP) are prepared. The ribbons display excellent charge transport properties with a mobility of up to 9.0 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) in ambient conditions, one of the highest values reported for organic semiconductors. The slipped π-π stacking with large intermolecular overlap is responsible ...

We compared the clinical efficacy of various psoriasis treatments among: (i) topical application of calcipotriol ointment twice daily (group I); (ii) topical application of calcipotriol ointment twice daily and narrowband ultraviolet B NB-UVB phototherapy once a week (group II); (iii) topical application of heparinoid ointment twice daily and NB-UVB phototherapy ...

The treatment of melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer, is being revolutionized by the development of personalized targeted therapy approaches. Mutant-selective BRAF inhibitors and MEK inhibitors have demonstrated impressive clinical results in molecularly selected patients. However, emerging understanding of the molecular heterogeneity of this disease and the identification ...

Molecular systems that can be remotely controlled by light are gaining increasing importance in cell biology, physiology, and neurosciences because of the spatial and temporal precision that is achievable with laser microscopy. Two-photon excitation has significant advantages deep in biological tissues, but raises problems in the design of "smart" probes ...

Difunctionalization: Inexpensive and environmentally benign FeCl(3) catalyzes the oxidative 1,2-alkylarylation of activated alkenes with an aryl C(sp(2) )H bond and a C(sp(3) )H bond adjacent to a heteroatom. This reaction is a new strategy for the synthesis of oxindoles and makes use of DBU as ligand and TBHP as oxidant ...

Using charge modulated electroabsorption spectroscopy (CMEAS), for the first time, the energy level alignment of a polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cell is directly measured. The charge-transfer excitons generated by the sub-bandgap optical pumping are coupled with the modulating electric field and introduce subtle changes in optical absorption in the sub-bandgap ...

Large-conductance Ca(2+) -activated K(+) channels (BK(C) (a) ), located on the vascular smooth muscle, play an important role in regulation of vascular tone. In penile corpus cavernosum tissue, opening of BK(C) (a) channels leads to relaxation of corporal smooth muscle which is essential during erection; however, there is little information ...

There are two major classes of neurons in nervous systems: projection neurons and interneurons. During Drosophila nervous system development, a subpopulation of individual stem/progenitor cells gives rise to both motor neurons and interneurons. However, it remains unknown whether individual stem/progenitor cells in the mammalian brain also have the potential to ...