ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Polydactyly represents a heterogeneous group of congenital hand and foot anomalies with variable clinical features and diverse etiology. Preaxial polydactyly type I (PPD1) is the most frequent form of preaxial polydactyly. The etiology of sporadic PPD1 remains largely unknown and the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors ...

AIM: The aim of this study was to identify characteristics of epilepsy in Rett syndrome (RTT), and relationships between epilepsy and genotype. METHOD: Information on 685 females with RTT recruited to the international Rett syndrome database (InterRett) with a pathogenic MECP2 mutation was obtained from family and clinician questionnaires. Individuals ...

INTRODUCTION.: A relationship between sexual function and all body image variables has been reported. However, there are no studies analyzing the relationship between menstrual cycle, body image, and sexuality. AIM.: To evaluate clitoral changes, sexual behavior, and perceived body image during the menstrual cycle. METHODS.: Twenty-four women underwent ultrasonographic (US) ...

PURPOSE: Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a common ocular genetic disease for which over 20 candidate genomic loci have been identified. The high-grade myopia locus, MYP3, has been reported on chromosome 12q21-23 by four independent linkage studies. METHODS: We performed a genetic association study of the MYP3 locus in a family ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Pharmacological blockade showed sympathetic origin of 0.03 to 0.15 Hz blood pressure (BP) oscillations and parasympathetic origin of 0.15 to 0.5 Hz RR-interval (RRI) oscillations, but has not been used to determine origin of cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) oscillations at these frequencies. This study evaluated by ...

We demonstrate that a tertiary sulfonamide group, N(SO(2)R)R'(2), can rehybridize to form a M-N bond of normal length even when the group is in a linear tridentate ligand, such as in the new tridentate N(SO(2)R)dpa ligands derived from di-(2-picolyl)amine (N(H)dpa). N(SO(2)R)dpa ligands were used to prepare fac-[Re(CO)(3)(N(SO(2)R)dpa)](PF(6) or BF(4)) complexes. ...

Spiropins for SPPS: The rigid structure of an anomerically stabilised spiroketal motif enables the appendage of substituents in a fixed conformation. To assess the ability of a spiroketal motif to induce a turn structure and participate in solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), an Fmoc-spiroketal amino acid was synthesised and incorporated into ...

Immunization information systems (IIS) have been useful for consolidating immunization data and increasing coverage, and have the potential to be a valuable resource for immunization research, but the extent which IIS data are used for research purposes has not been evaluated. We reviewed studies conducted using data from federally supported ...

OBJECTIVES: Postinfarction ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a rare, but feared, complication after acute myocardial infarction. Although numerous techniques and materials have been used, the best technique has not yet been settled upon. We present a novel technique of VSD closure through the VSD via right ventricular (RV) incision and ...

Subitizing is a fast and accurate enumeration process of small sets of usually less than four objects. Several models were proposed in the literature. Critically, only pattern recognition theory suggests that subitizing performance is sensitive to the arrangement of the array. In our study, arrays of dots in random or ...

Abstract Lyme borreliosis is rapidly emerging in the United Kingdom, with over 1000 cases per annum now reported. Lyme borreliosis is caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) group of spirochetes, which are transmitted by ixodid ticks. In the United Kingdom, Ixodes ricinus is recognized as the principal vector ...

AIMS: In patients with myelomeningocele (MMC) and coexistent scoliosis, a spinal cord transection (SC-transection) is sometimes performed before scoliosis correction to prevent traction on the myelum after stretching the spinal column. Performing a SC-transection may have positive effects on bladder function, especially in case of refractory detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia. This study ...

A practical zinc insertion starting from cheap commercial zinc powder and TMPCl (1-chloro-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine) allows a fast and efficient synthesis of the zinc base TMPZnCl·LiCl under mild conditions in high yields. This base is kinetically highly active and was used for the regio- and chemoselective functionalization of dibromodiazines (pyridazines and pyrazines).

Second-opinion histopathology is a common practice in human medicine to avoid unnecessary procedures, costs and to optimize therapy. Histopathology review has been recommended in veterinary oncology as well. In this prospective evaluation of 52 tumours over a 1-year period, there was diagnostic agreement between first and second opinions in 52% ...

The regioselective intermolecular coupling reaction of vindoline with a wide range of substrates including β-ketoesters, β-diketones, β-ketoaldehydes, β-ketonitriles, malononitriles, and β-cyanoesters provides an opportunity for the synthesis of vinblastine analogues containing deep-seated changes in the upper velbanamine subunit. The transition-metal-free hypervalent iodine(III)-promoted intermolecular sp(3)/sp(2) coupling, representing a special class of ...

In multiple sclerosis (MS), myelin basic protein (MBP), critical for the maintenance of myelin compaction and protecting against degradation, is known to contain concentrations of the noncoded amino acid, "citrulline", in abnormal proportions. Peptidyl arginine deiminase (PAD) catalyzes the post-translational citrullination of proteins via the deimination of Arg residues. In ...

Objective: Therapeutic goals for chronic mental disorders like major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia have evolved in parallel with the growing medical knowledge about the course and treatment of these disorders. Although the knowledge base regarding the clinical course of ADHD, a chronic psychiatric disorder, has evolved beyond symptomatic improvement ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Pregnant women consume caffeine daily. The aim of this study was to examine the association between maternal caffeine intake from different sources and (a) gestational length, particularly the risk for spontaneous preterm delivery (PTD), and (b) birth weight (BW) and the baby being small for gestational age (SGA). ...

BACKGROUND: Patients with thalassemia in developing countries have limited access to safe transfusions, regular medical care and chelation therapy. Although allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can offer a curative approach, there are limited data on the use of this procedure in developing countries. PROCEDURE: Forty-four patients underwent a risk ...

Sorting it out: Applied in tandem, elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs, see scheme) and the Sortase A (SrtA) transpeptidase provide a method for chromatography-free purification of recombinant proteins and optional, site-specific conjugation of the protein to a small molecule (yellow). This system provides an efficient mechanism for generating bioactive proteins at high ...

Chk1 is the effector kinase of the G 2 DNA damage checkpoint. Chk1 homologs possess a highly conserved N-terminal kinase domain and a less conserved C-terminal regulatory domain. In response to DNA damage, Chk1 is recruited to mediator proteins assembled at lesions on replication protein A (RPA)-coated single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). ...

PURPOSE: Hypothalamic GABA signaling has been shown to regulate the hormonal response to hypoglycemia in animals. The hypothalamus is a challenging brain region for magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) due to its small size and central location. To investigate the feasibility of measuring GABA in the hypothalamus in humans, ultra-high field ...

In cationic carrier-mediated gene delivery, the disproportional relationship between the quantity of delivered DNA and the amount of encoded protein produced is a well-known phenomenon. The numerous intracellular barriers which need to be overcome by pDNA to reach the nucleoplasm play a major role in it. In contrast to what ...

A case-control study was conducted to estimate the association of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and to examine the potential utility of COMP as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in early knee OA. The COMP levels were estimated in the blood sera of 150 subjects belonging ...

On the basis of the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism, we have closely investigated the temperature dependence of quantum spin pumping generated using electron spin resonance. We have clarified that three-magnon splittings excite non-zero modes of magnons and characterize the temperature dependence of quantum spin pumping generated using electron spin resonance.

ObjectiveFatigue in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is burdensome and must be assessed using validated scales. Although the psychometric properties of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-Fatigue) scale in SLE have been evaluated previously, its content validity in this disease remains to be evaluated. The study objective was, therefore, ...

Maximized energy density: Controlled electrochemical charge injection (ECI) can be used for maximizing the energy density of supercapacitors (SCs). The electrode potential is tuned by the surface chemical structure of the electrode material to increase both the working voltage and the specific capacity of the SCs. As a result, the ...

Impaired wound healing frequently occurs in patients with diabetes. Interluekin-8 (IL-8) production by keratinocyte is responsible for recruiting neutrophils during healing. Intense inflammation is associated with diabetic wounds while reduction of neutrophil infiltration is associated with enhanced healing. We hypothesized that increased neutrophil recruitment by keratinocytes may contribute to the ...

AIMS: Calcium dyshomeostasis is implicated in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease. However, much of the previous research has focused on changes in neuronal calcium signaling. In a recent microarray study we identified dysregulation of several key signaling pathways including the Ca(2+) signaling pathway in astrocytes as ...

The impact of two model perfumes of differing degrees of hydrophobicity / hydrophilicity, linalool, LL, and phenylethanol, PE, on the solution structure of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl 6-benzene sulfonate, LAS-6, has been studied by small angle neutron scattering, SANS. For both types of perfume molecule a complex phase behavior ...

The blue light using FAD (BLUF) photosensory proteins are activated by a unique photoreaction that results in a hydrogen-bond rearrangement around the flavin chromophore. The chemical structure of the hydrogen bond switch is a long-standing debate: The two main hypotheses postulate rotation as opposed to tautomerization of a conserved glutamine ...

Abstract Purpose: The goal of this study was to develop and characterize indomethacin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (IN-SLNs; 0.1% w/v) for ocular delivery. Methods: Various lipids, homogenization pressures/cycles, Tween 80 fraction in the mixture of surfactants (Poloxamer 188 and Tween 80; total surfactant concentration at 1% w/v), and pH were investigated ...

A chiral gold(I) complex-catalyzed highly regio- and enantioselective azo hetero-Diels-Alder reaction has been developed. The chiral gold(I) complex acting as an oxophilic Lewis acid exhibits high efficiency in the activation of urea-based diazene dienophiles. Moreover, this chiral gold catalyst also rendered a cascade intramolecular enyne metathesis/ asymmetric azo HDA reaction.

Dynamic changes in intracellular Ca(2+) levels in vascular smooth muscle cells are critically important for cardiovascular regulation. This Special Topic Issue highlights a series of expert opinion articles focused on this important subject. After a brief overview, novel discoveries surrounding smooth muscle cell Ca(2+) influx via L-type and T-type channels ...

The EPA has established a maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 ppb for arsenic (As) in drinking water requiring sensitive and selective detection methodologies. To tackle this challenge, we have been active in constructing small molecules that react specifically with As(3+) to furnish a new fluorescent species (termed a chemodosimeter). ...

Specification of progenitors into the osteoblast lineage is an essential event for skeletogenesis. During endochondral ossification, cells in the perichondrium give rise to osteoblast precursors. Hedgehog (Hh) and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) are suggested to regulate the commitment of these cells. However, properties of perichondrial cells and regulatory mechanisms of ...

BACKGROUND: Androgen modulation of angiogenesis in prostate cancer may be not directly mediated by androgen receptor (AR) as AR is not detected in the prostatic endothelial cells. METHODS: We examined the paracrine stimulation of cell proliferation by prostate tumor cells and its modulation by androgen and estrogens in a murine ...

Traditionally, capillary electrophoresis with sodium dodecyl sulfate (CE-SDS) places many restrictions on sample composition. Requirements include low salt content, known initial sample concentration and a narrow window of final sample concentration. As these restrictions require buffer exchange for many sample types, sample preparation is often tedious and yields poor sample ...

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) was the second leading cause of death for the past 3 years in Taiwan. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system is considered a new risk factor of CAD because investigations show that the levels and bioactivity of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 (where IGFBP is insulin-like growth ...

Herein, we describe the first report on a new class of disk-shaped and quite monodisperse water soluble nanomaterials that we named glyconanosomes (GNS). GNSs were obtained by sliding out the cylindrical structures formed upon self-organization and photo-polymerization of glycolipid 1 on single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) sidewalls. GNSs present a ...

Summary Bayesian inference is considered for statistical models that depend on the evaluation of a computationally expensive computer code or simulator. For such situations, the number of evaluations of the likelihood function, and hence of the unnormalized posterior probability density function, is determined by the available computational resource and may ...

Abstract Objective: This retrospective clinical investigation intends to examine the effectiveness of an Er:YAG laser used in conjunction with a dental operation microscope for apicoectomy, in comparison with the traditional surgical procedure. Background data: The Er-YAG laser has shown great potential in application to periapical surgery; however, clinical data are ...

Background: Down syndrome (DS) results from the presence and expression of three copies of the genes located on chromosome 21. Studies have shown that, in addition to overexpression of the Cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) gene, polymorphisms in genes involved in folate/homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism may also influence the concentrations of metabolites of ...

Biofilms are complex communities of microorganisms living together at an interface. Because biofilms are often associated with contamination and infection, it is critical to understand how bacterial cells adhere to surfaces in the early stages of biofilm formation. Even harmless commensal Escherichia coli naturally forms biofilms in the human digestive ...

Objectives. Pituitary adenomas often cause deficits in visual acuity (VA) and visual field (VF) due to compression of the optic chiasm. This study is to identify factors most likely to predict the prognosis of VA and VF after transsphenoidal pituitary adenectomy. Materials and methods. Clinical records of patients who underwent ...

Abstract Animal models for Ehrlichia chaffeensis have been unsuccessful in recapitulating the natural disease cycle. We have developed an animal model for tick feeding and transmission using white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virgianus), the intracellular bacterium (Ehrlichia chaffeensis), and the lone star tick vector (Amblyomma americanum). Here, we report the acquisition and ...

During Drosophila embryogenesis the first epithelium with defined cortical compartments is established during cellularization. Actin polymerization is required for the separation of lateral and basal domains as well as suppression of tubular extensions in the basal domain. The actin nucleator mediating this function is unknown. We found that the formin ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Three percent of the population has an unruptured intracranial aneurysm (UIA). We aimed to identify independent risk factors from lifestyle and medical history for the presence of UIAs and to investigate the combined effect of well-established risk factors. METHODS: We studied 206 patients with an UIA who ...

Background:Breast milk composition can be affected by several factors, and it can exhibit short-term (weekly) variations. Investigating variations in breast milk composition is important to accurately estimate nutrient requirements of the infant.Objective:To investigate short-term changes in breast milk composition between left and right breasts, over a 3-week period within the ...

BACKGROUND: There is a high prevalence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in China. The aim of this article is to reveal the HBV prevalence and its outcome in southern China by analyzing the HBV serum markers and their relationship to HBV genotype. METHODS: HBV serum markers, HBV-DNA and Alanine ...