Ιατρικά Άρθρα Αλέξανδρος Γ. Σφακιανάκης: 01/29/17

Κυριακή 29 Ιανουαρίου 2017

Scientists Develop a "Better Way" to Produce Renewable Hydrogen

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed a “better way” to make hydrogen using renewable energy according to a paper...

-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

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Trans-Himalayan Rhodiola imbricata Edgew. root: a novel source of dietary amino acids, fatty acids and minerals

Abstract

Roots of Rhodiola imbricata Edgew from Indian trans-Himalayan cold desert known for their nutritional and medicinal attributes were evaluated for the dietary amino acids, fatty acids and mineral composition. Nine essential and twelve non-essential amino acids were quantified. The contents ranged between 91.33 and 1640.67 µg/g. Histidine (1434.33 µg/g), lysine (1329.33 µg/g) and threonine (1015.67 μg/g) were dominant essential amino acids, while glycine (1640.67 µg/g), proline (1263.67 µg/g), alanine (1142.33 µg/g), cystine HCL (1136.33 μg/g) and nor leucine (1038.67 μg/g) were major non essential amino acids. The total lipid was found to be rich source of saturated fatty acids such as capric acid (19.91%), caproic acid (10.87%), palmitic acid (9.42%), lignoceric acid (6.16%) and behenic acid (5.71%), which together constituted 52% of the lipid content. Linoleic acid (15.06%), oleic acid (12.38%), arachidonic acid (8.38%), linolelaidic acid (6.11%) and docosadienoic acid (5.99%) were prominent unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs). Mono unsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were 35.64% and 12.33% of the lipid content respectively. Calcium (11034.17 mg/kg), potassium (2143.25 mg/kg), iron (1441.17 mg/kg), magnesium (581.99 mg/kg), phosphorous (376.72 mg/kg) and sodium (109.75 mg/kg) were detected as the major dietary minerals.

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Polyphenolic content and bactericidal effect of Mexican Citrus limetta and Citrus reticulata

Abstract

In this study, total phenolics, total flavonoids, hesperidin and ascorbic acid contents in bagasse, juice and seed of mexican sweet lime (Citrus limetta) and mandarine (Citrus reticulata) were determined at two commercial maturity stages (maturation index), as well as their bactericidal effect on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The results showed that bagasses had the highest total phenolics, total flavonoids, and hesperidin content for both, C. limetta, and C. reticulata; highest ascorbic acid contents were found in C. limetta juice (3.36 ± 0.25 mg g⁻¹ DW) and C. reticulata bagasse (3.83 ± 0.37 mg g⁻¹ DW). All tested extracts showed bacterial growth inhibition at 50 and 800 µg mL⁻¹. Bagasse extracts of both fruits showed the highest inhibitions (>90%) on tested bacteria. Total phenolics, total flavonoids, and hesperidin contents, as well as bactericidal effect increased with maturity. Results indicated that both Mexican citric fruits (C. limetta and C. reticulata) were good sources of antioxidant and bactericidal agents.

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Influence of lipid content and packaging methods on the quality of dried capelin ( Mallotus villosus ) during storage

Abstract

Capelin annual catch exceeds half a million tons in Iceland, with only a small quantity (<20%) of female with roe used for human food. There is a potential to use dried male capelin as a new product for human consumption, but its lipid content varies considerably (4–20% body weight). Earlier studies were more concentrated on the influence of drying conditions than the influence of storage conditions on the quality of dried fish, as dried fish are usually considered to be stable and safe during storage. Three batches of dried male capelin differing in lipid content were packaged and studied during 5 months storage at 22 ± 2 °C to establish appropriate lipid content at harvesting and product packaging method. Lipid composition, lipid hydrolysis and oxidation, sensory attributes and microbial activity were evaluated. Batches differed in composition and stability, with low lipid capelin constituting higher proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (22% lipid) than high lipid (18% lipid) capelin. Lipid oxidation was influenced by lipid content and packaging method, as accelerated oxidation occurred in high lipid and open packed capelin. Lipid hydrolysis was less influenced by packaging and was greater in low lipid capelin. High lipid capelin in open bags scored the highest for rancid odor. All batches were micro-biologically stable with colony-forming unit counts increasing less than log 1 (log 5–6) during 5 months storage.

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Simultaneous improvement in solvent permeability and deacidification of soybean oil by nanofiltration

Abstract

In this paper, soybean oil deacidification and hexane removal using laboratory scale solvent resistance nanofiltration membranes based technique is presented. Composite nanofiltration membranes made of different polymers poly(vinylideneflouride) (PVDF), polydimethylsiloxane (SI), polycarbonate (PC), and glycerol were tested to remove the hexane and free fatty acid (FFA) from soybean oil/hexane miscella (oil feed solution 10, 25, and 35% w/w) at 20 bar of transmembrane pressure and 30 °C, in a dead-end filtration set up. All membranes tested showed low fouling phenomena and high stability in the presence of hexane throughout the membrane pre-treatment and permeation procedure. The PVDF-10SI-1PC membrane showed the best performance achieving a miscella permeability of L_m = 6.8 × 10⁻⁶ L (h m bar)⁻¹, oil and FFA sieving efficiency of β_(oil) = 0.21(80% of oil rejection) and β_FFA = 2.43 (27% of FFA removal), respectively, at oil feed concentration of 25%. Apart from these specific properties, the PVDF-10SI-1PC membrane presented excellent mechanical and chemical resistances and low reversible fouling. The results demonstrate that membrane technology can attain a high efficiency in the simultaneous solvent recovery and deacidification of oil/hexane miscella commonly processed in the soybean oil industry.

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A comparative overview of antioxidative properties and phenolic profiles of different fungal origins: fruiting bodies and submerged cultures of Coprinus comatus and Coprinellus truncorum

Abstract

Bioactive properties of fungi considerably differ between the fruiting body (FB) and the submerged culture as regards mycelia (M) and the fermentation broth (F). Antioxidant properties of hot-water extracts obtained from three different fungal origins: FB, M and F of two autochthonous fungal species (Northern Serbia), Coprinus comatus and Coprinellus truncorum were investigated. Free radical scavenging capacity (RSC) was evaluated in vitro by the DPPH assay and reducing power ability (FRAP assay). Considering possible bioactive properties of different compounds present in fungal extracts, the content of total proteins (TP), phenols (TC) and flavonoids (TF) were investigated colorimetrically. The chemical characterisation of the examined extracts was evaluated using the HPLC–MS/MS method. C. comatus showed the strongest RSC activity; more precisely, fermentation broth extract (FCc) on DPPH radicals (IC50 = 5.06 μg mL⁻¹) and fruiting body extract (FBCc) for the FRAP assay (42.86 mg ascorbic acid equivalents (AAE)/g). Submerged M extract of both species showed the highest TC (MCc 81.95 mg gallic acid eq (GAE)/g d.w.; MCt 81.64 mg GAE/g d.w.), while FB extracts contained the highest content of TP. Comparing LC–MS phenolic profiles between species—interspecifically and among different fungal origins—intraspecifically (fruiting bodies and submerged cultures), high variations were noticed. In submerged M or F extracts of C. comatus, vanillic, gallic, gentisic and cinnamic acids were detected, as opposed to FB. Considering that diverse phenolic profiles of detected antioxidant compounds were obtained by submerged cultivation, this type of cultivation is promising for the production of antioxidant substances.

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DCIS Breast Arising in a Fibroadenoma – Case Report of an Uncommon Condition

The post DCIS Breast Arising in a Fibroadenoma – Case Report of an Uncommon Condition appeared first on Welcome to Avens.

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Effect of Self-Efficacy and Behaviour Changes in Diet on Health Related Quality of Life Among Middle-Aged Women

The post Effect of Self-Efficacy and Behaviour Changes in Diet on Health Related Quality of Life Among Middle-Aged Women appeared first on Welcome to Avens.

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Hannah's Bowel Cancer Journey blogger, 20, has died - Daily Mail

Daily Mail

Hannah's Bowel Cancer Journey blogger, 20, has died
Daily Mail
She was confident that she could fight the condition having watched two of her sisters battle thyroid cancer and leukaemia. In September she was positive about a recovery and talked about how her love for her boyfriend was helping her cope. She posted ...

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Breast screening debate spreads to Middle East

2017_01_27_12_35_21_355_Abu_Shaikha_Shai DUBAI - As the doors spring open for the first day of the Arab Health 2017...

Danny Baker: 'What did cancer teach me? Nothing' - Telegraph.co.uk

Danny Baker: 'What did cancer teach me? Nothing'
Telegraph.co.uk
Diagnosed with cancer in 2010, he had to undergo intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy on his mouth and throat, which left him without saliva glands. “I couldn't talk for four months,” he says. “The sky was dark with people's hats.” The treatment ...

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Adverse events raise concerns over safety of new hepatitis C drugs

Newer antiviral drugs for treating hepatitis C virus (HCV) may be associated with liver failure and other severe side effects, a non-profit drug safety group in the US has warned in a report released...

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Runner is diagnosed with cancer during 50-state journey - Bradenton Herald

Runner is diagnosed with cancer during 50-state journey
Bradenton Herald
Three-quarters of her way through the 50-state journey, Darrell was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2013 at age 60, MLive (http://bit.ly/2knxIlA ) reported. Doctors gave her anywhere from eight months to three years to live, and chemotherapy ...

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My beauty spot was face cancer: how these volunteers are helping others in the toughest fight of their lives - Bournemouth Echo

Bournemouth Echo

My beauty spot was face cancer: how these volunteers are helping others in the toughest fight of their lives
Bournemouth Echo
THEY are the inspirational stories of survival that bring hope to people whose lives have been changed by head and neck cancers. Nothing could prepare former model June Inskip for the devastating news her 'beauty spot' was in fact face cancer.

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Heart rate variability as a predictor of hypotension following spinal for elective caesarean section: a prospective observational study

Summary

Post-spinal hypotension remains a common and clinically-important problem during caesarean section, and accurate pre-operative prediction of this complication might enhance clinical management. We conducted a prospective, single-centre, observational study of heart rate variability in 102 patients undergoing elective caesarean section in a South African regional hospital. We performed Holter recording for ≥ 5 min in the hour preceding spinal anaesthesia. The low-frequency/high-frequency ratio component of heart rate variability was compared, using a logistic regression model, with baseline heart rate and body mass index (BMI) as a predictor of hypotension (defined as systolic arterial pressure < 90 mmHg) occurring from the time of spinal insertion until 15 min after delivery of the baby. We also assessed clinically relevant cut-point estimations for low-frequency/high-frequency ratio. Low-frequency/high-frequency ratio predicted hypotension (p = 0.046; OR 1.478, 95% CI 1.008-1.014), with an optimal cut-point estimation of 2.0; this threshold predicted hypotension better than previously determined thresholds (p = 0.003; c-statistic 0.645). Baseline heart rate (p = 0.20; OR 1.022, 05% CI 0.988-1.057) and BMI (p = 0.60; OR 1.017, 95% CI 0.954-1.085) did not predict hypotension. Heart rate variability analysis is a potentially useful clinical tool for the prediction of hypotension. Future studies should consider a low-frequency/high-frequency ratio threshold of 2.0 for prospective validation.

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The glia of the adult Drosophila nervous system

Glia play crucial roles in the development and homeostasis of the nervous system. While the GLIA in the Drosophila embryo have been well characterized, their study in the adult nervous system has been limited. Here, we present a detailed description of the glia in the adult nervous system, based on the analysis of some 500 glial drivers we identified within a collection of synthetic GAL4 lines. We find that glia make up ∼10% of the cells in the nervous system and envelop all compartments of neurons (soma, dendrites, axons) as well as the nervous system as a whole. Our morphological analysis suggests a set of simple rules governing the morphogenesis of glia and their interactions with other cells. All glial subtypes minimize contact with their glial neighbors but maximize their contact with neurons and adapt their macromorphology and micromorphology to the neuronal entities they envelop. Finally, glial cells show no obvious spatial organization or registration with neuronal entities. Our detailed description of all glial subtypes and their regional specializations, together with the powerful genetic toolkit we provide, will facilitate the functional analysis of glia in the mature nervous system. GLIA 2017

Main Points

-comprehensive analysis of adult Drosophila glia subtypes using Janelia Gal4 lines and multi-color flp-outs
-all glia types minimize contact with glial neighbors and maximize contact with neurons, without obvious registration with neuronal entities

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Designing and creating an educational app rubric for preschool teachers

Abstract

International studies indicate that the use of smart mobile devices and their accompanying educational applications (apps) can revolutionize young children’s learning experiences. Although there is a vast array of educational apps for preschoolers, they are not actually educational in their majority. In this context, it is important for preschool teachers to be able to assess each app for its effectiveness in educational practice. To evaluate educational mobile apps, this paper presents a rubric (abbreviated as REVEAC) in four areas: contents, design, functionality, and technical quality, each having multiple aspects. In this paper, we discuss the known problems in using educational apps and we present a review of relevant literature, as well as the process of formulating REVEAC. Finally, the paper concludes with a brief discussion of REVEAC limitations and future work.

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Severe Tuberculosis Requiring Intensive Care: A Descriptive Analysis

Background. This study aims to describe the characteristics of tuberculosis (TB) patients requiring intensive care and to determine the in-hospital mortality and the associated predictive factors. Methods. Retrospective cohort study of all TB patients admitted to the ICU of the Infectious Diseases Department of Centro Hospitalar de São João (Porto, Portugal) between January 2007 and July 2014. Comorbid diagnoses, clinical features, radiological and laboratory investigations, and outcomes were reviewed. Univariate analysis was performed to identify risk factors for death. Results. We included 39 patients: median age was 52.0 years and 74.4% were male. Twenty-one patients (53.8%) died during hospital stay (15 in the ICU). The diagnosis of isolated pulmonary TB, a positive smear for acid-fast-bacilli and a positive PCR for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in patients of pulmonary disease, severe sepsis/septic shock, acute renal failure and Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome on admission, the need for mechanical ventilation or vasopressor support, hospital acquired infection, use of adjunctive corticotherapy, smoking, and alcohol abuse were significantly associated with mortality (). Conclusion. This cohort of TB patients requiring intensive care presented a high mortality rate. Most risk factors for mortality were related to organ failure, but others could be attributed to delay in the diagnostic and therapeutic approach, important targets for intervention.

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Natural Substances for the Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles against Escherichia coli: The Case of Megaphrynium macrostachyum (Marantaceae), Corchorus olitorus (Tiliaceae), Ricinodendron heudelotii (Euphorbiaceae), Gnetum bucholzianum (Gnetaceae), and Ipomoea batatas (Convolvulaceae)

The development of drug-resistant strains is rising and the search for new and novel ways of fighting new or reemerging microbes goes on. A hope of treating such multidrug-resistant infections came from plants mediated nanoparticles since nature is a generous source which provides a variety of chemical compounds that can be used for new drug discovery. Silver nanoparticles are reported to possess antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, larvicidal activity and anticancer properties. We reported green synthesis of silver nanoparticles mediated food plants Megaphrynium macrostachyum, Corchorus olitorus, Ricinodendron heudelotii, Gnetum bucholzianum, and Ipomoea batatas and their antibacterial efficacy against the Enterobacteriaceae Escherichia coli. The nature and size of the obtained nanoparticles are discussed as well as their Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and the Minimum Bactericide Concentration (MBC) values considering their application in medical industry.

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Preferential Lineage-Specific Differentiation of Osteoblast-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells into Osteoprogenitors

While induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) hold great clinical promise, one hurdle that remains is the existence of a parental germ-layer memory in reprogrammed cells leading to preferential differentiation fates. While it is problematic for generating cells vastly different from the reprogrammed cells’ origins, it could be advantageous for the reliable generation of germ-layer specific cell types for future therapeutic use. Here we use human osteoblast-derived iPSCs (hOB-iPSCs) to generate induced osteoprogenitors (iOPs). Osteoblasts were successfully reprogrammed and demonstrated by endogenous upregulation of Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, TRA-1-81, TRA-16-1, SSEA3, and confirmatory hPSC Scorecard Algorithmic Assessment. The hOB-iPSCs formed embryoid bodies with cells of ectoderm and mesoderm but have low capacity to form endodermal cells. Differentiation into osteoprogenitors occurred within only 2–6 days, with a population doubling rate of less than 24 hrs; however, hOB-iPSC derived osteoprogenitors were only able to form osteogenic and chondrogenic cells but not adipogenic cells. Consistent with this, hOB-iOPs were found to have higher methylation of PPARγ but similar levels of methylation on the RUNX2 promoter. These data demonstrate that iPSCs can be generated from human osteoblasts, but variant methylation patterns affect their differentiation capacities. Therefore, epigenetic memory can be exploited for efficient generation of clinically relevant quantities of osteoprogenitor cells.

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Molecular and Histopathological Changes Associated with Keratoconus

Keratoconus (KC) is a corneal thinning disorder that leads to loss of visual acuity through ectasia, opacity, and irregular astigmatism. It is one of the leading indicators for corneal transplantation in the Western countries. KC usually starts at puberty and progresses until the third or fourth decade; however its progression differs among patients. In the keratoconic cornea, all layers except the endothelium have been shown to have histopathological structural changes. Despite numerous studies in the last several decades, the mechanisms of KC development and progression remain unclear. Both genetic and environmental factors may contribute to the pathogenesis of KC. Many previous articles have reviewed the genetic aspects of KC, but in this review we summarize the histopathological features of different layers of cornea and discuss the differentially expressed proteins in the KC-affected cornea. This summary will help emphasize the major molecular defects in KC and identify additional research areas related to KC, potentially opening up possibilities for novel methods of KC prevention and therapeutic intervention.

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Emergent Uterine Arterial Embolization Using N-Butyl Cyanoacrylate in Postpartum Hemorrhage with Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation

Although it is widely accepted that uterine artery embolization (UAE) is an effective therapeutic strategy for postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), no consensus has been reached regarding the efficacy of UAE in patients with PPH with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). This single-center retrospective cohort study included patients treated with UAE using NBCA for PPH between 2010 and 2015. The patients were divided into DIC and non-DIC groups, according to the obstetrical DIC score and the overt DIC diagnostic criteria issued by the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH), and their clinical outcomes were compared. There were 28 patients treated with UAE using NBCA. Complete hemostasis was achieved by UAE in 19 of 28 patients. In eight of nine patients with unsuccessful hemostasis, surgical hemostatic interventions were performed after UAE, and hemostasis was achieved in seven patients. UAE using NBCA showed no significant intergroup differences in complete hemostasis according to the presence or absence of DIC based on obstetrical DIC score (70% versus 62.5%, ) or ISTH DIC score (54.5% versus 76.5%, ). UAE using NBCA may be a useful first-choice treatment for PPH with DIC.

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Propagation Analysis for Wireless Sensor Networks Applied to Viticulture

Wireless sensor networks have been proposed as a solution to obtain soil and environment information in large distributed areas. The main economic activity of the São Francisco Valley region in the Northeast of Brazil is the irrigated fruit production. The region is one of the major agricultural regions of the country. Grape plantations receive large investments and provide good financial return. However, the region still lacks electronic sensing systems to extract adequate information from plantations. Considering these facts, this paper presents a study of path loss in grape plantations for a 2.4 GHz operating frequency. In order to determine the position of the sensor nodes, the research dealt with various environmental factors that influence the intensity of the received signal. It has been noticed that main plantation aisles favor the guided propagation, and the vegetation along the secondary plantation aisles compromises the propagation. Diffraction over the grape trees is the main propagation mechanism in the diagonal propagation path. Transmission carried out above the vineyard showed that reflection on the top of the trees is the main mechanism.

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A Novel Ensemble Method for Imbalanced Data Learning: Bagging of Extrapolation-SMOTE SVM

Class imbalance ubiquitously exists in real life, which has attracted much interest from various domains. Direct learning from imbalanced dataset may pose unsatisfying results overfocusing on the accuracy of identification and deriving a suboptimal model. Various methodologies have been developed in tackling this problem including sampling, cost-sensitive, and other hybrid ones. However, the samples near the decision boundary which contain more discriminative information should be valued and the skew of the boundary would be corrected by constructing synthetic samples. Inspired by the truth and sense of geometry, we designed a new synthetic minority oversampling technique to incorporate the borderline information. What is more, ensemble model always tends to capture more complicated and robust decision boundary in practice. Taking these factors into considerations, a novel ensemble method, called Bagging of Extrapolation Borderline-SMOTE SVM (BEBS), has been proposed in dealing with imbalanced data learning (IDL) problems. Experiments on open access datasets showed significant superior performance using our model and a persuasive and intuitive explanation behind the method was illustrated. As far as we know, this is the first model combining ensemble of SVMs with borderline information for solving such condition.

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A Variation on Uncertainty Principle and Logarithmic Uncertainty Principle for Continuous Quaternion Wavelet Transforms

The continuous quaternion wavelet transform (CQWT) is a generalization of the classical continuous wavelet transform within the context of quaternion algebra. First of all, we show that the directional quaternion Fourier transform (QFT) uncertainty principle can be obtained using the component-wise QFT uncertainty principle. Based on this method, the directional QFT uncertainty principle using representation of polar coordinate form is easily derived. We derive a variation on uncertainty principle related to the QFT. We state that the CQWT of a quaternion function can be written in terms of the QFT and obtain a variation on uncertainty principle related to the CQWT. Finally, we apply the extended uncertainty principles and properties of the CQWT to establish logarithmic uncertainty principles related to generalized transform.

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Fibrillar Type I Collagen Enhances the Differentiation and Proliferation of Myofibroblasts by Lowering α2β1 Integrin Expression in Cardiac Fibrosis

Many studies have shown that α2β1 integrin plays an important role in the development of cardiac fibrosis. However, the mechanism of how α2β1 integrin regulates the differentiation and proliferation of myofibroblasts in cardiac fibrosis through fibrillar collagen (FC) remains uncertain. We established that FC mimicked the 3-dimensional extracellular matrix (ECM) of fibroblasts from post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients in vivo. This allowed us to explore the differentiation and proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts on FC. Here, we report that low expression of α2β1 integrin increased protein kinase B (AKT) activation and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression. This occurred due to the instability of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) in myofibroblasts on FC. We also demonstrated that FC reduced protein phosphatase type 2A (PP2A) activity of myofibroblasts, which was coincident with low α2β1 integrin expression and activation of AKT, but not mitogen-activated protein kinase (ERK). In addition, knock-down of both β1 integrin and PP2A in fibroblasts promoted differentiation and proliferation via AKT activation and increased α-SMA expression. In summary, our study demonstrated that low α2β1 integrin expression regulated its downstream targets PTEN and AKT via crosstalk with PP2A, a critical cell signaling pathway that permits aberrant differentiation and proliferation of myofibroblasts on FC.

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Iterative Schemes for Nonconvex Quasi-Variational Problems with -Prox-Regular Data in Banach Spaces

In this paper, we propose an extension of quasi-equilibrium problems from the convex case to the nonconvex case and from Hilbert spaces to Banach spaces. The proposed problem is called quasi-variational problem. We study the convergence of some algorithms to solutions of the proposed nonconvex problems in Banach spaces.

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Malignant Catatonia Warrants Early Psychiatric-Critical Care Collaborative Management: Two Cases and Literature Review

Malignant catatonia (MC) is a life-threatening manifestation which can occur in the setting of an underlying neuropsychiatric syndrome or general medical illness and shares clinical and pathophysiological features and medical comorbidities with the Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS). The subsequent diagnosis and definitive therapy of MC are typically delayed, which increases morbidity and mortality. We present two cases of MC and review recent literature of MC and NMS, illustrating factors which delay diagnosis and management. When clinical features suggest MC or NMS, we propose early critical care consultation and stabilization with collaborative psychiatric management.

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An Enhanced Supervisory Control Strategy for Periodicity Mutual Exclusions in Discrete Event Systems Based on Petri Nets

Mutual exclusion problems widely exist in discrete event systems in which several processes will compete for the common resource for maintaining their normal running. This competition is mutually exclusive. However, a special behavior, that is, periodic mutual exclusion behavior, is important for many discrete event systems. Once a process obtains the common resource, it will consecutively obtain the common resource in the following several competitions. The other processes should wait for the release of the common resource. All processes will compete for the common resource again after the common resource is released. These competitions have obvious periodicity. In this paper, a methodology is proposed to design periodic mutual exclusion supervisors to control the periodic mutual exclusion behavior in discrete event systems. Moreover, two original structural conversion concepts, called -derivation and -convergence processes, are proposed to construct the periodic mutual exclusion supervisors. The discussion results show that many undesirable execution sequences are forbidden since the periodic mutual exclusion behavior is controlled by the proposed periodic mutual exclusion supervisors. Finally, an example is used to illustrate the proposed methodology.

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Electrospun Nanofibers Loaded with Quercetin Promote the Recovery of Focal Entrapment Neuropathy in a Rat Model of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes

In this study, quercetin-loaded zein-based nanofibers were developed using electrospinning technique. The therapeutic effect of these quercetin-loaded nanofibers on neuropathy in streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced diabetes in rats was assessed. Diabetic condition was induced in male Wistar rats by STZ, after which a crush injury of the right sciatic nerve was performed to induce mononeuropathy. Functional recovery was assessed using walking track analysis, measurements of foot withdrawal reflex, nerve conduction velocity, and morphological analysis. The oxidative stress status and the ratio of phosphorylated extracellular recognition kinase (pERK)/extracellular recognition kinase (ERK) expression in the nerve lesion were also assessed in order to elucidate the potential mechanisms involved. Results showed that quercetin-loaded zein-based nanofibers slightly enhanced functional recovery from neuropathy in STZ-diabetic rats. The potential mechanism might partially involve improvements in oxidative stress status and the ratio of pERK/ERK expression in the nerve lesion.

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Clinical Features and Genetic Analysis of 48 Patients with Chronic Granulomatous Disease in a Single Center Study from Shanghai, China (2005–2015): New Studies and a Literature Review

Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD) is a rare inherited primary immunodeficiency, which is characterized by recurrent infections due to defective phagocyte NADPH oxidase enzyme. Nowadays, little is known about Chinese CGD patients. Here we report 48 CGD patients in our single center study, which is the largest cohort study from Mainland China. The ratio of male to female was 11 : 1. The mean onset age was 0.29 years old, and 52% patients had an onset within the 1st month of life. The mean diagnosis age was 2.24 years old. 11 patients (23%) had died with an average age of 2.91 years old. 13 patients (28%) had positive family histories. The most prevalent infectious sites were the lungs (77%), followed by gastrointestinal tract (54%), lymph nodes (50%), and skin (46%). In addition, septicopyemia, thrush, and hepatosplenomegaly were also commonly observed, accounting for 23%, 23%, and 40% of the cases. Lesions due to BCG vaccination occurred in more than half of the patients. X-linked CGD due to CYBB gene mutations accounted for 75% of the cases, and 11 of them were novel mutations. Autosomal recessive inheritance accounted for 6% patients, including 1 patient with CYBA, 1 with NCF1, and 1 with NCF2 gene mutations.

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Modified Transseptal Puncture Technique in Challenging Septa: A Randomized Comparison to Conventional Technique

Background. Transseptal puncture (TSP) can be challenging. We compared safety and efficacy of a modified TSP technique (“mosquito” technique, MOSQ-TSP) to conventional TSP (CONV-TSP). Method. Patients undergoing AF ablation in whom first attempt of TSP did not result in left atrial (LA) pressure (failure to cross, FTC) were randomized to MOSQ-TSP (i.e., puncture of the fossa via a wafer-thin inner stylet) or CONV-TSP (i.e., additional punctures at different positions). Primary endpoint was LA access. Secondary endpoints were safety, time, fluoroscopic dose (dose-area product, DAP), and number of additional punctures from FTC to final LA access. Result. Of 384 patients, 68 had FTC (MOSQ-TSP, versus CONV-TSP, ). No complications were reported. In MOSQ-TSP, primary endpoint was 100% (versus 73.5%, ), median time to LA access was 72 s [from 37 to 384 s] (versus 326 s [from 75 s to 1936 s], ), mean DAP to LA access was mGy/cm2 (versus mGy/cm2, ), and median number of additional punctures was 2 [1 to 3] (versus 0, ). Conclusion. In AF patients in whom the first attempt of TSP fails, the “mosquito” technique allows effective, safe, and time sparing LA access. This approach might facilitate TSP in elastic, aneurysmatic, or fibrosed septa.

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Metastatic Cutaneous Melanoma of the Gallbladder

Metastatic melanoma is an aggressive disease that can spread to many organs of the body. In rare cases, it can spread to the gallbladder causing secondary lesions, yet presenting with little to no symptoms. Therefore, most cases of metastatic melanoma lesions to the gallbladder go undiagnosed. Here, we present the case of a 41-year-old male with a four-month history of melanoma of the face, with a postresection status, who presented with right upper quadrant abdominal pain. Doppler ultrasound and computed tomography confirmed the presence of a mass on the gallbladder. Laparoscopic excision along with liver wedge resection was performed. Pathology staining revealed the presence of a malignant metastatic melanoma lesion of the gallbladder.

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Eosinophilic Angiocentric Fibrosis as a Stenosing Lesion in the Subglottis

Subglottic Eosinophilic Angiocentric Fibrosis (EAF) is an extremely rare disease of an elusive aetiology. It is chronically progressive benign condition that causes narrowing of the subglottic region leading to dysphonia and airway compromise. The diagnosis is historical and imaging is nonspecific. We report a case xc of 56-year-old lady referred to our institution with globus sensation, hoarseness, and mild stridor. Incidental subglottic mass was found at time of diagnostic microlaryngoscopy and biopsy confirmed subglottic EAF. All laboratory investigations were unremarkable. Lesion was removed with laryngeal microdebrider and three courses of intravenous dexamethasone were administered. Patient’s postoperative period was uneventful and had remained disease free for 1 year. To date, no consensus has been reached on the optimal treatment of subglottic EAF. We recommend regular follow-up to detect early recurrence.

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Multilayers Polyethylene Film for Crop Protection in Harsh Climatic Conditions

In this work the performance and durability of a new generation of greenhouse covers, in which the cover is composed of five layers, are investigated. A sand wind ageing was performed under different exposure conditions. Surface morphology and chemical, physical, and thermal characteristics were investigated by using optical microscopy, FTIR, and tensile test techniques. In addition, the mechanical integrity of the five-layer film was assessed. The analysis indicated that the sand wind treatments have a significant influence only on the performance of the film. An attempt has been done to compare the properties of the five-layer film with the monolayer and trilayer films with or without air bubble under similar conditions. The results revealed that the five-layer film proved to be a promising greenhouse covering film.

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Effects of Particle Size and Cement Replacement of LCD Glass Powder in Concrete

The high quality liquid crystal display (LCD) processing waste glass (LPWG) generated from the manufacturing process of Korea’s LCD industries, having the world’s highest technological level and production, was finely ground into particles smaller than cement particles (higher fineness than OPC) to verify their applicability and performance as a replacement for cement. For a concrete mix having a W/B ratio of 0.44, cement was replaced with LPWG glass powder (LGP) at ratios of 5, 10, 15, and 20% (LGP12) and 5 and 10% (LGP5) according to the particle size to prepare test cylinder specimens, which were tested with respect to air contents, slump in fresh concrete, and compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of hardened concrete. The microstructure of the concrete specimens was analyzed through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), and a Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP). Replacement of cement with LGP for cement could effectively decrease the quantity of cement used due to the excellent performance of LGP. It may positively contribute to the sustainable development of the cement industry as well as waste recycling and environment conservation on a national scale.

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Factors Associated with Growth Retardation in Children Suffering from Sickle Cell Anemia: First Report from Central Africa

Background. The aim of this study was to investigate and determine the risk factors associated with poor growth among SCA children. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Kinshasa, the capital’s country. The nutritional status was assessed using the Z scores of the anthropometric indices. Results. We gathered data on the 256 patients, 138 females (53.9%), who entered the study. The mean age at presentation was 8.4 ± 4.9 years of age. Underweight, stunting, and wasting were found, respectively, in 47.7%, 10.5%, and 50.3% of SCA children. A history of hand-foot syndrome, more than 3 blood transfusions, being less than 12 months of age when receiving the first transfusion, more than two severe sickle crises per year, a medical history of severe infections, and the presence of hepatomegaly were associated with poor growth. When comparing sickle cell patients under 12 years of age () to a group of 296 age-matched children with normal Hb-AA, a significantly higher proportion of subjects with stunting and underweight were found among SCA. Conclusion. Nutritional status encountered in Congolese sickle cell children has been described for the first time in this study. A high prevalence of poor growth in SCA children was found in our study.

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GMA Extra: Checking in with Operation Healing Hands week 1 patient, Calvin Maapeya. - Jacaranda FM

Jacaranda FM

GMA Extra: Checking in with Operation Healing Hands week 1 patient, Calvin Maapeya.
Jacaranda FM
The operations include hip and knee replacements, ports for four children with cancer, reconstructive surgery for a cancer survivor who had a double mastectomy, tonsil removal and the removal of a cancerous vocal chord tumour. All medical treatment ...

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Issue Information

Cover of this issue. Localization of Wnt5b-associated exosomes in CHO cells. See also Harada, et al. (pages 42–52 of this issue).

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In This Issue

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Dual targeting of vascular endothelial growth factor and bone morphogenetic protein-9/10 impairs tumor growth through inhibition of angiogenesis

Clinical development of anti-angiogenic agents has been a major landmark in cancer therapy for several types of cancers. Signals mediated by both vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-9 and 10 have been implicated in tumor angiogenesis. However, previous studies have shown that targeting the individual signals was not sufficiently effective in retarding tumor growth in certain preclinical and clinical conditions. In the present study, we developed a novel decoy chimeric receptor that traps both VEGF and BMP-9/10. Single targeting of either VEGF or BMP-9/10 signals significantly reduced the formation of tumor vessels in a mouse xenograft model of human pancreatic cancer; however, it did not show significant therapeutic effects on tumor growth. In contrast, dual targeting of the angiogenic signals resulted in more significant inhibition of tumor angiogenesis, leading to delay of tumor growth. Our findings suggest that simultaneous blockade of VEGF and BMP-9/10 signals is a promising therapeutic strategy for the cancers that are resistant to anti-VEGF and BMP-9/10 therapies.

Dual targeting of the VEGF and BMP-9/10 signals impairs tumor growth via inhibition of angiogenesis in a mouse xenograft model of human pancreatic cancer.

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Sharing different perspectives to understand asbestos-induced carcinogenesis: A comment to Jiang et al. (2016)

This letter reports some constructive observations on the recent findings by Jiang et al. Cancer Sci (2016) that have inspired a more general comment on how the research on asbestos should take advantage of the different existing multidisciplinary perspectives so to flow into a final comprehensive model of asbestos-induced carcinogenesis.

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1,28000 oral cancer deaths a year: expert - The Hindu

The Hindu

1,28000 oral cancer deaths a year: expert
The Hindu
“Chewing of areca nut and tobacco causes over half of the oral cancer cases in India. It is important to understand the interplay between genetic reasons and exposure to the chemicals present in tobacco. Oral cancer predominantly presents itself as ...

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The Analytical Form of the Dispersion Equation of Elastic Waves in Periodically Inhomogeneous Medium of Different Classes of Crystals

The investigation of thermoelastic wave propagation in elastic media is bound to have much influence in the fields of material science, geophysics, seismology, and so on. The heat conduction equations and bound equations of motions differ by the difficulty level and presence of many physical and mechanical parameters in them. Therefore thermoelasticity is being extensively studied and developed. In this paper by using analytical matrizant method set of equation of motions in elastic media are reduced to equivalent set of first-order differential equations. Moreover, for given set of equations, the structure of fundamental solutions for the general case has been derived and also dispersion relations are obtained.

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I could speak a different language every week for a year

Proficient in about 50 languages, Alexander Arguelles is among the most multilingual individuals of all time. Is his hyperpolyglot brain full yet?

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One in four men have this cancer-causing STI – look out for THIS key symptom - Daily Star

Daily Star

One in four men have this cancer-causing STI – look out for THIS key symptom
Daily Star
What's more is researchers found 25% of these men had at least one strain of high-risk HPV which can cause cancers of the penis, anus and throat – including your tongue and tonsils. This is the same high-risk HPV which can cause cervical cancer in women.
1 in 4 US men have cancer-linked HPV genital infectionsBreitbart News
Prevalence of Genital HPV Infection and Vaccination Rates Among US Men | Adolescent Medicine | JAMA Oncology ...The JAMA Network
HPV | Home | Human Papillomavirus | CDCCDC
Live Science
all 138 news articles »

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I could speak a different language every week for a year

The Analytical Form of the Dispersion Equation of Elastic Waves in Periodically Inhomogeneous Medium of Different Classes of Crystals

Maturation of auditory brainstem responses in young children with congenital monaural atresia

To date, the impact of conductive hearing loss on the auditory pathway at brainstem level has only been investigated in animal studies, which showed a species-specific delay of maturation. In this study, the functional maturation of auditory brainstem response (ABR) parameters in humans with unilateral atresia of the external auditory canal was investigated.

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Parent educational materials regarding the newborn hearing screening process

Newborn hearing screening (NHS) procedures and implementation vary from state to state in the US. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content and nature of information provided to parents about their infant's NHS across states to answer two questions: 1) what information is included in each state's parent information brochure? and 2) do the brochures include educational information requested by parents that may help reduce parental anxiety, improve satisfaction, and decrease the potential for misunderstandings?

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The new issue is now available.Endocrine Journal

Vol.64 No.1

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PLCE1 Promotes Esophageal Cancer Cell Progression by Maintaining the Transcriptional Activity of Snail

Esophageal cancer is among the most deadly malignant diseases. However, the genetic factors contributing to its occurrence are poorly understood. Multiple studies with large clinic-based cohorts revealed that variations of the phospholipase C epsilon (PLCE1) gene were associated with esophageal cancer susceptibility. However, the causative role of PLCE1 in esophageal cancer is not clear. We inactivated the functional alleles of PLCE1 by CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology. The resultant PLCE1 inactivated cells were analyzed both in vitro and in vivo.

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The Heparanase Inhibitor PG545 Attenuates Colon Cancer Initiation and Growth, Associating with Increased p21 Expression

Heparanase activity is highly implicated in cellular invasion and tumor metastasis, a consequence of cleavage of heparan sulfate and remodeling of the extracellular matrix underlying epithelial and endothelial cells. Heparanase expression is rare in normal epithelia, but is often induced in tumors, associated with increased tumor metastasis and poor prognosis. In addition, heparanase induction promotes tumor growth, but the molecular mechanism that underlines tumor expansion by heparanase is still incompletely understood.

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The new article is now available. Endocrine Journal

[ Title ] Usefulness of urinary glucose excretion after oral glucose tolerance testing to detect insulin secretion failure before the onset of diabetes mellitus [ Author ] Yosuke Ono,Sachiko Ono,Takashi Hinata,Toshimitsu Ito,Hiroko Yasuda,Yuji Tanaka [ Publication date ] 2017-01-30 [ DOI ] http://ift.tt/2jGGaLc

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The new article is now available. Endocrine Journal

[ Title ] Changes in quality of life in patients with acromegaly after surgical remission — A prospective study using SF-36 questionnaire [ Author ] Shingo Fujio,Hiroshi Arimura,Hirofumi Hirano,Mika Habu,Manoj Bohara,F M Moinuddin,Yasuyuki Kinoshita,Kazunori Arita [ Publication date ] 2017-01-30 [ DOI ] http://ift.tt/2jLqGmR

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The new article is now available. Endocrine Journal

[ Title ] Comparison of the costs of active surveillance and immediate surgery in the management of low-risk papillary microcarcinoma of the thyroid [ Author ] Hitomi Oda,Akira Miyauchi,Yasuhiro Ito,Hisanori Sasai,Hiroo Masuoka,Tomonori Yabuta,Mitsuhiro Fukushima,Takuya Higashiyama,Minoru Kihara,Kaoru Kobayashi,Akihiro Miya [ Publication date ] 2017-01-30 [ DOI ] http://ift.tt/2jGHNbO

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The new article is now available. Endocrine Journal

[ Title ] Assessment criteria for vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency in Japan — proposal by an expert panel supported by Research Program of Intractable Diseases, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan, The Japanese Society for Bone and Mineral Research and The Japan Endocrine Society [Opinion] [ Author ] Ryo Okazaki,Keiichi Ozono,Seiji Fukumoto,Daisuke Inoue,Mika Yamauchi,Masanori Minagawa,Toshimi Michigami,Yasuhiro Takeuchi,Toshio Matsumoto,Toshitsugu Sugimoto [ Publication date ] 2017-01-30 [ DOI ] http://ift.tt/2h3yph7

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The new article is now available. Endocrine Journal

[ Title ] Contributions of CAG repeat length in the androgen receptor gene and androgen profiles to premature pubarche in Korean girls [ Author ] Min Jae Kang,Jeong Seon Lee,Hwa Young Kim,Hae Woon Jung,Young Ah Lee,Sun Hee Lee,Ji-Young Seo,Jae Hyun Kim,Hye Rim Chung,Se Young Kim,Choong Ho Shin,Sei Won Yang [ Publication date ] 2017-01-30 [ DOI ] http://ift.tt/2jGLcHz

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The new article is now available. Endocrine Journal

[ Title ] Activation of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 mimics, but does not mediate, the anti-proliferative action of estradiol on pituitary lactotrophs in primary culture [ Author ] Tetsuo Mitsui,Maho Ishida,Michi Izawa,Jun Arita [ Publication date ] 2017-01-30 [ DOI ] http://ift.tt/2jLmIL3

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The new article is now available. Endocrine Journal

[ Title ] Insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction in people with prediabetes according to criteria based on glycemia and glycosylated hemoglobin [ Author ] Andrea Tura,Christian Göbl,Ermanno Moro,Giovanni Pacini [ Publication date ] 2017-01-30 [ DOI ] http://ift.tt/2jGOkmZ

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The new article is now available. Endocrine Journal

[ Title ] Kisspeptin mRNA expression is increased in the posterior hypothalamus in the rat model of polycystic ovary syndrome [ Author ] Toshiya Matsuzaki,Altankhuu Tungalagsuvd,Takeshi Iwasa,Munkhsaikhan Munkhzaya,Rie Yanagihara,Takako Tokui,Kiyohito Yano,Yiliyasi Mayila,Takeshi Kato,Akira Kuwahara,Sumika Matsui,Minoru Irahara [ Publication date ] 2017-01-30 [ DOI ] http://ift.tt/2jGM3bv

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The new article is now available. Endocrine Journal

[ Title ] ACTH stimulation test and computed tomography are useful for differentiating the subtype of primary aldosteronism [ Author ] Ayako Moriya,Masaaki Yamamoto,Shunsuke Kobayashi,Tomoko Nagamine,Naomi Takeichi-Hattori,Mototsugu Nagao,Taro Harada,Kyoko Tanimura-Inagaki,Shiro Onozawa,Satoru Murata,Hideki Tamura,Izumi Fukuda,Shinichi Oikawa,Hitoshi Sugihara [ Publication date ] 2017-01-30 [ DOI ] http://ift.tt/2jLqgNa

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The new article is now available. Endocrine Journal

[ Title ] Characteristics of Japanese aldosterone-producing adenomas with KCNJ5 mutations [ Author ] Takashi Okamura,Yasuyo Nakajima,Akiko Katano-Toki,Kazuhiko Horiguchi,Shunichi Matsumoto,Satoshi Yoshino,Eijiro Yamada,Takuya Tomaru,Sumiyasu Ishii,Tsugumichi Saito,Atsushi Ozawa,Nobuyuki Shibusawa,Tetsurou Satoh,Shuichi Okada,Rin Nagaoka,Daisuke Takada,Jun Horiguchi,Tetsunari Oyama,Masanobu Yamada [ Publication date ] 2017-01-30 [ DOI ] http://ift.tt/2jGQO4H

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The new article is now available. Endocrine Journal

[ Title ] Diagnosis of insulinoma using the ratios of serum concentrations of insulin and C-peptide to glucose during a 5-hour oral glucose tolerance test [ Author ] Xu Li,Feng Zhang,Haibing Chen,Haoyong Yu,Jian Zhou,Ming Li,Qing Li,Lianxi Li,Jun Yin,Fang Liu,Yuqian Bao,Junfeng Han,Weiping Jia [ Publication date ] 2017-01-30 [ DOI ] http://ift.tt/2jLc86M

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The new article is now available. Endocrine Journal

[ Title ] Wogonin enhances intracellular adiponectin levels and suppresses adiponectin secretion in 3T3-L1 adipocytes [ Author ] Tan Yang,Hua Liu,Bo Zhao,Zhongyuan Xia,Yemin Zhang,Deling Zhang,Mingxin Li,Yingkang Cao,Zhijiang Zhang,Yongyi Bi,Changhua Wang [ Publication date ] 2017-01-30 [ DOI ] http://ift.tt/2jGQSkP

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The new article is now available. Endocrine Journal

[ Title ] A novel frameshift mutation in <i>NR3C2</i> leads to decreased expression of mineralocorticoid receptor: a family with renal pseudohypoaldosteronism type 1 [ Author ] Yuki Kawashima Sonoyama,Toshihiro Tajima,Masanobu Fujimoto,Akiko Hasegawa,Naoki Miyahara,Rei Nishimura,Yuichiro Hashida,Atsushi Hayashi,Keiichi Hanaki,Susumu Kanzaki [ Publication date ] 2017-01-30 [ DOI ] http://ift.tt/2jLrubj

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An Overview of the Updated HPV Vaccine Recommendations - Targeted Oncology

Targeted Oncology

An Overview of the Updated HPV Vaccine Recommendations
Targeted Oncology
On top of that, I've been fighting this fight for such a long time, and what we found over the last 10 years is that, the most quickly rising cancer associated with HPV is that of oropharynx cancer, and specifically, the tonsils and back of the tongue ...

and more »

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Le pagelle dell'Agenas agli ospedali sardi: l'isola risale ma è ancora indietro - La Nuova Sardegna

La Nuova Sardegna

Le pagelle dell'Agenas agli ospedali sardi: l'isola risale ma è ancora indietro
La Nuova Sardegna
Negli interventi chirurgici per la frattura del collo del femore il San Martino di Oristano ha superato anche gli standard nazionali, mentre Nuoro solo un paziente su tre è operato entro i due giorni previsti. Nel parto cesareo, «l'isola è fra le ...

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Genomic organization, phylogenetic comparison, and expression profiles of the SPL family genes and their regulation in soybean

Abstract

SQUAMOSA Promoter-Binding Protein-Like (SPL) genes form a major family of plant-specific transcription factors and play an important role in plant growth and development. In this study, we report the identification of 41 SPL genes (GmSPLs) in the soybean genome. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these genes were divided into five groups (groups 1–5). Further, exon/intron structure and motif composition revealed that the GmSPL genes are conserved within their same group. The N-terminal zinc finger 1 (Zn1) of the SBP domain was a CCCH (Cys3His1) and the C terminus zinc finger 2 (Zn2) was a CCHC (Cys2HisCys) type. The 41 GmSPL genes were distributed unevenly on 17 of the 20 chromosomes, with tandem and segmental duplication events. We found that segmental duplication has made an important contribution to soybean SPL gene family expansion. The Ka/Ks ratios revealed that the duplicated GmSPL genes evolved under the effect of purifying selection. In addition, 17 of the 41 GmSPLs were found as targets of miR156; these might be involved in their posttranscriptional regulation through miR156. Importantly, RLM-RACE analysis confirmed the GmmiR156-mediated cleavage of GmSPL2a transcript in 2–4 mm stage of soybean seed. Alternative splicing events in 9 GmSPLs were detected which produces transcripts and proteins of different lengths that may modulate protein signaling, binding, localization, stability, and other properties. Expression analysis of the soybean SPL genes in various tissues and different developmental stages of seed suggested distinct spatiotemporal patterns. Differences in the expression patterns of miR156-targeted and miR156-non-targeted soybean SPL genes suggest that miR156 plays key functions in soybean development. Our results provide an important foundation for further uncovering the crucial roles of GmSPLs in the development of soybean and other biological processes.

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Twice-daily radiation therapy cuts deaths from head and neck cancer - Science Daily

Twice-daily radiation therapy cuts deaths from head and neck cancer
Science Daily
Around 600,000 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer worldwide each year. It can be difficult to treat because the area of the body affected contains so many vital structures, including those responsible for breathing, swallowing and speech.

and more »

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New title will be launched on J-STAGE.The Annals of the Hokkaido Psychological Society

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New title will be launched on J-STAGE.Bulletin of Applied Glycoscience

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The new issue is now available.Journal of the Japan Diabetes Society

Vol.60 No.1

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The new issue is now available.Journal of Medical and Dental Sciences

Vol.48 No.2

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The new issue is now available.Journal of Structural and Construction Engineering (Transactions of AIJ)

Vol.82 No.731

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The new issue is now available.Journal of the Mathematical Society of Japan

Vol.69 No.1

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The new issue is now available.Chikyukagaku

Vol.41 No.3

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The new issue is now available.Journal of Medical and Dental Sciences

Vol.48 No.4

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The new issue is now available.Environmental Control in Biology

Environmental Control in Biology

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The new issue is now available.Journal of Environmental Engineering (Transactions of AIJ)

Vol.82 No.731

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The new issue is now available.Endocrine Journal

Vol.64 No.1

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The new issue is now available.Journal of Medical and Dental Sciences

Vol.48 No.1

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The new issue is now available.Journal of Japan Institute of Light Metals

Vol.66 No.12

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The new issue is now available.Journal of Medical and Dental Sciences

Vol.48 No.3

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The new issue is now available.Nematological Research (Japanese Journal of Nematology)

Vol.46 No.1

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The new issue is now available.Records Management

Vol.71

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The new issue is now available.Journal of the Japanese Society of Revegetation Technology

Vol.42 No.1

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The new issue is now available.Journal of Architecture and Planning (Transactions of AIJ)

Vol.82 No.731

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newly available online.Records Management

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Ultrasound-mediated destruction of oxygen and paclitaxel loaded dual-targeting microbubbles for intraperitoneal treatment of ovarian cancer xenografts

Publication date: 10 April 2017
Source:Cancer Letters, Volume 391
Author(s): Tingting Luo, Jiangchuan Sun, Shenyin Zhu, Juan He, Lan Hao, Linlin Xiao, Yi Zhu, Qianqian Wang, Xin Pan, Zhigang Wang, Shufang Chang
Folate receptor (FR) is overexpressed in many epithelial cancers and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), which enable it to function as an appropriate target for cancer treatment. We have successfully synthesized multifunctional folate-targeted and oxygen/paclitaxel loaded microbubbles (TOPLMBs) for ultrasound (US) mediated delivery for combination therapy in an intraperitoneal ovarian cancer xenograft model. The TOPLMBs target both ovarian cancer cells and TAMs and provide a promising drug delivery strategy for the combination treatment of ovarian cancer and tumor microenvironment. Microscopic imaging and flow cytometric analysis showed that TOPLMBs significantly penetrated into ovarian cancer cells and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) within tumor ascites fluid and the tumor nodules. Immunohistochemical analyses of dissected tumor tissue confirmed the increased tumor apoptosis, the reduced expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and microvascular density (MVD), and the reduced expression of CD68 after treatment (P < 0.05). Our experiment results suggest that intraperitoneal injection of dual-targeting TOPLMBs followed by US mediation provide a promising drug delivery strategy for combination treatment of ovarian cancer and tumor microenvironment with the therapeutic outcome superior to that of conventional therapeutic options.

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Lipophilic triphenylphosphonium derivatives enhance radiation-induced cell killing via inhibition of mitochondrial energy metabolism in tumor cells

Publication date: 1 April 2017
Source:Cancer Letters, Volume 390
Author(s): Hironobu Yasui, Kumiko Yamamoto, Motofumi Suzuki, Yuri Sakai, Tomoki Bo, Masaki Nagane, Eri Nishimura, Tohru Yamamori, Toshihide Yamasaki, Ken-ichi Yamada, Osamu Inanami
It has recently been reported that radiation enhances mitochondrial energy metabolism in various tumor cell lines. To examine how this radiation-induced alteration in mitochondrial function influences tumor cell viability, various lipophilic triphenylphosphonium (TPP⁺) cation derivatives and related compounds such as 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-oxy-piperidin (Tempol) with TPP⁺ (named “Mito-”) were designed to inhibit the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Mito-(CH2)10-Tempol (M10T) and its derivatives, Mito-(CH2)5-Tempol (M5T), Mito-(CH2)10-Tempol-Methyl (M10T-Me), Mito-C10H21 (M10), and C10H21-Tempol (10T), were prepared. In HeLa human cervical adenocarcinoma cells and A549 human lung carcinoma cells, the fractional uptake of the compound into mitochondria was highest among the TTP⁺ analogs conjugated with Tempol (M10T, M5T, and 10T). M10T, M10T-Me, and M10 exhibited strong cytotoxicity and enhanced X-irradiation-induced reproductive cell death, while 10T and M5T did not. Furthermore, M10T, M10T-Me, and M10 decreased basal mitochondrial membrane potential and intracellular ATP. M10T treatment inhibited X-ray-induced increases in ATP production. These results indicate that the TPP cation and a long hydrocarbon linker are essential for radiosensitization of tumor cells. The reduction in intracellular ATP by lipophilic TPP⁺ is partly responsible for the observed radiosensitization.

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Multifunctional near-infrared dye-magnetic nanoparticles for bioimaging and cancer therapy

Publication date: 1 April 2017
Source:Cancer Letters, Volume 390
Author(s): Xiaoyang Hou, Huige Zhou, Liming Wang, Jianqin Tang, Chunying Chen, Guan Jiang, Yanqun Liu
Theranostics based on nanoparticles have developed rapidly in the past decade and have been widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer, breast cancer, and other tumors. However, for skin cancers, there are limited studies. In the present study, we successfully synthesized a theranostic nanoparticle by grating IR820 onto the surface of chitosan-coated magnetic iron oxide, IR820-CS-Fe3O4, showing an excellent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) capability and cytotoxic effects against melanoma under irradiation with a near-infrared (NIR) laser (808 nm) in vitro. Furthermore, good stability for up to 8 days and negligible cytotoxicity were observed. These characteristics are important for biomedical applications of nanoparticles. In conclusion, we provide a novel and potential theranostic platform for melanoma treatment and detection.

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Inflammatory landscape of human brain tumors reveals an NFκB dependent cytokine pathway associated with mesenchymal glioblastoma

Publication date: 1 April 2017
Source:Cancer Letters, Volume 390
Author(s): Alfeu Zanotto-Filho, Rosângela Mayer Gonçalves, Karina Klafke, Priscila Oliveira de Souza, Fabiane Cristine Dillenburg, Luigi Carro, Daniel Pens Gelain, José Cláudio Fonseca Moreira
The tumor microenvironment is being increasingly recognized as a key factor in cancer aggressiveness. In this study, we characterized the inflammatory gene signatures altered in glioma cell lines and tumor specimens of differing histological and molecular subtypes. The results showed that glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) shows upregulation of a subset of inflammatory genes when compared to astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas. With molecular subtypes of GBM, the expression of inflammatory genes is heterogeneous, being enriched in mesenchymal and downregulated in Proneural/GCIMP. Other inflammation-associated processes such as tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) signatures are upregulated in mesenchymal, and a subset of 33 mesenchymal-enriched inflammatory and TAM markers showed correlation with poor survival. We found that various GBM tumor-upregulated genes such as IL6, IL8 and CCL2 are also actively expressed in glioma cell lines, playing differential and cooperative roles in promoting proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis and macrophage polarization in vitro. These genes can be stimulated by pathways typically altered in GBM, including the EGFR, PDGFR, MEK1/2-ERK1/2, PI3K/Akt and NFκB cascades. Taken together, the results presented herein depict some inflammatory pathways altered in gliomas and highlight potentially relevant targets to therapy improvement.

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Gli esami per mantenere in salute le orecchie - L'Eco di Bergamo (Registrazione)

L'Eco di Bergamo (Registrazione)

Gli esami per mantenere in salute le orecchie
L'Eco di Bergamo (Registrazione)
Dall'altra parte l'otorinolaringoiatra è figura di primo piano nella gestione di tumori benigni e dei tumori maligni della testa e del collo (come neoplasie del naso e dei seni paranasali, del cavo orale, della faringe, della laringe, e dei linfonodi ...

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New therapies could reduce global melanoma deaths, but an epidemic looms without innovation #ECCO17https://t.co/5eTEm6FZE0

New therapies could reduce global melanoma deaths, but an epidemic looms without innovation #ECCO17 https://t.co/5eTEm6FZE0

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Influence of Hydrophilic Polymers on the Factor in Weibull Equation Applied to the Release Kinetics of a Biologically Active Complex of Aesculus hippocastanum

Triterpenoid saponins complex of biological origin, escin, exhibits significant clinical activity in chronic venous insufficiency, skin inflammation, epidermal abrasions, allergic dermatitis, and acute impact injuries, especially in topical application. The aim of the study is the comparison of various hydrogel formulations, as carriers for a horse chestnut seed extract (EH). Methylcellulose (MC), two polyacrylic acid derivatives (PA1 and PA2), and polyacrylate crosspolymer 11 (PC-11) were employed. The release rates of EH were examined and a comparison with the Weibull model equation was performed. Application of MC as the carrier in the hydrogel preparation resulted in fast release rate of EH, whereas in the case of the hydrogel composed with PC-11 the release was rather prolonged. Applied Weibull function adhered best to the experimental data. Due to the evaluated shape parameter β, in the Weibull equation, the systems under study released the active compound according to the Fickian diffusion.

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An Unlikely Cause of Hypokalemia

Publication date: Available online 28 January 2017
Source:The Journal of Emergency Medicine
Author(s): Jason Hine, Ari Schwell, Norah Kairys
BackgroundHypokalemia is a common clinical disorder caused by a variety of different mechanisms. Although the most common causes are diuretic use and gastrointestinal losses, elevated cortisol levels can also cause hypokalemia through its effects on the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system. Cushing's syndrome refers to this general state of hypercortisolemia, which often manifests with symptoms of generalized weakness, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, menstrual disorders, and psychiatric changes. This syndrome is most commonly caused by exogenous steroid use, but other etiologies have also been reported in the literature. Ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone production by small-cell lung cancer is one rare cause of Cushing's syndrome, and may be associated with significant hypokalemia.Case ReportWe describe the case of a 62-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with weakness and hypokalemia. The patient was initially misdiagnosed with furosemide toxicity. Despite having a 30-pack-year smoking history, this patient's lack of respiratory complaints allowed him to present for medical attention twice before being diagnosed with lung cancer. It was later determined that this patient's hypokalemia was due to Cushing's syndrome caused by ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone production from small-cell lung cancer.Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This?This case reminds emergency physicians to consider a broad differential when treating patients with hypokalemia. More importantly, it prompts emergency physicians to recognize comorbid conditions and secondary, less common etiologies in patients with repeated visits for the same complaint.

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An Unlikely Cause of Hypokalemia

Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture for Poststroke Dysphagia: Study Protocol for a Pragmatic Multicenter Nonrandomized Controlled Trial

Background. Dysphagia is one of the most common complications of stroke. Acupuncture is widely employed to treat poststroke dysphagia in East Asia. No evidence is established to support such treatment approach. This proposed study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for the treatment of poststroke dysphagia. Methods and Design. This is a multicenter, pragmatic, single-blinded, nonrandomized controlled clinical trial. A total of 140 eligible patients will be enrolled in the study. Subjects who are eligible in study but refuse to have acupuncture treatment will be put on the no-acupuncture control arm. Both groups of patients will receive standard routine care, while the patients of intervention group will receive add-on standardized acupuncture treatment. Each participant in intervention group will receive a total of 24 sessions of acupuncture treatment (three times per week). The primary outcome measure is the Royal Brisbane Hospital Outcome Measure for Swallowing (RBHOMS). Secondary outcome measures include functional oral intake scale, swallow quality-of-life questionnaire in Chinese version, BMI of the participant, and adverse events. All outcome measures will be assessed at baseline, at the end of acupuncture treatment (month 2), and at two months after treatment (month 4). Ethics and Dissemination. The ethics approval of clinical research study was granted by the Research Ethics Committee of both New Territories East and West Cluster of Hong Kong. Written informed consent will be obtained from all participants and the study will be undertaken according to the ICH-GCP Guidelines. Trial Registration. This trial is registered with chictr.org (registration number: ChiCTR-TRC-12002621 and registration date: 2012-10-26).

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An Open Data Platform for Traffic Parameters Measurement via Multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Video

Multirotor unmanned aerial vehicle video observation can obtain accurate information about traffic flow of large areas over extended times. This paper aims to construct an open data test platform for updated traffic data accumulation and traffic simulation model verification by analyzing real time aerial video. Common calibration boards were used to calibrate internal camera parameters and image distortion correction was performed using a high-precision distortion model. To solve external parameters calibration problems, an existing algorithm was improved by adding two sets of orthogonal equations, achieving higher accuracy with only four calibrated points. A simplified algorithm is proposed to calibrate cameras by calculating the relationship between pixel and true length under the camera optical axis perpendicular to road conditions. Aerial video (160 min) from the Shanghai inner ring expressway was collected and real time traffic parameter values were obtained from analyzing and processing the aerial visual data containing spatial, time, velocity, and acceleration data. The results verify that the proposed platform provides a reasonable and objective approach to traffic simulation model verification and improvement. The proposed data platform also offers significant advantages over conventional methods that use historical and outdated data to run poorly calibrated traffic simulation models.

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Hydrological Evaluation of Satellite Soil Moisture Data in Two Basins of Different Climate and Vegetation Density Conditions

Accurate soil moisture information is very important for real-time flood forecasting. Although satellite soil moisture observations are useful information, their validations are generally hindered by the large spatial difference with the point-based measurements, and hence they cannot be directly applied in hydrological modelling. This study adopts a widely applied operational hydrological model Xinanjiang (XAJ) as a hydrological validation tool. Two widely used microwave sensors (SMOS and AMSR-E) are evaluated, over two basins (French Broad and Pontiac) with different climate types and vegetation covers. The results demonstrate SMOS outperforms AMSR-E in the Pontiac basin (cropland), while both products perform poorly in the French Broad basin (forest). The MODIS NDVI thresholds of 0.81 and 0.64 (for cropland and forest basins, resp.) are very effective in dividing soil moisture datasets into “denser” and “thinner” vegetation periods. As a result, in the cropland, the statistical performance is further improved for both satellites (i.e., improved to NSE = 0.74, RMSE = 0.0059 m and NSE = 0.58, RMSE = 0.0066 m for SMOS and AMER-E, resp.). The overall assessment suggests that SMOS is of reasonable quality in estimating basin-scale soil moisture at moderate-vegetated areas, and NDVI is a useful indicator for further improving the performance.

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This Is What It's Like to Come to the United States as a Refugee - The Atlantic

The Atlantic

This Is What It's Like to Come to the United States as a Refugee
The Atlantic
They do not know that your mother never wanted to leave this city, because she was born here and bore children here, and has friends and family here, and has removed the tonsils of hundreds of children. .... They do not see that her work is not an ...

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Pembrolizumab effective in treating mucosal melanoma tumours, extends bladder cancer survival #ECCO17https://t.co/hXoGzj93Sb

Pembrolizumab effective in treating mucosal melanoma tumours, extends bladder cancer survival #ECCO17 https://t.co/hXoGzj93Sb

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Multiple Linear Regression for Reconstruction of Gene Regulatory Networks in Solving Cascade Error Problems

Gene regulatory network (GRN) reconstruction is the process of identifying regulatory gene interactions from experimental data through computational analysis. One of the main reasons for the reduced performance of previous GRN methods had been inaccurate prediction of cascade motifs. Cascade error is defined as the wrong prediction of cascade motifs, where an indirect interaction is misinterpreted as a direct interaction. Despite the active research on various GRN prediction methods, the discussion on specific methods to solve problems related to cascade errors is still lacking. In fact, the experiments conducted by the past studies were not specifically geared towards proving the ability of GRN prediction methods in avoiding the occurrences of cascade errors. Hence, this research aims to propose Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) to infer GRN from gene expression data and to avoid wrongly inferring of an indirect interaction (A → B → C) as a direct interaction (A → C). Since the number of observations of the real experiment datasets was far less than the number of predictors, some predictors were eliminated by extracting the random subnetworks from global interaction networks via an established extraction method. In addition, the experiment was extended to assess the effectiveness of MLR in dealing with cascade error by using a novel experimental procedure that had been proposed in this work. The experiment revealed that the number of cascade errors had been very minimal. Apart from that, the Belsley collinearity test proved that multicollinearity did affect the datasets used in this experiment greatly. All the tested subnetworks obtained satisfactory results, with AUROC values above 0.5.

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Protein Adsorption to Titanium and Zirconia Using a Quartz Crystal Microbalance Method

Protein adsorption onto titanium (Ti) or zirconia (ZrO2) was evaluated using a 27 MHz quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). As proteins, fibronectin (Fn), a cell adhesive protein, and albumin (Alb), a cell adhesion-inhibiting protein, were evaluated. The Ti and ZrO2 sensors for QCM were characterized by atomic force microscopy and electron probe microanalysis observation, measurement of contact angle against water, and surface roughness. The amounts of Fn and Alb adsorbed onto the Ti and ZrO2 sensors and apparent reaction rate were obtained using QCM measurements. Ti sensor showed greater adsorption of Fn and Alb than the ZrO2 sensor. In addition, amount of Fn adsorbed onto the Ti or ZrO2 sensors was higher than that of Alb. The surface roughness and hydrophilicity of Ti or ZrO2 may influence the adsorption of Fn or Alb. With regard to the adsorption rate, Alb adsorbed more rapidly than Fn onto Ti. Comparing Ti and ZrO2, Alb adsorption rate to Ti was faster than that to ZrO2. Fn adsorption will be effective for cell activities, but Alb adsorption will not. QCM method could simulate in vivo Fn and Alb adsorption to Ti or ZrO2.

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Multiresonant Frequency Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters Integrated with High Sensitivity Piezoelectric Accelerometer for Bridge Health Monitoring Applications

Wireless Structural Health Monitoring (WSHM) is a less expensive but efficient mode of health monitoring. However, it needs frequent change of batteries since remote WSHM consumes large power. The best scientific solution to this problem is to employ energy harvesters integrated along with the vibration sensors in the same substrate so that the battery is recharged by the energy harvested during vibrations caused by the passing vehicles in bridges. In this work, an attempt has been made to design an energy harvester and a micro accelerometer integrated chip. Civil structures have low natural frequencies and therefore low bandwidth design is adopted to maximize the harvested energy and accelerometer sensitivity. The other special feature of the proposed design is its ability to provide further increase in energy harvesting by the parallel operation of an array of energy harvesters with closely spaced natural frequencies. The studies show that the natural frequencies of the harvesters should be less than that of the structure in healthy condition. Simulation studies conducted on these devices show that it is possible to harvest a maximum power of 2.283 mW/g. The integrated micro accelerometer is also capable of giving a sensitivity of 27.67 V/g with appreciable improvement in other performance indices.

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Current Perspectives on In Vivo Noninvasive Tracking of Extracellular Vesicles with Molecular Imaging

Clinical and preclinical in vivo tracking of extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a crucial tool for the development and optimization of EV-based diagnosis and treatment. EVs have gained interest due to their unique properties that make them excellent candidates for biological applications. Noninvasive in vivo EV tracking has allowed marked progress towards elucidating the mechanisms and functions of EVs in real time in preclinical and clinical studies. In this review, we summarize several molecular imaging methods that deal with EVs derived from different cells, which have allowed investigations of EV biodistribution, as well as their tracking, delivery, and tumor targeting, to determine their physiological functions and to exploit imaging-derived information for EV-based theranostics.

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Investigating the Lymphatic System by Dual-Color Elemental Mass Spectrometry Imaging

Secondary lymphedema accompanied with strong restrictions in quality of life is still major side effects in cancer therapy. Therefore, dedicated diagnostic tools and further investigation of the lymphatic system are crucial to improve lymphedema therapy. In this pilot study, a method for quantitative analysis of the lymphatic system in a rat model by laser ablation (LA) with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry imaging (ICP-MSI) is presented. As a possible lymph marker, thulium(III)(1R,4R,7R,10R)-α,α′,α′′,α′′′-tetramethyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetate (Tm-DOTMA) is introduced and compared to the clinically used magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent gadolinium(III)2,2′,2′′-(10-((2R,3S)-1,3,4-trihydroxybutan-2-yl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7-triyl)triacetate (Gd-DO3A-butrol). Gadobutrol functioned as standard contrast media in MRI lymphangiography to detect lymphatic flow qualitatively. Thus, Tm-DOTMA was investigated as lymphatic marker to detect lymphatic flow quantitatively. Both contrast agents were successfully used to visualize the lymphatic flow in successive lymph nodes in LA-ICP-MS due to lower limits of detection compared to MRI. Furthermore, the distribution of contrast agents by multicolored imaging showed accumulation in specific areas (sectors) of the lymph nodes after application of contrast agents in different areas.

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Improving Power System Stability with Gramian Matrix-Based Optimal Setting of a Single Series FACTS Device: Feasibility Study in Vietnamese Power System

The Vietnamese power system has experienced instabilities due to the effect of increase in peak load demand or contingency grid faults; hence, using flexible alternating-current transmission systems (FACTS) devices is a best choice for improving the stability margins. Among the FACTS devices, the thyristor-controlled series capacitor (TCSC) is a series connected FACTS device widely used in power systems. However, in practice, its influence and ability depend on setting. For solving the problem, this paper proposes a relevant method for optimal setting of a single TCSC for the purpose of damping the power system oscillations. This proposed method is developed from the combination between the energy method and Hankel-norm approximation approach based on the controllability Gramian matrix considering the Lyapunov equation to search for a number of feasible locations on the small-signal stability analysis. The transient stability analysis is used to compare and determine appropriate settings through various simulation cases. The effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed by the simulation results based on the power system simulation engineering (PSS/E) and MATLAB programs. The obtained results show that the proposed method can apply to immediately solve the difficulties encountering in the Vietnamese power system.

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Πληροφορίες

Κυριακή 29 Ιανουαρίου 2017

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