Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a hypercoagulable state and is associated with highly increased risk of vascular complications. In the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), these vascular complications are c...
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Σάββατο 27 Αυγούστου 2016
The association between arterial stiffness and tongue manifestations of blood stasis in patients with type 2 diabetes
Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) and Gene Expression Analysis of Fos-expressing Neurons from Fresh and Frozen Rat Brain Tissue
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Are Danish doctors comfortable teaching in English?
From 2012–2015, the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and of Pediatrics at the University of Copenhagen conducted a project, "Internationalization at Home ", offering clinical teaching in English. The p...
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Methoxyflurane Analgesia in Adult Patients in the Emergency Department: A Subgroup Analysis of a Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study (STOP!)
Abstract
Introduction
Acute pain remains highly prevalent in the Emergency Department (ED) setting. This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled UK study investigated the efficacy and safety of low-dose methoxyflurane analgesia for the treatment of acute pain in the ED in the adult population of the STOP! trial.
Methods
Patients presenting to the ED requiring analgesia for acute pain (pain score of 4–7 on the Numerical Rating Scale) due to minor trauma were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive methoxyflurane (up to 6 mL) or placebo (normal saline), both via a Penthrox® (Medical Developments International Limited, Scoresby, Australia) inhaler. Rescue medication (paracetamol/opioids) was available immediately upon request. Change from baseline in visual analog scale (VAS) pain intensity was the primary endpoint.
Results
300 adult and adolescent patients were randomized; data are presented for the adult subgroup (N = 204). Mean baseline VAS pain score was ~66 mm in both groups. The mean change from baseline to 5, 10, 15 and 20 min was greater for methoxyflurane (−20.7, −27.4, −33.3 and −34.8 mm, respectively) than placebo (−8.0, −11.1, −12.3 and −15.2 mm, respectively). The primary analysis showed a highly significant treatment effect overall across all four time points (−17.4 mm; 95% confidence interval: −22.3 to −12.5 mm; p < 0.0001). Median time to first pain relief was 5 min with methoxyflurane [versus 20 min with placebo; (hazard ratio: 2.32; 95% CI: 1.63, 3.30; p < 0.0001)]; 79.4% of methoxyflurane-treated patients experienced pain relief within 1–10 inhalations. 22.8% of placebo-treated patients requested rescue medication within 20 min compared with 2.0% of methoxyflurane-treated patients (p = 0.0003). Methoxyflurane treatment was rated 'Excellent', 'Very Good' or 'Good' by 77.6% of patients, 74.5% of physicians and 72.5% of nurses. Treatment-related adverse events (mostly dizziness/headache) were reported by 42.2% of patients receiving methoxyflurane and 14.9% of patients receiving placebo; none caused withdrawal and the majority were mild and transient.
Conclusion
The results of this study support the evidence from previous trials that low-dose methoxyflurane administered via the Penthrox inhaler is a well-tolerated, efficacious and rapid-acting analgesic.
Funding
Medical Developments International (MDI) Limited and Mundipharma Research GmbH & Co.KG.
Trial registration
Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01420159, EudraCT number: 2011-000338-12.
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Fabrication of Inverted Colloidal Crystal Poly(ethylene glycol) Scaffold: A Three-dimensional Cell Culture Platform for Liver Tissue Engineering
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Leptin improves osteoblast differentiation of human bone marrow stroma stem cells
OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of leptin (LEP) on the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs) and to explore the mechanism controlling the process.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Respectively cultivated the third-generation hBMSCs with 100 ng/ml bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) culture media containing 320, 160, 80 and 40 ng/mL LEP, and regular medium. We administered alkaline phosphatase (ALP) dye (on the 7th day) and mineralized nodules alizarin red (on the 21st day) and tested the ALP activity as well as osteocalcin (OCN) level on 7th, 14th, 21st day in each group to establish the best inducing concentration of LEP. 7 days later, we tested bone differentiation related genes expression in the control, 160 ng/mL LEP and 100 ng/mL BMP groups using RT-PCR.
RESULTS: The activity of ALP and OCN in the 160 ng/mL LEP group after 7, 14 and 21 days was lower than that of the BMP group but higher than that of other groups. However, LEP significantly promoted the expression of bone differentiation related genes, namely, Cbfal, ALP, COL-I and OCN.
CONCLUSIONS: LEP promoted the bone differentiation in hBMSCs by promoting the expression of genes related to bone differentiation.
L'articolo Leptin improves osteoblast differentiation of human bone marrow stroma stem cells sembra essere il primo su European Review.
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Protein electrophoretic migration data from custom and commercial gradient gels
Publication date: December 2016
Source:Data in Brief, Volume 9
Author(s): Andrew J. Miller, Brandon Roman, Eric M. Norstrom
This paper presents data related to the article "A method for easily customizable gradient gel electrophoresis" (A.J. Miller, B. Roman, E.M. Norstrom, 2016) [1]. Data is presented on the rate of electrophoretic migration of proteins in both hand-poured and commercially acquired acrylamide gradient gels. For each gel, migration of 9 polypeptides of various masses was measured upon completion of gel electrophoresis. Data are presented on the migration of proteins within separate lanes of the same gel as well as migration rates from multiple gels.
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Data on copper level in the blood of patients with normal and abnormal angiography
Publication date: December 2016
Source:Data in Brief, Volume 9
Author(s): Leila Amiri, Ali Movahed, Dariush Iranpour, Afshin Ostovar, Alireza Raeisi, Mozhgan Keshtkar, Najmeh Hajian, Sina Dobaradaran
In this data article, we measured the levels of copper in the blood of patients undergoing coronary angiography. The samples were taken from patients with cardiovascular disease in Bushehr׳s university hospital, Iran. Patients were divided in two groups: normal angiography and abnormal angiography. After the chemical digestion of samples, the concentration levels of Cu in both groups were determined by using inductively coupled plasma optical spectrometry (ICP-OES).
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Connexin 43 is overexpressed in human fetal membrane defects after fetoscopic surgery
Abstract
Objective
We examined whether surgically induced membrane defects elevate connexin 43 (Cx43) expression in the wound edge of the amniotic membrane (AM) and drives structural changes in collagen that affects healing after fetoscopic surgery.
Method
Cell morphology and collagen microstructure was investigated by SEM and SHG in fetal membranes taken from women who underwent fetal surgery. IMF and RT-qPCR was used to examine Cx43 expression in control and wound edge AM.
Results
SEM showed dense, helical patterns of collagen fibrils in the wound edge of the fetal membrane. This arrangement changed in the fibroblast layer with evidence of collagen fibrils that were highly polarised along the wound edge but not in control membranes. Cx43 was increased by 112.9% in wound edge AM compared to controls (p < 0.001), with preferential distribution in the fibroblast layer compared to the epithelial layer (p < 0.01). In wound edge AM, mesenchymal cells had a flattened morphology and there was evidence of poor epithelial migration across the defect. Cx43 and COX-2 expression was significantly increased in wound edge AM compared to controls (p < 0.001).
Conclusion
Overexpression of Cx43 in the AM after fetal surgery induces morphological and structural changes in the collagenous matrix that may interfere with normal healing mechanisms.
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A novel translational model for fetoscopic intratracheal delivery of nanoparticles in piglets
Abstract
Objectives
The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of fetal tracheal injection in the late-gestational pig to target the airways.
Methods
Following laparotomy and hysterotomy, fetoscopy was performed in pregnant sows to access the fetal trachea. Two volumes of fluospheres were injected (1 and 3 mL). Fluospheres distribution to the different lung lobes was investigated by microscopy. Possible fetal airway injury, caused by the surgical procedure or intratracheal injection, was investigated. Lung morphology and fetal lung volumes were calculated by micro computed tomography (μCT).
Results
Intratracheal administration was successfully performed in 20/21 fetuses. Analysis by confocal microscopy demonstrated that 3 mL, and not 1 mL, most efficiently targeted all lung lobes. On high-resolution μCT, total airway volume was estimated at 2.9 mL, strengthening that 3 mL is appropriate to target all lung lobes. No procedural damage was evidenced in the lungs or trachea.
Conclusions
Intratracheal injection of nanoparticles is feasible in the pregnant pig and does not cause procedural lung damage. Using an injection volume of 3 mL, all lung lobes were efficiently targeted. This nanoparticle delivery model to fetal airways opens perspectives for therapeutic interventions.
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Dexmedetomidine regulate the malignancy of breast cancer cells by activating α2-adrenoceptor/ERK signaling pathway
OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer is one of the most aggressive and pervasive cancers identified in females. Dexmedetomidine (Dex) is an efficient anesthetic used in surgery. Our study aimed to explore the role of Dex in the malignancy of breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Further, we investigate the molecular mechanism involved in the function of Dex on breast cancer cells.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was applied to detect cell proliferation. The migration and invasion capacity of MDA-MB-231 cells was tested by wound healing assay and transwell assay. Western blot analysis was performed to quantify the protein expression levels of α2-adrenoceptor and ERK.
RESULTS: The proliferation, migration and invasion ability of MDA-MB-231 cells was gradually increased after treatment of Dex in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. In addition, Dex could significantly elevate the volume and weight of xenotransplant tumor in vivo. Furthermore, Dex up-regulated the protein level of a2-adrenoceptor and consistently enhanced the phosphorylation of ERK without changing the total level of it. Similarity, over-expression of a2-adrenoceptor via its agonist Clonidine could mimic the function of Dex on breast cancer.
CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that Dex could promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells through the activation of α2B-adrenoceptor /ERK signaling.
L'articolo Dexmedetomidine regulate the malignancy of breast cancer cells by activating α2-adrenoceptor/ERK signaling pathway sembra essere il primo su European Review.
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Porous tantalum seeded with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells attenuates steroid-associated osteonecrosis
OBJECTIVE: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) have been widely applied in osteonecrosis. However, lack of biomechanical support limited application of BMMSCs. And porous tantalum (PTA) has been identified as a cell-friendly scaffold for bone regeneration. Herein, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of PTA seeded with BMMSCs in the treatment of osteonecrosis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: After the production of PTA seeded with BMMSCs, MTT and GFP were performed to identify the proliferation and adhesion of BMMSCs respectively, which was further examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). And real-time PCR was also used to determine mRNA level of osteogenic markers, including Alp, OCN, OPN, Col I and Runx-2 in BMMSCs. Nineteen adult rabbits were applied for building steroid-associated osteonecrosis (SAON) models. Bone formation rate (BFR) and mineral apposition rate (MAR) were determined. And Goldner Trichrome Staining was used in these SAON models, which further confirmed the efficacy of PTA seeded with BMMSCs in SAON.
RESULTS: PTA seeded with BMMSCs showed excellent biocompatibility. Additionally, SEM assay showed that BMMSCs adhered tightly and spread fully in the pores of PTA. Next, the expression of ALP and OPN mRNA in BMMSCs were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the PTA-treated group compared to those in the PTA-untreated group. Furthermore, compared to those treated by only PTA, the dynamic bone formation in rabbits treated by PTA seeded with BMMSCs was significantly increased (p < 0.001) at both week 3rd and week 6th.
CONCLUSIONS: The product, PTA seeded with BMMSCs, was successfully produced, and was determined as high efficacy for treatment of steroid-associated osteonecrosis. PTA seeded with BMMSCs may afford a promising option for treating osteonecrosis.
L'articolo Porous tantalum seeded with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells attenuates steroid-associated osteonecrosis sembra essere il primo su European Review.
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Involvement of ghrelin in nucleus tractus solitaries on gastric signal afferent and gastric motility in cisplatin-treated rats
OBJECTIVE: Ghrelin had been known to promote gastric motility in human and animals previously. We aim to investigate the role of ghrelin in chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present study, we observed the changes in food intake, kaolin consumption, body weight, plasma ghrelin concentration and expression of ghrelin and its receptor GHS-R1a in the stomach and nucleus tractus solitaries (NTS) in cisplatin-treated rats, and the effects of ghrelin microinjected into NTS on the discharge activity of gastric distension (GD) responsive neurons and gastric motility were also observed.
RESULTS: Cisplatin induced the decrease in food intake and the increase in kaolin consumption of rats. In addition, mRNA expression of GHS-R1a in the stomach and NTS increased significantly after cisplatin treatment. The discharge activity of GD excited (GD-E) and GD inhibited (GD-I) neurons in cisplatin-treated rats was weaker than that of saline treatment, while ghrelin administration into NTS excited most of GD-E and GD-I neurons. Cisplatin induced the decrease in gastric contraction while ghrelin administrated into NTS promoted the gastric motility significantly. However, the amplitude and frequency of gastric contraction promoted by ghrelin in NTS of cisplatin-treated rats were lower than that of saline treated rats. The effects of ghrelin could be completely blocked by its receptor antagonist BIM28163.
CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that ghrelin in the NTS might participate in the regulation of GD-neurons and gastric motility via its receptor in cisplatin-treated rats.
L'articolo Involvement of ghrelin in nucleus tractus solitaries on gastric signal afferent and gastric motility in cisplatin-treated rats sembra essere il primo su European Review.
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Potential protective effect of resveratrol on acoustic trauma: electron microscopy study
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential preventive effect of resveratrol in rats exposed to acoustic trauma (AT).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this experimental study, Wistar albino rats were divided into three groups: Group 1 (Control, n = 6), Group 2 (AT, n = 6), and Group 3 (resveratrol + AT). The rats in Group 2 were exposed to AT. The rats in Group 3 received resveratrol (300 mg/kg/day) via gavage for 7 days. On day 7, the rats were exposed to AT 10 min following resveratrol treatment. Histological sections of the cochleae were examined using light microscopy, transmission (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
RESULTS: The cochlear hair cells, stereocilia, and Deiters' cells of the control group appeared normal in all microscopic evaluations. In Group 2, light microscopy revealed predominantly inner hair cell loss, although the outer hair cells were affected. TEM and SEM examination showed severe loss of stereocilia and SEM revealed stereocilia arranged in an asymmetric array. The cochlear structure in Group 3 appeared well preserved under the light microscope, and although TEM and SEM revealed stereocilia loss, the hair cells and stereocilia appeared near normal compared with those of Group 2.
CONCLUSIONS: Resveratrol may have a protective effect against AT damage in the cochlea, most likely through its antioxidant activity. Our results may be useful for studies in humans exposed to AT and noise-induced hearing loss related to chronic exposure to occupational noise.
L'articolo Potential protective effect of resveratrol on acoustic trauma: electron microscopy study sembra essere il primo su European Review.
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Treatment of advanced breast cancer with a combination of highly agglutinative staphylococcin and vinorelbine-based chemotherapy
OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in over 75% of countries worldwide accounting for one in four of all cancers in women. Highly agglutinative staphylococcin (HAS), a mixture of Staphylococcus aureus culture filtrates, has been used clinically as an immunomodifier in the treatment of a number of tumors for many years. The aim of present study is to evaluate the therapeutic effects and safety of treating advanced breast cancer patients with a combined therapy of HAS and vinorelbine-based chemotherapy compared to patients who receive standard chemotherapy alone.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 62 patients with advanced breast cancer were divided into 2 study groups. One group received intravenous injections of HAS and vinorelbine-based chemotherapy (n=31) compared to a control group assigned to receive vinorelbine-based standard chemotherapy (n=31).
RESULTS: Patients with advanced breast cancer who received HAS combined therapy showed a significantly higher overall response rate (Complete Response + Partial Response) of 67.7% compared with patients who received systemic chemotherapy alone (51.6%; p < 0.05). Overall, the occurrence of adverse effects was not significantly different between study groups. HAS was able to remedy the immunosuppressing effects of standard chemotherapy in these patients.
CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of advanced breast cancer with of HAS – in combination with vinorelbine-based chemotherapy – was generally more effective and just as safe compared to treatment with vinorelbine-based standard chemotherapy alone.
L'articolo Treatment of advanced breast cancer with a combination of highly agglutinative staphylococcin and vinorelbine-based chemotherapy sembra essere il primo su European Review.
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Study to elucidate molecular mechanism behind zinc chemo-preventive role during lung carcinogenesis
OBJECTIVE: The present planned to elucidate the mechanistic role zinc supplementation in the modulation of p53 post-translational acetylation, the activity of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) along with other biophysical parameters during benzo(a)pyrene (BP) induced lung carcinogenesis in mice.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The mice were segregated into four groups viz., normal control, BP treated, BP + zinc and zinc alone treated. Lung carcinogenesis was induced by a single intra-peritoneal (IP) injection of BP (100 mg/kg body weight). Zinc was supplemented to mice at dose levels of 227 mg/kg body weight in drinking water. All the treatments were continued for 20 weeks.
RESULTS: The BP caused a significant rise in the expression of p53. On the other hand, protein expressions of acetylated (lys382)-p53 were significantly decreased, following BP treatment. Also, a significant decrease was observed in the enzyme activities of caspase 3 and caspase 9. Moreover, BP treatment brought about a significant increase in the activity of COX-2. Supplementation of zinc to BP treated mice stimulated acetylation of p53 as observed by an increase in the protein expression of acetylated (lys382)-p53. Also, the enzyme activities of caspase 3 and caspase 9 showed a significant elevation upon zinc supplementation. On the other hand, the zinc supplementation brought about moderation in the expression of enzymatic activity of COX-2 which was restored within the normal limits. Further, BP treatment recorded increased 3H-thymidine uptake as well as enhanced 14C-glucose uptake and its turnover which were reduced significantly following simultaneous treatment with zinc.
CONCLUSIONS: The treatment with zinc has the potential to modulate p53 acetylation to stimulate apoptosis against experimentally induced lung carcinogenesis.
L'articolo Study to elucidate molecular mechanism behind zinc chemo-preventive role during lung carcinogenesis sembra essere il primo su European Review.
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Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with high methane production during lactulose breath test
OBJECTIVE: Despite a growing interest toward the interplay between H. pylori and gastric microbiota, few data are available about this correlation. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between H. pylori infection and gas production during lactulose breath test.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data of patients undergoing both 13C-urea breath test (UBT) and lactulose breath test (LBT) under standard conditions in our GI unit were retrospectively analyzed. GI symptoms, such as dyspepsia, bloating, abdominal pain/discomfort, and epigastric pain on an eleven-point scale were also analyzed and correlate with the results of those tests. H2 and CH4 were calculated using the trapezoidal rule; a considerable CH4 production was defined by AUCCH4 ≥1200 ppm*4h. Statistical analyses were performed with Fisher's exact test and independent samples Mann-Whitney test.
RESULTS: Data of 136 patients during a period of time of 3 months were analyzed. 36 patients (26.5%) showed a positive UBT. We do not find any difference as regards age, sex, symptom complaints, and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth between HP negative and positive patients. A greater methane production was observed in infected rather than non-infected patients (47.2% vs. 26% respectively, p=0.02). Furthermore, 25% infected and 10% non-infected produced greater amounts of CH4 compared to H2, resulting in a AUCCH4/AUCH2 ratio >1 (p=0.046).
CONCLUSIONS: This study shows for the first time, a significant association between H. pylori infection and methane production, suggesting that H. pylori might influence gut microbiota composition. Further studies are needed to clarify mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.
L'articolo Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with high methane production during lactulose breath test sembra essere il primo su European Review.
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Winning the battle against the scourge of poliomyelitis in the African Region
Source:Vaccine
Author(s): Matshidiso Moeti
IntroductionRecently we have recorded some progress against the transmission of poliovirus in the African Region. This is attributable to a number of factors, including commitment of global partnerships against polio, improvement of existing strategies as well as a number of innovations in response to the disease in the Region.MethodsThe WHO Regional Office in Africa documented these practices that led to the noticeable progress in the polio eradication initiative in the African Region, as lessons learnt and as part of polio legacy planning. The documentation exercise covered eight countries, namely Angola, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Togo.ResultsA number of practices were identified. Some of these practices cut across countries while others were peculiar to specific countries. We have thus developed some manuscripts to capture these practices for publication in scientific journal so as to place them in the public domain for use.ConclusionIt is hoped that these practices will be deployed to other public health programmes in the Region and beyond.
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The serological response against foot and mouth disease virus elicited by repeated vaccination of dairy cattle
Source:Vaccine
Author(s): Ehud Elnekave, Aldo Dekker, Phaedra Eble, Froukje van Hemert-Kluitenberg, Boris Gelman, Nick Storm, Eyal Klement
In Israel, cattle are annually vaccinated against foot and mouth disease (FMD). If infections with FMD virus occur in dairy farms it mainly involves heifers and calves, while older dairy cows seldom become infected. We hypothesized that this difference in susceptibility between adult cows and the young heifers and calves is due to stronger and more stable immune response elicited by multiple vaccinations. In order to test this hypothesis, 99 dairy cattle, divided into six groups according to number of prior vaccinations, were annually vaccinated with a trivalent vaccine (A, O and Asia-1) and followed during two consecutive years. In total 988 sera were sampled at 11 time points. Virus neutralization tests (VNT) were performed in order to determine the neutralizing antibody titers (NAT) against the vaccine homologous serotypes: O-4625, O-Manisa, Asia-1-Shamir and the heterologous serotype A-Turkey-20/2006. A similar NAT pattern was observed to all serotypes and therefore statistical analysis was restricted to O-4625 serotype. In the 'high vaccination' groups (cows that were vaccinated at least four times before the study), high NAT were found on the beginning of the trial and no or only a mild increase of NAT was observed following further vaccinations. Additionally, in the 'high vaccination' groups, the percentage of cows that had a NAT higher than 2.0 (log10) by the end of the 1st year was significantly higher than in the 'low vaccination' groups (cows vaccinated only three times or less before the study). We conclude that starting from the 5th vaccination, the NAT increase following vaccination is mild and NAT are persistent, suggesting reduction of the frequency of routine vaccination after multiple vaccinations is possible.
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Higher resting heart rate variability predicts skill in expressing some emotions
Abstract
Vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is a measure of cardiac vagal tone, and is widely viewed as a physiological index of the capacity to regulate emotions. However, studies have not directly tested whether vmHRV is associated with the ability to facially express emotions. In extending prior work, the current report tested links between resting vmHRV and the objectively assessed ability to facially express emotions, hypothesizing that higher vmHRV would predict greater expressive skill. Eighty healthy women completed self-reported measures, before attending a laboratory session in which vmHRV and the ability to express six emotions in the face were assessed. A repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a marginal main effect for vmHRV on skill overall; individuals with higher resting vmHRV were only better able to deliberately facially express anger and interest. Findings suggest that differences in resting vmHRV are associated with the objectively assessed ability to facially express some, but not all, emotions, with potential implications for health and well-being.
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Polymers, Vol. 8, Pages 321: Bactericidal Effect of Lauric Acid-Loaded PCL-PEG-PCL Nano-Sized Micelles on Skin Commensal Propionibacterium acnes
Acne is the over growth of the commensal bacteria Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) on human skin. Lauric acid (LA) has been investigated as an effective candidate to suppress the activity of P. acnes. Although LA is nearly insoluble in water, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) has been reported to effectively solubilize LA. However, the toxicity of DMSO can limit the use of LA on the skin. In this study, LA-loaded poly(ɛ-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(ɛ-caprolactone) micelles (PCL-PEG-PCL) were developed to improve the bactericidal effect of free LA on P. acnes. The block copolymers mPEG-PCL and PCL-PEG-PCL with different molecular weights were synthesized and characterized using 1HNuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). In the presence of LA, mPEG-PCL diblock copolymers did not self-assemble into nano-sized micelles. On the contrary, the average particle sizes of the PCL-PEG-PCL micelles ranged from 50–198 nm for blank micelles and 27–89 nm for LA-loaded micelles. The drug loading content increased as the molecular weight of PCL-PEG-PCL polymer increased. Additionally, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of free LA were 20 and 80 μg/mL, respectively. The MICs and MBCs of the micelles decreased to 10 and 40 μg/mL, respectively. This study demonstrated that the LA-loaded micelles are a potential treatment for acne.
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IJERPH, Vol. 13, Pages 856: Components of Height and Blood Pressure among Ellisras Rural Children: Ellisras Longitudinal Study
To date, there has been no study done investigating the relationship between the components of height and blood pressure (BP) in rural South African children. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between height, sitting height (SH), leg length (LL), and SH-to-height ratio (SH/H) with BP in Ellisras rural children. All children underwent anthropometric and BP measurements using standard procedure. Linear regression was used to assess the relationship between height, SH, LL, SH/H, and BP. The regression showed a positive significant (p < 0.001) association between systolic BP (SBP) with height and SH (β ranged from 0.127 to 0.134 and 95% CI ranged from 0.082 to 0.415). Diastolic BP (DBP) also showed a positive significant (p < 0.001) association with height and SH (β ranged from 0.080 to 0.088 and 95% CI ranged from 0.042 to 0.259). After having been adjusted for age, gender, body mass index, and waist circumference, DBP showed a positive significant (p < 0.05) association with height. There was a positive significant association between DBP and SBP together with the components of height amongst Ellisras rural children.
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Remote Sensing, Vol. 8, Pages 709: Content-Based High-Resolution Remote Sensing Image Retrieval via Unsupervised Feature Learning and Collaborative Affinity Metric Fusion
With the urgent demand for automatic management of large numbers of high-resolution remote sensing images, content-based high-resolution remote sensing image retrieval (CB-HRRS-IR) has attracted much research interest. Accordingly, this paper proposes a novel high-resolution remote sensing image retrieval approach via multiple feature representation and collaborative affinity metric fusion (IRMFRCAMF). In IRMFRCAMF, we design four unsupervised convolutional neural networks with different layers to generate four types of unsupervised features from the fine level to the coarse level. In addition to these four types of unsupervised features, we also implement four traditional feature descriptors, including local binary pattern (LBP), gray level co-occurrence (GLCM), maximal response 8 (MR8), and scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT). In order to fully incorporate the complementary information among multiple features of one image and the mutual information across auxiliary images in the image dataset, this paper advocates collaborative affinity metric fusion to measure the similarity between images. The performance evaluation of high-resolution remote sensing image retrieval is implemented on two public datasets, the UC Merced (UCM) dataset and the Wuhan University (WH) dataset. Large numbers of experiments show that our proposed IRMFRCAMF can significantly outperform the state-of-the-art approaches.
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Development of a Data Abstraction Form: Getting What You Need From the Electronic Health Record
The electronic health record (EHR) serves a variety of purposes for the health care provider, including documentation of care; ensuring communication, safety, and quality of care; legal documentation; and research- and evidence-based practice. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2016) notes that the EHR has been effective in transforming the quality, safety, and efficiency of care delivery in health care. In our previous work, we noted that much of the focus of the EHR is on data entry by the health care provider; however, data can also be abstracted for the purposes of research and quality improvement (Spratling & Powers, 2015).
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Catalysts, Vol. 6, Pages 130: Palladium-Based Catalysts as Electrodes for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells: A Last Ten Years Review
Platinum-based materials are accepted as the suitable electrocatalysts for anodes and cathodes in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Nonetheless, the increased demand and scarce world reserves of Pt, as well as some technical problems associated with its use, have motivated a wide research focused to design Pd-based catalysts, considering the similar properties between this metal and Pt. In this review, we present the most recent advancements about Pd-based catalysts, considering Pd, Pd alloys with different transition metals and non-carbon supported nanoparticles, as possible electrodes in DMFCs. In the case of the anode, different reported works have highlighted the capacity of these new materials for overcoming the CO poisoning and promote the oxidation of other intermediates generated during the methanol oxidation. Regarding the cathode, the studies have showed more positive onset potentials, as fundamental parameter for determining the mechanism of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and thus, making them able for achieving high efficiencies, with less production of hydrogen peroxide as collateral product. This revision suggests that it is possible to replace the conventional Pt catalysts by Pd-based materials, although several efforts must be made in order to improve their performance in DMFCs.
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Sustainability, Vol. 8, Pages 862: Quantifying the Spatiotemporal Patterns of Urbanization along Urban-Rural Gradient with a Roadscape Transect Approach: A Case Study in Shanghai, China
Quantifying the landscape pattern change can effectively demonstrate the ecological progresses and the consequences of urbanization. Based on remotely sensed land cover data in 1994, 2000, 2006 and a gradient analysis with landscape metrics at landscape- and class- level, we attempted to characterize the individual and entire landscape patterns of Shanghai metropolitan during the rapid urbanization. We highlighted that a roadscape transect approach that combined the buffer zone method and the transect-based approach was introduced to describe the urban-rural patterns of agricultural, residential, green, industrial, and public facilities land along the railway route. Our results of landscape metrics showed significant spatiotemporal patterns and gradient variations along the transect. The urban growth pattern in two time spans conform to the hypothesis for diffusion–coalescence processes, implying that the railway is adaptive as a gradient element to analyze the landscape patterns with urbanization. As the natural landscape was replaced by urban landscape gradually, the desakota region expanded its extent widely. Suburb areas witnessed the continual transformation from the predominantly rural landscape to peri-urban landscape. Furthermore, the gap between urban and rural areas remained large especially in public service. More reasonable urban plans and land use policies should push to make more efforts to transition from the urban-rural separation to coordinated urban-rural development. This study is a meaningful trial in demonstrating a new form of urban–rural transects to study the landscape change of large cities. By combining gradient analysis with landscape metrics, we addressed the process of urbanization both spatially and temporally, and provided a more quantitative approach to urban studies.
http://ift.tt/2bo5Nti
Remote Sensing, Vol. 8, Pages 708: Individual Building Extraction from TerraSAR-X Images Based on Ontological Semantic Analysis
Accurate building information plays a crucial role for urban planning, human settlements and environmental management. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, which deliver images with metric resolution, allow for analyzing and extracting detailed information on urban areas. In this paper, we consider the problem of extracting individual buildings from SAR images based on domain ontology. By analyzing a building scattering model with different orientations and structures, the building ontology model is set up to express multiple characteristics of individual buildings. Under this semantic expression framework, an object-based SAR image segmentation method is adopted to provide homogeneous image objects, and three categories of image object features are extracted. Semantic rules are implemented by organizing image object features, and the individual building objects expression based on an ontological semantic description is formed. Finally, the building primitives are used to detect buildings among the available image objects. Experiments on TerraSAR-X images of Foshan city, China, with a spatial resolution of 1.25 m × 1.25 m, have shown the total extraction rates are above 84%. The results indicate the ontological semantic method can exactly extract flat-roof and gable-roof buildings larger than 250 pixels with different orientations.
http://ift.tt/2chDhiJ
Molecules, Vol. 21, Pages 1136: Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) Inhibitors from Natural Products: Discovery of Next-Generation Antihyperglycemic Agents
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition associated with the metabolic impairment of insulin actions, leading to the development of life-threatening complications. Although many kinds of oral antihyperglycemic agents with different therapeutic mechanisms have been marketed, their undesirable adverse effects, such as hypoglycemia, weight gain, and hepato-renal toxicity, have increased demand for the discovery of novel, safer antidiabetic drugs. Since the important roles of the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) for glucose homeostasis in the kidney were recently elucidated, pharmacological inhibition of SGLT2 has been considered a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Since the discovery of the first natural SGLT2 inhibitor, phlorizin, several synthetic glucoside analogs have been developed and introduced into the market. Furthermore, many efforts to find new active constituents with SGLT2 inhibition from natural products are still ongoing. This review introduces the history of research on the development of early-generation SGLT2 inhibitors, and recent progress on the discovery of novel candidates for SGLT2 inhibitor from several natural products that are widely used in traditional herbal medicine.
http://ift.tt/2bo692Z
Molecules, Vol. 21, Pages 1137: The Protective Effect of Melittin on Renal Fibrosis in an Animal Model of Unilateral Ureteral Obstruction
Renal fibrosis is the principal pathological process underlying the progression of chronic kidney disease that leads to end-stage renal disease. Melittin is a major component of bee venom, and it has anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory properties in various cell types. Thus, this study examined the therapeutic effects of melittin on the progression of renal fibrosis using the unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model. In addition, the effects of melittin on inflammation and fibrosis in renal fibroblast cells were explored using transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). Histological observation revealed that UUO induced a considerable increase in the number of infiltrated inflammatory cells. However, melittin treatment markedly reduced these reactions compared with untreated UUO mice. The expression levels of inflammatory cytokines and pro-fibrotic genes were significantly reduced in melittin-treated mice compared with UUO mice. Melittin also effectively inhibited fibrosis-related gene expression in renal fibroblasts NRK-49F cells. These findings suggest that melittin attenuates renal fibrosis and reduces inflammatory responses by the suppression of multiple growth factor-mediated pro-fibrotic genes. In conclusion, melittin may be a useful therapeutic agent for the prevention of fibrosis that characterizes the progression of chronic kidney disease.
http://ift.tt/2chD6Eb
Molecules, Vol. 21, Pages 1138: Screening for Neuraminidase Inhibitory Activity in Traditional Chinese Medicines Used to Treat Influenza
Objective: To screen for influenza virus neuraminidase inhibition and to provide a reference for the clinical treatment of influenza using traditional Chinese medicines (TCM). In this study, 421 crude extracts (solubilized with petroleum ether, ethanol, ethyl acetate, and aqueous solvents) were obtained from 113 TCM. The medicine extracts were then reacted with oseltamivir, using 2'-(4-methylumbelliferyl)-α-D-N-acetylneuraminic acid (MUNANA) as the substrate, to determine influenza virus neuraminidase activity using a standard fluorimetric assay. It was found that Chinese medicine extracts from Pyrola calliantha, Cynanchum wilfordii, Balanophora involucrata and Paeonia delavayi significantly inhibited neuraminidase activity at a concentration of 40 μg/mL. Dose-dependent inhibitory assays also revealed significant inhibition. The IC50 range of the TCM extracts for influenza virus neuraminidase was approximately 12.66–34.85 μg/mL, respectively. Some Chinese medicines have clear anti-influenza viral effects that may play an important role in the treatment of influenza through the inhibition of viral neuraminidase. The results of this study demonstrated that plant medicines can serve as a useful source of neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors and further investigation into the pharmacologic activities of these extracts is warranted.
http://ift.tt/2bo4Xg2
Perinatal (fetal and neonatal) astrocytoma: a review
Abstract
Introduction
The purpose of this review is to document the various types of astrocytoma that occur in the fetus and neonate, their locations, initial findings, pathology, and outcome. Data are presented that show which patients are likely to survive or benefit from treatment compared with those who are unlikely to respond.
Materials and methods
One hundred one fetal and neonatal tumors were collected from the literature for study.
Results
Macrocephaly and an intracranial mass were the most common initial findings. Overall, hydrocephalus and intracranial hemorrhage were next. Glioblastoma (GBM) was the most common neoplasm followed in order by subependymal giant cell astrocytoma (SEGA), low-grade astrocytoma, anaplastic astrocytoma, and desmoplastic infantile astrocytoma (DIA). Tumors were detected most often toward the end of the third trimester of pregnancy.
Conclusion
A number of patients were considered inoperable since their tumor occupied much of the intracranial cavity involving large areas of the brain. High-grade astrocytomas were more common than low-grade ones in this review. Fetuses and neonates with astrocytoma have a mixed prognosis ranging from as low as 20 % (GBM) to a high of 90 %. The overall survival was 47/101 or 46 %.
http://ift.tt/2c3K9yN
Mild head injury and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children
Abstract
Purpose
Post-concussion syndrome is a well-described complication following moderate and severe head trauma but whether it occurs after mild head injury in children remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether exposure to mild head injury with potential additional risk factors (non-surgical lesion on computed tomographic, high kinetic trauma, or Glasgow Coma Scale <15) is associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after the head trauma.
Methods
This study was performed in an emergency department on children admitted between 2009 and 2013. It compared victims of mild head injury aged 6–16 years with matched children presenting isolated non-surgical forearm fracture (ratio1/2). ADHD was assessed using Conners' Global Index–Parent short version 3–40 months after the trauma. The patients were compared using chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, t test or u-test as appropriate with a p value set at 0.05.
Results
During the study period, 676 patients were admitted for mild head injury. Among them, 34 (5 %) fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were compared with 64 matched patients admitted for a forearm fracture. The groups were comparable. ADHD was observed in both groups (18 % in the mild head injury group, 11 % in the control group) with no significant differences between groups. The prevalence was high when compared to an expected frequency of 3.5–5.6 % in children aged 6–12 years in the general population.
Conclusions
These results suggest that pre-existing ADHD may have contributed to injury proneness in both groups and does not argue for a specific risk of ADHD induced by mild head injury. The diagnosis of ADHD should be evoked at admission of children aged 6–16 years presenting with a trauma.
http://ift.tt/2c3JmOq
Hyperosmolar therapy in pediatric traumatic brain injury: a retrospective study
Abstract
Objectives
The objectives of the study are to describe the use of hyperosmolar therapy in pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) and examine its effect on intracranial pressure (ICP) and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP).
Design
A retrospective review of patients with severe TBI admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) was conducted. Inclusion criteria were ICP monitoring and administration of a hyperosmolar agent (20 % mannitol or 3 % hypertonic saline) within 48 h of PICU admission; for which dose and timing were recorded. For the first two boluses received for increased ICP (>20 mmHg), the impact on ICP and CPP was assessed during the following 4 h, using repeated measures ANOVA. Co-interventions to control ICP (additional hyperosmolar agent, propofol, or barbiturate bolus) and serum sodium were also documented.
Setting
A tertiary care pediatric hospital center.
Patients
Children aged 1 month to 18 years, with severe traumatic brain injury (Glasgow Coma Score ≤ 8) and intracranial pressure (ICP) monitor.
Results
Sixty-four patients were eligible, of which 16 met inclusion criteria. Average age was 11 years (SD ± 4) and median Glasgow Coma Score was 6 (range 4–7). Seventy percent of boluses were 3 % hypertonic saline, with no identified baseline difference associated with this initial choice. Both mannitol and hypertonic saline were followed by a non-significant decrease in ICP (mannitol, p = 0.055 and hypertonic saline, p = 0.096). There was no significant change in CPP post bolus. A co-intervention occurred in 69 % of patients within the 4 h post hyperosmolar agent, and eight patients received continuous 3 % saline.
Conclusion
In pediatric TBI with intracranial hypertension, mannitol and 3 % hypertonic saline are commonly used, but dose and therapeutic threshold for use vary without clear indications for one versus another. Controlled trials are warranted, but several barriers were identified, including high exclusion rate, multiple co-interventions, and care variability.
http://ift.tt/2bxxrpu
Remote Sensing, Vol. 8, Pages 707: Ocean Wave Parameters Retrieval from Sentinel-1 SAR Imagery
In this paper, a semi-empirical algorithm for significant wave height (Hs) and mean wave period (Tmw) retrieval from C-band VV-polarization Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery is presented. We develop a semi-empirical function for Hs retrieval, which describes the relation between Hs and cutoff wavelength, radar incidence angle, and wave propagation direction relative to radar look direction. Additionally, Tmw can be also calculated through Hs and cutoff wavelength by using another empirical function. We collected 106 C-band stripmap mode Sentinel-1 SAR images in VV-polarization and wave measurements from in situ buoys. There are a total of 150 matchup points. We used 93 matchups to tune the coefficients of the semi-empirical algorithm and the rest 57 matchups for validation. The comparison shows a 0.69 m root mean square error (RMSE) of Hs with a 18.6% of scatter index (SI) and 1.98 s RMSE of Tmw with a 24.8% of SI. Results indicate that the algorithm is suitable for wave parameters retrieval from Sentinel-1 SAR data.
http://ift.tt/2bHYM7q
Sensors, Vol. 16, Pages 1377: A Saliency Guided Semi-Supervised Building Change Detection Method for High Resolution Remote Sensing Images
Characterizations of up to date information of the Earth's surface are an important application providing insights to urban planning, resources monitoring and environmental studies. A large number of change detection (CD) methods have been developed to solve them by utilizing remote sensing (RS) images. The advent of high resolution (HR) remote sensing images further provides challenges to traditional CD methods and opportunities to object-based CD methods. While several kinds of geospatial objects are recognized, this manuscript mainly focuses on buildings. Specifically, we propose a novel automatic approach combining pixel-based strategies with object-based ones for detecting building changes with HR remote sensing images. A multiresolution contextual morphological transformation called extended morphological attribute profiles (EMAPs) allows the extraction of geometrical features related to the structures within the scene at different scales. Pixel-based post-classification is executed on EMAPs using hierarchical fuzzy clustering. Subsequently, the hierarchical fuzzy frequency vector histograms are formed based on the image-objects acquired by simple linear iterative clustering (SLIC) segmentation. Then, saliency and morphological building index (MBI) extracted on difference images are used to generate a pseudo training set. Ultimately, object-based semi-supervised classification is implemented on this training set by applying random forest (RF). Most of the important changes are detected by the proposed method in our experiments. This study was checked for effectiveness using visual evaluation and numerical evaluation.
http://ift.tt/2bxwspn
The Retrieval of Perceptual Memory Details Depends on Right Hippocampal Integrity and Activation
Source:Cortex
Author(s): Marie St-Laurent, Morris Moscovitch, Mary Pat McAndrews
We assessed whether perceptual richness, a defining feature of episodic memory, depends on the engagement and integrity of the hippocampus during episodic memory retrieval. We tested participants' memory for complex laboratory events that differed in perceptual content: short stories were either presented as perceptually rich film clips or as perceptually impoverished narratives. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while retrieving these laboratory events (narratives and clips), as well as events from their personal life (autobiographical memories). In a group of healthy adults, a conjunction analysis showed that both real-life and laboratory memories engaged overlapping regions from an autobiographical memory retrieval network, indicating that laboratory memories mimicked autobiographical events successfully. A direct contrast between the film clip and the narrative laboratory conditions identified regions activated by the retrieval of perceptual memory content, which included the right hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus and precuneus. In individuals with medial temporal lobe epilepsy originating from the right hippocampus, the magnitude of this "perceptually rich" signal was reduced significantly, which is consistent with evidence of reduced perceptual memory content in this clinical population. In healthy controls, right hippocampal activation also correlated positively with a behavioral measure of perceptual content in the clip condition. Thus, right hippocampal activity contributed to the retrieval of perceptual episodic memory content in the healthy brain, while right hippocampal damage disrupted activation in regions that process perceptual memory content. Our results suggest that the hippocampus contributes to recollection by retrieving and integrating perceptual details into vivid memory constructs.
http://ift.tt/2bXUrxp
Improved estimates for the role of grey matter volume and GABA in bistable perception
Source:Cortex
Author(s): Kristian Sandberg, Jakob Udby Blicher, Simon Hviid Del Pin, Lau Møller Andersen, Geraint Rees, Ryota Kanai
Across a century or more, ambiguous stimuli have been studied scientifically because they provide a method for studying the internal mechanisms of the brain while ensuring an unchanging external stimulus. In recent years, several studies have reported correlations between perceptual dynamics during bistable perception and particular brain characteristics such as the grey matter volume of areas in the superior parietal lobule (SPL) and the relative GABA concentration in the occipital lobe. Here, we attempt to replicate previous results using similar paradigms to those used in the studies first reporting the correlations. Using the original findings as priors for Bayesian analyses, we found strong support for the correlation between structure-from-motion percept duration and anterior SPL grey matter volume. Correlations between percept duration and other parietal areas as well as occipital GABA, however, were not directly replicated or appeared less strong than previous studies suggested. Inspection of the posterior distributions (current "best guess" based on new data given old data as prior) revealed that several original findings may reflect true relationships although no direct evidence was found in support of them in the current sample. Additionally, we found that multiple regression models based on grey matter volume at 2-3 parietal locations (but not including GABA) were the best predictors of percept duration, explaining approximately 35% of the inter-individual variance. Taken together, our results provide new estimates of correlation strengths, generally increasing confidence in the role of the aSPL while decreasing confidence in some of the other relationships.
http://ift.tt/2bXTR2r
Molecules, Vol. 21, Pages 1134: Construction and Quality Analysis of Transgenic Rehmannia glutinosa Containing TMV and CMV Coat Protein
Plant viruses, especially tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) are serious threats to Rehmannia glutinosa which is a "top grade" herb in China. In the present study, TMV- and CMV-resistant Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch. plants were constructed by transforming the protein (CP) genes of TMV and CMV into Rehmannia glutinosa via a modified procedure of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Integration and expression of TMV CP and CMV CP transgenes in 2 lines, LBA-1 and LBA-2, were confirmed by PCR, Southern blot and RT-PCR. Both LBA-1 and LBA-2 were resistant to infection of homologous TMV and CMV strains. The quality of transgenic Rehmanniae Radix was evaluated based on fingerprint analysis and components quantitative analysis comparing with control root tubes. These results showed that chemical composition of transgenic Rehmanniae Radix were similar to non-transgenic ones, which demonstrated that the medical quality and biosafety of transgenic Rehmanniae Radix were equivalent to non-transgenic material when consumed as traditional Chinese medicinal (TCM).
http://ift.tt/2bscfyW
Molecules, Vol. 21, Pages 1135: Arctigenin Inhibits Lung Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer by Regulating Cell Viability and Metastatic Phenotypes
Arctigenin (ARC) has been shown to have an anti-cancer effect in various cell types and tissues. However, there have been no studies concerning metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, we investigated the anti-metastatic properties of ARC on colorectal metastasis and present a potential candidate drug. ARC induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in CT26 cells through the intrinsic apoptotic pathway via MAPKs signaling. In several metastatic phenotypes, ARC controlled epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through increasing the expression of epithelial marker E-cadherin and decreasing the expressions of mesenchymal markers; N-cadherin, vimentin, β-catenin, and Snail. Moreover, ARC inhibited migration and invasion through reducing of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 expressions. In an experimental metastasis model, ARC significantly inhibited lung metastasis of CT26 cells. Taken together, our study demonstrates the inhibitory effects of ARC on colorectal metastasis.
http://ift.tt/2boC8mv
Molecules, Vol. 21, Pages 1139: Structural Modifications of Deoxycholic Acid to Obtain Three Known Brassinosteroid Analogues and Full NMR Spectroscopic Characterization
An improved synthesis route for obtaining known brassinosteroid analogues, i.e., methyl 2α,3α-dihydroxy-6-oxo-5α-cholan-24-oate (11), methyl 3α-hydroxy-6-oxo-7-oxa-5α-cholan-24-oate (15) and methyl 3α-hydroxy-6-oxa-7-oxo-5α-cholan-24-oate (16), from hyodeoxycholic acid (4) maintaining the native side chain is described. In the alternative procedure, the di-oxidized product 6, obtained in the oxidation of methyl hyodeoxycholate 5, was converted almost quantitatively into the target monoketone 7 by stereoselective reduction with NaBH4, increasing the overall yield of this synthetic route to 96.8%. The complete 1H- and 13C-NMR assignments for all compounds synthesized in this work have been made by 1D and 2D heteronuclear correlation gs-HSQC and gs-HMBC techniques. Thus, it was possible to update the spectroscopic information of 1H-NMR and to accomplish a complete assignment of all 13C-NMR signals for analogues 5–16, which were previously reported only in partial form.
http://ift.tt/2bsd6Qi
“Who” should be focused? The influence of focus status on pronoun resolution
Abstract
Focus is assumed to be able to enhance the salience of a focused constituent and thereby facilitate the interpretation of a pronoun that refers to a focused antecedent relative to an unfocused antecedent. To assess how discourse-based focus structure influences the interpretation of a pronoun and whether this process is modulated by the grammatical role of the antecedent, we conducted an ERP study in which the focus status of a pronoun's potential antecedents was manipulated by means of a wh-question-answer structure. We found that, relative to those in the focused position, pronouns referring to antecedents in the unfocused position evoked enhanced positive responses in both early (180–230 ms) and late time windows (400–800 ms). Moreover, while a larger positivity was evoked by object-referring pronouns compared to subject-referring pronouns in the 400–800 ms time window over the right hemisphere, there was no effect of grammatical role in the 180–230 ms time window. These findings indicate that, while the initial stage of pronoun resolution is modulated by focus information assigned via a wh-question structure, integration of the pronoun and its antecedent into a coherent discourse representation at the later stage could be constrained by various factors, including the focus status and possibly the grammatical role of the antecedent.
http://ift.tt/2bHQTyA
Automatic emotion regulation in response inhibition: The temporal dynamics of emotion counter-regulation during a go/no-go task
Abstract
Recent behavioral studies indicate that emotion counter-regulation automatically allocates attention to events that are opposite in the valence to the experienced emotional state. The present study explored the effect of emotion counter-regulation on response inhibition by using ERPs in a go/no-go paradigm. We recruited 58 subjects and randomly assigned them to either the angry priming group (watching Nanjing Massacre movie clips) or the neutral priming group (watching "mending a computer" movie clips). The behavioral results revealed that participants in the angry priming group responded significantly more accurately to go happy and no-go angry faces than go angry and no-go happy faces. The analyses of ERPs revealed that the amplitudes of the no-go N2 and no-go P3 were significantly larger for the happy faces than for the angry faces in the angry priming group. However, no such effects were found in the neutral priming group. These results suggest that highly aroused angry emotion could prompt a priority response to happy emotion stimuli and restrict the responses to angry emotion stimuli through emotion counter-regulation.
http://ift.tt/2bravuI
Expectancy affects the feedback-related negativity (FRN) for delayed feedback in probabilistic learning
Abstract
Learning from feedback is a prerequisite for adapting to the environment. Prediction error signals coded by midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons are projected to the basal ganglia and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). It has been suggested that neuronal activity shifts away from the DA system when feedback is delayed. The feedback-related negativity (FRN), an ERP that is generated in the ACC and has been shown to be sensitive to feedback valence and prediction error magnitude, was found to be reduced for delayed feedback. It has, however, not yet been investigated if the FRN for delayed feedback reflects a reward prediction error. In this study, effects of feedback delay (1 s vs. 7 s) on the processing of expected and unexpected positive and negative feedback were investigated in a between-subjects design in healthy human participants conducting a probabilistic feedback learning task. FRN and P300 amplitudes were decreased for subjects learning from delayed compared to immediate feedback. Importantly, the FRN, extracted from the negative-positive feedback difference wave, was significantly smaller for expected compared to unexpected feedback for both the immediate and delayed feedback conditions. Expectancy effects for the P300 were also seen, but did not interact with feedback valence. These results demonstrate an influence of feedback expectancy, and thus the prediction error, on early feedback processing even for delayed feedback, suggesting that neuronal structures underlying feedback processing are comparable for immediate and delayed feedback, at least to some extent. Modulations of the P300 by feedback delay may be linked to feedback salience.
http://ift.tt/2bHRsbK
IJERPH, Vol. 13, Pages 858: Addressing Environmental Health Inequalities
Environmental health inequalities refer to health hazards disproportionately or unfairly distributed among the most vulnerable social groups, which are generally the most discriminated, poor populations and minorities affected by environmental risks. Although it has been known for a long time that health and disease are socially determined, only recently has this idea been incorporated into the conceptual and practical framework for the formulation of policies and strategies regarding health. In this Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH), "Addressing Environmental Health Inequalities—Proceedings from the ISEE Conference 2015", we incorporate nine papers that were presented at the 27th Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE), held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2015. This small collection of articles provides a brief overview of the different aspects of this topic. Addressing environmental health inequalities is important for the transformation of our reality and for changing the actual development model towards more just, democratic, and sustainable societies driven by another form of relationship between nature, economy, science, and politics.
http://ift.tt/2chs81B
Molecules, Vol. 21, Pages 1129: Triterpenes for Well-Balanced Scar Formation in Superficial Wounds
Triterpenes are demonstrably effective for accelerating re-epithelialisation of wounds and known to improve scar formation for superficial lesions. Among the variety of triterpenes, betuline is of particular medical interest. Topical betuline gel (TBG) received drug approval in 2016 from the European Commission as the first topical therapeutic agent with the proven clinical benefit of accelerating wound healing. Two self-conducted randomized intra-individual comparison clinical studies with a total of 220 patients involved in TBG treatment of skin graft surgical wounds have been screened for data concerning the aesthetic aspect of wound healing. Three months after surgery wound treatment with TBG resulted in about 30% of cases with more discreet scars, and standard of care in about 10%. Patients themselves appreciate the results of TBG after 3 months even more (about 50%) compared to standard of care (about 10%). One year after surgery, the superiority of TBG counts for about 25% in comparison with about 10%, and from the patients' point of view, for 25% compared to 4% under standard of care. In the majority of wound treatment cases, there is no difference visible between TBG treatment and standard of care after 1 year of scar formation. However, in comparison, TBG still offers a better chance for discreet scars and therefore happens to be superior in good care of wounds.
http://ift.tt/2bnVxkJ
Sensors, Vol. 16, Pages 1372: Target Coverage in Wireless Sensor Networks with Probabilistic Sensors
Sensing coverage is a fundamental problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), which has attracted considerable attention. Conventional research on this topic focuses on the 0/1 coverage model, which is only a coarse approximation to the practical sensing model. In this paper, we study the target coverage problem, where the objective is to find the least number of sensor nodes in randomly-deployed WSNs based on the probabilistic sensing model. We analyze the joint detection probability of target with multiple sensors. Based on the theoretical analysis of the detection probability, we formulate the minimum ϵ-detection coverage problem. We prove that the minimum ϵ-detection coverage problem is NP-hard and present an approximation algorithm called the Probabilistic Sensor Coverage Algorithm (PSCA) with provable approximation ratios. To evaluate our design, we analyze the performance of PSCA theoretically and also perform extensive simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm.
http://ift.tt/2chsi92
IJERPH, Vol. 13, Pages 857: Comprehensive Comparison between Empty Nest and Non-Empty Nest Elderly: A Cross-Sectional Study among Rural Populations in Northeast China
This study aimed to comprehensively compare the general characteristics, lifestyles, serum parameters, ultrasonic cardiogram (UCG) parameters, depression, quality of life, and various comorbidities between empty nest and non-empty nest elderly among rural populations in northeast China. This analysis was based on our previous study which was conducted from January 2012 to August 2013, using a multistage, stratified, random cluster sampling scheme. The final analyzed sample consisted of 3208 participants aged no less than 60 years, which was further classified into three groups: non-empty nest group, empty nest group (living as a couple), and empty nest group (living alone). More than half of the participants were empty nest elderly (60.5%). There were no significant statistical differences for serum parameters, UCG parameters, lifestyles, dietary pattern, and scores of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire, abbreviated version (WHOQOL-BREF) among the three groups. Empty nest elderly showed no more risk for comorbidities such as general obesity, abdominal obesity, hyperuricemia, hyperhomocysteinemia, diabetes, dyslipidemia, left atrial enlargement (LAE), and stroke. Our study indicated that empty nest elderly showed no more risk for depression, low quality of life and comorbidities such as general obesity, abdominal obesity, hyperuricemia, hyperhomocysteinemia, diabetes, dyslipidemia, LAE, and stroke among rural populations in northeast China.
http://ift.tt/2bnVPbq
Applied Sciences, Vol. 6, Pages 243: Potential Application of Fluorescence Imaging for Assessing Fecal Contamination of Soil and Compost Maturity
Pathogenic microorganisms can lead to serious outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, particularly if fresh produce becomes contaminated and then happens to be inappropriately handled in a manner that can incubate pathogens. Pathogenic microbial contamination of produce can occur through a variety of pathways, such as from the excrement of domesticated and wild animals, biological soil amendment, agricultural water, worker health and hygiene, and field tools used during growth and harvest. The use of mature manure compost and preventative control of fecal contamination from wildlife and livestock are subject to safety standards to minimize the risk of foodborne illness associated with produce. However, in a field production environment, neither traces of animal feces nor the degree of maturity of manure compost can be identified by the naked eye. In this study, we investigated hyperspectral fluorescence imaging techniques to characterize fecal samples from bovine, swine, poultry, and sheep species, and to determine feasibilities for both detecting the presence of animal feces as well as identifying the species origin of the feces in mixtures of soil and feces. In addition, the imaging techniques were evaluated for assessing the maturity of manure compost. The animal feces exhibited dynamic and unique fluorescence emission features that allowed for the detection of the presence of feces and showed that identification of the species origin of fecal matter present in soil-feces mixtures is feasible. Furthermore, the results indicate that using simple single-band fluorescence imaging at the fluorescence emission maximum for animal feces, simpler than full-spectrum hyperspectral fluorescence imaging, can be used to assess the maturity of manure compost.
http://ift.tt/2chsgxW
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Αλέξανδρος Γ. Σφακιανάκης Medicine by Alexandros G. Sfakianakis,Anapafseos 5 Agios Nikolaos 72100 Crete Greece,00302841026182,0030693260717...
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heory of COVID-19 pathogenesis Publication date: November 2020Source: Medical Hypotheses, Volume 144Author(s): Yuichiro J. Suzuki ScienceD...
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