Comparison of tibial plateau angles in small and large breed dogs.

Cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) disease can affect dogs of all sizes. The literature describing tibial plateau angle (TPA) in small breed dogs is limited. A retrospective study was conducted in unselected dogs presented for stifle or tibial examination to compare TPA in small breed dogs (n = 146 dogs, 185 stifles) versus large breed dogs (n = 200 dogs, 265 stifles).

From Leaf Metabolome to In Vivo Testing: Identifying Antifeedant Compounds for Ecological Studies of Marsupial Diets.

Identifying specific plant secondary metabolites that influence feeding behavior can be challenging, but a solid understanding of animal preferences can guide efforts. Common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) predominantly eat Eucalyptus species belonging to the subgenus Symphyomyrtus, and avoid eating those belonging to the Monocalyptus subgenus (also called subgenus Eucalyptus). Using an unbiased (1)H NMR metabolomics approach, a previous study identified unsubstituted B ring flavanones in most species of monocalypts examined, whereas these compounds were absent from symphyomyrtles.

Lower limb conduit artery endothelial responses to acute upper limb exercise in spinal cord injured and able-bodied men.

Vascular improvements in the nonactive regions during exercise are likely primarily mediated by increased shear rate (SR). Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) experience sublesional vascular deconditioning and could potentially benefit from upper body exercise-induced increases in lower body SR. The present study utilized a single bout of incremental arm-crank exercise to generate exercise-induced SR changes in the superficial femoral artery in an effort to evaluate the acute postexercise impact on superficial femoral artery endothelial function via flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and determine regulatory factors in the nonactive legs of individuals with and without SCI.

Tobacco smoking, family history, and the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a case-referent study in Hong Kong Chinese.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the associations of tobacco smoking and family history of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) with the risk of NPC in Hong Kong Chinese.

Methods: Between June 2010 and December 2012, we conducted a case-referent study with 352 incident cases and 410 referents in Hong Kong. We collected information on tobacco smoking and family history of NPC via face-to-face interviews.

AT-rich interactive domain 2, p110α, p53, and β-catenin protein expression in hepatocellular carcinoma and clinicopathologic implications.

AT-rich interactive domain 2 (ARID2), catenin (cadherin-associated protein), beta 1, 88kDa (β-catenin), tumor protein 53 (p53), and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase, catalytic subunit alpha (p110α) mutations are implicated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); and previous work has contributed to thorough molecular characterization of these events. However, studies that assess the impact of these mutations on downstream protein expression, especially those that evaluate all 4 cancer markers simultaneously, are relatively lacking. Hence, the present study uses immunohistochemistry to assess protein expression patterns of ARID2, β-catenin, p53, and p110α in HCCs and adjacent nonneoplastic cirrhotic tissues from 58 explanted livers.

Novel ventilation design of combining spacer and mesh structure in sports T-shirt significantly improves thermal comfort.

This paper reports on novel ventilation design in sports T-shirt, which combines spacer and mesh structure, and experimental evidence on the advantages of design in improving thermal comfort. Evaporative resistance (Re) and thermal insulation (Rc) of T-shirts were measured using a sweating thermal manikin under three different air velocities. Moisture permeability index (i(m)) was calculated to compare the different designed T-shirts.

Intravenous siRNA Silencing of Survivin Enhances Activity of Mitomycin C in Human Bladder RT4 Xenografts.

Purpose: Survivin inhibits apoptosis and enables tumor cells to escape from therapy induced senescence. High survivin expression is associated with bladder cancer aggressiveness and recurrence. We evaluated whether survivin expression is reduced by siRNA and whether survivin silencing would enhance mitomycin C activity in human RT4 bladder transitional cell tumors in vitro and in vivo.

Extent of central neck dissection among thyroid cancer surgeons: Cross-sectional analysis.

Background: It is unclear if surgeons are performing comprehensive central neck dissections for well-differentiated thyroid cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine mean lymph node retrieval in central neck dissection as well as variability across surgeons and institutions.

Methods: A prospectively collected database identified 18 surgeons performing 425 central neck dissections, 313 unilateral and 112 bilateral.

Is it time to rethink our management of dialysis patients undergoing elective ventral hernia repair? Analysis of the ACS NSQIP database.

Purpose: The number of patients on chronic dialysis is steadily increasing each year. There is little data that describes the outcomes in dialysis patients following elective ventral hernia repair, one of the most common general surgery procedures. Our objective was to compare the mortality and morbidity rates in dialysis versus nondialysis patients following elective ventral hernia repair.

Interface blood as a new indication for flap lift after LASIK using the WaveLight FS200 femtosecond laser.

Purpose: To report a new indication for flap lift of interface blood using the WaveLight FS200 femtosecond laser (Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Fort Worth, TX).

Methods: The unique evacuation canal of the FS200 femtosecond laser allows blood from injured limbal vasculature to accumulate.

Pharmacodynamics of telomerase inhibition and telomere shortening by noncytotoxic suramin.

We reported that suramin is an effective chemosensitizer at noncytotoxic concentrations (<50 μM); this effect was observed in multiple types of human xenograft tumors in vitro and in vivo. Clinical evaluation of noncytotoxic suramin is ongoing. Because (a) suramin inhibits reverse transcriptase, (b) telomerase is a reverse transcriptase, and (c) inhibition of telomerase enhances tumor chemosensitivity, we studied the pharmacodynamics of noncytotoxic suramin on telomerase activity and telomere length in cultured cells and tumors grown in animals.

Automatic segmentation of trophectoderm in microscopic images of human blastocysts.

Accurate assessment of embryos viability is an extremely important task in the optimization of in vitro fertilization treatment outcome. One of the common ways of assessing the quality of a human embryo is grading it on its fifth day of development based on morphological quality of its three main components (Trophectoderm, Inner Cell Mass, and the level of expansion or the thickness of its Zona Pellucida). In this study, we propose a fully automatic method for segmentation and measurement of TE region of blastocysts (day-5 human embryos).

Parallel labeling experiments validate Clostridium acetobutylicum metabolic network model for (13)C metabolic flux analysis.

In this work, we provide new insights into the metabolism of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 obtained using a systematic approach for quantifying fluxes based on parallel labeling experiments and (13)C-metabolic flux analysis ((13)C-MFA). Here, cells were grown in parallel cultures with [1-(13)C]glucose and [U-(13)C]glucose as tracers and (13)C-MFA was used to quantify intracellular metabolic fluxes. Several metabolic network models were compared: an initial model based on current knowledge, and extended network models that included additional reactions that improved the fits of experimental data.

A feasibility trial of Cogmed working memory training in fragile X syndrome.

Individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) often present with an array of neurocognitive deficits, particularly in working memory (WM) and other executive functions. Evidence is accumulating that WM training can be effective in certain clinical populations in improving WM abilities and decreasing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms. We report preliminary findings evaluating the feasibility of Cogmed JM program, a computer-based WM intervention, within the FXS population.

Domestic incense burning and nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a case-control study in Hong Kong Chinese.

Incense burning is a powerful producer of carcinogens and has been considered as a risk factor for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). We conducted a case-control study and case-only analyses to investigate the effect of incense burning and its interaction with genetic background on NPC risk among Hong Kong Chinese. Between June 2010 and December 2012, we recruited 352 incident cases of NPC and 410 controls.

Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis.

Working memory (WM), the ability to store and manipulate information for short periods of time, is an important predictor of scholastic aptitude and a critical bottleneck underlying higher-order cognitive processes, including controlled attention and reasoning. Recent interventions targeting WM have suggested plasticity of the WM system by demonstrating improvements in both trained and untrained WM tasks. However, evidence on transfer of improved WM into more general cognitive domains such as fluid intelligence (Gf) has been more equivocal.

trans Fatty acids in the Canadian food supply: an updated analysis.

Background: Dietary trans fatty acids (TFAs) increase the risk of heart disease. In 2007, Canada set voluntary TFA limits for industrial TFAs added to food and encouraged substitution of TFAs with unsaturated fats during reformulation. No longitudinal follow-up assessment of TFA amounts in foods has occurred in Canada since termination of a government-led Trans Fat Monitoring Program (TFMP).

Standing or supine x-rays after total hip replacement - when is the safe zone not safe?

An acetabular prosthesis orientated outside the 'safe zone' is one of the key contributing factors in increasing complications after total hip replacement (THR). Although acetabular orientation is routinely assessed using supine x-rays, standing x-rays have been proposed because a change in body position alters pelvic tilt and therefore acetabular orientation. This study aimed to assess whether acetabular components orientated within the 'safe zone' in supine can also be outside the 'safe zone' in standing.

Predicting diffusive transport of cationic liposomes in 3-dimensional tumor spheroids.

Nanotechnology is widely used in cancer research. Models that predict nanoparticle transport and delivery in tumors (including subcellular compartments) would be useful tools. This study tested the hypothesis that diffusive transport of cationic liposomes in 3-dimensional (3D) systems can be predicted based on liposome-cell biointerface parameters (binding, uptake, retention) and liposome diffusivity.

Joint effects of environmental exposures and familial susceptibility to lung cancer in Chinese never smoking men and women.

Objectives: Previous epidemiological studies had limited power to investigate the joint effects of individual environmental risk factors and familial susceptibility to lung cancer. This study aimed to address this shortcoming.

Methods: We recruited 345 never smoking lung cancer cases and 828 community referents.

A comprehensive analysis of sodium levels in the Canadian packaged food supply.

Background: Population-wide sodium reduction strategies aim to reduce the cardiovascular burden of excess dietary sodium. Lowering sodium in packaged foods, which contribute the most dietary sodium, is an important intervention to lower population intakes.

Purpose: To determine sodium levels in Canadian packaged foods and evaluate the proportion of foods meeting sodium benchmark targets set by Health Canada.

Inducing a visceral organ to protect a peripheral capillary bed: stabilizing hepatic HIF-1α prevents oxygen-induced retinopathy.

Activation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) can prevent oxygen-induced retinopathy in rodents. Here we demonstrate that dimethyloxaloylglycine (DMOG)-induced retinovascular protection is dependent on hepatic HIF-1 because mice deficient in liver-specific HIF-1α experience hyperoxia-induced damage even with DMOG treatment, whereas DMOG-treated wild-type mice have 50% less avascular retina (P < 0.0001).

Differences in irradiated lung gene transcription between fibrosis-prone C57BL/6NHsd and fibrosis-resistant C3H/HeNHsd mice.

Background/aim: We compared pulmonary irradiation-induced whole-lung, gene transcripts over 200 days after 20 Gy thoracic irradiation in female fibrosis-prone C57BL/6NHsd mice with fibrosis-resistant C3H/HeNHsd mice.

Materials And Methods: Lung specimens were analyzed by real time polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR) and changes over time in representative gene transcript levels were correlated with protein levels using western blot.

Results: C3H/HeNHsd mice showed a significantly longer duration of elevation of gene transcripts for stress-response genes nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (Nfkb), nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2), transcription factor SP1 (SP1), activator protein 1 (AP1), radioprotection gene manganese superoxide dismutase (Sod2), and endothelial cell-associated genes von Willebrand factor (Vwf) and vascular endothelial growth factor (Vegf).

Multiscale tumor spatiokinetic model for intraperitoneal therapy.

This study established a multiscale computational model for intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy, to depict the time-dependent and spatial-dependent drug concentrations in peritoneal tumors as functions of drug properties (size, binding, diffusivity, permeability), transport mechanisms (diffusion, convection), spatial-dependent tumor heterogeneities (vessel density, cell density, pressure gradient), and physiological properties (peritoneal pressure, peritoneal fluid volume). Equations linked drug transport and clearance on three scales (tumor, IP cavity, whole organism). Paclitaxel was the test compound.