The Potentiation of IFN-γ and Induction of Cytotoxic Proteins by Pegylated IL-10 in Human CD8 T Cells.

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) exerts both immunosuppressive and immunostimulatory effects. While the immunosuppressive effects are widely known, it has only been recently reported that pegylated recombinant human IL-10 (PEG-rHuIL-10) elicits potent interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and CD8 T-cell-dependent antitumor effects in murine tumor models. In this study, we show that PEG-rHuIL-10 exerts immune inhibitory effects on human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) bulk cultures and stimulatory effects in CD8 T cells within the same culture.

Chronic Disease and Depression Among Hispanic Americans: Reconceptualizing the Masculine Self.

Hispanic Americans are the fastest growing minority group in the United States. They face a distinct set of health challenges, resulting in persistent health disparities. Chronic disease self-management programs hold promise in addressing individual-level, behavioral risks factors, such as dietary habits and physical activity patterns.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Efficiently Infects Human Primary T Lymphocytes and Activates the Extrinsic and Intrinsic Apoptosis Pathways.

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is associated with a mortality rate of >35%. We previously showed that MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) could infect human macrophages and dendritic cells and induce cytokine dysregulation. Here, we further investigated the interplay between human primary T cells and MERS-CoV in disease pathogenesis.

Symetis valve implantation in failing freestyle with close proximity between coronary Ostia and annulus.

Transcatheter treatment of patients with degenerated aortic valve stentless prosthesis and low proximal coronary ostia to the aortic annulus remain a challenge because of the elevated risk for coronary obstruction. Newer generation transcatheter aortic valve devices that engage and pull the aortic valve calcium towards the aortic annulus may be beneficial in these patients. We present a case of successful treatment of a degenerated tubular stentless prosthesis with low coronary ostia with a Symetis Acurate TA prosthesis.

Supplementation of chitosan alleviates high-fat diet-enhanced lipogenesis in rats via adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase activation and inhibition of lipogenesis-associated genes.

This study investigated the role of chitosan in lipogenesis in high-fat diet-induced obese rats. The lipogenesis-associated genes and their upstream regulatory proteins were explored. Diet supplementation of chitosan efficiently decreased the increased weights in body, livers, and adipose tissues in high-fat diet-fed rats.

Is Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) or its shorter versions more useful to identify risky drinkers in a Chinese population? A diagnostic study.

Objective: To examine the diagnostic performance of shorter versions of Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), including Alcohol Consumption (AUDIT-C), in identifying risky drinkers in primary care settings using conventional performance measures, supplemented by decision curve analysis and reclassification table.

Study Design And Setting: A cross-sectional study of adult males in general outpatient clinics in Hong Kong. The study included only patients who reported at least sometimes drinking alcoholic beverages.

A 9-valent HPV vaccine against infection and intraepithelial neoplasia in women.

Background: The investigational 9-valent viruslike particle vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) includes the HPV types in the quadrivalent HPV (qHPV) vaccine (6, 11, 16, and 18) and five additional oncogenic types (31, 33, 45, 52, and 58). Here we present the results of a study of the efficacy and immunogenicity of the 9vHPV vaccine in women 16 to 26 years of age.

Methods: We performed a randomized, international, double-blind, phase 2b-3 study of the 9vHPV vaccine in 14,215 women.

Role of Pediatricians in the Ambulatory Care of Children in Taiwan, 1999-2011.

Background: Pediatricians are physicians trained to provide comprehensive nonsurgical health care for children, but parents may consult other specialists when seeking medical help for their children. This study was designed to analyze the role of pediatricians and the changes in the patterns of ambulatory visits among different specialties for children under the age of 18 years in Taiwan during the past 13 years.

Methods: Data on ambulatory visits of children aged 0-17 years from 1999 to 2011 were retrieved from the National Health Insurance Research Database.

Direct estimation of cardiac bi-ventricular volumes with regression forests.

Accurate estimation of ventricular volumes plays an essential role in clinical diagnosis of cardiac diseases. Existing methods either rely on segmentation or are restricted to direct estimation of the left ventricle. In this paper, we propose a novel method for direct and joint volume estimation of bi-ventricles, i.

Repeated emergency department visits among children admitted with meningitis or septicemia: a population-based study.

Study Objective: Early diagnosis of children with meningitis or septicemia remains a significant challenge in emergency medicine. We seek to describe the frequency of repeated emergency department (ED) visits among children admitted with meningitis or septicemia in Ontario, Canada.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, using health administrative data, we included all children aged 30 days to 5 years who were hospitalized with a final diagnosis of meningitis or septicemia in Ontario between 2005 and 2010.

Modeling the durability of ZOSTAVAX® vaccine efficacy in people ≥60 years of age.

Since 2006, the vaccine, ZOSTAVAX(®), has been licensed to prevent herpes zoster. Only limited clinical follow-up data are available to evaluate duration of protection, an important consideration when developing HZ vaccination policy recommendations. Four Poisson regression models were developed based on an integrated analysis of data from the Shingles Prevention Study and its Short Term Persistence extension to estimate the effects of years-since-vaccination and chronological-age on vaccine efficacy among people ≥60 years old.

Long-term persistence of zoster vaccine efficacy.

Background: The Shingles Prevention Study (SPS) demonstrated zoster vaccine efficacy through 4 years postvaccination. A Short-Term Persistence Substudy (STPS) demonstrated persistence of vaccine efficacy for at least 5 years. A Long-Term Persistence Substudy (LTPS) was undertaken to further assess vaccine efficacy in SPS vaccine recipients followed for up to 11 years postvaccination.

The synthesis and characterization of four new uranium(IV) chlorophosphates: UCl₄(POCl₃), [U₂Cl₉][PCl₄], UCl₃(PO₂Cl₂), and U₂Cl₈(POCl₃).

The new uranium(IV) chlorophosphate compounds UCl4(POCl3) and [U2Cl9][PCl4] have been synthesized by the solid-state reactions of U, P2O5, and PCl5 at 648 K; the compounds UCl3(PO2Cl2) and U2Cl8(POCl3) have been synthesized at 648 K with the same reactants plus added S. Their structures are, respectively, chainlike, a simple salt, three-dimensional, and sheetlike. From ab initio calculations, U2Cl8(POCl3) and UCl3(PO2Cl2) are found to be ferromagnetic, whereas UCl4(POCl3) is found to be antiferromagnetic.

Combination of vemurafenib and cobimetinib in patients with advanced BRAF(V600)-mutated melanoma: a phase 1b study.

Background: Addition of a MEK inhibitor to a BRAF inhibitor enhances tumour growth inhibition, delays acquired resistance, and abrogates paradoxical activation of the MAPK pathway in preclinical models of BRAF-mutated melanoma. We assessed the safety and efficacy of combined BRAF inhibition with vemurafenib and MEK inhibition with cobimetinib in patients with advanced BRAF-mutated melanoma.

Methods: We undertook a phase 1b study in patients with advanced BRAF(V600)-mutated melanoma.

Soft wearable contact lens sensor for continuous intraocular pressure monitoring.

Intraocular pressure (IOP) is a primary indicator of glaucoma, but measurements from a single visit to the clinic miss the peak IOP that may occur at night during sleep. A soft chipless contact lens sensor that allows the IOP to be monitored throughout the day and at night is developed in this study. A resonance circuit composed of a thin film capacitor coupled with a sensing coil that can sense corneal curvature deformation is designed, fabricated and embedded into a soft contact lens.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: a case report.

We present a typical case of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans with local recurrence 2 months after surgery and, motivated by this patient, make a review of the most important aspects. This is a rare tumor and we call special attention to the fact that its recurrence is extremely frequent, so there is absolute need to observe these patients periodically after surgery.

Skin autofluorescence associates with vascular calcification in chronic kidney disease.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the relationship between tissue advanced glycation end products, as reflected by skin autofluorescence, and vascular calcification in chronic kidney disease.

Approach And Results: Three hundred patients with stage 3 to 5 chronic kidney disease underwent multislice computed tomography to estimate total coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and had tissue advanced glycation end product assessed using a skin autofluorescence reader. Intact parathyroid hormone (P<0.

Fold rise in antibody titers by measured by glycoprotein-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is an excellent correlate of protection for a herpes zoster vaccine, demonstrated via the vaccine efficacy curve.

Background: The phase III Zostavax Efficacy and Safety Trial of 1 dose of licensed zoster vaccine (ZV; Zostavax; Merck) in 50-59-year-olds showed approximately 70% vaccine efficacy (VE) to reduce the incidence of herpes zoster (HZ). An objective of the trial was to assess immune response biomarkers measuring antibodies to varicella zoster virus (VZV) by glycoprotein-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as correlates of protection (CoPs) against HZ.

Methods: The principal stratification vaccine efficacy curve framework for statistically evaluating immune response biomarkers as CoPs was applied.

Electrochemical detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in human fluid samples via pyocyanin.

The ability to quickly detect the presence of pathogenic bacteria in patient samples is of the outmost importance to expedient patient care. Here we report the direct, selective, and sensitive detection of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, spiked in human whole blood with sodium heparin, urine, sputum, and bronchial lavage samples using unmodified, disposable carbon electrode sensors that detect the presence of pyocyanin, a virulence factor that is unique to this species. Square wave voltammetry scans of biological fluids from healthy individuals spiked with P.

Model-based iterative reconstruction compared to adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction and filtered back-projection in CT of the kidneys and the adjacent retroperitoneum.

Rationale And Objectives: To prospectively evaluate the perceived image quality of model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) compared to adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) and filtered back-projection (FBP) in computed tomography (CT) of the kidneys and retroperitoneum.

Materials And Methods: With investigational review board and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance, 17 adults underwent 31 contrast-enhanced CT acquisitions at constant tube potential and current (range 30-300 mA). Each was reconstructed with MBIR, ASIR (50%), and FBP.

Assessment and management of male androgen disorders: an update.

Background: Male hypogonadism, caused by intrinsic pathology of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular (HPT) axis, is an under-diagnosed condition not to be missed. By contrast, late onset hypogonadism (LOH), due to functional suppression of the HPT axis from age-related comorbidities, may be less common than previously believed.

Objective: This article outlines the aetiology, clinical features, investigation and management of male hypogonadism and discusses the more controversial area of LOH.

Phase I trial to evaluate the tumor and normal tissue uptake, radiation dosimetry and safety of (111)In-DTPA-human epidermal growth factor in patients with metastatic EGFR-positive breast cancer.

The safety, pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and radiation dosimetry of (111)In-DTPA-hEGF, an Auger electron-emitting radiopharmaceutical, were evaluated in a first-in-human trial. Dose escalation was performed in patients with EGFR-positive metastatic breast cancer who had received ≥2 prior courses of systemic treatment. (111)In-DTPA-hEGF (0.