MRI characterization of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors in the maxillofacial region.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appearance of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) in the maxillofacial region in order to improve diagnostic quality and resection efficacy.

Materials And Methods: Ten cases of pathologically identified IMTs were analyzed by MRI. The MRI features were examined, including tumor location, tumor shape, tumor margins, and involvement of the surrounding tissues.

Cognitive improvement of mice induced by exercise prior to traumatic brain injury is associated with cytochrome c oxidase.

Though the evidence demonstrated that voluntary exercise programs could be implemented to enhance recovery of cognitive function induced by traumatic brain injury (TBI), the exact mechanisms were still not known. We proposed that the cognitive improvement induced by exercise in TBI mice is associated with cytochrome c oxidase (COX). To demonstrate this hypothesis, adult mice were housed with or without access to a running wheel (RW) for three weeks followed by TBI operation.

[Midterm outcome of surgical therapy for congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries with morphologically involuted left ventricle].

Objective: We followed up all the patients underwent pulmonary artery banding (PAB) with or without the second stage double switch (DS) operation to compare the midterm outcomes between the DS and the prolonged palliative PAB.

Methods: From January 2005 to June 2012, 40 consecutive patients diagnosed with congenital corrected transposition of the great arteries (cc-TGA) with morphologically involuted left ventricle were included in this retrospective cohort study. Every patient underwent the first stage PAB.

Reduced growth and proliferation dynamics of nasal epithelial stem/progenitor cells in nasal polyps in vitro.

Basal cells in nasal epithelium have stemness/progenitor characters and play essential roles in the epithelial remodeling in nasal polyps (NP). We investigate whether the human nasal epithelial stem/progenitor cells (hNESPCs) from patients with NP are inherently distinct from those obtained from healthy controls. Epithelial basal cells were isolated and cultured for four passages from NP tissues and control nasal mucosa.

In vivo and in vitro studies of Th17 response to specific immunotherapy in house dust mite-induced allergic rhinitis patients.

Unlabelled: T helper (Th)17 cells have been implicated in the development of allergic rhinitis (AR), but their response to specific immunotherapy (SIT) remains unclear. We investigated the impact of SIT on Th17 response and Th1/Th2 changes in AR patients. Blood samples from AR patients (n = 20) who were monosensitized to house dust mite (HDM) were collected before the initiation of SIT (SIT-untreated) and after the end of 2-year SIT (SIT-treated) treatment.

Truxene-cored π-expanded triarylborane dyes as single- and two-photon fluorescent probes for fluoride.

Fluoride anion (F(-)) significantly affects chemical, biological, and environmental processes. Fluoride recognition and detection have received increasing attention. Convenient, effective, and sensitive fluorescent probes for F(-) should urgently be designed and synthesized.

Assessment of airflow ventilation in human nasal cavity and maxillary sinus before and after targeted sinonasal surgery: a numerical case study.

In this study, we evaluated the effects of targeted sinonasal surgery on nasal and maxillary sinus airflow patterns. A patient, who underwent right balloon sinuplasty and left uncinectomy for recurrent maxillary sinus barometric pressure, and concomitant septoplasty and bilateral inferior turbinate reduction for deviated nasal septum and inferior turbinate hypertrophy, was selected. Two 3D models representing both pre- and post-operative sinonasal morphology were constructed.

[Relationships between typical vegetations, soil salinity, and groundwater depth in the Yellow River Delta of China].

Soil salinity and groundwater depth are the two important factors affecting the vegetation growth and distribution in the Yellow River Delta. Through field investigation and statistical analysis, this paper studied the relationships between the typical vegetations (Suaeda heteroptera-Tamarix chinensis, Robinia pseudoacacia, Phragmites australis, and cotton) , soil salinity, and groundwater depth in the Delta. In the study area, groundwater depth had significant effects on soil salinity, with the average influence coefficient being 0.

Live human nasal epithelial cells (hNECs) on chip for in vitro testing of gaseous formaldehyde toxicity via airway delivery.

Cell models based on human nasal epithelial stem/progenitor cells (hNESPCs) are developed to obtain functional ciliated cells on modified Transwell inserts. The live hNECs are integrated into microfluidic platforms to mimic the 3D features of the human upper airway for in vitro testing of gaseous formaldehyde toxicity via airway delivery.

Lewis base-catalyzed reactions of cyclopropenones: novel synthesis of mono- or multi-substituted allenic esters.

The reactions of cyclopropenones with nucleophiles (H2O or methanol) could be catalyzed by nitrogen-containing Lewis bases or phosphorus-containing Lewis bases, affording the corresponding mono- or multi-substituted allenic esters in moderate to excellent yields.

Down-regulation of EMP1 is associated with epithelial hyperplasia and metaplasia in nasal polyps.

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess protein and mRNA expression of epithelial membrane protein 1 (EMP1) in the nasal mucosa of patients with nasal polyps (NP), and to determine what changes occur in response to glucocorticosteroid (GC) treatment.

Methods And Results: NP tissue was obtained from 55 patients, 18 of whom were treated with nasal GCs (i.e.

Infectious diarrhoea in antiretroviral therapy-naive HIV/AIDS patients in Kenya.

Background: Diarrhoea is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. The objectives of this study were to investigate the aetiological agents, risk factors and clinical features associated with diarrhoea in HIV/AIDS patients in Kenya.

Methods: Sociodemographic, epidemiological and clinical data were obtained for 164 HIV/AIDS patients (70 with and 94 without diarrhoea) recruited from Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya.

Association of interleukin-13 SNP rs20541 (Arg>Gln) to allergic rhinitis in an Asian population of ethnic Chinese in Singapore.

In this study, we report our findings as we evaluated the association of IL-13 SNP rs20541 to AR as reported in the meta-analysis (Ying, X-J et al., April, Gene 2013) in an Asian population of 1322 ethnic Chinese recruited in Singapore well defined and characterized for allergic rhinitis. The SNP was significantly associated with AR at an odds ratio of 1.

Synthesis, characterization and activity evaluation of matrinic acid derivatives as potential antiproliferative agents.

A series of new matrinic acid derivatives 5a-e was synthesized. The chemical structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, and electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy. The anti-tumor activities were also investigated in vitro by evaluating the effect of synthesized compounds on the proliferation of A375, A549, HeLa, and HepG2 cells.

Heterozygous alleles restore male fertility to cytoplasmic male-sterile radish (Raphanus sativus L.): a case of overdominance.

The practice of hybridization has greatly contributed to the increase in crop productivity. A major component that exploits heterosis in crops is the cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS)/nucleus-controlled fertility restoration (Rf) system. Through positional cloning, it is shown that heterozygous alleles (RsRf3-1/RsRf3-2) encoding pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins are responsible for restoring fertility to cytoplasmic male-sterile radish (Raphanus sativus L.

Click synthesis of neutral, cationic, and zwitterionic poly(propargyl glycolide)-co-poly(ɛ-caprolactone)-based aliphatic polyesters as antifouling biomaterials.

With the development of polymer-based biomaterials, aliphatic polyesters have attracted considerable interest because of their non-toxicity, non-allergenic property, and good biocompatibility. However, the hydrophobic nature and the lack of side chain functionalities of aliphatic polyesters limit their biomedical applications. In this study, we prepared four new polyesters: poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate)-, poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphotidylcholine)-, poly(ethylene glycol)-, and quaternized poly[(2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate]-grafted poly(propargyl glycolide)-co-poly(ɛ-caprolactone).

Phase stability and elastic properties of chromium borides with various stoichiometries.

Phase stability is important to the application of materials. By first-principles calculations, we establish the phase stability of chromium borides with various stoichiometries. Moreover, the phases of CrB3 and CrB4 have been predicted by using a newly developed particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm.

Poor reproducibility of allergic rhinitis SNP associations.

Replication of reported associations is crucial to the investigation of complex disease. More than 100 SNPs have previously been reported as associated with allergic rhinitis (AR), but few of these have been replicated successfully. To investigate the general reproducibility of reported AR-associations in candidate gene studies, one Swedish (352 AR-cases, 709 controls) and one Singapore Chinese population (948 AR-cases, 580 controls) were analyzed using 49 AR-associated SNPs.

Effect of simulated microgravity and its associated mechanism on pulmonary circulation in rats.

Objective: To study the effect of Simulated Microgravity and its Associated Mechanism on Pulmonary Circulation in Rats).

Methods: Rat tail-suspension model was used to simulate the physiological effects of microgravity and changes in pulmonary blood vessel morphology, pulmonary arterial and venous blood pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance, pulmonary vasomotoricity, as well as the regulation of pulmonary circulation by cytokines produced and released by the lung of rats were measured.

Results: The walls of pulmonary blood vessels of rats were thickened, and the pulmonary artery was reconstructed with increased pulmonary vascular resistance.

Structural brain network constrained neuroimaging marker identification for predicting cognitive functions.

Neuroimaging markers have been widely used to predict the cognitive functions relevant to the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Most previous studies identify the imaging markers without considering the brain structural correlations between neuroimaging measures. However, many neuroimaging markers interrelate and work together to reveal the cognitive functions, such that these relevant markers should be selected together as the phenotypic markers.

Impacts of fluid dynamics simulation in study of nasal airflow physiology and pathophysiology in realistic human three-dimensional nose models.

During the past decades, numerous computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies, constructed from CT or MRI images, have simulated human nasal models. As compared to rhinomanometry and acoustic rhinometry, which provide quantitative information only of nasal airflow, resistance, and cross sectional areas, CFD enables additional measurements of airflow passing through the nasal cavity that help visualize the physiologic impact of alterations in intranasal structures. Therefore, it becomes possible to quantitatively measure, and visually appreciate, the airflow pattern (laminar or turbulent), velocity, pressure, wall shear stress, particle deposition, and temperature changes at different flow rates, in different parts of the nasal cavity.

Management of allergic rhinitis in general practitioners.

For patients suffering from allergic rhinitis (AR), general practitioners (GPs) are often their first source of medical advice. It is one of the top-ten reasons for a visit to the primary care clinics and AR was estimated to be 10-40% of the total patient visits in about 50% of the primary care clinics. The standard of management for AR among GPs is thus a key outcome assessment of AR management and implementation of international guidelines in general healthcare practice.

Chiral multifunctional thiourea-phosphine catalyzed asymmetric [3 + 2] annulation of Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates with maleimides.

We have developed a multifunctional thiourea-phosphine catalyzed asymmetric [3 + 2] annulation of Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) carbonates with maleimides, which can efficiently construct functionalized cyclopentenes bearing three contiguous stereocenters in moderate to excellent yields and excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities. A plausible mechanism has been also proposed on the basis of control experiments and previous literature.