Intra- and inter-site reproducibility of human brain single-voxel proton MRS at 3 T.

Introduction: Clinical trials that involve participants from multiple sites necessitate standardized and reliable quantitative MRI outcomes to detect significant group differences over time. Metabolite concentrations measured by proton MRS ( H-MRS) provide valuable information about in vivo metabolism of the central nervous system, but can vary based on the acquisition and quantitation methods used by different MR sites. Therefore, we investigated the intra- and inter-site reproducibility of metabolite concentrations measured by H-MRS on MRI scanners from a single manufacturer across six sites.

Fabrication of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) Nanoparticle Inks for Growth of CZTS Films for Solar Cells.

Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) is a promising candidate material for photovoltaic applications; hence, ecofriendly methods are required to fabricate CZTS films. In this work, we fabricated CZTS nanocrystal inks by a wet ball milling method, with the use of only nontoxic solvents, followed by filtration. We performed centrifugation to screen the as-milled CZTS and obtain nanocrystals.

Guided bone regeneration activity of different calcium phosphate/chitosan hybrid membranes.

To fulfill the properties of membrane for guided bone tissue regeneration, chitosan (CS) and calcium phosphates were blended to produce porous hybrid membranes by lyophilization. We synthesized three different calcium phosphates: calcium deficient hydroxyapatite (CDHA), biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) and β‑tricalcium phosphate (TCP) by a reverse emulsion method followed by calcination, and compared their efficacy on bone regeneration. The CDHA/CS, BCP/CS, and TCP/CS membranes had an interconnected pore structure with porosity of 91-95% and pore size of 102-147 μm.

The quality of clinical practice guidelines for management of pediatric type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review using the AGREE II instrument.

Aims: Pediatric type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a relatively new disease with increasing incidence corresponding to the obesity epidemic among youth. It is important for clinicians to have access to high-quality clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for appropriate management of pediatric patients with T2DM. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate overall quality of CPGs for the management of pediatric T2DM using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) tool.

Accuracy of Implant Placement with a Navigation System, a Laboratory Guide, and Freehand Drilling.

Purpose: Computer-aided surgery under navigation system guidance is widely applied in dental implant procedures. However, the accuracy of drilling with such navigation systems has not been comparatively evaluated alongside those of laboratory guide-based and freehand drilling. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the accuracies of these three drilling systems.

Iatrogenic Spinal Epidural Hematoma in the Acute Postoperative Period.

Background: Spinal epidural hematomas (SEHs) are a rare but serious complication associated with spinal surgery, with an incidence estimated to be as high as 3%. Patients present with back pain and neurologic symptoms, with a typical onset time of several hours to days following surgery.

Case Report: A 60-year-old female who underwent cervical spine surgery had negative intraoperative neuromonitoring and no apparent neurologic deficits of the upper extremities immediately postsurgery.

Ion Irradiation-Enhanced Raman Scattering on Nanoporous Copper.

Nanoporous copper (NPC) is the potential affordable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate in practical use, although restricted by a relatively small enhancement factor. In this report, Cu ion irradiation is applied to effectively increase the enhancement factor of NPC. Two levels of surface roughness in NPC after ion irradiation are proposed to account for the improved SERS effect by careful characterization of microstructures.

Multicenter Measurements of T Relaxation and Diffusion Tensor Imaging: Intra and Intersite Reproducibility.

Background And Purpose: Quantitative T and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) may provide information about pathological changes underlying disability and progression in diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). Imaging the corpus callosum (CC), a primary site of damage in MS with a critical role in interhemispheric connectivity, may be useful for assessing overall brain health, prognosis, and therapy efficacy. We assessed the feasibility of multisite clinical trials using advanced MRI by examining the intra and intersite reproducibility of T and DTI measurements in the CC and segmented white matter (WM).

Merits and caveats of propensity scores to adjust for confounding.

Proper adjustment for confounding is essential when estimating the effects of treatments or risk factors on health outcomes in observational data. To this end, various statistical methods have been developed. In the past couple of years, the use of propensity scores (PSs) to control for confounding has increased.

Ameliorative effect of hesperidin on ligation-induced periodontitis in rats.

Background: This study evaluated the ameliorative effect of hesperidin (HES), an anti-inflammatory flavanone, in rats with ligation (Lig)-induced periodontitis.

Methods: A total of 48 rats were randomly divided into non-ligation group (NL), Lig group, and two ligation-plus-HES groups (L+H). HES was administered immediately after ligature placement at a dose of 75 or 150 mg/kg by intragastric feeding.

Highly Dispersed Co-B/N Codoped Carbon Nanospheres on Graphene for Synergistic Effects as Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalysts.

Oxygen reduction and evolution reactions as two important electrochemical energy conversion processes in metal-air battery devices have aroused widespread concern. However, synthesis of low-cost non-noble metal-based bifunctional high-performance electrocatalysts is still a great challenge. In this work, we report on the design and synthesis of a novel Co-B/N codoped carbon with core-shell-structured nanoparticles aligned on graphene nanosheets (denoted as CoTIB-C/G) derived from cobalt tetrakis(1-imidazolyl)borate (CoTIB) and graphene oxide hybrid template.

Use of Interferon-γ release assay for the diagnosis of female genital tuberculosis in Northwest China.

Background: Female genital tuberculosis (FGTB) is one of the major causes of infertility. However, nonspecific manifestations and the lack of easy access to gold-standard diagnostic test render a diagnostic difficult for FGTB. The objective of this study was to determine T-SPOT.

Adoption and outcomes of radioguided seed localization for non-palpable invasive and in-situ breast cancer at three academic tertiary care centers.

Introduction: Radioguided seed localization (RSL) is an alternative technique to wire-guided localization (WL) for localizing non-palpable breast lesions for breast conserving surgery. The purpose of this study was to assess adoption and outcomes of RSL at 3 academic hospitals in our city.

Methods: Data for consecutive invasive and in-situ breast cancer cases localized with RSL or WL at 3 hospitals between January 2012 and February 2016 were abstracted.

Nano-diamino-tetrac (NDAT) inhibits PD-L1 expression which is essential for proliferation in oral cancer cells.

Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is a critical regulator to defend tumor cells against immune surveillance. Thyroid hormone has been shown to induce PD-L1 expression in cancer cells. Its nano-particulated analogue, nano-diamino-tetrac (NDAT; Nanotetrac) is an anticancer/anti-angiogenic agent.

[Diagnostic value of endobronchial ultrasonography with guide-sheath combined with virtual bronchoscopy navigation in peripheral lung cancer].

To explore the diagnostic value and safety of endobronchial ultrasonography with guide-sheath (EBUS-GS) combined with virtual bronchoscopy navigation (VBN) in peripheral lung cancer. Between Dec. 2015 to Dec.

High electrocatalytic performance inspired by crystalline/amorphous interface in PtPb nanoplate.

Nanoscale PtPb catalysts with core-shell structure have been actively explored in recent years owing to their outstanding catalytic activity. We report on a new class of PtPb nanoplate (NP) catalyst with a novel structure realized by ion irradiation modification, which contains an interface formed by a crystalline phase and an amorphous phase simultaneously in an annular state. Significantly, the PtPb NP with the new structure shows superior catalytic activity towards the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR).

Human carbonic anhydrase-8 AAV8 gene therapy inhibits nerve growth factor signaling producing prolonged analgesia and anti-hyperalgesia in mice.

Carbonic anhydrase-8 (Car8; murine gene symbol) is an allosteric inhibitor of inositol trisphosphate receptor-1 (ITPR1), which regulates neuronal intracellular calcium release. We previously reported that wild-type Car8 overexpression corrects the baseline allodynia and hyperalgesia associated with calcium dysregulation in the waddle (wdl) mouse due to a 19 bp deletion in exon 8 of the Car8 gene. In this report, we provide preliminary evidence that overexpression of the human wild-type ortholog of Car8 (CA8), but not the reported CA8 S100P loss-of-function mutation (CA8), inhibits nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced phosphorylation of ITPR1, TrkA (NGF high-affinity receptor), and ITPR1-mediated cytoplasmic free calcium release in vitro.

Influences of Au ion radiation on microstructure and surface-enhanced Raman scattering of nanoporous copper.

In this work, effects of Au ion irradiation on microstructure and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance of nanoporous copper (NPC) were investigated. It is found that the microstructure of NPC could be tailored by the ion irradiation dose, i.e.

The Clinical Spectrum of Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2A with Cutaneous Lichen Amyloidosis in Ethnic Han Chinese.

This study systematically reviewed previous literatures and analyzed the genotype-phenotype relationship between the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A (MEN 2A)-cutaneous lichen amyloidosis (CLA) and RET/OSMR/IL31RA mutations. RET/OSMR/IL31RA screening was performed on 8 RET-carriers from 3 independent Chinese MEN 2A families. Besides, 51 MEN 2A-CLA patients in 116 RET carriers from literatures were clustered and analyzed.

Periodontal status of tooth adjacent to implant with peri-implantitis.

Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between peri-implantitis and the periodontal health of the adjacent tooth, the periodontal status of the teeth adjacent and contralateral to the implants with and without peri-implantitis.

Methods: Fifty-three subjects with existing dental implants and chronic periodontitis were examined in this cross-sectional study. Seventy implants were categorized into peri-implantitis (n = 42) and healthy/mucositis (n = 28) groups.

Pharyngeal airway changes following maxillary expansion or protraction: A meta-analysis.

The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate the changes in airway dimensions after rapid maxillary expansion (RME) and facemask (FM) protraction. Using PubMed, Medline, ScienceDirect and Web of Science, only controlled clinical trials, published up to November 2016, with RME and/or FM as keywords that had ≥6 months follow-up period were included in this meta-analysis. The changes in pharyngeal airway dimension in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional images were included in the analysis.

Tetrac downregulates β-catenin and HMGA2 to promote the effect of resveratrol in colon cancer.

The molecular pathogenesis of colorectal cancer encompasses the activation of several oncogenic signaling pathways that include the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and the overexpression of high mobility group protein A2 (HMGA2). Resveratrol - the polyphenolic phytoalexin - binds to integrin αvβ3 to induce apoptosis in cancer cells cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) nuclear accumulation and p53-dependent apoptosis. Tetraiodothyroacetic acid (tetrac) is a de-aminated derivative of l-thyroxine (T), which - in contrast to the parental hormone - impairs cancer cell proliferation.

Capacity-oriented approaches to developing childhood obesity interventions: a systematic review.

Capacity-oriented approaches to health interventions seek to empower the target population or community to manage the health issue themselves using resources they can control. Positive deviance, resilience and asset-based approaches are three such methods of developing and implementing health interventions. This study aimed to review the efficacy of interventions explicitly applying these methods in addressing childhood obesity using adiposity as the primary outcome, measured by standardized body mass index.