Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Pain Control After Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: A pharmacological approach to pain control after cesarean delivery is often insufficient on its own. Acupuncture is a promising method for mitigating postoperative pain and reducing postoperative opioid requirements.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy for pain control after cesarean delivery, compared with a placebo intervention and standard care alone.

Blood Product Supply for a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service.

Background: Long patient transport times to trauma centers are a well-known problem in sparsely populated regions with a low hospital density. Transfusion of red blood cell concentrates (RBC) and plasma improves outcome of trauma patients with severe bleeding. Helicopter emergency services (HEMS) are frequently employed to provide early advanced medical care and to reduce time to hospital admission.

Pathways to Tailor Photocatalytic Performance of TiO Thin Films Deposited by Reactive Magnetron Sputtering.

TiO thin films are used extensively for a broad range of applications including environmental remediation, self-cleaning technologies (windows, building exteriors, and textiles), water splitting, antibacterial, and biomedical surfaces. While a broad range of methods such as wet-chemical synthesis techniques, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and physical vapor deposition (PVD) have been developed for preparation of TiO thin films, PVD techniques allow a good control of the homogeneity and thickness as well as provide a good film adhesion. On the other hand, the choice of the PVD technique enormously influences the photocatalytic performance of the TiO layer to be deposited.

[Sepsis detection in emergency medicine : Results of an interprofessional survey on sepsis detection in prehospital emergency medicine and emergency departments].

Background: Sepsis is associated with a high mortality, which can be reduced by starting screening, diagnostics and treatment as early as possible. Due to multiple educational programs and increased awareness, a decreased sepsis mortality on intensive care units has been achieved. Many patients with sepsis are admitted by the prehospital emergency service to hospital emergency departments.

An ancestral TMEM16 homolog from Dictyostelium discoideum forms a scramblase.

TMEM16 proteins are a recently identified protein family comprising Ca2+-activated Cl- channels that generate outwardly rectifying ionic currents in response to intracellular Ca2+ elevations. Some TMEM16 family members, such as TMEM16F/ANO6 are also essential for Ca2+-dependent phospholipid scrambling. TMEM16-like genes are present in the genomes of most eukaryotic species, the function(s) of TMEM16 family members from evolutionary ancient eukaryotes is not completely clear.

Self-organized nanocrack networks: a pathway to enlarge catalytic surface area in sputtered ceramic thin films, showcased for photocatalytic TiO.

Sputter deposited photocatalytic thin films offer high adherence and mechanical stability, but typically are outperformed in their photocatalytic properties by colloidal TiO nanostructures, which in turn typically suffer from problematic removal. Here we report on thermally controlled nanocrack formation as a feasible and batch applicable approach to enhance the photocatalytic performance of well adhering, reactively sputtered TiO thin films. Networks of nanoscopic cracks were induced into tailored columnar TiO thin films by thermal annealing.

Design of Novel Exendin-Based Dual Glucagon-like Peptide 1 (GLP-1)/Glucagon Receptor Agonists.

Dual activation of the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucagon receptor has the potential to lead to a novel therapy principle for the treatment of diabesity. Here, we report a series of novel peptides with dual activity on these receptors that were discovered by rational design. On the basis of sequence analysis and structure-based design, structural elements of glucagon were engineered into the selective GLP-1 receptor agonist exendin-4, resulting in hybrid peptides with potent dual GLP-1/glucagon receptor activity.

NHERF1 in Microvilli of Vomeronasal Sensory Neurons.

In most mammals, the vomeronasal system detects a variety of (semio)chemicals that mediate olfactory-driven social and sexual behaviors. Vomeronasal chemosensation depends on G protein-coupled receptors (V1R, V2R, and FPR-rs) that operate at remarkably low stimulus concentrations, thus, indicating a highly sensitive and efficient signaling pathway. We identified the PDZ domain-containing protein, Na/H exchanger regulatory factor-1 (NHERF1), as putative molecular organizer of signal transduction in vomeronasal neurons.

Acupuncture for pain control after Caesarean section: a prospective observational pilot study.

Objective: Options for pharmacological analgesia in patients who have undergone Caesarean section (CS) are often restricted. Acupuncture is a promising tool for treating postoperative pain. We aimed to study the feasibility and acceptability of acupuncture as an additional method of analgesia in CS patients in a prospective observational pilot investigation.

Co-expression of anoctamins in cilia of olfactory sensory neurons.

Vertebrates can sense and identify a vast array of chemical cues. The molecular machinery involved in chemodetection and transduction is expressed within the cilia of olfactory sensory neurons. Currently, there is only limited information available on the distribution and density of individual signaling components within the ciliary compartment.

Pulmonary hypertension in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - the predictive value of exercise capacity and gas exchange efficiency.

Exercise capacity and survival of patients with IPF is potentially impaired by pulmonary hypertension. This study aims to investigate diagnostic and prognostic properties of gas exchange during exercise and lung function in IPF patients with or without pulmonary hypertension. In a multicentre setting, patients with IPF underwent right heart catheterization, cardiopulmonary exercise and lung function testing during their initial evaluation.

A 45-year-old female with hypokalemic rhabdomyolysis due to VIP-producing composite pheochromocytoma.

The watery diarrhea, hypokalemia and achlorhydria (WHDA) syndrome due to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-producing extra-pancreatic tumors is rare. We report on a 45-year-old woman who suffered from persistent secretory diarrhea for six years and who was admitted to hospital with complaints of muscular weakness and myalgia. Biochemical testing revealed pronounced rhabdomyolysis due to severe hypokalemia.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 up-regulation is associated with skeletal muscle atrophy and associated fibrosis.

Muscle wasting remains a feature of many diseases and is counteracted by anabolic supplementation or exercise. Persisting atrophy-inducing conditions can be complicated by skeletal muscle fibrosis, which leads to functional impairment. Identification of early mechanisms that initiate atrophy-induced fibrosis may reveal novel targets for therapy or diagnosis.

First identification of a phosphorylcholine-substituted protein from Caenorhabditis elegans: isolation and characterization of the aspartyl protease ASP-6.

Caenorhabditis elegans is a widely accepted model system for parasitic nematodes, drug screening and developmental studies. Similar to parasitic worms, C. elegans expresses glycosphingolipids and glycoproteins carrying, in part, phosphorylcholine (PCho) substitutions, which might play important roles in nematode development, fertility and, at least in the case of parasites, survival within the host.

SorLA signaling by regulated intramembrane proteolysis.

The single-transmembrane receptor SorLA/LR11 contains binding domains typical for lipoprotein receptors and a VPS10 domain, which binds the neuropeptide head-activator. This undecapeptide enhances proliferation of neuronal precursor cells in a SorLA-dependent manner. Using specific inhibitors we found previously that head activator activates shedding of SorLA by the metalloprotease TACE close to the transmembrane domain releasing the large extra-cellular part of the receptor.

Quantification of hormone-induced atrophy of large myotubes from C2C12 and L6 cells: atrophy-inducible and atrophy-resistant C2C12 myotubes.

Myofiber atrophy is the final outcome of muscle wasting induced by catabolic factors such as glucocorticoids and thyroid hormones. We set up an in vitro system to define the catabolic reaction based on myotube atrophy. Both mouse C(2)C(12) and rat L6 cells were used.

Crystal structures of Staphylococcusaureus methionine aminopeptidase complexed with keto heterocycle and aminoketone inhibitors reveal the formation of a tetrahedral intermediate.

High-resolution crystal structures of Staphylococcus aureus methionine aminopeptidase I in complex with various keto heterocycles and aminoketones were determined, and the intermolecular ligand interactions with the enzyme are reported. The compounds are effective inhibitors of the S. aureus enzyme because of the formation of an uncleavable tetrahedral intermediate upon binding.

Properties and applications of the (2-nitrofluoren-9-yl)methoxycarbonyl group.

This paper presents a new protecting group, the (2-nitrofluoren-9-yl)methoxycarbonyl group. Investigations on the properties of this new modification of the Fmoc-system, such as the solvent-dependent photochemical cleavage, and enhanced lability towards bases, are described, as well as UV-kinetic measurements of the cleavage reaction. In addition, the incorporation of the (2-nitrofluoren-9-yl)methoxycarbonyl group into two peptides, and a sequence-dependent photochemical cleavage reaction are reported.

Stereo-random synthesis of highly functionalized proline analogues by azomethine cycloaddition.

Highly substituted proline analogues were synthesized on Wang-resin bearing bisprotected histidine as starting material. The proline analogues (1,5-diazabicyclo[3.3.

Monitoring of solid phase peptide synthesis by FT-IR spectroscopy.

Aggregation phenomena of growing peptides on the resin have seldom been investigated. We report here how conformations are determined by FT-IR spectroscopy. Therefore the sequence 80-99 of HIV 1-protease was synthesized.

A gene cluster closely related to type II secretion pathway operons of gram-negative bacteria is located on the large plasmid of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 strains.

Analysis of 14.162 kb of DNA derived from plasmid pO157 of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 strain EDL933, extending in the 5' direction of the recently described EHEC-hly operon, revealed 13 open reading frames (ORF) which showed great similarities to genes of members of the type II pathway secretion systems of Gram-negative bacteria. We named the ORFs etpC to etpO for EHEC type II secretion pathway.