Spreading depolarization and neuronal damage or survival in mouse neocortical brain slices immediately and 12 hours following middle cerebral artery occlusion.

Whereas many studies have examined the properties of the compromised neocortex in the first several days following ischemia, there is less information regarding the initial 12 h poststroke. In this study we examined live mouse neocortical slices harvested immediately and 12 h after a 30-min middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo). We compared nonischemic and ischemic hemispheres with regard to the propensity for tissue swelling and for generating spreading depolarization (SD), as well as evoked synaptic responses and single pyramidal neuron electrophysiological properties.

High-Level PM2.5/PM10 Exposure Is Associated With Alterations in the Human Pharyngeal Microbiota Composition.

Previous studies showed that high concentration of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 and PM10 carried a large number of bacterial and archaeal species, including pathogens and opportunistic pathogens. In this study, pharyngeal swabs from 83 subjects working in an open air farmer's market were sampled before and after exposure to smog with PM2.

Rural-Urban Differences in Stroke Risk Factors, Incidence, and Mortality in People With and Without Prior Stroke.

Background Rural residence is associated with stroke incidence and mortality, but little is known about potential rural/urban differences in ambulatory stroke care. Methods and Results We used the CANHEART (Cardiovascular Health in Ambulatory Care Research Team) cohort, created from linked administrative databases from the province of Ontario, Canada, and divided into primary (N=6 207 032) and secondary (N=75 823) prevention cohorts based on the absence or presence of prior stroke. We defined rural communities as those with a population size of ≤10 000 and within each of the primary and secondary prevention cohorts, compared cardiovascular risk factors and care between rural and urban areas.

Coffee, tea, caffeine, and risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer in a Chinese population: The Singapore Chinese Health Study.

Background: Although epidemiologic studies in populations of European descent suggest a possible chemoprotective effect of caffeine against nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC), data in Asian populations are lacking.

Objectives: We examined the relationship of coffee, tea, and caffeine consumption with NMSC risk among Chinese in Singapore.

Methods: We used data from the Singapore Chinese Health Study, a prospective cohort of 63,257 men and women who were 45 to 74 years old at recruitment from 1993 to 1998.

Venomics Reveals Venom Complexity of the Piscivorous Cone Snail, .

The piscivorous cone snail has evolved a net-hunting strategy, akin to the deadly , and is considered the second most dangerous cone snail to humans. Here, we present the first venomics study of venom using integrated transcriptomic and proteomic approaches. Parallel transcriptomic analysis of two specimens revealed striking differences in conopeptide expression levels (2.

Spin-Selective Transmission in Chiral Folded Metasurfaces.

Controlling the spin angular momentum of light (or circular polarization state) plays a crucial role in the modern photonic applications such as optical communication, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and quantum information processing. However, the conventional approaches to manipulate the spin of light require naturally occurring chiral or birefringent materials of bulky sizes due to the weak light-matter interactions. Here we experimentally demonstrate an approach to implement spin-selective transmission in the infrared region based on chiral folded metasurfaces that are capable of transmitting one spin state of light while largely prohibiting the other.

Severe dyspnea caused by rapid enlargement of cervical lymph node in a relapsed/refractory B-cell lymphoma patient following chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy.

Adoptive transfer of T cells modified to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) targeting CD19 (CART19s) has demonstrated impressive results in treating B-cell malignancies. Although CART19-induced complications have been gradually recognized, local cytokine-release syndrome (CRS) at particular parts of the body has not been extensively studied. In this paper, we firstly present a successfully treated case of severe dyspnea caused by the rapid enlargement of cervical lymph node following CART19 therapy in a relapsed/refractory DLBCL patient, with emphasis on the recognition, workup, and treatment.

Cross-Species Immune Recognition Between Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding Protein Antibodies and the Plasmodium falciparum Surface Antigen VAR2CSA.

Background: In pregnancy, Plasmodium falciparum parasites express the surface antigen VAR2CSA, which mediates adherence of red blood cells to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) in the placenta. VAR2CSA antibodies are generally acquired during infection in pregnancy and are associated with protection from placental malaria. We observed previously that men and children in Colombia also had antibodies to VAR2CSA, but the origin of these antibodies was unknown.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Chronic Rhinosinusitis: A Systematic Review and Qualitative Analysis.

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is frequently used in the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in developed countries. With a plethora of CAM therapies available, their effectiveness and safety are poorly understood in the context of CRS.

Objectives: This article aims to critically appraise the evidence for CAM use in CRS through a systematic review of current literature that investigate the effects of CAM on symptoms and clinical status of adults with CRS.

The 20 Most Important and Most Preventable Health Problems of China: A Delphi Consultation of Chinese Experts.

Objectives: To identify the 20 most important and most preventable health problems that should be addressed in the next 20 years in China.

Methods: In 2015, we applied a modified electronic Delphi technique to reach consensus from a panel of top Chinese health experts (n = 70), who were requested to identify 20 health problems that, in their judgment, were most important and preventable. We also compared the results with evidences from epidemiological studies on disease-specific mortalities and disability-adjusted life years.

Response characteristics of the cat somatosensory cortex following the mechanical stimulation to endodontically treated teeth with overextension.

The overextension of filling materials may take place accidentally during an endodontic root canal treatment. Previous studies to understand the correlation between overfilling and paresthesia of teeth were inconsistent. In this study, an intrinsic signal optical imaging technique was employed as the objective tool to compare the response characteristics of the cat somatosensory cortex following mechanical stimulation applied to endodontically treated teeth with overextension (ETTWO) and natural teeth.

Association between inflammatory potential of diet and risk of lung cancer among smokers in a prospective study in Singapore.

Background: Diet and inflammation have been suggested to be important risk factors for lung cancer. We examined the ability of the dietary inflammatory index (DII) to predict lung cancer in the Singapore Chinese Health Study (SCHS). The DII is a diet quality index based on the literature linking foods and nutrients with inflammatory biomarkers.

Patient and Family Caregiver's Neuroticism and Conscientiousness Personality in Relation to Quality of Life of Patient With Parkinson's Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study Neuroticism and Conscientiousness Personality in Relation to QoL of Patient With PD.

Personality impacts life expectancy and comprehensive treatment efficacy for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, current research fails to involve the family caregiver's personality despite significant external support provided by family caregivers. This study explored neuroticism and conscientiousness personality factors of the patient and family caregiver associated with quality of life (QoL) of PD patients.

Association of Clinical, Imaging, and Thrombus Characteristics With Recanalization of Visible Intracranial Occlusion in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Importance: Recanalization of intracranial thrombus is associated with improved clinical outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The association of intravenous alteplase treatment and thrombus characteristics with recanalization over time is important for stroke triage and future trial design.

Objective: To examine recanalization over time across a range of intracranial thrombus occlusion sites and clinical and imaging characteristics in patients with ischemic stroke treated with intravenous alteplase or not treated with alteplase.

The protein-sparing effect of α-lipoic acid in juvenile grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idellus: effects on lipolysis, fatty acid β-oxidation and protein synthesis.

To investigate the protein-sparing effect of α-lipoic acid (LA), experimental fish (initial body weight: 18·99 (sd 1·82) g) were fed on a 0, 600 or 1200 mg/kg α-LA diet for 56 d, and hepatocytes were treated with 20 μm compound C, the inhibitor of AMP kinase α (AMPKα), treated for 30 min before α-LA treatment for 24 h. LA significantly decreased lipid content of the whole body and other tissues (P0·05). Consistent with results from the experiment in vitro, LA activated phosphorylation of AMPKα and notably increased the protein content of adipose TAG lipase in intraperitoneal fat, hepatopancreas and muscle in vivo (P<0·05).

deficiency causes a wide tumor spectrum and increases embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma metastasis in zebrafish.

The tumor-suppressor gene is mutated in >50% of human tumors and Li-Fraumeni patients with germ line inactivation are predisposed to developing cancer. Here, we generated deleted zebrafish that spontaneously develop malignant peripheral nerve-sheath tumors, angiosarcomas, germ cell tumors, and an aggressive Natural Killer cell-like leukemia for which no animal model has been developed. Because the tp53 deletion was generated in syngeneic zebrafish, engraftment of fluorescent-labeled tumors could be dynamically visualized over time.

Analysis of the clinical significance of DCLK1 colorectal cancer using novel monoclonal antibodies against DCLK1.

Introduction: Doublecortin-like kinase 1 (DCLK1) is considered a putative tumor stem cell (TSC) marker and a promising therapeutic target, as DCLK1 progeny cells exhibit high expression in tumors. However, the biological function of DCLK1 cells in tumorigenesis and tumor progression remains unclear.

Materials And Methods: We generated rabbit monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against DCLK1, DCLK1-42, and DCLK1-87 mAbs, using a novel chip-based immunospot array assay on a chip system.

Occupational exposure to endocrine disrupting substances and the risk of breast Cancer: the Singapore Chinese health study.

Background: Evidence from basic research links exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) with a higher risk for breast cancer. However, there is less evidence from observational epidemiological research and the results are equivocal. Therefore, we examined the association between occupational exposure to substances where exposure to EDCs is likely and the risk of breast cancer.

The role of TERT promoter mutations in postoperative and preoperative diagnosis and prognosis in thyroid cancer.

Background: Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutations have been described in different pathological types of thyroid cancers (TC). After many types of research focusing on the mutations rate in malignant tumors, the main role of TERT promoter mutations has been changed to the preoperative diagnosis and prognosis of TC, according to their high prevalence in aggressive TC.

Methods: We searched Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus, and VHL and reviewed the most common 2 mutations C288T and C250T in different types of TC, the association between them and some specific clinicopathological features, and their significance in preoperative diagnosis and prognosis of TC.

Canadian Stroke Best Practice Consensus Statement: Acute Stroke Management during pregnancy.

The Canadian Stroke Best Practice Consensus Statement Acute Stroke Management during Pregnancy is the second of a two-part series devoted to stroke in pregnancy. The first part focused on the unique aspects of secondary stroke prevention in a woman with a prior history of stroke who is, or is planning to become, pregnant. This document focuses on the management of a woman who experiences an acute stroke during pregnancy.

Consumption of Coffee but Not of Other Caffeine-Containing Beverages Reduces the Risk of End-Stage Renal Disease in the Singapore Chinese Health Study.

Background: Cross-sectional studies suggest that coffee drinking is associated with better renal function. However, to our knowledge, no prospective study has examined its relation with the risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Objective: We examined the relations between coffee, tea, soda, and total caffeine consumption and the risk of ESRD among middle-aged and older Chinese in Singapore.

SnS/C nanocomposites for high-performance sodium ion battery anodes.

Sodium-ion batteries have been considered as one of the most promising types of batteries, beyond lithium-ion batteries, for large-scale energy storage applications. However, their deployment hinges on the development of new anode materials, since it has been shown that many important anode materials employed in lithium ion batteries, such as graphite and silicon, are inadequate for sodium-ion batteries. We have simply prepared novel SnS/C nanocomposites through a top-down approach as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries.