Liver function after irradiation based on computed tomographic portal vein perfusion imaging.

Purpose: To determine whether individual and regional liver sensitivity to radiation could be assessed by measuring liver perfusion during a course of treatment using dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomography scanning.

Methods And Materials: Patients with intrahepatic cancer undergoing conformal radiotherapy underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomography (to measure perfusion distribution) and an indocyanine extraction study (to measure liver function) before, during, and 1 month after treatment. We hoped to determine whether the residual functioning liver (i.

A phase II study of preoperative capecitabine and radiation therapy in patients with rectal cancer.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of preoperative capecitabine and radiation therapy (RT) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).

Methods: Patients with adenocarcinoma of the rectum stage >or=T3 or >or=N1 were treated with capecitabine 1330 mg/m per day in 2 divided doses days 1 to 42 and 50.4 Gy of RT in 28 1.

Dietary supplementation of neutral and acidic oligosaccharides enhances Th1-dependent vaccination responses in mice.

Immunomodulatory effects of oligosaccharide preparations that resemble chemical and functional aspects of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOS) were studied for the development of new concepts in infant nutrition. A dose range of 1-5% (w/w) dietary pectin-derived acidic oligosaccharides (AOS) was tested in a murine influenza vaccination model. In addition, combinations of AOS and a 9:1 mixture of galacto-oligosaccharides and long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (GOS/FOS) were tested at a fixed total dietary dose of 2% (w/w).

Automated serum peptide profiling using novel magnetic C18 beads off-line coupled to MALDI-TOF-MS.

Serum peptide profiling by MS is an emerging approach for disease diagnosis and biomarker discovery. A magnetic bead-based method for off-line serum peptide capture coupled to MALDI-TOF-MS has been recently introduced. However, the reagents are not available to the general scientific community.

The effect of glutamine-enriched enteral nutrition on intestinal microflora in very low birth weight infants: a randomized controlled trial.

Background & Aims: In a previous study, we have found that glutamine supplementation decreased the infection rate in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. In this study, we investigated whether this beneficial effect originated from increased number of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in the intestinal microflora of these infants.

Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, VLBW infants (gestational age <32 weeks and/or birth weight <1500g) received enteral glutamine supplementation (0.

Increasing the open circuit voltage of bulk-heterojunction solar cells by raising the LUMO level of the acceptor.

We report the synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical properties of ten new fullerene derivatives for usage in organic solar cells. The phenyl ring of PCBM was substituted with electron-donating and electron-withdrawing substituents to study their influence on the LUMO level of the parent fullerene. We varied the LUMO level over a range of 86 mV and show a small but significant change of the open circuit voltage upon application in MDMO-PPV:methanofullerene bulk-heterojunction photovoltaic cells.

External-beam radiotherapy for localized extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Purpose: The role of radiation therapy (RT) in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHCC) is not clear and only limited reports exist on the use of this modality. We have reviewed our institutional experience to determine the pattern of failure in patients after potentially curative resection and the expected outcomes after adjuvant RT and in unresectable patients.

Methods And Materials: After institutional review board approval, 81 patients diagnosed with EHCC (gallbladder 28, distal bile duct 24, hilar 29) between June 1986 and December 2004 were identified and their records reviewed.

A specific prebiotic oligosaccharide mixture stimulates delayed-type hypersensitivity in a murine influenza vaccination model.

Analogous to reported immunomodulatory effects of probiotics, this study was performed to analyse the immunomodulatory properties of prebiotic oligosaccharides that share chemical characteristics with human milk oligosaccharides. A mixture containing galacto- and fructo-oligosaccharides (GOS/FOS; ratio 9:1) was tested at dietary doses between 1% and 10% (w/w of total diet) in an influenza vaccination model, using 10 C56BL/6JolaHsd mice per group. The modulation of vaccine specific delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses was studied as a marker of T-helper 1 (Th1) immunity, as well as other immune parameters.

Bifidogenic effects of solid weaning foods with added prebiotic oligosaccharides: a randomised controlled clinical trial.

Objectives: Breast-fed infants have relatively high proportions of faecal bifidobacteria. This bifidogenic microbiota is at least partly explained by the high levels of prebiotic oligosaccharides in human milk. The present study aimed at testing the effect of solid foods with added prebiotic galacto- and fructo-oligosaccharides (GOS/FOS) on the composition of the intestinal microbiota of fully formula-fed infants during the weaning period.

The intestinal bacterial colonisation in preterm infants: a review of the literature.

The aim of this study is to review the normal development of the intestinal microflora of preterm infants and the factors influencing its development. Preterm infants have an increased intestinal permeability, which may lead to bacterial translocation to systemic organs and tissues. In combination with immaturity of the immune system the risk to systemic infections might be increased.

Quantitative real-time PCR analysis of fecal Lactobacillus species in infants receiving a prebiotic infant formula.

The developing intestinal microbiota of breast-fed infants is considered to play an important role in the priming of the infants' mucosal and systemic immunity. Generally, Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus predominate the microbiota of breast-fed infants. In intervention trials it has been shown that lactobacilli can exert beneficial effects on, for example, diarrhea and atopy.

Rapid progression of diabetic retinopathy in eyes with posterior uveitis.

Purpose: To report on two patients who developed rapid progression of asymmetric diabetic retinopathy (DRP) in eyes affected by posterior uveitis in contrast to their fellow eyes not affected by uveitis.

Design: Observational case report.

Methods: Two patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and unilateral uveitis underwent repeated ophthalmologic examinations and fluorescein angiography.

Phase II trial of high-dose conformal radiation therapy with concurrent hepatic artery floxuridine for unresectable intrahepatic malignancies.

Purpose: A phase II trial was conducted to determine if high-dose radiation with concurrent hepatic arterial floxuridine would improve survival in patients with unresectable intrahepatic malignancies.

Patients And Methods: Three-dimensional conformal high-dose radiation therapy was delivered concurrently with hepatic arterial floxuridine in 128 patients. The radiation dose was based on a normal-tissue complication probability model and subjected the patient to an estimated maximum risk of radiation-induced liver disease of 10% to 15%.

Effects of infant formula containing a mixture of galacto- and fructo-oligosaccharides or viable Bifidobacterium animalis on the intestinal microflora during the first 4 months of life.

Adding prebiotics or probiotics to infant formula to improve the intestinal flora of formula-fed infants is considered to be a major innovation. Several companies have brought relevant formulations onto the market. However, comparative data on the effects of pre- and probiotics on the intestinal microflora of infants are not available.

Effects of total enteral nutrition supplemented with a multi-fibre mix on faecal short-chain fatty acids and microbiota.

Background And Aims: Impaired bowel function is frequent in tube-fed patients, and diarrhoea is associated with decreased faecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) concentrations. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of a multi-fibre-enriched formula (15 g/l) and a fibre-free isoenergetic and isonitrogenous formula on faecal SCFAs and microbiota in long-term enteral nutrition (EN) patients.

Methods: Fifteen patients [11M/4F, aged 53 (40-73)] on total EN for 43 (1-310) months for dysphagia received a fibre-free formula for 7 days, followed in a random order by either the multi-fibre-enriched formula for 14 days and then the fibre-free formula for 14 days or vice versa.

Increase of faecal bifidobacteria due to dietary oligosaccharides induces a reduction of clinically relevant pathogen germs in the faeces of formula-fed preterm infants.

Unlabelled: In a previous study on formula-fed preterm infants, we were able to demonstrate that dietary oligosaccharides (a mixture of 90% galacto-oligosaccharides and 10% fructo-oligosaccharides in a concentration of 1 g/dl) stimulate the growth of faecal bifidobacteria. In the present explorative analysis of this study, we focus on the effect of the dominance of bifidobacteria on the presence of clinically relevant pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Proteus, Streptococcus group B, Clostridium difficile, Bacillus subtilis and Acinetobacter).

Conclusion: The data demonstrate that stimulation of bifidobacteria by prebiotic oligosaccharides reduces the presence of clinically relevant pathogens in the faecal flora, indicating that prebiotic substances might have the capacity to protect against enteral infections.

Galacto-oligosaccharides and long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides as prebiotics in infant formulas: a review.

Unlabelled: The present review summarizes clinical and experimental data concerning the possible effects of a prebiotic mixture of short-chain galacto-oligosaccharides and long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides. The results from several studies, made up of over 400 preterm and term infants, clearly demonstrate that the prebiotic mixture under examination specifically stimulates the growth of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli and reduces the growth of pathogens. As a consequence of the changed intestinal flora by the dietary galacto-oligosaccharides and fructo-oligosaccharides, the faecal pH values and the short-chain fatty acid pattern were similar to those found in breastfed infants.

Prebiotic carbohydrates in human milk and formulas.

Human milk oligosaccharides play an important role, as prebiotic soluble fibres, in the postnatal development of the intestinal flora. Infant formulas are virtually free of prebiotic oligosaccharides. As a consequence, formula-fed infants develop an intestinal flora significantly different to the flora of breastfed infants.

The phosducin-like protein PhLP1 is essential for G{beta}{gamma} dimer formation in Dictyostelium discoideum.

Phosducin proteins are known to inhibit G protein-mediated signaling by sequestering Gbetagamma subunits. However, Dictyostelium discoideum cells lacking the phosducin-like protein PhLP1 display defective rather than enhanced G protein signaling. Here we show that green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged Gbeta (GFP-Gbeta) and GFP-Ggamma subunits exhibit drastically reduced steady-state levels and are absent from the plasma membrane in phlp1(-) cells.