VipD of Legionella pneumophila targets activated Rab5 and Rab22 to interfere with endosomal trafficking in macrophages.

Upon phagocytosis, Legionella pneumophila translocates numerous effector proteins into host cells to perturb cellular metabolism and immunity, ultimately establishing intracellular survival and growth. VipD of L. pneumophila belongs to a family of bacterial effectors that contain the N-terminal lipase domain and the C-terminal domain with an unknown function.

Effects of education on the progression of early- versus late-stage mild cognitive impairment.

Background: Highly educated participants with normal cognition show lower incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) than poorly educated participants, whereas longitudinal studies involving AD have reported that higher education is associated with more rapid cognitive decline. We aimed to evaluate whether highly educated amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) participants show more rapid cognitive decline than those with lower levels of education.

Methods: A total of 249 aMCI patients enrolled from 31 memory clinics using the standard assessment and diagnostic processes were followed with neuropsychological evaluation (duration 17.

Analysis of Sasang constitutional types using facial features with compensation for photographic distance.

Background: Facial features are regarded as representative and reliable characteristics for diagnosing a person's Sasang Constitution (SC). However, the description of these features tends to depend on the interpretation and the opinion of the doctor that follows the SC approach. In this paper, we performed a facial feature analysis of SC types in an objective and quantitative manner.

Toward Developing a New Occupational Exposure Metric Approach for Characterization of Diesel Aerosols.

The extensive use of diesel-powered equipment in mines makes the exposure to diesel aerosols a serious occupational issue. The exposure metric currently used in U.S.

Resuscitation of the pregnant patient: What is the effect of patient positioning on inferior vena cava diameter?

Study Objective: Patients in the third trimester of pregnancy presenting to the emergency department (ED) with hypotension are routinely placed in the left lateral tilt (LLT) position to relieve inferior vena cava (IVC) compression from the gravid uterus thereby increasing venous return. However, the relationship between patient position and proximal intrahepatic IVC filling has never assessed directly. This study set out to determine the effect of LLT position on intrahepatic IVC diameter in third trimester patients under real-time visualization with ultrasound.

Which phantom is better for assessing the image quality in full-field digital mammography?: American College of Radiology Accreditation phantom versus digital mammography accreditation phantom.

Objective: To compare between the American College of Radiology (ACR) accreditation phantom and digital mammography accreditation phantom in assessing the image quality in full-field digital mammography (FFDM).

Materials And Methods: In each week throughout the 42-week study, we obtained phantom images using both the ACR accreditation phantom and the digital mammography accreditation phantom, and a total of 42 pairs of images were included in this study. We assessed the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in each phantom image.

Upregulated NLRP3 inflammasome activation in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Despite the recent attention focused on the roles of the nucleotide binding and oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, little is known about the ex vivo profile of inflammasome activation in type 2 diabetic patients. In this study, we investigated patterns of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) from drug-naïve patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetic subjects had significantly increased mRNA and protein expression of NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), and proinflammatory cytokines in MDMs cultured with autologous sera compared with healthy controls.

Recurrent polymyositis triggered by bronchiectasis-associated infections.

Polymyositis is a cell-mediated autoimmune disease and various systemic infections can trigger it. However, there have been only rare reports of recurrent polymyositis triggered by systemic infections. We report the case of a 69-year-old woman with recurrent polymyositis triggered by bronchiectasis-associated infections.

Phosphoinositides differentially regulate protrudin localization through the FYVE domain.

Protrudin is a FYVE (Fab 1, YOTB, Vac 1, and EEA1) domain-containing protein involved in transport of neuronal cargoes and implicated in the onset of hereditary spastic paraplegia. Our image-based screening of the lipid binding domain library revealed novel plasma membrane localization of the FYVE domain of protrudin unlike canonical FYVE domains that are localized to early endosomes. The membrane binding study by surface plasmon resonance analysis showed that this FYVE domain preferentially binds phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P(2)), phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4)P(2)), and phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3)) unlike canonical FYVE domains that specifically bind phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PtdIns(3)P).

Urinary chiro- and myo-inositol levels as a biological marker for type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the urinary chiro- and myo-inositol levels in predicting type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Subjects And Methods: A total of 212 normal controls and 101 type 2 diabetic patients were enrolled this study. The concentrations of urinary chiro- and myo-inositol were measured by high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

[Effects of acupoint injection of autologous blood on symptoms and plasma motilin and gastrin levels of diabetic gastroparesis patients].

Objective: To observe the curative effect of autologous blood point injection on diabetic gastroparesis and to study its underlying mechanism.

Methods: A total of 42 type-II diabetes outpatients and inpatients were randomly and equally divided into treatment group and control group according to a random digit table. Patients of the treatment group were treated by injection of the patient's own venous blood (2 mL/acupoint) into the unilateral Zusanli (ST 36), Zhongwan (OV 12) and Weishu (BL 21), once every week, 4 times together.

A pumpless perfusion cell culture cap with two parallel channel layers keeping the flow rate constant.

This article presents a novel pumpless perfusion cell culture cap, the gravity-driven flow rate of which is kept constant by the height difference of two parallel channel layers. Previous pumpless perfusion cell culture systems create a gravity-driven flow by means of the hydraulic head difference (Δh) between the source reservoir and the drain reservoir. As more media passes from the source reservoir to the drain reservoir, the source media level decreases and the drain media level increases.

Production of secoisolariciresinol from defatted flaxseed by bacterial biotransformation.

Aims: Secoisolariciresinol (SECO) is increasingly recognized for potential clinical application because of its preventive effects against breast and colon cancers, atherosclerosis and diabetes, and its production through biotransformation has been attempted. However, previously reported bacteria all required stringent anaerobic culture conditions, precluding large-scale production. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of bacteria that produce SECO under less stringent anaerobic culture conditions.

Mig-6 plays a critical role in the regulation of cholesterol homeostasis and bile acid synthesis.

The disruption of cholesterol homeostasis leads to an increase in cholesterol levels which results in the development of cardiovascular disease. Mitogen Inducible Gene 6 (Mig-6) is an immediate early response gene that can be induced by various mitogens, stresses, and hormones. To identify the metabolic role of Mig-6 in the liver, we conditionally ablated Mig-6 in the liver using the Albumin-Cre mouse model (Alb(cre/+)Mig-6(f/f); Mig-6(d/d)).

A new method of diagnosing constitutional types based on vocal and facial features for personalized medicine.

The aim of the present study is to develop an accurate constitution diagnostic method based solely on the individual's physical characteristics, irrespective of psychologic traits, characteristics of clinical medicine, and genetic factors. In this paper, we suggest a novel method for diagnosing constitutional types using only speech and face characteristics. Based on 514 subjects, the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) values of classification models in age and gender groups ranged from 0.

Soft tissue foreign body removal technique using portable ultrasonography.

Retained foreign objects account for as much as 2% of soft tissue injuries sustained in the wilderness. Subcutaneously embedded fragments are often missed during the initial medical evaluation and may result in morbidity secondary to delayed removal. Although the utility of ultrasonography in the emergency department for the detection of retained objects is established, the potential use of point-of-care ultrasound to aid with foreign body removal in the field has not been well described.

Decrease in central venous catheter placement due to use of ultrasound guidance for peripheral intravenous catheters.

Study Objectives: Obtaining intravenous (IV) access in the emergency department (ED) can be especially challenging, and physicians often resort to placement of central venous catheters (CVCs). Use of ultrasound-guided peripheral IV catheters (USGPIVs) can prevent many "unnecessary" CVCs, but the true impact of USGPIVs has never been quantified. This study set out to determine the reduction in CVCs by USGPIV placement.

Predicting sasang constitution using body-shape information.

Objectives. Body measurement plays a pivotal role not only in the diagnosis of disease but also in the classification of typology. Sasang constitutional medicine, which is one of the forms of Traditional Korean Medicine, is considered to be strongly associated with body shape.

Development of an integrated Sasang constitution diagnosis method using face, body shape, voice, and questionnaire information.

Background: Sasang constitutional medicine (SCM) is a unique form of traditional Korean medicine that divides human beings into four constitutional types (Tae-Yang: TY, Tae-Eum: TE, So-Yang: SY, and So-Eum: SE), which differ in inherited characteristics, such as external appearance, personality traits, susceptibility to particular diseases, drug responses, and equilibrium among internal organ functions. According to SCM, herbs that belong to a certain constitution cannot be used in patients with other constitutions; otherwise, this practice may result in no effect or in an adverse effect. Thus, the diagnosis of SC type is the most crucial step in SCM practice.

The value of positron emission tomography/computed tomography for evaluating metastatic disease in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Objectives: Routine application of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for pancreatic cancer staging remains a controversial approach. The purpose of this study was to reassess the clinical impact of PET/CT for the detection of distant metastasis of pancreatic cancer.

Methods: From January 2006 to June 2009, 125 patients with histologically proven pancreatic cancer that had undergone PET/CT at our hospital were retrospectively reviewed.

Anticancer drug-loaded gliadin nanoparticles induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells.

Nanoscale drug carriers play an important role in regulating the delivery, permeability, and retention of the drugs. Although various carriers have been used to encapsulate anticancer drugs, natural biomaterials are of great benefit for delivery and controlled release of drugs. We used the electrospray deposition system to synthesize gliadin and gliadin-gelatin composite nanoparticles for delivery and controlled release of an anticancer drug (e.

Comparison of diffusion charging and mobility-based methods for measurement of aerosol agglomerate surface area.

We compare different approaches to measure surface area of aerosol agglomerates. The objective was to compare field methods, such as mobility and diffusion charging based approaches, with laboratory approach, such as Brunauer, Emmett, Teller (BET) method used for bulk powder samples. To allow intercomparison of various surface area measurements, we defined 'geometric surface area' of agglomerates (assuming agglomerates are made up of ideal spheres), and compared various surface area measurements to the geometric surface area.

Study of a vocal feature selection method and vocal properties for discriminating four constitution types.

The voice has been used to classify the four constitution types, and to recognize a subject's health condition by extracting meaningful physical quantities, in traditional Korean medicine. In this paper, we propose a method of selecting the reliable variables from various voice features, such as frequency derivative features, frequency band ratios, and intensity, from vowels and a sentence. Further, we suggest a process to extract independent variables by eliminating explanatory variables and reducing their correlation and remove outlying data to enable reliable discriminant analysis.

Crystal structure of DeSI-1, a novel deSUMOylase belonging to a putative isopeptidase superfamily.

Post-translational modification by small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) can be reversed by sentrin/SUMO-specific proteases (SENPs), the first known class of deSUMOylase. Recently, we identified a new deSUMOylating enzyme DeSI-1, which is distinct from SENPs and belongs to the putative deubiquitinating isopeptidase PPPDE superfamily. Herein, we report the crystal structure of DeSI-1, revealing that this enzyme forms a homodimer and that the groove between the two subunits is the active site harboring two absolutely conserved cysteine and histidine residues that form a catalytic dyad.

The antidepressant effect of secoisolariciresinol, a lignan-type phytoestrogen constituent of flaxseed, on ovariectomized mice.

Secoisolariciresinol (SECO) is a natural lignan-type phytoestrogen constituent mainly found in flaxseed. It can be metabolized in vivo to mammalian lignans of enterodiol and enterolactone, which have been proven to be effective in relieving menopausal syndrome. Depression is one of the most common symptoms of menopausal syndrome, and is currently treated with estrogen replacement and antidepressant therapy.