The Role of DNA Mismatch Repair and Recombination in the Processing of DNA Alkylating Damage in Living Yeast Cells.

It is proposed that mismatch repair (MMR) mediates the cytotoxic effects of DNA damaging agents by exerting a futile repair pathway which leads to double strand breaks (DSBs). Previous reports indicate that the sensitivity of cells defective in homologous recombination (HR) to DNA alkylation is reduced by defects in MMR genes. We have assessed the contribution of different MMR genes to the processing of alkylation damage .

Real-life effectiveness of budesonide/formoterol therapy in asthma: A subanalysis of the SMARTASIA study.

Background: In the Study to Investigate Real Life Effectiveness of Symbicort Maintenance and Reliever Therapy in Asthma Patients Across Asia, the effectiveness of single-inhaler budesonide/formoterol maintenance and reliever therapy was evaluated in patients with poorly controlled asthma.

Objective: To study the effects of this therapy on a Chinese patient subgroup.

Methods: In this 12-week, multicenter, open-label therapeutic phase IV study, patients with partially controlled or uncontrolled asthma were switched from their usual asthma treatment to budesonide/formoterol (160/4.

Adsorption of As(V) inside the pores of porous hematite in water.

As(V) adsorption inside the pores of porous hematite in water has been studied in this work. This study was performed on nonporous hematite and porous hematite prepared from the thermal decomposition of goethite and siderite through the measurements of adsorption isotherm, SEM-EDX, XRD and BET. The results demonstrated that the As(V) adsorption was difficult to be realized inside pores if they were too small.

Passive shimming of a superconducting magnet using the L1-norm regularized least square algorithm.

The uniformity of the static magnetic field B0 is of prime importance for an MRI system. The passive shimming technique is usually applied to improve the uniformity of the static field by optimizing the layout of a series of steel shims. The steel pieces are fixed in the drawers in the inner bore of the superconducting magnet, and produce a magnetizing field in the imaging region to compensate for the inhomogeneity of the B0 field.

Formoterol as reliever medication in asthma: a post-hoc analysis of the subgroup of the RELIEF study in East Asia.

Background: As-needed formoterol can effectively relieve asthma symptoms. Since budesonide/formoterol is available as maintenance and reliever therapy in Asia, formoterol is now being used as-needed, but always with concomitant inhaled corticosteroids. The objective of this analysis was to assess the safety and efficacy of formoterol therapy in patients in East Asia (China, Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines and Singapore) with asthma.

A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase Domain 17 Regulates Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells and Chemosensitivity Via Notch1 Signaling.

Evidence is accumulating for the role of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in mediating chemoresistance in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). A disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain 17 (ADAM17; also known as tumor necrosis factor-α-converting enzyme [TACE]) was shown to be overexpressed and to mediate cell proliferation and chemoresistance in CRC cells. However, its role in mediating the CSC phenotype in CRC has not been well-characterized.

On-Chip Pressure Generation for Driving Liquid Phase Separations in Nanochannels.

In this Article, we describe the generation of pressure gradients on-chip for driving liquid phase separations in submicrometer deep channels. The reported pressure-generation capability was realized by applying an electrical voltage across the interface of two glass channel segments with different depths. A mismatch in the electroosmotic flow rate at this junction led to the generation of pressure-driven flow in our device, a fraction of which was then directed to an analysis channel to carry out the desired separation.

Efficacy and tolerability of budesonide/formoterol added to tiotropium compared with tiotropium alone in patients with severe or very severe COPD: A randomized, multicentre study in East Asia.

Background And Objective: Triple combination therapy with tiotropium plus budesonide/formoterol has improved lung function and reduced exacerbation risk in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Western countries, but no such data exist for East Asian patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of adding budesonide/formoterol to tiotropium compared with tiotropium alone in East Asian patients with severe/very severe COPD.

Methods: This 12-week, randomized, parallel-group, multicentre, open-label study was conducted in East Asia.

A novel passive shimming method for the correction of magnetic fields above the patient bed in MRI.

This paper presents a novel passive shimming method for the effective correction of static magnetic field (B0) inhomogeneities in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems. Passive shimming is used to find an optimum configuration for the placement of iron pieces applied to improve the B0 uniformity in the predefined imaging region referred to as the diameter of spherical volume (DSV). However, most passive shimming methods neglect to recognize that the space under the patient bed is not in use for imaging.

VEGFR-1 Pseudogene Expression and Regulatory Function in Human Colorectal Cancer Cells.

Unlabelled: A large number of pseudogenes have been found to be transcribed in human cancers. However, only a few pseudogenes are functionally characterized. Here, we identified a transcribed pseudogene of VEGFR1, or fms-related tyrosine kinase 1 (FLT1), in human colorectal cancer cells.

Thioredoxin-Interacting Protein Deficiency Protects against Diabetic Nephropathy.

Expression of thioredoxin-interacting protein (TxNIP), an endogenous inhibitor of the thiol oxidoreductase thioredoxin, is augmented by high glucose (HG) and promotes oxidative stress. We previously reported that TxNIP-deficient mesangial cells showed protection from HG-induced reactive oxygen species, mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation, and collagen expression. Here, we investigated the potential role of TxNIP in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy (DN) in vivo.

Noninvasive reconstruction of cardiac transmembrane potentials using a kernelized extreme learning method.

Non-invasively reconstructing the cardiac transmembrane potentials (TMPs) from body surface potentials can act as a regression problem. The support vector regression (SVR) method is often used to solve the regression problem, however the computational complexity of the SVR training algorithm is usually intensive. In this paper, another learning algorithm, termed as extreme learning machine (ELM), is proposed to reconstruct the cardiac transmembrane potentials.

Sufficient utilization of natural fluctuating light intensity is an effective approach of promoting lipid productivity in oleaginous microalgal cultivation outdoors.

The effects of fluctuating intensity of solar radiation on biomass and lipid in oleaginous microalgae are important. However, this topic has not been the subject of studies for a long time. In this study, four oleaginous microalgae from semi-arid areas were screened and cultivated outdoors under different fluctuating intensities.

Characterization of a novel reassortant influenza A virus (H2N2) from a domestic duck in Eastern China.

While H2N2 viruses have been sporadically isolated from wild and domestic birds, H2N2 viruses have not been detected among human populations since 1968. Should H2N2 viruses adapt to domestic poultry they may pose a risk of infection to people, as most anyone born after 1968 would likely be susceptible to their infection. We report the isolation of a novel influenza A virus (H2N2) cultured in 2013 from a healthy domestic duck at a live poultry market in Wuxi City, China.

Selection of microalgae for biodiesel production in a scalable outdoor photobioreactor in north China.

The aim of this study was to identify the most promising species as biodiesel feedstock for large-scale cultivation in north China. Eight species of microalgae, selected on the basis of indoor screening, were tested for lipid productivity and the suitability of their fatty acid profiles for biodiesel production under outdoor conditions. Among them, three species Desmodesmus sp.

Rapid neutral lipid accumulation of the alkali-resistant oleaginous Monoraphidium dybowskii LB50 by NaCl induction.

NaCl is an effective inducer of lipid accumulation in freshwater microalgae, but little is known on whether the enhanced lipid components are desired. To address this issue, Monoraphidium dybowskii LB50 from a freshwater habitat was selected, cultivated, and subjected to NaCl induction at different scales outdoors. Results showed that the optimal salt concentration reduced glycolipid (GL) content, as well as enhanced neutral lipid (NL) and phospholipid (PL) contents.

Background-suppressed MR venography of the brain using magnitude data: a high-pass filtering approach.

Conventional susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) uses both phase and magnitude data for the enhancement of venous vasculature and, thus, is subject to signal loss in regions with severe field inhomogeneity and in the peripheral regions of the brain in the minimum-intensity projection. The purpose of this study is to enhance the visibility of the venous vasculature and reduce the artifacts in the venography by suppressing the background signal in postprocessing. A high-pass filter with an inverted Hamming window or an inverted Fermi window was applied to the Fourier domain of the magnitude images to enhance the visibility of the venous vasculature in the brain after data acquisition.

Sparse-representation-based direct minimum L (p) -norm algorithm for MRI phase unwrapping.

A sparse-representation-based direct minimum L (p) -norm algorithm is proposed for a two-dimensional MRI phase unwrapping. First, the algorithm converts the weighted-L (p) -norm-minimization-based phase unwrapping problem into a linear system problem whose system (coefficient) matrix is a large, symmetric one. Then, the coefficient-matrix is represented in the sparse structure.

NaCl as an effective inducer for lipid accumulation in freshwater microalgae Desmodesmus abundans.

In order to evaluate the efficiency and potential of salt addition-based two-stage cultivation technology, on the basis of urea as nitrogen source, we compared four types of salts (NaCl, NaHCO3, NaS2O3 and NaAc) as inducers for lipid production in Desmodesmus abundans. The maximum biomass productivity (270.08mgL(-1)d(-1)) was obtained by using 0.

Fibroblast proliferation alters cardiac excitation conduction and contraction: a computational study.

In this study, the effects of cardiac fibroblast proliferation on cardiac electric excitation conduction and mechanical contraction were investigated using a proposed integrated myocardial-fibroblastic electromechanical model. At the cellular level, models of the human ventricular myocyte and fibroblast were modified to incorporate a model of cardiac mechanical contraction and cooperativity mechanisms. Cellular electromechanical coupling was realized with a calcium buffer.

Cellular mechanism of cardiac alternans: an unresolved chicken or egg problem.

T-wave alternans, a specific form of cardiac alternans, has been associated with the increased susceptibility to cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD). Plenty of evidence has related cardiac alternans at the tissue level to the instability of voltage kinetics or Ca(2+) handling dynamics at the cellular level. However, to date, none of the existing experiments could identify the exact cellular mechanism of cardiac alternans due to the bi-directional coupling between voltage kinetics and Ca(2+) handling dynamics.

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics and risk factors for death of patients with avian influenza A H7N9 virus infection from Jiangsu Province, Eastern China.

Background: A novel avian influenza A (H7N9) virus has caused great morbidity as well as mortality since its emergence in Eastern China in February 2013. However, the possible risk factors for death are not yet fully known.

Methods And Findings: Patients with H7N9 virus infection between March 1 and August 14, 2013 in Jiangsu province were enrolled.

Effects of light intensity on components and topographical structures of extracellular polysaccharides from the cyanobacteria Nostoc sp.

A study on the effects of light intensity (40 and 80 μE/m(2)/sec) on the components and topographical structures of extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) was carried out in cyanobacteria Nostoc sp.. EPS yield increased with light intensity.

Unconventional gradient coil designs in magnetic resonance imaging.

In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the gradient coils are used to encode the spatial positions of protons by varying the magnetic field linearly across the imaging subject. With the latest development of MRI technique and new clinical and research applications, the gradient coil system requires increasingly innovative designs. In this paper, four unconventional gradient coil designs are reviewed: (1) local gradient coils; (2) new coil configurations with reduced peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS); (3) dedicated structures designed for hybrid systems (combining MRI with other medical devices); and (4) the full 3D coil designs.