Microfluidic Device to Manipulate 3D Human Epithelial Cell-Derived Intestinal Organoids.

In this study, we propose a microfluidic organoid-trapping device used to immobilize human intestinal organoids and apply fluidic stimuli to them. The proposed device has a microchannel with a trapping region with wall gaps between the channel walls and the bottom surface, and a constriction to clog the organoids in the channel. Since the introduced culture medium escapes from the gap, organoids can be cultured without excessive deformation by hydrostatic pressure.

Nurse-Provided Medication Guidance for Improving Drug Adherence to Thiopurines in Outpatients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Single-Center Prospective Study.

Background And Aims: Drug adherence is critically important for patients on thiopurines. We examined whether nurse-provided medication guidance improves drug adherence to thiopurines and clinical activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: IBD outpatients taking a stable dose of thiopurines for 1 year were enrolled.

Acinetobacter baumannii can be transferred from contaminated nitrile examination gloves to polypropylene plastic surfaces.

Background: Several observational studies suggest that gloves of health care workers are major routes of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii transmission. However, limited experimental data are available assessing Acinetobacter transmission from gloves to environmental surfaces. This study determined whether A baumannii was easily transferred from nitrile gloves to polypropylene plastic compared with other gram-negative bacteria that cause health care-associated infections in laboratory-controlled experiments.

Neurocognitive assessment of children with neurodevelopmental disorders: Preliminary findings.

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, and is often treated pharmacologically. It is necessary to use both subjective and objective assessments to diagnose and determine the efficacy of pharmacological treatment in children with ADHD, but cognitive assessment tools for ADHD are scarce. We examined a computer-administered, brief, and repeatable cognitive assessment tool: CogHealth.

Brazilian Green Propolis Promotes Weight Loss and Reduces Fat Accumulation in C57BL/6 Mice Fed A High-Fat Diet.

Propolis is a bee product with various biological properties. C57BL/6 mice were fed a high-fat diet and treated with propolis for 14 weeks. Body weight in mice treated with 2% propolis was less than that in control mice from 3 weeks after the start of treatment until 14 weeks except for the 7th week.

Developmental quotient to estimate intelligence in autism spectrum disorder.

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across contexts, and are associated with restricted patterns of behavior. The developmental quotient (DQ) is based on the developmental age and chronological age of children. This study investigated the utility of the DQ to estimate cognitive ability in young children with ASD.

Decatantalate--the last member of the group 5 decametalate family.

A tetra-n-butylammonium (TBA) salt of [Ta10O28](6-) was synthesized by heating TBA6[H2Ta6O19] in toluene for a prolonged period. X-ray structural analysis of TBA6[Ta10O28]·6H2O revealed that the anion has the decametalate structure and is isostructural with the decavanadate and decaniobate anions [a = 15.8517(8) Å, b = 19.

Long hydrogen-bonded rod of molecular oxide: a hexatantalate tetramer.

A tetra-n-butylammonium (TBA) salt of [H(4.5)(Ta(6)O(19))](3.5-) was synthesized by reacting hydrous tantalum oxide with TBAOH.

Paraganglioma of the cauda equina: a report of two cases with unusual histopathological features.

Paragangliomas of the cauda equina are very rare. Preoperatively, they are usually diagnosed as schwannoma. We report 2 cases that exhibited unusual histopathologic structure as well as a typical Zellballen pattern with a highly vascular stroma.

Cloning and sequencing of the serine dehydrogenase gene from Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

The structural gene for NADP+-dependent serine dehydrogenase [EC 1.1.1.