Ultrasound-guided intra-articular corticosteroid injection in a patient with manubriosternal joint involvement of ankylosing spondylitis: A case report.

Background: Manubriosternal joint (MSJ) disease is a rare cause of anterior chest pain but can be a major sign of systemic arthritic involvement. In patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a type of systemic arthritis, chest pain can be due to MSJ involvement and can be improved by ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection into the joint.

Case Summary: A 64-year-old man visited our pain clinic complaining of anterior chest pain.

Biophysical properties of human body louse nit related proteins: LNSP1, Agp9 and Agp22.

The human parasitic head and body lice lay their eggs on either hair or clothing. Attachments of the eggs are possible because the female lice secret a glue substance from the accessory gland along with the egg, which hardens into a nit sheath that secures and protects the egg (The "nit" commonly refers to either the louse egg with an embryo or the empty hatched egg). Proteins called the louse nit sheath protein (LNSP) are suggested to be the major proteins of the nit sheath, but transcriptome profiling of the accessory glands indicated other proteins such as Agp9 and Agp22 are also expressed in the glands.

The structure of Deinococcus radiodurans transcriptional regulator HucR retold with the urate bound.

HucR is a MarR family protein of Deinococcus radiodurans, which binds tightly to the intergenic region of HucR and the uricase gene to inhibit their expression. Urate (or uric acid) antagonizes the repressor function of HucR by binding to HucR to impede its association with the cognate DNA. The previously reported crystal structure of HucR was without the bound urate showing significant structural homology to other MarR structures.

Effects of Intraoperative Ventilation Strategy on Perioperative Atelectasis Assessed by Lung Ultrasonography in Patients Undergoing Open Abdominal Surgery: a Prospective Randomized Controlled Study.

Background: Protective mechanical ventilation using low tidal volume has been introduced to surgical patients to reduce the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications. We investigated the effects of protective ventilation (PV) techniques on anesthesia-induced atelectasis identified via lung ultrasonography in patients undergoing abdominal surgery.

Methods: A total of 42 adult patients who were scheduled for open abdominal surgery with an expected duration > 2 hours were included in the study.

Pre-anaesthesia ultrasonography of the subclavian/infraclavicular axillary vein for predicting hypotension after inducing general anaesthesia: A prospective observational study.

Background: Bedside sonography of the inferior vena cava has been demonstrated to be a reliable tool for assessing intravascular volume status. Subclavian vein (SCV) assessment was proposed as a reasonable adjunct for measuring the inferior vena cava.

Objective: We examined whether the preoperative diameter and collapsibility index of the SCV or the infraclavicular axillary vein could predict the incidence of hypotension after induction of general anaesthesia in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Effect on Electrode Work Function by Changing Molecular Geometry of Conjugated Polymer Electrolytes and Application for Hole-Transporting Layer of Organic Optoelectronic Devices.

In this study, we synthesized three conjugated polymer electrolytes (CPEs) with different conjugation lengths to control their dipole moments by varying spacers. P-type CPEs (PFT-D, PFtT-D, and PFbT-D) were generated by the facile oxidation of n-type CPEs (PFT, PFtT, and PFbT) and introduced as the hole-transporting layers (HTLs) of organic solar cells (OSCs) and polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs). To identify the effect on electrode work function tunability by changing the molecular conformation and arrangement, we simulated density functional theory calculations of these molecules and performed ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy analysis for films of indium tin oxide/CPEs.

GLP inhibits heterochromatin clustering and myogenic differentiation by repressing MeCP2.

Myogenic differentiation is accompanied by alterations in the chromatin states, which permit or restrict the transcriptional machinery and thus impact distinctive gene expression profiles. The mechanisms by which higher-order chromatin remodeling is associated with gene activation and silencing during differentiation is not fully understood. In this study, we provide evidence that the euchromatic lysine methyltransferase GLP regulates heterochromatin organization and myogenic differentiation.

ZNF143 protein is an important regulator of the myeloid transcription factor C/EBPα.

The transcription factor C/EBPα is essential for myeloid differentiation and is frequently dysregulated in acute myeloid leukemia. Although studied extensively, the precise regulation of its gene by upstream factors has remained largely elusive. Here, we investigated its transcriptional activation during myeloid differentiation.

Enhanced Photovoltaic Properties of Bulk Heterojunction Organic Photovoltaic Devices by an Addition of a Low Band Gap Conjugated Polymer.

In this study, we fabricated organic photovoltaics (OPVs) by introducing the polymer additive HTh6BT into the photoactive layer of a poly(3-hexylthiophene):phenyl-C-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) system. The HTh6BT had a relatively low band gap energy of 1.65 eV and a molecular and crystalline structure similar to that of P3HT.

Improvement in Half-Life of Organic Solar Cells by Using a Blended Hole Extraction Layer Consisting of PEDOT:PSS and Conjugated Polymer Electrolyte.

In this study, we fabricated conventional structured organic solar cells (OSCs) by introducing a hole extraction layer (HEL) that consisted of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) and conjugated polymer electrolyte (CPE) poly[9,9-bis(4'-sulfonatobutyl)fluorene-alt-thiophene] (PFT-D). PFT-D has a -SO functional group that acts as a conjugate base against the -SOH of PSS. In addition, the molecular dipole of PFT-D can screen the Coulombic attraction between PEDOT chains and PSS chains.

G9a inhibits MEF2C activity to control sarcomere assembly.

In this study, we demonstrate that the lysine methyltransferase G9a inhibits sarcomere organization through regulation of the MEF2C-HDAC5 regulatory axis. Sarcomeres are essential for muscle contractile function. Presently, skeletal muscle disease and dysfunction at the sarcomere level has been associated with mutations of sarcomere proteins.

Oxidative Stress-Mediated Skeletal Muscle Degeneration: Molecules, Mechanisms, and Therapies.

Oxidative stress is a loss of balance between the production of reactive oxygen species during cellular metabolism and the mechanisms that clear these species to maintain cellular redox homeostasis. Increased oxidative stress has been associated with muscular dystrophy, and many studies have proposed mechanisms that bridge these two pathological conditions at the molecular level. In this review, the evidence indicating a causal role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of various muscular dystrophies is revisited.

Engineering of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica for the production of glycoproteins lacking the outer-chain mannose residues of N-glycans.

In an attempt to engineer a Yarrowia lipolytica strain to produce glycoproteins lacking the outer-chain mannose residues of N-linked oligosaccharides, we investigated the functions of the OCH1 gene encoding a putative alpha-1,6-mannosyltransferase in Y. lipolytica. The complementation of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae och1 mutation by the expression of YlOCH1 and the lack of in vitro alpha-1,6-mannosyltransferase activity in the Yloch1 null mutant indicated that YlOCH1 is a functional ortholog of S.

2-Cys peroxiredoxin function in intracellular signal transduction: therapeutic implications.

H(2)O(2) is a reactive oxygen species that has drawn much interest because of its role as a second messenger in receptor-mediated signaling. Mammalian 2-Cys peroxiredoxins have been shown to eliminate efficiently the H(2)O(2) generated in response to receptor stimulation. 2-Cys peroxiredoxins are members of a novel peroxidase family that catalyze the H(2)O(2) reduction reaction in the presence of thioredoxin, thioredoxin reductase and NADPH.

Precore stop codon mutation of hepatitis B virus is associated with low breakthrough rate following long-term lamivudine therapy.

Background: Frequent viral breakthroughs limit the usefulness of lamivudine in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of precore stop codon mutation (G to A mutation at nucleotide 1896; A(1896)) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) on the occurrence of viral breakthrough following lamivudine therapy.

Methods: Among 260 consecutive CHB patients treated with lamivudine for >12 months, 231 patients whose pretreatment sera were available were tested for A(1896) variant of HBV using direct sequencing.

Regulation of PDGF signalling and vascular remodelling by peroxiredoxin II.

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is a potent mitogenic and migratory factor that regulates the tyrosine phosphorylation of a variety of signalling proteins via intracellular production of H2O2 (refs 1, 2-3). Mammalian 2-Cys peroxiredoxin type II (Prx II; gene symbol Prdx2) is a cellular peroxidase that eliminates endogenous H2O2 produced in response to growth factors such as PDGF and epidermal growth factor; however, its involvement in growth factor signalling is largely unknown. Here we show that Prx II is a negative regulator of PDGF signalling.

Combination of alpha-interferon with lamivudine reduces viral breakthrough during long-term therapy.

Background And Aim: Viral breakthrough is frequently encountered during long-term lamivudine therapy, mostly associated with YMDD mutants. In this study, we investigated the effects of alpha-interferon (IFN-alpha) combined with lamivudine on the occurrence of viral breakthrough during long-term lamivudine therapy.

Methods: Eighty-three patients with biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis B were randomly allocated to a combination of lamivudine and IFN-alpha (LAM/IFN; n = 41) or lamivudine only (LAM; n = 42), and then followed up for >12 months.

Long-term additional lamivudine therapy enhances durability of lamivudine-induced HBeAg loss: a prospective study.

Backgrounds/aims: In the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) with lamivudine, adequate duration of the therapy remains to be determined. In this prospective study, the authors intended to investigate whether long-term additional administration of lamivudine might enhance the durability of lamivudine-induced HBeAg seroconversion.

Methods: Eighty-five CHB patients who achieved HBeAg seroconversion by lamivudine received additional lamivudine therapy for at least 24 months at a dose of 100 mg per day.

[The effects of tamoxifen on human hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and transforming growth factor-beta1 expression].

Background/aims: Tamoxifen has been tried in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), however, its inhibitory mechanism remains unknown. In this study, we evaluated the effects of tamoxifen on HCC cell growth and the expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) which had been known as an important cytokine in growth of HCC.

Methods: Hep 3B cells were cultivated in estrogen free media with 0.