Is Anticoagulation with Novel Oral Anticoagulants an Effective Treatment for Tuberculosis Patients not Achieving a Therapeutic Range with Vitamin K Antagonists? A Systematic Review.

Background: Approximately 3% of Tuberculosis (TB) patients have a venous thromboembolic events (VTE). The use of Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), as anticoagulant, in patients receiving anti TB antimicrobials is often complicated by drug interactions, especially with rifampicin. These patients require frequent monitoring of the International Normalized Ratio (INR), and it is reported that warfarin can not achieve a therapeutic INR.

Early antiretroviral therapy reduces HIV DNA following perinatal HIV infection.

: The impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on the size of the HIV reservoir has implications for virological remission in adults, but is not well characterized in perinatally acquired infection. In a prospective observational study of 20 children with perinatally acquired infection and sustained viral suppression on ART for more than 5 years, proviral DNA was significantly higher in deferred (>4 years) versus early (first year of life) ART recipients (P = 0.0062), and correlated with age of initiation (P = 0.

Nociceptor plasticity: A closer look.

Nociceptors are receptors specifically involved in detecting a tissue damage and transducing it in an electrical signal. Nociceptor activation provoked by any kind of acute lesion is related to the release of several mediators of inflammation, within the framework of a process defined as "peripheral sensitization." This results in an exaggerated response to the painful stimulus, clinically defined as "primary hyperalgesia.

Terrestrial support of lake food webs: Synthesis reveals controls over cross-ecosystem resource use.

Widespread evidence that organic matter exported from terrestrial into aquatic ecosystems supports recipient food webs remains controversial. A pressing question is not only whether high terrestrial support is possible but also what the general conditions are under which it arises. We assemble the largest data set, to date, of the isotopic composition (δH, δC, and δN) of lake zooplankton and the resources at the base of their associated food webs.

Tightly bound soil water introduces isotopic memory effects on mobile and extractable soil water pools.

Cryogenic vacuum extraction is the well-established method of extracting water from soil for isotopic analyses of waters moving through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. We investigate if soils can alter the isotopic composition of water through isotope memory effects, and determined which mechanisms are responsible for it. Soils with differing physicochemical properties were re-wetted with reference water and subsequently extracted by cryogenic water distillation.

Efficacy of the topical 5% lidocaine medicated plaster in the treatment of chronic post-thoracotomy neuropathic pain.

Aim: To assess the efficacy of the topical 5% lidocaine medicated plaster (Versatis, Grünenthal GmbH, Aachen, Germany) in patients with post-thoracotomy neuropathic pain.

Patients & Methods: Patients were randomized to receive the topical 5% lidocaine medicated plaster (n = 33) or non-medicated placebo plasters (n = 30) for 12 h every day for 8 weeks. Laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) were measured, and various questionnaires/scales completed.

An optimized clarithromycin-free 14-day triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication achieves high cure rates in Uruguay.

Background: Strong acid inhibition increases cure rates with triple therapy and 14-day are more effective than 7-day treatments. The combination of amoxicillin plus metronidazole at full doses has been shown to overcome metronidazole resistance and to achieve good eradication rates even in patients harboring resistant strains. No previous studies have been reported in Latin-America with this optimized triple-therapy scheme.

Role of REM Sleep, Melanin Concentrating Hormone and Orexin/Hypocretin Systems in the Sleep Deprivation Pre-Ischemia.

Study Objectives: Sleep reduction after stroke is linked to poor recovery in patients. Conversely, a neuroprotective effect is observed in animals subjected to acute sleep deprivation (SD) before ischemia. This neuroprotection is associated with an increase of the sleep, melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) and orexin/hypocretin (OX) systems.

Reversal of a cyanobacterial bloom in response to early warnings.

Directional change in environmental drivers sometimes triggers regime shifts in ecosystems. Theory and experiments suggest that regime shifts can be detected in advance, and perhaps averted, by monitoring resilience indicators such as variance and autocorrelation of key ecosystem variables. However, it is uncertain whether management action prompted by a change in resilience indicators can prevent an impending regime shift.

Height-related scaling of phloem anatomy and the evolution of sieve element end wall types in woody plants.

In the sieve elements (SEs) of the phloem, carbohydrates are transported throughout the whole plant from their site of production to sites of consumption or storage. SE structure, especially of the pore-rich end walls, has a direct effect on translocation efficiency. Differences in pore size and other features were interpreted as an evolutionary trend towards reduced hydraulic resistance.

Short Communication: Lack of Effect of Maraviroc Intensification on Blood and Gut Reservoir.

We show that intensification of treatment with maraviroc in patients chronically infected with HIV-1 receiving successful long-term antiretroviral therapy was not associated with improvements in HIV-related morbidity, HIV reservoir, microbial translocation, immune activation, or immune exhaustion in either gut or peripheral blood. The measurement of reservoir in both gut and blood longitudinally contributes to a paucity of data in the area.

The role of sleep in recovery following ischemic stroke: A review of human and animal data.

Despite advancements in understanding the pathophysiology of stroke and the state of the art in acute management of afflicted patients as well as in subsequent neurorehabilitation training, stroke remains the most common neurological cause of long-term disability in adulthood. To enhance stroke patients' independence and well-being it is necessary, therefore, to consider and develop new therapeutic strategies and approaches. We postulate that sleep might play a pivotal role in neurorehabilitation following stroke.

Prenasal Thickness, Prefrontal Space Ratio and Other Facial Profile Markers in First-Trimester Fetuses with Aneuploidies, Cleft Palate, and Micrognathia.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and reproducibility of the prenasal thickness (PNT)/nasal bone length (NBL) ratio, maxilla-nasion-mandible (MNM) angle, facial profile line, profile line distance, and prefrontal space ratio (PFSR) in the first trimester of pregnancy, develop normal ranges, and evaluate these markers in abnormal fetuses.

Methods: All measurements were performed on stored images by two operators. Feasibility, interoperator agreement, and prediction intervals were calculated for all measurements.

Nonprogressing HIV-infected children share fundamental immunological features of nonpathogenic SIV infection.

Disease-free infection in HIV-infected adults is associated with human leukocyte antigen-mediated suppression of viremia, whereas in the sooty mangabey and other healthy natural hosts of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), viral replication continues unabated. To better understand factors preventing HIV disease, we investigated pediatric infection, where AIDS typically develops more rapidly than in adults. Among 170 nonprogressing antiretroviral therapy-naïve children aged >5 years maintaining normal-for-age CD4 T cell counts, immune activation levels were low despite high viremia (median, 26,000 copies/ml).

CGRP and Visceral Pain: The Role of Sex Hormones in In Vitro Experiment.

A large number of studies have showed that women reported feeling pain more acutely than men. In support of this hypothesis, many research groups proved that in different animals model of pain the sex hormones regulate the somatic and visceral sensitivity to different noxious stimuli. Therefore, in this study, we went to evaluate if estrogen hormones by regulating the CGRP levels are implicated during the visceral pain transmission.

Validation of a new algorithm for a quick and easy RT-PCR-based ALK test in a large series of lung adenocarcinomas: Comparison with FISH, immunohistochemistry and next generation sequencing assays.

Objectives: Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) gene rearrangements have been described in 3-5% of lung adenocarcinomas (ADC) and their identification is essential to select patients for treatment with ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors. For several years, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) has been considered as the only validated diagnostic assay. Currently, alternative methods are commercially available as diagnostic tests.

Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Enhance CD4 T Cell Susceptibility to NK Cell Killing but Reduce NK Cell Function.

In the search for a cure for HIV-1 infection, histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) are being investigated as activators of latently infected CD4 T cells to promote their targeting by cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL). However, HDACi may also inhibit CTL function, suggesting different immunotherapy approaches may need to be explored. Here, we study the impact of different HDACi on both Natural Killer (NK) and CTL targeting of HIV-1 infected cells.

Vulnerability of newly synthesized proteins to proteostasis stress.

The capacity of the cell to produce, fold and degrade proteins relies on components of the proteostasis network. Multiple types of insults can impose a burden on this network, causing protein misfolding. Using thermal stress, a classic example of acute proteostatic stress, we demonstrate that ∼5-10% of the soluble cytosolic and nuclear proteome in human HEK293 cells is vulnerable to misfolding when proteostatic function is overwhelmed.

ALK Protein Analysis by IHC Staining after Recent Regulatory Changes: A Comparison of Two Widely Used Approaches, Revision of the Literature, and a New Testing Algorithm.

Introduction: Recent regulatory changes have allowed the diagnostic use of immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis for the identification of patients with non-small cell lung cancer who are eligible for treatment with anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosine kinase (ALK) inhibitors. The U.S.

Human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) expression is not induced by treatment with the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors in cellular models of HIV-1 latency.

Background: While antiretroviral therapies have improved life expectancy and reduced viral loads in HIV-1-positive individuals, the cessation of treatment results in a rebound of viral replication. This suggests that a reservoir of latently-infected cells remains within these patients, the identity of which is ill-defined and therefore difficult to target therapeutically. Current strategies are aimed at using drugs such as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors to induce the expression of latent HIV-1 proviruses in order to activate and ultimately eradicate this reservoir of infected cells.

Ultrasound-Guided Thoracic Paravertebral Blockade: A Retrospective Study of the Incidence of Complications.

Background: The benefits of thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) have been demonstrated for patients undergoing surgery for breast cancer. However, pleural puncture resulting in pneumothorax is a serious complication associated with traditional approaches using guidance from anatomic landmarks and nerve stimulation and may contribute to the low utilization of this block. An ultrasound-guided technique has the potential to reduce complications by providing direct visualization of the paravertebral space during needle manipulation.