An information-theoretic approach to assess practical identifiability of parametric dynamical systems.

A new approach for assessing parameter identifiability of dynamical systems in a Bayesian setting is presented. The concept of Shannon entropy is employed to measure the inherent uncertainty in the parameters. The expected reduction in this uncertainty is seen as the amount of information one expects to gain about the parameters due to the availability of noisy measurements of the dynamical system.

Molecular Targeted Intervention for Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains one of the worst cancers, with almost uniform lethality. PC risk is associated with westernized diet, tobacco, alcohol, obesity, chronic pancreatitis, and family history of pancreatic cancer. New targeted agents and the use of various therapeutic combinations have yet to provide adequate treatments for patients with advanced cancer.

Prophylactic efficacy of S-2(2-aminoethylamino)ethyl phenyl sulfide (DRDE-07) against sulfur mustard induced lung toxicity in mice.

Objective: The present study was planned to investigate the prophylactic efficacy of S-2(2-aminoethylamino)ethyl phenyl sulfide (DRDE-07), against topically applied SM induced pulmonary toxicity in mouse.

Materials And Methods: Animals were pretreated with S-2(2-aminoethylamino)ethyl phenyl sulfide (DRDE-07) (249.4 mg/kg by oral gavage) 30 minutes before SM exposure.

Deregulated hepsin protease activity confers oncogenicity by concomitantly augmenting HGF/MET signalling and disrupting epithelial cohesion.

Hepsin belongs to a family of cell-surface serine proteases, which have sparked interest as therapeutic targets because of the accessibility of extracellular protease domain for inhibitors. Hepsin is frequently amplified and/or overexpressed in epithelial cancers, but it is not clear how enhanced hepsin expression confers a potential for oncogenicity. We show that hepsin is consistently overexpressed in more than 40% of examined breast cancers, including all major biological subtypes.

Distant skin metastases as primary presentation of gastric cancer.

Distant gastric metastasis to the skin is uncommonly a presenting symptom, although nonspecific paraneoplastic syndromes with dermatologic manifestation including diffuse seborrheic keratoses (Leser-Trelat sign), tripe palms, and acanthosis nigricans have been described in the literature. We report here the case of a 49-year-old woman with gastric adenocarcinoma who presented with cutaneous metastasis as an initial symptom. In our case, metastatic skin lesions responded significantly to EOX chemotherapy (epirubicin+oxaliplatin+capecitabine) despite progression of systemic disease.

Effect of Hospital Volume on Outcomes of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is associated with a significant learning curve. There is paucity of data regarding the effect of hospital volume on outcomes after TAVI. This is a cross-sectional study based on Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's Nationwide Inpatient Sample database of 2012.

A trekker in Nepal with painful skin blisters.

The authors present a case of a 27-year-old woman trekker with painful, slightly itchy eruptions on the dorsum of both hands for 5 days. On examination, she had a papulovesicular rash with some haemorrhagic vesicles over the dorsum of her hands and thumbs.

Trends of Hospitalizations in the United States from 2000 to 2012 of Patients >60 Years With Aortic Valve Disease.

In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on the diagnosis and treatment of valvular heart disease and, in particular, aortic stenosis. This has been driven in part by the development of innovative therapeutic options and by an aging patient population. We hypothesized an increase in the number of hospitalizations and the economic burden associated with aortic valve disease (AVD).

Sodium tungstate induced neurological alterations in rat brain regions and their response to antioxidants.

Tungsten, recognized recently as an environmental contaminant, is being used in arms and ammunitions as substitute to depleted uranium. We studied the effects of sodium tungstate on oxidative stress, few selected neurological variables like acetylcholinesterase, biogenic amines in rat brain regions (cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum) and their prevention following co-administration of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), naringenin and quercetin. Animals were sub-chronically exposed to sodium tungstate (100 ppm in drinking water) and orally co-supplemented with different antioxidants (0.

Trends in infective endocarditis incidence, microbiology, and valve replacement in the United States from 2000 to 2011.

Background: In accordance with the 2007 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association infective endocarditis (IE) guideline update, antibiotic prophylaxis is now being restricted to a smaller number of cardiac conditions with very high risk for adverse outcomes from IE. However, there is scant data on IE trends since this major practice change in the United States.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare temporal trends in IE incidence, microbiology, and outcomes before and after the change in the 2007 IE prophylaxis guideline in the United States.

Fluoroscopy-guided thrombolysis of mechanical mitral valve thrombosis in a young female with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.

Prosthetic valve thrombosis (PVT) is a rare but potentially fatal complication of mechanical valve prosthesis. The differential diagnoses for prosthetic valve obstruction includes pannus formation, prosthetic valve dehiscence, prosthetic valve endocarditis, chordae entrapment, patient-prosthesis mismatch and primary device failure. Establishing a diagnosis requires an understanding of prosthetic valve haemodynamics and careful correlation of clinical and imaging findings.

Giant osteochondroma of the coronoid process.

Osteochondroma or solitary osteocartilagenous exostosis is characterized by cartilage-capped osseous lesion, protruding from the surface of affected bone. It is one of the most common benign bone tumor in axial skeleton and infrequent in maxillofacial skeleton. This paper describes a giant osteochondroma of coronoid process in a 20 year old woman, presented with limited mouth opening (15 mm inter incisal distance) and pain without any facial swelling, asymmetry and TMJ problems.

Comparison of inhospital mortality, length of hospitalization, costs, and vascular complications of percutaneous coronary interventions guided by ultrasound versus angiography.

Despite the valuable role of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guidance in percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs), its impact on clinical outcomes remains debatable. The aim of the present study was to compare the outcomes of PCIs guided by IVUS versus angiography in the contemporary era on inhospital outcomes in an unrestricted large, nationwide patient population. Data were obtained from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2008 to 2011.

Doublecortin-like kinase 1 is elevated serologically in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and widely expressed on circulating tumor cells.

Doublecortin-like kinase 1 (DCLK1) is a putative pancreatic stem cell marker and is upregulated in pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, and many other solid tumors. It marks tumor stem cells in mouse models of intestinal neoplasia. Here we sought to determine whether DCLK1 protein can be detected in the bloodstream and if its levels in archived serum samples could be quantitatively assessed in pancreatic cancer patients.

IgM Myeloma or Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia Is the Big Question?

Although critical from therapeutic and prognostic perspectives, differentiating IgM Myeloma (MM) from Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) is fraught with failure. WM can usually be distinguished from IgM MM by the lymphoplasmacytic versus pure plasmacytic morphology, absent versus present lytic bone lesions, and immunophenotypic findings. However, all these features have their own limitations; hence, it requires constant vigilance and periodic re-evaluation.

Measurement of right atrial volume and diameters in healthy Nepalese with normal echocardiogram.

Background: The size of right atrium is expected to be different in diverse healthy ethnic groups. It is important to know the normal size of right atrium in our healthy population.

Objective: The study aimed to find out the normal values of right atrial volume, right atrial short axis diameter and right atrial long axis diameter in healthy Nepalese population with normal echocardiographic findings.

The syntaxin 31-induced gene, LESION SIMULATING DISEASE1 (LSD1), functions in Glycine max defense to the root parasite Heterodera glycines.

Experiments show the membrane fusion genes α soluble NSF attachment protein (α-SNAP) and syntaxin 31 (Gm-SYP38) contribute to the ability of Glycine max to defend itself from infection by the plant parasitic nematode Heterodera glycines. Accompanying their expression is the transcriptional activation of the defense genes ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY1 (EDS1) and NONEXPRESSOR OF PR1 (NPR1) that function in salicylic acid (SA) signaling. These results implicate the added involvement of the antiapoptotic, environmental response gene LESION SIMULATING DISEASE1 (LSD1) in defense.

HSP70 domain II of Mycobacterium tuberculosis modulates immune response and protective potential of F1 and LcrV antigens of Yersinia pestis in a mouse model.

No ideal vaccine exists to control plague, a deadly dangerous disease caused by Yersinia pestis. In this context, we cloned, expressed and purified recombinant F1, LcrV antigens of Y. pestis and heat shock protein70 (HSP70) domain II of M.

Assessment of the drug interaction potential and single- and repeat-dose pharmacokinetics of the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib.

The induction of CYP2C9 by dabrafenib using S-warfarin as a probe and the effects of a CYP3A inhibitor (ketoconazole) and a CYP2C8 inhibitor (gemfibrozil) on dabrafenib pharmacokinetics were evaluated in patients with BRAF V600 mutation-positive tumors. Dabrafenib single- and repeat-dose pharmacokinetics were also evaluated. S-warfarin AUC(0- ∞) decreased 37% and Cmax increased 18% with dabrafenib.

Phase 1, open-label, dose escalation, safety, and pharmacokinetics study of ME-344 as a single agent in patients with refractory solid tumors.

Background: The current phase 1, open-label, dose escalation study was conducted to establish the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic profile, and preliminary antitumor activity of the novel mitochondrial inhibitor ME-344 in patients with refractory solid tumors.

Methods: Patients with refractory solid tumors were treated in a 3 + 3 dose escalation design. ME-344 was administered via intravenous infusion on days 1, 8, and 15 of the first 28-day cycle and weekly thereafter.

A methodological paradigm for patient-specific multi-scale CFD simulations: from clinical measurements to parameter estimates for individual analysis.

A new framework for estimation of lumped (for instance, Windkessel) model parameters from uncertain clinical measurements is presented. The ultimate aim is to perform patient-specific haemodynamic analysis. This framework is based on sensitivity analysis tools and the sequential estimation approach of the unscented Kalman filter.