The vitamin D analog ED-71 is a potent regulator of intestinal phosphate absorption and NaPi-IIb.

The vitamin D analog ED-71 [1α,25-dihydroxy-2β-(3-hydroxypropyloxy)vitamin D(3)] has been approved for treatment of osteoporosis in Japan, but its effects on mineral metabolism have not been fully explored. We investigated the actions of ED-71 on phosphate (Pi) absorption and induction of the intestinal sodium/phosphate cotransporters. Oral treatment of vitamin D-deficient rats with ED-71 (20 pmol every other day for 8 d) produced a maximal 8-fold increase in duodenal Pi absorption, measured by the in situ loop method, whereas 1,25-dihyroxyvitamin D(3) [1,25(OH)(2)D(3]), at doses up to 150 pmol, had no effect.

Structural basis for intrinsic thermosensing by the master virulence regulator RovA of Yersinia.

Pathogens often rely on thermosensing to adjust virulence gene expression. In yersiniae, important virulence-associated traits are under the control of the master regulator RovA, which uses a built-in thermosensor to control its activity. Thermal upshifts encountered upon host entry induce conformational changes in the RovA dimer that attenuate DNA binding and render the protein more susceptible to proteolysis.

Determination of the magnetic structure of SmFe3(BO3)4 by neutron diffraction: comparison with other RFe3(BO3)4 iron borates.

Temperature dependent neutron diffraction studies were performed on SmFe(3)(BO(3))(4). The crystallographic structure was determined to stay as R32 over the whole studied temperature range of 2 K < T < 300 K. A magnetic phase transition characterized by the magnetic propagation vector κ = [0 0 3/2] takes place at T(N) = 34 K.

Acquisition of clarithromycin resistance mutations in the 23S rRNA gene of Mycobacterium abscessus in the presence of inducible erm(41).

Objectives: Antibiotic therapy of pulmonary Mycobacterium abscessus infection is based on a combination treatment including clarithromycin. Recent data demonstrated that M. abscessus may carry a chromosomal, inducible erm gene coding for the ribosomal methylase Erm(41).

Extra-facial melasma: clinical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical case-control study.

Background: Extra-facial melasma is a prevalent dermatosis in some populations with special characteristics in relation to its clinical aspects and probable etiopathogenic factors. Few studies have attempted to address this alteration of pigmentation, which has become a challenge in clinical Dermatology.

Objective: To assess the clinical histopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics of extra-facial melasma, comparing affected, and unaffected sites.

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs in rural communities: a focus group study.

The Crisis Intervention Teams model (CIT) was originally developed as an urban model for police officers responding to calls about persons experiencing a mental illness crisis. Literature suggests that there is reason to believe that there may be unique challenges to adapting this model in rural settings. This study attempts to better understand these unique challenges.

Oxidative damage, inflammation, and Toll-like receptor 4 pathway are increased in preeclamptic patients: a case-control study.

Problem: There was no direct correlation between plasma and placental oxidative damage parameters and inflammation and evidence of TLR4 pathway activation in the placenta in preeclamptic (PE) patients.

Method Of Study: 33 PE patients and 33 normotensive pregnant women were included. The maternal section of the placenta and blood were collected to the determination of oxidative damage markers (thiobarbituric acid reactive species and protein carbonyls), inflammatory response (interleukin-6 and myeloperoxidase activity), and activation of the TLR-4-NF-kB pathway.

Endovascular treatment of popliteal artery segments P1 and P2 in patients with critical limb ischemia: initial experience using a helical nitinol stent with increased radial force.

Purpose: To evaluate efficacy, safety, and midterm patency of a helical, self-expanding nitinol stent after failed percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) of popliteal artery segments P1 and P2 in patients with chronic critical limb ischemia (CLI) or lifestyle-limiting claudication.

Methods: Between February 2009 and March 2011, 40 patients (23 men; mean age 77±10 years) classified as Rutherford category 3 (n = 10) or 4/5 (n = 30) underwent PTA of the proximal and mid popliteal artery followed by implantation of a SUPERA stent for elastic recoil, residual stenosis, or flow-limiting dissection. All patients had an elevated operative risk.

Hypomagnesemia as a risk factor for the non-recovery of the renal function in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of hypomagnesemia as a risk factor for the development of acute kidney injury (AKI) and non-recovery of renal function in critically ill patients.

Methods: A cohort study was conducted by collecting data from March to June 2011 in 232 patients who were admitted into an intensive care unit (ICU). Magnesium serum levels were measured daily during ICU stay.

A pragmatic approach using magnetic resonance imaging to treat ischemic strokes of unknown onset time in a thrombolytic trial.

Background And Purpose: Toward the goal of designing a clinical trial using imaging parameters to treat stroke patients with unknown onset time, we investigated the timing of changes on MRI in patients with well-defined stroke onset.

Methods: Hypothesis-generating (n=85) and confirmatory (n=111) samples were scored by blinded readers for fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) hyperintensity in diffusion-positive regions. Reader-measured signal intensity ratio (SIR) of the lesion to contralateral tissue was compared with SIR measured by coregistration.

Plasma glycation levels are associated with severity in sepsis.

Background: Advanced glycation end-products (AGE) have been involved in inflammatory diseases and may have an important role in the progression of symptoms. However, few studies have analysed the levels of glycated proteins in sepsis. In this study, we evaluated the levels of the well-known AGE (N(ε) -(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) and N(ε) -(carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL)) in the plasma of septic patients.

Differential gene expression by oxyphil and chief cells of human parathyroid glands.

Context: Parathyroid oxyphil cells, whose function is unknown, are thought to be derived from chief cells. Oxyphil cells increase in number in parathyroid glands of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and are even more abundant in patients receiving treatment for hyperparathyroidism with calcitriol and/or the calcimimetic cinacalcet.

Objective: We examined oxyphil and chief cells of parathyroid glands of CKD patients for differential expression of genes important to parathyroid function.

[Medication review for dementia patients].

Due to demographic changes we are faced with several challenges as an increasing prevalence of dementia patients. We report on a medication review of a patient with Alzheimer's disease as well as Lewy body dementia. The intake of risperidone was interrupted instead of a dose reduction which was recommended by the psychiatrist to improve mobility.

The incommensurately modulated structures of the perovskites NaCeMnWO6 and NaPrMnWO6.

The structures of the doubly ordered perovskites NaCeMnWO(6) and NaPrMnWO(6), with rock salt ordering of the Mn(2+) and W(6+)B-site cations and layered ordering of the Na(+) and (Ce(3+)/Pr(3+)) A-site cations, have been studied by transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, neutron and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. Both compounds possess incommensurately modulated crystal structures. In NaCeMnWO(6) the modulation vector (with reference to the ideal ABX(3) perovskite subcell) is q ≈ 0.

The incidence of delirium in patients pretreated with statins who remain in an intensive care unit after cardiac surgery.

Objective: To determine the association between the preoperative administration of statins and postoperative delirium in a prospective cohort of patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Methods: All adult patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit following cardiac surgery between January and June 2011 were included. Delirium was screened during the postoperative period using the Confusion Assessment Method for Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) and Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist (ICDSC).

Inflammatory and oxidative cord blood parameters as predictors of neonatal sepsis severity.

Objectives: Neonatal sepsis is a complex syndrome involving an uncontrolled systemic inflammatory response associated with an infection. It may result in the dysfunction or failure of one or more organs or even death. Given its high incidence in premature neonates, the identification of prognostic factors to optimize the early diagnosis and therapeutic interventions are highly desirable.

Activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway in Merkel cell carcinoma.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a highly aggressive skin cancer with an increasing incidence. The understanding of the molecular carcinogenesis of MCC is limited. Here, we scrutinized the PI3K/AKT pathway, one of the major pathways activated in human cancer, in MCC.

Quantitative evaluation of the beneficial effects in the mdx mouse of epigallocatechin gallate, an antioxidant polyphenol from green tea.

In two separate previous studies, we reported that subcutaneous (sc) or oral administration of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) limited the development of muscle degeneration of mdx mice, a mild phenotype model for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). However, it was not possible to conclude which was the more efficient route of EGCG administration because different strains of mdx mice, periods of treatment and methods of assessment were used. In this study, we investigated which administration routes and dosages of EGCG are the most effective for limiting the onset of dystrophic lesions in the same strain of mdx mice and applying the same methods of assessment.

Distribution and regulation of the 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 1α-hydroxylase in human parathyroid glands.

Parathyroid glands express the 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) 1α-hydroxylase (1αOHase). 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (calcitriol) synthesized by extrarenal tissues generally does not enter the circulation, but plays an autocrine/paracrine role specific to the cell type, and is regulated by the needs of that particular cell. While the role of calcitriol produced in the parathyroid glands presumably is to suppress PTH and cell growth, its regulation in this cell type has not been defined.

Regulation of interferon-inducible proteins by doxorubicin via interferon γ-Janus tyrosine kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription signaling in tumor cells.

Activation of the immune system is a way for host tissue to defend itself against tumor growth. Hence, treatment strategies that are based on immunomodulation are on the rise. Conventional cytostatic drugs such as the anthracycline doxorubicin can also activate immune cell functions of macrophages and natural killer cells.

Drug-induced pancreatitis.

Drugs are thought to be a rare cause for acute pancreatitis; however 525 different drugs are listed in the World Health Organization (WHO) database suspected to cause acute pancreatitis as a side effect. Many of them are widely used to treat highly prevalent diseases. The true incidence is not entirely clear since only few systematic population based studies exist.

[Splenomegaly with multiple unclear parenchymal lesions. Splenomegaly].

A 53-year-old female patient presented with splenomegaly, uncertain lesions of the spleen, pancytopenia and suspected aortitis. Reduced strength and muscular pain but no B symptoms were also present. Alterations of the spleen had been known for a long time.