[Effects of interference intensity on soil respiration and its components in Castanopsis carlesii forest with artificially assisted regeneration in subtropical China].

The effects of interference intensity on soil respiration (R) and heterotrophic respiration (R) were studied in two Castanopsis carlesii forests with artificially assisted regeneration. The results showed that C. carlesii forest decreased the R and its components with the increasing interfe-rence intensity, particularly decreased its autotrophic respiration (R, 1.

Reducing Artifacts during Arterial Phase of Gadoxetate Disodium-enhanced MR Imaging: Dilution Method versus Reduced Injection Rate.

Purpose To compare two contrast material-administration protocols (dilution vs slow injection) in terms of their effectiveness in arterial phase artifact reduction at gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Materials and Methods This HIPAA-compliant retrospective case-controlled cohort study was approved by the institutional review board, with a waiver of informed patient consent. A total of 318 consecutive patients undergoing gadoxetic acid-enhanced MR imaging were placed into one of two subcohorts of 159 consecutive patients each: the dilution subcohort (gadoxetic acid was diluted 1:1 with saline and injected at a rate of 2.

In-Bore 3-T MR-guided Transrectal Targeted Prostate Biopsy: Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System Version 2-based Diagnostic Performance for Detection of Prostate Cancer.

Purpose To determine the diagnostic yield of in-bore 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-guided prostate biopsy and stratify performance according to Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) versions 1 and 2. Materials and Methods This study was HIPAA compliant and institution review board approved. In-bore 3-T MR-guided prostate biopsy was performed in 134 targets in 106 men who (a) had not previously undergone prostate biopsy, (b) had prior negative biopsy findings with increased prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, or (c) had a prior history of prostate cancer with increasing PSA level.

Endothelial SCUBE2 Interacts With VEGFR2 and Regulates VEGF-Induced Angiogenesis.

Objective: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a major mediator of angiogenesis, exerts its proangiogenic action by binding to VEGFR2 (VEGF receptor 2), the activity of which is further modulated by VEGFR2 coreceptors such as neuropilins. However, whether VEGFR2 is regulated by additional coreceptors is not clear. To investigate whether SCUBE2 (signal peptide-CUB-EGF domain-containing protein 2), a peripheral membrane protein expressed in vascular endothelial cells (ECs) known to bind other signaling receptors, functions as a VEGFR2 coreceptor and to verify the role of SCUBE2 in the VEGF-induced angiogenesis.

Genetic Risk Prediction of Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) has a substantial genetic basis. Identification of individuals at greatest AF risk could minimize the incidence of cardioembolic stroke.

Methods: To determine whether genetic data can stratify risk for development of AF, we examined associations between AF genetic risk scores and incident AF in 5 prospective studies comprising 18 919 individuals of European ancestry.

ERK5 kinase activity is dispensable for cellular immune response and proliferation.

Unlike other members of the MAPK family, ERK5 contains a large C-terminal domain with transcriptional activation capability in addition to an N-terminal canonical kinase domain. Genetic deletion of ERK5 is embryonic lethal, and tissue-restricted deletions have profound effects on erythroid development, cardiac function, and neurogenesis. In addition, depletion of ERK5 is antiinflammatory and antitumorigenic.

A Shake&Read distance-based microfluidic chip as a portable quantitative readout device for highly sensitive point-of-care testing.

Despite the rapid development of point-of-care testing (POCT) devices in recent years, quantitative POCT is still not readily available. Herein, we developed a simple, disposable and equipment-free quantitative POCT platform, the Shake&Read distance-based microfluidic Chip (S&R-μChip), for visual quantitative POCT and demonstrated its use in Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for the detection of disease biomarkers.

Derivation of Two Critical Appraisal Scores for Trainees to Evaluate Online Educational Resources: A METRIQ Study.

Introduction: Online education resources (OERs), like blogs and podcasts, increasingly augment or replace traditional medical education resources such as textbooks and lectures. Trainees' ability to evaluate these resources is poor, and few quality assessment aids have been developed to assist them. This study aimed to derive a quality evaluation instrument for this purpose.

Asymmetric Catalytic Enantio- and Diastereoselective Boron Conjugate Addition Reactions of α-Functionalized α,β-Unsaturated Carbonyl Substrates.

An efficient catalytic system has been established for the asymmetric boron conjugate addition of B2pin2 onto α-functionalized (involving C, N, O, and Cl) α,β-unsaturated carbonyls under mild, neutral conditions involving Cu[(S)-(R)-ppfa]Cl, AgNTf2, and alcohols. The dual additives of AgNTf2 and alcohols were found to play crucial roles for achieving high catalytic activity and enantio- and diastereoselectivity (up to 98% ee and 70:1 dr).

Identifying flares in rheumatoid arthritis: reliability and construct validation of the OMERACT RA Flare Core Domain Set.

Objective: To evaluate the reliability of concurrent flare identification using 3 methods (patient, rheumatologist and Disease Activity Score (DAS)28 criteria), and construct validity of candidate items representing the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials (OMERACT) RA Flare Core Domain Set.

Methods: Candidate flare questions and legacy measures were administered at consecutive visits to Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort (CATCH) patients between November 2011 and November 2014. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) core set indicators were recorded.

Oral Ixazomib, Lenalidomide, and Dexamethasone for Multiple Myeloma.

Background: Ixazomib is an oral proteasome inhibitor that is currently being studied for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Methods: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned 722 patients who had relapsed, refractory, or relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma to receive ixazomib plus lenalidomide-dexamethasone (ixazomib group) or placebo plus lenalidomide-dexamethasone (placebo group). The primary end point was progression-free survival.

Increased Late Sodium Current Contributes to the Electrophysiological Effects of Chronic, but Not Acute, Dofetilide Administration.

Background: Drugs are screened for delayed rectifier potassium current (IKr) blockade to predict long QT syndrome prolongation and arrhythmogenesis. However, single-cell studies have shown that chronic (hours) exposure to some IKr blockers (eg, dofetilide) prolongs repolarization additionally by increasing late sodium current (INa-L) via inhibition of phosphoinositide 3-kinase. We hypothesized that chronic dofetilide administration to intact dogs prolongs repolarization by blocking IKr and increasing INa-L.

Distances between bony landmarks and adjacent nerves: anatomical factors that may influence retractor placement in total hip replacement surgery.

Background: Retractor placement is a leading cause of intraoperative nerve injury during total hip replacement (THR) surgery. The sciatic nerve, femoral nerve, and superior gluteal nerve are most commonly affected. This study aimed to identify the distances from bony landmarks in the hip to the adjacent nerves on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the associations between anatomical factors and these distances that would guide the placement of retractors during THR surgery, in order to minimize the risk of nerve injury.

Differential Regulation of Clathrin and Its Adaptor Proteins during Membrane Recruitment for Endocytosis.

In plants, clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) is dependent on the function of clathrin and its accessory heterooligomeric adaptor protein complexes, ADAPTOR PROTEIN2 (AP-2) and the TPLATE complex (TPC), and is negatively regulated by the hormones auxin and salicylic acid (SA). The details for how clathrin and its adaptor complexes are recruited to the plasma membrane (PM) to regulate CME, however, are poorly understood. We found that SA and the pharmacological CME inhibitor tyrphostin A23 reduce the membrane association of clathrin and AP-2, but not that of the TPC, whereas auxin solely affected clathrin membrane association, in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana).

Does Sitagliptin Affect the Rate of Osteoporotic Fractures in Type 2 Diabetes? Population-Based Cohort Study.

Context: Type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis are both common, chronic, and increase with age, whereas type 2 diabetes is also a risk factor for major osteoporotic fractures (MOFs). However, different treatments for type 2 diabetes can affect fracture risk differently, with metaanalyses showing some agents increase risk (eg, thiazolidinediones) and some reduce risk (eg, sitagliptin).

Objective: To determine the independent association between new use of sitagliptin and MOF in a large population-based cohort study.

Development of a Tablet-based symbol digit modalities test for reliably assessing information processing speed in patients with stroke.

Purpose: To develop a Tablet-based Symbol Digit Modalities Test (T-SDMT) and to examine the test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of the T-SDMT in patients with stroke.

Methods: The study had two phases. In the first phase, six experts, nine college students and five outpatients participated in the development and testing of the T-SDMT.

Shared genetic susceptibility of vascular-related biomarkers with ischemic and recurrent stroke.

Objective: To investigate the genetic contributors to cerebrovascular disease and variation in biomarkers of ischemic stroke.

Methods: The Vitamin Intervention for Stroke Prevention Trial (VISP) was a randomized, controlled clinical trial of B vitamin supplementation to prevent recurrent stroke, myocardial infarction, or death. VISP collected baseline measures of C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, creatinine, prothrombin fragments F1+2, thrombin-antithrombin complex, and thrombomodulin prior to treatment initiation.

Design of Selective PAK1 Inhibitor G-5555: Improving Properties by Employing an Unorthodox Low-pK a Polar Moiety.

Signaling pathways intersecting with the p21-activated kinases (PAKs) play important roles in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. By recognizing that the limitations of FRAX1036 (1) were chiefly associated with the highly basic amine it contained, we devised a mitigation strategy to address several issues such as hERG activity. The 5-amino-1,3-dioxanyl moiety was identified as an effective means of reducing pK a and logP simultaneously.

Heart Retransplant Recipients Have Better Survival With Concurrent Kidney Transplant Than With Heart Retransplant Alone.

Background: Heart retransplant (HRT) recipients represent a growing number of transplant patients. The impact of concurrent kidney transplants (KTs) in this population has not been well studied. We tested the hypothesis that recipients of HRT with concurrent KT (HRT-KT) would have worse survival than recipients of HRT alone.

An AhR-Luciferase Adenovirus Infection System for Rapid Screening of Dioxins in Soils.

Our goal was to develop a fast-screening method for measuring dioxin levels in soils. The adenovirus (Ad)-dioxin-responsive (DR) bioassay system (AdEasy-6XDRE-TATA-Luc) combined with a fast-cleanup system was examined under conventional conditions (i.e.

Prediction of Drug Clearance and Drug-Drug Interactions in Microscale Cultures of Human Hepatocytes.

Accurate prediction of in vivo hepatic drug clearance using in vitro assays is important to properly estimate clinical dosing regimens. Clearance of low-turnover compounds is especially difficult to predict using short-lived suspensions of unpooled primary human hepatocytes (PHHs) and functionally declining PHH monolayers. Micropatterned cocultures (MPCCs) of PHHs and 3T3-J2 fibroblasts have been shown previously to display major liver functions for several weeks in vitro.

Association between CYP2C19 Polymorphisms and Outcomes in Cerebral Endovascular Therapy.

Background And Purpose: Differing responses to clopidogrel following endovascular treatment of cerebrovascular diseases may increase the risk of vascular complications. CYP2C19 gene polymorphisms influence clopidogrel activity. We aimed to study the clinical impact of CYP2C19 gene polymorphisms in patients undergoing endovascular treatment.

Influence of moisture content and temperature on degree of carbonation and the effect on Cu and Cr leaching from incineration bottom ash.

This study investigated the influence of moisture content and temperature on the degree of carbonation of municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration bottom ash (IBA) from two different incineration plants in Singapore. The initial rate of carbonation was affected by the nominal moisture content used. Carbonation temperature seemed to play a part in changing the actual moisture content of IBA during carbonation, which in turn affected the degree of carbonation.

Overall response to first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor and second-line chemotherapy is predictive of survival outcome in epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated adenocarcinoma.

Background: First-line epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are effective for the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma with an EGFR-sensitizing mutation, but resistance is inevitable. Chemotherapy is widely used in the second-line setting. The outcome following this treatment scheme has not been thoroughly evaluated.