Trends in the eradication rates of Helicobacter pylori infection for eleven years.

Aim: To evaluate the trends in the eradication rate of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) over the past 11 years in a single center.

Methods: This retrospective study covered the period from January 2000 to December 2010.

Duration of colonization and risk factors for prolonged carriage of vancomycin-resistant enterococci after discharge from the hospital.

Background: There are no available studies on the duration and risk factors of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) carriage after hospital discharge. In this study we investigated the duration of colonization with VRE and the risk factors for prolonged carriage in the outpatient clinic after discharge from the hospital.

Methods: The study took place from January 2008 to September 2009.

Revisiting the relationship between adaptive smoothing and anisotropic diffusion with modified filters.

Anisotropic diffusion has been known to be closely related to adaptive smoothing and discretized in a similar manner. This paper revisits a fundamental relationship between two approaches. It is shown that adaptive smoothing and anisotropic diffusion have different theoretical backgrounds by exploring their characteristics with the perspective of normalization, evolution step size, and energy flow.

Absence of glucose transporter 4 diminishes electrical activity of mouse hearts during hypoxia.

Insulin resistance, which characterizes type 2 diabetes, is associated with reduced translocation of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) to the plasma membrane following insulin stimulation, and diabetic patients with insulin resistance show a higher incidence of ischaemia, arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The aim of this study was to examine whether GLUT4 deficiency leads to more severe alterations in cardiac electrical activity during cardiac stress due to hypoxia. To fulfil this aim, we compared cardiac electrical activity from cardiac-selective GLUT4-ablated (G4H-/-) mouse hearts and corresponding control (CTL) littermates.

Suppression of phase transition in LiTb(0.01)Mn(1.99)O4 cathodes with fast Li+ diffusion.

The structural characteristics of terbium-doped spinel LiTb(x)Mn(2-x)O(4) related to the electrochemical performance were studied as the cathode in lithium-ion batteries. We chose terbium as the dopant, which is a well-known mixed-valent cation (3+/4+), expecting that it would provide structural stabilization and improve the power density. LiTb(x)Mn(2-x)O(4) revealed that terbium doping significantly affected the lattice structure and lithium-ion diffusion during charge-discharge cycles, resulting in an enhanced capacity retention and rate capability at an extremely small amount of terbium doping (LiTb(0.

A family of secreted pathogenesis-related proteins in Candida albicans.

Analysing culture supernatants of yeast and hyphal cells of Candida albicans, we found two close homologues of pathogenesis-related (PR-) 1 proteins, Rbe1p and Rbt4p, in the secretome. Due to sequence homology, three additional, yet not characterized open reading frames, ORF19.6200, ORF19.

Bojesodok-eum, a Herbal Prescription, Ameliorates Acute Inflammation in Association with the Inhibition of NF-κB-Mediated Nitric Oxide and ProInflammatory Cytokine Production.

Bojesodok-eum (BSE) is a herbal prescription consisting of Coptidis Rhizoma and Scutellariae Radix as main components. This paper investigated the effects of BSE on the induction of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), and proinflammatory cytokines that are caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in murine macrophage cell line and on the paw edema formation in animals. Administration of BSE (0.

Distinct regions of the Pseudomonas syringae coiled-coil effector AvrRps4 are required for activation of immunity.

Gram-negative phytopathogenic bacteria translocate effector proteins into plant cells to subvert host defenses. These effectors can be recognized by plant nucleotide-binding-leucine-rich repeat immune receptors, triggering defense responses that restrict pathogen growth. AvrRps4, an effector protein from Pseudomonas syringae pv.

Solid-state combinatorial screening of ARSi4N7:Eu2+ (A = Sr, Ba, Ca; R = Y, La, Lu) phosphors.

A double-ternary combinatorial chemistry (combi-chem) library was visualized in terms of structure, PL intensity, and color chromaticity for a nitride phosphor system, ARSi4N7:Eu(2+) (A = Sr, Ca, Ba; R = Y, La, Lu), so as to obtain a quantitative structure and property relationship (QSPR) in a systematic manner. Most of the samples constituting the double-ternary combi-chem library turned out to have ARSi4N7 structures with a P63mc space group. However, several phases such as Ca2Si5N8 with a Cc space group, LaSi3N5 with a P212121 space group, R6Si11N20O with a P31c space group, etc.

Epigenetic Modulation of Gene Expression during Keratinocyte Differentiation.

Background: Epigenetic modulation of gene expression occurs by various methods, including DNA methylation and histone modification. DNA methylation of specific genes may affect the chromatin structure, preventing access by the transcriptional machinery. Although gene expression is dramatically changed during keratinocyte differentiation, there is no evidence of epigenetic modulation during the process of epidermal stratification.

Nucleation-controlled distributed plasticity in penta-twinned silver nanowires.

A unique size-dependent strain hardening mechanism, that achieves both high strength and ductility, is demonstrated for penta-twinned Ag nanowires (NWs) through a combined experimental-computational approach. Thin Ag NWs are found to deform via the surface nucleation of stacking fault decahedrons (SFDs) in multiple plastic zones distributed along the NW. Twin boundaries lead to the formation of SFD chains that locally harden the NW and promote subsequent nucleation of SFDs at other locations.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate suppresses IGF-I-induced lipogenesis and cytokine expression in SZ95 sebocytes.

Acne vulgaris is the most common disease of the pilosebaceous unit. The pathogenesis of this inflammatory disease is complex, involving increased sebum production and perifollicular inflammation. To identify effective agents for factors that induce acne vulgaris, we explored the pharmacological potential of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which has been widely investigated as an anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory agent.

Draft genome sequence of Pseudomonas syringae pathovar syringae strain FF5, causal agent of stem tip dieback disease on ornamental pear.

Pseudomonas syringae FF5 causes stem tip dieback disease on ornamental pear (Pyrus calleryana). Its genome encodes a complete type III secretion system (T3SS) and HopAC1, HopM1, AvrE1, HopI1, HopAA1, HopJ1, HopAH2, HopAH1, HopAG1, and HopAZ1. Lacking detectable homologues of other T3SS effectors, it may encode novel, undiscovered effectors.

NDRG2 correlated with favorable recurrence-free survival inhibits metastasis of mouse breast cancer cells via attenuation of active TGF-β production.

N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2) has been studied for its inhibitory effects against growth and metastasis of many tumor cell types. In this study, we showed NDRG2 expression was correlated with favorable recurrence-free survival of patients with breast cancer and inhibited metastasis of breast cancer cells (4T1). NDRG2 expression was examined in 189 breast carcinoma tissues and paired normal breast tissues using immunohistochemistry.

Absence of a human DnaJ protein hTid-1S correlates with aberrant actin cytoskeleton organization in lesional psoriatic skin.

The biochemical mechanism by which the human tumorous imaginal disc1(S) (hTid-1(S)) interferes with actin cytoskeleton organization in keratinocytes of human skin epidermis was investigated. We found that hTid-1, specifically hTid-1(S), interacts with MK5, a p38-regulated/activated protein kinase, and inhibits the protein kinase activity of MK5 that phosphorylates heat shock protein HSP27 in cultured HeLa cells. Thus, hTid-1(S) expression inhibits the phosphorylation of HSP27 known to play important roles in F-actin polymerization and actin cytoskeleton organization.

S100A8 and S100A9 are messengers in the crosstalk between epidermis and dermis modulating a psoriatic milieu in human skin.

S100A8 and S100A9 are members of the S100A8 protein family that exist as homodimers and heterodimers in neutrophils, monocytes, and macrophages. Recent studies have shown the pivotal roles of S100A8 and S100A9 in the propagation of inflammation and keratinocyte proliferation in psoriasis. We found significant up-regulation of S100A8 and S100A9 secretion from keratinocytes in psoriatic lesions.

Evaluation of adverse drug reactions in medical intensive care units.

Purpose: Patterns of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in the medical intensive care unit (MICU) were analysed, and signals for detecting ADRs were developed from the analysis.

Method: A retrospective study was conducted in MICU wards at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Seoul, Korea. The areas included one general MICU and one cancer centre MICU.

Plasmon Length: A Universal Parameter to Describe Size Effects in Gold Nanoparticles.

Localized surface plasmon resonances are central to many sensing and signal transmission applications. Tuning of the plasmon energy and line width through particle size and shape is critical to the design of such devices. To gain quantitative information on the size dependence of plasmonic properties, mainly due to retardation effects, we correlated optical spectra and structures for 500 individual gold particles of five different shapes.

Robust scale-space filter using second-order partial differential equations.

This paper describes a robust scale-space filter that adaptively changes the amount of flux according to the local topology of the neighborhood. In a manner similar to modeling heat or temperature flow in physics, the robust scale-space filter is derived by coupling Fick's law with a generalized continuity equation in which the source or sink is modeled via a specific heat capacity. The filter plays an essential part in two aspects.

Robust estimation of local genetic ancestry in admixed populations using a nonparametric Bayesian approach.

We present a new haplotype-based approach for inferring local genetic ancestry of individuals in an admixed population. Most existing approaches for local ancestry estimation ignore the latent genetic relatedness between ancestral populations and treat them as independent. In this article, we exploit such information by building an inheritance model that describes both the ancestral populations and the admixed population jointly in a unified framework.

Changes in transepidermal water loss and skin hydration according to expression of aquaporin-3 in psoriasis.

Background: Aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of water transporting proteins present in many mammalian epithelial and endothelial cell types. Among the AQPs, AQP3 is known to be a water/glycerol transporter expressed in human skin.

Objective: The relationship between the expression level of AQP3 and transpidermal water loss (TEWL) in the lesional and peri-lesional skin of psoriasis-affected patients, and skin hydration in the lesional and peri-lesional skin of psoriasis patients, was investigated.

Oil absorbing graphene capsules by capillary molding.

Oil absorbing graphene capsules are synthesized by capillary molding of graphene oxide (GO) sheets against a polystyrene bead template in evaporating aerosol droplets, followed by simultaneous reduction of GO and decomposition of the polymer template during ultrasonic spray pyrolysis.

Synthesis of novel photoacid generator containing resist polymer for electron beam lithography.

Photoacid generators (PAGs) have been widely used as a key material in the development of novel photoresist materials. One of the important uses of PAGs is found in chemically amplified photoresists (CARs) because of their high photosensitivity and high resolution capability. Triphenylsulfonium salt methacrylate (TPSMA) as the PAG has been bounded in the main polymer backbone.

Autologous platelet-rich plasma: a potential therapeutic tool for promoting hair growth.

Background: Recently, autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has attracted attention in various medical fields, including plastic and orthopedic surgery and dermatology, for its ability to promote wound healing. PRP has been tested during facelift and hair transplantation to reduce swelling and pain and to increase hair density.

Objective: To investigate the effects of PRP on hair growth using in vivo and in vitro models.

The awr gene family encodes a novel class of Ralstonia solanacearum type III effectors displaying virulence and avirulence activities.

We present here the characterization of a new gene family, awr, found in all sequenced Ralstonia solanacearum strains and in other bacterial pathogens. We demonstrate that the five paralogues in strain GMI1000 encode type III-secreted effectors and that deletion of all awr genes severely impairs its capacity to multiply in natural host plants. Complementation studies show that the AWR (alanine-tryptophan-arginine tryad) effectors display some functional redundancy, although AWR2 is the major contributor to virulence.