Prediction of preload dependency using phenylephrine-induced peripheral perfusion index during general anaesthesia: a prospective observational study.

Background: Tracking preload dependency non-invasively to maintain adequate tissue perfusion in the perioperative period can be challenging.The effect of phenylephrine on stroke volume is dependent upon preload. Changes in stroke volume induced by phenylephrine administration can be used to predict preload dependency.

A description of a pre-emptive typhoid Vi capsular polysaccharide vaccination campaign after the 2015 earthquake in Nepal and vaccine effectiveness evaluation.

Background: A 7.8 R scale earthquake hit Nepal in April 2015 and caused about 9000 deaths along with damage to infrastructure, including the water and sewage system. Bhaktapur was one of the highly affected districts.

Novel Strategy for the Management of Cervical Multicystic Diseases.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical practices of diagnosing multicystic cervical lesions as a means to develop a more appropriate diagnostic algorithm for gastric-type adenocarcinoma (GAS) and its precursors.

Methods: Clinical information for 159 surgically treated patients for multicystic disease of the uterine cervix was collected from 15 hospitals. We performed a central review of the MRI and pathological findings.

Endometrial galectin-3 causes endometriosis by supporting eutopic endometrial cell survival and engraftment in the peritoneal cavity.

Problem: The pathogenesis of endometriosis remains unclear. Endometrial cells in retrograde menstruation are considered the source of endometriosis; therefore, we hypothesized that the eutopic endometrium may provide clues regarding the pathogenesis. We aimed to clarify the role of eutopic endometrial cells in endometriosis development.

Why using bed nets is a challenge among minority populations in Central Vietnam.

Background: Despite freely distributed insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and health information campaigns to increase their use among populations at risk, malaria transmission persists in forested areas in Vietnam, especially among ethnic minority communities. A mixed-methods study was conducted in four villages of Ca Dong and M'nong ethnicity in Central Vietnam between 2009 and 2011 to assess factors limiting the uptake of ITNs.

Methods: The mixed-methods research design consisted of a qualitative study to explore the context and barriers to ITN use, and a cross-sectional household survey (n = 141) to quantify factors for limited and appropriate net use.

Characteristic expression of CGRP and osteogenic and vasculogenic markers in the proximal and distal regions of the rib during male mouse development.

Background: Neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a neurotransmitter related to vasculogenesis and osteogenesis during bone formation and organ development. From the foetal period to the postnatal period, the thorax, which is necessary for lung respiration, forms. The thorax exhibits the same cartilage ossification as the bones of the extremities, but a specific system within the thorax exists as costal cartilage after birth.

Immunohistochemical analysis using cell block technique leads accurate diagnosis of ovarian malignant lymphoma: A case report.

Introduction: Ovarian malignant lymphoma is a rare gynecologic disease and some patients show marked ascites, similar to that observed in advanced ovarian cancer. Although radical surgery improves prognosis of ovarian cancer, treatment of lymphoma is based on chemotherapy, therefore, differential diagnosis is crucial.

Presentation Of Case: A 65-year-old woman presented with a 1-month history of abdominal distention.

Quality assessment using EQ-5D-5L after lung surgery for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Objectives: Aim of this study was to elucidate an alteration of quality of life (QOL) score before and after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients using the 5-level EuroQol-5D questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L). We also investigated how the preoperative QOL scores affected the postoperative clinical outcome prospectively.

Methods: Between July 2018 and December 2018, 24 consecutive NSCLC patients who underwent VATS were recruited.

An Alarmingly High Proportion of HIV-1 Isolates Carrying Mutations Corresponding to Resistance to Antiretroviral Drugs among HIV-Positive High-Risk Groups in Central Vietnam: a Substudy of the National Sentinel Survey.

We studied the prevalence of HIV drug resistance among high-risk groups such as injecting drug users (IDUs), female sex workers (FSWs), and men having sex with men (MSM) in central Vietnam. We used HIV-positive blood samples from 2012-2013 sentinel surveillance surveys. Study subjects were screened for HIV infection by standardized screening assays, and the HIV-positive samples were further tested for HIV viral load and drug-resistance mutations (DRMs) by in-house assays.

Regional Differences in the Prevalence of Major Opportunistic Infections among Antiretroviral-Naïve Human Immunodeficiency Virus Patients in Japan, Northern Thailand, Northern Vietnam, and the Philippines.

To identify regional differences in the distribution of opportunistic infections (OIs) among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients in Asia, the medical records of antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve patients who attended the following tertiary hospitals from 2003 to 2011 were reviewed: Nagoya Medical Center (NMC, Nagoya, Japan), Lampang Hospital (LPH, Lampang, northern Thailand), Bach Mai Hospital (BMH, Hanoi, northern Vietnam), and Philippine General Hospital (PGH, Manila, Philippines). Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify associations between country of origin and risk of major OIs. In total, 1,505 patients were included: NMC, = 365; LPH, = 442; BMH, = 384; and PGH, = 314.

The Novel IκB Kinase β Inhibitor, IMD-0560, Has Potent Therapeutic Efficacy in Ovarian Cancer Xenograft Model Mice.

Objective: Aberrant activation of nuclear factor-kappa β (NF-κB) signaling has been correlated with poor outcome among patients with ovarian cancer. Although the therapeutic potential of NF-κB pathway disruption in cancers has been extensively studied, most classical NF-κB inhibitors are poorly selective, exhibit off-target effects, and have failed to be applied in clinical use. IMD-0560, N-[2,5-bis (trifluoromethyl) phenyl]-5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzamide, is a novel low-molecular-weight compound that selectively inhibits the IκB kinase complex and works as an inhibitor of NF-κB signaling.

Targeting Inhibitor of κB Kinase β Prevents Inflammation-Induced Preterm Delivery by Inhibiting IL-6 Production from Amniotic Cells.

Preterm delivery (PTD) remains a serious challenge in perinatology. Intrauterine infection and/or inflammation, followed by increased inflammatory cytokines, represented by IL-6, are involved in this pathology. Our aim was to identify IL-6-producing cells in the placenta and to analyze the potential of targeting IκB kinase β (IKKβ) signaling to suppress IL-6 production for the treatment of PTD.

High proportion of HIV serodiscordance among HIV-affected married couples in northern Vietnam.

Introduction: Little is known about the state of HIV transmission among married couples in Vietnam. This study aims to clarify HIV serostatus in this group and elucidate risk factors for intra-marital HIV transmission.

Methods: In 2012, we enrolled a group of HIV-positive married men registered at the HIV outpatient clinic of a referral hospital in northern Vietnam, along with their wives.

The hypoxia-related microRNA miR-199a-3p displays tumor suppressor functions in ovarian carcinoma.

During the dissemination of ovarian cancer cells, the cells float in the peritoneal cavity without access to a vascular supply and so are exposed to hypoxic conditions, which may cause the ovarian cancer cells to acquire a more aggressive and malignant phenotype. In this study, we screened microRNAs (miRNAs) to identify those that displayed altered expression patterns under hypoxic conditions and then analyzed their functional roles in ovarian cancer progression. miRNA PCR arrays performed on cells from 2 ovarian cancer cell lines (CaOV3 and RMUG-S) revealed miR-199a-3p as one of the miRNAs that are downregulated under hypoxia.

Interleukin 6 receptor is an independent prognostic factor and a potential therapeutic target of ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer remains the most lethal gynecologic cancer and new targeted molecular therapies against this miserable disease continue to be challenging. In this study, we analyzed the expressional patterns of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and its receptor (IL-6R) expression in ovarian cancer tissues, evaluated the impact of these expressions on clinical outcomes of patients, and found that a high-level of IL-6R expression but not IL-6 expression in cancer cells is an independent prognostic factor. In in vitro analyses using ovarian cell lines, while six (RMUG-S, RMG-1, OVISE, A2780, SKOV3ip1 and OVCAR-3) of seven overexpressed IL-6R compared with a primary normal ovarian surface epithelium, only two (RMG-1, OVISE) of seven cell lines overexpressed IL-6, suggesting that IL-6/IL-6R signaling exerts in a paracrine manner in certain types of ovarian cancer cells.

IKKβ Regulates VEGF Expression and Is a Potential Therapeutic Target for Ovarian Cancer as an Antiangiogenic Treatment.

The prolongation of progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced ovarian cancer by antiangiogenic therapy has been shown in several clinical trials. However, although an anti-VEGF antibody (bevacizumab) is the only option currently available, its efficacy is limited and it is not cost effective for use in all patients. Therefore, the development of a novel antiangiogenic drug, especially composed of small-molecule compounds, could be a powerful armament for ovarian cancer treatment.

Production and degradation of N-acylhomoserine lactone quorum sensing signal molecules in bacteria isolated from activated sludge.

N-Acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) function as quorum-sensing signaling molecules in many Gram-negative bacteria. We isolated a total of 672 bacterial strains from activated sludge obtained from seven sewage treatment plants in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, and screened for AHL-producing and degrading strains. Isolates (n = 107) stimulated AHL-mediated purple pigment production in AHL reporter strains Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and VIR07.

Membrane vesicle formation is associated with pyocin production under denitrifying conditions in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1.

Many Gram-negative bacteria produce membrane vesicles (MVs) that serve as vehicles to mediate intraspecies and interspecies interactions. Despite their ubiquity in Gram-negative bacteria and their biological importance, how MV formation is regulated is poorly understood. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous bacterium that is one of the most extensively studied model organism in MVs.

Wave-number dependent current correlation for a harmonic oscillator.

The wave-number k dependent current-correlation function is considered for a harmonic oscillator model. An explicit analytic expression for the Laplace transformed correlation function is derived. It is compared with numerical solutions and results obtained by the recurrence relation method.

Outer membrane machinery and alginate synthesis regulators control membrane vesicle production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The opportunistic human bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces membrane vesicles (MVs) in its surrounding environment. Several features of the P. aeruginosa MV production mechanism are still unknown.

The Response of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 Efflux Pump-Defective Mutants to N-Octanoyl-L-Homoserine Lactone.

N-Octanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C8-HSL) is an acyl-homoserine-lactone signal utilized in the quorum-sensing (QS) systems of Burkholderia cenocepacia and other bacterial species. Although also produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, its role in this species has not been elucidated. Here, we report that C8-HSL modulated antibiotic resistance and pyocyanin production in a P.

Quorum sensing regulates denitrification in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1.

Anaerobic growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 was affected by quorum sensing. Deletion of genes that produce N-acyl-l-homoserine lactone signals resulted in an increase in denitrification activity, which was repressed by exogenous signal molecules. The effect of the las quorum-sensing system was dependent on the rhl quorum-sensing system in regulating denitrification.

Dimerization of the ATRIP protein through the coiled-coil motif and its implication to the maintenance of stalled replication forks.

ATR (ATM and Rad3-related), a PI kinase-related kinase (PIKK), has been implicated in the DNA structure checkpoint in mammalian cells. ATR associates with its partner protein ATRIP to form a functional complex in the nucleus. In this study, we investigated the role of the ATRIP coiled-coil domain in ATR-mediated processes.

A quorum-sensing autoinducer enhances the mexAB-oprM efflux-pump expression without the MexR-mediated regulation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

We have previously described that the quorum-sensing autoinducer, N-butyryl-L-homoserine lactone (C4-HSL) enhances mexAB-oprM expression, and this C4-HSL-mediated enhancement of mexAB-oprM expression was repressed by MexT, a positive regulator of the mexEF-oprN operon. In this study, we investigated the interaction between C4-HSL and mexR by using a knockout mutant. It was indicated that the C4-HSL-mediated enhancement of mexAB-oprM expression occurred without MexR-mediated regulation.