Proteomic profiling of protein expression changes after 3 months-exercise in ESRD patients on hemodialysis.

The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is steadily increasing, and it is a global health burden. Exercise has been suggested to improve physical activity and the quality of life in patients with CKD, eventually reducing mortality. This study investigated the change in physical performance after exercise in dialysis-dependent patients with CKD and analyzed differentially expressed proteins before and after the exercise.

Effect of acupuncture on Lipopolysaccharide-induced anxiety-like behavioral changes: involvement of serotonin system in dorsal Raphe nucleus.

Background: Acupuncture has been used as a common therapeutic tool in many disorders including anxiety and depression. Serotonin transporter (SERT) plays an important role in the pathology of anxiety and other mood disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of acupuncture on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced anxiety-like behaviors and SERT in the dorsal raphe nuclei (DRN).

Hepatic Infarction Caused by Portal Vein Thrombophlebitis Misdiagnosed as Infiltrative Hepatic Malignancy with Neoplastic Thrombus.

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a form of venous thrombosis that usually presents in chronic form without any sequalae in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or liver cirrhosis. Accurate differential diagnosis of bland PVT from neoplastic PVT is an important step for planning treatment options, but the acute form can be challenging. Here we present a case of acute hepatic infarction caused by acute bland PVT combined with pylephlebitis, which was misdiagnosed as infiltrative hepatic malignancy with neoplastic PVT owing to the perplexing imaging results and elevated tumor markers.

A Simple Rank Product Approach for Analyzing Two Classes.

The rank product statistic has been widely used to detect differentially expressed genes in replicated microarrays and a one-class setting. The objective of this article is to apply a rank product statistic to approximate the P-value of differential expression in a two-class setting, such as in normal and cancer cells. For this purpose, we introduce a simple statistic that compares the P-values of each class's rank product statistic.

Grouped False-Discovery Rate for Removing the Gene-Set-Level Bias of RNA-seq.

In recent years, RNA-seq has become a very competitive alternative to microarrays. In RNA-seq experiments, the expected read count for a gene is proportional to its expression level multiplied by its transcript length. Even when two genes are expressed at the same level, differences in length will yield differing numbers of total reads.

Simple binary segmentation frameworks for identifying variation in DNA copy number.

Background: Variation in DNA copy number, due to gains and losses of chromosome segments, is common. A first step for analyzing DNA copy number data is to identify amplified or deleted regions in individuals. To locate such regions, we propose a circular binary segmentation procedure, which is based on a sequence of nested hypothesis tests, each using the Bayesian information criterion.

Differences in clinical features according to Boryoung and Karp genotypes of Orientia tsutsugamushi.

Background: Scrub typhus is an infectious disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. The differences in virulence of O. tsutsugamushi prototypes in humans are still unknown.

A SATS algorithm for jointly identifying multiple differentially expressed gene sets.

A gene set in DNA microarrays is a group of genes that share a common biological function, chromosomal location, or regulation. This paper discusses the problem of jointly identifying multiple differentially expressed gene sets associated with a phenotype of interest from many hundreds of pre-defined gene sets in a microarray experiment. We propose a null hypothesis that any group of gene sets from the experiment is not differentially expressed.

Hydroxyapatite scaffolds processed using a TBA-based freeze-gel casting/polymer sponge technique.

A novel freeze-gel casting/polymer sponge technique has been introduced to fabricate porous hydroxyapatite scaffolds with controlled "designer" pore structures and improved compressive strength for bone tissue engineering applications. Tertiary-butyl alcohol (TBA) was used as a solvent in this work. The merits of each production process, freeze casting, gel casting, and polymer sponge route were characterized by the sintered microstructure and mechanical strength.

Biomimetic whisker-shaped apatite coating of titanium powder.

Biomimetic apatite coatings on chemically modified titanium powder have been processed and the resulting coating layers evaluated in terms of morphology, composition and structure, using TF-XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM and FTIR analysis. After 7 days immersion in a simulated body fluid (SBF), nanometer-sized fine precipitates with an amorphous whisker-like phase and a Ca/P atomic ratio of 1.94 were obtained on the external surface of the titanium particles.

Delayed improvement of insulin secretion after autologous islet transplantation in partially pancreatectomized patients.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of autologous islet transplantation (ITx) on glucose homeostasis and insulin secretory function after partial pancreatectomy (Px). Fourteen nondiabetic patients who underwent distal Px and autologous ITx for benign pancreatic tumors were enrolled in the study (Px + ITx group). Fourteen normal glucose-tolerant controls and 6 Px without ITx controls were recruited, and all groups were followed over a 24-month period.

Rosiglitazone stimulates the release and synthesis of insulin by enhancing GLUT-2, glucokinase and BETA2/NeuroD expression.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, and its ligands, the thiazolidinediones, might directly stimulate insulin release and insulin synthesis in pancreatic beta-cells. In the present study, we examined the effects of rosiglitazone (RGZ) on insulin release and synthesis in pancreatic beta-cell (INS-1). Insulin release and synthesis were stimulated by treatment with RGZ for 24h.

The simple classification of multiple cancer types using a small number of significant genes.

Background And Objective: The problems involved in the classification of cancers have recently received a great deal of attention in the context of DNA microarrays. We propose a simple procedure for classifying or predicting the cancer types of test samples when multiple cancer types and many genes are present.

Method: The procedure sequentially combines a gene-sort algorithm and a predictive likelihood-based classifier.

Distribution of eschars on the body of scrub typhus patients: a prospective study.

Eschar is an important finding for the diagnosis of scrub typhus. The IFA test for possible scrub typhus was performed. The presence or absence of eschar was thoroughly examined.

Effects of activin A on pancreatic ductal cells in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Background: The shortage of islets for transplantation has led to find alternative insulin producing cells. Pancreatic progenitor cells in the duct have the potential to grow and differentiate into endocrine cells. In this study, we examined whether activin A can promote the expansion and/or differentiation of ductal cells into insulin-producing cells.

Clinical usefulness of eschar polymerase chain reaction for the diagnosis of scrub typhus: a prospective study.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic utility of performing eschar polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of scrub typhus through a prospective comparison of eschar PCR results with indirect immunofluorescent antibody assay (IFA) results.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter prospective study involving patients with possible scrub typhus. Whole-blood samples and eschars were obtained for serological evaluation and PCR.

Usefulness of nested PCR for the diagnosis of scrub typhus in clinical practice: A prospective study.

The aims of this study were to determine the diagnostic accuracy and clinical usefulness of using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of scrub typhus through a prospective comparison of nested PCR and indirect immunofluorescent antibody assay (IFA). We conducted a multi-center prospective study of patients who were suffering with possible scrub typhus infection. Whole blood samples were collected for PCR testing, and sera were obtained for serology evaluation using the indirect IFA and the passive hemagglutination assay (PHA).

A tree-based model for homogeneous groupings of multinomials.

The motivation of this paper is to provide a tree-based method for grouping multinomial data according to their classification probability vectors. We produce an initial tree by binary recursive partitioning whereby multinomials are successively split into two subsets and the splits are determined by maximizing the likelihood function. If the number of multinomials k is too large, we propose to order the multinomials, and then build the initial tree based on a dramatically smaller number k-1 of possible splits.

First human trial of pancreatic islet allo-transplantation in Korea--focus on re-transplantation.

Over the past 20 years, allo-transplantation of islet or whole pancreas for reaching and sustaining near-normoglycemia, as close as possible to the physiological model, have been undertaken. As previously known, even though islet transplantation is possible as a safe re-transplant, it is not well known whether re-transplantation of islets is suitable for patients who have lost the grafted islet function. We have performed a human islet allo-transplantation and re-transplantation on an IDDM patient for the first time in Asia and Korea.