Characterization of controlled highly porous hyaluronan/gelatin cross-linking sponges for tissue engineering.

This study examines the suitability of N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride for use as a cross-linker in the preparation of highly porous hyaluronan (HA)/gelatin sponges through the solvent casting and particulate leaching (SCPL) process. The modulus, water absorption rate, bonding, morphology, cell viability, and chondrocyte mRNA expression of the HA/gelatin sponges were measured and compared. Water uptake by the sponges resulted in pores with spherical diameters ranging from 100μm to 200μm.

Peripancreatic schwannoma.

Background: The extrapancreatic nerve plexus may give rise to schwannomas. The aim of this study was to define the clinicopathologic features of peripancreatic schwannoma and to allow improved diagnosis and treatment for this condition.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 17 patients with pathologically proven peripancreatic schwannoma (defined as schwannoma in anatomic proximity to the pancreas) treated at our hospital between 1995 and 2011.

Crystal structures of rice (Oryza sativa) glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase complexes with NAD and sulfate suggest involvement of Phe37 in NAD binding for catalysis.

Cytosolic Oryza sativa glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (OsGAPDH), the enzyme involved in the ubiquitous glycolysis, catalyzes the oxidative phosphorylation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate to 1,3-biphosphoglycerate (BPG) using nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) as an electron acceptor. We report crystal structures of OsGAPDH in three conditions of NAD-free, NAD-bound and sulfate-soaked forms to discuss the molecular determinants for coenzyme specificity. The structure of OsGAPDH showed a homotetramer form with each monomer comprising three domains-NAD-binding, catalytic and S-loop domains.

Resolution of diabetes after pancreaticoduodenectomy in patients with and without pancreatic ductal cell adenocarcinoma.

Background: New-onset diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with pancreatic ductal cell adenocarcinoma (PDCA) and can resolve after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). Whether DM also resolves after PD in patients operated for disease other than PDCA remains to be determined.

Methods: We compared glycemic status before and after PD between patients with and without PDCA by review of a prospectively maintained database including all patients receiving PD from 2005 to 2011.

Haemophilus aphrophilus associated spleen abscess: an unusual presentation of subacute endocarditis.

The HACEK group of bacteria (Haemophilus spp., Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens, Kingella spp.), is uncommon pathogens of infective endocarditis, but can cause life-threatening events such as heart failure or formation of lethal emboli.

MicroRNA-214 downregulation contributes to tumor angiogenesis by inducing secretion of the hepatoma-derived growth factor in human hepatoma.

Background & Aims: Unusual hypervascularity is a hallmark of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although microRNA-214 (miR-214) is upregulated in other human cancers, it is downregulated in HCC. We elucidated the biological and clinical significance of miR-214 downregulation in HCC.

Crystal structure of Staphylococcus aureus transglycosylase in complex with a lipid II analog and elucidation of peptidoglycan synthesis mechanism.

Bacterial transpeptidase and transglycosylase on the surface are essential for cell wall synthesis, and many antibiotics have been developed to target the transpeptidase; however, the problem of antibiotic resistance has arisen and caused a major threat in bacterial infection. The transglycosylase has been considered to be another excellent target, but no antibiotics have been developed to target this enzyme. Here, we determined the crystal structure of the Staphylococcus aureus membrane-bound transglycosylase, monofunctional glycosyltransferase, in complex with a lipid II analog to 2.

Calcium phosphate bone cement with 10 wt% platelet-rich plasma in vitro and in vivo.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a 10 wt% platelet-rich plasma (PRP) additive composite with calcium phosphate cement (CPC) in vitro and in vivo.

Methods: The in vitro testing of modulus, the apatite conversion rate, morphology, cell and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities, and in vivo testing of histological examinations between two groups of 10 wt% PRP/CPC and CPC were characterised and compared.

Results: Although the crystallite morphologies showed a retarded effect in the PRP/CPC group in vitro, the modulus results showed that the 10 wt% PRP/CPC group had a significant reduction in strength but had no significant changes in the relative conversion ratio of the apatite phase with CPC only.

Inferior survival of advanced pancreatic cancer patients who received gemcitabine-based chemotherapy but did not participate in clinical trials.

Background: Advanced pancreatic cancer, even when treated, is highly lethal. The best choice of gemcitabine-based therapy and the prognostic factors affecting the success of treatment remain uncertain.

Methods: We identified 159 of 1,475 patients with pancreatic cancer diagnosed in our institution and receiving gemcitabine-based chemotherapy between January 1995 and June 2007.

Use of multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis in molecular subtyping of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi isolates.

We evaluated 11 variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) markers for the epidemiological investigation of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) infection and compared the results to those obtained by PFGE. PFGE, using one or two restriction enzymes (XbaI and BlnI), was insufficient to differentiate between some isolates that were epidemiologically unlinked.

Mechanical testing and osteointegration of titanium implant with calcium phosphate bone cement and autograft alternatives.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the osteointegration of a titanium (Ti) implant with the calcium phosphate cement (CPC) and autograft prostheses by pull-out test and histological examination. Stems of sixty Ti cylinders were bilaterally inserted into femoral medullary canals in 30 rabbits at the 1st, 4th, 12th, 26th and 70th postoperative weeks. The bone autograft and CPC were filled into the pre-trimmed bone marrow cavity with a polymethyl methacrylate retarder in the distal end, and then a Ti cylinder was inserted into femurs.

Esculetin ameliorates carbon tetrachloride-mediated hepatic apoptosis in rats.

Esculetin (ESC) is a coumarin that is present in several plants such as Fraxinus rhynchophylla and Artemisia capillaris. Our previous study found that FR ethanol extract (FR(EtOH)) significantly ameliorated rats' liver function. This study was intended to investigate the protective mechanism of ESC in hepatic apoptosis in rats induced by carbon tetrachloride.

Blockade of human group X secreted phospholipase A2 (GX-sPLA2)-induced airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness in a mouse asthma model by a selective GX-sPLA2 inhibitor.

Group X (GX) phospholipase A(2), a member of a large group of secreted phospholipases A(2) (sPLA(2)s), has recently been demonstrated to play an important in vivo role in the release of arachidonic acid and subsequent formation of eicosanoids. In a Th2 cytokine-driven mouse asthma model, deficiency of mouse GX (mGX)-sPLA(2) significantly impairs development of the asthma phenotype. In this study, we generated mGX-sPLA(2)(-/-) mice with knock-in of human GX (hGX)-sPLA(2) (i.

Modified hospital elder life program: effects on abdominal surgery patients.

Background: Postsurgical functional decline is common in older patients and can lead to frailty and increased mortality. Comprehensive interventions such as the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) have been shown to be effective, but modifying the HELP to include only 3 key interventions might prove cost-effective for surgical patients.

Study Design: Consecutive patients from August 2007 through April 2009 (n = 179) were enrolled if they had undergone common elective abdominal surgical procedures, such as gastrectomy, cholecystectomy, and Whipple surgery.

A novel technique to remove bent intramedullary nail.

Removing a bent femoral intramedullary nail is challenging and usually requires special equipment to weaken or transect the nail. We have developed a novel technique with simple devices including one dynamic compression plate and two bone-holding forceps to straighten a bent nail. The results showed that one can use this method for bent nail removal effectively and easily.

Thoracic aorta pseudoaneurysm with hemopericardium: unusual presentation of warfarin overdose.

There have been few case reports which discuss a relationship between warfarin overdose and aortic pseudoaneurysm leakage. We report the case of a female receiving warfarin who presented with dsypnea. Her international normalized ratio was > 10.

Induction chemotherapy with gemcitabine, oxaliplatin, and 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin followed by concomitant chemoradiotherapy in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer: a Taiwan cooperative oncology group phase II study.

Purpose: To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of 3-month triplet induction chemotherapy (ICT) followed by concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC).

Patients And Methods: Chemonaïve patients with measurable, histologically confirmed LAPC were eligible. The ICT consisted of biweekly gemcitabine (800 mg/m2) infusion at a fixed dose rate (10 mg/m2/min), followed by 85 mg/m2 oxaliplatin and 48-h infusion of 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin (3000/150 mg/m2) for 6 cycles.

High APACHE II score and long length of bowel resection impair the outcomes in patients with necrotic bowel induced hepatic portal venous gas.

Background: Hepatic portal venous gas (HPVG) is a rare but potentially lethal condition, especially when it results from intestinal ischemia. Since the literatures regarding the prognostic factors of HPVG are still scarce, we aimed to investigate the risk factor of perioperative mortality in this study.

Methods: We analyzed data for patients with intestinal ischemia induced HPVG by chart review in our hospital between 2000 and 2007.

Genetic ablation of phagocytic NADPH oxidase in mice limits TNFα-induced inflammation in the lungs but not other tissues.

In vitro and limited in vivo evidence suggests that reactive oxygen species derived from NADPH oxidases (NOX-ROS) play an important role in inflammatory responses by enhancing the activity of redox-sensitive cell signaling pathways and transcription factors. Here, we investigated the role of NOX-ROS in TNFα-induced acute inflammatory responses in vivo, using mice deficient in the gp91(phox) (NOX2) or p47(phox) subunits of NADPH oxidase. Age- and body weight-matched C57BL/6J wild-type (WT) and gp91(phox) or p47(phox) knockout mice were injected intraperitoneally with 50 μg TNFα/kg bw or saline vehicle control and sacrificed at various time points up to 24 h.

Reflux esophagitis and marginal ulcer after pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Background: Reflux esophagitis is a common complication following a distal gastrectomy. Increasingly, Roux-en-Y reconstruction has been used to prevent reflux esophagitis; however, marginal ulcer is a concern in patients with a Roux-en-Y reconstruction after distal gastrectomy. The effect of Roux-en-Y reconstruction on the development of reflux esophagitis and marginal ulcer after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) has not been studied.

Neuron Regeneration and Proliferation Effects of Danshen and Tanshinone IIA.

This study evaluates the proliferative effects of danshen and its monomer extract, tanshinone IIA, on Schwann cell proliferation. A piece of silicone rubber was guided across a 15-mm gap in the sciatic nerve of a rat. This nerve gap was then filled with different concentrations of danshen (0-100 mg/mL).

Comparison of multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis in molecular subtyping of Salmonella enterica serovars Paratyphi A.

Salmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi A is a highly clonal organism; pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is insufficient in discriminating isolates. A multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) was developed, and its usefulness in discriminating isolates was compared. PFGE analysis with XbaI and BlnI discriminated 55 isolates into 14 types, with a discriminatory index (DI) of 0.

Different efficacies of erlotinib and gefitinib in taiwanese patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective multicenter study.

Introduction: Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors are used as effective first-line and salvage therapy in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in East Asia. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of gefitinib and erlotinib in Taiwanese patients with advanced NSCLC.

Methods: Clinical data of NSCLC patients treated with gefitinib or erlotinib from January 2004 to December 2008 were collected retrospectively.

Dynamics of antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes in Enterococcus faecalis during swine manure storage.

In this study we used 2 experimental approaches to evaluate the stability of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) phenotypes, selected AMR genes, and selected virulence genes in Enterococcus faecalis during manure storage on a commercial swine farm. Isolates of E. faecalis were obtained directly from fresh fecal material (n = 120) and from the manure storage facility (n = 85) and compared.