Epidemiology and prevention of stroke: a worldwide perspective.

This paper reviews how epidemiological studies during the last 5 years have advanced our knowledge in addressing the global stroke epidemic. The specific objectives were to review the current evidence supporting management of ten major modifiable risk factors for prevention of stroke: hypertension, current smoking, diabetes, obesity, poor diet, physical inactivity, atrial fibrillation, excessive alcohol consumption, abnormal lipid profile and psychosocial stress/depression.

Immuno-enhancement effects of Shenqi Fuzheng Injection on cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression in Balb/c mice.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Radix Codonopsis and Radix Astragali, of which Shenqi Fuzheng Injection (SFI) is composed, are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to improve immune function against chronic diseases.

Aim Of The Study: The present study was thus designed to systematically elucidate the in vivo immuno-enhancement effects of SFI in immunosuppressed mice induced by cyclophosphamide (Cy) treatment.

Materials And Methods: Balb/c mice were injected intraperitoneally (i.

Phylogenetic study of Oryzoideae species and related taxa of the Poaceae based on atpB-rbcL and ndhF DNA sequences.

Oryzoideae (Poaceae) plants have economic and ecological value. However, the phylogenetic position of some plants is not clear, such as Hygroryza aristata (Retz.) Nees.

A generalized model of island biogeography.

MacArthur and Wilson's equilibrium theory is one of the most influential theories in ecology. Although evolution on islands is to be important to island biodiversity, speciation has not been well integrated into island biogeography models. By incorporating speciation and factors influencing it into the MacArthur-Wilson model, we propose a generalized model unifying ecological and evolutionary processes and island features.

Abstract: Evaluation of Test Statistics for Robust Structural Equation Modeling With Nonnormal Missing Data.

Traditional structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques have trouble dealing with incomplete and/or nonnormal data that are often encountered in practice. Yuan and Zhang (2011a) developed a two-stage procedure for SEM to handle nonnormal missing data and proposed four test statistics for overall model evaluation. Although these statistics have been shown to work well with complete data, their performance for incomplete data has not been investigated in the context of robust statistics.

[Uniform designed research on the active ingredients assembling of huangqi decoction for inhibition of DMN-induced liver fibrosis].

Objective: To screen out effective ingredients of Huangqi Decoction (HQD) on dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) induced liver fibrosis and its assembling actions.

Methods: (1) DMN solution (0. 5%) was peritoneally injected to rats to prepare the liver fibrosis model for 12 times, starting from the 1st day of modeling to the end of the 4th week.

Anaerobic degradation of microcrystalline cellulose: kinetics and micro-scale structure evolution.

The degradation kinetics and micro-scale structure change of microcrystalline cellulose during anaerobic biodegradation were investigated. A modified Logistic model was established to properly describe the kinetics, which showed good fitness and wide applicability for cellulose degradation. A maximum degradation rate of 0.

TextFlow: towards better understanding of evolving topics in text.

Understanding how topics evolve in text data is an important and challenging task. Although much work has been devoted to topic analysis, the study of topic evolution has largely been limited to individual topics. In this paper, we introduce TextFlow, a seamless integration of visualization and topic mining techniques, for analyzing various evolution patterns that emerge from multiple topics.

Trends in stroke hospitalizations and associated risk factors among children and young adults, 1995-2008.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine acute stroke hospitalization rates for children and young adults and the prevalence of stroke risk factors among children and young adults hospitalized for acute stroke.

Methods: The study population consisted of 1995-2008 hospitalizations from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracerebral hemorrhage, and ischemic stroke hospitalizations were identified by the primary International Classification of Diseases, 9th ed, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code.

UVB radiation-induced β-catenin signaling is enhanced by COX-2 expression in keratinocytes.

UVB radiation is the major carcinogen responsible for skin carcinogenesis, thus elucidation of the molecular pathways altered in skin in response to UVB would reveal novel targets for therapeutic intervention. It is well established that UVB leads to upregulation of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) in the skin which contributes to skin carcinogenesis. Overexpression of COX-2 has been shown to promote colon cancer cell growth through β-catenin signaling, however, little is known about the connection between UVB, COX-2, and β-catenin in the skin.

Trends in pregnancy hospitalizations that included a stroke in the United States from 1994 to 2007: reasons for concern?

Background And Purpose: Stroke is an important contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality, but there are no recent data on trends in pregnancy-related hospitalizations that have involved a stroke. This report describes stroke hospitalizations for women in the antenatal, delivery, and postpartum periods from 1994 to 1995 to 2006 to 2007 and analyzes the changes in these hospitalizations over time.

Methods: Hospital discharge data were obtained from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, developed as part of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Evaluation study on urine metabolomics in yinhuang rat model induced by triplet factors of rhubarb, ethanol, and α-nephthylisothiolyanate.

Objective: To ascertain the biomarkers capable to characterize the animal composite model of Chinese medicine (CM) yinhuang syndrome induced by triplet factors of rhubarb, ethanol, and α-nephthylisothiolyanate (abbreviated as R, E, and A below) through metabolomic study and to evaluate the established model by means of studying the sources of markers based on the changes of metabolites produced from various combinations of the three modeling drugs.

Methods: Eighty Wistar rats allocated equally in eight groups (A-H) were treated with saline, R+E+A, R, E, A, R+E, R+A, and E+A, respectively. Rats' 12 h urine in the 14 successive experimental days were collected separately using metabolic cages and analyzed by ultra performance liquid chromatograph/time of flight mass spectrometer (UPLC/TOF-MS) to create the metabolic contour graph of urine in different groups for identifying the differences between them.

Apigenin, a chemopreventive bioflavonoid, induces AMP-activated protein kinase activation in human keratinocytes.

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a cellular energy sensor that is conserved in eukaryotes. Although AMPK is traditionally thought to play a major role in the regulation of cellular lipid and protein metabolism, recent discoveries reveal that AMPK inhibits mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling and connects with several tumor suppressors such as liver kinase B1 (LKB1), p53, and tuberous sclerosis complex 2 (TSC2), indicating that AMPK may be a potential target for cancer prevention and treatment. For the first time, we demonstrated that apigenin, a naturally occurring nonmutagenic flavonoid, induced AMPK activation in human keratinocytes (both cultured HaCaT cell line and primary normal human epidermal keratinocytes).

A Prism-Mask System for Multispectral Video Acquisition.

This paper presents a prism-mask system for capturing multispectral videos. The system is composed of a triangular prism, a monochrome camera, and an occlusion mask. Incoming light beams from the scene are sampled by the occlusion mask, dispersed into their constituent spectra by the triangular prism, and then captured by the monochrome camera.

Ataxin-1 and Brother of ataxin-1 are components of the Notch signalling pathway.

Ataxin-1 (ATXN1), a causative factor for spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), and the related Brother of ATXN1 (BOAT1) are human proteins involved in transcriptional repression. So far, little is known about which transcriptional pathways mediate the effects of ATXN1 and BOAT1. From our analyses of the properties of BOAT1 in Drosophila and of both proteins in mammalian cells, we report here that BOAT1 and ATXN1 are components of the Notch signalling pathway.

Clinical preventive services for patients at risk for cardiovascular disease, National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2005-2006.

Introduction: Clinical preventive services can detect diseases early, when they are most treatable, but these services may not be provided as recommended. Assessing the provision of services to patients at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) could help identify disparities and areas for improvement.

Methods: We used data on patient visits (n = 21,261) from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2005-2006, and classified patients with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, or diabetes as being at risk for CVD.

Sympathetic cooling of molecular ions in selected rotational and vibrational states produced by threshold photoionization.

We present a new method for the generation of rotationally and vibrationally state-selected, translationally cold molecular ions in ion traps. Our technique is based on the state-selective threshold photoionization of neutral molecules followed by sympathetic cooling of the resulting ions with laser-cooled calcium ions. Using N₂(+) ions as a test system, we achieve >90% selectivity in the preparation of the ground rovibrational level and state lifetimes on the order of 15 minutes limited by collisions with background-gas molecules.

Mass analyzed threshold ionization spectra of phenol...Ar2: ionization energy and cation intermolecular vibrational frequencies.

The phenol(+)...

Actions taken to reduce sodium intake among adults with self-reported hypertension: HealthStyles survey, 2005 and 2008.

Consuming high amounts of dietary sodium is associated with hypertension. The authors analyzed the HealthStyles 2005 and 2008 survey for behaviors to lower blood pressure related to dietary sodium, including the reduction of sodium intake and reading food labels for sodium content among hypertensives. All estimates were based on self-reported data.

Prevalence of self-reported hypertension, advice received from health care professionals, and actions taken to reduce blood pressure among US adults--HealthStyles, 2008.

Lifestyle changes, such as changes in diet and exercise, are recommended to lower blood pressure (BP) in adults. Using data from the 2008 HealthStyles survey, the authors estimated the prevalence of self-reported hypertension, advice received from health professionals, and actions taken to reduce BP. Among 5399 respondents, 25.

Dissociation energetics of the phenol(+)⋯Ar(2) cluster ion: The role of π→H isomerization.

The dissociation energetics in the phenol(+)⋯Ar(2)(2π) cluster ion have been investigated using photoionization efficiency and mass analyzed threshold ionization spectroscopy. The appearance energies for the loss of one and two Ar atoms are determined as ∼210 and ∼1115 cm(-1), respectively. The difference between the appearance energy for the first Ar ligand in phenol(+)⋯Ar(2)(2π) and the dissociation energy of the phenol(+)⋯Ar(π) dimer (535cm(-1)) is explained by the isomerization of one π-bound Ar ligand to the OH binding site (H-bond) upon ionization.

Utility of dysphagia screening results in predicting poststroke pneumonia.

Background And Purpose: Dysphagia screening before oral intake (DS) is a stroke care quality indicator. The value of DS is unproven. Quality adherence and outcome data from the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry were examined to establish value of DS.

Transcriptional repressor E4-binding protein 4 (E4BP4) regulates metabolic hormone fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) during circadian cycles and feeding.

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a potent antidiabetic and triglyceride-lowering hormone whose hepatic expression is highly responsive to food intake. FGF21 induction in the adaptive response to fasting has been well studied, but the molecular mechanism responsible for feeding-induced repression remains unknown. In this study, we demonstrate a novel link between FGF21 and a key circadian output protein, E4BP4.

Increased expression of iASPP, regulated by hepatitis B virus X protein-mediated NF-κB activation, in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background & Aims: iASPP is an inhibitory member of the ankyrin-repeat-, SH3-domain- and proline-rich-region-containing protein (ASPP) family; iASPP expression is up-regulated in different human tumor types. We explored the molecular mechanism increased expression of iASPP and its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: iASPP expression levels in human liver samples and cell lines were determined by polymerase chain reaction, immunoblot, and immunohistochemical analyses.

E3 ligases Arf-bp1 and Pam mediate lithium-stimulated degradation of the circadian heme receptor Rev-erb alpha.

The metazoan circadian clock mechanism involves cyclic transcriptional activation and repression by proteins whose degradation is highly regulated via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. The heme receptor Rev-erb alpha, a core negative component of the circadian network, controls circadian oscillation of several clock genes, including Bmal1 Rev-erb alpha protein degradation can be triggered by inhibitors of glycogen synthase kinase 3beta, such as lithium, and also by serum shock, which synchronizes circadian rhythms in cultured cells. Here we report that two E3 ligases, Arf-bp1 and Pam (Myc-bp2), are copurified with Rev-erb alpha and required for its ubiquitination.