Validating a model of benzodiazepine refractory nerve agent-induced status epilepticus by evaluating the anticonvulsant and neuroprotective effects of scopolamine, memantine, and phenobarbital.

Introduction: Organophosphorus nerve agents (OPNAs) irreversibly block acetylcholinesterase activity, resulting in accumulation of excess acetylcholine at neural synapses, which can lead to a state of prolonged seizures known as status epilepticus (SE). Benzodiazepines, the current standard of care for SE, become less effective as latency to treatment increases. In a mass civilian OPNA exposure, concurrent trauma and limited resources would likely cause a delay in first response time.

Reconstruction of the temporomandibular joint: a comparison between prefabricated and customized alloplastic prosthetic total joint systems.

The implantation of an alloplastic total temporomandibular joint (TMJ) prosthesis is an innovative approach for the treatment of end-stage TMJ disorders. Two types of system exist: prefabricated (stock) and customized computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) devices. A clinical study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of these two designs.

Altered Gene Regulatory Networks Are Associated With the Transition From C to Crassulacean Acid Metabolism in (Oncidiinae: Orchidaceae).

Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthesis is a modification of the core C photosynthetic pathway that improves the ability of plants to assimilate carbon in water-limited environments. CAM plants fix CO mostly at night, when transpiration rates are low. All of the CAM pathway genes exist in ancestral C species, but the timing and magnitude of expression are greatly altered between C and CAM species.

Nutrient acquisition strategies augment growth in tropical N -fixing trees in nutrient-poor soil and under elevated CO.

Tropical forests play a dominant role in the global carbon (C) cycle, and models predict increases in tropical net primary productivity (NPP) and C storage in response to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO ) concentrations. The extent to which increasing CO will enhance NPP depends in part on the availability of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to support growth. Some tropical trees can potentially overcome nutrient limitation by acquiring N via symbiotic dinitrogen (N ) fixation, which may provide a benefit in acquiring P via investment in N-rich phosphatase enzymes or arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi.

Loss of IBA1-Expression in brains from individuals with obesity and hepatic dysfunction.

Microglia, the brain's resident immune cells, exhibit constitutive expression of the ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (IBA1), a cytoplasmic protein with actin and calcium-binding functions involved in membrane ruffling. Microglia are long-lived cells that exhibit a senescent morphology (dystrophy) with aging, which may be indicative of cell dysfunction. It has been reported that dystrophy of IBA1-positive microglia is exacerbated in obese humans.

Comment on "The impact of past vaccination coverage and immunity on pertussis resurgence".

Limitations in the data used for a recent modeling study of pertussis resurgence in the US may explain why the results were not consistent with several observational studies demonstrating a shorter duration of protection after acellular pertussis vaccine administration.

Corneal Subbasal Nerve Plexus Changes in Severe Diabetic Charcot Foot Deformity: A Pilot Study in Search for a DNOAP Biomarker.

Introduction: Diabetic neuroosteoarthropathy (DNOAP) early symptoms are unspecific, mimicking general infectious symptoms and rendering a diagnosis challenging. Consequently, unfavourable outcomes occur frequently, with recurrent foot ulceration, infectious complications, and eventually amputation. Corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) of the subbasal nerve plexus (SNP) is used to detect early peripheral neuropathy in diabetic patients without diabetic retinopathy.

Operating at the very low end of the crassulacean acid metabolism spectrum: Sesuvium portulacastrum (Aizoaceae).

Demonstration of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in species with low usage of this system relative to C3-photosynthetic CO2 assimilation can be challenging experimentally but provides crucial information on the early steps of CAM evolution. Here, weakly expressed CAM was detected in the well-known pantropical coastal, leaf-succulent herb Sesuvium portulacastrum, demonstrating that CAM is present in the Sesuvioideae, the only sub-family of the Aizoaceae in which it had not yet been shown conclusively. In outdoor plots in Panama, leaves and stems of S.

Metabolo-volumetric parameters of 18F-FDG-PET can predict expression of EGFR and HIF 1alpha in uterine cervical cancer.

Background: The aim of our study was to investigate possible relationships between 18F-FDG-PET parameters and clinically relevant histopathological findings in patients with cervical cancer (CC).

Methods: Eighteen female patients (mean age 55.4 years) with histologically confirmed squamous cell CC were involved into the study.

Increased Risk of Late-onset Streptococcus pneumoniae Meningitis in Adults With Prior Head or Spine Surgeries.

In a case-control study within the Kaiser Permanente Northern California adult population, prior head or spine surgery was associated with increased Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis outside of the postoperative period (no prior head or spine surgery; odds ratio, 6.0 [95% confidence interval, 1.9-18.

Comparison of incisional complications between skin closures using a simple continuous or intradermal pattern: a pilot study in horses undergoing ventral median celiotomy.

Background: Development of incisional complications following ventral median celiotomy might depend on suture pattern for skin closure.

Methods: In this prospective study, 21 healthy male horses underwent celiotomy. Skin closure was either performed via a continuous percutaneous pattern (CO group; 5 warmbloods/5 ponies) or an intradermal pattern (ID group; 5 warmbloods/6 ponies).

An energy-friendly alternative in the large-scale production of soybean oil.

Soybean oil is widely used as cooking oil, whereas the soybean cake is a valuable ingredient for animal food. The extraction of soybean oil is an energy-intensive process, with additional significant impact on the environment via the wastewater and hexane emissions. The research investigated different ways to minimize the energy consumption.

Barriers to Receipt of Prenatal Tetanus Toxoid, Reduced Diphtheria Toxoid, and Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Among Mothers of Infants Aged <4 Months with Pertussis - California, 2016.

Vaccination with tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine is recommended for all pregnant women to protect infants who are too young for vaccination from severe pertussis-related outcomes (1-3). However, Tdap vaccine coverage among pregnant women remains suboptimal in California (4). California mothers whose infants developed pertussis in 2016 and their prenatal care providers were interviewed to ascertain possible reasons for low Tdap vaccine coverage.

Ruthenium-Based Catalytic Systems Incorporating a Labile Cyclooctadiene Ligand with -Heterocyclic Carbene Precursors for the Atom-Economic Alcohol Amidation Using Amines.

Transition-metal-catalyzed amide-bond formation from alcohols and amines is an atom-economic and eco-friendly route. Herein, we identified a highly active in situ -heterocyclic carbene (NHC)/ruthenium (Ru) catalytic system for this amide synthesis. Various substrates, including sterically hindered ones, could be directly transformed into the corresponding amides with the catalyst loading as low as 0.

Simulation of the nodal flow of mutant embryos with a small number of cilia: comparison of mechanosensing and vesicle transport hypotheses.

Left-right (L-R) asymmetry in the body plan is determined by nodal flow in vertebrate embryos. Shinohara (Shinohara K 2012 , 622 (doi:10.1038/ncomms1624)) used and mutant mouse embryos and showed that only a few cilia were sufficient to achieve L-R asymmetry.

T-Cell Clustering in Neoplastic Follicles of Follicular Lymphoma.

The nonneoplastic microenvironment is abundant in follicular lymphoma. Its composition has been reported to be associated with the course of the disease. Lack of animal models hampers studies of interaction between lymphoma and bystander cells.

Interaction of Haloarchaeal Gas Vesicle Proteins Determined by Split-GFP.

Several extremely halophilic archaea produce proteinaceous gas vesicles consisting of a gas-permeable protein wall constituted mainly by the gas vesicle proteins GvpA and GvpC. Eight additional accessory Gvp are involved in gas vesicle formation and might assist the assembly of this structure. Investigating interactions of halophilic proteins requires a method functioning at 2.

Molecular-integrated risk profile to determine adjuvant radiotherapy in endometrial cancer: Evaluation of the pilot phase of the PORTEC-4a trial.

Objective: The Post-Operative Radiation Therapy in Endometrial Carcinoma (PORTEC)-4a trial is a randomized trial for women with high-intermediate risk endometrial cancer (EC), comparing individualized adjuvant treatment based on a molecular-integrated risk profile to standard adjuvant treatment; vaginal brachytherapy. To evaluate patient acceptability and pathology logistics of determining the risk profile, a pilot phase was included in the study.

Methods: PORTEC-4a is ongoing and the first 50 patients enrolled were included in the pilot phase.

Experiences and expertise of codependency: Repetition, claim-coupling, and enthusiasm.

Arenas where experts interact with publics are useful platforms for communication and interaction between actors in the field of public health: researchers, practitioners, clinicians, patients, and laypersons. Such coalitions are central to the analysis of knowledge coproduction. This study investigates an initiative for assembling expert and other significant knowledge which seeks to create better interventions and solutions to addiction-related problems, in this case codependency.

Photosynthetic heat tolerance of shade and sun leaves of three tropical tree species.

Previous studies of heat tolerance of tropical trees have focused on canopy leaves exposed to full sunlight and high temperatures. However, in lowland tropical forests with leaf area indices of 5-6, the vast majority of leaves experience varying degrees of shade and a reduced heat load compared to sun leaves. Here we tested whether heat tolerance is lower in shade than in sun leaves.

Effects of mesenchymal stromal cells versus serum on tendon healing in a controlled experimental trial in an equine model.

Background: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have shown promising results in the treatment of tendinopathy in equine medicine, making this therapeutic approach seem favorable for translation to human medicine. Having demonstrated that MSC engraft within the tendon lesions after local injection in an equine model, we hypothesized that they would improve tendon healing superior to serum injection alone.

Methods: Quadrilateral tendon lesions were induced in six horses by mechanical tissue disruption combined with collagenase application 3 weeks before treatment.

Associations Between [F]FDG-PET and Complex Histopathological Parameters Including Tumor Cell Count and Expression of KI 67, EGFR, VEGF, HIF-1α, and p53 in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Purpose: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of common cancers worldwide. Positron emission tomography (PET) with 2-deoxy-2-[F]fluoro-D-glucose ([F]FDG) is increasingly used for diagnosing and staging, as well as for monitoring of treatment of HNSCC. PET parameters like maximum and mean standard uptake values (SUV, SUV) can predict the behavior of HNSCC.

Postresection CA19-9 and margin status as predictors of recurrence after adjuvant treatment for pancreatic carcinoma: Analysis of NRG oncology RTOG trial 9704.

Purpose: NRG Oncology RTOG 9704 was the first adjuvant trial to validate the prognostic value of postresection CA19-9 levels for survival in patients with pancreatic carcinoma. The data resulting from this study also provide information about predictors of recurrence that may be used to tailor individualized management in this disease setting. This secondary analysis assessed the prognostic value of postresection CA19-9 and surgical margin status (SMS) in predicting patterns of disease recurrence.

Semi-automatic CT-angiography based evaluation of the aortic annulus in patients prior to TAVR: interchangeability with manual measurements.

To compare a semi-automatic software tool for the measurement of aortic annulus dimensions with manual measurements by expert readers and to analyze whether and to what extent interchangeability exists between semi-automatic and manual measurements. We retrospectively included 374 consecutive patients with high-grade aortic stenosis who had undergone CT-angiography of the heart prior to trans-catheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). In independent analyses, two expert readers manually measured aortic annulus dimensions (long axis, short axis, circumference, area) as well as the distance of the coronary ostia from the annulus plane.