Long-Term Otologic and Audiometric Outcomes in Patients with Cleft Palate.

Objective Describe longitudinal audiometric and otologic outcomes in patients with cleft palates. Study Design Case series with chart review. Setting Single academic medical center.

Opening a New Time Window for Treatment of Stroke by Targeting HDAC2.

Narrow therapeutic window limits treatments with thrombolysis and neuroprotection for most stroke patients. Widening therapeutic window remains a critical challenge. Understanding the key mechanisms underlying the pathophysiological events in the peri-infarct area where secondary injury coexists with neuroplasticity over days to weeks may offer an opportunity for expanding the therapeutic window.

Comparative transcription analysis of different Antirrhinum phyllotaxy nodes identifies major signal networks involved in vegetative-reproductive transition.

Vegetative-reproductive phase change is an indispensable event which guarantees several aspects of successful meristem behaviour and organ development. Antirrhinum majus undergoes drastic changes of shoot architecture during the phase change, including phyllotactic change and leaf type alteration from opposite decussate to spiral. However, the regulation mechanism in both of phyllotactic morphology changes is still unclear.

Treatment trends, determinants, and survival of partial and radical nephrectomy for stage I renal cell carcinoma: results from the National Cancer Data Base, 2004-2013.

Objective: To provide updated treatment trends, determinants, and survival of partial nephrectomy (PN) and radical nephrectomy (RN) across the USA.

Data Sources: Secondary data from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) participant user file from 2004 to 2013. The NCDB captures approximately 70% of all newly diagnosed cancer cases each year.

Downregulation of calbindin 1, a calcium-binding protein, reduces the proliferation of osteosarcoma cells.

Osteosarcoma is the most common type of primary malignant bone tumor and has a high propensity to metastasize to the lungs and bones. Calbindin 1 () is a constituent Ca2+ binding protein, which can prevent apoptotic death in several cell types induced through various pro-apoptotic signaling pathways. To investigate whether is implicated in the tumor growth of human osteosarcoma, two different short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) against were used for -knockdown in osteosarcoma U2OS cells.

ZL006 promotes migration and differentiation of transplanted neural stem cells in male rats after stroke.

New strategies must be developed to resolve the problems of stroke treatment. In recent years, stem cell-based therapy after stroke has come into the public and academic lens. Previously we have shown that uncoupling neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) from the postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95) by ZL006, a small molecular compound, can ameliorate ischemic damage and promote neuronal differentiation of endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs) in focal cerebral ischemic male rats.

Quercetin protects against atherosclerosis by inhibiting dendritic cell activation.

Scope: Quercetin is a typical flavonol with atheroprotective effects, but the effect of quercetin on dendritic cell (DC) maturation in relation to atherosclerosis has not yet been clearly defined. Thus, we investigated whether quercetin can inhibit DC maturation and evaluated its potential value in atherosclerosis progression in ApoE mice.

Methods And Results: Quercetin consumption inhibited DC activation, inflammatory response and suppressed the progression of atherosclerosis in ApoE mice.

The Orally Active Noncompetitive AMPAR Antagonist Perampanel Attenuates Focal Cerebral Ischemia Injury in Rats.

Inhibition of ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) is a potential target of therapy for ischemic stroke. Perampanel is a potent noncompetitive α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate receptor (AMPAR) antagonist with good oral bioavailability and favorable pharmacokinetic properties. Here, we investigated the potential protective effects of perampanel against focal cerebral ischemia in a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model in rats.

Multifunctional Telodendrimer Nanocarriers Restore Synergy of Bortezomib and Doxorubicin in Ovarian Cancer Treatment.

We have developed multifunctional nanoparticles for codelivery of bortezomib and doxorubicin to synchronize their pharmacokinetic profiles and synergize their activities in solid tumor treatment, a need still unmet in the clinic. Micellar nanoparticles were formed by a spatially segregated, linear-dendritic telodendrimer containing three segments: a hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG), a bortezomib-conjugating intermediate, and a dendritic doxorubicin-affinitive interior. Bortezomib-conjugated telodendrimers, together with doxorubicin, self-assembled into monodispersed micelles [NP(BTZ-DOX)] with small particle sizes (20-30 nm) for dual drug delivery.

Down-regulation of microRNA-216b inhibits IL-1β-induced chondrocyte injury by up-regulation of Smad3.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of joint disease, leading to a major cause of pain and disability. OA is characterized by the continuous degradation of articular cartilage, mainly resulting in an imbalance between synthesis and degradation of articular chondrocyte extracellular matrix (ECM). Aberrant miR-216b expression has been found in multiple cancers.

A Novel Pan-Genome Reverse Vaccinology Approach Employing a Negative-Selection Strategy for Screening Surface-Exposed Antigens against .

Reverse vaccinology (RV) has been widely used for screening of surface-exposed proteins (PSEs) of important pathogens, including outer membrane proteins (OMPs), and extracellular proteins (ECPs) as potential vaccine candidates. In this study, we applied a novel RV negative strategy and a pan-genome analysis for screening of PSEs from 17 strains covering 11 predominately epidemic serovars and 17 multilocus typing (MLST) sequence types (STs) worldwide. Our results showed, for instance, out of a total of 633 predicted PSEs in strain 56601, 92.

Thermally Triggered in Situ Assembly of Gold Nanoparticles for Cancer Multimodal Imaging and Photothermal Therapy.

The assembly of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to AuNP assemblies is of interest for cancer therapy and imaging. Herein we introduce a new and general paradigm, thermally triggered AuNP assembly, for the development of novel intelligent platforms for cancer photothermal therapy (PTT) and multimodal imaging. Site-specific conjugation of a thermally sensitive elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) to AuNPs yields thermally sensitive ELP-AuNPs.

Evidence of natural co-infection with PCV2b subtypes in vivo.

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is the causative pathogen of porcine circovirus-associated diseases (PCVAD). This virus evolves mostly through point mutations and genome recombination between different PCV2 genotypes (e.g.

Cross-Calibrated Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry Scanners Demonstrate Systematic Bias in Pediatric and Young Adult Females.

Consistency of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan results is critical for data integrity. For pediatric subjects, the extent to which cross-calibration of DXA scanners alleviates model-to-model scanner differences is unclear. In the current study, DXA bone outcomes were compared for same-day measurements performed using different scanners, cross-calibrated to alleviate discrepancies (Hologic; Discovery A [DISCO] and QDR 4500W [QDR]).

Knockdown of Angiopoietin-Like Protein 2 Inhibits Proliferation and Invasion in Glioma Cells via Suppressing the ERK/MAPK Signaling Pathway.

Angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPTL2), a member of the glycoprotein family, is mainly secreted by adipose tissues under normal conditions. Recently, ANGPTL2 has been found to be upregulated in some types of cancers and is considered to be a tumor promoter. However, the functional significance of ANGPTL2 in glioma has not yet been elucidated.

Optimized conditions for preserving stability and integrity of porcine circovirus type2 virus-like particles during long-term storage.

Although porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) virus-like particles (VLPs) have been successfully harvested from various protein expression systems, conditions to promote their stability and integrity during long-term storage have not been well defined since only the intact VLPs, instead of the monomeric capsid protein (Cap), can induce neutralizing antibodies in pigs in previous studies. In this study, freshly prepared PCV2 VLPs were stored in several media (various concentrations of NaCl, sorbitol, sucrose and trehalose) at three temperatures (4°C, -20°C and -80°C) and their stability and integration were evaluated after 7 month. Addition of 15% trehalose in storage buffer promoted long-term preservation of PCV2 VLPs.

Modeling Aboveground Biomass in Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem by Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Discrete Lidar.

Accurate canopy structure datasets, including canopy height and fractional cover, are required to monitor aboveground biomass as well as to provide validation data for satellite remote sensing products. In this study, the ability of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) discrete light detection and ranging (lidar) was investigated for modeling both the canopy height and fractional cover in Hulunber grassland ecosystem. The extracted mean canopy height, maximum canopy height, and fractional cover were used to estimate the aboveground biomass.

Donor Liver Small Droplet Macrovesicular Steatosis Is Associated With Increased Risk for Recipient Allograft Rejection.

Although donor livers with <30% large droplet macrovesicular steatosis (MaS) and/or small droplet MaS (irrespective of percentage) are considered safe to use, this consensus is based on variable definitions of MaS subtypes and/or without a reproducible scoring system. We analyzed 134 donor liver biopsies from allografts transplanted at University of California at San Francisco between 2000 and 2015 to determine whether large and/or small droplet MaS is a risk factor for poor outcomes. Large droplet MaS was defined as a fat droplet occupying greater than one half of an individual hepatocyte, with nuclear displacement, and scored as the percentage of total parenchymal area replaced by large fat droplets on ×40 magnification.

Influence of antithrombotic agents on the recurrence of chronic subdural hematomas and the quest about the recommencement of antithrombotic agents: A meta-analysis.

Antithrombotic agents (AT), including anticoagulants and antiplatelets, are risk factors of chronic subdural hematomas (CSDHs). However, the use of AT has not been clearly associated with postoperative recurrence (PR) in the literature before. Furthermore, the association between the resumption of AT and postoperative complications also requests research.

Ellagic acid inhibits human glioblastoma growth in vitro and in vivo.

Ellagic acid (EA) is present in various fruits and plants and has recently been found to possess anticarcinogenic effects. The objective of this study was to investigate the anti‑glioblastoma effect of EA and its mechanisms in vitro and in vivo. We first studied the anticancer activity of EA in U87 and U118 human glioblastoma cell lines.

Does Medicare Advantage Reduce Racial Disparity in 30-Day Rehospitalization for Medicare Beneficiaries?

This study determined potential racial and ethnic disparities in risk for all-cause 30-day readmission among traditional Medicare (TM) and Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries initially hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, or pneumonia. Our analyses of New York State hospital administrative data between 2009 and 2012 found that overall 30-day readmission rate declined from 22.0% in 2009 to 20.

A Tobacco Cessation Intervention with Rural, Medically Underserved, Blue-collar Employees: A Quasiexperimental Study.

Background: The aim of this study was to increase knowledge regarding the dangers associated with tobacco use, and decrease secondhand smoke exposure and tobacco use behaviors with an antitobacco messaging campaign among rural, medically underserved, blue-collar workers.

Methods: A quasiexperimental study was conducted with employees at two worksites. One worksite received the intervention, which consisted of nine different antitobacco messages.

Efficacy of a Dehydrated Hydrogel Plug to Reduce Complications Associated With Computed Tomography-guided Percutaneous Transthoracic Needle Biopsy.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine whether a hydrogel plug, when placed in the needle tract after a computed tomography-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle lung biopsy, reduces the rate of complications.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective analysis included biopsies of lung lesions from 200 consecutive patients. The first 100 consecutive biopsies made up the control group, in which no plug intervention was used.

Eyes shut homolog is required for maintaining the ciliary pocket and survival of photoreceptors in zebrafish.

Mutations in the extracellular matrix protein eyes shut homolog (EYS) cause photoreceptor degeneration in patients with retinitis pigmentosa 25 (RP25). Functions of EYS remain poorly understood, due in part to the lack of an EYS gene in mouse. We investigated the localization of vertebrate EYS proteins and engineered loss-of-function alleles in zebrafish.

Influence of Intestinal Microbiota on the Catabolism of Flavonoids in Mice.

Although in vitro studies have shown that flavonoids are metabolized into phenolic acids by the gut microbiota, the biotransformation of flavonoids by intestinal microbiota is seldom studied in vivo. In this study, we investigated the impact of the gut microbiota on the biotransformation of 3 subclasses of flavonoids (flavonols, flavones, and flavanones). The ability of intestinal microbiota to convert flavonoids was confirmed with an in vitro fermentation model using mouse gut microflora.