Automated framework for intraretinal cystoid macular edema segmentation in three-dimensional optical coherence tomography images with macular hole.

Cystoid macular edema (CME) and macular hole (MH) are the leading causes for visual loss in retinal diseases. The volume of the CMEs can be an accurate predictor for visual prognosis. This paper presents an automatic method to segment the CMEs from the abnormal retina with coexistence of MH in three-dimensional-optical coherence tomography images.

Activatable T Relaxivity Recovery Nanoconjugates for Kinetic and Sensitive Analysis of Matrix Metalloprotease 2.

Sensitive detection of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2, an important cancer marker associated with tumor invasion and metastasis) activity in vitro and at cellular level is of great significance to clinical diagnosis and medical treatment. With unique physical properties, nanoparticles are emerging as a platform for the construction of conjugates of various biological molecules, which can be expected to generate new types of biosensors. In this work, FeO NPs were modified with Gd chelates via linking peptides to construct NP-substrate (FeO-pep-Gd) conjugates for kinetic MMP-2 activity assessment in vitro at the cellular level and in vivo.

Effects of complement inhibition on the ABC phenomenon in rats.

Researchers reported that intravenously injected PEGylated colloidal drug carriers lose their long-circulating characteristic and accumulated extensively in liver when they are administrated twice in the same animal with certain intervals. This phenomenon was referred to as the "accelerated blood clearance (ABC) phenomenon". Some former studies had found that complement-mediated phagocytosis, activated by antigen-antibody complex, was responsible for inducing the phenomenon.

Albumin-based nanoparticles loaded with hydrophobic gadolinium chelates as T-T dual-mode contrast agents for accurate liver tumor imaging.

Magnetic resonance contrast agents with T-T dual mode contrast capability have attracted considerable interest because they offer complementary and synergistic diagnostic information, leading to high imaging sensitivity and accurate diagnosis. Here, we reported a facile strategy to construct albumin based nanoparticles loaded with hydrophobic gadolinium chelates by hydrophobic interaction for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We synthesized a glycyrrhetinic acid-containing Gd-DOTA derivative (GGD) and loaded GGD molecules into BSA nanoparticles to form GGD-BSA nanoparticles (GGD-BSA NPs).

Legionnaires' disease at a medical center in southern Taiwan.

Background/purpose: Legionella pneumophila had been recognized as a pathogen for both healthcare-associated and community-acquired pneumonia. We aimed to evaluate clinical features and outcomes of patients with Legionnaires' disease at a tertiary medical center in southern Taiwan.

Methods: From January 2005 to December 2013, a retrospective study of adult cases of Legionnaires' disease was conducted in a 1200-bed tertiary hospital.

Dispersion relations of refractive indices suitable for KBeBOF crystal deep-ultraviolet applications.

KBeBOF (KBBF) is the only nonlinear optical crystal available to generate deep-ultraviolet (DUV) laser output by direct harmonic generation. High-precision refractive indices, including in the DUV region, were measured, and starting from a double resonance model of polarizability, new dispersion relations of the refractive indices were deduced from the measured data. The predicted phase matching angles for second-harmonic generation down to 165 nm from the new relations agree well with the previous reported values.

Genome-wide association study of 12 agronomic traits in peach.

Peach (Prunus persica L.) is a highly valuable crop species and is recognized by molecular researchers as a model fruit for the Rosaceae family. Using whole-genome sequencing data generated from 129 peach accessions, here we perform a comprehensive genome-wide association study for 12 key agronomic traits.

Chemogenomics knowledgebase and systems pharmacology for hallucinogen target identification-Salvinorin A as a case study.

Drug abuse is a serious problem worldwide. Recently, hallucinogens have been reported as a potential preventative and auxiliary therapy for substance abuse. However, the use of hallucinogens as a drug abuse treatment has potential risks, as the fundamental mechanisms of hallucinogens are not clear.

Mutation rate analysis via parent-progeny sequencing of the perennial peach. I. A low rate in woody perennials and a higher mutagenicity in hybrids.

Mutation rates vary between species, between strains within species and between regions within a genome. What are the determinants of these forms of variation? Here, via parent-offspring sequencing of the peach we ask whether (i) woody perennials tend to have lower per unit time mutation rates compared to annuals, and (ii) hybrid strains have high mutation rates. Between a leaf from a low heterozygosity individual, derived from an intraspecific cross, to a leaf of its selfed progeny, the mutation rate is 7.

Water bridge coordination on the metal-rich facets of GdO nanoplates confers high T relaxivity.

The realization of the nature of water coordination on the solid surfaces may provoke an essential understanding of T relaxation enhancement, especially in nanoparticulate systems. We report herein that the T relaxivity of GdO nanoplates is highly dependent on water coordinating behaviors on different surfaces. GdO nanoplates with metal-rich {100} facets showed an approximately 4-fold higher r value compared to that with oxygen-terminated {111} facets.

Cardiovascular Disease Chemogenomics Knowledgebase-guided Target Identification and Drug Synergy Mechanism Study of an Herbal Formula.

Combination therapy is a popular treatment for various diseases in the clinic. Among the successful cases, Traditional Chinese Medicinal (TCM) formulae can achieve synergistic effects in therapeutics and antagonistic effects in toxicity. However, characterizing the underlying molecular synergisms for the combination of drugs remains a challenging task due to high experimental expenses and complication of multicomponent herbal medicines.

Functions of Gene in Based on Transcriptome Analysis.

spp. are important biocontrol filamentous fungi, which are widely used for their adaptability, broad antimicrobial spectrum, and various antagonistic mechanisms. In our previous studies, we cloned gene encoding GI protein from Th-33.

Non-benzoquinone geldanamycin analogs trigger various forms of death in human breast cancer cells.

Background: Hsp90 proteins are important therapeutic targets for many anti-cancer drugs in clinical trials. Geldanamycin (GA) was identified as the first natural inhibitor of Hsp90, increasing evidence suggests that GA was not a good choice for clinical trials. In this study, we investigated two new non-benzoquinone geldanamycin analogs of Hsp90 inhibitors, DHQ3 and 17-demethoxy-reblastatin (17-DR), to explore the molecular mechanisms of their anti-cancer activity in vivo and vitro.

StemCellCKB: An Integrated Stem Cell-Specific Chemogenomics KnowledgeBase for Target Identification and Systems-Pharmacology Research.

Given the capacity of self-renewal and multilineage differentiation, stem cells are promising sources for use in regenerative medicines as well as in the clinical treatment of certain hematological malignancies and degenerative diseases. Complex networks of cellular signaling pathways largely determine stem cell fate and function. Small molecules that modulate these pathways can provide important biological and pharmacological insights.

A virus-like particle-based connective tissue growth factor vaccine suppresses carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic fibrosis in mice.

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) has been recognized as a central mediator and promising therapeutic target in hepatic fibrosis. In this study, we generated a novel virus-like particle (VLP) CTGF vaccine by inserting the 138-159 amino acid (aa) fragment of CTGF into the central c/e1 epitope of C-terminus truncated hepatitis B virus core antigen (HBc, aa 1-149) using a prokaryotic expression system. Immunization of BALB/c mice with the VLP vaccine efficiently elicited the production of anti-CTGF neutralizing antibodies.

First sporadic case of pathogenic Escherichia coli infection in Black swan in China.

A strain of bacteria was isolated from the diseased black swan (Cygnus atratus) died from enteritis diarrhea, and designated tentatively as B-1 strain. Morphological and biochemical tests, as well as phylogenetic analysis derived from 16S rRNA and fimC gene sequencing both strongly indicated that B-1 strain is identical to Escherichia coli. Furthermore, the polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) profile of the isolate was different from that of two reference strains.

Metal binding mediated conformational change of XPA protein:a potential cytotoxic mechanism of nickel in the nucleotide excision repair.

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is a pivotal life process for repairing DNA nucleotide mismatch caused by chemicals, metal ions, radiation, and other factors. As the initiation step of NER, the xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group A protein (XPA) recognizes damaged DNA molecules, and recruits the replication protein A (RPA), another important player in the NER process. The stability of the Zn(2+)-chelated Zn-finger domain of XPA center core portion (i.

Automatic Three-dimensional Detection of Photoreceptor Ellipsoid Zone Disruption Caused by Trauma in the OCT.

Detection and assessment of the integrity of the photoreceptor ellipsoid zone (EZ) are important because it is critical for visual acuity in retina trauma and other diseases. We have proposed and validated a framework that can automatically analyse the 3D integrity of the EZ in optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. The images are first filtered and automatically segmented into 10 layers, of which EZ is located in the 7(th) layer.

Aggregated single-walled carbon nanotubes attenuate the behavioural and neurochemical effects of methamphetamine in mice.

Methamphetamine (METH) abuse is a serious social and health problem worldwide. At present, there are no effective medications to treat METH addiction. Here, we report that aggregated single-walled carbon nanotubes (aSWNTs) significantly inhibited METH self-administration, METH-induced conditioned place preference and METH- or cue-induced relapse to drug-seeking behaviour in mice.

An automated framework for 3D serous pigment epithelium detachment segmentation in SD-OCT images.

Pigment epithelium detachment (PED) is an important clinical manifestation of multiple chorioretinal diseases, which can cause loss of central vision. In this paper, an automated framework is proposed to segment serous PED in SD-OCT images. The proposed framework consists of four main steps: first, a multi-scale graph search method is applied to segment abnormal retinal layers; second, an effective AdaBoost method is applied to refine the initial segmented regions based on 62 extracted features; third, a shape-constrained graph cut method is applied to segment serous PED, in which the foreground and background seeds are obtained automatically; finally, an adaptive structure elements based morphology method is applied to remove false positive segmented regions.

Geometrically confined ultrasmall gadolinium oxide nanoparticles boost the T(1) contrast ability.

High-performance magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents and novel contrast enhancement strategies are urgently needed for sensitive and accurate diagnosis. Here we report a strategy to construct a new T1 contrast agent based on the Solomon-Bloembergen-Morgan (SBM) theory. We loaded the ultrasmall gadolinium oxide nanoparticles into worm-like interior channels of mesoporous silica nanospheres (Gd2O3@MSN nanocomposites).