Acute necrotizing encephalopathy.

Influenza virus infection is a rare cause of neurological complications, with acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) being among the deadliest. Due to the low incidence of ANE, literature about its association with influenza B infection is limited. We present the case of a 29-year-old previously healthy man with an imaging and clinical diagnosis of influenza B virus infection and sudden decline in mental status.

Increased creativity associated with dopamine agonist therapy: A case report and short review of the literature.

Impulse control disorder (ICD) has been linked to dopamine agonist use in patients with Parkinson's disease. Increased creativity is another cognitive side effect of dopaminergic therapy. While ICD is well recognized in the literature, enhanced creativity as a positive phenomenon is underreported because it does not negatively affect the patients' quality of life.

Development of the first axillary in vitro shoot multiplication protocol for coconut palms.

The coconut palm or "tree of life" is one of nature's most useful plants and the demand for its fruit is increasing. However, coconut production is threatened by ageing plantations, pests and diseases. Currently, the palm is exclusively propagated via seeds, limiting the amount of planting material.

Development of a fast and user-friendly cryopreservation protocol for sweet potato genetic resources.

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is one of the ten most important staple crops and provides a livelihood for many people around the globe. To adapt to ever-changing circumstances farmers and breeders need to have access to a broad diversity of germplasm. This study focuses on the development of a cryopreservation protocol that allows the long term storage of different sweet potato cultivars.

De Novo Myasthenia Gravis Induced by Atezolizumab in a Patient with Urothelial Carcinoma.

The programmed cell death ligand-1 antibody, atezolizumab, is an immune checkpoint inhibitor approved for the treatment of various cancers. Herein, we describe a case of an 87-year-old man with advanced urothelial carcinoma. After surgery, atezolizumab was given.

Aldosterone exerts anti-inflammatory effects on LPS stimulated microglia.

Over the last years, studies on microglia cell function in chronic neuro-inflammation and neuronal necrosis pointed towards an eminent role of these cells in Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Disease. It was found, that microglia cell activity can be stimulated towards a pro- or an anti-inflammatory profile, depending on the stimulating signals. Therefore, investigation of receptors expressed by microglia cells and ligands influencing their activation state is of eminent interest.

Anti-inflammatory properties of Honokiol in activated primary microglia and astrocytes.

Honokiol has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Activation of glial cells plays an essential role in neurodegenerative disorders. In this study, we show that Honokiol reduces the inflammatory response to LPS of primary cultures of microglia and astrocytes through the inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators (iNOS, IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α) and the simultaneous stimulation of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10).

The antidepressant bupropion is a negative allosteric modulator of serotonin type 3A receptors.

The FDA-approved antidepressant and smoking cessation drug bupropion is known to inhibit dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake transporters, as well as nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) which are cation-conducting members of the Cys-loop superfamily of ion channels, and more broadly pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs). In the present study, we examined the ability of bupropion and its primary metabolite hydroxybupropion to block the function of cation-selective serotonin type 3A receptors (5-HTRs), and further characterized bupropion's pharmacological effects at these receptors. Mouse 5-HTRs were heterologously expressed in HEK-293 cells or Xenopus laevis oocytes for equilibrium binding studies.

Pupil to limbus ratio: Introducing a simple objective measure using two-box method for measuring early anisocoria and progress of pupillary change in the ICU.

Introduction: Measurement of static pupillary size in the ICU is of importance in cases of acutely expanding intracranial mass lesions. The inaccuracies with subjective assessment of pupillary size by medical personnel preclude its use in emergent neurological situations.

Objective: To determine if the ratio of pupil to limbus diameter (PLD ratio) measured by a two-box method is a reliable measure of pupil size for detecting early anisocoria and measuring pupillary changes.

In cystectomy specimens with bladder cancer whole organ embedding increases the detection rate of histopathological parameters, but not of those with prognostic significance.

Histological tumor subtyping, staging, and grading are of utmost importance to stratify patients with bladder cancer for treatment and should be as precise as possible. In the presented study, we investigated the prognostic impact of standard clinicopathological parameters in cystectomy patients and compared embedding of the entire bladder with standard partial embedding via a virtual superimposed approach. The study included 121 cystectomy specimens, which were completely embedded.

Is initial preservation of deep tendon reflexes in West Nile Virus paralysis a good prognostic sign?

Typical West Nile virus paralysis is characterized by muscle weakness, decreased tone, and loss of deep tendon reflexes attributed to destruction of anterior horn cells. Two cases in which deep tendon reflexes were initially preserved in the presence of profound and persistent muscle weakness are presented here. In both cases, deep tendon reflexes were later severely attenuated or lost, while weakness of the involved muscles remained profound and unchanged.

Pathophysiological processes in multiple sclerosis: focus on nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 and emerging pathways.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system that is characterized by the demyelination of neuronal axons. Four different patterns of demyelination have been described, showing the heterogeneity in the immunopathologic processes involved in the demyelination. This review will focus on reactive oxygen species (ROS)-related inflammation in MS.

Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Family Members Reduce Microglial Activation via Inhibiting p38MAPKs-Mediated Inflammatory Responses.

Previous studies have shown that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) family ligands (GFL) are potent survival factors for dopaminergic neurons and motoneurons with therapeutic potential for Parkinson's disease. However, little is known about direct influences of the GFL on microglia function, which are known to express part of the GDNF receptor system. Using RT-PCR and immunohistochemistrym we investigated the expression of the GDNF family receptor alpha 1 (GFR alpha) and the coreceptor transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase (RET) in rat microglia in vitro as well as the effect of GFL on the expression of proinflammatory molecules in LPS activated microglia.

A systematic review of goal directed fluid therapy: rating of evidence for goals and monitoring methods.

Purpose: To review the literature on goal directed fluid therapy and evaluate the quality of evidence for each combination of goal and monitoring method.

Materials And Methods: A search of major digital databases and hand search of references was conducted. All studies assessing the clinical utility of a specific fluid therapy goal or set of goals using any monitoring method were included.

Adenovirus death protein (ADP) is required for lytic infection of human lymphocytes.

The adenovirus death protein (ADP) is expressed at late times during a lytic infection of species C adenoviruses. ADP promotes the release of progeny virus by accelerating the lysis and death of the host cell. Since some human lymphocytes survive while maintaining a persistent infection with species C adenovirus, we compared ADP expression in these cells with ADP expression in lymphocytes that proceed with a lytic infection.

TLR2 down-regulates FcεRI and its transcription factor PU.1 in human Langerhans cells.

Background: Epidermal Langerhans cells (LC) expressing the high-affinity receptor for IgE (FcεRI) play a key role in atopic dermatitis (AD). AD skin is highly colonized with Staphylococcus aureus (S.a.

Pristiophorus lanae sp. nov., a new sawshark species from the western North Pacific, with comments on the genus Pristiophorus Müller & Henle, 1837 (Chondrichthyes: Pristiophoridae).

A new species of sawshark, Pristiophorus lanae sp. nov., is described from off the Philippine Islands.

Fluid therapy in acute pancreatitis: anybody's guess.

Objective: The aim of this study was to systematically review and evaluate the quality of current evidence about fluid therapy (FT) in acute pancreatitis (AP).

Background: Intravenous FT is thought to be important in the early management of patients with AP. Clinically relevant questions remain regarding the type of fluid, the rate of administration, and the goal of FT.

Evaluation of autopsy and police reports in the investigation of sudden unexplained death in the young.

To evaluate police and autopsy reports in sudden unexplained deaths in 0-40 year olds. A structured, blind review of police and autopsy reports send to a cardiac genetic service from before (February 2006-December 2007) and after (January-December 2009) new best practice guidelines were introduced in Australia and New Zealand was performed. The reviews focused on reporting on: (1) presentation and clinical history, (2) cardiac autopsy, (3) histological tests and toxicology, and (4) detailed examination of coronary arteries.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase expression in early keratocyte neoplasia of the lower lip correlates to the degree of cell atypia.

Actinic cheilitis (AC) is an early keratocyte neoplasia with inflammation that occurs in the lip vermillion with the potential to develop into invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The expression of the intracellular enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) by antigen-presenting cells and/or tumor cells has been described to arrest T cell proliferation by degrading the essential amino acid tryptophan from the environment. The expression of IDO in AC may support cancer progression by inhibiting T cell-mediated rejection responses.