Local patch reconstruction framework for optic cup localization in glaucoma detection.

Optic cup localization/segmentation has attracted much attention from medical imaging researchers, since it is the primary image component clinically used for identifying glaucoma, which is a leading cause of blindness. In this work, we present an optic cup localization framework based on local patch reconstruction, motivated by the great success achieved by reconstruction approaches in many computer vision applications recently. Two types of local patches, i.

G31P, CXCR1/2 inhibitor, with cisplatin inhibits the growth of mice hepatocellular carcinoma and mitigates high‑dose cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity.

Cisplatin (DDP), a cytotoxic antitumor drug, functions in a dose-dependent manner. However, the pursuit for high‑dose therapeutic effects leads to more serious side effects including kidney toxicity. Nephrotoxicity caused due to endothelial cell dysfunction and neutrophils infiltration in kidneys.

N-Heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed cyclocondensation of 2-aryl carboxylic acids and enones: highly enantioselective synthesis of δ-lactones.

The enantioselective N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed [4 + 2] cyclocondensation of 2-aryl carboxylic acids and enones was developed, affording the corresponding chiral δ-lactones in good yields with good diastereo- and high enantioselectivities.

Optic cup segmentation for glaucoma detection using low-rank superpixel representation.

We present an unsupervised approach to segment optic cups in fundus images for glaucoma detection without using any additional training images. Our approach follows the superpixel framework and domain prior recently proposed in, where the superpixel classification task is formulated as a low-rank representation (LRR) problem with an efficient closed-form solution. Moreover, we also develop an adaptive strategy for automatically choosing the only parameter in LRR and obtaining the final result for each image.

N-heterocyclic carbene catalyzed cyclocondensation of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids: enantioselective synthesis of pyrrolidinone and dihydropyridinone derivatives.

The catalytic cyclocondensation of in situ activated α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids was developed. N-heterocyclic carbenes efficiently catalyzed the generation of α,β-unsaturated acyl azolium intermediates from α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids via in situ generated mixed anhydrides for the enantioselective [3+2] and [3+3] cyclocondensation with α-amino ketones and alkyl(aryl)imines, respectively. The corresponding pyrrolidinones and dihydropyridinones were isolated in good yields with high to excellent enantioselectivities.

A survey on computer aided diagnosis for ocular diseases.

Background: Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD), which can automate the detection process for ocular diseases, has attracted extensive attention from clinicians and researchers alike. It not only alleviates the burden on the clinicians by providing objective opinion with valuable insights, but also offers early detection and easy access for patients.

Method: We review ocular CAD methodologies for various data types.

Maslinic acid activates mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathway in cardiac carcinoma.

Purpose: Cardiac carcinoma is the most common subtype of gastric cancer and its incidence has increased in recent years. The current chemotherapeutic drugs exhibit limited effectiveness and significant side effects in patients. Maslinic acid (MA) exerts an anti-tumor activity on a wide range of cancers and has no significant side effect; however, the anti-tumor effect of MA on cardiac carcinoma has not yet been explored.

Collagenase digestion down-regulates the density of CD27 on lymphocytes.

Collagenases are widely used for tissue digestion in experiments due to their potent hydrolysis of connective tissue. CD27, also known as tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily 7 (TNFRSF7), is limited to be expressed on the cells of the lymphoid lineage. In our preliminary research, we found that CD27 on NK cells was almost disappeared with the digestion of type I collagenase for 90min.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis misdiagnosed as liver cancer and pituitary tumor in an adult: A case report and brief review of the literature.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare proliferative disorder in which pathological Langerhans cells accumulate in a variety of organs. LCH usually affects the bone, skin and lymph nodes of children; however, LCH occasionally affects vital organs, including the liver, spleen and pituitary gland. The present study reports a case of an adult LCH patient with marked liver damage, splenomegaly and pituitary damage treated using a new therapeutic strategy.

Tetra-sulfonate phthalocyanine zinc-bovine serum albumin conjugate-mediated photodynamic therapy of human glioma.

Background: Glioma is the most common brain malignancy with poor prognosis. The current treatments for gliomas are mainly based on surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, which exhibit limited efficacy. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) using photosensitizers has been applied to glioma therapy.

Phosphorylation of α-tubulin by protein kinase C stimulates microtubule dynamics in human breast cells.

Protein kinase C (PKC) engenders motility through phosphorylation of α-tubulin at Ser-165 in nontransformed MCF-10A cells. Live cell imaging explored the impact of PKC-mediated phosphorylation on microtubule (MT) dynamics. MTs fluorescently labeled with GFP-α-tubulin were treated with diacylglycerol (DAG)-lactone (a membrane-permeable PKC activator), or cotransfected with a pseudophosphorylated S165D-α6-tubulin mutant.

Organocatalytic [4 + 2] cyclocondensation of α,β-unsaturated acyl chlorides with imines: highly enantioselective synthesis of dihydropyridinone and piperidine derivatives.

The cinchona alkaloid-catalyzed [4 + 2] cyclocondensation of α,β-unsaturated acyl chlorides with imines is developed to give the corresponding substituted dihydropyridinones in good yields with high to excellent enantioselectivities. Reduction of the dihydropyridinones gave highly optically active substituted tetrahydropyridinone and piperidine derivatives.

ELR-CXC chemokine antagonism and cisplatin co-treatment additively reduce H22 hepatoma tumor progression and ameliorate cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity.

Cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum) is one of the most commonly used agents for the chemotherapy of various types of cancers, but its use is limited by its dose-dependent side-effects (e.g., nephrotoxicity).

The role of glioma stem cells in glioma tumorigenesis.

Malignant gliomas, the most common type of primary brain tumor, account for 80% of malignant tumors in the central nervous system (CNS). There are three principal types of glioma: astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, and oligoastrocytomas. Glioma stem cells (GSCs) have been found in all types; however, many fundamental questions about GSCs remain unanswered.

Evaluating the therapeutic effect of hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization by magnetic resonance perfusion imaging.

Purpose: To compare the characteristics of magnetic resonance perfusion-weighted imaging (MRPWI) scans before and after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to apply MRPWI in evaluating the therapeutic effect of TACE and prognosis of HCC.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-five patients with HCC undergoing their first TACE treatment were enrolled in this study. T2WI, T1WI, and PWI of MRI were performed 24-48 h before TACE and 48-168 h after TACE.

N-Heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed reactions of C-C unsaturated bonds.

The N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed reactions of C-X (X = O, S, N) unsaturated bonds are well established. However, C-C unsaturated bonds are challenging substrates for NHC-catalyzed reactions. In recent years, several reports have demonstrated that NHC-catalyzed reactions of C-C unsaturated bonds are feasible, including the umpolung of Michael acceptors, the Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction, and the annulation reactions of vinyl sulfones, nitroalkenes, allenoates and alkynes.

Attaching double chain cationic Gd(iii)-containing surfactants on nanosized colloids for highly efficient MRI contrast agents.

A new Gd(iii)-based metallosurfactant with double quaternary-ammonium-containing long alkyl chains was developed and subjected to the miniemulsion polymerization of vinyl monomers, giving nanosized colloids (50-110 nm) with narrow size distribution. The size of the colloid particles can be easily tuned by adjusting the feeding ratio of metallosurfactant to monomer. SEM and XPS analysis showed that the Gd(iii) complexes were attached on the surface of the colloids.

Highly enantioselective γ-amination by N-heterocyclic carbene catalyzed [4+2] annulation of oxidized enals and azodicarboxylates.

γ-Amination: The title reaction was developed to give the corresponding dihydropyridazinones in good yields with excellent enantioselectivities (see scheme; Mes=2,4,6-trimethylphenyl). The annulation reaction worked well for γ-aryl, γ-alkyl, or γ-alkenyl oxidized enals. Highly enantiopure tetrahydropyridazinones and γ-amino acid derivatives could be easily prepared by chemical transformations of the resulting dihydropyridazinones.

[Alterations in the protein content and dysfunction of high-density lipoproteins from hyperhomocysteinemic mice].

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the proteic changes in high-density lipoproteins (HDL) induced by methionine-induced hyperhomocysteinemia in mice and its relationship with two of their main antiatherogenic properties.

Methods And Results: The oral administration of methionine resulted in an elevation (~8 times) in the plasma concentration of homocysteine. Hyperhomocysteinemia was inversely correlated with the plasma concentration of HDL cholesterol and its main protein component of HDL, apolipoprotein (apo) A-I, respectively.

Catalytic MBH reaction of β-substituted nitroalkenes with azodicarboxylates.

An unprecedented N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalyzed Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction of β-substituted nitroalkenes and azodicarboxylates has been developed. Both β-aryl and β-alkyl nitroalkenes worked well for the reaction using 5 mol% of NHC catalyst, giving the desired α-hydrazino-α,β-unsaturated nitroalkenes in good to excellent yields.

[Basic mechanisms: structure, function and metabolism of plasma lipoproteins].

The aim of this work is to present basic information on the lipoprotein physiology. The protein fraction of lipoproteins consists of several apolipoproteins and enzymes whose functions are lipid transport and metabolism. Classification of lipoproteins is based on their density.

N-heterocyclic carbene catalyzed [4+2] cycloaddition of nitroalkenes with oxodienes.

NHC catalysis: N-heterocyclic carbenes were found to be efficient catalysts for the unprecedented [4+2] cycloaddition of nitroalkenes and oxodienes, giving the corresponding dihydropyrans in good yield with good diastereoselectivity (see scheme). Deuteration experiment reveals that the reaction is possibly initiated by the addition of N-heterocylic carbene to nitroalkenes.

Hepatic lipase- and endothelial lipase-deficiency in mice promotes macrophage-to-feces RCT and HDL antioxidant properties.

Hepatic lipase (HL) and endothelial lipase (EL) are negative regulators of plasma HDL cholesterol (HDLc) levels and presumably could affect two main HDL atheroprotective functions, macrophage-to-feces reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) and HDL antioxidant properties. In this study, we assessed the effects of both HL and EL deficiency on macrophage-specific RCT process and HDL ability to protect against LDL oxidation. HL- and EL-deficient and wild-type mice were injected intraperitoneally with [(3)H]cholesterol-labeled mouse macrophages, after which the appearance of [(3)H]cholesterol in plasma, liver, and feces was determined.

N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed [4 + 2] cycloaddition of ketenes and 3-aroylcoumarins: highly enantioselective synthesis of dihydrocoumarin-fused dihydropyranones.

The N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed [4 + 2] cyclization of ketenes and 3-aroylcoumarins has been developed to give the corresponding dihydrocoumarin-fused multisubstituted dihydropyranones in high yield with good diastereoselectivity and high enantioselectivity.

Analysis of substrates of protein kinase C isoforms in human breast cells by the traceable kinase method.

A previous report [Abeyweera, T. P., and Rotenberg, S.