Varieties of decisional incapacity: theory and practice.

Evaluation of decision-making capacity (DMC) for treatment is challenging. Owen et al, in this issue of the Journal, compare the abilities (understanding, appreciation and reasoning) relevant to DMC in medical and psychiatric patients. Here I discuss three key issues their article raises and that are relevant to the direction of future research.

Protein engineering of α2,3/2,6-sialyltransferase to improve the yield and productivity of in vitro sialyllactose synthesis.

In the large-quantity production of α2,3- and α2,6-sialyllactose (Neu5Ac(α2,3)Galβ1,4Glc (3'-SL) and Neu5Ac(α2,6)Galβ1,4Glc (6'-SL)) using sialyltransferases (STs), there are major hurdles to overcome for further improvement in yield and productivity of the enzyme reactions. Specifically, Pasteurella multocida α2,3-sialyltransferase (α2,3PST) forms a by-product to a certain extent, owing to its multifunctional activity at pH below 7.0, and Photobacterium damselae α2,6-sialyltransferase (α2,6PdST) shows relatively low ST activity.

Detection of prefracture hip lesions in atypical subtrochanteric fracture with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry images.

Purpose: To retrospectively assess how often and how early hip dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) images show prefracture lesions in patients with atypical subtrochanteric fracture (ASF) and determine whether DXA images with assessment of prodromal symptoms could be used for early ASF prediction.

Materials And Methods: The retrospective research protocol complied with HIPAA and was institutional review board approved, with waiver of informed consent. Among 62 women with ASF, nine without hip DXA images and seven without clear documentation of prodromal symptoms were excluded.

Optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy after drug-eluting stent implantation: a randomized, controlled trial.

Background: The risks and benefits of long-term dual antiplatelet therapy remain unclear.

Methods And Results: This prospective, multicenter, open-label, randomized comparison trial was conducted in 24 clinical centers in Korea. In total, 5045 patients who received drug-eluting stents and were free of major adverse cardiovascular events and major bleeding for at least 12 months after stent placement were enrolled between July 2007 and July 2011.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell gene expression profiles predict poor outcome in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

We aimed to identify peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) gene expression profiles predictive of poor outcomes in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) by performing microarray experiments of PBMCs in discovery and replication cohorts of IPF patients. Microarray analyses identified 52 genes associated with transplant-free survival (TFS) in the discovery cohort. Clustering the microarray samples of the replication cohort using the 52-gene outcome-predictive signature distinguished two patient groups with significant differences in TFS.

Adrenal venous sampling for stratifying patients for surgery of adrenal nodules detected using dynamic contrast enhanced CT.

Purpose: We aimed to assess the value of adrenal venous sampling (AVS) for diagnosing primary aldosteronism (PA) subtypes in patients with a unilateral nodule detected on adrenal computed tomography (CT) and scheduled for adrenalectomy.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included 80 consecutive patients with PA undergoing CT and AVS. Different lateralization indices were assessed, and a cutoff established using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

Switching strategy for mechanical thrombectomy of acute large vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation.

Background And Purpose: We introduce the concept of a switching strategy for mechanical thrombectomy with period-to-period analysis. In period 1, forced arterial suction thrombectomy with a Penumbra reperfusion catheter was performed, even in difficult cases; in period 2, forced arterial suction thrombectomy was initially performed, with switching to Solitaire in difficult cases.

Methods: We analyzed 135 consecutive patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy with acute large vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation, 61 from period 1 and 74 from period 2.

Takayasu arteritis: assessment of coronary arterial abnormalities with 128-section dual-source CT angiography of the coronary arteries and aorta.

Purpose: To evaluate coronary arterial lesions and to assess their correlation with clinical findings in patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA) by using coronary computed tomographic (CT) angiography.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study was approved by the hospital internal review board, and informed consent was waived. A total of 111 consecutive patients with TA (97 female, 14 male; mean age, 44 years ± 13.

Impact of both ends of the hemoglobin range on clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke.

Background And Purpose: Although both ends of the hemoglobin range may negatively influence clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke, most studies have examined the linear relationship or focused on the lower end of the range. Furthermore, it is unclear whether hemoglobin concentrations at different time points during hospitalization correlate with clinical outcomes in the same manner.

Methods: We identified 2681 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke from a prospective stroke registry database and grouped them into hemoglobin concentration quintiles using the following 5 indices: initial, nadir, time-averaged, discharge hemoglobin, and hemoglobin drop.

Revising a personal genome by comparing and combining data from two different sequencing platforms.

For the robust practice of genomic medicine, sequencing results must be compatible, regardless of the sequencing technologies and algorithms used. Presently, genome sequencing is still an imprecise science and is complicated by differences in the chemistry, coverage, alignment, and variant-calling algorithms. We identified ~3.

AtABCA9 transporter supplies fatty acids for lipid synthesis to the endoplasmic reticulum.

Fatty acids, the building blocks of biological lipids, are synthesized in plastids and then transported to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for assimilation into specific lipid classes. The mechanism of fatty acid transport from plastids to the ER has not been identified. Here we report that AtABCA9, an ABC transporter in Arabidopsis thaliana, mediates this transport.

Lidocaine induces endoplasmic reticulum stress-associated apoptosis in vitro and in vivo.

We demonstrated that upregulation of both gene expression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress chaperones (BiP, calnexin, calreticulin, and PDI) and ER stress sensors (ATF6, IRE1 and PERK) was induced by lidocaine, a local anesthetic, in PC12 cells. In addition to gene regulation, lidocaine also induced typical ER stress phenomena such as ART6 proteolytic cleavage, eIF2 alpha phosphorylation, and XBP1 mRNA splicing. In in vivo experiments, while lidocaine downregulated gene expression of antiapoptotic factors (Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl), pro-apoptotic factor (Bak and Bax) gene expression was upregulated.

Changes in dissociation efficiency and kinetics of peptide ions induced by basic residues and their mechanistic implication.

With matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry, total abundance of product ions formed by dissociation inside (in-source decay, ISD) and outside (post-source decay, PSD) the source was measured for peptide ions [Y(5)X + H](+), [XY(5) + H](+), [Y 2)XY(3) + H](+), and [XY(4)X + H](+) (X = tyrosine (Y), histidine (H), lysine (K), and arginine (R) with H for the ionizing proton). α-Cyano-4-hydroxycinammic acid was used as matrix. Product abundance became smaller in the presence of basic residues (H, K, and R), in the order Y > H ≈ K > R.

Partition function zeros of the honeycomb-lattice Ising antiferromagnet in the complex magnetic-field plane.

The microcanonical transfer matrix is used to evaluate the exact integer values for the number of states Ω(E,M), as a function of energy E and magnetization M, of the Ising model in an external magnetic field H on L×2L honeycomb lattices (L=6,8,…,14) and (due to memory limitations) the exact real values for Ω(a,M)=∑(E)Ω(E,M)a(E) (L=16,…,22) , where a=e(2βJ). Given Ω(E,M) or Ω(a,M) , the exact partition functions Z(a,x)=∑(E,M)Ω(E,M)a(E)x(M)=∑(M)Ω(a,M)x(M), where x=e(-2βH), are obtained. From the exact partition functions, the precise distributions of the partition function zeros in the complex x plane of the honeycomb-lattice Ising antiferromagnet in a uniform external magnetic field, where the famous circle theorem for the partition function zeros of the Ising ferromagnet is not applicable, are determined.

Lanthanide N,N-dimethylaminodiboranates: highly volatile precursors for the deposition of lanthanide-containing thin films.

New lanthanide CVD precursors of stoichiometry Ln(H(3)BNMe(2)BH(3))(3) have been prepared, where Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Lu. The ligand is N,N-dimethylaminodiboranate, a new kind of multidentate borohydride. The structures of the Ln(H(3)BNMe(2)BH(3))(3) complexes are highly dependent on the size of the lanthanide ions: the coordination number decreases from Pr (CN = 14) to Sm (CN = 13) to Er (CN = 12) corresponding with the decrease in ionic radii.

Time domain visualization using acoustic holography implemented by temporal and spatial complex envelope.

Spatial envelope was proposed to show the location of acoustic sources and overall radiation pattern by the authors [C.-S. Park and Y.

Predicted high-temperature superconducting state in the hydrogen-dense transition-metal hydride YH3 at 40 K and 17.7 GPa.

Metallization in pure hydrogen has been proposed to give rise to high-temperature superconductivity at pressures which still lie beyond the reach of contemporary experimental techniques. Hydrogen-dense materials offer an opportunity to study related phenomena at experimentally achievable pressures. Here we report the prediction of high-temperature superconductivity in yttrium hydride (YH3), with a T(c) of 40 K at 17.

OsBWMK1 mediates SA-dependent defense responses by activating the transcription factor OsWRKY33.

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play important roles in responses to various environmental stresses. In a previous study, we demonstrated that OsBWMK1, which localizes in the nucleus, mediates PR gene expression by activating the OsEREBP1 transcription factor, and that the constitutive expression of OsBWMK1 also enhances resistance against pathogen infections [Y.H.

A realization of sound focused personal audio system using acoustic contrast control.

A personal audio system that does not use earphone or any wire would have great interest and potential impact on the audio industries. In this study, a line array speaker system is used to localize sound in the listening zone. The contrast control [Choi, J.

Characterization of a new catechol branch of the beta-ketoadipate pathway induced for benzoate degradation in Acinetobacter lwoffii K24.

Acinetobacter lwoffii K24 is a known aniline-degrading bacterium. In previous studies, two catechol branches of the beta-ketoadipate pathway were reported to be induced for aniline degradation, and related enzymes (CatA(1) and CatA(2)) were identified from the aniline-induced proteome of A. lwoffii K24 [S.

Differentiation of Streptomyces spp. which cause potato scab disease on the basis of partial rpoB gene sequences.

In a previous study, we found that the phylogenetic analysis of partial rpoB sequences can be used effectively to phylogenetically differentiate Streptomyces spp. [B.J.

Activation of Ras up-regulates pro-apoptotic BNIP3 in nitric oxide-induced cell death.

Nitric oxide (NO) produced by NO synthases causes nitration and nitrosylation of cellular factors. We have shown previously that endogenously produced or exogenously added NO induces expression of BNIP3 (Bcl-2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa-interacting protein 3), leading to death of macrophages (Yook, Y.-H.

Understanding disparities in aggressive care preferences between patients with terminal illness and their family members.

We examined the factors associated with the disparity in aggressive care preferences between patients with terminal cancer and their family members. Two hundred forty-four consecutive pairs recruited from three university hospitals participated in this study. Each pair completed questionnaires that measured two major aggressive care preferences-admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Practical approach to parameter estimation for ASM3+ bio-P module applied to five-stage step-feed EBPR process.

Various parameter optimization approaches to a five-stage step-feed EBPR process modeled using the ASM3+bio-P module were examined. Five stoichiometric (Y(STO,NO), Y(H,O2, Y(H,NO,) Y(PAO,O2), Y(PO4)) and seven kinetic parameters (k(STO), eta(NO), b(H), mu(max),PAO, q(PHA), q(PP), mu(max),A) were estimated. The optimization approaches could be classified based on the data sources (batch experiments or CSTR operation data) and the number of target variables used in calculating the objective function.

Yang-Lee zeros of the antiferromagnetic Ising model.

There exists the famous circle theorem on the Yang-Lee zeros of the ferromagnetic Ising model. However, the Yang-Lee zeros of the antiferromagnetic Ising model are much less well understood than those of the ferromagnetic model. The precise distribution of the Yang-Lee zeros of the antiferromagnetic Ising model only with nearest-neighbor interaction J on LxL square lattices is determined as a function of temperature a=e(2betaJ) (J<0), and its relation to the phase transitions is investigated.