Association between galectin-3 and hepatosteatosis in a community-based cross-sectional study.

Background: Hepatosteatosis is a common condition that can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Galectin-3 (GAL-3) has been implicated in liver fibrosis and inflammation.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between GAL-3 and hepatosteatosis.

Objective indexes for comparing platelet usage among peer hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

Background And Aims: Besides hospital size, clinical diagnosis and severity of patient cases determine the total platelet usage. Therefore, the appropriateness of platelet usage could not be compared simply with the total units of platelet usage in each hospital. This study aimed to objectively monitor and analyze platelet usage after implementing a single-unit issuing policy for each platelet transfusion in our hospital in October 2020.

Desensitization of NMDA channels requires ligand binding to both GluN1 and GluN2 subunits to constrict the pore beside the activation gate.

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor channels are activated by glutamate (or NMDA) and glycine. The channels also undergo desensitization, which denotes decreased channel availability, after prolonged exposure to the activating ligands. Glycine apparently has a paradoxical negative effect on desensitization, as the increase in ambient glycine in concentrations required for channel activation would increase sustained NMDA receptor currents.

Modulation of NMDA channel gating by Ca and Cd binding to the external pore mouth.

NMDA receptor channels are characterized by high Ca permeability. It remains unclear whether extracellular Ca could directly modulate channel gating and control Ca influxes. We demonstrate a pore-blocking site external to the activation gate for extracellular Ca and Cd, which has the same charge and radius as Ca but is impermeable to the channel.

The differential contribution of GluN1 and GluN2 to the gating operation of the NMDA receptor channel.

The Ν-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor channel is an obligatory heterotetramer formed by two GluN1 and two GluN2 subunits. However, the differential contribution of the two different subunits to channel operation is not clear. We found that the apparent affinity of glycine to GluN1 (K gly ∼ 0.

Up-regulation of antioxidant enzymes and coenzyme Q(10) in a human oral cancer cell line with acquired bleomycin resistance.

Bleomycin (BLM) is an anti-cancer drug that can induce formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). To investigate the association between up-regulation of antioxidant enzymes and coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)) in acquired BLM resistance, one BLM-resistant clone, SBLM24 clone, was selected from a human oral cancer cell line, SCC61 clone. The BLM resistance of SBLM24 clone relative to a sub-clone of SCC61b cells was confirmed by analysis of clonogenic ability and cell cycle arrest.