Bone Protective Effects of Danggui Buxue Tang Alone and in Combination With Tamoxifen or Raloxifene and .

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a traditional Chinese Medicine decoction containing (AR) and (ASR), is commonly prescribed for women in China as a remedy for menopausal symptoms. Previous study indicated that DBT stimulated cell growth and differentiation of human osteosarcoma MG-63 cells and exhibited estrogenic properties via estrogen receptors (ERs). The present study aimed to study the bone protective effects of DBT and its potential interactions with selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs, tamoxifen and raloxifene) in both and models as they act via similar ERs.

Compositional inhomogeneity and tuneable thermal expansion in mixed-metal ZIF-8 analogues.

We study the structural and thermomechanical effects of cation substitution in the compositional family of metal-organic frameworks Zn1-xCdx(mIm)2 (HmIm = 2-methylimidazole). We find complete miscibility for all compositions x, with evidence of inhomogeneous distributions of Cd and Zn that in turn affect framework aperture characteristics. Using variable-temperature X-ray powder diffraction measurements, we show that Cd substitution drives a threefold reduction in the magnitude of thermal expansion behaviour.

Trends in the use of oral emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate for pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV infection, United States, 2012-2017.

Purpose: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with oral emtricitibine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF/FTC) reduces the risk of HIV infection by >90% when taken as prescribed. Trends in prevalence of PrEP use, which account for persons who have stopped PrEP, increased through 2016, but have not been described since.

Methods: Annual prevalence estimates of unique, TDF/FTC PrEP users (individuals with ≥1 day of a filled PrEP prescription in a given year) in the United States (US) were generated for 2012-2017 from a national prescription database.

Aromatic formulas in ambient PM samples from Hong Kong determined using FT-ICR ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry.

Many aromatic compounds (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)) found in atmospheric aerosols are toxic and exist in both unsubstituted and substituted forms.

The prevalence of pre-exposure prophylaxis use and the pre-exposure prophylaxis-to-need ratio in the fourth quarter of 2017, United States.

Purpose: The number of individuals who have started a regimen for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in the United States is not well characterized but has been on the rise since 2012. This analysis assesses the distribution of PrEP use nationally and among subgroups.

Methods: A validated algorithm quantifying tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine for PrEP in the United States was applied to a national prescription database to determine the quarterly prevalence of PrEP use.

Toward determining melt pool quality metrics via coaxial monitoring in laser powder bed fusion.

The current industry trend in metal additive manufacturing is towards greater real time process monitoring capabilities during builds to ensure high quality parts. While the hardware implementations that allow for real time monitoring of the melt pool have advanced significantly, the knowledge required to correlate the generated data to useful metrics of interest are still lacking. This research presents promising results that aim to bridge this knowledge gap by determining a novel means to correlate easily obtainable sensor data (thermal emission) to key melt pool size metrics (e.

Chronic pancreatitis with Bochdalek hernia causing right-sided pleural effusion in a previously asymptomatic adult.

A 41-year-old man with a medical history of chronic back pain, seizure disorder, alcohol and tobacco abuse presented with acute shortness of breath. Chest X-ray showed a large right-sided pleural effusion. Pleural fluid analysis was significant for an elevated amylase level, suggestive of pleural effusion secondary to pancreatitis.

Teledermatology and teledermatopathology as educational tools for international dermatology: a virtual grand rounds pilot curriculum.

Background: Teledermatology may improve dermatologic care access in underserved areas and expand the clinical experience of dermatologists-in-training. The potential for teledermatology to supplement global health curricula in dermatology residency education has not been explored.

Methods: An international virtual grand rounds (VGR) curriculum was created based on teledermatology cases from Kabul, Afghanistan.

Perceptual Reorganization of Lexical Tones: Effects of Age and Experimental Procedure.

Findings on the perceptual reorganization of lexical tones are mixed. Some studies report good tone discrimination abilities for all tested age groups, others report decreased or enhanced discrimination with increasing age, and still others report U-shaped developmental curves. Since prior studies have used a wide range of contrasts and experimental procedures, it is unclear how specific task requirements interact with discrimination abilities at different ages.

Clustering of Schizotypal Features in Unaffected First-Degree Relatives of Schizophrenia Patients.

Meehl conceptualized schizotypy as the phenotypic manifestations of a neural integrative defect resulting from a schizophrenia diathesis. The majority of schizotypy studies recruited subjects from the general population and revealed a multidimensional construct. This 2-phase investigation first examined the clustering of schizotypy in 194 unaffected relatives of schizophrenia patients using the Chapman Psychosis Proneness scales and then directly compared the cognitive profiles of negative schizotypal individuals and positive schizotypal individuals with schizophrenia patients and controls.

Reactive oxygen species activate differentiation gene transcription of acute myeloid leukemia cells via the JNK/c-JUN signaling pathway.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and altered cellular redox status are associated with many malignancies. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells are maintained at immature state by differentiation blockade, which involves deregulation of transcription factors in myeloid differentiation. AML cells can be induced to differentiate by phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), which possesses pro-oxidative activity.

Thermodynamic and Kinetic Effects in the Crystallization of Metal-Organic Frameworks.

The evolution of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has been one of the most exciting aspects of materials chemistry over the last 20 years. In this Account, we discuss the development during this period in our understanding of the factors that control the crystallization of MOFs from solution. Both classical porous MOFs and dense MOF phases are considered.

Comparison of the verification performance and radiation dose between ExacTrac x-ray system and On-Board Imager-A phantom study.

Recently, On-Board Imager (OBI) and ExacTrac x-ray 6 degree-of-freedom system (ExacTrac) are increasingly used verification systems in local radiotherapy centers. This study aimed to compare the differences between these two systems in terms of verification accuracy, organ doses, and verification time for head-and-neck (H&N) and pelvic cases. Rando anthropomorphic phantoms of H&N and pelvic regions were positioned with known set-up deviations from the reference position in the linear accelerator.

Theory of mind performances in first-episode schizophrenia patients: An 18-month follow-up study.

This study examined the change of Theory of Mind (ToM) performances in patients with first-episode schizophrenia over an 18-month period since illness onset. A computerised behavioural task was utilised to assess the affective and cognitive facets of visual-based ToM. Patients' ToM performances were standardised using the norms of gender-stratified, age- and IQ-matched controls.

Automated real-time detection of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis on a lab-on-a-disc by Recombinase Polymerase Amplification.

With the emergence of multi- and extensive-drug (MDR/XDR) resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb), tuberculosis (TB) persists as one of the world's leading causes of death. Recently, isothermal DNA amplification methods received much attention due to their ease of translation onto portable point-of-care (POC) devices for TB diagnosis.

Bats host diverse parvoviruses as possible origin of mammalian dependoparvoviruses and source for bat-swine interspecies transmission.

Compared to the enormous species diversity of bats, relatively few parvoviruses have been reported. We detected diverse and potentially novel parvoviruses from bats in Hong Kong and mainland China. Parvoviruses belonging to , and were detected in alimentary, liver and spleen samples from 16 different chiropteran species of five families by PCR.

Dissociation between affective experience and motivated behaviour in schizophrenia patients and their unaffected first-degree relatives and schizotypal individuals.

Background: The neuropsychological origins of negative syndrome of schizophrenia remain elusive. Evidence from behavioural studies, which utilised emotion-inducing pictures to elicit motivated behaviour generally reported that that schizophrenia patients experienced similar affective experience as healthy individuals but failed to translate emotional salience to motivated behaviour, a phenomenon called emotion-behaviour decoupling. However, a few studies have examined emotion-behaviour decoupling in non-psychotic high-risk populations, who are relatively unaffected by medication effects.

Polarity sorting of axonal microtubules: a computational study.

We present a computational model to test a "polarity sorting" mechanism for microtubule (MT) organization in developing axons. We simulate the motor-based axonal transport of short MTs to test the hypothesis that immobilized cytoplasmic dynein motors transport short MTs with their plus ends leading, so "mal-oriented" MTs with minus-end-out are transported toward the cell body while "correctly" oriented MTs are transported in the anterograde direction away from the soma. We find that dynein-based transport of short MTs can explain the predominately plus-end-out polarity pattern of axonal MTs but that transient attachments of plus-end-directed motor proteins and nonmotile cross-linker proteins are needed to explain the frequent pauses and occasional reversals observed in live-cell imaging of MT transport.

High-functioning autism patients share similar but more severe impairments in verbal theory of mind than schizophrenia patients.

Background: Evidence suggests that autism and schizophrenia share similarities in genetic, neuropsychological and behavioural aspects. Although both disorders are associated with theory of mind (ToM) impairments, a few studies have directly compared ToM between autism patients and schizophrenia patients. This study aimed to investigate to what extent high-functioning autism patients and schizophrenia patients share and differ in ToM performance.

Effect of Palliative Care on Aggressiveness of End-of-Life Care Among Patients With Advanced Cancer.

Purpose: Palliative care's role in oncology has expanded, but its effect on aggressiveness of care at the end of life has not been characterized at the population level.

Methods: This matched retrospective cohort study examined the effect of an encounter with palliative care on health-care use at the end of life among 6,580 Medicare beneficiaries with advanced prostate, breast, lung, or colorectal cancer. We compared health-care use before and after palliative care consultation to a matched nonpalliative care cohort.