Immunogenicity and safety of an intramuscular split-virion quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in individuals aged ≥ 6 months in India.

A quadrivalent split-virion inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV4; Fluzone® Quadrivalent, Sanofi Pasteur) has been available in the US since 2013 for individuals aged ≥ 6 months. Here, we describe the results of an open-label, multicenter trial (WHO Universal Trial Number U1111-1143-8370) evaluating the immunogenicity and safety of IIV4 in Indian children aged 6-35 months and 3-8 years, adolescents aged 9-17 years, and adults aged ≥ 18 years (n = 100 per group). Post-vaccination hemagglutination inhibition titers for all strains in all age groups were ≥ 8 fold higher than at baseline (range, 8-51).

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound promotes alveolar bone regeneration in a periodontal injury model.

Periodontitis is a common oral disease characterized by progressive destruction of periodontal tissue and loss of teeth. However, regeneration of periodontal tissue is a time-consuming process. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) is a widely used non-invasive intervention for enhancing bone healing in fractures and non-unions.

Paraquat induced acute kidney injury and lung fibrosis: a case report from Bangladesh.

Background: Since Bangladesh government issued a ban on the use of highly toxic WHO Class I pesticides, annual consumption of herbicides like Paraquat have been sharply increasing in the markets. Paraquat poisoning is an emerging public health threat and its high mortality rate is responsible for a significant number of deaths. Diagnostic limitations and unavailable sample at presentation have resulted in under-reporting and lack of awareness among the treating physicians, making Paraquat poisoning one of the most neglected toxicological emergencies.

Finding the molecular scaffold of nuclear receptor inhibitors through high-throughput screening based on proteochemometric modelling.

Nuclear receptors (NR) are a class of proteins that are responsible for sensing steroid and thyroid hormones and certain other molecules. In that case, NR have the ability to regulate the expression of specific genes and associated with various diseases, which make it essential drug targets. Approaches which can predict the inhibition ability of compounds for different NR target should be particularly helpful for drug development.

Genotype Identification and Phylogenetic Analysis of Enterocytozoon bieneusi Isolates from Stool Samples of Diarrheic Children.

Among approximately 14 human-pathogenic microsporidian species, Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most common. It can inhabit the small intestines, causing chronic diarrhea and wasting syndrome. Prevalence and genotype data for E.

Gap junctional intercellular communication and endoplasmic reticulum stress regulate chronic cadmium exposure induced apoptosis in HK-2 cells.

Cadmium (Cd), a toxic heavy metal, is known to induce renal toxicity by primarily targeting at renal proximal tubule. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) regulate many pathophysiological processes. Yet, how ER stress and GJIC regulate Cd-induced nephrotoxicity remain elusive.

Multi-center prospective survey of inflammatory bowel diseases in Kerala: More than 2000 cases.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is considered uncommon in Asia. The aim of this study was to document the demographic characteristics and clinical aspects of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) in Kerala, India.

Methods: A survey of IBD in Kerala was performed.

Identification and Quantification of Four Anthraquinones in Rhubarb and its Preparations by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.

A gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) method was developed for the determination of four anthraquinones found in rhubarb. Chrysophanol, physcion, aloe-emodin and emodin were confirmed by GC-MS and the possible main cleavage pathways of fragment ions are discussed in this study. Rhubarb is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb which required an effective evaluation method to quantitate the four major active anthraquinone compounds described.

Association between SLCO1B1 -521T>C and -388A>G polymorphisms and risk of statin-induced adverse drug reactions: A meta-analysis.

An increasing number of studies have investigated the association between SLCO1B1 -521T>C and -388A>G polymorphisms and the risk of statin-induced adverse drug reactions (ADRs), but the results have been inconsistent. This meta-analysis was performed to gain more insight into the relationship. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched for relevant articles published before March 5th, 2015.

A splicing variant of Merlin promotes metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Merlin, which is encoded by the tumour suppressor gene Nf2, plays a crucial role in tumorigenesis and metastasis. However, little is known about the functional importance of Merlin splicing forms. In this study, we show that Merlin is present at low levels in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), particularly in metastatic tumours, where it is associated with a poor prognosis.

CD36 Mediated Fatty Acid-Induced Podocyte Apoptosis via Oxidative Stress.

Background: Hyperlipidemia-induced apoptosis mediated by fatty acid translocase CD36 is associated with increased uptake of ox-LDL or fatty acid in macrophages, hepatocytes and proximal tubular epithelial cells, leading to atherosclerosis, liver damage and fibrosis in obese patients, and diabetic nephropathy (DN), respectively. However, the specific role of CD36 in podocyte apoptosis in DN with hyperlipidemia remains poorly investigated.

Methods: The expression of CD36 was measured in paraffin-embedded kidney tissue samples (Ctr = 18, DN = 20) by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining.

An isolated middle cuneiform dislocation with a rare violence. Case report and literature review.

Objective: To report how a case of isolated middle cuneiform dislocation is diagnosed mainly by suspicion and careful imaging.

Clinical Presentation And Intervention: A 39-year-old male presented with localized foot pain after a sideways compression of the foot on ground. X-rays revealed an empty middle cuneiform site .

Characterization of Plasmodium vivax-associated admissions to reference hospitals in Brazil and India.

Background: The benign character formerly attributed to Plasmodium vivax infection has been dismantled by the increasing number of reports of severe disease associated with infection with this parasite, prompting the need for more thorough and comprehensive characterization of the spectrum of resulting clinical complications. Endemic areas exhibit wide variations regarding severe disease frequency. This study, conducted simultaneously in Brazil and India, constitutes, to our knowledge, the first multisite study focused on clinical characterization of P.

Protective Effect of Electroacupuncture on Neural Myelin Sheaths is Mediated via Promotion of Oligodendrocyte Proliferation and Inhibition of Oligodendrocyte Death After Compressed Spinal Cord Injury.

Electroacupuncture (EA) has been used worldwide to treat demyelinating diseases, but its therapeutic mechanism is poorly understood. In this study, a custom-designed model of compressed spinal cord injury (CSCI) was used to induce demyelination. Zusanli (ST36) and Taixi (KI3) acupoints of adult rats were stimulated by EA to demonstrate its protective effect.

Cytotoxicity induced by nanobacteria and nanohydroxyapatites in human choriocarcinoma cells.

We explored the cytotoxic effects of nanobacteria (NB) and nanohydroxyapatites (nHAPs) against human choriocarcinoma cells (JAR) and the mechanisms of action underlying their cytotoxicity. JAR cells were co-cultured with NB and nHAPs for 48 h, and ultrastructural changes were more readily induced by NB than nHAPs. Autophagy in the plasma of JAR cells were observed in the NB group.

Characterization of zebrafish Pax1b and Pax9 in fin bud development.

Both Pax1 and Pax9 belong to the important paired box gene family (PAX), which mainly participates in animal development and sclerotome differentiation. To date, the precise molecular mechanism and related signaling pathway of Pax1 remain unclear. In our study, microinjection of morpholino- (MO-) modified antisense oligonucleotides against pax1b induced pectoral fin bud defects.

Cash incentives improve participation rate in a face-to-face survey: an intervention study.

Objectives: Our study examined the effect of a ChinaYuan (CNY) 10 cash incentive on the participation rate in a face-to-face health survey among the general Chinese population.

Study Design And Setting: Subjects older than 15 years of age and had been living in the two selected districts for more than 6 months were selected using multistage random sampling. Participants from only one district received a cash incentive (CNY 10) for completing the survey.

MiR-451 suppresses cell proliferation and metastasis in A549 lung cancer cells.

Recent study showed that inflammation was related to lung cancer. However, the exact cause of lung inflammation leading to carcinogenesis is unknown. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of endogenous non-coding small RNAs that regulate the activity of targeted mRNAs by inflammatory response in many diseases.

Determination of opiates in human fingernail--comparison to hair.

6-Monoacetylmorphine in keratinized matrices can be used to discriminate between heroin users and individuals exposed to other sources of morphine alkaloids. Frozen pulverization is effective in preventing 6-monoacetylmorphine hydrolysis. The main aim of this study was to develop an LC-MS/MS method for the determination of five opiates in human fingernails using a frozen pulverization preparation method and to investigate the correlation between the concentration of opiates in nail and hair samples from subjects whose urine specimens were positive for morphine.

Decreased expression of NPRL2 in renal cancer cells is associated with unfavourable pathological, proliferation and apoptotic features.

The tumor suppressor gene nitrogen permease regulator-like 2(NPRL2) NPRL2 expressed obviously in many normal human tissues, but reduced in expression in many human tumors significantly. In this study, we detected the expression of NPRL2 in 78 clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) by immunohistochemistry and correlated it with clinicopathological parameters. Meanwhile, the function of NPRL2 in human ccRCC was further explored after transfected recombinant expressing plasmids pEGFP-N1-NPRL2 into human renal cancer 786-0 cells.

Determination of clozapine in hair and nail: the role of keratinous biological materials in the identification of a bloated cadaver case.

Keratinous biological materials, such as hair and nails, offer a substantially longer retrospective window of detection compared to other body fluids. Little research on drug analysis in nails is currently being conducted. In this study, the hair and nails from a bloated cadaver was analyzed.

Expression of aquaporin8 in human astrocytomas: correlation with pathologic grade.

Aquaporin8 (AQP8), a member of the aquaporin (AQP) protein family, is weakly distributed in mammalian brains. Previous studies on AQP8 have focused mainly on the digestive and the reproductive systems. AQP8 has a pivotal role in keeping the fluid and electrolyte balance.

High intensity focused ultrasound ablation and antitumor immune response.

The ideal cancer therapy not only induces the death of all localized tumor cells without damage to surrounding normal tissue, but also activates a systemic antitumor immunity. High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has the potential to be such a treatment, as it can non-invasively ablate a targeted tumor below the skin surface, and may subsequently augment host antitumor immunity. This paper is to review increasing pre-clinical and clinical evidence linking antitumor immune response to HIFU ablation, and to discuss the potential mechanisms involved in HIFU-enhanced host antitumor immunity.

A potentially functional polymorphism in the regulatory region of let-7a-2 is associated with an increased risk for diabetic nephropathy.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major diabetic complication. However, the initiating molecular events triggering DN are unknown. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been identified as regulators that modulate the target gene expression and are involved in DN.