Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Horm Metab Res 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Nutrition and Food Security Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.

Vitamin D has received attention for its potential to disrupt cancer processes. However, its effect in the treatment of prostate cancer is controversial. This study aimed to assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on patients with prostate cancer. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2018 Nov 22;656:475-481. Epub 2018 Nov 22.

USDA Forest Service, Superior National Forest, 8901 Grand Ave Place, Duluth, MN 55808, USA. Electronic address:

Identifying what determines fish mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation remains a key scientific challenge. While there has been substantial research on spatial variation in fish Hg bioaccumulation, the factors that influence temporal fluctuations in fish Hg have received less attention to date. In this study, we built upon a growing body of research investigating young-of-the-year (YOY) yellow perch Hg bioaccumulation and investigated annual fluctuations in YOY yellow perch Hg in six lakes in northeastern Minnesota over eight years. Read More

Clin Neurophysiol 2018 Nov 26;130(1):111-121. Epub 2018 Nov 26.

Department of Linguistics and Languages, McMaster University, Togo Salmon Hall 513, 1280 Main Street, West Hamilton, ON L8S 4M2, Canada; ARiEAL Research Centre, McMaster University, L.R. Wilson Hall, 1280 Main Street, West Hamilton, ON L8S 4M2, Canada; School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, ETB-406, 1280 Main St., West Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada; MaRS Centre, Vector Institute, Canada; McMaster University, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, Canada. Electronic address:

Objective: Recent studies demonstrate that sports-related concussions can have negative consequences on long-term brain health. The goal of the present study was to determine whether retired Canadian Football League (CFL) athletes with a history of concussions exhibit alterations in neurocognitive functioning, along with changes in physical, social, and psychological health.

Methods: Our study compared nineteen retired CFL athletes' concussion histories to eighteen healthy age-matched controls with no history of concussion. Read More

J Proteomics 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Key Laboratory of Functional Protein Research of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Institute of Life and Health Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China. Electronic address:

Drug resistance in bacteria is becoming a significant threat to global public health, and the development of novel and efficient antibacterial compounds is urgently needed. Recently, rhodium complexes have attracted attention as antimicrobial agents, yet their antibacterial mechanism remains unknown. In this study, we observed that the dirhodium (II) complex RhAc inhibited Streptococcus. Read More

J Thorac Oncol 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Tokyo Medical University Hospital, 6-7-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan.

Introduction: The study objective was to determine the incidence and characteristics of drug-induced interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with an orally available small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor, crizotinib in the real-world clinical setting.

Methods: Post-marketing surveillance was performed in Japan to obtain information on the safety and efficacy of crizotinib. Target patients included all patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received crizotinib, during the enrollment period between May 2012 and December 2014. Read More

Neuroimage 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Department of Psychology, Yale University, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, USA; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, USA.

Dynamic functional connectivity (DFC) aims to maximize resolvable information from functional brain scans by considering temporal changes in network structure. Recent work has demonstrated that static, i.e. Read More

Pharmacol Ther 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Department of Medical Oncology, CAncer Research for PErsonalized Medicine (CARPEM), Paris Centre Teaching Hospitals, Paris Descartes University, USPC, Paris, France.

Body composition has gained increasing attention in oncology in recent years due to fact that sarcopenia has been revealed to be a strong prognostic indicator for survival across multiple stages and cancer types and a predictive factor for toxicity and surgery complications. Accumulating evidence over the last decade has unraveled the "pharmacology" of sarcopenia. Lean body mass may be more relevant to define drug dosing than the "classical" body surface area or flat-fixed dosing in patients with cancer. Read More

Biotechnol Adv 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Department of Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; Biomolecular Discovery and Design Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address:

Single enzyme systems or engineered microbial hosts have been used for decades but the notion of assembling multiple enzymes into cell-free synthetic pathways is a relatively new development. The extensive possibilities that stem from this synthetic concept makes it a fast growing and potentially high impact field for biomanufacturing fine and platform chemicals, pharmaceuticals and biofuels. However, the translation of individual single enzymatic reactions into cell-free multi-enzyme pathways is not trivial. Read More

Dev Comp Immunol 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, United States. Electronic address:

Owing to the high incidence of multi-drug resistance and challenges posed by the complex and long duration of treatments, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infections remain a significant clinical burden, which would benefit from development of novel immuno-therapeutic-based treatment strategies. Among early immune effectors, invariant or innate-like (i)T cells are attracting attention because of their potential regulatory activity, which can shape anti-mycobacterial immune responses. Unlike conventional T cells, iT cells express a semi-invariant T cell receptor, and respond rapidly and robustly to molecular patterns presented by MHC class I-like molecules. Read More

Gastroenterology 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Department of Epidemiology and Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.

Background & Aims: Increasing rates of young-onset colorectal cancer (CRC) have attracted substantial research and media attention, but we know little about racial disparities among younger adults with CRC. We examined racial disparities in young-onset CRC by comparing CRC incidence and relative survival among younger (age <50 years) adults, in 2 time periods.

Methods: Using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program of cancer registries, we estimated CRC incidence rates (per 100,000 persons ages 20 - 54 years) from 1992 through 2014, for different time periods (1992-1996 vs 2010-2014) and races (white vs black). Read More

Biomol Ther (Seoul) 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Division of Biological Sciences, Research Institute of Women's Health and Cellular Heterogeneity Research Center, Sookmyung Women's University, Seoul 04310, Republic of Korea.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) that are able to suppress T cell function are a heterogeneous cell population frequently observed in cancer, infection, and autoimmune disease. Immune checkpoint molecules, such as programmed death 1 (PD-1) expressed on T cells and its ligand (PD-L1) expressed on tumor cells or antigen-presenting cells, have received extensive attention in the past decade due to the dramatic effects of their inhibitors in patients with various types of cancer. In the present study, we investigated the expression of PD-1 on MDSCs in bone marrow, spleen, and tumor tissue derived from breast tumor-bearing mice. Read More

Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc 2018 11 30;56(4):410-413. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Hospital General de Zona No. 71, Departamento de Medicina Interna. Veracruz, Veracruz, México

In this article we describe the main transmission mechanisms of the Zika virus, from those already known, such as zoonotic and anthroponotic transmission of the virus, perinatal, occupational transmission, by blood products and by sexual contact. Given the possibility of person-to-person transmission, some measures of attention are proposed as the necessary studies are advanced to confirm or discard it. Read More

Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc 2018 11 30;56(4):371-378. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Unidad de Investigación Epidemiológica y en Servicios de Salud. Querétaro, Querétaro, México

Background: The chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a preventable entity, when it develops the patient suffers severe complications, with a high economic impact for the patient and for health services.

Objetive: To determine the cost of medical care in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: Using a cost design, the files of patients with COPD who attended the pulmonology clinic were analyzed. Read More

Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018 Dec 3;12:CD013192. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK, B15 2TT.

Background: Melanoma accounts for a small proportion of all skin cancer cases but is responsible for most skin cancer-related deaths. Early detection and treatment can improve survival. Smartphone applications are readily accessible and potentially offer an instant risk assessment of the likelihood of malignancy so that the right people seek further medical attention from a clinician for more detailed assessment of the lesion. Read More

PLoS One 2018 6;13(12):e0208494. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

School of Computer and Information Technology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.

Since multi-view data are available in many real-world clustering problems, multi-view clustering has received considerable attention in recent years. Most existing multi-view clustering methods learn consensus clustering results but do not make full use of the distinct knowledge in each view so that they cannot well guarantee the complementarity across different views. In this paper, we propose a Distinction based Consensus Spectral Clustering (DCSC), which not only learns a consensus result of clustering, but also explicitly captures the distinct variance of each view. Read More

PLoS One 2018 6;13(12):e0207809. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Remote Sensing Division, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington D.C., United States of America.

Understanding how turbulence impacts marine floc formation and breakup is key to predicting particulate carbon transport in the ocean. While floc formation and sinking rate has been studied in the laboratory and in-situ, the breakup response to turbulence has attracted less attention. To address this problem, the breakup response of bentonite clay particles flocculated in salt water was studied experimentally. Read More

Rom J Intern Med 2018 Dec;56(4):233-242

Laboratory of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, "Nicolae Testemitanu" State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.

Pancreas divisum (PD) is the most common developmental anatomic variant of pancreatic duct. The attention towards the PD has grown significantly since there are reports that this condition may cause acute relapsing pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis and chronic abdominal pain syndrome. Furthermore, over the years, there have been multiple reports of PD associated with different types of tumors. Read More

ACS Chem Neurosci 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research , Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 555 Zu Chong Zhi Road , Shanghai 201203 , China.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is well-known as a severe neurodegeneration disease involving complicated etiologies, and cholinesterase inhibition remain the prevailing mode of clinical intervention in AD management. Although most clinically applied cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) achieve limited clinical outcomes, research on the central cholinergic system is still thriving. Recently, an impressive amount of knowledge regarding novel acetylcholinesterase functions, as well as the close association between the central cholinergic system and other key elements for AD pathogenesis, has accumulated, highlighting that this field still has great potential for future drug development. Read More

Ann Neurol 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.

Despite much attention to the use of biomarkers for predicting Alzheimer's disease, little information is available at the individual level. We used the population-based Mayo Clinic Study of Aging to estimate absolute risk of cognitive impairment by biomarker group. Risk increased with age and any biomarker abnormality. Read More

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

ETH Zürich, Department of Biology, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093, Zürich, SWITZERLAND.

Post-translational modifying enzymes from the S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) radical superfamily garner attention due to their ability to accomplish challenging biochemical reactions. Among them, a family of AdoMet radical epimerases catalyze irreversible L- to D-amino acid transformations of diverse residues, including 18 sites in the complex sponge-derived polytheonamide toxins. These enzymes are from the proteusin family of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide natural products and act on precursor proteins with relatively large N-terminal leaders and highly variable core sequences. Read More

Sleep 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Centre and Discipline of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.

Objectives: Longitudinal data on the course and relationship of concurrent psychopathology in youth are scarce but are of need for better practical patient care and prevention. This study explores the course of (and relationships over time) between sleep problems and concurrent dimensional difficulties relating to anxiety/depression, attention deficiency and aggressive behaviors in childhood and adolescence. The latter three may jointly form a broad syndrome, the dysregulation profile. Read More

J Travel Med 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Infectious Diseases Section, Tropical Medicine Institute, Universidad Central de Venezuela.

Nephrol Dial Transplant 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Department of Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation, University of Liège (CHU ULg), Liège, Belgium.

Of the glomerular, tubular and endocrine functions of the kidney, nephrologists have mostly focused their attention on the glomerular functions-albuminuria and glomerular filtration rate (GFR)-to grade the severity of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Although both albuminuria and GFR are associated with renal and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, the utility of measured GFR (mGFR) has been questioned. GFR when measured adequately is the most precise measure of glomerular function and can be useful to individualize therapy among patients with CKD. Read More

Chem Soc Rev 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Joint International Research Laboratory of Precision Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Rd., Shanghai 200237, P. R. China.

Traditional biochemical methods for enzyme detection are mainly based on antibody-based immunoassays, which lack the ability to monitor the spatiotemporal distribution and, in particular, the in situ activity of enzymes in live cells and in vivo. In this review, we comprehensively summarize recent progress that has been made in the development of small-molecule as well as material-based fluorogenic probes for sensitive detection of the activities of enzymes that are related to a number of human diseases. The principles utilized to design these probes as well as their applications are reviewed. Read More

G Ital Cardiol (Rome) 2018 Dec;19(12):705-713

Divisione di Cardiologia Interventistica, Dipartimento Cardio-Toraco-Vascolare, Istituto Scientifico San Raffaele, Milano.

Refractory angina is a disabling condition that afflicts patients in whom we have no more strategy to improve their quality of life. This phenomenon has been increasing over the last years due to longer life expectancy, also resulting in a significant impact upon healthcare resources. The coronary sinus Reducer is a novel technology designed to improve the quality of life of these patients. Read More

Curr Opin Psychiatry 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney, Sydney.

Purpose Of Review: Although young onset dementia (YOD) causes high levels of burden and distress, factors that contribute to its onset are not well understood. Identifying relevant modifiable risk and protective factors for YOD can inform efforts to prevent or delay onset of symptoms to later in life.

Recent Findings: Studies of modifiable factors for YOD have increased in frequency in recent years. Read More

J Neurotrauma 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

University of Pittsburgh, Neurosurgery , 3434 Fifth Ave , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States , PA ;

New neuroprotective therapies for severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) have not translated from pre-clinical to clinical success. Numerous explanations have been suggested in both the pre-clinical and clinical arenas. Coverage of TBI in the lay press has reinvigorated interest creating a golden age of TBI research with innovative strategies to circumvent roadblocks. Read More

J Interpers Violence 2018 Dec 6:886260518816321. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

4 Istanbul University, Turkey.

The present study aims to investigate peer victimization and its relationship with comorbid psychiatric diagnoses and quality of life (QoL) among children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Study sample consisted of 66 children with ADHD (mean age = 8.6 ± 1. Read More

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Heretofore, conjugated polymers (CPs) attract considerable attention in photothermal therapy (PTT). Although various CPs with different structures have been reported, the suboptimal circulation persistence and biodistribution limit their efficacy in tumor treatment. Human serum albumin (HSA), an endogenous plasm protein, has been widely functioned as a carrier for therapeutic agents. Read More

Proteomics 2018 Dec 6:e1800165. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Discipline of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Health, The University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Microvesicles (MV) are emerging as important mediators of intercellular communication. These signalling vectors are implicated in physiological processes ranging from vascular homeostasis to inflammation. They also play an important role in the cancer pathology and progression. Read More

Curr Pharm Des 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Institute of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, Universitaetsstr. 1, 40225 Duesseldorf. Germany.

Background: In the last decades, 3D-printing has been investigated and used intensively in the field of tissue engineering, automotive and aerospace. With the first FDA approved printed medicinal product in 2015, the research on 3D-printing for pharmaceutical application has attracted attention of pharmaceutical scientists. Due to its potential of fabricating complex structures and geometrics, it is a highly promising technology for manufacturing individualized dosage forms. Read More

Cell Transplant 2018 Dec 6:963689718816990. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

1 Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Discipline of Neuroscience, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Stroke is the result of blockage or rupture of blood vessels in the brain and is the leading cause of death and disability in the world. Currently only a very limited number of therapeutic approaches are available for treatment of stroke patients, and the vast majority of neuroprotective agents that tested positively in pre-clinical studies failed in clinical trials. In recent years, the clinical value of the use of exosomes for stroke treatment has received widespread attention due their unique characteristics such as low immunogenicity, low toxicity and biodegradability, ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and their important role in communication between cells. Read More

Acc Chem Res 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering , University of California San Diego , 9500 Gilman Drive , La Jolla , California 92093-0407 , United States.

Infrared photodetectors are essential to many applications, including surveillance, communications, process monitoring, and biological imaging. The short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectral region (λ = 1-3 μm) is particularly powerful for health monitoring and medical diagnostics because biological tissues show low absorbance and minimal SWIR autofluorescence, enabling greater penetration depth and improved resolution in comparison with visible light. However, current SWIR photodetection technologies are largely based on epitaxially grown inorganic semiconductors, which are costly, require complex processing, and impose cooling requirements incompatible with wearable electronics. Read More

Brain Behav 2018 Dec 5:e01183. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Neurosurgery, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke, Japan.

Introduction: Optimal focus of attention is a crucial factor for improving motor learning. Most previous studies have shown that directing attention to movement outcome (external focus; EF) is more effective than directing attention to body movement itself (internal focus; IF). However, our recent studies demonstrated that the optimal attentional strategy in healthy and clinical populations varies depending on individual motor imagery ability. Read More

Environ Toxicol 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Laboratory of Enzyme Engineering and Microbiology, National Engineering School of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.

The risk of pesticides on the human health and environment has drawn increasing attention. Today, new tools are developed to reduce pesticide adverse effects. This study aimed to evaluate the toxicity induced by, thiamethoxam (TMX), and the cytoprotective effect of a novel polysaccharide, named fenugreek seed water polysaccharide (FWEP) in vitro using H9c2 cardiomyoblastes and in vivo using Wistar rat model. Read More

Dermatol Ther 2018 Dec 5:e12796. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Farabi Building, Isfahan, Iran.

Recently, advances in understanding the etiology of urticaria and updates of diagnostic and therapeutic management guidelines have drawn attention to chronic urticaria (CU) morbidity. This study aimed to evaluate Iranian dermatologists' practice and real life management of CU patients. A total of 35 dermatologists and 443 patients were included in the study. Read More

Prenat Diagn 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Rutgers/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ.

Advanced paternal age (APA) is associated with infertility and other reproductive risks. Studies looking at APA and outcomes have used different paternal age cut-offs, which has complicated systematic evaluations of reproductive risk associated with paternal aging. This review of the literature suggests that the impact of paternal aging on adverse reproductive outcomes is small, but significant. Read More

J Comp Neurol 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina.

Behavioral states such as arousal and attention have profound effects on sensory processing, determining how - even whether - a stimulus is perceived. This state-dependence is believed to arise, at least in part, in response to inputs from subcortical structures that release neuromodulators such as acetylcholine, often non-synaptically. The mechanisms that underlie the interaction between these non-synaptic signals and the more point-to-point synaptic cortical circuitry are not well understood. Read More

Atten Percept Psychophys 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Experimental & Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Numerous studies have shown that visual performance critically depends on the stimulus' projected retinal location. For example, performance tends to be better along the horizontal relative to the vertical meridian (lateral anisotropy). Another case is the so-called upper-lower anisotropy, whereby performance is better in the upper relative to the lower hemifield. Read More

J Bioeth Inq 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Institute for Ethics, History and Philosophy of Medicine, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany.

In this paper, for the benefit of reflection processes in clinical and in local, regional, and national priority-setting, we aim to develop an ethical theoretical framework that includes both ethical principles and medium-range narratives. We present our suggestion in the particular case of having to choose between treatment interventions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and treatment interventions for other conditions or diseases, under circumstances of scarcity. In order to arrive at our model, we compare two distinct ethical approaches: a generalist (principles) approach and a particularist (narratives) approach. Read More

J Med Syst 2018 Dec 6;43(1):11. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Psiquiatry Service, Hospital Zamora, Hernán Cortés, Zamora, Spain.

Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a new paradigm today, connecting a variety of physical and virtual elements integrated with electronic components, sensors, actuators and software to collect and exchange data. IoT is gaining increasing attention as a priority research topic in the Health sector in general and in specific areas such as Mental Health. The main objective of this paper is to show a review of the existing research works in the literature, referring to the main IoT services and applications in Mental Health diseases. Read More

Int J Biometeorol 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.

While capabilities in urban climate modeling have substantially increased in recent decades, the interdependency of changes in environmental surface properties and human (dis)comfort have only recently received attention. The open-source solar long-wave environmental irradiance geometry (SOLWEIG) model is one of the state-of-the-art models frequently used for urban (micro-)climatic studies. Here, we present updated calculation schemes for SOLWEIG allowing the improved prediction of surface temperatures (wall and ground). Read More

AIDS Behav 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) Unit, Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.

Clinical practice that utilizes chronic opioid therapy has been recognized as one major cause of the opioid crisis. Among patients living with HIV, the risks associated with chronic opioid therapy may be complicated by factors such as co-occurring mental health diagnoses, substance use, and economic marginalization. Improving opioid prescribing practices in HIV clinics requires attention to these and other characteristics common to HIV care. Read More

Hum Nat 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078-3064, USA.

The endogenous opioid system has received attention and extensive research for its effects on reward, pleasure, and pain. However, relative to other neurochemicals, such as oxytocin, vasopressin and dopamine, the function of opioids in regulating human attachment, sociosexuality, and other aspects of human sociality has not received much consideration. For example, nonapeptides (oxytocin and vasopressin) have been extensively studied in animals and humans for their possible roles in mother-offspring attachment, romantic attachment, fatherhood, and social cognition. Read More

Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Robert-Bosch-Krankenhaus Stuttgart, Auerbachstrasse 110, 70376, Stuttgart, Germany.

Objective: The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effect of a quality management system on treatment and care delivery of proximal femoral fractures. Specifically, our hypothesis was that the "plan-do-check-act (PDCA)" philosophy of the ISO 9001 quality management system results in a continuous improvement process.

Methods: 1015 proximal femoral fractures were prospectively included into a hip fracture database over a 5-year period, after a restructuring process with implementation of clinical pathways and standard operation procedures. Read More

Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Center for Applied Physics and Technology, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.

Two-dimensional (2D) metal dinitrides have attracted increasing attention because of their diverse geometry configurations and extraordinary properties. Using the particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based global structure search method combined with first principles calculations, we have identified 2D metal dinitride MN2 (M = Pd, Pt) sheets containing N2 dimers, penta-MN2, which are planar and composed entirely of pentagons. These pentagonal sheets are not only dynamically, thermally and mechanically stable, but also energetically more favorable over the experimentally synthesized pyrite MN2 monolayers. Read More

Alzheimers Dement (N Y) 2018 10;4:617-627. Epub 2018 Nov 10.

Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway.

Introduction: The cerebrospinal fluid neurogranin (Ng)/β-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) ratio may reflect synaptic affection resulting from reduced beta-amyloid (Aβ) clearance. We hypothesize that increased Ng/BACE1 ratio predicts the earliest cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease.

Methods: We compared Ng/BACE1 levels between cases with subjective cognitive decline (n = 18) and mild cognitive impairment (n = 20) both with amyloid plaques and healthy controls (-ε4+, n = 16; -ε4-, n = 20). Read More