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Fish Shellfish Immunol 2018 Dec 3;86:525-535. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, PR China.

CC chemokines are a large subfamily of chemokines that play an important role in the innate immune system. To date, several CC chemokines have been identified in fish species; however, the activities and functions of these putative chemokines remain ambiguous in teleosts, especially in the golden pompano, Trachinotus ovatus. Here, we characterized CC chemokine ligand 4 from T. Read More

J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Department of Internal Medicine I, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Goethe University Hospital, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

The arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase (ALOX5) pathway has been implicated in chronic inflammatory disease which may be influenced by vitamin D due to vitamin D response elements (VDRE). We investigated an ALOX5 polymorphism (rs4987105) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and the in vitro effects of calcitriol (1,25(OH)D) on ALOX5 metabolism in monocytes of T2D patients and healthy controls (HC). 533 T2D and 473 HC were genotyped for the rs4987105 polymorphism. Read More

ACS Infect Dis 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

A well-developed, functional immune system is paramount to combat harmful attack from pathogenic organisms and prevent infectious diseases. Newborn animals and humans have only limited immunity upon birth, but their immune functions are expected to develop within weeks to months and eventually to reach a maturity that will provide full protection. Despite the importance of immune activity in animal and human health management, there is no convenient test available that allows for rapid assessment of the state of immune function in non-laboratory settings. Read More

Int J Oral Maxillofac Implants 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Purpose: The aim of this work was to prove the synergic complementarity of attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (micro-ATR FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and x-ray computed microtomography (micro-CT) by studying implant samples with bone affected by peri-implantitis.

Materials And Methods: Six samples of implanted bone affected by peri-implantitis and one control healthy bone were analyzed. Thick bone sections included in epoxy-resin and removed implants were analyzed by micro-ATR FTIR, SEM-EDS, and micro-CT. Read More

Med Mycol 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Microbiology and Immunology.

Candida species are the second most frequent cause of fungal infections worldwide. Current knowledge of immunity to Candida has been gleaned almost exclusively from studies on Candida albicans, the most common disease-causing species. Knowledge of immunity to non-albicans Candida (NAC) species is still at an early stage due to the lack of tractable animal models with which to study these important pathogens. Read More

Dig Dis Sci 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, USA.

Background: Metabolic syndrome contributing to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can lead to hepatic dysfunction, steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aims: In this study, we tested whether diet-induced fatty liver in a mouse model physiologically mimicked human NAFLD, and whether transcriptional alterations in mouse fatty liver signified risk for the development of hepatitis, cirrhosis, and/or hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods: SAMP6 strain mice were fed a low-fat diet or high-fat diet (HFD) for 6 months. Read More

Biochem Biophys Rep 2019 Mar 24;17:23-26. Epub 2018 Nov 24.

Department of Antibody Drug Development, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan.

Podoplanin (PDPN) is a type I transmembrane heavily glycosylated sialoglycoprotein that is expressed in normal tissues such as pulmonary type I alveolar cells, renal podocytes, and lymphatic endothelial cells. PDPN overexpression in cancerous tissue is associated with hematogenous metastasis through interactions with the C-type lectin-like receptor 2 (CLEC-2). Previously, we have reported the development of a mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb), PMab-38 (IgG, kappa) against dog PDPN (dPDPN). Read More

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2018 1;2018:9194362. Epub 2018 Nov 1.

College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355, China.

Radix Astragali (RA) herb with warm property and significant "tonifying qi" effects is indicated for the syndrome of internal cold due to Yang deficiency. The purpose of this research was to explore effects of Radix Astragali (RA) through PPAR signaling pathway on gene expression profiles related to energy metabolism in rats with the Yang-deficiency cold (YDC) syndrome, for identifying the pathological mechanism of Yang-deficiency cold (YDC) syndrome and the effects mechanism of RA. The results indicated that RA could significantly increase body weight (BM), cold and heat tendency (CT), overall temperature (OT), rectum temperature (RT), toe temperature (TT), energy intake (EI), and V(O)/V(CO) ratio (which indicates basal metabolism, BM) (P<0. Read More

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2018 5;2018:8464628. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

Nanotechnology & Catalysis Research Centre (NANOCAT), Block 3A, Institute of Postgraduate Studies Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory, Malaysia.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2013/739850.]. Read More

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2018 5;2018:7826576. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

(L.) P. Royen, called sapodilla, or locally known as , belongs to the family . Read More

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2018 1;2018:7043402. Epub 2018 Nov 1.

Department of Endocrinology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100054, China.

Shen-Qi-Di-Huang decoction (SQDHD), a well-known herbal formula from China, has been widely used in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy (DN). However, the pharmacological mechanisms of SQDHD have not been entirely elucidated. At first, we conducted a comprehensive literature search to identify the active constituents of SQDHD, determined their corresponding targets, and obtained known DN targets from several databases. Read More

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2018 5;2018:6209679. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541001, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.

Our previous study has demonstrated that 6-Gingerol (6-G) could alleviate myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI). However, the molecular mechanism underlying the process of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury alleviation by 6-G remains unelucidated. The objective of the present study is to further investigate the potential mechanism for 6-G to alleviate MIRI in rats. Read More

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2018 4;2018:6142065. Epub 2018 Nov 4.

Second Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, 232 Waihuan Road E, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, China.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is marked by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons (DAN) accompanied by glial activation. Thus, inhibiting glial activation that occurs during this disease could be an effective method for treating PD. Optimized Yinxieling Formula (OYF), a Chinese medicinal formula, which is used to efficiently treat autoimmune disease psoriasis, has been proved to display potential immunomodulatory effects in inflammation-associated diseases. Read More

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2018 5;2018:5968657. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

Suzhou Academy of Wumen Chinese Medicine, Suzhou 215000, China.

Objectives: To investigate the mechanism of the protective effect of Zishenwan on pyelonephritis rats.

Methods: In the rat model of pyelonephritis, protective effects of Zishenwan, the content of secretory immunoglobulin A (SIg A), and interleukins were detected by ELISA. The expressions of TLR4-NFB pathway were detected by Western blot in renal and urinary tract mucosa. Read More

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2018 5;2018:5642129. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

Department of Physiology, Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2015/260530.]. Read More

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2018 5;2018:5639486. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

College of Chemistry and Environment, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China.

Hippocampus is a traditional medicine in China, which can be used for treating tumors, aging, fatigue, thrombosis, inflammation, hypertension, prostatic hyperplasia, and other diseases. 1-(5-Bromo-2-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)ethanone [SE1] from seahorse (a Bleeler) has been shown to suppress proinflammatory responses. In the present study, SE1 potently inhibited gelatin digestion by MMP-9 induced by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and migration of human fibrosarcoma HT1080 cells in dose-dependent manner. Read More

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2018 5;2018:5059267. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

Clinical Medical College, Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming 650051, China.

Qianlie Tongqiao Capsule (QTC) is clinically confirmed to be efficacious and safe in treating lower urinary tract syndromes and bladder dysfunction that are induced by benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). However, the functional mechanisms of QTC remain unclear. We aim to investigate the effects of QTC on both bladder weight and several growth factors in the bladder tissue of rats with testosterone-induced BPH. Read More

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2018 1;2018:3239785. Epub 2018 Nov 1.

School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, No. 325 Guohe Road, Shanghai 200433, China.

Yin Chen Hao Tang (YCHT) is one of the most famous hepatoprotective herbal formulas in China, but its pharmacokinetic investigation in model rats has been rarely conducted. In this study, the hepatic injury model was caused by intraperitoneal injections of carbon tetrachloride (CCl), and YCHT was orally administered to the model and normal rats. An ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was established to analyze the plasma pharmacokinetics of eight major bioactive ingredients from YCHT in both the normal and liver injured rats. Read More

Front Immunol 2018 21;9:2701. Epub 2018 Nov 21.

Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, and Research Programs Unit, Immunobiology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

The alternative pathway (AP) of complement is constantly active in plasma and can easily be activated on self surfaces and trigger local inflammation. Host cells are protected from AP attack by Factor H (FH), the main AP regulator in plasma. Although complement is known to play a role in atherosclerosis, the mechanisms of its contribution are not fully understood. Read More

Drug Des Devel Ther 2018 13;12:3899-3912. Epub 2018 Nov 13.

Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, Basic Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China,

Background: To improve the targeting ability of antitumor drugs, we identified the antigens with high expression on the surface of tumor cells associated with tumor escape, such as the complement regulatory protein CD55 molecule, which is also known as the decay accelerating factor. In this study, phage display technology was used to screen and identify CD55-specific ligand peptide (CD55sp) bound to CD55 molecule on the surface of cervical cancer HeLa cells. We then explored the role of this peptide in inhibiting the growth of cervical cancer cells in vitro. Read More

Proc Biol Sci 2018 Dec 5;285(1892). Epub 2018 Dec 5.

School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Queen's Road, Bristol, UK

Colour vision is known to have arisen only twice-once in Vertebrata and once within the Ecdysozoa, in Arthropoda. However, the evolutionary history of ecdysozoan vision is unclear. At the molecular level, visual pigments, composed of a chromophore and a protein belonging to the opsin family, have different spectral sensitivities and these mediate colour vision. Read More

Blood Adv 2018 Dec;2(23):3462-3478

Laboratory of Complement Biology and.

The intraerythrocytic parasite is the number 1 cause of transfusion-transmitted infection and can induce serious, often life-threatening complications in immunocompromised individuals including transfusion-dependent patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Despite the existence of strong long-lasting immunological protection against a second infection in mouse models, little is known about the cell types or the kinetics of protective adaptive immunity mounted following infection, especially in infection-prone SCD that are thought to have an impaired immune system. Here, we show, using a mouse infection model, that infected wild-type (WT) mice mount a very strong adaptive immune response, characterized by (1) coordinated induction of a robust germinal center (GC) reaction; (2) development of follicular helper T (T) cells that comprise ∼30% of splenic CD4 T cells at peak expansion by 10 days postinfection; and (3) high levels of effector T-cell cytokines, including interleukin 21 and interferon γ, with an increase in the secretion of antigen (Ag)-specific antibodies (Abs). Read More

BMC Complement Altern Med 2018 Dec 5;18(1):321. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Pharmacology and toxicology department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Background: Eugenol is a natural phenolic compound and possesses anticancer and antibacterial activities. Breast cancer is a major global health problem, and most of the chemotherapeutic agents are highly toxic with long-term side effects. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the possibility of using eugenol as an anti-metastatic and anti-proliferative agent against MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR-3 breast cancer cells. Read More

BMC Complement Altern Med 2018 Dec 5;18(1):323. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Institute of Nutrition, China Medical University, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan.

Background: Weight reduction frequently occurs in patients receiving vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy. Therefore, we hypothesized that during dietary intervention for weight loss, auricular electric stimulation (AES), an alternative of VNS, accelerates weight loss by increasing white adipose tissue (WAT) browning and increases energy expenditure.

Methods: C57BL/6J male mice were fed a high-fat diet for 5 wk. Read More

BMC Complement Altern Med 2018 Dec 5;18(1):324. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Physiology School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia.

Background: This study assessed the effects of propolis alone or combined with insulin on maternal status, pregnancy outcomes and placental oxidative stress in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Methods: Forty female rats were randomly assigned into five groups (n = 8/group) i.e. Read More

BMC Complement Altern Med 2018 Dec 5;18(1):320. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Herbal Medicine Research Center, Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Background: Carica papaya leaf juice (CPLJ) was well known for its thrombocytosis activity in rodents and dengue patients. However, the effect of CPLJ treatment on other parameters that could contribute to dengue pathogenesis such as nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) production and viremia level have never been highlighted in any clinical and in vivo studies. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of freeze-dried CPLJ treatment on NS1 and viremia levels of dengue fever mouse model. Read More

BMC Complement Altern Med 2018 Dec 5;18(1):322. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Western Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Albany, CA, 94710, USA.

Background: Human infection by pathogenic Salmonella bacteria can be acquired by consuming of undercooked meat products and eggs. Antimicrobial resistance against antibiotics used in medicine is also a major concern. To help overcome these harmful effects on microbial food safety and human health, we are developing novel antimicrobial food-compatible formulations, one of which is described in the present study. Read More

J Am Chem Soc 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Despite recent clinical successes for irreversible drugs, potential toxicities mediated by unpredictable modification of off-target cysteines represents a major hurdle for expansion of covalent drug programs. Understanding the proteome-wide binding profile of covalent inhibitors can significantly accelerate their development; however, current mass spectrometry strategies typically do not provide a direct, amino acid level readout of covalent activity for complex, selective inhibitors. Here we report the development of CITe-Id, a novel chemoproteomic approach that employs covalent pharmacologic inhibitors as enrichment reagents in combination with an optimized proteomic platform to directly quantify dose-dependent binding at cysteine-thiols across the proteome. Read More

Sensors (Basel) 2018 Dec 4;18(12). Epub 2018 Dec 4.

Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, T12 R5CP Cork, Ireland.

The goal of real-time feedback on physiological changes, stress monitoring and even emotion detection is becoming a technological reality. People in their daily life experience varying emotional states, some of which are negative and which can lead to decreased attention, decreased productivity and ultimately, reduced quality of life. Therefore, having a solution that continuously monitors the physiological signals of the person and assesses his or her emotional well-being could be a very valuable tool. Read More

Fish Shellfish Immunol 2018 Nov 30;86:536-548. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Hubei Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430023, China. Electronic address:

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory properties in the intestine in mammals. However, the effect of CLA on intestinal immune response in fish is still unknown. Therefore, a 65-day growth trial was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on morphology, selective immune parameters, and gene expressions in the intestine of grass carp. Read More

Fish Shellfish Immunol 2018 Nov 30;86:449-458. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Institute of Hydrobiology, Jinan University, Engineering Research Center of Tropical and Subtropical Aquatic Ecological Engineering Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, West 601 Huangpu Avenue, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510632, People's Republic of China.

The complement system plays an important role in host defense against invading microorganisms. Complement component C9 is the last component that is involved in the formation of the membrane attack complex (MAC) on the surface of target cells. In the present study, the full length C9 cDNA sequence of 1984 bp with an open reading frame (ORF) of 1809 bp was cloned from southern catfish (Silurus meridionalis). Read More

J Altern Complement Med 2018 Dec 1. Epub 2018 Dec 1.

3 PharmacoEpidemiology and Drug Safety Research Group, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo , Oslo, Norway .

Objectives: This study investigated the use of medicinal plants and concomitant use of pharmaceutical drugs among pregnant women in Addis Ababa and Bati, Ethiopia.

Methods: Six hundred pregnant women in three health centers in Addis Ababa and one health center in Bati were included in the study from July 2016 to September 2016. Data were collected through structured questionnaires. Read More

Nephrol Dial Transplant 2018 Nov 30. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Faculty of Health and Life Science, Institute of Learning and Teaching, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.

The presence of pre-formed donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) in kidney transplantation is associated with worse overall outcomes compared with DSA-negative transplantation. A positive complement-dependant cytotoxic crossmatch presents a high immunological risk, while a negative flow cytometry crossmatch is at the lower end of the risk spectrum. Yet, the presence of low-level DSA detected by Luminex alone, that is, positive Luminex and negative flow (PLNF) cytometry crossmatch lacks robust scientific exploration. Read More

Pain 2018 Nov 29. Epub 2018 Nov 29.

Department of Pharmacology and Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242.

The complement system significantly contributes to the development of inflammatory and neuropathic pain, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Recently, we identified the signaling pathway responsible for thermal hypersensitivity induced by the complement system component C5a. Here, we examine the mechanisms of another important action of C5a, induction of mechanical hypersensitivity. Read More

Curr Opin Organ Transplant 2018 Nov 30. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Regional HLA Laboratory, Laboratory Medicine Program, University Health Network.

Purpose Of Review: This review is intended to describe both the usefulness and limitations of mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) as a semiquantitative measure for assessing the presence, relative strength, and clinical impact of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alloantibodies, as well as the other qualitative features of antibodies that are important considerations in assessing patient risk.

Recent Findings: Using MFI as a quantitative measure is complicated by procedural variation between HLA laboratories. Standardized serum manipulations such as EDTA treatment or serum dilution results in better definition of relationships between MFI and antibody titer or complement activation, bringing the HLA community closer to consensus regarding strategies for defining positivity. Read More

Pest Manag Sci 2018 Dec 2. Epub 2018 Dec 2.

School of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, VIC 3068, Australia.

Insecticide resistance is an ever-increasing problem that threatens food production globally. Within Australia, the grain industry has a renewed focus on resistance due to diminishing chemical options available to farmers and the increasing prevalence and severity of resistance encountered in the field. Chemicals are too often used as the major tool for arthropod pest management, ignoring the potent evolutionary forces from chemical selection pressures that lead to resistance. Read More

J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Introduction: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides excellent soft tissue definition of pelvic tumours and organs. The aim of this study was to quantify differences in delineated clinical target volumes (CTVs) between computed tomography (CT) and MRI.

Methods: Twenty patients with locally advanced gynaecological malignancies were recruited. Read More

Parasitol Res 2018 Dec 1. Epub 2018 Dec 1.

Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-153, 04510, Mexico, Mexico.

Integrative taxonomy uses several sources of information to establish more robust species delimitation criteria. In this study, we followed that approach to describe two new species of allocreadiid trematodes from freshwater fish distributed in locations across Middle America. The new species were first recognized by using sequences of the domains D1-D3 of the ribosomal 28S rRNA gene and then, morphological data (light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)), host association, and geographical distribution were considered as additional sources of information to complement the species delimitation and description. Read More

Atten Percept Psychophys 2018 Nov 30. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.

Precrastination, as opposed to procrastination, is the tendency to embark on tasks as soon as possible, even at the expense of extra physical effort. We examined the generality of this recently discovered phenomenon by extending the methods used to study it, mainly to test the hypothesis that precrastination is motivated by cognitive load reduction. Our participants picked up two objects and brought them back together. Read More

Mhealth 2018 19;4:47. Epub 2018 Oct 19.

Centre for Children's Health Research, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, and School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.

A range of digital psychological interventions have demonstrated a positive impact on trauma-related problems in controlled trials, but there is room for further improvements in their form, reach and impact. Most to date have been adaptions of established face-to-face treatments. In this paper, we highlight a complementary emerging route to their development, which draws on advances in cognitive science theory and research and applies them to clinical contexts. Read More

Nat Methods 2018 Dec 30;15(12):1117-1125. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA.

Whole-brain imaging allows for comprehensive functional mapping of distributed neural pathways, but neuronal perturbation experiments are usually limited to targeting predefined regions or genetically identifiable cell types. To complement whole-brain measures of activity with brain-wide manipulations for testing causal interactions, we introduce a system that uses measured activity patterns to guide optical perturbations of any subset of neurons in the same fictively behaving larval zebrafish. First, a light-sheet microscope collects whole-brain data that are rapidly analyzed by a distributed computing system to generate functional brain maps. Read More

Hypertens Res 2018 Nov 30. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Department of Cardiology and Internal Medicine, Military Institute of Medicine, Warsaw, Poland.

Patients with arterial hypertension (AH), especially women, often report exercise intolerance and dyspnea. However, these symptoms are not frequently reflected in standard assessments. The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical value of impedance cardiography (ICG) in the hemodynamic assessment of patients with AH during exercise, particularly the differences between subgroups based on sex and the presence of dyspnea. Read More

Neurology 2018 Nov 30. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

From the Departments of Radiology and Radiological Sciences (M.R.J., M.J.D.), Neurological Surgery (D.J.E., P.E.K.), Biostatistics (Y.-C.L., H.K.), Neurology (P.T., P.H., M.J.D.), and Psychiatry (M.J.D.), Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN; Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation (G.F.) University of Milan, Italy; and Chemical and Physical Biology Program (K.J.P.) and Departments of Electrical Engineering (B.A.L., B.M.D.), Computer Engineering (B.A.L., B.M.D.), Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering (B.A.L., B.M.D.), and Neurology (D.O.C.), Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.

Objective: To assess white matter integrity in patients with essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson disease (PD) with moderate to severe motor impairment.

Methods: Sedated participants with ET (n = 57) or PD (n = 99) underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity, and radial diffusivity values were computed. White matter tracts were defined using 3 well-described atlases. Read More

Anticancer Res 2018 Dec;38(12):6801-6807

Internal Medicine Department, Tor Vergata University Hospital, Medical Oncology Unit, Rome, Italy.

Background: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is an autosomal dominant hereditary disorder characterized by episodic swelling of many body regions (especially throat and abdomen), potentially triggered by medication. No data are available for HAE in patients with cancer assigned to standard chemotherapy. The aim of our study was to identify circulating mediators potentially predictive of acute HAE attacks during chemotherapy. Read More

Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program 2018 Nov;2018(1):382-389

Department of Haematology, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Leeds, United Kingdom.

The diagnosis of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) can be made with a stepwise approach that aims to identify laboratory and clinical evidence of hemolysis and then determine the immune nature of hemolysis with the direct anti-globulin test. Once alternative causes for these findings have been excluded, AIHA is established, and the clinician must search for secondary causes, as well as identify the type of AIHA. Rituximab is now the preferred second-line treatment for primary warm AIHA and first-line treatment for primary cold agglutinin disease (CAD), either as monotherapy or combined with bendamustine. Read More

Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program 2018 Nov;2018(1):371-376

Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS); hemolysis, elevated liver function tests, and low platelets syndrome; and transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy are related conditions, in that many patients harbor germline heterozygous mutations in genes that regulate the alternative pathway of complement (APC). Penetrance is variable because development of clinically significant disease appears to require supervention of a process such as inflammation. Complement activation on the endothelial surfaces leads to endothelial damage, platelet consumption, microthrombi, and a mechanical hemolytic anemia with schistocytes. Read More

Neurosci Lett 2018 Nov 29. Epub 2018 Nov 29.

Departamento de Biomedicina, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular - IBMC, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde - i3S, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.

Over the last 20 years a large number of transgenic mouse models have been produced showing different degrees of congenital hypoalgesia; some of these models mimic known human conditions while others seemingly have no human counterpart. However, very little significant contributions to our understanding of pain neurobiology were obtained from this multitude of animal models; in most cases the study of these animals was limited to the characterization of its pain perception without addressing the long term consequences of their hypoalgesic condition. In this review we discuss the untapped potential that these animal models of congenital hypoalgesia hold for future studies addressing brain plasticity during permanent conditions of reduced pain perception, and that may result in important insights on the interplay between pain, emotion, and cognition. Read More

Transplant Proc 2018 Jul 2. Epub 2018 Jul 2.

Department of Pathology, Maryknoll General Hospital, Busan, Republic of Korea.

Background: One risk factor for antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) and poor outcome after kidney transplantation is donor-specific anti‒human leukocyte antigen (anti-HLA) antibodies (DSAs). In this study we sought to determine whether the presence of DSAs that bind complement component C3d could better predict ABMR and graft loss in stable kidney transplant recipients (KTRs).

Methods: We included 220 stable KTRs in this study and screened them for DSAs from July 2013 to July 2016. Read More

Mar Pollut Bull 2018 Dec 13;137:209-221. Epub 2018 Oct 13.

Marine Biology Station, National Institute of Biology, Fornace 41, 6330 Piran, Slovenia.

The ever-increasing level of marine pollution due to plastic debris is a globally recognized threat that needs effective actions of control and mitigation. Using marine organisms as bioindicators of plastic pollution can provide crucial information that would better integrate the spatial and temporal presence of plastic debris in the sea. Given their long and frequent migrations, numerous marine species that ingest plastics can provide information on the presence of plastic debris but only on large spatial and temporal scales, thus making it difficult to identify quantitative correlations of ingested plastics within well-defined spatio-temporal patterns. Read More

Mar Pollut Bull 2018 Dec 12;137:157-171. Epub 2018 Oct 12.

School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. Electronic address:

Single-use plastics, or SUPs (plastic bags, microbeads, cutlery, straws and polystyrene) are substantial sources of plastic marine pollution, yet preventable via legislative and non-legislative interventions. Various international legislative strategies have been reported to address plastic marine pollution from plastic bags and microbeads, but these have since been accompanied by recent increasing public awareness triggered by international agencies and organizations. The Sixth International Marine Debris Conference highlighted increasing intervention strategies to mitigate SUP pollution. Read More