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J Neurosurg 2019 Feb 15:1-7. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

2Department of Neurosurgery, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

OBJECTIVEThe American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) online surgical risk calculator uses inherent patient characteristics to provide predictive risk scores for adverse postoperative events. The purpose of this study was to determine if predicted perioperative risk scores correlate with actual hospital costs.METHODSA single-center retrospective review of 1005 neurosurgical patients treated between September 1, 2011, and December 31, 2014, was performed. Read More

Environ Pollut 2019 Feb 4;248:48-56. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Organic Pollution Process and Control, Hangzhou, 310058, China. Electronic address:

It remains a challenge to precisely predict and control environmental behaviors of ionizable organic contaminants (IOCs) due to their species change relative to pH and because of the lack of appropriate models to illustrate the underlying pH-dependent mechanisms. We studied the pH-dependent sorption behavior of five sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs) as typical IOCs with different pK values towards a series of biochars as representative sorbents with well-characterized surface structures. After subtracting the contribution of the speciation effect using a classical speciation model, up to three unexpected enhanced sorption peaks could be found and regulated by the pK of the SAs and the pK of the biochars. Read More

Environ Pollut 2019 Feb 5;248:36-47. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China.

Applications of aluminium (Al) salt or lanthanum (La) modified bentonite (LMB) have become popular methodologies for immobilizing phosphorus (P) in eutrophic lakes. The presence of humic substances, has been shown to inhibit this form of treatment due to the complexation with La/Al. However, the effects of other dissolved organic matter (DOM), especially that derived from phytoplankton (the dominant source in eutrophic lakes) are unknown. Read More

Int J Drug Policy 2019 Feb 13;67:1-8. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Children and Family Research Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Aims: The present study aims to investigate the utilization pattern of prenatal care and correlates for women with opioid use disorders (OUD) in Taiwan.

Method: Using the data linkage between the Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) register with national health insurance, national birth notification system, and birth registration system, we identified 1712 pregnancies with 20 or more gestational weeks from women enrolled in the MMT (heroin-exposed: receiving no methadone treatment during pregnancy, n = 1053 by 882 women; methadone-treated: receiving methadone for at least one day during pregnancy, n = 659 by 574 women) and their 1:10 matched pregnancies from 17,060 women without substance use disorder in the period of 2004-2013. The generalized linear mixed models with negative binomial and logit distributions were performed to evaluate the relationship between individual sociodemographic, health, and addiction treatment characteristics with the number of prenatal visits and receiving prenatal care in the first trimester (i. Read More

Biosens Bioelectron 2019 Feb 4;130:269-275. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

Key Laboratory of Optic-electric Sensing and Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, MOE; Shandong Key Laboratory of Biochemical Analysis; Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science in Universities of Shandong; State Key Laboratory Base of Eco-chemical Engineering; Key Laboratory of Rubber-Plastics of Ministry of Education/Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Rubber Plastics; College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China. Electronic address:

In this work, a photoactive material, Graphdiyne (GDY) loaded with AuNPs (AuNPs-GDY), was successfully synthesized. The fabricated material made use of the natural band-gap structure of GDY, which could produce hole-electron pairs and the plasmon resonance effect of AuNPs to obtain a high photoelectrochemical (PEC) response. AuNPs-GDY PEC response changed with the mass ratio of GDY to tetrachloroauric acid. Read More

Carbohydr Res 2018 Dec 12;475:17-26. Epub 2018 Dec 12.

Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA. Electronic address:

Deoxysugars are intrinsic components in a number of antibiotics, antimicrobials, and therapeutic agents that often dictate receptor binding, improve efficacy, and provide a diverse toolbox in modifying glycoconjugate function due to an extensive number of unique isomers and inherent conformational flexibility. Hence, this work provides a comprehensive examination of the conformational effects associated with deoxygenation of the pyranose ring. Both the location and degree of deoxygenation were evaluated by interrogating the energetic landscape for a number of mono- and dideoxyhexopyranose derivatives using DFT methods (M05-2X/cc-pVTZ(-f)). Read More

Cognition 2019 Feb 13;186:108-114. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs (EA 3082), Université de Lyon, France; Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France.

This work aims to address the issue of which kind of cognitive tools we prefer, and whether this preference is rational. To do so, we proposed three experiments in which participants had to play the game Guess Who? by choosing between three tools that assisted them in three distinct cognitive functions (Working memory vs. Selective visual attention vs. Read More

Body Image 2019 Feb 13;29:6-16. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

School of Psychology and Sports Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK; Centre for Psychological Medicine, Perdana University, Serdang, Malaysia.

Previous research has identified a relationship between interoception and body image, where lower interoceptive awareness (IA) is associated with negative body image. However, relationships between facets of interoception and positive body image remain unexplored, and men and older adults remain underrepresented. To overcome these limitations, we assessed relationships between multiple dimensions of interoceptive awareness (IA) and multiple facets of body image in community adults. Read More

Bioorg Chem 2019 Feb 1;86:445-451. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry (CSIC), Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address:

In this work six PBN-related indanonitrones 1-6 have been designed, synthesized, and their neuroprotection capacity tested in vitro, under OGD conditions, in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cell cultures. As a result, we have identified indanonitrones 1, 3 and 4 (EC = 6.64 ± 0. Read More

J Surg Res 2019 Feb 13;238:144-151. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

The Pulvertaft Hand Surgery Centre, Royal Derby Hospital, Derby, United Kingdom.

Background: Trapeziectomy is considered to be the "gold standard" procedure for first carpometacarpal joint (first CMCJ) osteoarthritis. First CMCJ denervation offers the potential benefit of a shorter procedure with bone and joint preservation and swift postoperative rehabilitation. This trial aimed to compare functional outcomes, patient satisfaction, quality of life, and cost effectiveness following these treatments. Read More

J Environ Manage 2019 Feb 13;236:581-590. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul, Rua Francisco Getúlio Vargas, 1130, Caxias do Sul, RS, CEP 95070-560, Brazil.

In this work, phenol removal from aqueous solutions by Pleurotus sajor-caju PS-2001 phenol oxidases was assessed under different conditions. In stirred-tank reactor (STR), 77, 82, 92 and 36% of removal were attained when initial concentrations of 1.0, 2. Read More

J Environ Manage 2019 Feb 13;236:534-550. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Escola de Química, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Av. Horacio Macedo, 2030, Bl. E, 21949-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Electronic address:

Offshore oil/gas productions are power intensive and CO emitters from gas-fired power generation. This work investigates supersonic separator as a strategy for affording post-combustion capture backed up by cost reductions. Conventional offshore gas processing usually loses thermodynamic hydrate inhibitor methanol in processing and exported gas. Read More

J Environ Manage 2019 Feb 13;236:519-533. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Physics, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, ZA-9300 Bloemfontein, South Africa.

In the present work, one-step green synthesis of WO based on the interaction of ammonium paratungstate and Spondias mombin leaves extract is reported. Different concentrations of iodine and phosphorus in the range of (2%, 5% and 10%) were firstly incorporated into the prepared WO nanoparticles to obtain Iodine doped and Phosphorus doped WO nanoparticles respectively. Subsequently, iodine and phosphorus co-doped WO nanocomposites was prepared using a wet impregnation method followed by calcination at high temperature. Read More

J Environ Manage 2019 Feb 13;236:481-489. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein 2028 Johannesburg, South Africa.

Bimetallic nanoparticles are effective for the removal of organic pollutants from environmental water samples through catalytic degradation reactions. Hence, this work reports on the preparation of Fe/Ag bimetallic nanoparticles immobilized on electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers (PAN NFs) pre-functionalized with EDTA and ethylenediamine (EDA) chelating agents. Characterization techniques included attenuated total reflectance coupled to Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Read More

J Environ Manage 2019 Feb 12;236:466-480. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Laboratory of Natural Resources Management & Agricultural Engineering, Department of Agriculture, Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.

Land subsidence caused by land use change and overexploitation of groundwater is an example of mismanagement of natural resources, yet subsidence remains difficult to predict. In this study, the relationship between land subsidence features and geo-environmental factors is investigated by comparing two machine learning algorithms (MLA): maximum entropy (MaxEnt) and genetic algorithm rule-set production (GARP) algorithms in the Kashmar Region, Iran. Land subsidence features (N = 79) were mapped using field surveys. Read More

Soc Sci Med 2019 Feb 6;224:94-105. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Street, P.O. Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI, 48106-1248, USA; Institute for Social and Environmental Research Nepal, Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Ward No. 15, Chitwan, Nepal. Electronic address:

The increase in female labor force participation (FLFP) in the paid labor market since the mid-1900s is one of the most pronounced family transitions and increasingly a global phenomenon. While this may improve income and bargaining power of the women, it may also increase stress and decrease time with children. Using the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal, we explore the consequences of this transition for children's health by combining newly collected data on child health outcomes, quarterly data on women's employment, and data on households and neighborhoods. Read More

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2019 Feb 13;173:156-164. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Soil, and Groundwater-Management, Institute for Soil Engineering, Water and Wastewater Management, University of Wuppertal, Pauluskirchstraße 7, Wuppertal, Germany; Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea.

The present study demonstrated the possible impacts of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe NPs) on the alleviation of toxic effects of cadmium (Cd) in wheat and enhance its growth, yield, and Fe biofortification. A pot experiment was conducted in historically Cd-contaminated soil using five levels of Fe NPs (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 ppm) by soil and foliar application methods. The plants were harvested after 125 days of growth while vegetative parameters, antioxidant capacity, electrolyte leakage (EL) in leaves as well as Cd, and Fe concentrations in wheat grains, roots, and shoots were measured. Read More

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2019 Feb 13;173:149-155. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Institute of Industrial and Consumer Product Safety, Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Beijing 100176, China.

Wood preservatives in wooden children's products (WCPs) may migrate into children's body through oral and dermal exposure, resulting in a potential health risk. In this paper, a systematic investigation on the migration regularity of lindane and five chlorophenols preservatives from WCPs to saliva and sweat was introduced. Migration models were established based on the abundant migration data among different time periods (2 min-96 h). Read More

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2019 Feb 13;173:110-117. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, Dalian, Liaoning 116023, China. Electronic address:

The prevalence of microplastics in global waters raises the concern about their potential effects on aquatic biota. In aquatic environment, microplastics are almost ubiquitously present in all compartments from surface water to benthic sediment, making them accessible to a wide range of aquatic biota occupying different habitats. Exposure to microplastics may induce detrimental implications to the health of aquatic organisms. Read More

Chemosphere 2019 Feb 11;223:91-98. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Department of Civil and Environment Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong; Division of Structural Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address:

Ionic zinc is considered as an environmental pollutant. This work systematically investigated leaching mechanisms of calcium sulfoaluminate cement (CSA) pastes incorporated with/without ZnCl under the attacks of chloride and/or sulfate. The leaching behaviors of CSA pastes in the leaching solution are in-situ and continuously monitored by innovative non-contact electrical impedance measurement (NCEIM) and pH meter. Read More

J Colloid Interface Sci 2019 Jan 31;542:421-428. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Fushun Research Institute of Petroleum and Petrochemicals, SINOPEC, Fushun 113001, China.

Cerium is an important rare earth element (REE), which can be used for many high-tech applications. From the industrial and environmental viewpoints, it is imperative to recover Ce ions from aqueous solution. Herein, HKUST-1 metal-organic framework (MOF) was applied for adsorption and recovery of Ce from aqueous solution. Read More

Nurse Educ Today 2019 Feb 6;76:73-77. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Electronic address:

Background: Non-traditional students entering nursing programmes at university often experience difficulties with the academic literacy requirements of their courses, in particular academic and reflective writing. Levels of student anxiety may also be affected by other issues including the pressures of managing work, family and study commitments.

Objectives: To explore how classroom-based poetry writing activities might support students in developing their skills as student-writers and reflective practitioners. Read More

Midwifery 2019 Feb 7;72:23-29. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Faculty of Nursing, Jordan University of Science and Technology, B.O. Box 3030, Irbid 22110, Jordan. Electronic address:

Objective: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a childbirth preparation course on birth outcomes among nulliparous Jordanian women.

Design: A randomized control trial pre-test/post-test design was used to assess the effects of a childbirth preparation course conducted in a military hospital in Amman, Jordan from 1 July to 15 September 2016. A total of 133 low-risk nulliparous women were recruited and randomly assigned to either (1) a control group who received standard care in antenatal clinics or (2) an intervention group who received standard care in antenatal clinics as well as a childbirth preparation course specifically designed for the purpose of this study. Read More

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc 2019 Feb 7;214:103-110. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Department of Applied Chemistry, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China; State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China. Electronic address:

Construction of heterojunctions with band-suitable different semiconductors has been demonstrated to be an efficient approach to enhance the separation of photoinduced electrons and holes. In this paper, highly efficient heterojuction photocatalysts consisted of porous-CN (p-CN) and flowerlike-BiOBr (f-BiOBr) were successfully synthesized via a deposition-hydrothermal method. The SEM and HRTEM images indicated that BiOBr were successfully deposited on the surface of p-CN and the layered p-CN/f-BiOBr heterojunctions were formed between p-CN and f-BiOBr. Read More

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2019 Feb 6;177:306-312. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, PR China.

Gene transfection, as an effective treatment for inherited and acquired life threatening diseases caused by genetic deficiencies and abnormalities, has evolved as a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer and other intractable diseases. Non-target-specific vectors will affect normal cells as well as pathogenic cells, resulting in a relative decrease in transfection efficiency and unnecessary cytotoxicity. In the present work, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) functionalized with folate (FA)-modified polyethylenimine (PEI-FA) were prepared by a single step method (without additional reducing agent) for targeted gene transfection in tumor cells. Read More

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2019 Feb 5;177:294-305. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan. Electronic address:

To overcome low therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapy against multidrug resistance (MDR) breast cancer, a combination therapy system based upon functionalized polymer nanoparticles comprising poly(γ-glutamic acid)-g-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (γ-PGA-g-PLGA) as the major component was developed. The NPs were loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) and indocyanine green (ICG) for dual modality cancer treatment and coated with cholesterol-PEG (C-PEG) for MDR abrogation in treatment of human MDR breast cancer. The in vitro cellular uptake of the DOX/ICG loaded nanoparticles (DI-NPs) by MDR cancer cells was significantly enhanced owing to effective inhibition of the P-gp activity by C-PEG and γ-PGA receptor-mediated endocytosis. Read More

Bioresour Technol 2019 Feb 10;280:165-172. Epub 2019 Feb 10.

Yongxin Sugar Industry Company, Laibin 546100, PR China.

The aim of this work was to study the ability of commercial immobilized hydrolases in the decolorization of molasses wastewater. Commercial immobilized keratinase obtained the highest decolorization yield (86.6-91. Read More

Acta Biomater 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Chemistry, Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, United states. Electronic address:

Macroscale biomaterials, such as preformed implantable scaffolds and injectable soft materials, possess powerful synergies with anti-cancer immunotherapies. Immunotherapies on their own typically have poor delivery properties, and often require repeated high-dose injections that result in serious off-tumor effects and/or limited efficacy. Rationally designed biomaterials allow for discrete localization and controlled release of immunotherapeutic agents, and have been shown in a large number of applications to improve outcomes in the treatment of cancers via immunotherapy. Read More

Acta Biomater 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Institute of Material Research, Max-Planck-Str. 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany. Electronic address:

Bovine serum albumin (BSA) or fetal bovine serum (FBS), as the protein component, is usually added into solution to study the influence of proteins on Mg degradation. However, the specific character of proteins used and the interaction between organic molecules in FBS do not draw enough attention. This study investigated the influence of BSA, fibrinogen (Fib) and FBS on Mg degradation in Hanks' balanced salt solution without (HBSS) or with calcium (HBSSCa) and Dulbecco's modified eagle medium Glutamax-I (DMEM). Read More

J Ethnopharmacol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

H.E. J. Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan; Department of Biochemistry, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (P.C.M.D.), International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan. Electronic address:

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Tetrapleura tetrapteura Taub. is a leguminous multipurpose tree (Fabaceae) indigenous to tropical Africa. Fruits, seeds and stem bark infusions or decoctions of Tetrapleura tetrapteura Taub. Read More

Methods 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Public Health England, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 0JG. UK.

In the UK, research on hazard group 4 (HG4) pathogens requires specialised Containment Level 4 (CL4) facilities. These differ from Biosafety Level 4 (BSL4) conditions in that work is conducted in class III microbiological safety cabinets for primary containment instead of using positive pressure suits. This presents unique challenges associated with the physical restrictions of working in a limited space, and prohibits the use of many techniques and specialist equipment. Read More

J Biomed Inform 2019 Feb 13:103127. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Experimental Radiation Oncology, Department of Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany. Electronic address:

The performance of case-based reasoning (CBR) depends on an accurate ranking of similar cases in the retrieval phase that affects all subsequent phases and profits from the potential of large databases. Unfortunately, growing databases come along with a rising amount of missing data that reduces the stability of the ranking since incomplete cases cannot be ranked as reliable as complete ones. In context of CBR hardly any work was done so far to rigorously analyze the impact of missing data and solutions to tackle this issue. Read More

Eur J Pharm Sci 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Via San Donato 19/2, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy. Electronic address:

The aim of this work was to prepare new mucoadhesive nasal decongestant nanoparticles obtained by direct crosslinking between the cationic polymer chitosan and the anionic drug cromolyn. Different chitosan/cromolyn molar ratios were used in order to obtain nanoparticles of suitable size, encapsulation efficiency/drug loading and mucoadhesion. Moreover, the ability of the nanoparticles to deliver cromolyn into and through the nasal mucosa was evaluated. Read More

Int J Pharm 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Worldwide Medicinal Chemistry, Pfizer Global Research & Development, Groton Laboratories, Eastern Point Road, Groton, Connecticut 06340, United States. Electronic address:

The present work proposes a novel application of EPSA (not an acronym but found to be referred to by many as Exposed Polar Surface Area), a supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) polarity readout for assisting in the prediction of the extent of drug permeation through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). For this purpose, EPSA values for 69 structurally unrelated acidic, basic, neutral and amphoteric compounds were determined by a validated SFC method. Additionally, water-accessible surface area (WASA) values for the whole dataset were calculated in silico and compared to experimentally determined EPSA values. Read More

Neurobiol Dis 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Departments of Biological Sciences, Cell and Developmental Biology, and Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University and Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA. Electronic address:

Recent work shows Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP) drives the translation of very large proteins (>2000 aa) mediating neurodevelopment. Loss of function results in Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the leading heritable cause of intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using the Drosophila FXS disease model, we discover FMRP positively regulates the translation of the very large A-Kinase Anchor Protein (AKAP) Rugose (>3000 aa), homolog of ASD-associated human Neurobeachin (NBEA). Read More

Eur J Pharm Biopharm 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Division of Advanced Materials and Healthcare Technologies, School of Pharmacy, The University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK. Electronic address:

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common skin cancer in humans. Topical treatment with imiquimod provides a non-invasive, self-administered treatment with relatively low treatment cost. Despite displaying excellent efficacy, imiquimod is only licensed by the FDA for superficial BCC. Read More

Cell Signal 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Biology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

Mutations in CLN3 cause a juvenile form of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL). This devastating neurological disorder, commonly known as Batten disease, is currently untreatable due to a lack of understanding of the physiological role of the protein. Recently, work in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum has provided valuable new insight into the function of CLN3 in the cell. Read More

J Biotechnol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China. Electronic address:

3, 4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (3, 4-DHPA) is a phenolic acid with strong anti-oxidative activity, showing potential applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, a 3, 4-DHPA biosynthetic pathway was designed by connecting 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (4-HPA) biosynthesis with its hydroxylation. The starting strain produced only 46 mg/L of 4-HPA in 48 h. Read More

Cancer Lett 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Cell Physiology and Metabolism, Translational Research Centre in Oncohaematology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; School of Biomedicine, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia. Electronic address:

Wnt signaling is overactivated in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and several other cancers, and its suppression emerges as an effective anticancer treatment. However, no drugs targeting the Wnt pathway exist on the market nor in advanced clinical trials. Here we provide a comprehensive body of preclinical evidence that an anti-leprotic drug clofazimine is effective against TNBC. Read More

Antiviral Res 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Microbiology and Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address:

The recent emergence of Zika virus, a mosquito-borne flavivirus, in the Americas has shed light on the severe neurological diseases associated with infection, notably congenital microcephaly in newborns and Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults. Despite the recent focus on Zika virus, there are currently no approved vaccines or antiviral therapies available to treat or prevent infection. In this study we established a competitive amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assay (ALPHAscreen) to identify small molecule inhibitors targeting the envelope protein of Zika virus (Zika E). Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address:

In this work, a novel green solvent based on the ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EmimAc) with a superior dissolving ability to biomacromolecules was utilized to boost solubility of water-insoluble curdlan. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), circular dichroism (CD), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were used to characterize the structural changes of curdlan before and after regeneration. Thermal decomposition property of curdlan was also investigated using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Innovative Green Product Synthesis and Renewable Environment Development Research Group, Faculty of Environment and Labour Safety, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. Electronic address:

Cancer is becoming a major reason for death troll worldwide due to the difficulty in finding an efficient, cost effective and target specific method of treatment or diagnosis. The variety of cancer therapy used in the present scenario have painful side effect, low effectiveness and high cost, which is a major drawback of the available therapies. Apart from the conventional cancer therapy, nanotechnology has grown extremely towards treating cancer. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb, HR-10001 Zagreb, Marulićev trg 19, p.p.177, Croatia. Electronic address:

The synthesis of biologically active scaffolds is focused on the design of cell-sensitive surface by applying cell-adhesive proteins or bioceramic micro (nano) particles. The emerging new strategy for manipulating the biological properties lies in the modification by trace metals found in the living organism. In this work, we have prepared biocompatible chitosan hydrogels modified by copper (II) and zinc (II) ions through complexation interactions. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Engineering Research Center for Biomedical Materials, Anhui Key Laboratory of Modern Biomanufacturing, School of Life Science, Anhui University, 111 Jiu long Road, Hefei, Anhui Province 230601, PR China. Electronic address:

This work described the preparation of two type nanogels based on the crosslinking between carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) and two different crosslink agents, an acid-labile cyclic ortho ester compound with dual epoxy end groups (OEDe) or corresponding non-sensitive ethyleneglycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE). The particle size, zeta potential, and micromorphology were characterized by dynamic light scattering and electron microscopy, respectively. Nanogels' stability was also investigated at physiological environments. Read More

Dev Biol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx NY 10461, USA; Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx NY 10461, USA; Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx NY 10461, USA. Electronic address:

Regulation of the Drosophila ID protein Extra macrochaetae (Emc) is important because reduced Emc levels have been proposed to favor proneural gene activity and thereby define a prepattern for neurogenesis. Recent studies suggest a major role for post-translational control of Emc levels. To further define the mechanisms of Emc regulation, we identified two redundant cis-regulatory regions by germline transformation-rescue experiments that make use of new molecularly-defined emc mutants. Read More

FEBS J 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Univ. Grenoble Alpes, INRA, CNRS, CEA, BIG-LPCV, 38000, Grenoble, France.

Alternative routes for the post-chorismate branch of the biosynthetic pathway leading to tyrosine exist, the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate or the arogenate route. The arogenate route involves the transamination of prephenate into arogenate. In a previous study, we found that, depending on the microorganisms possessing the arogenate route, three different aminotransferases evolved to perform prephenate transamination i. Read More

Am J Phys Anthropol 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.

Objectives: Purported evolutionary shifts in shoulder structure have been linked to changes in hominin behavior and adaptation. Researchers use clavicle morphology to infer these shifts. However, there is a lack of empirical data underlying such predictive relationships. Read More

BJOG 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

School of Applied Psychology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Switzerland.

Objective: Little is known about how teams' non-technical performance influences clinical performance in obstetric emergencies like postpartum haemorrhage.

Design: Video review - observational study.

Setting: A university hospital (5,000 deliveries) and a regional hospital (2,000 deliveries) in Denmark. Read More

J Pers 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Human Development and Family Studies, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Objective: This study seeks to understand the ways in which spouses' gender-related attitudes are configured within couples and how such configurations are linked to marital satisfaction in Chinese marriage.

Method: Latent profile analysis was conducted using dyadic data from a nationwide large sample of Chinese couples from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) (N = 7,257 couples; M = 28.36, SD = 12. Read More

Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Tampere University hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tampere, Finland.

Introduction: Our objective was to compare the efficacy of a 200-μg misoprostol vaginal insert (MVI) vs oral misoprostol regarding the cesarean section rate and the time interval to vaginal delivery in nulliparous women with unfavorable cervix.

Material And Methods: In this prospective multicenter trial 283 nulliparous women at term with Bishop score < 6 were randomized to induction of labor with either an MVI (n=140) or oral misoprostol (n= 143). Oral misoprostol was administered 50 μg four-hourly up to three times during the first day and 100 μg four-hourly up to three times during the second day, if necessary. Read More