Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Eur Heart J 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Cardiology, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, Groningen, the Netherlands.

Aims: We sought to determine subtypes of patients with heart failure (HF) with a distinct clinical profile and treatment response, using a wide range of biomarkers from various pathophysiological domains.

Methods And Results: We performed unsupervised cluster analysis using 92 established cardiovascular biomarkers to identify mutually exclusive subgroups (endotypes) of 1802 patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) from the BIOSTAT-CHF project. We validated our findings in an independent cohort of 813 patients. Read More

Ann Work Expo Health 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.

Thermal spraying is widely used for industrial-scale application of ceramic coatings onto metallic surfaces. The particular process has implications for occupational health, as the high energy process generates high emissions of metal-bearing nanoparticles. Emissions and their impact on exposure were characterized during thermal spraying in a work environment, by monitoring size-resolved number and mass concentrations, lung-deposited surface area, particle morphology, and chemical composition. Read More

Clin Imaging 2018 Dec 1;54:57-62. Epub 2018 Dec 1.

Department of Radiology, University of Michigan Medical School, 3208C Medical Sciences Building 1, B1D502, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5030, United States of America. Electronic address:

Introduction: Childhood pneumonia is a major cause of death in the 3rd world, and undernourishment increases the severity of the condition. We considered axillary thickness as a simple measurement to evaluate nutritional status that can be performed simultaneously with lung ultrasound. Our goal was to determine the distribution of axillary thickness in a cohort of children to determine a threshold for malnutrition. Read More

Neoplasia 2018 Dec 11;21(1):132-145. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210; The James Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210. Electronic address:

The organization of the extracellular matrix has a profound impact on cancer development and progression. The matrix becomes aligned throughout tumor progression, providing "highways" for tumor cell invasion. Aligned matrix is associated with breast density and is a negative prognostic factor in several cancers; however, the underlying mechanisms regulating this reorganization remain poorly understood. Read More

Biochimie 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Respiratory Medicine, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, No. 61 Jiefang Xi Road, Changsha, 410219, Hunan, PR China; Institute of Respiratory Medicine, Changsha Medical College, No. 1501 Leifeng Road, Changsha, 410219, Hunan, PR China. Electronic address:

The present study was designed to explore the role of transient receptor potential canonical 3 (TRPC3) in nicotine-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its underlying mechanism. In this study, the expression and localization of α5 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α5-nAchR) in lung tissues were determined by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis was performed to examine the mRNA expression levels of α5-nAchR and TRPC3 in human airway smooth muscle cells (HASMCs). Read More

Ann Thorac Surg 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Department of Surgical Oncology Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8551, Japan. Electronic address:

Background: As segmentectomy becomes widely used for lung cancer treatment, "complex segmentectomy," which makes several, intricate intersegmental planes, remains controversial because of procedural complexity and risk of increased complications and incurability. Questions remain regarding mortality, morbidity, surgical margin, lymph nodes dissection, and postoperative pulmonary function. We evaluated operative and postoperative outcomes of complex compared to simple segmentectomy. Read More

Antiviral Res 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

VIDO-InterVac, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E3, Canada; Microbiology & Immunology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E3, Canada. Electronic address:

Human parainfluenza virus 3 (PIV3) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are major causative agents of serious respiratory tract illness in newborns and infants. Maternal vaccination could be a promising approach to provide immediate protection against severe PIV3 and RSV infection in young infants. Previously, we demonstrated that maternal immunization with a subunit vaccine consisting of the RSV fusion (F) protein formulated with TriAdj, an adjuvant consisting of poly(I:C), immune defense regulatory peptide and polyphosphazene, protects newborn lambs from RSV. Read More

Antiviral Res 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Paediatrics, University Hospital Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Institute of Virology and Immunology, Bern, Switzerland; Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address:

Introduction: Rhinovirus (RV) infection is a major cause of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung morbidity with limited therapeutic options. Various diseases involving chronic inflammatory response and infection are associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and subsequent activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR), an adaptive response to maintain cellular homeostasis. Recent evidence suggests impaired ER stress response in CF airway epithelial cells, this might be a reason for recurrent viral infection in CF. Read More

J Mol Cell Cardiol 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Cardiovascular Research Institute of Vermont, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States. Electronic address:

Rationale: Truncation mutations in the MYBPC3 gene, encoding for cardiac myosin-binding protein C (MyBP-C), are the leading cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Whole heart, fiber and molecular studies demonstrate that MyBP-C is a potent modulator of cardiac contractility, but how these mutations contribute to HCM is unresolved.

Objectives: To readdress whether MYBPC3 truncation mutations result in loss of MyBP-C content and/or the expression of truncated MyBP-C from the mutant allele and determine how these mutations effect myofilament sliding in human myocardium. Read More

J Appl Clin Med Phys 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.

Purpose: For prone breast treatment, daily image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) allows couch shifting to correct breast position relative to the treatment field. This work investigates the dosimetric effect of reducing kV imaging frequencies and the feasibility of optimizing the frequency using patient anatomy or their first 3-day shifts.

Method: Thirty-seven prone breast patients who had been treated with skin marker alignment followed by daily kV were retrospectively analyzed. Read More

PLoS One 2018 14;13(12):e0209384. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, Respiratory Medicine and Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga, Japan.

Although mechanisms of acquired resistance to 1st and 3rd generation EGFR-TKI continue to be elucidated, there have been few clinical investigations into the mechanisms of acquired resistance to the 2nd generation EGFR-TKI afatinib. We analyzed data from 20 patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma who acquired resistance to afatinib, including resistance during EGFR-TKI re-challenge. We examined EGFR T790M and C797S mutations, BRAF V600E mutation, and MET amplification with the MBP-QP method and with droplet digital PCR using ctDNA and re-biopsy samples obtained before and after afatinib treatment. Read More

PLoS One 2018 14;13(12):e0209095. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Division of Neonatology and Pediatric Molecular and Personalized Medicine Program, Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, United States of America.

Basement membrane (BM) is an essential part of the extracellular matrix (ECM) that plays a crucial role in mechanical support and signaling to epithelial cells during lung development, homeostasis and repair. Abnormal composition and remodeling of the lung ECM have been associated with developmental abnormalities observed in multiple pediatric and adult respiratory diseases. Collagen VI (COL6) is a well-studied muscle BM component, but its role in the lung and its effect on pulmonary epithelium is largely undetermined. Read More

J Thorac Imaging 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital of Heidelberg.

Novel therapeutic options in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) require delicate patient selection and thus demand for expert radiologists visually and quantitatively evaluating high-resolution computed tomography (CT) with additional functional acquisitions such as paired inspiratory-expiratory scans or dynamic airway CT. The differentiation between emphysema-dominant and airway-dominant COPD phenotypes by imaging has immediate clinical value for patient management. Assessment of emphysema severity, distribution patterns, and fissure integrity are essential for stratifying patients for different surgical and endoscopic lung volume reduction procedures. Read More

J Thorac Imaging 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Center for Medical Imaging North-East Netherlands (CMI-NEN), University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen.

Lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cardiovascular disease are highly prevalent in the general population and expected to cause most deaths by 2050. For these "Big-3," treatment might cure, delay, or stop the progression of disease at a very early stage. Lung nodule growth rate (a biomarker for lung cancer), emphysema/air trapping (a biomarker for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and coronary artery calcification (a biomarker for cardiovascular disease) are imaging biomarkers of early stages of the Big-3 that can be acquired with low-dose computed tomography (CT). Read More

Echo Res Pract 2018 Dec 1. Epub 2018 Dec 1.

B Shelley, Anaesthesia, Pain and Critical Care Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction occurs following lung resection and is associated with post-operative complications and long-term functional morbidity. Accurate peri-operative assessment of RV function would have utility in this population. The difficulties of trans thoracic echocardiographic (TTE) assessment of RV function may be compounded following lung resection surgery and no parameters have been validated in this patient group. Read More

J Clin Oncol 2018 Dec 14:JCO1801585. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

1 Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.

Purpose: Approximately 3% to 10% of EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) -mutant non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) undergo transformation to small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), but their clinical course is poorly characterized.

Methods: We retrospectively identified patients with EGFR-mutant SCLC and other high-grade neuroendocrine carcinomas seen at our eight institutions. Demographics, disease features, and outcomes were analyzed. Read More

Curr Med Res Opin 2018 Dec 14:1-15. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

b Amgen Inc. , Thousand Oaks , CA.

Background: Guidelines recommend primary prophylactic use of colony-stimulating factor (PP-CSF) when risk of febrile neutropenia (FN)-based on chemotherapy and patient risk factors-is high. Whether and how PP-CSF use may have changed over time (e.g. Read More

Health Psychol 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Warren Alpert Medical School.

Objective: Self-regulation interventions encouraging daily weighing prevent weight gain in young adults; however, concerns have been raised that such interventions may have undesirable effects on eating pathology, depression, and health-related quality of life (HRQL). The present study examined whether self-regulation interventions and self-weighing frequency were associated with these indices in normal weight individuals and those with overweight or obesity.

Methods: Young adults ( = 599), 18-35 years with a body mass index (BMI) 21. Read More

Psychol Aging 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Biobehavioral Health and Medicine.

Advancing age is often characterized by preserved or even enhanced emotion regulation, which is thought to manifest in terms of age-related reductions in the within-person association between stressors and negative affect. Existing research from ecological momentary assessment and end-of-day daily diary studies examining such age-related benefits have yielded mixed results, potentially due to differences in samples, design, and measurement of everyday stressors and negative affect. We conducted a coordinated analysis of 5 ecological momentary assessments and 2 end-of-day daily diary studies to examine adult age differences in the within-person association between everyday stressors and negative affect. Read More

Pol J Microbiol 2018 ;67(4):487-492

Department of Pathology and Veterinary Diagnostics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences , Warsaw , Poland.

Mycobacterioses are a constant problem in backyard poultry, as well as pet birds. To date, no evidence of direct transmission of atypical bacilli between humans has been demonstrated, but it cannot be ruled out that sick animals can be a source of infection for people in their environment. The aim of the study was to identify mycobacteria isolated from birds with diagnosed mycobacteriosis and to determine the susceptibility of mycobacterial isolates from these animals to antituberculous drugs most commonly used in the treatment of mycobacterial infections in humans. Read More

Lin Chung Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi 2018 Dec;32(23):1788-1791

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, the First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, China.

To explore the application of lung function and exhaled nitric oxide in the evaluation of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis(CRS) with or without polyps who denied bronchial asthma history and planned to undergo endoscopic sinus surgery. Two hundred and thirty-two patients with CRS during April 2016 to April 2018 in our hospital were recruited in this study. All patients accepted lung function and exhaled nitric oxide test before surgery to evaluate whether accompanied with asthma, improvements after standardized drug therapy in patients with asthma. Read More

Lin Chung Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi 2018 Oct;32(19):1507-1508

Lin Chung Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi 2018 Jul;32(14):1078-1081

Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100010, China.

To analyze the characteristics and related factors of distant metastasis of head and neck mucosal melanoma, so as to provide better help for the treatment and the control of patients' survival. Retrospectively analyze the patients of head and neck mucosal melanoma who were treated in our hospital from January 2004 to December 2016, through follow-up, of which 37 cases of patients with metastatic disease were analyzed which including the incidence of distant metastasis, specific metastasis and prognosis, time, etc.The age and gender of the patients were controlled, and 37 cases of 1∶1 were selected randomly in the patients who had no distant metastasis. Read More

Clin Lab 2018 Oct;64(11)

Background: Cryptococcal pneumonia is an uncommon lesion in immune-competent adults. Histological evidence of Cryptococcus neoformans is a gold criterion for diagnosis. Here we report a case firstly misdiagnosed as tuberculosis from a lung biopsy. Read More

Multimed Man Cardiothorac Surg 2018 Dec 4;2018. Epub 2018 Dec 4.

SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo Hospital of Alessandria Piedmont Italy.

"One-stage" transmediastinal replacement of the thoracic aorta provides an alternative treatment to single or multiple stage hybrid procedures for patients with ascending, arch, and descending thoracic aorta aneurysm. The patient is placed on bypass and cooled. During circulatory arrest, after surgical treatment of the aortic valve and root where appropriate, the entire ascending aorta is excised and the transverse arch is opened longitudinally. Read More

Multimed Man Cardiothorac Surg 2018 Dec 5;2018. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont (University of Montreal) 5415, l'Assomption Montréal, QC, H1T 2M4, Canada.

Minimally invasive pulmonary segmentectomy allows adequate oncologic treatment in selected cases while preserving lung parenchyma and minimizing perioperative morbidity and length of hospital stay. It may also be ideal for removing benign obstructive lesions. Most lung segments may be resected as segmentectomies or as partial bisegmentectomies (as is the case for the lingula). Read More

Pediatr Pulmonol 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Department of Pediatrics, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of discordant cardiopulmonary function among patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in our clinic.

Methods: Retrospective chart review from 1999 to 2017.

Inclusion Criteria: DMD patients age ≥ 18 years, alive, with discordant cardiopulmonary function. Read More

Pediatr Pulmonol 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

CHOP Newborn Care at Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Objective: This study compared CO clearance in a premature infant lung model connected to a high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) system supplied with oscillatory versus non-oscillatory flow.

Design/methods: The lung model was set to compliance 1.0 mL/cmH O, RR 60 breaths/min, and 6 mL tidal volume. Read More

Scand J Immunol 2018 Dec 14:e12741. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Laboratory of Translational Research & Immunomonitoring, Section for Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Novel therapies to treat patients with solid cancers that have developed resistance to chemotherapy represent unmet needs of considerable dimensions. In the present review, we will address the attempts to develop Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) targeted immunotherapy against osteosarcoma (OS). This aggressive cancer displays its peak incidence in children and young adults. Read More

Int J Cancer 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Clinical and Population Science Department, School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.

Respiratory diseases are a major cause of late morbidity and mortality amongst childhood cancer survivors. This population-based study investigates respiratory hospital admissions in long-term survivors of cancers diagnosed in young people to identify specific respiratory morbidities, treatment-related risks and their relationship to subsequent morbidity and mortality. Population-based cancer registrations in Yorkshire, England, diagnosed between 1990 and 2011 aged 0-29 years, were linked to inpatient Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) for admissions up to 2017. Read More

J Pathol 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Division of Medical Biochemistry, Biocenter, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide, with adenocarcinomas of the non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) subtype accounting for the majority of cases. Therefore, an urgent need exists for a more detailed dissection of the molecular events driving NSCLC development and the identification of clinically relevant biomarkers. Even though originally identified as a tumour suppressor, recent studies associate the cytoplasmically (mis)localised CDK inhibitor p27 (p27) with unfavourable responses to chemotherapy and poor outcomes in NSCLC, supporting the hypothesis that the protein can execute oncogenic activities. Read More

J Sleep Res 2018 Dec 13:e12810. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Psychiatry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.

Sleep disturbance and anxiety are highly prevalent in patients with implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs). There is limited research, however, on the associations between cognitive performance and sleep parameters, age and anxiety. Forty-one patients with ICDs and self-reported sleep disturbance completed 14 days of actigraphy (M  = 60. Read More

Cell Biol Int 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.

MicroRNA-1204 (miR-1204), a member of the PVT1 region, may improve B cell differentiation and metastasis in breast cancer. However, the role of miR-1204 in NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer) and its mechanism remain unclear. The GEO public database was first employed to find differentially expressed genes. Read More

Prostate 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Nuclear Medicine Unit, ICO Cancer Center, Saint Herblain, Pays de la Loire, France.

Background: In this retrospective study, we investigated the impact of Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT (PSMA PET-CT) upon the treatment plan and therapeutic response obtained for Prostate Cancer (PCa) patients presenting an occult biochemical recurrence.

Methods: Forty-two patients with previously negative or doubtful 18F-Choline (FCH) were enrolled. PET images were recorded 1 h after injection of tracer. Read More

J Physiol 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Pittsburgh Heart, Lung, Blood and Vascular Medicine Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Pulmonary hypertension in the setting of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (PH-HFpEF) is a growing public health problem that is increasing in prevalence. While PH-HFpEF is defined by a high mean pulmonary artery pressure, high left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and a normal ejection fraction, some HFpEF patients develop PH in the presence of pulmonary vascular remodeling with a high transpulmonary pressure gradient or pulmonary vascular resistance. Aging, increased left atrial pressure and stiffness, mitral regurgitation, as well as features of metabolic syndrome, which include obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, are recognized as risk factors for PH-HFpEF. Read More

J Cell Physiol 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Oncology Department, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.

In the US, lung carcinoma accounted for over 150,000 deaths in 2018 and the advances in increasing survival rates are still limited. In this study, we investigated the cohorts with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) or lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) from The Cancer Genome Atlas to figure out the risk factors and genomic alterations that affected their prognosis. The histoclinical factors that differed between LUAD and LUSC were identified and the risk factors affecting the overall survival were figured out for both LUAD and LUSC. Read More

J Cell Physiol 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.

The incidence and mortality of lung cancer ranked the first among all types of cancer in China, and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer accounting for 85% of all lung cancers. Given that the survival rate of patients with advanced NSCLC is still poor nowadays, identification of novel therapeutic targets and the development of effective therapies are desired for the treatment of NSCLC in clinics. In this study, we reported the upregulation of ornithine aminotransferase (OAT) in NSCLC cells and clinical tumor samples as well as its association with the advanced TNM stage, metastasis, and poor tumor differentiation of lung cancer. Read More

Dev Growth Differ 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Applied Biosciences, Toyo University, Ora-gun, Japan.

The heart is one of the vital organs and is functionalized for blood circulation from its early development. Some vertebrates have altered their living environment from aquatic to terrestrial life over the course of evolution and obtained circulatory systems well adapted to their lifestyles. The morphology of the heart has been changed together with the acquisition of a sophisticated respiratory organ, the lung. Read More

Respirology 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Monash Lung and Sleep, Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Thorac Cancer 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

A preoperative chest computed tomography examination of the right breast in a 52-year-old woman with breast cancer revealed multiple nodules in both lungs. The nodule in the apical segment of the upper lobe of the right lung was larger, at a diameter of approximately 2.1 cm. Read More

Chem Asian J 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Nankai University, College of Life Sciences, 94 Weijin Road, 300071, Tianjin, CHINA.

Despite of the enthusiastic research in aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) in recent years, the ones that can be smoothly used for sophisticated biomedical applications such as in vivo bioimaging of pulmonary metastatic tumors during surgery are still limited. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a new series of far-red/near-infrared (FR/NIR) fluorescent AIEgens that consist of methoxy-substituted tetraphenylethene (TPE) as the electron-donating moiety, (1,3-dimethyl)barbituric acid as the electron-withdrawing moiety, and different π-bridge units. As compared to benzene or 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene, using thiophene as the π-conjugation unit between the donor and acceptor results in relatively higher absolute fluorescence quantum yield (14. Read More

Int J Cancer 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Australia.

Cancer cell repopulation through cell cycle re-entry by quiescent (G ) cell is thought to be an important mechanism behind treatment failure and cancer recurrence. Facilitates Chromatin Transcription (FACT) is involved in DNA repair, replication and transcription by eviction of histones or loosening their contact with DNA. While FACT expression is known to be high in a range of cancers, the biological significance of the aberrant increase is not clear. Read More

Chembiochem 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

IBMM-UMR5247, Peptide & Proteins, Faculté de Pharmacie,15 Av. Charles Flahault, 34093, Montpellier, FRANCE.

The p53 tumour suppressor and guardian of the genome undergoes missense mutations which lead to functional inactivation in 50% human cancers. These mutations occur mostly in the DNA-binding domain of the protein and several of these induce conformational changes which lead to amyloid-like protein aggregation. Here we describe a fluorescent biosensor that reports on the R248Q mutant of p53 in vitro and in living cells, engineered through conjugation of an environmentally-sensitive probe onto a peptide derived from the primary aggregation segment of p53. Read More

Clin Transplant 2018 Dec 13:e13462. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 90095.

Employment status may capture elements of patients' physical strength, mental resilience, and socioeconomic status to better prognosticate transplant outcomes. This study characterized the effect of working status on thoracic transplant outcomes by evaluating the United Network for Organ Sharing registry for adult lung or heart transplants from 2005 to 2016. Kaplan-Meier estimates illustrated 5-year and 10-year survival by working status at transplant, while multivariable Cox proportional hazards regressions controlled for baseline differences, including functional and socioeconomic status. Read More

J Cell Biochem 2018 Dec 12. Epub 2018 Dec 12.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Huai'an Second People's Hospital and The Affiliated Huai'an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Huai'an, China.

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) may regulate the process of tumor formation. Although lncRNA CCAT2 has been identified as a key point in many diseases, its pathophysiological mechanism in lung adenocarcinoma remains unknown. We measured the expression level of CCAT2 in lung adenocarcinoma cells and normal lung epithelial cell line BEAS-2B by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Read More

J Cell Biochem 2018 Dec 12. Epub 2018 Dec 12.

Centre for Reproductive Medicine and Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) can infect both the upper and lower respiratory tracts. Polydatin (PD), a traditional Chinese medicine, is known to have anti-inflammation and antifibrosis properties. However, the protective effects of PD against MP pneumonia (MPP) remain unclear. Read More

Allergy 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Inserm, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IAB, Team of environmental epidemiology applied to reproduction and respiratory health, 38000, Grenoble, France.

Background: Research based on cluster analyses led to the identification of particular phenotypes confirming phenotypic heterogeneity of asthma. The long-term clinical course of asthma phenotypes defined by clustering analysis remains unknown, although it is a key aspect to underpin their clinical relevance. We aimed to estimate risk of poor asthma events between asthma clusters identified 20 years earlier. Read More

Am J Transplant 2018 Dec 12. Epub 2018 Dec 12.

Department of Surgery, University of Cambridge, School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Tissue resident lymphocytes are present within many organs, and are presumably transferred at transplantation, but their impact upon host immunity is unclear. Here we examine whether transferred donor natural regulatory CD4 T cells (nT-regs) inhibit host alloimmunity and prolong allograft survival. Transfer of donor-strain lymphocytes was first assessed by identifying circulating donor-derived CD4 T cells in 21 consecutive human lung transplant recipients, with three patterns of chimerism apparent: transient; intermediate; and persistent (detectable for up to 6 weeks, 6 months, and beyond one year, respectively). Read More

Transpl Infect Dis 2018 Dec 12:e13037. Epub 2018 Dec 12.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Carver College of Medicine University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.

Q fever is uncommon in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. We describe a case of granulomatous lung disease as an unusual presentation of chronic Q fever in a kidney-pancreas transplant recipient. This article is protected by copyright. Read More

Transpl Infect Dis 2018 Dec 12:e13034. Epub 2018 Dec 12.

Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos. Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena, Sevilla.

We describe a case of one patient with cystic fibrosis who developed a pan-resistant Burkholderia Cepacia Complex rapidly progressive bacteraemic pneunonia, following bilateral lung transplantation. Patient was treated with a targeted combination antibiotic therapy (meropenem plus ceftazidime/avibactam plus high doses of nebulized colistimethate sodium). The disease evolution was complicated by multiple organ system dysfunction. Read More