Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Neurosci Lett 2021 Apr 7:135879. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China. Electronic address:

Objective: We aimed to estimate the role of vacuolar protein sorting 13C (VPS13C) gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2414739 variant in the risk of PD by meta-analysis.

Methods: Five eligible case-control studies including 2796 PD cases and 4138 health controls involved in this meta-analysis. The fixed or random effect model was selected based on the heterogeneity of the included studies which detected by I and Q tests. Read More

FEBS J 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.

Three-dimensional (3D) cultures of cancer cells in liquid without extracellular matrix (ECM) offers in vitro models for metastasising conditions such as those in vessels and effusion. However, liquid culturing is often hindered by cell adhesiveness, which causes large cell clumps. We previously described a liquid culture material, LA717, which prevents non-clonal cell adhesion and subsequent clumping, thus allowing clonal growth of spheroids in an anchorage-independent manner. Read More

Infect Dis Ther 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA.

Introduction: The clinical efficacy and safety of ceftolozane/tazobactam for the treatment of ventilated hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (vHABP) and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (VABP) has been demonstrated in the phase III randomised controlled trial ASPECT-NP. However, there are no published data on the cost-effectiveness of ceftolozane/tazobactam for vHABP/VABP. These nosocomial infections are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality, and are increasingly complicated by growing rates of resistance and the inappropriate use of antimicrobials. Read More

J Antimicrob Chemother 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Hospital Clínic, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS); University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

Objectives: To investigate if the addition of cloxacillin to vancomycin enhances the activity of both monotherapies for treating MSSA and MRSA experimental endocarditis (EE) in rabbits.

Methods: Vancomycin plus cloxacillin was compared with the respective monotherapies and daptomycin. In vitro time-kill studies were performed using standard (105 cfu) and high (108 cfu) inocula of five MRSA, one glycopeptide-intermediate (GISA) and five MSSA strains. Read More

Gut 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.

Objective: Our aim was to prospectively assess the antibiotic resistance rates in strains in Europe in 2018 and to study the link between antibiotic consumption in the community and resistance levels in the different countries.

Design: The proportion of primary antibiotic resistance cases of and their corresponding risk factors were investigated in 24 centres from 18 European countries according to a standardised protocol. Data on antibiotic consumption in the community were collected for the period 2008-2017. Read More

BMC Cancer 2021 Apr 9;21(1):391. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 YanTa West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China.

Background: Astrocytoma is a common type of central nervous system tumor. In this study, we investigated the correlation between ST6GAL1 and CYP19A1 polymorphisms and the risk and prognosis of astrocytoma.

Methods: A total of 365 astrocytoma patients and 379 healthy controls were genotyped using the Agena MassARRAY system. Read More

Neuroscience 2021 Apr 6. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Institute of Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany. Electronic address:

Experimental and clinical data suggest an impact of serotonergic signaling on seizure susceptibility and epilepsy-associated psychiatric comorbidities. Previous µPET studies revealed increased binding of 5-HT receptor ligand [F]MPPF in two rat models with spontaneous recurrent seizures. These findings raised the question whether these alterations are due to altered 5-HT receptor expression or a modification of extracellular serotonin concentrations. Read More

G3 (Bethesda) 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, 300, Hackberry lane, Tuscaloosa, AL-35487, USA.

Advanced age in humans is associated with greater susceptibility to and higher mortality rates from infections, including infections with some RNA viruses. The underlying innate immune mechanisms, which represent the first line of defense against pathogens, remain incompletely understood. Drosophila melanogaster is able to mount potent and evolutionarily conserved innate immune defenses against a variety of microorganisms including viruses and serves as an excellent model organism for studying host-pathogen interactions. Read More

Brain Behav 2021 Apr 9:e02118. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Department of Neurology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China.

Background: Previous studies have shown that the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) rs6265 G > A polymorphism is closely related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) risk. However, the results were not consistent. We therefore conducted a meta-analysis to explore the underlying relationships between BDNF rs6265 G > A polymorphism and PTSD risk. Read More

Immunol Res 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a heterodimeric cytokine encoded by two separate genes, IL12A and IL12B, which may play a regulatory role in allergen-induced inflammation through CD4 T-cell subsets polarization. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the IL12B gene with susceptibility to allergic rhinitis (AR). We performed a case-control study including 130 AR patients and 130 healthy controls to evaluate the possible association between IL12B gene SNPs (rs3212227, rs6887695) and the risk of AR using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Department of Energy and Mineral Resources Engineering, Sejong University, 209 Neudong-roGwangjin-gu, Seoul, 05006, Republic of Korea.

This study investigates uncertainty in machine learning that can occur when there is significant variance in the prediction importance level of the independent variables, especially when the ROC fails to reflect the unbalanced effect of prediction variables. A variable drop-off loop function, based on the concept of early termination for reduction of model capacity, regularization, and generalization control, was tested. A susceptibility index for airborne particulate matter of less than 10 μm diameter (PM10) was modeled using monthly maximum values and spectral bands and indices from Landsat 8 imagery, and Open Street Maps were used to prepare a range of independent variables. Read More

J Assist Reprod Genet 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

The Department of Gynecology, Longyan People Hospital, Longyan, 364000, Fujian, China.

Objective: To study the correlation between SNPs at phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA) rs9838117 site, erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2 (ERBB2) rs1058808 site, and their interactions with environmental factors and the epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) risk.

Methods: Sanger sequencing was used to analyze the genotypes of PIK3CA rs9838117 and ERBB2 rs1058808 site in 587 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Multi-factor dimensionality reduction (MDR) was applied to analyze the interaction between PIK3CA rs9838117 and ERBB2 rs1058808 site and the clinical data. Read More

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Department of Medical Microbiology, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major threat worldwide while central nervous system TB (CNS-TB) is one of the most severe forms of extrapulmonary TB. CNS-TB develops as a secondary infection during the hematogenous spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) from the lungs to the CNS. Read More

Biosci Rep 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, shenyang, China.

Objective:  The relationship between IL-4 rs2243250 polymorphism and the risk of allergic rhinitis is not clear at present. This study aims to evaluate the exact association between IL-4 rs2243250 polymorphism and susceptibility to allergic rhinitis by a meta-analysis.

Methods:  The studies about IL-4 rs2243250 polymorphism associated with susceptibility to allergic rhinitis were searched using PubMed, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and China Wanfang databases. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 8;11(1):7743. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Uppsala University, Box 35, 751 03, Uppsala, Sweden.

The non-equilibrium dynamics of the superspin glass state of a dense assembly of ~ 2 nm MnFeO nanoparticles was investigated by means of magnetization, ac susceptibility and Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements and compared to the results of Monte Carlo simulations for a mesoscopic model that includes particles morphology and interparticle interactions. The zero-field cooled (ZFC), thermoremanent (TRM), and isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) were recorded after specific cooling protocols and compared to those of archetypal spin glasses and their dimensionality. The system is found to display glassy magnetic features. Read More

BMC Ophthalmol 2021 Apr 8;21(1):165. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Human Genetics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India.

Purpose: Transforming growth factor beta (TGFB) is an important candidate gene implicated in glaucoma pathogenesis because it affects retinal ganglionic cell survival. The present study assessed the genetic association of -509C > T variant in the TGFB promoter region with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) in a North Indian Punjabi population.

Method: A total of 867 subjects (307 POAG, 133 PACG cases and 427 controls) were recruited from the targeted population. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2021 Apr;100(14):e25392

Department of Ophthalmology, The Affiliated Kunhua Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, The First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming 650032, Yunnan Province, China.

Background: Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) polymorphisms have been considered as risk factors of cataracts, but the results still remain controversial. In this study, we have performed a systematic meta-analysis to evaluate the association between MMP-2 polymorphisms and cataract risks.

Methods: Published literature was retrieved from Wanfang, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chongqing VIP Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases. Read More

Biochem Pharmacol 2021 Apr 5:114545. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Democritus University of Thrace, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Alexandroupolis, Greece. Electronic address:

Human NAT2 is a polymorphic pharmacogene encoding for N-acetyltransferase 2, a hepatic enzyme active towards arylamine and arylhydrazine drugs, including the anti-tubercular antibiotic isoniazid. The isoenzyme also modulates susceptibility to chemical carcinogenesis, particularly of the bladder. Human NAT2 represents an ideal model for anthropological investigations into the demographic adaptation of worldwide populations to their xenobiotic environment. Read More

PLoS One 2021 8;16(4):e0249631. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, United States of America.

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are important nosocomial pathogens that cause life-threatening infections. To control hospital-associated infections, skin antisepsis and bathing utilizing chlorhexidine is recommended for VRE patients in acute care hospitals. Previously, we reported that exposure to inhibitory chlorhexidine levels induced the expression of vancomycin resistance genes in VanA-type Enterococcus faecium. Read More

JCI Insight 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Neuropharmacology, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.

Extensive activation of glial cells during a latent period has been well documented in various animal models of epilepsy. However, it remains unclear whether activated glial cells contribute to epileptogenesis; i.e. Read More

Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2021 Apr 7. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Nuclear Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 1277 Jiefang Ave, Wuhan, 430022, China.

Purpose: To construct multivariate radiomics models using hybrid F-FDG PET/MRI for distinguishing between Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA).

Methods: Ninety patients (60 with PD and 30 with MSA) were randomized to training and test sets in a 7:3 ratio. All patients underwent F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET/MRI to simultaneously obtain metabolic images (F-FDG), structural MRI images (T1-weighted imaging (T1WI), T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (T2/FLAIR)) and functional MRI images (susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient). Read More

PeerJ 2021 22;9:e10965. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.

Teff ( (Zucc.) Trotter) is a staple, ancient food crop in Ethiopia. Its growth is affected by climate change, so it is essential to understand climatic effects on its habitat suitability in order to design countermeasures to ensure food security. Read More

Front Neurosci 2021 22;15:647168. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

Objective: To investigate iron deposition in the substantia nigra (SN) of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients associated with levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID).

Methods: Seventeen PD patients with LID, 17 PD patients without LID, and 16 healthy controls were recruited for this study. The mean QSM values of the whole, left, and right SN were compared among the three groups. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 7;11(1):7598. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Ovarian cancer is highly metastatic, with a high frequency of relapse, and is the most fatal gynecologic malignancy in women worldwide. It is important to elevate the drug susceptibility and cytotoxicity of ovarian cancer cells, thereby eliminating resident cancer cells for more effective therapeutic efficacy. Here, we developed a bispecific antibody (BsAb; mPEG × HER2) that can easily provide HER2 tumor tropism to mPEGylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) and further increase the drug accumulation in cancer cells via receptor-mediated endocytosis, and improve the cytotoxicity and therapeutic efficacy of HER2 ovarian tumors. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 7;11(1):7651. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Physics, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

In this paper, we present a Kane-Mele model in the presence of magnetic field and next nearest neighbors hopping amplitudes for investigations of the spin susceptibilities of Germanene layer. Green's function approach has been implemented to find the behavior of dynamical spin susceptibilities of Germanene layer within linear response theoryand in the presence of magnetic field and spin-orbit coupling at finite temperature. Our results show the magnetic excitation mode for both longitudinal and transverse components of spin tends to higher frequencies with spin-orbit coupling strength. Read More

Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2021 Apr 7. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

UMR 1018, INSERM

Background: Given the increased use and diversity of diagnostic procedures, it is important to understand genetic susceptibility to radiation-induced thyroid cancer.

Methods: Based on self-declared diagnostic radiology examination records in addition to existing literature, we estimated the radiation dose delivered to the thyroid gland from diagnostic procedures during childhood and adulthood in two case-control studies conducted in France. A total of 1071 differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) cases and 1188 controls from the combined studies were genotyped using a custom-made Illumina OncoArray DNA chip. Read More

J Virol 2021 Apr 7. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Laboratory of Nematology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, the Netherlands

Host-pathogen interactions play a major role in evolutionary selection and shape natural genetic variation. The genetically distinct strains, Bristol N2 and Hawaiian CB4856, are differentially susceptible to the Orsay virus (OrV). Here we report the dissection of the genetic architecture of susceptibility to OrV infection. Read More

J Zoo Wildl Med 2021 Apr;52(1):90-96

College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA.

Population pharmacokinetics utilizing sparse sampling were used to determine pharmacokinetics of ceftazidime in eastern hellbenders () due to their slow growth rate and the limited number of appropriately sized individuals in the zoo-housed population. Twenty-five eastern hellbenders received a single subcutaneous injection of ceftazidime at 20 mg/kg. Each animal had blood samples collected up to four times between 0 and 192 hr postinjection. Read More

Breast Cancer Res Treat 2021 Apr 7. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

City of Hope Cancer Center, 1500 East Duarte Road, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA.

Purpose: The prevalence, penetrance, and spectrum of pathogenic variants that predispose women to two or more breast cancers is largely unknown.

Methods: We queried clinical and genetic data from women with one or more breast cancer diagnosis who received multigene panel testing between 2013 and 2018. Clinical data were obtained from provider-completed test request forms. Read More

Intensive Care Med Exp 2021 Apr 7;9(1):19. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Center for Translational Medicine, Department of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA.

Background: To describe the effect of mechanical ventilation on diaphragm mitochondrial oxygen consumption, ATP production, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and cytochrome c oxidase activity and content, and their relationship to diaphragm strength in an experimental model of sepsis.

Methods: A cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) protocol was performed in 12 rats while 12 controls underwent sham operation. Half of the rats in each group were paralyzed and mechanically ventilated. Read More