Datasets:

reginaboateng

/

cleaned_pubmedqa

like 1

{ "contexts": [ "Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious eating disorder characterized by self-starvation, extreme weight loss, and alterations in brain structure. Structural magnetic resonance imaging studies have documented brain volume reductions in acute AN, but it is unclear whether they are 1) regionally specific, or 2) reversible following weight restoration. Here, we measured cortical thickness (CT) for the first time in AN.", "Structural magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired from adolescent and young adult female patients with acute AN (n = 40), recovered patients following long-term weight restoration (n = 34), and an equal number of age-matched healthy control subjects. Group differences in CT were tested with well-validated procedures implemented in FreeSurfer. The mediating role of clinical variables including body mass index and drive for thinness were explored. For completeness, we also used FreeSurfer's subcortical segmentation stream to test group differences in volumes of select gray matter regions of interest.", "Vertex-wise analyses revealed significant thinning of over 85% of the cortical surface in patients with acute AN and CT normalization in recovered patients following long-term weight restoration, although normal age-related trajectories were absent in the disorder. This pattern of results was largely mirrored in subcortical volumes. We also observed a strong negative correlation between CT and drive for thinness in extrastriate regions involved in body perception." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adolescent", "Adult", "Anorexia Nervosa", "Body Weight", "Cerebral Cortex", "Child", "Female", "Humans", "Magnetic Resonance Imaging", "Organ Size", "Treatment Outcome", "Young Adult" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Symptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) demonstrate abnormal left ventricular (LV) mechanics. The aim of this study was to compare mechanics in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with severe AS using two-dimensional myocardial strain imaging.", "One hundred fifty-four patients with severe AS (aortic valve area ≤ 1.0 cm(2)) referred to a heart valve clinic from 2004 to 2011 were studied. Thirty patients were asymptomatic, with normal LV ejection fractions (≥ 55%), without other significant valvular disease or wall motion abnormalities. Thirty-two symptomatic patients who underwent early aortic valve replacement, with similar age, gender, LV ejection fraction, and aortic valve area, were selected for comparison. Both groups were also compared with 32 healthy subjects with similar age and gender distributions and normal echocardiographic results who served as controls. LV longitudinal and circumferential strain and rotation were measured using speckle-tracking software applied to archived echocardiographic studies. Conventional echocardiographic and myocardial mechanical parameters were compared among the study subgroups.", "Patients with asymptomatic severe AS demonstrated smaller reductions in longitudinal strain, higher (supernormal) apical circumferential strain (-38 ± 6% vs -35 ± 4%, P < .05), and extreme (supernormal) apical rotation (12.2 ± 4.9° vs 2.9 ± 1.7°, P < .0005) compared with symptomatic patients. Apical rotation < 6° was the single significant predictor of symptoms in logistic regression analysis of clinical, echocardiographic, and mechanical parameters. Twelve asymptomatic patients underwent eventual aortic valve replacement and showed decreases in strain and apical rotation compared with baseline values." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adaptation, Physiological", "Adult", "Aged", "Aortic Valve Stenosis", "Case-Control Studies", "Echocardiography, Doppler", "Female", "Humans", "Logistic Models", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Myocardial Contraction", "Prognosis", "Reference Values", "Retrospective Studies", "Severity of Illness Index", "Stroke Volume", "Tertiary Care Centers", "Ventricular Dysfunction, Left" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Experimental animal studies provided evidence for a synergistic effect of immunological and psychological stressors on subsequent sickness behaviours. Up to now, little corroborating evidence for such synergy exists for humans, in whom it may provide a mechanism leading to the expression of functional somatic symptoms. The aim of the present study was to determine an interaction between stress(-vulnerability) and an immunological activation on experimental pain sensitivity, i.e., pressure pain threshold and tolerance in healthy humans.", "In healthy female participants (n=25, mean age 22.3 years), negative affectivity (NA) and experienced stress were assessed by questionnaire before receiving a Salmonella typhi vaccine or saline control in a randomized blinded cross-over design. Pressure pain threshold was assessed at the lower back and calves and pain tolerance was assessed at the thumbnail, before and six hours after each injection.", "Vaccination induced leukocytosis (+100%) and increased serum IL-6 (+670%). NA predicted decreased pain tolerance after vaccination (β=-.57, p=.007), but not after placebo (β=.25, p=.26). Post-hoc analyses also demonstrated an association with administration order." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adolescent", "Adult", "Affect", "Cross-Over Studies", "Female", "Humans", "Inflammation", "Pain Threshold", "Salmonella typhi", "Stress, Psychological", "Vaccination", "Young Adult" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "To determine whether the presence of a capsule regulator gene [i.e., regulator of mucoid phenotype A (rmpA) gene] contributes to virulence on extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBL-KP) with serotype non-K1/K2 strains.", "Twenty-eight ESBL-KP and non-ESBL-KP isolates were collected from the Tri-Service General Hospital (Taipei, Taiwan). The impact of the virulent rmpA gene in different capsular polysaccharide serotypes on ESBL-KP and non-ESBL-KP isolates was studied by a neutrophil phagocytosis reaction, a serum bactericidal assay, and an animal survival model.", "Resistance to broad spectrum antibiotics was more prevalent in ESBL-KP strains than in non-ESBL-KP strains (p < 0.01). The ESBL-KP strains had different molecular patterns from non-ESBL-KP strains, based on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The frequency of serum-resistant isolates was the highest among ESBL-KP strains with rmpA (i.e., rmpA(+)) [71.4% (5/7)] than among of non-ESBL-KP rmpA(+) strains [42.8% (6/14)], ESBL-KP strains without rmpA (rmpA(-)) [33.3% (7/21)], and non-ESBL-KP rmpA(-) strains [14.2% (2/14)]. The most significant increase in neutrophil resistance occurred in the ESBL-KP rmpA(+) strains in comparison to the non-ESBL-KP rmpA(+), ESBL-KP rmpA(-), and non-ESBL-KP rmpA(-) strains (p < 0.01). The results of the animal survival model were compatible with the neutrophil phagocytosis reaction and serum bactericidal assay." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Anti-Bacterial Agents", "Bacterial Capsules", "Bacterial Proteins", "Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field", "Humans", "Klebsiella Infections", "Klebsiella pneumoniae", "Male", "Mice", "Mice, Inbred BALB C", "Neutrophils", "Phagocytosis", "Serogroup", "Taiwan", "beta-Lactamases" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "To evaluate whether anxiety-prone rats exposed to chronic water avoidance stress (WAS) develop visceral bladder hyperalgesia in addition to increased voiding frequency and anxiety-related behaviors.", "Female Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were exposed to chronic (10-day) WAS or sham paradigms. Referred hyperalgesia and tactile allodynia were tested using von Frey filaments applied to the suprapubic region and plantar region of the hindpaw, respectively. To confirm that suprapubic nociception represented referred visceral bladder hyperalgesia, we recorded abdominal visceromotor responses (VMR) to slow (100 μl/min) and fast (1 cc/sec) bladder filling with room temperature or ice-cold saline. We assessed the development of hyperalgesia over the 10-day WAS protocol and the durability of increased pain sensations over time.", "Animals exposed to chronic WAS had significantly lower hindpaw withdrawal thresholds post-stress and significant differences in referred hyperalgesia. Rats exposed to chronic WAS demonstrated an increased pain response to suprapubic stimulation and decreased response threshold to mechanical hindpaw stimulation by day 8 of the stress protocol, which persisted for more than one month. Animals exposed to chronic WAS showed increased VMR to fast filling and ice water testing in comparison to sham animals. Cystometry under anesthesia did not show increases in the frequency of non-voiding contractions." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Anxiety Disorders", "Chronic Disease", "Cold Temperature", "Disease Models, Animal", "Electromyography", "Feces", "Female", "Hindlimb", "Hyperalgesia", "Pain Measurement", "Pain Threshold", "Physical Stimulation", "Rats, Inbred WKY", "Stress, Psychological", "Touch", "Urinary Bladder" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Epidemiologic evidence suggests a link between short sleep duration and cardiovascular risk, although the nature of any relationship and mechanisms remain unclear. Short sleep duration has also been linked to an increase in cardiovascular events. Endothelial dysfunction has itself been implicated as a mediator of heightened cardiovascular risk. We sought to determine the effect of 8 days/8 nights of partial sleep restriction on endothelial function in healthy humans.", "Sixteen healthy volunteers underwent a randomized study of usual sleep versus sleep restriction of two-thirds normal sleep time for 8 days/8 nights in a hospital-based clinical research unit. The main outcome was endothelial function measured by flow-mediated brachial artery vasodilatation (FMD). Those randomized to sleep restriction slept 5.1 hours/night during the experimental period compared with 6.9 hours/night in the control group. Sleep restriction was associated with significant impairment in FMD (8.6±4.6% during the initial pre-randomization acclimation phase versus 5.2±3.4% during the randomized experimental phase, P=0.01) whereas no change was seen in the control group (5.0±3.0 during the acclimation phase versus 6.73±2.9% during the experimental phase, P=0.10) for a between-groups difference of -4.40% (95% CI -7.00 to -1.81%, P=0.003). No change was seen in non-flow mediated vasodilatation (NFMD) in either group." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Brachial Artery", "Endothelium, Vascular", "Female", "Healthy Volunteers", "Humans", "Male", "Minnesota", "Polysomnography", "Regional Blood Flow", "Risk Factors", "Sleep", "Sleep Deprivation", "Time Factors", "Ultrasonography", "Vascular Diseases", "Vasodilation", "Young Adult" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Chronic pancreatitis is characterized by inflammation, atrophy, fibrosis with progressive ductal changes, and functional changes that include variable exocrine and endocrine insufficiency and multiple patterns of pain. We investigated whether abdominal imaging features accurately predict patterns of pain.", "We collected data from participants in the North American Pancreatitis Study 2 Continuation and Validation, a prospective multicenter study of patients with chronic pancreatitis performed at 13 expert centers in the United States from July 2008 through March 2012. Chronic pancreatitis was defined based on the detection of characteristic changes by cross-sectional abdominal imaging, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, endoscopic ultrasonography, or histology analyses. Patients were asked by a physician or trained clinical research coordinator if they had any abdominal pain during the year before enrollment, those who responded \"yes\" were asked to select from a list of 5 pain patterns. By using these patterns, we classified patients' pain based on timing and severity. Abnormal pancreatitis-associated features on abdominal imaging were recorded using standardized case report forms.", "Data were collected from 518 patients (mean age, 52 ± 14.6 y; 55% male; and 87.6% white). The most common physician-identified etiologies were alcohol (45.8%) and idiopathic (24.3%); 15.6% of patients reported no abdominal pain in the year before enrollment. The most common individual pain pattern was described as constant mild pain with episodes of severe pain and was reported in 45% of patients. The most common imaging findings included pancreatic ductal dilatation (68%), atrophy (57%), and calcifications (55%). Imaging findings were categorized as obstructive for 20% and as inflammatory for 25% of cases. The distribution of individual imaging findings was similar among patients with different patterns of pain. The distribution of pain patterns did not differ among clinically relevant groups of imaging findings." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Aged", "Female", "Humans", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Pain", "Pancreas", "Pancreatitis, Chronic", "Prospective Studies", "Radiography, Abdominal", "United States" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "To investigate the influence of different phlebotomy postures on clinical chemistry testing.", "Nineteen volunteers were recruited from the laboratory staff. A first set of samples was drawn after 25 min of resting in supine position, a second after 20 min in sitting position, and a third after 20 min in upright position. Clinical chemistry testing was performed on Roche Cobas C501.", "The plasma volume change (PVC) was -3.4% from supine to sitting, -14.1% from supine to standing and -9.7% from sitting to standing. Compared to quality specifications for bias, hemoglobin, hematocrit, albumin and total proteins exhibited meaningful increases from supine to sitting, whereas meaningful increases were observed for hemoglobin, hematocrit, albumin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), amylase, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin, calcium, total and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), glucose, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), magnesium, total protein and triglycerides from sitting to standing. The parameters with meaningful bias from sitting to upright were hemoglobin, hematocrit, albumin, ALP, total bilirubin, calcium, total and HDL cholesterol, glucose, LDH and total protein." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Bilirubin", "Blood Chemical Analysis", "Calcium", "Cholesterol, HDL", "Clinical Chemistry Tests", "Female", "Humans", "Magnesium", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Phlebotomy", "Posture", "Serum Albumin", "Supine Position", "Triglycerides" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer diagnosed in children and represents approximately 25% of cancer diagnoses among those younger than 15 years of age.", "This study investigated alterations in the displacement loop (d-loop) region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) as a risk factor and diagnostic biomarker for early detection and diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Using mtDNA from 23 subjects diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the first 450 bp of the d-loop region were amplified and successfully sequenced.", "This revealed 132 mutations at 25 positions in this region, with a mean of 6 alterations per subject. The d-loop alterations in mtDNA in subjects were all identified as single nucleotide polymorphisms in a homoplasmic distribution pattern. Mutant alleles were observed in all subjects with individual frequency rates of up to 95%. Thirteen mutant alleles in the d-loop region of mtDNA occurred with a high frequency. Novel alleles and locations were also identified in the d-loop of mtDNA as follows: 89 G insertions (40%), 95 G insertions (13%), 182 C/T substitutions (5%), 308 C insertions (19%), and 311 C insertions (80%). The findings of this study need to be replicated to be confirmed." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adolescent", "Adult", "Biomarkers, Tumor", "Child", "Child, Preschool", "DNA Mutational Analysis", "DNA, Mitochondrial", "Female", "Gene Frequency", "Humans", "Male", "Mutagenesis, Insertional", "Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide", "Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma", "Saudi Arabia", "Young Adult" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Construction of electrochemical impedance sensors by the self-assembly technique has become a promising strategy for the 'label-free' detection of protein-ligand interactions. However, previous impedance sensors are devoid of an inherent electrochemical signal, which limits the standardization of the sensors for protein recognition in a reproducible manner.", "We designed and synthesized an anthraquinonyl glycoside (AG) where the anthraquinone (AQ) moiety can bind to the surface of a graphene-based working electrode while the glycoside serving as a ligand for lectin. By measuring the inherent voltammetric signal of AQ, the glycosides decorated on the working electrode could be simply quantified to obtain electrodes with a unified signal window. Subsequently, impedance analysis showed that the 'standardized' electrodes gave a reproducible electrochemical response to a selective lectin with no signal variation in the presence of unselective proteins." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [] }

{ "contexts": [ "The aim of this study is to assess the usefulness of perfusion computer tomography (pCT) in prostate cancer (PCa) diagnostics.", "94 patients with biopsy-proven PCa were enrolled in the study. Dynamic pCT of the prostate gland was performed for 50 seconds after an intravenous injection of contrast medium. Blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT) and permeability surface area product (PS) were computed in the suspected PCa area and in normal prostatic tissue.", "PCa was visible in pCT in 90 of the 94 examined patients as a focal peripheral CT enhancement. When PCa was located in the peripheral zone (PZ), it was visible on perfusion maps, mostly showing an early peak followed by wash-out. The average values of all perfusion parameters were higher for tumour than for normal prostate tissue (p < 0.000). BV and BF were dependent on tumour grade expressed by the Gleason score (GS). All PCa cases were divided into groups, according to histological grade, as low (GS ≤ 6), medium (GS = 7), and high (GS > 7). In high-grade PCa, the mean BF value was significantly higher (p = 0.001) than the mean value of BF low- and medium-grade PCa (p = 0.011). Similar results were obtained regarding the mean values of BV; the more aggressive the cancer grade, the higher the mean BV value (p = 0.04)." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [] }

{ "contexts": [ "High tumor interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) is associated with poor outcome in locally advanced carcinoma of the uterine cervix. We have recently developed a noninvasive assay of the IFP of tumors, and in this assay, the outward interstitial fluid flow velocity at the tumor surface (v0) is measured by Gd-DTPA-based DCE-MRI and used as a parameter for IFP. Here, we investigated the independent prognostic significance of v0 in cervical cancer patients given cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy with curative intent.", "The study involved 62 evaluable patients from a cohort of 74 consecutive patients (Stage IB through IIIB) with a median follow-up of 5.5 years.", "The actuarial disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) at 5 years were 67% and 76%, respectively. Significant associations were found between v0 dichotomized about the median value and DFS and OS, both in the total patient cohort and a subcohort of 40 Stage IIB patients. Multivariate analysis involving stage, tumor volume, lymph node status, and v0 revealed that only v0 provided independent prognostic information about DFS and OS." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Aged", "Antineoplastic Agents", "Chemoradiotherapy", "Cisplatin", "Contrast Media", "Disease-Free Survival", "Extracellular Fluid", "Female", "Gadolinium DTPA", "Humans", "Lymphatic Metastasis", "Magnetic Resonance Imaging", "Middle Aged", "Multivariate Analysis", "Pressure", "Prognosis", "Tumor Burden", "Uterine Cervical Neoplasms" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "When medical students move from the classroom into clinical practice environments, their roles and learning challenges shift dramatically from a formal curricular approach to a workplace learning model. Continuity among peers during clinical clerkships may play an important role in this different mode of learning. We explored students' perceptions about how they achieved workplace learning in the context of intentionally formed or ad hoc peer groups.", "We invited students in clerkship program models with continuity (CMCs) and in traditional block clerkships (BCs) to complete a survey about peer relationships with open-ended questions based on a workplace learning framework, including themes of workplace-based relationships, the nature of work practices, and selection of tasks and activities. We conducted qualitative content analysis to characterize students' experiences.", "In both BCs and CMCs, peer groups provided rich resources, including anticipatory guidance about clinical expectations of students, best practices in interacting with patients and supervisors, helpful advice in transitioning between rotations, and information about implicit rules of clerkships. Students also used each other as benchmarks for gauging strengths and deficits in their own knowledge and skills." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Clinical Clerkship", "Education, Medical, Undergraduate", "Humans", "Learning", "Peer Group", "Qualitative Research", "Surveys and Questionnaires", "Workplace" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Tourette syndrome (TS) is characterized by a wide phenotypic polymorphism and this heterogeneity is due partly to the association with several neuropsychiatry disorders. These comorbidities are showed in the 90% of TS cases. The aim of this transversal study is to analyze the presence and prevalence of different psychopathological conditions that could be expressed with tic disorder (TD) and specifically in TS.", "We examined a sample of 102 patients, between 7 and 17.6 years old, with a diagnosis DSM-IV-TR of TD, using the self-report SAFA.", "Different correlations between these comorbidities and clinical variables are also analyzed. Our data underlined most of all a prevalence of anxiety disorders in the 31.4% of our patients with TD, of depression in the 27.44%, and of somatization symptoms in the 22.54%." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adolescent", "Anxiety Disorders", "Causality", "Child", "Comorbidity", "Cross-Sectional Studies", "Female", "Humans", "Interview, Psychological", "Male", "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder", "Personality", "Prevalence", "Psychology, Adolescent", "Psychology, Child", "Psychometrics", "Psychotropic Drugs", "Self Report", "Severity of Illness Index", "Tic Disorders", "Tourette Syndrome" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Accurate diagnosis of egg allergy by IgE testing is challenged by a large number of atopic subjects sensitized, but clinically tolerant to eggs. In addition, discrimination between allergy to raw only, or raw and cooked egg allergy is important. In this study, we investigate the diagnostic performance of IgE tests to native and denatured egg proteins.", "According to food challenges and clinical tolerance, study subjects were randomized to the following groups: (Group A) sensitized but clinically tolerant to egg, (Group B) allergic to raw egg only, or (Group C) allergic to raw and cooked egg. Serum-specific IgE to native or reduced and oxidized egg white, ovomucoid, and ovalbumin were measured.", "Increasing titers of specific IgE to the various proteins were found according to the degree of the egg allergy. Cut-off values for IgE testing to native egg could be determined to distinguish between raw egg allergic and egg-tolerant subjects (1.6 kU/l), as well as raw and cooked egg allergic and egg-tolerant subjects (4.1 kU/l). ROC curves analysis showed that native ovalbumin was the best test for the diagnosis of allergy to raw and cooked egg, and native ovomucoid was best to distinguish between allergy to raw only, and allergy to raw and cooked egg. Sequential testing improved the diagnosis, when in addition to IgE to native egg white, IgE to native ovalbumin was tested for the diagnosis of raw and cooked egg allergy, and IgE to native ovomucoid for the discrimination between allergy to raw only, or to raw and cooked eggs." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Allergens", "Child", "Child, Preschool", "Diagnosis, Differential", "Egg Hypersensitivity", "Egg Proteins", "Female", "Humans", "Immune Tolerance", "Immunoglobulin E", "Infant", "Male", "Protein Denaturation", "Raw Foods", "Serologic Tests" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Airway epithelium integrity is essential to maintain its role of mechanical and functional barrier. Recurrent epithelial injuries require a complex mechanism of repair to restore its integrity. In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an abnormal airway epithelial repair may participate in airway remodeling. The objective was to determine if airway epithelial wound repair of airway epithelium is abnormal in COPD.", "Patients scheduled for lung resection were prospectively recruited. Demographic, clinical data and pulmonary function tests results were recorded. Emphysema was visually scored and histological remodeling features were noted. Primary bronchial epithelial cells (BEC) were extracted and cultured for wound closure assay. We determined the mean speed of wound closure (MSWC) and cell proliferation index, matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-2, MMP-9 and cytokines levels in supernatants of BEC 18 hours after cell wounding. In a subset of patients, bronchiolar epithelial cells were also cultured for wound closure assay for MSWC analyze.", "13 COPD and 7 non COPD patients were included. The severity of airflow obstruction and the severity of emphysema were associated with a lower MSWC in BEC (p = 0.01, 95% CI [0.15-0.80]; p = 0.04, 95% CI [-0.77;-0.03] respectively). Cell proliferation index was decreased in COPD patients (19 ± 6% in COPD vs 27 ± 3% in non COPD, p = 0.04). The severity of COPD was associated with a lower level of MMP-2 (7.8 ± 2 10(5) AU in COPD GOLD D vs 12.8 ± 0.13 10(5) AU in COPD GOLD A, p = 0.04) and a lower level of IL-4 (p = 0.03, 95% CI [0.09;0.87]). Moreover, higher levels of IL-4 and IL-2 were associated with a higher MSWC (p = 0.01, 95% CI [0.17;0.89] and p = 0.02, 95% CI [0.09;0.87] respectively). Clinical characteristics and smoking history were not associated with MSWC, cell proliferation index or MMP and cytokines levels. Finally, we showed an association of the MSWC of bronchial and corresponding bronchiolar epithelial cells obtained from the same patients (p = 0.02, 95% CI [0.12;0.89])." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Airway Remodeling", "Bronchi", "Cell Proliferation", "Cells, Cultured", "Cytokines", "Epithelial Cells", "Female", "Humans", "Inflammation Mediators", "Male", "Matrix Metalloproteinase 2", "Matrix Metalloproteinase 9", "Middle Aged", "Prospective Studies", "Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive", "Pulmonary Emphysema", "Severity of Illness Index", "Time Factors", "Wound Healing" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Stressors negatively impact emotional state and drive drug seeking, in part, by modulating the activity of the mesolimbic dopamine system. Unfortunately, the rapid regulation of dopamine signaling by the aversive stimuli that cause drug seeking is not well characterized. In a series of experiments, we scrutinized the subsecond regulation of dopamine signaling by the aversive stimulus, quinine, and tested its ability to cause cocaine seeking. Additionally, we examined the midbrain regulation of both dopamine signaling and cocaine seeking by the stress-sensitive peptide, corticotropin releasing factor (CRF).", "Combining fast-scan cyclic voltammetry with behavioral pharmacology, we examined the effect of intraoral quinine administration on nucleus accumbens dopamine signaling and hedonic expression in 21 male Sprague-Dawley rats. We tested the role of CRF in modulating aversion-induced changes in dopamine concentration and cocaine seeking by bilaterally infusing the CRF antagonist, CP-376395, into the ventral tegmental area (VTA).", "We found that quinine rapidly reduced dopamine signaling on two distinct time scales. We determined that CRF acted in the VTA to mediate this reduction on only one of these time scales. Further, we found that the reduction of dopamine tone and quinine-induced cocaine seeking were eliminated by blocking the actions of CRF in the VTA during the experience of the aversive stimulus." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Aminopyridines", "Animals", "Cocaine", "Conditioning, Operant", "Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone", "Dopamine", "Drug-Seeking Behavior", "Extinction, Psychological", "Male", "Nucleus Accumbens", "Quinine", "Rats", "Rats, Sprague-Dawley", "Self Administration", "Stress, Psychological", "Ventral Tegmental Area" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "It is common in public health and epidemiology that the outcome of interest is counts of events occurrence. Analysing these data using classical linear models is mostly inappropriate, even after transformation of outcome variables due to overdispersion. Zero-adjusted mixture count models such as zero-inflated and hurdle count models are applied to count data when over-dispersion and excess zeros exist. Main objective of the current paper is to apply such models to analyse risk factors associated with human helminths (S. haematobium) particularly in a case where there's a high proportion of zero counts.", "The data were collected during a community-based randomised control trial assessing the impact of mass drug administration (MDA) with praziquantel in Malawi, and a school-based cross sectional epidemiology survey in Zambia. Count data models including traditional (Poisson and negative binomial) models, zero modified models (zero inflated Poisson and zero inflated negative binomial) and hurdle models (Poisson logit hurdle and negative binomial logit hurdle) were fitted and compared.", "Using Akaike information criteria (AIC), the negative binomial logit hurdle (NBLH) and zero inflated negative binomial (ZINB) showed best performance in both datasets. With regards to zero count capturing, these models performed better than other models." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Anthelmintics", "Helminthiasis", "Humans", "Malawi", "Models, Statistical", "Parasite Egg Count", "Praziquantel" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Induced aboveground plant defenses against pathogens can have negative effects on belowground microbial symbionts. While a considerable number of studies have utilized chemical elicitors to experimentally induce such defenses, there is surprisingly little evidence that actual aboveground pathogens affect root-associated microbes. We report here that an aboveground fungal pathogen of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) induces a defense response that inhibits both the belowground formation of root nodules elicited by rhizobia and the colonization with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF).", "Foliage of plants inoculated with either rhizobia or AMF was treated with both live Colletotrichum gloeosporioides-a generalist hemibiotrophic plant pathogen-and C. gloeosporioides fragments. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO), chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase activity in leaves and roots, as well as the number of rhizobia nodules and the extent of AMF colonization, were measured after pathogen treatments. Both the live pathogen and pathogen fragments significantly increased PPO, chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase activity in the leaves, but only PPO activity was increased in roots. The number of rhizobia nodules and the extent of AMF colonization was significantly reduced in treatment plants when compared to controls." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Catechol Oxidase", "Chitinases", "Colletotrichum", "Glucan 1,3-beta-Glucosidase", "Mycorrhizae", "Phaseolus", "Plant Leaves", "Plant Proteins", "Rhizobium", "Root Nodules, Plant", "Symbiosis" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Migraine headache is one of the most common primary headache disorders and is three times more prevalent in women than in men, especially during the reproductive ages. The neurobiological basis of the female dominance has been partly established. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of gender on the headache manifestations in migraine patients.", "The study group consisted of 2082 adult patients from five different hospitals' tertiary care-based headache clinics. The relationship between headache characteristics and gender was evaluated in migraine with aura (MwA) and migraine without aura (MwoA). The duration, severity, frequency of headache and associated symptoms were evaluated in both genders and age-dependent variations and analyzed in two subgroups.", "Women with migraine were prone to significantly longer duration and intensity of headache attacks. Nausea, phonophobia and photophobia were more prevalent in women. Median headache duration was also longer in women than in men in MwA (p = 0.013) and MwoA (p < 0.001). Median headache intensity was higher in women than in men in MwA (p = 0.010) and MwoA (p = 0.009). The frequency of nausea was significantly higher in women than in men in MwA (p = 0.049). Throbbing headache quality and associated features (nausea, photophobia, and phonophobia) were significantly more frequent in women than in men in MwoA. The gender impact varied across age groups and significant changes were seen in female migraineurs after age 30. No age-dependent variation was observed in male migraineurs." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Age Factors", "Female", "Humans", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Migraine Disorders", "Prevalence", "Sex Factors" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "This large cross-sectional, multi-centre study evaluated the association of body composition measurements by a novel dual frequency bioimpedance device (BIA-ACC) with chronic stress/inflammation biomarkers and the presence of medically unexplained symptoms (MUS).", "Participants were adult Caucasians of both sexes and included 10,416 lean subjects with no MUS (Group A), 58,710 lean subjects with MUS (Group B) and 30,445 overweight/obese subjects with no MUS and excessive fat mass (FM) (Group C).", "Total body extracellular water (ECW) was higher, while intracellular water (ICW) was lower in Group B than both other groups (P < 0.01). Group A had significantly lower FM and higher skeletal mass (SK) and phase angle (PA) than Group B and lower circulating high sensitivity (hs) CRP levels than both other groups. hsCRP was higher in Group C than Group A though (P < 0.01). Salivary cortisol in Group B was lower in the morning and higher in the evening than both other groups (P < 0.001), indicating circadian rhythm obliteration or reversal in this group. ECW correlated positively with serum hsCRP and 8 p.m. salivary cortisol, but negatively with 8 a.m. salivary cortisol, while PA correlated positively with 8 a.m. and negatively with 8 p.m. salivary cortisol and serum hsCRP. Both 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. salivary cortisol and serum hsCRP were associated with the presence of MUS and BIA-ACC measurements, including ECW, ICW, FM, SK and PA." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Biomarkers", "Body Composition", "Cross-Sectional Studies", "Electric Impedance", "Female", "Humans", "Hydrocortisone", "Inflammation", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Psychophysiologic Disorders", "Saliva", "Stress, Psychological", "Young Adult" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "The P301S mutation in exon 10 of the tau gene causes a hereditary tauopathy. While mitochondrial complex I inhibition has been linked to sporadic tauopathies. Piericidin A is a prototypical member of the group of the piericidins, a class of biologically active natural complex I inhibitors, isolated from streptomyces spp. with global distribution in marine and agricultural habitats. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a pathogenic interaction of the environmental toxin piericidin A and the P301S mutation.", "Transgenic mice expressing human tau with the P301S-mutation (P301S+/+) and wild-type mice at 12 weeks of age were treated subcutaneously with vehicle (N = 10 P301S+/+, N = 7 wild-type) or piericidin A (N = 9 P301S+/+, N = 9 wild-type mice) at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg/d for a period of 28 days via osmotic minipumps. Tau pathology was measured by stereological counts of cells immunoreative with antibodies against phosphorylated tau (AD2, AT8, AT180, and AT100) and corresponding Western blot analysis.", "Piericidin A significantly increased the number of phospho-tau immunoreactive cells in the cerebral cortex in P301S+/+ mice, but only to a variable and mild extent in wild-type mice. Furthermore, piericidin A led to increased levels of pathologically phosphorylated tau only in P301S+/+ mice. While we observed no apparent cell loss in the frontal cortex, the synaptic density was reduced by piericidin A treatment in P301S+/+ mice." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Cerebral Cortex", "Exons", "Gene-Environment Interaction", "Humans", "Mice", "Mice, Transgenic", "Mutation", "Phosphorylation", "Pyridines", "Synapses", "Tauopathies", "tau Proteins" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Individuals with Williams syndrome, a neurogenetic condition caused by deletion of a set of genes at chromosomal location 7q11.23, exhibit a remarkable suite of traits including hypersociality with high, nonselective friendliness and low social anxiety, expressive language relatively well-developed but under-developed social-communication skills overall, and reduced visual-spatial abilities. Deletions and duplications of the Williams-syndrome region have also been associated with autism, and with schizophrenia, two disorders centrally involving social cognition. Several lines of evidence have linked the gene GTF2I (General Transcription Factor IIi) with the social phenotypes of Williams syndrome, but a role for this gene in sociality within healthy populations has yet to be investigated.", "We genotyped a large set of healthy individuals for two single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the GTF2I gene that have recently been significantly associated with autism, and thus apparently exhibit functional effects on autism-related social phenotypes. GTF2I genotypes for these SNPs showed highly significant association with low social anxiety combined with reduced social-communication abilities, which represents a metric of the Williams-syndrome cognitive profile as described from previous studies." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Anxiety", "Cognition", "Female", "Genotyping Techniques", "Humans", "Male", "Phenotype", "Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide", "Psychological Tests", "Social Behavior", "Surveys and Questionnaires", "Transcription Factors, TFII", "Williams Syndrome" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Hypertension and obesity are highly prevalent in Western societies. We investigated the associations of changes in body weight with changes in blood pressure and with incident hypertension, incident cardiovascular events, or incident normalization of blood pressure in patients who were hypertensive at baseline, over a 5-year period.", "Data of men and women aged 20-81 years of the Study of Health in Pomerania were used. Changes in body weight were related to changes in blood pressure by linear regression (n = 1875) adjusted for cofounders. Incident hypertension, incident cardiovascular events, or incident blood pressure normalization in patients who were hypertensive at baseline were investigated using Poisson regression (n = 3280) models. A change of 1 kg in body weight was positively associated with a change of 0.45 mm Hg (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.34-0.55 mm Hg) in systolic blood pressure, 0.32 mm Hg (95% CI: 0.25-0.38 mm Hg) in diastolic blood pressure, and 0.36 mm Hg (95% CI: 0.29-0.43 mm Hg) in mean arterial pressure (all p-values <0.001). A 5% weight loss reduced the relative risk (RR) of incident hypertension (RRs 0.84 (95% CI: 0.79-0.89)) and incident cardiovascular events (RRs 0.81 (95% CI: 0.68-0.98)) and increased the chance of incident blood pressure normalization in patients who were hypertensive at baseline by 15% (95% CI: 7-23%)." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Blood Pressure", "Body Mass Index", "Female", "Follow-Up Studies", "Humans", "Hypertension", "Incidence", "Life Style", "Linear Models", "Longitudinal Studies", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Risk Factors", "Time Factors", "Waist Circumference", "Weight Loss", "Young Adult" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Previous studies have proved the feasibility of performing a pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple operation) in patients with portal vein-superior mesenteric vein and hepatic artery invasion. We report our institutional experience with the use of a variety of vascular reconstructive methods during pancreatic resections for adenocarcinoma.", "A retrospective review was performed identifying all patients undergoing a Whipple operation or total pancreatectomy procedure from January 2003 to December 2013. All venous (portal vein-superior mesenteric vein) and arterial (superior mesenteric artery-hepatic artery) reconstructions were extracted and reviewed to determine survival and perioperative complications.", "During the 10-year study period, 270 Whipple and total pancreatectomy procedures were performed, of which 183 were for adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Of the 183 operations, a total of 60 (32.8%) vascular reconstructions were found, 49 venous and 11 arterial. Venous reconstruction included 37 (61.7%) primary repairs, four (6.7%) reconstructions with CryoVein (CryoLife, Inc, Kennesaw, Ga), three (5.0%) repairs with autologous vein patch, three (5.0%) autologous saphenous reconstructions, and two (3.33%) portacaval shunts. In addition, there were 11 (18.3%) arterial reconstructions (seven hepatic artery and four superior mesenteric artery). The 1-year survival for all reconstructions was 71.1%, which is equivalent to T3 lesions that did not receive vascular reconstruction (70.11%), with a median survival time of 575.28 days and 12 patients still alive. Survival time was comparable with each type of venous reconstruction, averaging 528 days (11 of 49 patients still alive). There was a total thrombosis rate of seven of 60 (11.6%), all of which were portal vein thrombosis: three in the primary repair group and four delayed thromboses seen in primary repair, CryoVein repair, and vein patch repair. There was no thrombosis in any patients after arterial reconstruction." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adenocarcinoma", "Aged", "Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation", "Clinical Competence", "Female", "Hepatic Artery", "Humans", "Kaplan-Meier Estimate", "Male", "Mesenteric Veins", "Middle Aged", "Neoplasm Invasiveness", "Neoplasm Staging", "Pancreatectomy", "Pancreatic Neoplasms", "Pancreaticoduodenectomy", "Portacaval Shunt, Surgical", "Portal Vein", "Reconstructive Surgical Procedures", "Retrospective Studies", "Risk Factors", "Saphenous Vein", "Time Factors", "Treatment Outcome", "Vascular Surgical Procedures" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is associated with poor prognosis in terms of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) contribute to vascular remodeling by degrading extracellular matrix components and play a role in atherosclerosis as demonstrated for MMP-10 (stromelysin-2). This study analyzed MMP-10 levels in PAD patients according to disease severity and CV risk factors and evaluated the prognostic value of MMP-10 for CV events and mortality in lower limb arterial disease after a follow-up period of 2 years.", "MMP-10 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 187 PAD patients and 200 sex-matched controls.", "PAD patients presented with increased levels of MMP-10 (702 ± 326 pg/mL control vs 946 ± 473 pg/mL PAD; P < .001) and decreased levels of tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (312 ± 117 ng/mL control vs 235 ± 110 ng/mL PAD; P < .001) compared with controls. Among PAD patients, those with critical limb ischemia (n = 88) showed higher levels of MMP-10 (1086 ± 478 pg/mL vs 822 ± 436 pg/mL; P < .001) compared with those with intermittent claudication (n = 99), whereas the MMP-10/tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 1 ratio remained similar. The univariate analysis showed an association between MMP-10, age (P = .015), hypertension (P = .021), and ankle-brachial index (P = .006) in PAD patients that remained significantly associated with PAD severity after adjustment for other CV risk factors. Patients with the highest MMP-10 tertile had an increased incidence of all-cause mortality and CV mortality (P < .03)." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Biomarkers", "Case-Control Studies", "Critical Illness", "Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay", "Female", "Humans", "Intermittent Claudication", "Ischemia", "Kaplan-Meier Estimate", "Lower Extremity", "Male", "Matrix Metalloproteinase 10", "Middle Aged", "Peripheral Arterial Disease", "Predictive Value of Tests", "Prognosis", "Prospective Studies", "Risk Factors", "Severity of Illness Index", "Time Factors", "Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Extracorporeal circulation is routinely used in thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair to preserve blood perfusion. Despite this protective measure, acute and chronic kidney disorders can develop. Therefore, the aim of this study was to establish a new large-animal model to assess the efficacy of selective renal perfusion (SRP) with extracorporeal circulation in a setting of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair.", "Eighteen pigs underwent a thoracolaparotomy, during with the aorta and renal arteries were exposed. The animals were divided into three cohorts of six pigs each: cohort I--control; cohort II--thoracic aortic clamping with distal aortic perfusion (DAP) using a roller pump; and cohort III--thoracic aortic clamping with DAP plus SRP. Kidney metabolism, kidney injury, and red blood cell damage were measured by oxygen extraction ratio (O2ER), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, a marker for acute kidney damage, and serum free hemoglobin.", "With normal mean arterial blood pressures, flow rates in the renal arteries during perfusion decreased to 75% (group II) with DAP and to 50% (group III) with SRP compared with the control animals (group I; P = .0279 for I vs II; P = .0002 for I vs III). Microcirculation, measured by microspheres, did not differ significantly among the groups. In contrast, O2ER (P = .0021 for I vs III) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (P = .0083 for I vs III) levels were significantly increased in group III, whereas free hemoglobin was increased in groups II and III (P = .0406 for I vs II; P = .0018 for I vs III)." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Acute Kidney Injury", "Animals", "Aorta, Thoracic", "Arterial Pressure", "Biomarkers", "Blood Flow Velocity", "Constriction", "Disease Models, Animal", "Extracorporeal Circulation", "Female", "Hemoglobins", "Hemolysis", "Kidney Tubules", "Lipocalins", "Microcirculation", "Oxygen", "Perfusion", "Renal Artery", "Renal Circulation", "Swine", "Time Factors", "Vascular Surgical Procedures" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "To evaluate whether P2X3 receptors (P2X3R) are expressed in the bladder urothelium and to determine their possible function in modulating purinergic detrusor contractions in the rat urinary bladder.", "The expression of urothelial receptors was determined using conventional immunohistochemistry in bladders from normal Sprague-Dawley rats. The urothelial layer was removed by incubation with protamine, and disruption of the urothelium was confirmed using haematoxylin and eosin staining on bladder sections. Open cystometry was used to determine the effects of both urothelial removal as well as intravesical application of a specific P2X3R antagonist on bladder properties from intact and protamine-treated rats. Isometric contractile responses to potassium chloride (KCl) depolarization, electrical field stimulation (EFS) or chemical P2X activation were determined in normal and urothelium-denuded bladder strips, with and without application of the P2X3R antagonist.", "Immunohistochemical staining showed high expression of P2X3R in the medial and basal layers of the urothelium. Removal of the urothelial layer disturbed normal bladder performance in vivo and eliminated the effects of the P2X3R antagonist on increasing the contractile interval and reducing the amplitude of voiding contractions. Removal of the urothelium did not affect bladder strip contractile responses to KCl depolarization or EFS. Pharmacological inhibition of P2X3R prevented desensitization to P2X-mediated detrusor muscle contractions during EFS only in the strips with an intact urothelium. A concentration-dependent, specific inhibition of P2X3R also prevented desensitization of purinergic contractile responses in intact bladder strips." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Female", "Immunohistochemistry", "Muscle Contraction", "Phenyl Ethers", "Purinergic P2X Receptor Antagonists", "Pyrimidines", "Rats", "Rats, Sprague-Dawley", "Receptors, Purinergic P2X3", "Urinary Bladder", "Urothelium" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Decreases in mate and/or pollinator availability would be expected to affect the selective pressure on plant mating systems. An increase in self-fertilization may evolve to compensate for the negative effects of pollination failure. However, the benefit of selfing in variable pollination environments depends on the relative fitnesses of selfed and outcrossed progeny. We investigated the potential for selfing to provide reproductive assurance over the lifetime of a long-lived perennial species and its variation between plant patches of various sizes. Patch size is likely to affect mate and pollinator availabilities, thereby affecting pollination success and the rate of selfing. We estimated fruit and seed set, reproductive assurance, self-compatibility, the multilocus patch selfing rate and lifetime inbreeding depression in natural patches of Rhododendron ferrugineum (Ericaceae), a mass-flowering species characterized by considerable patch size variation (as estimated by the total number of inflorescences).", "Open seed set declined linearly with increasing patch size, whereas pollinator-mediated seed set (emasculated flowers) was not significantly affected. Progeny array analysis indicated that the selfing rate declined with increasing patch size, consistent with greater reproductive assurance in small sparse patches than in large, dense patches. However, fruit set and adult fitness decreased with decreasing patch size, with an estimated mean lifetime inbreeding depression of 0.9 (obtained by comparing F values in adults and progenies)." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Biological Evolution", "Flowers", "Fruit", "Inbreeding", "Plant Leaves", "Pollination", "Rhododendron", "Seeds", "Self-Fertilization" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) is dependent on complement activating donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies (DSA). This is commonly detected by C4d deposition in allografts. However, recent data define a C4d negative ABMR phenotype suggesting a role for complement-independent DSA injury, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC).", "Here, we established an in vitro ADCC model that identified human ADCC-activated genes using microarray analysis. We subsequently interrogated renal allograft biopsies from patients with ABMR and controls for mRNA expression of the ADCC-activated gene set.", "We identified 13 ADCC-activated genes. Six gene expression assays including 8 of the 13 genes (CCL3, CCL4/CCL4L1/CCL4L2, CD160, IFNG, NR4A3 and XCL1/XCL2) were analyzed in 127 kidney biopsies obtained from HLA-sensitized (HS), non-HS patients and control individuals. Most ADCC-activated genes showed significantly higher expression in the transplant samples compared to the controls (p<0.0005). The gene expression levels were significantly higher in HS and non-HS transplant patients who developed ABMR compared to those who did not (p=0.04-0.002). There was no difference in the gene expression levels between C4d positive and negative ABMR (p=0.26-0.99). Samples from high PRA (>80%) or positive DSA patients showed higher gene expression levels for the ADCC-activated genes compared to low PRA (<80%) and negative DSA patients (p=0.04-0.001)." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Allografts", "Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity", "Biopsy", "Female", "Gene Expression Regulation", "Graft Rejection", "Humans", "Isoantibodies", "Kidney", "Kidney Transplantation", "Male", "RNA, Messenger" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Optical techniques are routinely used to size and count extracellular vesicles (EV). For comparison of data from different methods and laboratories, suitable calibrators are essential. A suitable calibrator must have a refractive index (RI) as close to that of EV as possible but the RI of EV is currently unknown. To measure EV, RI requires accurate knowledge of size and light scattering. These are difficult to measure as most EVs cannot be resolved by light microscopy and their diameter is smaller than the wavelength of visible light. However, nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) provides both size and relative light scattering intensity (rLSI) values. We therefore sought to determine whether it was possible to use NTA to measure the RI of individual EVs.", "NTA was used to measure the rLSI and size of polystyrene and silica microspheres of known size and RI (1.470 and 1.633, respectively) and of EV isolated from a wide range of cells. We developed software, based on Mie scattering code, to calculate particle RI from the rLSI data. This modelled theoretical scattering intensities for polystyrene and silica microspheres of known size (100 and 200 nm) and RI. The model was verified using data from the polystyrene and silica microspheres. Size and rLSI data for each vesicle were processed by the software to generate RI values.", "The following modal RI measurements were obtained: fresh urinary EV 1.374, lyophilised urinary EV 1.367, neuroblastoma EV 1.393, blood EV 1.398, EV from activated platelets 1.390, small placental EV 1.364-1.375 and 1.398-1.414 for large placental EV (>200 nm). Large placental EV had a significantly higher RI than small placental EV (p<0.0001). The spread of RI values was narrower for small EV than for the more heterogeneous large EV." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [] }

{ "contexts": [ "To incorporate C-reactive protein into nomograms estimating survival in patients with renal cell carcinoma.", "Patients undergoing surgery for renal cell carcinoma from 2005-2012 were studied retrospectively. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression and competing risks regression models including stage, grade, C-reactive protein levels and presence of metastatic disease were constructed. Outcomes analyzed include overall mortality overall mortality and renal cell carcinoma-specific mortality.", "The cohort included 516 patients with a mean follow up of 1.7 years (SD 1.4 years). One- and 3-year renal cell carcinoma-specific mortality was 8.8% and 13.5%, respectively. Four nomograms were generated using overall mortality and renal cell carcinoma-specific mortality as end-points, two each for pre- and postoperative counseling. The factor with the largest effect on all nomograms was preoperative C-reactive protein. Based on the internal validation with bootstrapping, the concordance indices for renal cell carcinoma-specific mortality in the preoperative nomogram, postoperative nomogram, and the Mayo Clinic stage, size, grade and necrosis score were 0.889, 0.893, and 0.832, respectively (P = 0.005 and 0.002 comparing with stage, size, grade and necrosis scores for preoperative or postoperative nomograms). For overall mortality, the preoperative nomogram, postoperative nomogram, and stage, size, grade and necrosis score showed concordance indices of 0.866, 0.897, and 0.828, respectively (P = 0.123 and 0.008 compared with stage, size, grade and necrosis score for preoperative or postoperative nomograms)." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Aged", "Biomarkers", "C-Reactive Protein", "Carcinoma, Renal Cell", "Cause of Death", "Female", "Humans", "Kidney Neoplasms", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Multivariate Analysis", "Neoplasm Staging", "Nephrectomy", "Nomograms", "Postoperative Period", "Predictive Value of Tests", "Prognosis", "Regression Analysis", "Retrospective Studies" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Hypercholesterolemia is a well-established risk factor for the development of kidney injury. Considering that female sex hormones may play a preventative role in both cardiovascular and renal diseases, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of female sex hormones on hypercholesterolemia-induced renal dysfunction.", "Apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE) and C57 control female mice underwent an ovariectomy (OVX) or sham surgery and after 2 months, creatinine clearance, uremia and proteinuria were determined. Renal oxidative stress and lipid deposition were also quantified. Values are presented as mean ± SEM. Statistical analyses were performed using Two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post hoc test.", "Creatinine clearance (μL/min) was similar between C57 (171 ± 17) and ApoE (140 ± 26) mice underwent sham surgery. OVX resulted in a reduced glomerular filtration rate in both C57 (112 ± 8, ~ - 35%, p < 0.05) and ApoE (61 ± 10, ~ - 56%, p < 0.05) animals. Plasma levels of urea (mg/dL) were higher in both ApoE groups (Sham: 73 ± 7; OVX: 73 ± 8, p < 0.05) when compared to C57 animals (Sham: 49 ± 3; OVX: 60 ± 4), with no changes among ovariectomized groups. Proteinuria levels (mg/24 h) were similar between C57 (Sham: 25.1 ± 5.7; OVX: 33.7 ± 4.7) and ApoE sham animals (26.4 ± 3.5), however, 24-h urine protein excretion was augmented in ApoE OVX animals (49.6 ± 5.8, p < 0.05). Histological kidney analysis demonstrated that the absence of female sex hormones resulted in increased oxidative stress, which was more severe in ApoE mice (C57 Sham: 9.2 ± 0.4; C57 OVX: 22.9 ± 1.0; ApoE Sham: 13.9 ± 0.7; ApoE OVX: 34.0 ± 1.4 au x 103, p < 0.05). As expected, ApoE mice presented higher lipid deposition, which was not affected by OVX (C57 Sham: 0 ± 0; C57 OVX: 0 ± 0; ApoE Sham: 6.8 ± 1.6; ApoE OVX: 5.2 ± 0.8% x 10-2, p < 0.05). Ovariectomy resulted in a similar reduction in ER-α protein expression in the renal cortex (C57: 0.78 ± 0.04; ApoE: 0.81 ± 0.04 au, p < 0.05) when compared to sham animals (C57:1.00 ± 0.04; ApoE: 1.03 ± 0.03 au)." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Apolipoproteins E", "Atherosclerosis", "Estrogen Receptor alpha", "Estrogens", "Female", "Hypercholesterolemia", "Kidney Glomerulus", "Lipid Metabolism", "Mice, Inbred C57BL", "Mice, Knockout", "Renal Insufficiency, Chronic", "Superoxides" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Electrogram fractionation and atrial fibrosis are both thought to be pathophysiological hallmarks of evolving persistence of atrial fibrillation (AF), but recent studies in humans have shown that they do not colocalize. The interrelationship and relative roles of fractionation and fibrotic change in AF persistence therefore remain unclear.", "The aim of the study was to examine the hypothesis that electrogram fractionation with increasing persistence of AF results from localized conduction slowing or block due to changes in atrial connexin distribution in the absence of fibrotic change.", "Of 12 goats, atrial burst pacemakers maintained AF in 9 goats for up to 3 consecutive 4-week periods. After each 4-week period, 3 goats underwent epicardial mapping studies of the right atrium and examination of the atrial myocardium for immunodetection of connexins 43 and 40 (Cx43 and Cx40) and quantification of connective tissue.", "Despite refractoriness returning to normal in between each 4-week period of AF, there was a cumulative increase in the prevalence of fractionated atrial electrograms during both atrial pacing (control and 1, 2, and 3 months period of AF 0.3%, 1.3% ± 1.5%, 10.6% ± 2%, and 17% ± 5%, respectively; analysis of variance, P < .05) and AF (0.3% ± 0.1%, 2.3% ± 1.2%, 14% ± 2%, and 23% ± 3%; P < .05) caused by colocalized areas of conduction block during both pacing (local conduction velocity <10 cm/s: 0.1% ± 0.1%, 0.3% ± 0.6%, 6.5% ± 3%, and 6.9% ± 4%; P < .05) and AF (1.5% ± 0.5%, 2.7% ± 1.1%, 10.1% ± 1.2%, and 13.6% ± 0.4%; P < .05), associated with an increase in the heterogeneity of Cx40 and lateralization of Cx43 (lateralization scores: 1.75 ± 0.89, 1.44 ± 0.31, 2.85 ± 0.96, and 2.94 ± 0.31; P < .02), but not associated with change in connective tissue content or net conduction velocity." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Atrial Fibrillation", "Connexins", "Disease Models, Animal", "Electrophysiologic Techniques, Cardiac", "Female", "Fibrosis", "Goats", "Heart Atria", "Heart Block", "Heart Conduction System", "Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine", "Prognosis" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Weight loss and malnutrition are poorly tolerated by geriatric patients, and pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) can result in chronic malabsorption and weight loss. We sought to determine how preoperative severe nutritional risk (SNR), as defined by the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program/American Geriatric Society Best Practice Guidelines, affects long-term survival after PD for benign disease among geriatric and nongeriatric patients.", "All patients undergoing PD for nonmalignant conditions at a single center between 1995 and 2013 were followed for survival, excluding patients who died within 90 days of surgery. Survival of geriatric (age ≥65 years) and nongeriatric (age <65 years) patients with and without SNR was compared using Kaplan Meier methods. Cox regression was performed.", "There were 320 patients who underwent PD for benign disease. Over the course of the study, the proportion of geriatric patients undergoing PD for benign conditions increased from 25% to 46%. In addition to being older, geriatric patients undergoing PD for benign disease were significantly more likely to have coronary artery disease (CAD) and hypertension. Geriatric patients with preoperative SNR had significantly decreased long-term survival after PD for benign disease (p < 0.001), with roughly 1 in 3 patients dead at 5 years compared with 1 in 14 patients without SNR. Survival was not significantly different among nongeriatric patients with and without SNR. In geriatric patients, age, CAD, and SNR were significantly associated with decreased survival on both univariate and multivariate analysis." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Aged", "Female", "Humans", "Kaplan-Meier Estimate", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Nutrition Disorders", "Pancreaticoduodenectomy", "Pancreatitis", "Risk Factors" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Peripherally administered oxytocin (OT) has produced antipsychotic drug (APD)-like effects in animal tests that are predictive of APD efficacy. However, these effects have mainly been demonstrated using animal models of schizophrenia-like deficits in prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex. Another schizophrenia-relevant abnormality that is the basis of a predictive animal test for APD efficacy is deficient latent inhibition (LI). LI is the normal suppression of a classically conditioned response when the subject is pre-exposed to the conditioned stimulus (CS) before it is paired with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS). Conditioned taste aversion (CTA), the normal avoidance of ingesting a food or liquid by animals when its taste is associated with an aversive experience, was used to test whether OT facilitates LI consistent with APDs.", "Brown Norway rats, known to naturally display attenuated LI, were aversively conditioned on two consecutive exposures to flavored drinking water (0.1% saccharin) by pairing it with malaise-inducing lithium chloride injections. Concurrent with conditioning, rats received subcutaneous OT (0.02, 0.1, 0.5mg/kg) or saline. Some rats were pre-exposed to the flavored water prior to its aversive conditioning (pre-exposed) while others were not (non pre-exposed). Two days after aversive conditioning the amount of flavored water consumed during a 20-min session was recorded.", "As expected, LI, defined as greater consumption by pre-exposed vs. non pre-exposed rats was only weakly exhibited in Brown Norway rats and OT enhanced LI by reducing CTA in pre-exposed rats in a dose-dependent manner, with the 0.02 mg/kg dose producing the strongest effect." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Analysis of Variance", "Animals", "Antipsychotic Agents", "Avoidance Learning", "Conditioning, Classical", "Dose-Response Relationship, Drug", "Drug Administration Routes", "Food Deprivation", "Inhibition (Psychology)", "Lithium Chloride", "Oxytocin", "Rats", "Reflex, Startle" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "In the United States, patients who enroll in chemotherapy trials seldom reflect the attributes of the general population with cancer, as they are often younger, more functional, and have less comorbidity. We compared survival following three chemotherapy regimens according to the setting in which care was delivered (ie, clinical trial vs usual care) to determine the generalizability of clinical trial results to unselected elderly Medicare patients.", "Using SEER-Medicare data, we estimated survival for elderly patients (ie, age 65 years or older, n = 14097) with advanced pancreatic or lung cancer following receipt of one of three guideline-recommended first-line chemotherapy regimens. We compared their survival to that of similarly treated clinical trial enrollees, without age restrictions, with the same diagnosis and stage (n = 937). All statistical tests were two-sided.", "Trial patients were 9.5 years younger than elderly Medicare patients. Medicare patients were more often white and tended to live in areas of greater educational attainment than trial enrollees. For each tumor type, Medicare patients who were 75 years or older had median survivals that were six to eight weeks shorter than those of trial patients (4.3 vs 5.8 months following treatment with single agent gemcitabine for advanced pancreatic cancer, P = .03; 7.3 vs 8.9 months following treatment with carboplatin and paclitaxel for stage IV non-small cell lung cancer, P = .91; 8.2 vs 10.2 months following treatment with CDDP/ VP16 for extensive stage small cell lung cancer, P ≤ .01), whereas younger Medicare patients had survival times that were similar to those of trial patients." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Age Factors", "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols", "Clinical Trials as Topic", "Educational Status", "Female", "Humans", "Kaplan-Meier Estimate", "Lung Neoplasms", "Male", "Medicare", "Middle Aged", "Pancreatic Neoplasms", "Prognosis", "SEER Program", "United States" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Diets high in cruciferous vegetables are associated with lower risk of incidence of prostate cancer, including aggressive forms of this disease. Human intervention studies with cruciferous vegetable-rich diets also demonstrate modulation of gene expression in important pathways in prostate cells.", "Sulforaphane is a constituent of these foods postulated to harbor the anti-neoplastic activity based on multiple tumor models. Our own work demonstrates that sulforaphane inhibits AR signaling in prostate cancer cells. Here, we report results from the first clinical trial of sulforaphane-rich extracts in men with prostate cancer.", "We treated 20 patients who had recurrent prostate cancer with 200 μmoles/day of sulforaphane-rich extracts for a maximum period of 20 weeks and determined the proportion of patients with ≥50% PSA declines, the primary endpoint. Only one subject experienced a ≥50% PSA decline. Thus, the primary endpoint was not achieved. Seven patients experienced smaller PSA declines (<50%). There was also a significant lengthening of the on-treatment PSA doubling time (PSADT) compared with the pre-treatment PSADT [6.1 months pre-treatment vs. 9.6 months on-treatment (p = 0.044)]. Finally, treatment with sulforaphane-rich extracts was safe with no Grade 3 adverse events." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS" ], "meshes": [ "Area Under Curve", "Brassica", "Chromatography, Liquid", "Dose-Response Relationship, Drug", "Glutathione Transferase", "Half-Life", "Humans", "Isothiocyanates", "Male", "Metabolic Clearance Rate", "Neoplasm Recurrence, Local", "Plant Extracts", "Prostate-Specific Antigen", "Prostatic Neoplasms", "Tandem Mass Spectrometry" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "It has been reported that beta-blockers (BB) reduce cardiovascular events in patients with atherosclerotic disease. However, little is known about the efficacy of these drugs in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI). We investigated whether beta-blocker therapy affects the clinical outcomes of CLI patients.", "Between March 2004 and December 2011, 1,873 consecutive CLI patients who received endovascular therapy (EVT) (394 BB-treated patients and 1,479 non-BB-treated patients) for de novo infrainguinal lesions were identified retrospectively. A propensity score analysis was used for risk adjustment in a multivariable analysis and one-to-one matching (BB: 305, non-BB 305). The primary endpoint was amputation-free survival (AFS), and the secondary endpoints were overall survival and the rates of limb salvage and freedom from major adverse limb events (MALE; including repeat reintervention, surgical conversion and major amputation). The mean follow-up period was 22 ± 15 months.", "In the propensity score-matched pair analysis, there were no significant differences in AFS between the patients treated with and without beta-blockers (58.8% vs. 58.5% at three years, log-rank p = 0.76). There were also no significant differences in the limb salvage rate (88.3% vs. 88.8 at three years, log-rank P = 0.41), overall survival (63.0% vs. 62.4% at three years, log-rank P = 0.70) and freedom from MALE (43.6% vs. 44.9% at three years, log-rank P = 0.58) between the patients treated with and without beta-blockers." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adrenergic beta-Antagonists", "Aged", "Atherosclerosis", "Extremities", "Female", "Humans", "Ischemia", "Male" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Capacitive-resistive electric transfer (CRET) is a non invasive electrothermal therapy that applies electric currents within the 400 kHz - 450 kHz frequency range to the treatment of musculoskeletal lesions. Evidence exists that electric currents and electric or magnetic fields can influence proliferative and/or differentiating processes involved in tissue regeneration. This work investigates proliferative responses potentially underlying CRET effects on tissue repair.", "XTT assay, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence and Western Blot analyses were conducted to asses viability, proliferation and differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSC) from healthy donors, after short, repeated (5 m On/4 h Off) in vitro stimulation with a 448-kHz electric signal currently used in CRET therapy, applied at a subthermal dose of 50 μA/mm(2) RESULTS: The treatment induced PCNA and ERK1/2 upregulation, together with significant increases in the fractions of ADSC undergoing cycle phases S, G2 and M, and enhanced cell proliferation rate. This proliferative effect did not compromise the multipotential ability of ADSC for subsequent adipogenic, chondrogenic or osteogenic differentiation." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS" ], "meshes": [ "Adipose Tissue", "Adult", "Aged", "Cell Cycle", "Cell Differentiation", "Cell Proliferation", "Cells, Cultured", "Electric Stimulation", "Electricity", "Female", "Humans", "MAP Kinase Signaling System", "Male", "Mesenchymal Stem Cells", "Stem Cells", "Up-Regulation" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Recent research suggests that preintervention functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data may predict weight loss outcomes among patients who participate in a behavioral weight loss plan. No study has examined whether presurgical brain activation can predict outcomes following bariatric surgery.", "The aim of the present study was to determine if brain activations during a presurgical fMRI food-motivation paradigm are associated with weight loss 3 and 6 months following laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). Nineteen participants viewed food and nonfood pictures from a well-established food motivation paradigm during an fMRI scanning session before LAGB surgery. Weight was assessed presurgery and 3 and 6 months postsurgery; data for all participants was available at each time point. fMRI data were analyzed using the BrainVoyager QX statistical package. Whole brain voxelwise correlations of presurgery (food-nonfood) brain activation and weight, corrected for multiple comparisons, were performed to analyze the relationship between presurgical brain activation and subsequent weight loss. The settings were a medical university brain imaging center and 2 surgical weight loss centers in a major metropolitan area.", "Increased activity in frontal regions associated with cognitive control (medial, middle, superior frontal gyrus) and posterior cingulate cortex was associated with weight loss following LAGB." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Age Factors", "Body Mass Index", "Cerebral Cortex", "Feeding Behavior", "Female", "Follow-Up Studies", "Food", "Gastric Bypass", "Humans", "Laparoscopy", "Magnetic Resonance Imaging", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Monte Carlo Method", "Obesity, Morbid", "Photic Stimulation", "Photography", "Postoperative Care", "Preoperative Care", "Risk Assessment", "Sex Factors", "Treatment Outcome", "Weight Loss" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "There is a robust comorbidity between mood disorders and cardiovascular disorder (CVD). The atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) and the atherogenic coefficient (AC) are important atherogenic indexes. The aims of this study were to delineate whether AIP and AC are increased in mood disorders especially when comorbid with tobacco use disorder (TUD).", "In this case-control study we included 134 patients with mood disorders, bipolar disorder and unipolar depression (cases), and 197 individuals without mood disorder (controls) divided into those with and without TUD (defined as never-smokers). Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) were measured. AIP and AC were computed as log (TG/HDLc) and non-HDLc/HDLc, respectively.", "The AIP and AC indexes were significantly increased in patients with mood disorders versus controls, both in depression and bipolar disorder. Patients with mood disorder without TUD and patients with TUD without mood disorder showed higher AIP and AC values than never-smokers while those with comorbid mood disorders and TUD showed significantly higher AIP and AC levels than all other individuals. A large part of the variance in the AIC (26.4%) and AC (20.4%) was explained by mood disorders, TUD, male gender and body mass index." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Atherosclerosis", "Bipolar Disorder", "Body Mass Index", "Cardiovascular Diseases", "Case-Control Studies", "Cholesterol, HDL", "Cholesterol, LDL", "Comorbidity", "Depressive Disorder, Major", "Female", "Humans", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Mood Disorders", "Plasma", "Risk Factors", "Sex Factors", "Tobacco Use Disorder", "Triglycerides" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "We evaluated the prognostic value of mid-regional proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM) in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation.", "Plasma concentrations of MR-proADM were measured at baseline and after 12months in 87 AF patients in whom radiofrequency ablation was performed. The association between MR-proADM and AF recurrence was tested by univariable and multivariable Cox models.", "In all 87 patients radiofrequency ablation was successfully performed. Of the total population 54% had paroxysmal AF. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 54% (minimum 25%). After 12months of follow-up, 71% of the patients were free of AF recurrence. At baseline, mean MR-proADM in the total population was 0.72nmol/l±0.22. Patients with AF recurrence had significantly higher baseline MR-proADM (0.89nmol/l±0.29) as compared with patients without AF recurrence (0.65nmol/l±0.14; p<0.001). After 12months, mean MR-proADM plasma concentration remained higher in patients with AF recurrence (0.81nmol/l±0.22 as compared with patients free of AF 0.54nmol/l±0.20; p<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for MR-proADM yields a specificity of 98% and a sensitivity of 64% with an optimal cut-off value of 0.82nmol/l to predict recurrence of AF after catheter ablation. In the logistic regression analysis only MR-proADM remained independently predictive for AF recurrence." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adrenomedullin", "Atrial Fibrillation", "Catheter Ablation", "Female", "Follow-Up Studies", "Humans", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Predictive Value of Tests", "Prognosis", "Prospective Studies", "Protein Precursors", "ROC Curve", "Recurrence", "Treatment Outcome" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) is characterized by vascular remodeling, high pulmonary blood pressure, and right ventricular hypertrophy. Oxidative stress, inflammation and pulmonary artery remodeling are important components in PAH. Ellagic acid (EA) is a phenolic compound with anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-proliferative properties. This study aimed to investigate whether EA could prevent the development of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PAH in rats.", "Male Sprague-Dawley rats received EA (30 and 50mg/kg/day) or vehicle one day after a single-dose of monocrotaline (MCT, 60mg/kg). Hemodynamic changes, right ventricular hypertrophy, and lung morphological features were assessed 4weeks later. Activation of the NLRP3 (NACHT, LRR, and PYD domain-containing protein 3) inflammasome pathway in the lungs was assessed using Western blot analysis.", "MCT induced PAH, oxidative stress, and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in vehicle-treated rats. EA reduced the right ventricle systolic pressure, the right ventricular hypertrophy and the wall thickness/external diameter ratio of the pulmonary arteries compared with vehicle. EA also inhibited the MCT-induced elevation of oxidative stress, NLRP3, and caspase-1, IL-β in the lungs and the elevated levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and inflammatory cytokines in serum." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Blotting, Western", "Carrier Proteins", "Disease Models, Animal", "Ellagic Acid", "Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay", "Hypertension, Pulmonary", "Inflammasomes", "Male", "Monocrotaline", "NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein", "Oxidative Stress", "Rats", "Rats, Sprague-Dawley", "Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Recent studies show that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) downregulation is implicated in preeclampsia (PE) pathophysiology. This study assessed the relationship between PE and VEGF levels produced by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and their serum levels.", "A cross-sectional design was performed in 36 patients who had hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. We also used a longitudinal design with 12 pregnant women with risk factors for PE development and/or abnormal uterine arteries by Doppler study. VEGF and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) levels were measured for all patients in both designs.", "sFlt-1 serum was higher in preeclamptic patients (n = 26), whereas VEGF produced by stimulated PBMCs was lower than in healthy pregnant women and VEGF levels produced by stimulated PBMCs were even lower (p <0.003) in severe PE (n = 16). The receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis allowed establishing a cut-off value to identify patients with PE. VEGF production by PBMCs was 339.87 pg/mL. In addition, a robust linear regression model was performed to adjust the variance in VEGF levels. The patients' age decreased VEGF levels and was adjusted by weeks of gestation (WG) in our model. In the longitudinal study, 7/12 patients developed PE. VEGF produced by PBMCs cells was significantly lower in PE at 24-26 WG." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Cells, Cultured", "Cross-Sectional Studies", "Down-Regulation", "Female", "Gestational Age", "Humans", "Leukocytes, Mononuclear", "Longitudinal Studies", "Pre-Eclampsia", "Pregnancy", "Proteinuria", "Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A", "Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Freezing of gait (FOG) is a major concern for Parkinson's disease (PD) patients because it is a leading cause of falls and is associated with poor quality of life. The pathophysiology is unknown but it is hypothesized that it relates to cognitive abnormalities; particularly executive and visuospatial dysfunction. However, prior results have been discrepant. Pharmacologic subtypes of FOG include those that are responsive and unresponsive to levodopa.", "To determine whether executive and visuospatial dysfunction are associated specifically with the levodopa unresponsive subtype of FOG.", "135 PD subjects completed a single assessment included FOG questionnaire, UPDRS motor scale, comprehensive cognitive battery and measure of hallucinations. Analyses compared unresponsive (n = 16), responsive (n = 20) and no FOG (n = 99) subtypes.", "The unresponsive subtype had a significantly older age of onset of PD than the responsive group (p = .03) and had worse motor scores (p = .003) than the no FOG group. Longer disease duration was associated with the responsive group compared to the no FOG group (p = .002). The unresponsive FOG group had significantly poorer visuospatial ability (p = .001) and executive functioning (p = .02) than both the no and responsive FOG subgroups. These latter groups were not significantly different. The responsive FOG group was associated with the presence of hallucinations." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Analysis of Variance", "Chi-Square Distribution", "Cognition Disorders", "Disability Evaluation", "Executive Function", "Female", "Gait Disorders, Neurologic", "Hallucinations", "Humans", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Neuropsychological Tests", "Parkinson Disease", "Perceptual Disorders", "Retrospective Studies", "Space Perception", "Surveys and Questionnaires" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "During cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), myocardial blood flow generated by chest compression rarely exceeds 35% of its normal level. Cardiac output generated by chest compression decreases gradually with the prolongation of cardiac arrest and resuscitation. Early studies have demonstrated that myocardial blood flow during CPR is largely dependent on peripheral vascular resistance. In this study, we investigated the effects of chest compression in combination with physical control of peripheral vascular resistance assisted by tourniquets on myocardial blood flow during CPR.", "Ventricular fibrillation was induced and untreated for 7 min in ten male domestic pigs weighing between 33 and 37 kg. The animals were then randomized to receive CPR alone or a tourniquet assisted CPR (T-CPR). In the CPR alone group, chest compression was performed by a miniaturized mechanical chest compressor. In the T-CPR group, coincident with the start of resuscitation, the thin elastic tourniquets were wrapped around the four limbs from the distal end to the proximal part. After 2 min of CPR, epinephrine (20 μg/kg) was administered via the femoral vein. After 5 min of CPR, defibrillation was attempted by a single 150 J shock. If resuscitation was not successful, CPR was resumed for 2 min before the next defibrillation. The protocol was continued until successful resuscitation or for a total of 15 min. Five minutes after resuscitation, the elastic tourniquets were removed. The resuscitated animals were observed for 2h.", "T-CPR generated significantly greater coronary perfusion pressure, end-tidal carbon dioxide and carotid blood flow. There was no difference in both intrathoracic positive and negative pressures between the two groups. All animals were successfully resuscitated with a single shock in both groups. There were no significant changes in hemodynamics observed in the animals treated in the T-CPR group before-and-after the release of tourniquets at post-resuscitation 5 min." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation", "Coronary Circulation", "Disease Models, Animal", "Heart Arrest", "Male", "Random Allocation", "Swine", "Tourniquets" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) is a rare multigenic congenital disorder characterized by the absence of the enteric ganglia. To date, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in pre-miRNAs have been confirmed related with some diseases. Thus, we hypothesized that pre-miRNA polymorphisms might contribute to HSCR susceptibility. We investigated whether rs2910164 and rs11614913 of pre-miR-146a and pre-miR-196a2, are associated with HSCR.", "Polymorphisms were genotyped using the Taqman method. Real-time PCR was used for detecting the expression level of miR-146a and its target gene ROBO1 in CC and GG genotypes.", "Significant differences were found in the genotype distribution of rs2910164 and rs11614913 polymorphism between HSCR cases and controls (p = 0.023 and 0.041, respectively). Furthermore, G allele of rs2910164 might increase the risk of HSCR (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.06-2.23). Moreover, the expression level of miR-146a for homozygote GG was also higher than homozygote CC (p = 0.0193). In contrast, the expression level of its target gene ROBO1 predicted in bioinformatics for homozygote GG was much lower than homozygote CC (p = 0.0096)." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Asian Continental Ancestry Group", "Female", "Genetic Predisposition to Disease", "Genotype", "Hirschsprung Disease", "Humans", "Infant", "Male", "MicroRNAs", "Nerve Tissue Proteins", "Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide", "Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction", "Receptors, Immunologic", "Risk Factors" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "The effect of litter size and suckling intensity on the expression of KiSS-1 mRNA in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of rats were evaluated.", "Thirty two pregnant and four non-lactating ovariectomized (as control group) rats were used in this experiment. Lactating rats were allotted to eight equal groups. In three groups, litter size was adjusted to 5, 10, or 15 pups upon parturition and allowed to suckle their pups continuously by 8 days postpartum. In the other three groups, litter size was adjusted to five upon birth; the pups were separated from the dams for 6 hr on day 8 postpartum, after which the pups were allowed to suckle their dams for 2.5, 5, or 7.5 min prior to killing the dams. Two groups of lactating rats with either 10 or 15 pups were separated from their pups for 6 hr on day 8 postpartum, after which the pups were allowed to suckle their dams for 5 min before the dams were killed on day 8 postpartum. The ARC was removed and the expression of KiSS-1 mRNA was evaluated, using real-time PCR.", "The expression of KiSS-1 mRNA in the ARC was decreased as the litter size and intensity of suckling stimulus were increased. The effect of suckling intensity on the expression of KiSS-1 mRNA was more pronounced than that of litter size." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [] }

{ "contexts": [ "To examine the impact of glaucoma and visual acuity (VA) and visual field (VF) losses on psychosocial functioning (PF).", "Cross-sectional study.", "We compared PF between 192 participants with bilateral glaucoma with VA or VF losses and 40 controls from a tertiary eye hospital clinic in Singapore.", "Glaucoma was defined using the Hodapp-Anderson-Parish criteria. Four psychosocial outcomes of the Glaucoma Quality of Life 36 questionnaire were psychometrically assessed using Rasch analysis. Multivariate regression was performed to determine the independent impact of glaucoma and VA and VF losses on PF. The impact of VA and VF on PF were evaluated by restricted cubic spline analysis.", "Anxiety, self-image, psychological well-being, and confidence in health care.", "The mean age of participants was 66.2±11.0 years, and 63% were male. In the better eye, VA and mean deviation were Snellen 20/25 and -8.89±6.52 dB, respectively. In multivariate models, glaucoma patients had 63.0% greater anxiety (95% confidence interval [CI], -66.0% to -61.2%; P<0.001), 71.0% lower self-image (95% CI, -74.1% to -68.5%; P<0.001), 38.3% less psychological well-being (95% CI, -37.4% to -39.0%; P<0.001), and 32.4% reduced confidence in health care than patients without glaucoma. The worst VA and VF categories had the most reduced PF (range, 26.0% to 81.5%; P<0.001 for all associations) compared with controls. With worsening VA, there was a linear increase in anxiety (P=0.009) and decrease in self-image (P=0.005). With worsening VF from 0 to -12.1 dB (P=0.003), anxiety increased before plateauing. Self-image decreased as VF worsened from 0 to -10 dB (P<0.001), and confidence in health care decreased when VF worsened from 0 to -9.3 dB (P=0.008). However, self-image and confidence in health care actually improved at greater levels of VF loss beyond these thresholds." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "METHODS", "METHODS", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Anxiety", "Cross-Sectional Studies", "Female", "Glaucoma", "Humans", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Psychometrics", "Quality of Life", "Self Concept", "Sickness Impact Profile", "Singapore", "Surveys and Questionnaires", "Tertiary Care Centers", "Vision Disorders", "Visual Acuity", "Visual Fields" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Epilepsy is a neural disorder in which abnormal plastic changes during short and long term periods lead to increased excitability of brain tissue. Kindling is an animal model of epileptogenesis which results in changes of synaptic plasticity due to repetitive electrical or chemical sub-convulsive stimulations of the brain. Lateral hypothalamus, as the main niche of orexin neurons with extensive projections, is involved in sleep and wakefulness and so it affects the excitability of the brain. Therefore, we investigated whether lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) inactivation or orexin-A receptor blocking could change convulsive behavior of acute and kindled PTZ treated animals and if glutamate has a role in this regard.", "Kindling was induced by 40 mg/kg PTZ, every 48 hours up to 13 injections to each rat. Three consecutive stages 4 or 5 of convulsive behavior were used to ensure kindling. Lidocaine was injected stereotaxically to inactivate LHA, unilaterally. SB334867 used for orexin receptor 1 (OX1R) blocking administered in CSF.", "We demonstrated that LHA inactivation prevented PTZ kindling and hence, excitability evolution. Hippocampal glutamate content was decreased due to LHA inactivation, OX1R antagonist infusion, lidocaine injection and kindled groups. In accordance, OX1R antagonist (SB334867) and lidocaine injection decreased PTZ single dose induced convulsive behavior. While orexin-A i.c.v. infusion increased hippocampal glutamate content, it did not change PTZ induced convulsive intensity." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [] }

{ "contexts": [ "Formalin injection induces nociceptive bahaviour in phase I and II, with a quiescent phase between them. While active inhibitory mechanisms are proposed to be responsible for initiation of interphase, the exact mechanisms which lead to termination of nociceptive response in phase II are not clear yet. Phase II is a consequence of peripheral and central sensitization processes, which can lead to termination of the noxious stimuli responses; 45-60 minutes after formalin injection via possible recruitment of active inhibitory mechanisms which we have investigated in this study.", "To test our hypothesis, in the first set of experiments, we evaluated nociceptive response after two consecutive injection of formalin (50µL, 2%), with intervals of 5 or 60 minutes. In the next set, formalin tests were carried out in companion with injection of Naloxone Hydrochloride, a non-selective antagonist of opioid receptors, pre-formalin injection and 30 and 45 minutes post formalin injection.", "While normal nociceptive behaviour was observed in the group receiving one injection of formalin, a diminished response was observed in phases I and II of those receiving consequent injection of formalin, 60 minute after first injection. While second injection of formalin, 5 minute after first injection, had no effect. Administration of naloxone (1mg/kg) decreased nociception in phase 2A; but had no effect on delayed termination of formalin test." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [] }

{ "contexts": [ "To improve the extent over which whole brain quantitative three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) maps can be obtained and be used to explore brain metabolism in a population of healthy volunteers.", "Two short echo time (20 ms) acquisitions of 3D echo planar spectroscopic imaging at two orientations, one in the anterior commissure-posterior commissure (AC-PC) plane and the second tilted in the AC-PC +15° plane were obtained at 3 Tesla in a group of 10 healthy volunteers. B1 (+) , B1 (-) , and B0 correction procedures and normalization of metabolite signals with quantitative water proton density measurements were performed. A combination of the two spatially normalized 3D-MRSI, using a weighted mean based on the pixel wise standard deviation metabolic maps of each orientation obtained from the whole group, provided metabolite maps for each subject allowing regional metabolic profiles of all parcels of the automated anatomical labeling (AAL) atlas to be obtained.", "The combined metabolite maps derived from the two acquisitions reduced the regional intersubject variance. The numbers of AAL regions showing N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) SD/Mean ratios lower than 30% increased from 17 in the AC-PC orientation and 41 in the AC-PC+15° orientation, to a value of 76 regions of 116 for the combined NAA maps. Quantitatively, regional differences in absolute metabolite concentrations (mM) over the whole brain were depicted such as in the GM of frontal lobes (cNAA = 10.03 + 1.71; cCho = 1.78 ± 0.55; cCr = 7.29 ± 1.69; cmIns = 5.30 ± 2.67) and in cerebellum (cNAA = 5.28 ± 1.77; cCho = 1.60 ± 0.41; cCr = 6.95 ± 2.15; cmIns = 3.60 ± 0.74)." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Aspartic Acid", "Brain", "Female", "Humans", "Image Enhancement", "Imaging, Three-Dimensional", "Male", "Molecular Imaging", "Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy", "Reproducibility of Results", "Sensitivity and Specificity", "Tissue Distribution", "Young Adult" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between intraoperative vasopressin infusion and postoperative cardiac enzymes.", "A prospective, double-blind, randomized, controlled study.", "A single tertiary cardiac center.", "One hundred consecutive patients undergoing cardiac surgery with or without cardiopulmonary bypass.", "The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board, and patients provided informed consent to participate. Patients were randomized by computer into 2 equal groups: Vasopressin or control. The blinded study included vasopressin administered at a dose of 1.8 U/h or 1.8 mL/h of normal saline, along with catecholamines. The drug was administered continually during surgery while patients needed catecholamines. The intervention was discontinued upon admission to the intensive care unit when information regarding the true character of the drug was reported to the doctor in charge of patients in the intensive care unit by one of the investigators. Primary outcomes were CK-MB and troponin T levels measured at 0, 6, and 12 hours postoperatively.", "Of the 100 patients, 8 were excluded; the remaining 92 were randomized to either the vasopressin (n = 47) or control (n = 45) group. There were no significant differences in demographic data between the groups. Postoperatively at 0, 6, and 12 hours, there were no differences in CK-MB (U/l) (37.5 ± 57.9 v 32.0 ± 21.5, 29.4 ± 41.1 v 24.4 ± 23.1, and 21.4 ± 21.3 v. 21.8 ± 32.4, respectively) and troponin T (752.4 ± 638.2 v 762.7 ± 557.1, 753.8 ± 507.3 v 777.6 ± 515.0, and 774.6 ± 572.6 v 698.7 ± 540.2, respectively) values." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "METHODS", "METHODS", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Cardiac Surgical Procedures", "Double-Blind Method", "Female", "Follow-Up Studies", "Humans", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Perioperative Care", "Postoperative Complications", "Prospective Studies", "Troponin T", "Vasoconstrictor Agents", "Vasopressins" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Previous findings are inconsistent; yet, converging evidence suggests an association between schizophrenia (SZ) and the impairment of posttranscriptional regulation of brain development through microRNA (miRNA) systems.", "This study aims to (1) compare the overall frequency of 121 rare variants (RVs) in 59 genes associated with the miRNA system in genome-wide association studies (GWAS)-derived data including 768 SZ cases and 1348 healthy controls and validated in an independent GWAS data including 1802 SZ cases and 1447 controls; (2) profile genome-wide miRNA expression in blood collected from 15 early-onset SZ (EOS) cases and 15 healthy controls; and (3) construct a miRNA-messenger RNA (mRNA) regulatory network using our previous genome-wide mRNA expression data generated from a separate sample of 18 EOS cases and 12 healthy controls.", "Our findings indicate that: (1) In genes associated with the control of miRNAs, there are approximately 50% more RVs in SZ cases than in controls (P ≤ 2.62E-10); (2) The observed lower miRNA activity in EOS patients compared with the healthy controls suggests that miRNAs are abnormally downregulated; (3) There exists a predicted regulatory network among some downregulated miRNAs and some upregulated mRNAs." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adolescent", "Age of Onset", "Child", "Female", "Gene Expression Regulation", "Genome-Wide Association Study", "Humans", "Male", "MicroRNAs", "Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide", "Schizophrenia" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders are common disease in maxillofacial surgery. The aim of this study is to regenerate fibrocartilage with a mixture of TMJ fibrochondrocytes and periodontal ligament derived mesenchymal stem cells (PD-MSCs).", "Fibrochondrocytes and PD-MSC were cocultured (ratio 1 : 1) for 3 weeks. Histology and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) assay were performed to examine the deposition of GAG. Green florescent protein (GFP) was used to track PD-MSC. Conditioned medium of PD-MSCs was collected to study the soluble factors. Gene expression of fibrochondrocytes cultured in conditioned medium was tested by quantitative PCR (qPCR).", "Increased proliferation of TMJ-CH was observed in coculture pellets when compared to monoculture. Enhanced GAG production in cocultures was shown by histology and GAG quantification. Tracing of GFP revealed the fact that PD-MSC disappears after coculture with TMJ-CH for 3 weeks. In addition, conditioned medium of PD-MSC was also shown to increase the proliferation and GAG deposition of TMJ-CH. Meanwhile, results of qPCR demonstrated that conditioned medium enhanced the expression levels of matrix-related genes in TMJ-CH." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Bone Marrow Cells", "Cell Differentiation", "Cell Proliferation", "Chondrogenesis", "Extracellular Matrix", "Glycosaminoglycans", "Humans", "Mesenchymal Stem Cells", "Periodontal Ligament", "Regeneration", "Temporomandibular Joint" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Currently, there is no standardised screening for prostate cancer in Europe. Assessment of risk is opportunistically undertaken in consultation with the GP or urologist. Evaluation of the prostate gland consists of a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) serum level and a digital rectal examination (DRE) of the gland. DRE is an essential part of the assessment that can independently predict prostate cancer in the setting of a normal PSA level.", "To evaluate the clinical usefulness of the DRE in general practice and urology clinics, and to ascertain its positive predictive value and sensitivity.", "A retrospective analysis study of a cohort of Irish men who underwent TRUS guided biopsy of the prostate in a single Irish tertiary referral centre, despite a normal PSA level. Patients were identified from a Rapid Access Prostate Clinic patient database. Pathological biopsy results were correlated with clinical DRE findings.", "Patient demographics, PSA levels, and DRE findings from a prospectively established database and hospital data systems from May 2009 to October 2013 were analysed.", "Of 103 men referred over a 53-month period with a normal age-adjusted PSA level, 67% were referred on the basis of an abnormal DRE alone. Thirty-five per cent of males with a normal PSA had prostate cancer. DRE alone had a sensitivity and specificity of 81% and 40% respectively in diagnosing prostate cancer, with a positive predictive value of 42%. Seventy-six per cent of these men had high-grade disease." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Aged", "Digital Rectal Examination", "Early Detection of Cancer", "Humans", "Ireland", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Physical Examination", "Practice Guidelines as Topic", "Predictive Value of Tests", "Primary Health Care", "Prostate-Specific Antigen", "Prostatic Neoplasms", "Referral and Consultation", "Retrospective Studies", "Sensitivity and Specificity" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery causes profound weight loss and improves insulin sensitivity (S(I)) in obese patients. Regular exercise can also improve S(I) in obese individuals; however, it is unknown whether exercise and RYGB surgery-induced weight loss would additively improve S(I) and other cardiometabolic factors.", "We conducted a single-blind, prospective, randomized trial with 128 men and women who recently underwent RYGB surgery (within 1-3 months). Participants were randomized to either a 6-month semi-supervised moderate exercise protocol (EX, n = 66) or a health education control (CON; n = 62) intervention. Main outcomes measured included S(I) and glucose effectiveness (S(G)), which were determined from an intravenous glucose tolerance test and minimal modeling. Secondary outcomes measured were cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2 peak) and body composition. Data were analyzed using an intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) approach to assess the efficacy of the exercise intervention (>120 min of exercise/week).", "119 (93%) participants completed the interventions, 95% for CON and 91% for EX. There was a significant decrease in body weight and fat mass for both groups (P < 0.001 for time effect). S(I) improved in both groups following the intervention (ITT: CON vs. EX; +1.64 vs. +2.24 min⁻¹/μU/ml, P = 0.18 for Δ, P < 0.001 for time effect). A PP analysis revealed that exercise produced an additive S(I) improvement (PP: CON vs. EX; +1.57 vs. +2.69 min⁻¹/μU/ml, P = 0.019) above that of surgery. Exercise also improved S(G) (ITT: CON vs. EX; +0.0023 vs. +0.0063 min⁻¹, P = 0.009) compared with the CON group. Exercise improved cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2 peak) compared with the CON group." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Bariatric Surgery", "Blood Glucose", "Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2", "Exercise Therapy", "Female", "Humans", "Insulin Resistance", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Obesity", "Oxygen Consumption", "Physical Fitness", "Sedentary Behavior", "Single-Blind Method", "Treatment Outcome", "Waist Circumference", "Weight Loss" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Non-human primates, when encountering human beings, show wariness and alertness. These behaviors differ when there is direct human gaze vs. when human averts his gaze.", "We observed cynomolgus monkey in their home cage and studied their behaviors in response to human gaze. Four behaviors were analyzed: opening mouth, staring at observer, agitated activity, and approaching observer.", "Three behaviors appeared to be sensitive to human gaze between when the human observer gazed at the monkey and when the human observer looked away. Individual animals also displayed subpatterns of responses to human gaze." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Animals, Laboratory", "Behavior, Animal", "Eye Movements", "Housing, Animal", "Humans", "Macaca fascicularis", "Male", "Visual Perception" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Increased small airway resistance and decreased lung elasticity contribute to the airflow limitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The lesion that corresponds to loss of lung elasticity is emphysema; the small airway obstruction is due to inflammatory narrowing and obliteration. Despite their convergence in altered physiology, different mechanisms contribute to these processes. The relationships between gene expression and these specific phenotypes may be more revealing than comparison with lung function.", "We measured the ratio of alveolar surface area to lung volume (SA/V) in lung tissue from 43 smokers. Two samples from 21 subjects, in which SA/V differed by >49 cm2/mL were profiled to select genes whose expression correlated with SA/V. Significant genes were tested for replication in the 22 remaining subjects.", "The level of expression of 181 transcripts was related to SA/V ( p < 0.05). When these genes were tested in the 22 remaining subjects as a replication, thirty of the 181 genes remained significantly associated with SA/V (P < 0.05) and the direction of association was the same in 164/181. Pathway and network analysis revealed enrichment of genes involved in protein ubiquitination, and western blotting showed altered expression of genes involved in protein ubiquitination in obstructed individuals." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Aged", "DNA-Binding Proteins", "Down-Regulation", "F-Box Proteins", "Female", "Gene Expression", "Humans", "Lung", "Lung Volume Measurements", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Organ Size", "Pulmonary Alveoli", "Pulmonary Emphysema", "Signal Transduction", "Smoking", "Ubiquitin", "Ubiquitin-Specific Proteases", "Ubiquitination", "Up-Regulation" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Mass spectrometry-based proteomics experiments generate spectra that are rich in information. Often only a fraction of this information is used for peptide/protein identification, whereas a significant proportion of the peaks in a spectrum remain unexplained. In this paper we explore how a specific class of data mining techniques termed \"frequent itemset mining\" can be employed to discover patterns in the unassigned data, and how such patterns can help us interpret the origin of the unexpected/unexplained peaks.", "First a model is proposed that describes the origin of the observed peaks in a mass spectrum. For this purpose we use the classical correlative database search algorithm. Peaks that support a positive identification of the spectrum are termed explained peaks. Next, frequent itemset mining techniques are introduced to infer which unexplained peaks are associated in a spectrum. The method is validated on two types of experimental proteomic data. First, peptide mass fingerprint data is analyzed to explain the unassigned peaks in a full scan mass spectrum. Interestingly, a large numbers of experimental spectra reveals several highly frequent unexplained masses, and pattern mining on these frequent masses demonstrates that subsets of these peaks frequently co-occur. Further evaluation shows that several of these co-occurring peaks indeed have a known common origin, and other patterns are promising hypothesis generators for further analysis. Second, the proposed methodology is validated on tandem mass spectrometral data using a public spectral library, where associations within the mass differences of unassigned peaks and peptide modifications are explored. The investigation of the found patterns illustrates that meaningful patterns can be discovered that can be explained by features of the employed technology and found modifications." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [] }

{ "contexts": [ "The purpose of our study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of Celecoxib for epithelial ovarian cancer, especially on cellular morphological changes, proliferation invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).", "The MTT and transwell assays were performed to evaluate the effect of Celecoxib on proliferation and invasion ability of ovarian cancer cell lines, respectively. Western blot was carried out to detect the expression of epithelial phenotypes, E-cadherin and Keratin, and mesenchymal phenotypes, N-cadherin and Vimentin, as well as p-AKT, p-ERK and ZEB1. ZEB1 small-interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to downregulate the expression of ZEB1 to further inquiring into the downstream of Celecoxib-induced EMT.", "Cellular morphological assessment revealed that both A2780 and SKOV3 cells gradually appeared in the morphology of mesenchymal cells after Celecoxib treatment. The MTT assay demonstrated that celecoxib had no effect on cell proliferation. Transwell assay showed that Celecoxib significantly increased the cell invasion ability. Western blot data proved that the expression of E-cadherin and keratin was elevated, whereas the expression of N-cadherin and Vimentin was decreased in a dose-dependent manner compared with the untreated cells, the expression of p-AKT, p-ERK and ZEB1 was also obviously elevated. However, ZEB1 siRNA reversed Celecoxib-induced E-cadherin expression and N-cadherin expression, as well as cellular invasiveness." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Cadherins", "Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial", "Celecoxib", "Cell Line, Tumor", "Cell Proliferation", "Down-Regulation", "Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition", "Female", "Homeodomain Proteins", "Humans", "Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial", "Ovarian Neoplasms", "Pyrazoles", "RNA, Small Interfering", "Sulfonamides", "Transcription Factors", "Zinc Finger E-box-Binding Homeobox 1" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of DACT1 in human placenta tissue and the relationship between DACT1 and target genes of the Wnt signaling pathway.", "Real-time PCR and western blotting were used to detect the expression of DACT1 and the target genes of Wnt signaling pathway in human placenta tissue. And the relationship between them was analyzed using SPSS 19.", "Real-time PCR results showed that DACT1 expression was significantly higher in 49- to 71-day placenta tissues (mean value = 0.020) than that in 39- to 48-day (the mean value = 0.009). The mRNA expressions of the Wnt signaling pathway target genes, CCND1, CCND2, FOSL1, DAB2 and JUN, were also increased expressed in human placenta tissues. Significant positive associations between DACT1 and CCND1, CCND2, FOSL1, DAB2 and JUN were observed. Western blotting analysis showed that the protein expression of DACT1, CCND1, CCND2, FOSL1, DAB2 and JUN displayed the increasing trend in 43-, 49- and 71-day placenta samples." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing", "Adult", "Blotting, Western", "Female", "Humans", "Nuclear Proteins", "Placenta", "Placentation", "Pregnancy", "RNA, Messenger", "Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction", "Signal Transduction", "Wnt Signaling Pathway" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the ileum are sporadic tumors derived from submucosal gastrointestinal stem cells. They often show clinical symptoms only after hepatic metastasation when curative therapy is limited or impossible. In this study, we analyzed the expression of the candidate genes mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), alpha thalassemia/mental retardation syndrome X-linked (ATRX), and death domain-associated protein (DAXX) to investigate the specific oncogenetics and potential therapeutic options for ileal NETs.", "In a prospective database, all patients who underwent surgical removal of a NET of the ileum between 2001 and 2011 were specified. Expression analysis was performed for mTOR, ATRX, and DAXX by immunohistochemistry of paraffin-embedded tumor samples. To evaluate the results the immunoreactive score was applied. Normal tissue and tumor tissue were analyzed for the comparison of gene expression levels using quantitative-real-time polymerase chain reaction for ATRX and mTOR genes. Results were correlated under pathologic and clinical aspects.", "A total of 69 patients were admitted to the study. Positive cytosolic expression of the potential oncogene mTOR was immunohistochemically detected in 76.2% of the human probes. A loss of nuclear ATRX expression was detected in 13.0% of the samples. A nonexpression of the DAXX-protein in cell nuclei was not found (0%). Gene transcript levels did not show a significant alteration in ileal NETs in comparison with normal tissue." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing", "Aged", "Biomarkers, Tumor", "DNA Helicases", "Female", "Humans", "Ileal Neoplasms", "Ileum", "Immunohistochemistry", "Male", "Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1", "Middle Aged", "Molecular Targeted Therapy", "Multiprotein Complexes", "Mutation", "Neoplasm Grading", "Neoplasm Staging", "Neuroendocrine Tumors", "Nuclear Proteins", "Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction", "TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases", "X-linked Nuclear Protein" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Incisional biopsies, including the diagnostic core needle biopsy (CNB), routinely performed before surgical excision of breast cancer tumors are hypothesized to increase the risk of metastatic disease. In this study, we experimentally determined whether CNB of breast cancer tumors results in increased distant metastases and examine important resultant changes in the primary tumor and tumor microenvironment associated with this outcome.", "To evaluate the effect of CNB on metastasis development, we implanted murine mammary 4T1 tumor cells in BALB/c mice and performed CNB on palpable tumors in half the mice. Subsequently, emulating the human scenario, all mice underwent complete tumor excision and were allowed to recover, with attendant metastasis development. Tumor growth, lung metastasis, circulating tumor cell (CTC) levels, variation in gene expression, composition of the tumor microenvironment, and changes in immunologic markers were compared in biopsied and non-biopsied mice.", "Mice with biopsied tumors developed significantly more lung metastases compared to non-biopsied mice. Tumors from biopsied mice contained a higher frequency of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) accompanied by reduced CD4 + T cells, CD8 + T cells, and macrophages, suggesting biopsy-mediated development of an increasingly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. We also observed a CNB-dependent up-regulation in the expression of SOX4, Ezh2, and other key epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) genes, as well as increased CTC levels among the biopsy group." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Biopsy, Large-Core Needle", "Breast", "Breast Neoplasms", "Cell Line, Tumor", "Cytokines", "Disease Models, Animal", "Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protein", "Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition", "Female", "Flow Cytometry", "Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic", "Humans", "Lung Neoplasms", "Lymphocytes", "Macrophages", "Mammary Glands, Animal", "Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental", "Mice, Inbred BALB C", "Neoplastic Cells, Circulating", "Polycomb Repressive Complex 2", "Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction", "SOXC Transcription Factors", "Tumor Microenvironment" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between huntingtin-associated protein1 (HAP1) gene and radiation therapy of breast cancer cells.", "HAP1 gene was transfected into breast cancer MCF-7 cells, which was confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis (qRT-PCR) and Western blot in vitro. The changes of cell radiosensitivity were assessed by colony formation assay. Apoptosis were examined by flow cytometry. The expressions of two radiation-induced genes were evaluated by Western blot. Tumor growth was investigated in nude mice xenograft models in vivo.", "Our data showed that HAP1 gene expression was significantly increased in HAP1-transfected MCF-7 cells in comparison with the parental cells or negative control cells. The survival rate in MCF-7/HAP1 cells was significantly decreased after irradiation (0, 2, 4, 6, 8Gy), compared to cells in MCF-7 and MCF-7/Pb groups in vitro. HAP1 gene increased apoptosis in MCF-7 cells after irradiation. Additionally, the tumor volume and weight in MCF-7/HAP1+RT group were observably lower than in MCF-7/HAP1 group and MCF-7/Pb+RT group." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Apoptosis", "Breast Neoplasms", "Female", "Flow Cytometry", "Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic", "Humans", "MCF-7 Cells", "Mice", "Mice, Nude", "Neoplasm Transplantation", "Nerve Tissue Proteins", "Radiation Tolerance", "Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction", "Stem Cells" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the primary motor cortex has been shown to modulate pain and trigeminal nociceptive processing.", "Ten patients with classical trigeminal neuralgia (TN) were stimulated daily for 20 minutes over two weeks using anodal (1 mA) or sham tDCS over the primary motor cortex (M1) in a randomized double-blind cross-over design. Primary outcome variable was pain intensity on a verbal rating scale (VRS 0-10). VRS and attack frequency were assessed for one month before, during and after tDCS. The impact on trigeminal pain processing was assessed with pain-related evoked potentials (PREP) and the nociceptive blink reflex (nBR) following electrical stimulation on both sides of the forehead before and after tDCS.", "Anodal tDCS reduced pain intensity significantly after two weeks of treatment. The attack frequency reduction was not significant. PREP showed an increased N2 latency and decreased peak-to-peak amplitude after anodal tDCS. No severe adverse events were reported." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Blinking", "Double-Blind Method", "Evoked Potentials", "Female", "Humans", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Motor Cortex", "Pain Measurement", "Placebos", "Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation", "Treatment Outcome", "Trigeminal Neuralgia" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Does high mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) regulate inflammatory reactions in a rat model of experimental autoimmune orchitis (EAO)?" ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Animals", "Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal", "Autoimmune Diseases", "Biopsy", "Cell Nucleus", "Cells, Cultured", "Disease Models, Animal", "HMGB1 Protein", "Humans", "Infertility, Male", "Lymphocytes", "Macrophage Activation", "Male", "Molecular Targeted Therapy", "Orchitis", "Protein Transport", "Pyruvates", "Rats, Wistar", "Recombinant Proteins", "Testis" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "To evaluate the risk of reclassification on serial biopsy for Caucasian and African American (AA) men with very low-risk (VLR) prostate cancer enrolled in a large prospective active surveillance (AS) registry.", "The Johns Hopkins AS registry is a prospective observational study that has enrolled 982 men since 1994. Including only men who met all National Comprehensive Cancer Network VLR criteria (clinical stage ≤T1, Gleason score ≤6, prostate-specific antigen [PSA] level <10 ng/mL, PSA density <0.15 ng/mL/cm(3), positive cores <3, percent cancer per core ≤50), we analyzed a cohort of 654 men (615 Caucasians and 39 AAs). The association of race with reclassification on serial biopsy was assessed with competing-risks regressions.", "AA men on AS were more likely than Caucasians to experience upgrading on serial biopsy (36% vs 16%; adjusted P <.001). Adjusting for PSA level, prostate size, volume of cancer on biopsy, treatment year, and body mass index, AA race was an independent predictor of biopsy reclassification (subdistribution hazard ratio, 1.8; P = .003). Examining specific modes of reclassification, AA race was independently associated with reclassification by grade (subdistribution hazard ratio, 3.0; P = .002) but not by volume." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "African Americans", "Aged", "Biopsy", "European Continental Ancestry Group", "Humans", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Prospective Studies", "Prostatic Neoplasms", "Watchful Waiting" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Chemoradiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer can impair pulmonary function, particularly when it is followed by surgery. This study aimed to document the changes in respiratory function as a result of a perioperative intensive pulmonary rehabilitation program in patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent induction chemoradiotherapy.", "A total of 82 consecutive patients underwent pulmonary resection after undergoing induction chemoradiotherapy. A pulmonary rehabilitation program was started at the same time as the induction chemoradiotherapy. Standard respiratory function tests were performed before and after induction chemoradiotherapy. Treatment-related mortality and the incidence of postoperative respiratory complications were investigated. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyze the differences in spirometric changes.", "All patients underwent a pulmonary rehabilitation program for an average of 10 weeks. Significant increases were observed in forced vital capacity (+6.4%, P = .0096) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (+10.4%, P < .0001). Diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide decreased (-14.0%, P < .0001). Patients with respiratory impairment (forced vital capacity <80% predicted or forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity <70%) showed significant improvements in forced vital capacity (+13.9%, P = .0025) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (+22.5%, P < .0001). Significant increases were observed in forced vital capacity (+7.0%, P = .0042) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (+10.8%, P = .0001) in patients with a smoking history. There was no mortality, and postoperative respiratory morbidity was 6.1%." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Aged", "Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung", "Chemoradiotherapy", "Combined Modality Therapy", "Female", "Humans", "Lung Neoplasms", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Pneumonectomy", "Postoperative Complications", "Respiratory Function Tests", "Retrospective Studies" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "In this study, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 19 loci, previously associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), were systematically tested for association in patients with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (cCSC). In addition, we evaluated the effect of detailed phenotyping on these genetic associations.", "Case-control study.", "We included 292 cCSC patients, 1147 AMD patients, and 1311 control individuals.", "We genotyped SNPs at 19 AMD-associated loci and 6 additional SNPs at the complement factor H (CFH) locus. Phenotyping of all patients was based on fundoscopy, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, fluorescein angiography (FA), and indocyanine green angiography.", "We measured the allele frequencies of 25 AMD-associated SNPs and CFH haplotype frequencies in patients with cCSC and the effect of phenotypic subdivision of cCSC on genetic associations.", "One SNP in ARMS2 (rs10490924) was significant after Bonferroni correction (Punadjusted=0.002; odds ratio [OR]=0.64). The SNPs at 3 other AMD loci (CFH, TNFRSF10A, ADAMTS9) showed a trend toward association with typical cCSC. Further analysis of the CFH locus identified 2 SNPs that significantly conferred increased risk for cCSC and 1 that was protective. The CFH-H3 haplotype was also found to be protective (P=0.01; OR=0.54). Using multimodal imaging, 197 patients were classified as having typical cCSC, 52 patients had unilateral abnormalities on FA that were otherwise typical of cCSC, and 43 patients had a clinical picture that could be compatible with cCSC, but with features that could also indicate other macular diseases. Significant differences of the minor allele frequencies of the tested SNPs were observed between these 3 phenotypic subgroups." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "METHODS", "METHODS", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Case-Control Studies", "Central Serous Chorioretinopathy", "Chronic Disease", "Coloring Agents", "Complement Factor H", "Female", "Fluorescein Angiography", "Gene Frequency", "Genetic Association Studies", "Genotyping Techniques", "Humans", "Indocyanine Green", "Macular Degeneration", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Multimodal Imaging", "Ophthalmoscopy", "Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide", "Proteins", "Tomography, Optical Coherence", "Young Adult" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "To investigate the associations of IL17A, IL17F, IL23A, and IL23R copy number variants (CNVs) with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) syndrome and Behçet's disease (BD) and the possible mechanisms involved.", "Two-stage case-control and functional studies.", "A total of 1159 VKH patients, 1036 BD patients, and 2050 controls were enrolled.", "TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction assay was used for genotyping of copy number variant. Cell proliferation was measured by colorimetric assay.", "Association of CNVs in IL17A, IL17F, IL23A, and IL23R with BD and VKH syndrome and the functional roles of IL17F CNVs.", "Increased frequencies of more than 2 copies of IL17F and IL23A were found in BD patients as compared with controls (IL17F: P=4.17×10(-8); odds ratio [OR], 2.2; IL23A: P=2.86×10(-11); OR, 2.8, respectively). A similar result was found for VKH syndrome (IL17F: P=2.84×10(-13); OR, 2.7; IL23A: P=4.46×10(-17); OR, 3.4, respectively). Interestingly, the association of IL17F and IL23A with BD was found only in male patients (IL17F: P=1.06×10(-6); OR, 2.3; IL23A, P=3.81×10(-8); OR, 2.8, respectively), but not in female patients. No association of CNVs in IL17A and IL23R was found for BD and VKH syndrome. IL17F protein levels were correlated positively with gene copy numbers (P=3.43×10(-7)). Individuals with high IL17F copies showed enhanced peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) proliferation (P=5.67×10(-3))." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "METHODS", "METHODS", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Asian Continental Ancestry Group", "Behcet Syndrome", "Case-Control Studies", "Cell Proliferation", "DNA Copy Number Variations", "Female", "Genetic Association Studies", "Genetic Predisposition to Disease", "Genetic Variation", "Genotyping Techniques", "Humans", "Interleukin-17", "Interleukin-23 Subunit p19", "Leukocytes, Mononuclear", "Male", "Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction", "Sex Factors", "Uveomeningoencephalitic Syndrome" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Upper alveolar nerves, when injured during Le Fort I osteotomies, alter maxillary tooth sensitivity. We had for aim to analyze post-operative maxillary tooth sensitivity recovery.", "We conducted a prospective study in a series of patients having undergone Le Fort I osteotomy, with, or without mandibular osteotomy or intermaxillary disjunction (IMD). The direction and range of displacement of the maxillary bone were recorded. One tooth in each alveolar sector (incisivocanine, premolar, molar) was tested with an electric stimulator for each patient. The tests were performed before (D-1), and after surgery (D2 or day+2, D+15, M2 (or month +2), M3, and M6).", "Twenty-two patients were included. Among the tested teeth, 91.9 % were sensitive at D-1. At D2, only 12.7 % of teeth were sensitive. At D15, M2, M3, and M6, the sensitivity was respectively 33.3 %, 43.1 %, 50 %, and 61.8 %. The recovery of sensitivity was faster in young patients (under 35 years of age) and for upper middle and superior alveolar nerves. There was no difference regarding the direction of maxillary movement." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adolescent", "Adult", "Electric Stimulation", "Female", "Follow-Up Studies", "Humans", "Male", "Mandible", "Maxilla", "Middle Aged", "Osteotomy, Le Fort", "Sensation", "Tooth", "Touch Perception", "Young Adult" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Although the echolucent plaque in carotid stenosis is associated with future ischemic stroke, the predictive value of echogenicity in small and medium size carotid plaques on vascular events has not been thoroughly examined. Thus, we prospectively tested the hypothesis that plaque echogenicity of carotid atheroma can predict the future total cardiovascular events in patients with vascular risk factors.", "Ultrasound assessment of carotid intima-media complex thickness (IMT) and plaque echogenicity using integrated backscatter (IBS) analysis was performed in 596 patients aged 40 or more, with any history of vascular events or with at least 1 risk factor, who were enrolled between 2001 and 2006 in the Osaka Follow-up Study for Carotid Atherosclerosis, part 2 (OSACA2). We followed the incidence of total cardiovascular events including cerebrovascular events, coronary heart disease (CHD), and peripheral artery disease (PAD) for 6.4 years. We divided the patients into two groups according to the IBS index above (echorich plaques) and under (echolucent plaque) the median value, and calculated the hazard ratios (HR) of the echolucent group compared with the echogenic group in the risk of cardiovascular events.", "Among 596 patients, carotid stenosis was found only in 87 patients. During the follow-up period, we observed 121 cardiovascular events including 63 cerebrovascular events, 45 CHD cases, and 13 PAD cases. The patients with incident cardiovascular events had larger plaque thickness and lower IBS index than those without incident vascular events. The relative risk of vascular events for echolucent versus echorich plaques was 1.45 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.99-2.13, p = 0.058) after adjustment for risk factors and plaque thickness. In patients with plaque size above the median value (>2.1 mm), the relative risk of vascular events for echolucent plaques was 1.72 (95% CI 1.06-2.85, p = 0.029), but this association was not observed in patients with plaque size <2.0 mm." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Carotid Artery Diseases", "Coronary Artery Disease", "Female", "Follow-Up Studies", "Humans", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Peripheral Arterial Disease", "Predictive Value of Tests", "Risk", "Risk Factors", "Stroke" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "There is a significant comorbidity between mood disorders and tobacco use disorder (TUD), which may be related to both genetic and environmental factors. Gene variants of the 5-HT transporter, such as STin2 VNTR (a variable number of tandem repeats in the functional serotonin transporter intron 2) may be associated with mood disorders and TUD.", "This study aimed to delineate the association between the STin2 genetic polymorphism and comorbid TUD and mood disorders, including depression or bipolar disorder.", "We examined the STin2 VNTR polymorphism in never-smokers (n=113); patients with mood disorders without TUD (n=62); patients with TUD without mood disorders (n=90); and patients with both disorders (n=95).", "We found a significant association between the STin2 genetic polymorphism and the above diagnostic groups whereby the STin2.12 allele shows a positive association with comorbid TUD and mood disorders (Odds ratio=3.07, 95% CI=1.41-6.68), while the STin2.10/10 homozygous genotype shows a negative association (Odds ratio=0.34, 95% CI=0.16-0.74). Adjusting for years of education, age, gender, marital status and ethnicity did not change these results, but showed that TUD was associated with lower education levels and less stable relationships, whereas mood disorders were related to female gender. A family history of TUD was significantly associated with TUD in subjects without mood disorders only." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Alleles", "Bipolar Disorder", "Comorbidity", "Female", "Genotype", "Humans", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Minisatellite Repeats", "Mood Disorders", "Polymorphism, Genetic", "Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins", "Tobacco Use Disorder" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Lynch syndrome is caused by germline mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes leading to microsatellite instability (MSI) and colorectal cancer. Mesalazine, commonly used for the treatment of UC, reduces MSI in vitro. Here, we tested natural compounds for such activity and applied mesalazine and thymoquinone in a Msh2(loxP/loxP) Villin-Cre mouse model for Lynch syndrome.", "Flow cytometry was used for quantitation of mutation rates at a CA13 microsatellite in human colon cancer (HCT116) cells that had been stably transfected with pIREShyg2-enhanced green fluorescent protein/CA13, a reporter for frameshift mutations. Mice were treated for 43 weeks with mesalazine, thymoquinone or control chow. Intestines were analysed for tumour incidence, tumour multiplicity and size. MSI testing was performed from microdissected normal intestinal or tumour tissue, compared with mouse tails and quantified by the number of mutations per marker (NMPM).", "Besides mesalazine, thymoquinone significantly improved replication fidelity at 1.25 and 2.5 µM in HCT116 cells. In Msh2(loxP/loxP) Villin-Cre mice, tumour incidence was reduced by mesalazine from 94% to 69% (p=0.04) and to 56% (p=0.003) by thymoquinone. The mean number of tumours was reduced from 3.1 to 1.4 by mesalazine (p=0.004) and to 1.1 by thymoquinone (p<0.001). Interestingly, MSI was reduced in normal intestinal tissue from 1.5 to 1.2 NMPM (p=0.006) and to 1.1 NMPM (p=0.01) by mesalazine and thymoquinone, respectively. Thymoquinone, but not mesalazine, reduced MSI in tumours." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal", "Benzoquinones", "Cell Proliferation", "Colorectal Neoplasms, Hereditary Nonpolyposis", "Disease Models, Animal", "Female", "Frameshift Mutation", "HCT116 Cells", "Humans", "Intestinal Mucosa", "Male", "Mesalamine", "Mice", "Microsatellite Instability", "MutS Homolog 2 Protein", "Mutation Rate", "Tumor Burden" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Hippocampal neurodegeneration is one of the hallmarks in neurological and neurodegenerative diseases such as temporal lobe epilepsy and Alzheimer disease. Human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells are a mixed population of cells, including neurons, and their conditioned medium is enriched with erythropoietin (EPO). Because EPO is a known neuroprotectant, we hypothesized that infusion of HEK cells or HEK-conditioned medium (HEK-CM) may provide neuroprotection against kainic acid (KA)-induced hippocampal damage in mice.", "Adult CF1 mice were treated with KA to induce hippocampal damage. On 3rd and 5th days after KA treatment, HEK cells or HEK-CM was infused intravenously through the tail vein. On the 7th and 8th days after KA treatment, all groups of mice were subjected to cognitive and depression assessment by use of a novel object recognition test and a forced swim test, respectively. Subsequent to this assessment, mice were killed and the brain samples were used to assess the histopathology and messenger RNA expression for EPO and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2).", "We found that infusion of HEK cells/HEK-CM improves cognitive function and alleviates symptoms of depression. Histological assessment demonstrates complete neuroprotection against KA-mediated excitotoxicity, and the hippocampal cytoarchitecture of HEK cells/HEK-CM treated mice was comparable to normal control mice. HEK cells/HEK-CM treatment could provide neuroprotection by upregulating the endogenous EPO and Bcl-2 in KA-treated mice." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Brain Injuries", "Culture Media, Conditioned", "Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists", "HEK293 Cells", "Hippocampus", "Humans", "Kainic Acid", "Male", "Mice", "Time Factors" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "The associations of transferrin saturation with diabetes have not been well evaluated and conflicting results have been reported. The purpose of this study is to examine the association of iron indices (serum ferritin and transferrin saturation) with risk of impaired fasting glucose and insulin resistance.", "We conducted a cross-sectional study in 2413 individuals (1150 men and 1263 women) aged 20-50 years who participated in the 2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants were free of diabetes, malignancy, liver cirrhosis, chronic renal failure, anaemia, pregnancy and menopause. Fasting plasma glucose, insulin and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were measured as the outcomes.", "Impaired fasting glucose was more prevalent in the highest compared with the lowest serum ferritin quartile among men (odds ratio [OR], 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20-3.24) after adjustment for multiple covariates. Following the same adjustment, impaired fasting glucose was less prevalent in the highest compared with the lowest transferrin saturation quartile among men (OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.25-0.80) and women (OR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.14-0.77). Moreover, a higher ferritin level was significantly associated with higher HOMA-IR after adjusting for confounders in men. Lower transferrin saturation was also significantly associated with higher insulin levels and HOMA-IR in both sexes." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Asian Continental Ancestry Group", "Blood Glucose", "Cross-Sectional Studies", "Fasting", "Female", "Ferritins", "Health Surveys", "Humans", "Insulin", "Insulin Resistance", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Republic of Korea", "Risk Factors", "Transferrin" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Maternal nutrition during different stages of pregnancy can induce significant changes in the structure, physiology, and metabolism of the offspring. These changes could have important implications on food animal production especially if these perturbations impact muscle and adipose tissue development. Here, we evaluated the impact of different maternal isoenergetic diets, alfalfa haylage (HY; fiber), corn (CN; starch), and dried corn distillers grains (DG; fiber plus protein plus fat), on the transcriptome of fetal muscle and adipose tissues in sheep.", "Prepartum diets were associated with notable gene expression changes in fetal tissues. In longissimus dorsi muscle, a total of 224 and 823 genes showed differential expression (FDR ≤0.05) in fetuses derived from DG vs. CN and HY vs. CN maternal diets, respectively. Several of these significant genes affected myogenesis and muscle differentiation. In subcutaneous and perirenal adipose tissues, 745 and 208 genes were differentially expressed (FDR ≤0.05), respectively, between CN and DG diets. Many of these genes are involved in adipogenesis, lipogenesis, and adipose tissue development. Pathway analysis revealed that several GO terms and KEGG pathways were enriched (FDR ≤0.05) with differentially expressed genes associated with tissue and organ development, chromatin biology, and different metabolic processes." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adipose Tissue", "Animal Feed", "Animals", "Body Composition", "Female", "Fetal Development", "Gene Expression Profiling", "Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena", "Pregnancy", "Sheep, Domestic", "Transcriptome" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Premature ejaculation (PE) is the most common male sexual dysfunction. Its prevalence in Type 1 diabetes is unknown.", "The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of PE in Type 1 diabetes and the influence of glycemic control on ejaculatory function.", "One hundred Type 1 diabetic male patients (age < 40 years) and 51 age-matched nondiabetic control subjects were evaluated for PE. A subgroup of 30 diabetic patients (20 with PE and 10 without) were also evaluated for blood glucose variability.", "The presence of PE was assessed with the premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT) and the self-estimated intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT). Glucose variability was evaluated by continuous glucose monitoring for a 7-day period with a DexCom G4 CGM system: the mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGEs), low (LBGI) and high (HBGI) blood glucose indices, and the standard deviation of blood glucose (BGSD) were calculated.", "PE prevalence did not differ significantly between the two groups: pathological values of the PEDT score (>8) and IELT score (<1 minute) were recorded in 24 out of 100 diabetic patients (24%) and in 12 out of 51 controls (23.5%). There were significant associations between hemoglobin A1c and the PEDT score (r = 0.27; P = 0.006) and IELT (r = -0.3; P = 0.01). In the subgroup assessed for glucose variability, the PEDT score was associated with LBGI (r = 0.43; P = 0.01), but not with BGSD (r = 0.1, P = 0.6), MAGE (r = -0.1; P = 0.4), or HBGI (r = 0.1; P = 0.6)." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Body Mass Index", "Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1", "Glycated Hemoglobin A", "Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice", "Humans", "Male", "Premature Ejaculation", "Prevalence" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "We hypothesized that myocardial scar characterization using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) may be associated with the occurrence of ventricular tachyarrhythmia (VT), appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy and mortality.", "Since a minority of patients with prophylactic ICD implantation receive appropriate ICD therapy, there is a need for more effective risk stratification for primary prevention in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy.", "In 99 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, CMR was performed prior to ICD implantation. We assessed if CMR indices (cardiac mass, LVEF) and CMR scar characteristics (infarct core mass, peri-infarction mass and the ratio's between left ventricular mass, infarct core mass and peri-infarction mass) were associated with outcome. The primary endpoint was sustained VT and/or appropriate ICD therapy. The secondary endpoint was all-cause mortality. During a median follow-up of 5.4 years (IQR 4.5-6.6 years), 34 patients reached the primary end-point (17 appropriate ICD shocks) and 26 patients died. In multivariable Cox regression analysis, peri-infarction to core-infarction ratio (HR 2.01, 95%CI: 1.17-3.44, p=0.01) was independently and significantly associated with the primary endpoint, whereas NYHA-class and lower LVEF were not. Conversely, age (HR 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01-1.12, p=0.02) and lower LVEF (HR 0.95, 95% CI: 0.91-1.00, p=0.04) were independently associated with all-cause mortality, mainly due to heart failure." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "BACKGROUND", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Aged", "Cardiomyopathies", "Cicatrix", "Defibrillators, Implantable", "Female", "Follow-Up Studies", "Humans", "Longitudinal Studies", "Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Myocardial Ischemia", "Prospective Studies", "Tachycardia, Ventricular" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "To determine whether in-house patient-specific intensity modulated radiation therapy quality assurance (IMRT QA) results predict Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core (IROC)-Houston phantom results.", "IROC Houston's IMRT head and neck phantoms have been irradiated by numerous institutions as part of clinical trial credentialing. We retrospectively compared these phantom results with those of in-house IMRT QA (following the institution's clinical process) for 855 irradiations performed between 2003 and 2013. The sensitivity and specificity of IMRT QA to detect unacceptable or acceptable plans were determined relative to the IROC Houston phantom results. Additional analyses evaluated specific IMRT QA dosimeters and analysis methods.", "IMRT QA universally showed poor sensitivity relative to the head and neck phantom, that is, poor ability to predict a failing IROC Houston phantom result. Depending on how the IMRT QA results were interpreted, overall sensitivity ranged from 2% to 18%. For different IMRT QA methods, sensitivity ranged from 3% to 54%. Although the observed sensitivity was particularly poor at clinical thresholds (eg 3% dose difference or 90% of pixels passing gamma), receiver operator characteristic analysis indicated that no threshold showed good sensitivity and specificity for the devices evaluated." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Credentialing", "Head and Neck Neoplasms", "Phantoms, Imaging", "Quality Assurance, Health Care", "ROC Curve", "Radiotherapy Dosage", "Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted", "Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated", "Retrospective Studies", "Sensitivity and Specificity" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "The DSM-5 encompasses a wide range of symptoms for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Symptoms are commonly added up to sum-scores, and thresholds differentiate between healthy and depressed individuals. The underlying assumption is that all patients diagnosed with MDD have a similar condition, and that sum-scores accurately reflect the severity of this condition. To test this assumption, we examined the number of DSM-5 depression symptom patterns in the \"Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression\" (STAR*D) study.", "We investigated the number of unique symptom profiles reported by 3703 depressed outpatients at the beginning of the first treatment stage of STAR*D.", "Overall, we identified 1030 unique symptom profiles. Of these profiles, 864 profiles (83.9%) were endorsed by five or fewer subjects, and 501 profiles (48.6%) were endorsed by only one individual. The most common symptom profile exhibited a frequency of only 1.8%. Controlling for overall depression severity did not reduce the amount of observed heterogeneity." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Depression", "Depressive Disorder, Major", "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders", "Female", "Humans", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Outpatients", "Severity of Illness Index", "Treatment Outcome" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "The canals of Hering (CoH), which are the most peripherally located bile drainage pathway, are considered a niche of hepatic progenitor cells. Recently, CoH loss has been described as an early feature of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). We investigated the correlation between CoH loss and the histopathological variables of PBC.", "Liver biopsy specimens from 62 PBC patients (M:F=8:54, age=58 ± 12 years) were evaluated prior to ursodeoxycholic acid treatment. Liver biopsies of patients with normal liver (n=11), chronic viral hepatitis (n=36) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (n=13) were used as controls. The number of CoH per definite area of hepatic parenchyma (c to p ratio) was calculated in individual cases. We compared the c to p ratios of PBC patients with that of controls and analysed the correlations with histological variables and clinical features.", "The c to p ratios in PBC patients with mild and extensive fibrosis were lower than those in controls with each degree of fibrosis. The c to p ratios were negatively correlated with stage, fibrosis, bile duct loss, orcein-positive granule deposition and hepatitis activities in PBC (p<0.01) and with alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin levels at liver biopsies (p<0.05)." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Aged", "Alkaline Phosphatase", "Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic", "Bilirubin", "Biomarkers", "Biopsy", "Case-Control Studies", "Disease Progression", "Female", "Humans", "Immunohistochemistry", "Liver", "Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Predictive Value of Tests", "Severity of Illness Index", "Stem Cells", "Time Factors", "Treatment Outcome", "Ursodeoxycholic Acid" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "The ability of a treatment method to interfere with tinnitus-related neural activity patterns, such as cortical gamma rhythms, has been suggested to indicate its potential in relieving tinnitus. Therapeutic modulation of gamma-band oscillations with vagus nerve stimulation has been recently reported in epileptic patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) on neural oscillatory patterns.", "We calculated the power spectral density and synchrony of magnetoencephalography recordings during auditory stimulation in seven tinnitus patients and eight normal-hearing control subjects. Comparisons between subject groups were performed to reveal electrophysiological markers of tinnitus. tVNS-specific effects within each group were studied by comparing recording blocks with and without tVNS. We also investigated the correlation of each measure with individual ratings of tinnitus distress, as measured by the tinnitus handicap inventory questionnaire.", "Tinnitus patients differed from controls in the baseline condition (no tVNS applied), measured by both cortical oscillatory power and synchronization, particularly at beta and gamma frequencies. Importantly, we found tVNS-induced changes in synchrony, correlating strongly with tinnitus handicap inventory scores, at whole-head beta-band (r = -0.857, p = 0.007), whole-head gamma-band (r = -0.952, p = 0.0003), and frontal gamma-band (r = -0.952, p = 0.0003)." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Acoustic Stimulation", "Adult", "Beta Rhythm", "Cortical Synchronization", "Female", "Gamma Rhythm", "Humans", "Magnetoencephalography", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Stress, Psychological", "Surveys and Questionnaires", "Tinnitus", "Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation", "Vagus Nerve Stimulation", "Young Adult" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Lysophospholipids, particularly sphingosine 1-phosphate and lysophosphatidic acid, are known to be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis; however, the role of lysophosphatidylserine (LysoPS) in the onset of atherosclerotic diseases remains uncertain.", "We investigated the effects of LysoPS on the uptake of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) and the modulation of inflammatory mediators and ER stress utilizing RAW264.7 cells and mouse peritoneal macrophages (MPMs).", "We found that LysoPS augmented cholesterol accumulation in both models. Consistent with these findings, LysoPS increased the expression of scavenger receptors (CD36, MSR1, LOX1 and TLR4). Regarding the involvement of these lipids in inflammation, LysoPS significantly decreased the expression of inflammatory mediators in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW264.7 cells and MPMs. LysoPS also attenuated ER stress in LPS-untreated RAW264.7 cells. The expression patterns of LysoPS receptors differed considerably among the LPS-untreated RAW264.7 cells, LPS-treated RAW264.7 cells and MPMs." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Atherosclerosis", "Cell Line", "Endoplasmic Reticulum", "Lipopolysaccharides", "Lipoproteins, LDL", "Lysophospholipids", "Macrophages", "Mice" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Various techniques and devices have been proposed for tricuspid valve (TV) repair in patients with tricuspid regurgitation (TR). However, residual or recurrent TR is not uncommon occurring in 20% to 30% of patients. This study reports first experiences with a new three-dimensional annuloplasty ring.", "We retrospectively reviewed 200 consecutive patients who underwent TV repair for functional TR with the Contour 3D annuloplasty ring (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN) from December 2010 to February 2013 at our institution. The follow-up is 98% complete (mean 1.0 ± 0.7 years; cumulative total 189 patient-years).", "Mean age was 70.4 ± 9.1 years and the median logistic European system for cardiac operative risk was 7%. Sixty-nine percent of the patients were in New York Heart Association class III/IV. Echocardiography documented moderate or severe TR in 97.5% of the patients, with a mean annulus diameter of 45.1 ± 4.9 mm; 93.5% of the patients underwent a combined procedure, and 20.5% an urgent or emergent operation. The 30-day mortality was 6%. The preoperative TR grade was reduced from 2.45 ± 0.53 to 0.77 ± 0.54 (p < 0.001). At hospital discharge residual II TR or greater was present in 4.3% of the patients. Freedom from recurrent II TR or greater at 2 years was 90.9% ± 4.2% and freedom from TV-related reoperations at 2 years was 98.5% ± 1.0%. No case of ring dehiscence occurred. Fourteen patients (7%) required a permanent pacemaker implantation for atrioventricular block." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Aged", "Cardiac Valve Annuloplasty", "Female", "Follow-Up Studies", "Humans", "Imaging, Three-Dimensional", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Retrospective Studies", "Surgery, Computer-Assisted", "Treatment Outcome", "Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency", "Ventricular Function" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "We aimed to study the association between cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and hypertension in Kazakh and Han populations from Xinjiang Province, China.", "We analyzed data on 800 Kazakhs (467 hypertension patients and 333 healthy control participants) and 800 Hans (482 hypertension patients and 318 healthy control participants) aged 18-84 years old. ELISA and real-time quantitative PCR coupled with restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis were applied for determining CMV infection and glycoprotein B (gB) genotypes, respectively.", "Serologic evidence of CMV infection was obtained for 95.4% and 90.1% of the Kazakhs and Hans, respectively. The CMV seroprevalence rates among the Kazakh and Han participants with hypertension were 96.8% and 89.8%, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed statistically significant independent associations between CMV seropositivity and hypertension in Kazakh males and between CMV antibody titers and hypertension in Hans; significant relationships also existed between CMV antibody titers and blood pressure in Hans. In Kazakhs, 3 CMV gB genotypes were identified: gB2 and genotype mixtures gB1+gB2 and gB2+gB3. In Hans, 4 CMV gB genotypes were identified: gB1, gB2, gB1+gB2, and gB2+gB3. Of the 4 studied genotypes, gB2+gB3 showed a significant independent association with hypertension in Kazakh females." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adolescent", "Adult", "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Asian Continental Ancestry Group", "China", "Confidence Intervals", "Cytomegalovirus", "Cytomegalovirus Infections", "Essential Hypertension", "Ethnic Groups", "Female", "Humans", "Hypertension", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Multivariate Analysis", "Odds Ratio", "Polymerase Chain Reaction", "Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length", "Seroepidemiologic Studies", "Young Adult" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Understanding the dynamics of the gut-brain axis has clinical implications for physical and mental health conditions, including obesity and anxiety. As such disorders have early life antecedents, it is of value to determine if associations between the gut microbiome and behavior are present in early life in humans.", "We used next generation pyrosequencing to examine associations between the community structure of the gut microbiome and maternal ratings of child temperament in 77 children at 18-27months of age. It was hypothesized that children would differ in their gut microbial structure, as indicated by measures of alpha and beta diversity, based on their temperamental characteristics.", "Among both boys and girls, greater Surgency/Extraversion was associated greater phylogenetic diversity. In addition, among boys only, subscales loading on this composite scale were associated with differences in phylogenetic diversity, the Shannon Diversity index (SDI), beta diversity, and differences in abundances of Dialister, Rikenellaceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Parabacteroides. In girls only, higher Effortful Control was associated with a lower SDI score and differences in both beta diversity and Rikenellaceae were observed in relation to Fear. Some differences in dietary patterns were observed in relation to temperament, but these did not account for the observed differences in the microbiome." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Biodiversity", "Child, Preschool", "Cohort Studies", "Cross-Sectional Studies", "Extraversion (Psychology)", "Feces", "Female", "Humans", "Infant", "Intestines", "Male", "Microbiota", "Phylogeny", "Sex Factors", "Temperament" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "The interaction between Siglec-10 and its ligand, CD24, selectively represses tissue damage-caused immune responses. However, the nature of Siglec-10 and CD24 in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still poorly defined. Hereon, the expression, function, and regulation of CD24 and Siglec-10 in HCC were investigated in the present study.", "Flow cytometry was performed to examine the expression of Siglec-10 in HCC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues of HCC patients. To further determine whether Siglec-10 expression is associated with the clinical characteristics and survival, conventional immunohistochemistry was performed in 96 HCC patients. Additionally, the role of Siglec-10 in the regulation of natural killer (NK) cell dysfunction was evaluated. Finally, CD24 expression in HCC was also assessed.", "Siglec-10 was expressed most on NK cells in HCC (40.7 ± 4.5%). Compared with surrounding non-tumor tissues, tumor tissues had higher Siglec-10 expression (31.0 ± 1.7% versus 40.7 ± 4.5%, n = 10, P < 0.05), and the expression was negatively associated with patient survival. Siglec-10(+)CD56(+) NK cells exhibited reduced effector function, as shown by decreased granules and cytokine expressions compared with Siglec-10(-)CD56(+) NK cells. Moreover, the number of CD24(+)CD45(-) cells in HCC tissues was higher than that in adjacent non-tumor tissues (9.4 ± 0.9% versus 3.1 ± 0.9%, n = 15, P < 0.05)." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Aged", "CD24 Antigen", "Carcinoma, Hepatocellular", "Female", "Humans", "Killer Cells, Natural", "Lectins", "Liver Neoplasms", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Receptors, Cell Surface" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Postoperative cognitive dysfunction is increasingly recognized as an important clinical syndrome. Inhalation anesthetics are commonly used during surgery, and it has been proposed that inhalation anesthetics impair cognitive function. However, there are few clinical interventions and treatments available to prevent this disorder. GTS-21, a selective agonist of alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, has been indicated to exert neuroprotective effects in the experimental animal models of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, we hypothesized that pretreatment with GTS-21 attenuates isoflurane-induced cognitive decline in aged rats.", "In the present study, 20-mo-old rats were administered GTS-21 or an equal volume of saline by intraperitoneal injection 30 min before exposure to isoflurane. Then the rats were exposed to 1.3% isoflurane for 4 h. Spatial learning and memory of the rats were assessed at 2 wk after isoflurane exposure. The expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Simultaneously, neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus was also observed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining and Nissl staining.", "We found that exposure to isoflurane induces learning and memory deficits of old rats. IL-1β in the hippocampus was increased at 4 h after isoflurane exposure. Isoflurane also increased neuroapoptosis in the hippocampus and decreased neuronal density in the CA1 region. And GTS-21 pretreatment effectively alleviated these changes." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Anesthetics, Inhalation", "Animals", "Apoptosis", "Benzylidene Compounds", "Cognition Disorders", "Hippocampus", "Interleukin-1beta", "Isoflurane", "Male", "Nicotinic Agonists", "Pyridines", "Rats", "Rats, Sprague-Dawley" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Malignant melanoma is an aggressive form of skin cancer with limited effective therapeutic options. Melanoma research concentrates on maximizing the effect on cancer cells with minimal toxicity to normal cells. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an important regulator of cellular energy homeostasis and has been shown to control tumor progression regulating the cell cycle, protein synthesis, and cell growth and/or survival. Honokiol (HNK) is a biphenolic compound derived from Magnolia officinalis, a plant that has been used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine for the treatment of various pathological conditions. Recent studies have shown that HNK has antitumor activity with relatively low toxicity. In this study, we demonstrated that the growth inhibitory effects of HNK on melanoma and melanoma cancer stem cells were mediated through the activation of AMPK and hence AMPK signaling in melanoma cells.", "We determined the effects of HNK treatment on various melanoma cell lines. HNK-induced cell growth inhibitory effects were determined using hexosaminidase assay. Protein expression studies were done by immunoblotting. Primary spheroid assay was used to assess stemness by growing single suspension cells in ultralow attachment plates.", "HNK is highly effective in inhibiting melanoma cells by attenuating protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin and AMPK signaling. HNK showed significant inhibition of the spheroid-forming capacity of melanoma cells and, hence, stemness. HNK significantly decreased the number and size of melanospheres in a dose-dependent manner. Western blot analyses showed enhanced phosphorylation of AMPK in melanoma cells. Furthermore, HNK decreased the cellular adenosine triphosphate pool in a dose-dependent manner with maximum effects observed at 48 hours." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "AMP-Activated Protein Kinases", "Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic", "Biphenyl Compounds", "Cell Cycle", "Cell Line, Tumor", "Cell Proliferation", "Cell Survival", "Humans", "Immunoblotting", "Lignans", "Melanoma", "Microscopy, Electron, Scanning", "Signal Transduction", "Skin Neoplasms" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "To evaluate the visual and anatomical outcomes of dexamethasone intravitreal implant (DXI; 700 μg, Ozurdex; Allergan, Irvine, California, USA) as adjunctive therapy for patients with refractory wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).", "Retrospective review of the medical records of seven patients (seven eyes) who initially responded well to intravitreal ranibizumab but subsequently developed persistent intra/sub-retinal fluid (IRF/SRF) and underwent a single injection of DXI, between May 2012 and May 2013. Two weeks after DXI, the patients continued with their monthly ranibizumab injections. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) and central retinal thickness (CRT) were recorded at baseline, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months after DXI injection. Complications were recorded too.", "All patients had at least 24 months of ranibizumab treatment. Mean age was 81.5±5.8 years. At baseline, mean BCVA was 0.53±0.13 logMAR (20/70 Snellen) and mean CRT was 273.14±50.94 μm. BCVA did not change significantly after DXI over the follow-up period. However, all eyes had lost fewer than 0.3 logMAR units. Complete resolution of the persistent IRF/SRF was achieved in five eyes (71.4%) at 6 weeks, and remained stable at 3 months. Two weeks after DXI injection, the mean CRT diminished compared with baseline (248.28±31.8 µm; p=0.03) and the greatest reduction was observed at 3 months after DXI injection (241.5±36.6 µm; p=0.04). Progression of lens opacity was detected in one case (50% of phakic eyes). Retreatment with DXI was performed in two eyes." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Angiogenesis Inhibitors", "Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized", "Dexamethasone", "Drug Implants", "Drug Therapy, Combination", "Female", "Fluorescein Angiography", "Glucocorticoids", "Humans", "Intraocular Pressure", "Intravitreal Injections", "Male", "Ranibizumab", "Retina", "Retreatment", "Retrospective Studies", "Tomography, Optical Coherence", "Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A", "Visual Acuity", "Wet Macular Degeneration" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Time to achieve target temperature varies substantially for patients who undergo targeted temperature management (TTM) after cardiac arrest. The association between arrival at target temperature and neurologic outcome is poorly understood. We hypothesized that shorter time from initiation of cooling to target temperature (\"induction\") will be associated with worse neurologic outcome, reflecting more profound underlying brain injury and impaired thermoregulatory control.", "This was a multicenter retrospective study analyzing data from the Penn Alliance for Therapeutic Hypothermia (PATH) Registry. We examined the association between time from arrest to return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) (\"downtime\"), ROSC to initiation of TTM (\"pre-induction\") and \"induction\" with cerebral performance category (CPC).", "A total of 321 patients were analyzed, of whom 30.8% (99/321) had a good neurologic outcome. Downtime for survivors with good outcome was 11 (IQR 6-27) min vs. 21 (IQR 10-36) min (p=0.002) for those with poor outcome. Pre-induction did not vary between good and poor outcomes (98 (IQR 36-230) min vs. 114 (IQR 34-260) (p=ns)). Induction time in the good outcome cohort was 237 (IQR 142-361) min compared to 180 (IQR 100-276) min (p=0.004). Patients were categorized by induction time (<120min, 120-300min, >300min). Using multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, initial rhythm, and downtime, induction time >300min was associated with good neurologic outcome when compared to those with an induction time <120min." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Body Temperature", "Brain Ischemia", "Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation", "Disease Management", "Female", "Heart Arrest", "Humans", "Hypothermia, Induced", "Incidence", "Male", "Middle Aged", "Pennsylvania", "Prognosis", "Registries", "Retrospective Studies", "Risk Assessment", "Time Factors" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy (SIC) is thought to be the result of detrimental effects of inflammatory mediators on the cardiac muscle. Here we studied the effects of prolonged (24 ± 4 h) exposure of adult rat ventricular myocytes (ARVM) to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukins-1 (IL-1) and IL-6.", "We measured sarcomere shortening (SS) and cellular calcium (Ca(2+)) transients (ΔCai, with fura-2 AM) in isolated cardiomyocytes externally paced at 5 Hz at 37°C.", "SS decreased after incubation with LPS (100 μg/mL), IL-1 (100 ng/mL), and IL-6 (30 ng/mL), but not with lesser doses of these mediators, or TNF (10-100 ng/mL). A combination of LPS (100 μg/mL), TNF, IL-1, and IL-6 (each 100 ng/mL; i.e., \"Cytomix-100\") induced a maximal decrease in SS and ΔCai. Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+) load (CaSR, measured with caffeine) was unchanged by Cytomix-100; however, SR fractional release (ΔCai/CaSR) was decreased. Underlying these effects, Ca(2+) influx into the cell (via L-type Ca(2+) channels, LTCC) and Ca(2+) extrusion via Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchange were decreased by Cytomix-100. SR Ca(2+) pump (SERCA) (SR Ca(2+) ATPase) was not affected." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Animals", "Calcium", "Calcium Channels, L-Type", "Cardiomyopathies", "Cells, Cultured", "Cytokines", "Lipopolysaccharides", "Male", "Myocardial Contraction", "Myocytes, Cardiac", "Rats, Sprague-Dawley", "Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium-Transporting ATPases", "Sepsis" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "Oxidative stress causes the defects of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells that contribute to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study was conducted to determine whether wogonin could prevent H2O2-induced oxidative stress in RPE cells.", "A RPE cell line, ARPE-19, was obtained for the cell model. ARPE-19 cells were pre-treated with various concentrations of wogonin for 24 h before being exposed to H2O2 for 2 h to induce oxidative stress. Cell metabolic activity was measured using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cellular apoptosis was quantified by the flow cytometry. Protein level was assed by western blot.", "The RPE cells exposed to to 200 mM H2O2 demonstrated a significant depression in the cell viability; whereas pre-treatment with 50 and 100 mmol/l wogonin could significantly improve the cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. The proportion of PI-positive cells was increased significantly in RPE cells treated with H2O2 alone; whereas pretreatment with 100 mM wogonin significantly reduced H2O2 -induced RPE cell death rate. In protein level, the wogonin use could reduce the level of p-Akt significantly and this is the possible mechanism of the antioxidant effect of wogonin." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Antioxidants", "Apoptosis", "Cell Line", "Cell Survival", "Cytoprotection", "Dose-Response Relationship, Drug", "Epithelial Cells", "Flavanones", "Humans", "Hydrogen Peroxide", "Oxidative Stress", "Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase", "Phosphorylation", "Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt", "Retinal Pigment Epithelium", "Signal Transduction" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "To determine whether recent reimbursement cuts have resulted in a shift of outpatient MRI from private offices to hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs); and to study office MRI utilization trends among radiologists and other specialists.", "The Medicare Part B Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary Master Files were used. MRI codes were aggregated, and total MRI volumes from 2002 to 2012 were studied. Medicare place-of-service codes were used to identify studies performed in private offices and HOPDs and create trend lines. Specialty codes were used to categorize private office MRI users as radiologists, orthopedic surgeons, other physicians, and independent diagnostic testing facilities.", "Medicare office and HOPD utilization of MRI (all specialties) rose rapidly from 2002 to 2006, reaching 2,727,807 in offices and 2,355,641 in HOPDs. Thereafter, office volume steadily declined, whereas HOPD volume steadily increased. By 2012, more studies were done in HOPDs than in offices. Over the entire period from 2002 and 2012, office MRI volume among radiologists increased 27%, compared with 216% among orthopedic surgeons and 124% among other physicians." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Ambulatory Care", "Cost Control", "Insurance, Health, Reimbursement", "Magnetic Resonance Imaging", "Medicare", "Outpatient Clinics, Hospital", "Practice Patterns, Physicians'", "Private Practice", "Radiology", "United States", "Utilization Review" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "To investigate the incidence of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery and its association with mortality in a patient population receiving ibuprofen and gentamicin perioperatively.", "Retrospective study with Cox regression analysis to control for possible preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative confounders.", "University hospital-based single-center study.", "All patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting ± valve surgery during 2012.", "None.", "Acute surgery within 24 hours of coronary angiography, previous nephrectomy, preoperative sCr >2.26 mg/dL and selective cerebral perfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass were used as exclusion criteria. Acute kidney injury was defined, using the Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) criteria. Six hundred eight patients were included in the study. Mean age was 68.2 ± 9.7 years, and 81% were males. Acute kidney injury was seen in 28.1% of the patients. Overall mortality at one year was 7% and 3% in the no-AKI group. At one year, mortality was 15% in patients with AKIN stage 1 and AKIN stage 2 compared to 70% in AKIN stage 3. A hazard ratio of 2.34 (95% CI: 1.21-4.51, p = 0.011) and 5.62 (95% CI: 2.42-13.06), p<0.0001) were found for AKIN stage 1 and 2/3 combined, respectively." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "METHODS", "METHODS", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Acute Kidney Injury", "Aged", "Analgesics, Non-Narcotic", "Analysis of Variance", "Anti-Bacterial Agents", "Cardiac Surgical Procedures", "Cohort Studies", "Female", "Gentamicins", "Humans", "Ibuprofen", "Incidence", "Male", "Postoperative Complications", "Proportional Hazards Models", "Retrospective Studies", "Risk Assessment", "Risk Factors" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "The human RECQ DNA helicase family is involved in genomic stability. Gene mutations of RECQL2, RECQL3, and RECQL4 are associated with genetic disorders and induce early aging and carcinogenesis. Although previous studies have reported that the level of RECQL1 expression is correlated with the prognosis of some of malignancies, the function of RECQL1 is not yet clarified. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between prognosis and the level of RECQL1 expression in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), and to identify the role of RECQL1 in EOC cells.", "The level of RECQL1 expression was determined immunohistochemically in 111 patients with EOC who received initial treatment at Hirosaki University hospital between 2006 and 2011. Effects of RECQL1 on cell growth or apoptosis were examined in vitro using wild-type and OVCAR-3 cells (RECQL1(+) cells) and similar cells transfected with RECQL1 siRNA transfected (RECQL1(-) cells).", "The level of RECQL1 expression was not related to histological type, clinical stage, or retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis, but the expression level was significantly higher (P = 0.002) in patients with recurrence than those without recurrence, and progression-free survival and complete response rate to chemotherapy were also improved in patients with RECQL1-low expression (n = 39) stage III/IV EOC (P = 0.02 and P <0.05 vs RECQL1-high expression patients (n = ), respectively). A cell proliferation and colony formation assays revealed significantly less growth of RECQL1(-) cells compared to RECQL1(+) cells. A flow cytometry using annexin V -FITC and propidium iodide (PI) staining revealed a significant increase in apoptotic RECQL1(-) cells. Cell cycle analysis showed a significantly greater distribution in subG1 phase indicating apoptotic cells in RECQL1(-) cells than in RECQL1(+) cells." ], "labels": [ "BACKGROUND", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Adult", "Aged", "Aged, 80 and over", "Antineoplastic Agents", "Apoptosis", "Biomarkers, Tumor", "Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial", "Cell Line, Tumor", "Cell Nucleus", "Disease-Free Survival", "Drug Resistance, Neoplasm", "Female", "Gene Expression", "Humans", "Kaplan-Meier Estimate", "Middle Aged", "Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial", "Ovarian Neoplasms", "Prognosis", "RecQ Helicases", "Young Adult" ] }

{ "contexts": [ "To explore the relationship between continuous thrombocytopenia and sepsis in patients with severe burns.", "Clinical data of 148 severely burned patients admitted to our,two burn centers from January 2007 to December 2011 and conforming to the study criteria were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were divided into sepsis group (n =44) and non-sepsis group (n = 104) according to the presence or absence of sepsis within post burn day (PBD) 30. The data of age, gender, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, fluid infusion volume within post burn hour (PBH) 24, plasma concentration of calcium ion on PBD 1, plasma concentration of albumin on PBD 1, platelet count on PBD 1, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score on admission, the presence or absence of hypovolemic shock or inhalation injury on admission, the presence or absence of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) within PBH 48, operation or no operation within PBD 3, thrombocytopenia duration within PBD 10, and mortality were statistically compared between two groups to screen the independent risk factors of sepsis. Data were processed with t test, chi-square test, single factor Logistic regression analysis, and multi-factor Logistic regression analysis.", "Between two groups, there were statistically significant differences in total burn area, full-thickness burn area, plasma concentration of calcium ion on PBD 1, plasma concentration of albumin on PBD 1, APACHE II score on admission, presence or absence of hypovolem- ic shock on admission, presence or absence of inhalation injury on admission, presence or absence of DIC within PBH 48, and mortality (with t values from 2.433 to 4.082, χ2 values from 8. 818 to 31.528, P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Furthermore, the duration of thrombocytopenia within PBD 10 in sepsis group was (5.2 ± 2.4) d, which was significantly longer than that in non-sepsis group [(2.9 ± 1.9) d, t =6. 189, P <0.01]. There were no statistically significant differences in the other indexes between two groups (with t values from 0.971 to 1. 250, χ2 values respectively 0. 054 and 1.529, P values above 0.05). Single factor and multi-factor Logistic regression analysis indicated that APACHE II score on admission and duration of thrombocytopenia within PBD 10 were closely related to occurrence of sepsis (with odds ratio respectively 1. 140 and 1.569, P values below 0.01)." ], "labels": [ "OBJECTIVE", "METHODS", "RESULTS" ], "meshes": [ "Aged", "Albumins", "Burn Units", "Burns", "Humans", "Predictive Value of Tests", "Regression Analysis", "Retrospective Studies", "Sepsis", "Shock", "Thrombocytopenia" ] }