Search

The simultaneous determination of polyamines and their metabolites in urine samples was achieved by GC-MS in the selected ion monitoring mode. After conjugating with the ion-pair reagent bis-2-ethylhexylphosphate in the aqueous phase, the polyamines in the samples were extracted with polystyrene nanofiber-based packed-fiber solid-phase extraction followed by a derivatization step using pentafluoropropionyl anhydride. With optimal conditions, all analytes were separated well. For analytes of putrescine, cadaverine, N-acetylputrescine and N-acetylcadaverine, the linearity was good in the range of 0.05-500 μmol/L (R

Lack of resources and exposure to neuroscience in K-12 education has resulted in a limited number of K-12 students pursuing higher education in the field. Meanwhile, the rapid expansion of the field of neuroscience has encouraged many higher educational institutes to offer neuroscience majors. This has opened up the opportunity to engage faculty, as well as graduate and undergraduate students in bringing the most needed knowledge and awareness about neuroscience into K-12 classrooms. However, undergraduate neuroscience curricula have limited formal opportunities to engage in outreach, and few existing programs have assessments to determine their effectiveness. To address these needs, we developed quantitative assessment tools that complement an existing neuroscience outreach program-Project Brainstorm-at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). 29 UCLA undergraduates enrolled in the 2016 and 2017 programs participated in this study, along with 298 K-12 students from local schools across the Los Angeles area. In undergraduate students, we assessed (a) improvement in students' teaching/communication abilities across the course of the outreach program, and (b) confidence in explaining neuroscience topics and interest in pursuing teaching career. In K-12 students, we evaluated (a) knowledge gain in neuroscience topics and (b) interest in pursuing higher education. Overall, Project Brainstorm showed significant improvement in all the above-mentioned categories. The assessment tools and data presented here provide a data-driven approach for optimizing neuroscience outreach programs and can easily be adapted to other outreach programs within neuroscience and in other STEM fields.

Liver transplantation is currently the preferred method for the treatment of advanced liver disease and early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although advances in surgical techniques, immunosuppressive drugs and postoperative management have reduced the incidence of postoperative complications, how to effectively predict or diagnose postoperative complications earlier and reduce their incidence is still a clinical concern. We performed a comprehensive proteomics literature research to identified protein biomarkers in complications after liver transplantation. Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria including ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) (n = 4), acute rejection (AR) (n = 4), renal dysfunction (n = 4), HCC recurrence (n = 2), primary graft dysfunction (PGD) (n = 1), infection (n = 1), and liver fibrosis (n = 1). A total of 625 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) have been reported between postoperative complications and controls, of which 63 have been validated by quantitative protein expression and 26 have been reported by at least two studies and showed consistently changes. The results of the bioinformation analysis show that the immune system, especially the innate immune system and cytokine signaling in immune system, is an important protein-mediated pathway that affects the prognosis of liver transplantation.

Aims Topical tranexamic acid (TXA) is used in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty to reduce perioperative blood loss. However, the optimal dosing regimen remains undetermined. The aim of the present study was to quantitatively evaluate the effect of topical TXA on the reduction of postoperative drainage, and identify the dosing regimen factors affecting the efficacy of topical TXA. Methods Model-based meta-analysis was used to evaluate the efficacy of topical TXA and the dosing regimen factors influencing clinical efficacy. Data from a systemic literature search was identified and used to build a time-effect model for placebo and TXA in treating perioperative blood loss. Results Fourteen studies containing 16 TXA–control groups of drainage volume data were included for MBMA modelling. The model described the postoperative drainage-time profiles adequately. According to the model estimation, TXA can finally reduce the postoperative drainage by about 41.7%, and 10.9 h was needed to reach 50% of the maximal drainage volume. Covariate analysis indicated that both dose and contact time alone did not correlate well with clinical efficacy. However, when considered together, they can dramatically improve fitting of the data. Simulation showed that increasing dose or contact time extensively would produce a plateau-like effect: 2–3 g TXA with contact time of 1–2 h would yield >60% reduction in the drainage volume. Conclusions Dose and contact time together determined the efficacy of TXA. Extensively large dose or long contact time seems unnecessary. These findings may further guide the clinical practice on the topical TXA regimen optimization.

Study Type – Prevention (cohort) Level of Evidence 2b What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Urinary struvite calculus is always related to urinary tract infections with urease-producing bacteria. Prevention strategies for struvite calculus have focused on urine sterilization, urine acidification and urease activity inhibition. The clinical utility of all the available agents remains limited with respect to long-term use because of serious side effects or antimicrobial resistance. Plum juice has shown antibacterial activity on the urease-producing bacteria Helicobacter pylori. Importantly, plums also showed an effect on urinary acidification in humans. The present study conducted in vitro reports a concentration-dependent inhibition of plum juice on urease activity, as well as antibacterial effects on four urease-producing bacterial commonly found in the urine of patients with struvite calculus. The results of the crystallization experiment perfomed in vitro showed that natural plum juice prevented the occurrence of Proteus mirabilis-induced crystals, whereas pH-adjusted plum juice slowed the growth rate of struvite crystals. OBJECTIVES • To evaluate the effect of plum juice on struvite calculus formation in vitro and to explore the effect of plum juice on urease-producing bacteria and urease activity • The compliance of available drugs is low for struvite calculus after surgical treatment and functional food may represent a good choice as an alternative therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS • Antibacterial activity was assessed using a microdilution antimicrobial susceptibility test. • Urease activity was determined by measuring ammonia production. • Struvite crystals were induced by Proteus mirabilis in artificial urine with natural and pH-adjusted plum juice. • The optical density (OD)600 and pH of artificial urine were examined, as well the shape and weights of crystals. RESULTS • Natural plum juice showed an antibacterial effect on urease-producing bacteria, whereas the pH-adjusted juice did not. • A concentration-dependent inhibition on urease activity was found for both natural and pH-adjusted juice. • Natural plum juice at a high concentration of 0.5% showed an obvious inhibition on the increase of OD600 and pH of the artificial urine, and crystal formation was prevented by up to or more than 8 h, depending on the concentration of juice. • Crystal weight in the natural plum juice groups was decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. • The pH-adjusted plum juice did not show any effect on OD600 and pH, although the presence of juice changed the crystal habit, indicating that the juice slowed the growth rate of crystals. CONCLUSIONS • Natural plum juice at high and moderate concentrations prevented the formation of P. mirabilis-induced crystals for up to 8 h in artificial urine. Although pH-adjusted and low-concentration natural juice did not prevent the occurrence of crystals, both types of juice slowed their growth rate.

In the developing central nervous system (CNS), Notch signaling preserves progenitor pools and inhibits neurogenesis and oligodendroglial differentiation. It has recently been postulated that Notch instructively drives astrocyte differentiation. Whether the role of Notch signaling in promoting astroglial differentiation is permissive or instructive has been debated. We report here that the astrogliogenic role of Notch is in part mediated by direct binding of the Notch intracellular domain to the CSL DNA binding protein, forming a transcriptional activation complex onto the astrocyte marker gene, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). In addition, we found that, in CSL-/- neural stem cell cultures, astrocyte differentiation was delayed but continued at a normal rate once initiated, suggesting that CSL is involved in regulating the onset of astrogliogenesis. Importantly, although the classical CSL-dependent Notch signaling pathway is intact and able to activate the Notch canonical target promoter during the neurogenic phase, it is unable to activate the GFAP promoter during neurogenesis. Therefore, the effect of Notch signaling on target genes is influenced by cellular context in regulation of neurogenesis and gliogenesis.