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This Letter proposes a balanced sampling switch technique for achieving high linearity and a wide temperature range. The proposed technique reduces the VDS of the NMOS sampling switch for reducing the leakage current through the switch during the hold mode. This operation is implemented by a mini capacitive digital‐to‐analogue converter (C‐DAC) that mimics the main C‐DAC used for main SAR conversion. The proposed sampling switch is applied to a 10‐bit, 0.5 V SAR ADC with 5 Msample/s and verified by comprehensive simulation. Compared to the conventional sampling switch without the mini C‐DAC, the proposed switch improves SFDR and SNDR by 27.52 dBc and 11.8 dB, respectively, at the FF corner and 120°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a variant of lichen planus (LP), a common chronic mucocutaneous inflammatory disease. Cutaneous lesions of LP are self-limiting, but OLP lesions are non-remissive, alternating periods of exacerbation and quiescence, and only symptomatic treatments exist for OLP. The precise etiology and pathogenesis of OLP are hardly understood, which is a major obstacle to the development of new therapeutics for this disease. OLP is considered a T-cell-mediated inflammatory disease. Although various antigens have been considered, what actually triggers the inflammatory response of T cells is unknown. Suggested predisposing factors include genetic factors, stress, trauma, and infection. The aim of this review was to determine whether microbial infection can cause OLP. We first reviewed the association between OLP and microbial factors, including viral, fungal, and bacterial infections. In addition, each microbial factor associated with OLP was assessed by modified guidelines of Fredricks and Relman to determine whether it establishes a causal relationship. In conclusion, no microbial factor yet fulfills the guidelines to establish the causality of OLP. By focusing on the unclarified issues, however, the potential roles of microbial factors in the pathogenesis of OLP will be soon elucidated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective There is ample evidence that gingival fibroblasts ( GFs) participate in the immune response to oral bacteria and serve as immune-regulatory cells. The objective of this study was to investigate the innate immune response of GFs to oral bacteria. Material and Methods Human GFs were cocultured with relatively less-pathogenic ( Leptotrichia wadei, Fusobacterium nucleatum and Campylobacter gracilis) and pathogenic red-complex bacteria. The expression of mRNA for antimicrobial peptides [ AMPs; namely human beta defensins ( HBDs)], chemokines with antimicrobial activity [chemokine C-X-C motif ( CXCL) 10, CXCL11 and chemokine C-C motif ligand 20 ( CCL20)] and proinflammatory mediators [interleukin ( IL) 6 and IL8] and the levels of CXCL11, CCL20, IL-6 and IL-8 accumulated in supernatants were analyzed using real-time PCR and ELISA, respectively. The proteolytic activities of CXCL11, CCL20, IL-6 and IL-8 produced by six species of bacteria were also determined. Results The relatively less-pathogenic bacteria strongly up-regulated the expression of antimicrobial chemokines and proinflammatory mediators, whereas the red-complex bacteria stimulated low levels, or often suppressed, expression of these factors. Regarding the regulation of AMPs, the inhibition of HBD3, HBD106 and HBD107 mRNAs by Porphyromonas gingivalis was noticeable; however, differences between the two bacterial groups were not conspicuous. Differential degradation of proteins by the six bacterial species was observed: P. gingivalis and Treponema denticola degraded proteins well, whereas the other species degraded proteins to a relatively lower degree. Conclusion The invasion of red-complex bacteria into gingival connective tissue can suppress the immune response of GFs and can be a source of persistent infection in connective tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To investigate the relationship between small dense LDL cholesterol and cardiac autonomic neuropathy among patients with Type 2 diabetes. Methods A total of 175 patients who had not taken lipid-lowering agents previously were enrolled consecutively in this study. Small dense LDL cholesterol level was measured using polyacrylamide tube gel electrophoresis, which fractionates LDL cholesterol into seven components according to particle size and charge. We analysed the mean LDL cholesterol particle size and the proportion of small dense LDL cholesterol. Results The mean (± sd) patient age was 56 (± 14) years, the mean (± sd) duration of diabetes was 10.3 (± 8.3) years, the mean (± sd) proportion of small dense LDL cholesterol was 21.3 (± 17.6)% and the mean (± sd) LDL cholesterol size was 26.33 (± 0.8) nm. Men with cardiac autonomic neuropathy had a longer duration of diabetes compared with those without cardiac autonomic neuropathy. Women with cardiac autonomic neuropathy had a larger waist circumference, higher plasma triglyceride levels, smaller mean (± sd) LDL cholesterol size [26.8 (± 4.3) nm vs 26.4 (± 6.9) nm; P < 0.01] and larger mean (± sd) proportion of small dense LDL cholesterol [10.1 (± 9.9)% vs 19.1 (± 16.8)%; P < 0.01] compared with those without cardiac autonomic neuropathy. After adjusting for other confounding risk factors, the triglyceride/ HDL cholesterol ratio (odds ratio = 1.698, 95% CI: 1.07-2.69; P = 0.025) and mean LDL cholesterol size (odds ratio = 0.873, 95% CI: 0.77-0.99; P = 0.038) remained as independent risk factors for cardiac autonomic neuropathy in women. Conclusions A more atherogenic lipid profile such as the triglyceride: HDL cholesterol ratio and a smaller mean LDL cholesterol particle size were related to the prevalence of cardiac autonomic neuropathy in women with Type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many patients who need implant overdentures are not completely edentulous; they still have antagonist natural teeth or implant fixed prostheses. In such cases, however, little is known about whether existing natural teeth affect the success of implant overdentures positively or act as a complicating factor. This systematic review attempts to clarify the correlation between existing remaining teeth and the survival/success rate of maxillary and mandibular implant overdentures. An assessment of available relevant articles published in English from 1990 to 2009 was performed using an online database and a manual search in libraries. Although the opposing natural dentition was not sufficiently described in the literature, 10 articles about the mandible and 10 articles about the maxilla were selected. As there was no controlled study on the natural teeth opposing implant overdentures, this review could not reach a clear conclusion. The review did reveal a remarkably high success/survival rate for mandibular implant overdentures; maxillary implant overdentures showed a lower rate. The presence of antagonist teeth hardly seems to be a risk factor for success for mandibular implant overdentures. For maxillary implant overdentures, the existence of antagonist teeth might act negatively for implant survival, but they are certainly not a contraindication. Although a few articles stated this relationship, we could not find an apparent correlation between the remaining antagonist teeth and the success of the implant overdentures. A detailed description of the opposing dentate status and results of randomized controlled clinical trials would be required to characterize this evidence-based implant overdenture treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional analysis of head extracts from Drosophila melanogaster identified the four eye-specific protein spots corresponding to the retinin protein. The retinin protein spots were specifically stained with phosphoprotein-specific dye, suggesting that the retinin protein undergoes post-translational modification by phosphorylation. Northern blot analysis showed that the retinin gene begins to be expressed during the late stage of puparium formation during development. Analysis of the N-terminal sequence and expression of the retinin gene in S2 suggest that retinin is a secretory protein. Transgenic flies with knockdown expression of the retinin gene by RNA interference (RNAi) were established. However, no significant phenotypic changes in eye structure or phototransduction were observed in the transgenic flies. Western blot analysis and immunohistochemical studies of D. melanogaster eyes suggest that retinin is a cornea-specific protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sixteen-chain sequentially rotated fed antenna array on low-temperature cofired ceramic substrate is presented. A 60 GHz broadband circular polarised (CP) stacked rectangular patch antenna is implemented as an element. All the feedlines have the same length which is differentiated from conventional T-junction divider feeder. By this way, several drawbacks of conventional sequential rotated array can be overcome such as phase error occurrence, amplitude mismatch, and axial ratio bandwidth degradation. Moreover, digitally controlled by phase shifters, beamforming performance can be evaluated. The simulated and measured S11 shows broad bandwidth from 57 to 66 GHz. In addition, the radiation patterns show a peak gain of 17.2 dBi and a wide coverage of ±63°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Early and proper diagnosis of cancer is the most critical factor for the survival and treatment of veterinary cancer patients. In this study, we evaluated extracellular cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A ( ECPKA) level in serum as a useful cancer biomarker in dogs. Methods ECPKA levels were detected in sera from dogs with cancers ( n = 48), benign tumours ( n = 18), and non-tumour diseases ( n = 102) as well as healthy control dogs ( n = 54) utilizing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA). Results Sera from dogs bearing various types of cancer exhibited markedly increased levels of ECPKA by up to 7.1-, 8.8-, and 10.9-fold compared with those from dogs harbouring benign tumours, dogs with non-tumour diseases, and healthy control dogs, respectively ( P < .0001). In addition, serum ECPKA level did not show statistically significant correlation with gender, breed, or age of dogs or their non-cancerous disease conditions. Conclusion Our data strongly propose that detection of serum ECPKA level is a potential and specific diagnostic tool for cancer in dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high‐voltage extended drain MOS (EDMOS) transistor with a dual work function gate (DWFG) is discussed. This device enhances device performance by modifying the electric field in the channel. For DWFG EDMOS device fabrication, the polycrystalline silicon gates on the source and drain sides are doped by p + and n + ion implantation, respectively. Experimental results from the fabricated DWFG EDMOS devices show improved transconductance (gm), drain conductance (gds) and specific on‐resistance (RON) characteristics without breakdown voltage reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pipelined phase accumulator (PACC) for direct digital frequency synthesisers (DDFSs) is presented. A highly pipelined structure is inevitable in a PACC design to achieve high‐speed performance, which causes a large number of pre‐skewing flip‐flops (F/Fs) and leads clock signals to be a large source of power dissipation. Since the input data do not change every single cycle, clock gating can save power by decreasing the number of unnecessary clock switching in the pre‐skewing F/Fs. Sequential clock gating for pipelined PACCs is proposed. Compared with the conventional pipelined PACCs with and without clock gating, the proposed scheme reduces power dissipation by up to 55.4 and 77.2%, respectively, for the 32‐bit 8‐pipeline‐stage PACCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new analogue circuit design methodology using independently optimised self-cascode (SC) structures is proposed. Based on the concept of the dual-workfunction-gate structures, which are equivalent to SC structures, transconductance and output resistance optimised SC MOSFETs were used in the differential input and output stages, respectively. An operational amplifier (opamp) with the proposed design methodology using standard 0.18 μm CMOS technology was designed to provide better performance. The measured DC gain of the fabricated opamp with independently-optimised SC MOSFETs was approximately 12 dB higher than that of the conventional opamp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naltrexone, an opioid receptor antagonist, is commonly used as a relapse prevention medication in alcohol and opiate addiction, but its efficacy and the mechanisms underpinning its clinical usefulness are not well characterized. In the current study, we examined the effects of 50-mg naltrexone compared with placebo on neural network changes associated with substance dependence in 21 alcohol and 36 poly-drug-dependent individuals compared with 36 healthy volunteers. Graph theoretic and network-based statistical analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data revealed that alcohol-dependent subjects had reduced functional connectivity of a dispersed network compared with both poly-drug-dependent and healthy subjects. Higher local efficiency was observed in both patient groups, indicating clustered and segregated network topology and information processing. Naltrexone normalized heightened local efficiency of the neural network in alcohol-dependent individuals, to the same levels as healthy volunteers. Naltrexone failed to have an effect on the local efficiency in abstinent poly-substance-dependent individuals. Across groups, local efficiency was associated with substance, but no alcohol exposure implicating local efficiency as a potential premorbid risk factor in alcohol use disorders that can be ameliorated by naltrexone. These findings suggest one possible mechanism for the clinical effects of naltrexone, namely, the amelioration of disrupted network topology., (© 2017 The Authors. Addiction Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.)

Binge drinking represents a public health issue and is a known risk factor in the development of alcohol use disorders. Previous studies have shown behavioural as well as neuroanatomical alterations associated with binge drinking. Here, we address the question of the automaticity or involuntary nature of the behaviour by assessing goal-directed behaviour and intentionality. In this study, we used a computational two-step task, designed to discern between model-based/goal-directed and model-free/habitual behaviours, and the classic Libet clock task, to study intention awareness, in a sample of 31 severe binge drinkers (BD) and 35 matched healthy volunteers. We observed that BD had impaired goal-directed behaviour in the two-step task compared with healthy volunteers. In the Libet clock task, BD showed delayed intention awareness. Further, we demonstrated that alcohol use severity, as reflected by the alcohol use disorders identification test, correlated with decreased conscious awareness of volitional intention in BD, although it was unrelated to performance on the two-step task. However, the time elapsed since the last drinking binge influenced the model-free scores, with BD showing less habitual behaviour after longer abstinence. Our findings suggest that the implementation of goal-directed strategies and the awareness of volitional intention are affected in current heavy alcohol users. However, the modulation of these impairments by alcohol use severity and abstinence suggests a state effect of alcohol use in these measures and that top-down volitional control might be ameliorated with alcohol use cessation., (© 2017 The Authors.Addiction Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.)

In the title compound, C(8)H(8)N(4), the dihedral angle between the tetra-zole and benzene rings is 21.6 (1)°. An inter-molecular C-H⋯π inter-action is observed.

We describe the development of an efficient expression system suitable for the stable expression of recombinant genes in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells using the human interferon beta SAR element. The insertion of two copies of the human interferon beta SAR element at the 5' and 3' flanking regions of the beta-galactosidase reporter gene increased the frequency of beta-galactosidase positive colonies by up to 75% and enhanced beta-galactosidase expression by 15- to 20-fold after G418 selection or 30- to 40-fold at the initial stage of the MTX selection procedure. Deletion analysis showed that the whole DNA regions of the human interferon beta SAR element are required for beta-galactosidase expression enhancement. The developed expression system was also highly effective at enhancing the stable expression of two therapeutically important proteins, namely, erythropoietin (EPO) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). We isolated stable colonies with expression levels of 47 microg/10(6) cells/day for EPO and 13 microg/10(6) cells/day for HGF, suggesting that the developed expression system based on the human beta SAR element is suitable for expressing high levels of recombinant proteins in CHO cells.

Here we show that the transcriptional terminator element of human gastrin gene, which is the only element characterized to date in terms of its function in transcriptional termination, increases the transient expression levels of recombinant proteins. The expression of the beta-galactosidase gene was enhanced 3-4-fold in HeLa cells by inserting the terminator element of human gastrin gene at the 3'-side of the SV40 polyadenylation signal/cleavage site of the control vector (pSV-beta-gal). This effect of the terminator element is orientation-dependent but not cell-specific since a similar enhancement of beta-galactosidase gene expression was detected in COS.M6 and CHO DG44 cells. The increased level of beta-galactosidase gene expression by the transcriptional terminator element of human gastrin gene turned out to arise from elevated cellular mRNA levels, suggesting that the terminator element stabilizes mRNA by enhancing proper 3'-end processing of mRNA.

Ubiquitin- and proteasome-mediated protein degradation is involved in many intracellular processes, including cell cycle regulation, transcriptional activation, and signal transduction in all eukaryotes. Novel subfamily members of the ubp superfamily, DUB-1 and DUB-2, are known to be immediate-early genes and are specifically expressed in B-lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes, respectively. With the site-directed mutagenesis in four conserved amino acids (Cys60, Asp133, His298, and His307) and a series of deletion in the carboxy-terminal region, we demonstrate that these conserved amino acids are critical, but not the C-terminus, for the deubiquitinating activity of DUB-2.

Glutamate racemase catalyzes the reversible reaction of L-glutamate to D-glutamate, an essential component of the bacterial cell wall. Glutamate racemase from Aquifex pyrophilus has been crystallized by the hanging-drop vapor-diffusion method using polyethylene glycol 6000 as a precipitant. The crystals belong to space group P6122 or P6522 with unit-cell parameters a = b = 72.1, c = 185.02 A. The asymmetric unit contains one molecule, corresponding to a Vm value of 2.35 A3 Da-1. Complete data sets from a native and a mercury-derivative crystal have been collected at 2.0 and 2.3 A resolution, respectively, using a synchrotron-radiation source.