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Selective-area epitaxy provides a path toward high crystal quality, scalable, complex nanowire networks. These high-quality networks could be used in topological quantum computing as well as in ultrafast photodetection schemes. Control of the carrier density and mean free path in these devices is key for all of these applications. Factors that affect the mean free path include scattering by surfaces, donors, defects, and impurities. Here, we demonstrate how to reduce donor scattering in InGaAs nanowire networks by adopting a remote-doping strategy. Low-temperature magnetotransport measurements indicate weak anti-localization-a signature of strong spin-orbit interaction-across a nanowire Y-junction. This work serves as a blueprint for achieving remotely doped, ultraclean, and scalable nanowire networks for quantum technologies.

Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type of renal malignancy with 87% frequency. As a global health problem, kidney cancer is responsible for 2.2% of new cancer cases. One of the highly effective mechanisms that renal cancer cells avoid in the immune system is PD-1 and PD-L1 interaction. Scope: Literature search is made from PubMed, Medline, and ASCO and ESMO Annual Meeting abstracts using the following search keywords: "nivolumab," "pembrolizumab," "atezolizumab," "avelumab," "durvalumab," and "renal cell cancer." The last search was on November 1, 2019. Findings: The combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab have better survival results than sunitinib for intermediate and poor risk patients but not for favorable risk groups. In 2019, two combination regimens with pembrolizumab plus axitinib and avelumab plus axitinib demonstrated efficacy over sunitinib for every risk group. The overall survival data of these trials are still immature. Conclusions: Advanced RCC has high morbidity and mortality with an increasing prevalence. Following tyrosine kinase inhibitors, checkpoint inhibitors have a great influence on treatment of advanced RCC, especially the combination of these two strategies. In 2019 these combined strategies demonstrated 5% complete remission with up to 60% objective response rate. While not immediately, but perhaps in the near future, advanced RCC will become a manageable chronic disease, even if a cure is not possible.

Microplastics (MPs) are recognized as an emerging issue worldwide, including Indonesia. Due to the limited of data available regarding MPs pollution in Indonesian waters, we investigated the occurrence, spatial distribution, characteristics, and potential ecological impacts of MPs in sediments from 25 stations in the Banten Bay, a shallow and semi enclosed bay located on the northwestern coast of Java, Indonesia. The bay has experienced very high population pressure due to increasing coastal development in the last decade. MPs were extracted by flotation methods, observed under a stereomicroscope, and identified by FTIR imaging. This study showed that MPs pollution is prevalent in the Banten Bay, where all sediments contained MPs with an average concentration of 267 ± 98 particles/kg dw sediment. The most common shape, size, and polymer type were foam (38% of the observed MPs), size between 500 and 1000 μm (>50%), and extended polystyrene, respectively. The particles were found to be more highly distributed in the stations with fine sediment grain sizes and in locations near the river mouth of the island than in areas offshore, which suggests that the impact of the MPs currently in the sediments might be harmful to the benthic community and potentially increase the magnitude into the pelagic community. Moreover, the river effluent is suggested as a pathway for plastic pollution to the Banten Bay., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Concerns about ketamine for treating depression include abuse potential and the occurrence of psychotomimetic effects. This study sought to comprehensively assess side effects (SEs) associated with a single subanesthetic-dose intravenous ketamine infusion. A secondary aim was to examine the relationship between Clinician-Administered Dissociative States Scale (CADSS) scores and dissociative symptoms reported on a comprehensive, clinician-administered SE questionnaire., Methods: Data from 188 participants were pooled from four placebo-controlled, crossover ketamine trials and one open-label study (n = 163 with either treatment-resistant major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder and 25 healthy controls). SEs were actively solicited in a standardized fashion and monitored over the time-course of each study. Statistical analyses assessed the effect of drug (ketamine, placebo) on SEs and measured the relationship between CADSS total score and SEs contemporaneously endorsed during structured interviews., Results: Forty-four of 120 SEs occurred in at least 5% of participants over all trials. Thirty-three of these 44 SEs were significantly associated with active drug administration (versus placebo). The most common SE was feeling strange/weird/loopy. Most SEs peaked within an hour of ketamine administration and resolved completely by two hours post-infusion. No serious drug-related adverse events or increased ketamine craving/abuse post-administration were observed. A positive correlation was found between dissociative SEs and total CADSS score., Limitations: The post-hoc nature of the analysis; the limited generalizability of a single subanesthetic-dose ketamine infusion; and the lack of formal measures to assess ketamine's cognitive, urological, or addictive potential., Conclusions: No long-lasting significant SEs occurred over the approximately three-month follow-up period., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Dr. Zarate is listed as a co-inventor on a patent for the use of ketamine in major depression and suicidal ideation; as a co-inventor on a patent for the use of (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine, (S)-dehydronorketamine, and other stereoisomeric dehydro and hydroxylated metabolites of (R,S)-ketamine metabolites in the treatment of depression and neuropathic pain; and as a co-inventor on a patent application for the use of (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine and (2S,6S)-hydroxynorketamine in the treatment of depression, anxiety, anhedonia, suicidal ideation, and post-traumatic stress disorders. He has assigned his patent rights to the U.S. government but will share a percentage of any royalties that may be received by the government. Dr. Kraus received travel support from Roche and AOP Orphan. All other authors have no conflict of interest to disclose, financial or otherwise., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Introduction: Across the African Diaspora, hair is synonymous with identity. As such, Black women use a variety of hair products, which often contain more endocrine-disrupting chemicals than products used by women of other races. An emerging body of research is linking chemicals in hair products to breast cancer, but there is no validated instrument that measures constructs related to hair, identity, and breast health. The objective of this study was to develop and validate the Black Identity, Hair Product Use, and Breast Cancer Scale (BHBS) in a diverse sample of Black women to measure the social and cultural constructs associated with Black women's hair product use and perceived breast cancer risk., Methods: Participants completed a 27-item scale that queried perceptions of identity, hair products, and breast cancer risk. Principal Component Analyses (PCA) were conducted to establish the underlying component structures, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to determine model fit., Results: Participants (n = 185) were African American (73%), African, and Caribbean Black women (27%) aged 29 to 64. PCA yielded two components that accounted for 61% of total variance. Five items measuring sociocultural perspectives about hair and identity loaded on subscale 1 and accounted for 32% of total variance (α = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.77-0.86). Six items assessing perceived breast cancer risk related to hair product use loaded on subscale 2 and accounted for 29% of total variance (α = 0.82 (95% CI = 0.74-0.86). CFA confirmed the two-component structure (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.03; Comparative Fit Index = 0.91; Tucker Lewis Index = 0.88)., Conclusions: The BHBS is a valid measure of social and cultural constructs associated with Black women's hair product use and perceived breast cancer risk. This scale is useful for studies that assess cultural norms in the context of breast cancer risk for Black women., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: The authors examined the reliability and validity of the Dental Quality Alliance childhood sealant measure under actual use conditions in Texas and Florida. The 2 states provide care for almost 20% of children in Medicaid nationally., Methods: The authors used dental claims data to examine the reliability of the caries risk assessment component of the measure. They examined validity using a 3-year look-back period to identify children who were inaccurately included in the measure denominator as sealant eligible when they were not owing to already sealed, missing, or restored teeth., Results: The children identified at elevated risk varied between the states, with 85% at elevated risk in Texas and 39% in Florida in 2017. Different methods can be used to calculate risk, raising questions about reliability. In Texas, 31% of children included in the denominator were not eligible to receive sealants owing to already sealed, missing, or restored teeth. The magnitude of the underestimation increased with age, so by the time children were 9 years old, 40% were not measure eligible yet included in the denominator. Similar results were observed for Florida., Conclusions: The authors propose eliminating the caries risk assessment requirement and incorporating a 3-year look-back period to identify already sealed, missing, or restored molars., Practical Implications: The reliability and validity of the sealant measure needs to be enhanced. Measure misspecification in which children are not correctly identified as needing sealants can contribute to inaccurate development of quality improvement goals, performance improvement projects, or pay-for-quality programs., (Copyright © 2019 American Dental Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aim: Fish oil (FO) and mesalazine have well-known anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects; on the other hand, information related to combined intrarectal administration of FO and mesalazine is limited. The present study was conducted to make comparison on therapeutic effectiveness of rectally administered FO and mesalazine in rats with trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis., Methods: Wistar rats were randomly assigned to 5 groups as (1) Control, (2) Colitis, (3) Colitis + Mesalazine (Colitis + M), (4) Colitis + Fish Oil (Colitis + F), and (5) Colitis + Mesalazine + Fish Oil (Colitis + M + F). Intrarectally administered TNBS induced colitis. At the end of the trial, the rats' macroscopic and histopathologic lesions were rated and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, Interleukin 6 (IL6), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GP), myeloperoxidase (MPO), malondialdehyde (MDA), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Total nitrate and nitrite, and catalase (CAT) in serum and tissue were detected., Results: As a result of macroscopic and microscopic examination, although separate administrations of FO and mesalazine partly decreased the damage, their combined administration decreased the damage scores significantly (p < 0.01). It was observed that separate and combined administrations of FO and mesalazine decreased the increase in the serum and tissue TNF-α and IL-6 levels caused by colitis (p < 0.05). It was observed that the serum MPO, serum GR, tissue SOD, tissue nitrite/nitrate values of both Colitis + M and Colitis + F groups were close to the control in terms of all the parameter values in Colitis + M + F group (p > 0.05). Also based on the histological results, the inflammation damage in the tissue caused by colitis in the Colitis + M + F group recovered significantly., Conclusions: We found that microscopic and macroscopic damage, serum IL-6 level decreased and increased serum and tissue GP and tissue GR values in Colitis + M + F group compared to Colitis + M and Colitis + F groups. Combined intrarectal administration of FO and mesalazine may bring a new insight concerning the treatment of ulcerative colitis., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

The present study aimed to identify microRNAs (miRNAs) that may be crucial for the mechanism of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) treatment in cisplatin‑induced acute kidney injury (AKI) and to investigate other potential drugs that may have a similar function. Transcriptomics (GSE85957) and miRNA expression (GSE66761) datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified using the linear models for microarray data method and mRNA targets of DEMs were predicted using the miRWalk2.0 database. The crucial DEGs were screened by constructing a protein‑protein interaction (PPI) network and module analysis. Functions of target genes were analyzed using the database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery. Small molecule drugs were predicted using the connectivity map database. As a result, 5 DEMs were identified to be shared and oppositely expressed in comparisons between AKI model and control groups, and between MSC treatment and AKI model groups. The 103 DEGs were overlapped with the target genes of 5 common DEMs, and the resulting list was used for constructing the miRNA‑mRNA regulatory network, including rno‑miR‑210/Serpine1 and rno‑miR‑378/Fos. Serpine1 (degree=17) and Fos (degree=42) were predicted to be hub genes according to the topological characteristic of degree in the PPI network. Function analysis indicated Serpine1 and Fos may be inflammation‑related. Furthermore, gliclazide was suggested to be a potential drug for the treatment of AKI because the enrichment score was the closest to ‑1 (‑0.9). In conclusion, it can be speculated that gliclazide may have a similar mechanism to MSC as a potential therapeutic agent for cisplatin‑induced AKI, by regulating miR‑210/Serpine1 and miR‑378‑/Fos‑mediated inflammation and cell apoptosis.

We proposed and showed strongly orientation-controlled Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to highly anisotropic CdSe nanoplatelets (NPLs). For this purpose, we developed a liquid-air interface self-assembly technique specific to depositing a complete monolayer of NPLs only in a single desired orientation, either fully stacked (edge-up) or fully nonstacked (face-down), with near-unity surface coverage and across large areas over 20 cm 2 . These NPL monolayers were employed as acceptors in an energy transfer working model system to pair with CdZnS/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) as donors. We found the resulting energy transfer from the QDs to be significantly accelerated (by up to 50%) to the edge-up NPL monolayer compared to the face-down one. We revealed that this acceleration of FRET is accounted for by the enhancement of the dipole-dipole interaction factor between a QD-NPL pair (increased from 1/3 to 5/6) as well as the closer packing of NPLs with stacking. Also systematically studying the distance-dependence of FRET between QDs and NPL monolayers via varying their separation ( d ) with a dielectric spacer, we found out that the FRET rate scales with d -4 regardless of the specific NPL orientation. Our FRET model, which is based on the original Förster theory, computes the FRET efficiencies in excellent agreement with our experimental results and explains well the enhancement of FRET to NPLs with stacking. These findings indicate that the geometrical orientation of NPLs and thereby their dipole interaction strength can be exploited as an additional degree of freedom to control and tune the energy transfer rate.

Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and chemotherapy in the perioperative or postoperative settings are the different neoadjuvant/adjuvant treatment approaches for resectable gastric cancer. After the results of the ARTIST trial, CRT lost its importance on a large scale in the adjuvant setting. Also, according to the results of the CRITICS trial, CRT does not seem beneficial in the perioperative treatment setting. The beneficial effect of neoadjuvant/adjuvant radiotherapy as a therapeutic option became more questionable as the evidence grows, but still needs further studies to identify its effects on a subgroup of patients who have R1 or

Purpose: To investigate the impact of a unique curriculum combining learning of surface anatomy and massage therapy for medical and physician assistant students., Method: The authors conducted a randomized controlled trial in 2014 at University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine with 20 first-year students who viewed 4 hours of educational videos and participated in 11 hours of hands-on massage practice and 20 first-year students who only viewed the educational videos. Participants completed pre- and postcourse assessments of knowledge, attitudes, and personal wellness and completed a validated assessment of four dimensions of personal wellness., Results: Hands-on group participants outscored the online-only group in postcourse knowledge assessments of surface anatomy and massage therapy principles (P < .05). Students in the hands-on group reported higher agreement with statements about perceived knowledge and beliefs about referrals and advising patients regarding massage therapy (P < .05). Students also frequently reported greater comfort administering physical examinations. Hands-on group participants had statistically significant improvements in psychological wellness during the study (P = .03), whereas online-only participants had a slight decrease (P = .09). Physical wellness was also slightly improved in the hands-on group (P = .06)., Conclusions: Findings show that integrating surface anatomy and massage therapy in an experiential course resulted in significant gains in knowledge of anatomy, understanding about interprofessional health care roles, increased confidence in clinical practice, and improved wellness. Accordingly, further development of learning experiences that incorporate basic science, interprofessional education, and techniques that promote student wellness should be encouraged.

Introduction: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a serious complication of diabetes mellitus involving damage to the capillaries in the glomerulus. This study aimed to explore key genes and signaling pathways participate in the progression of DN., Methods: Two gene expression profile datasets GSE1009 and GSE30528 downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were used to analyze the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between DN samples and controls. Coupled two-way clustering (CTWC) and correspondence analysis were performed to explore the potential functions of DEGs. Then, Gene Ontology (GO) terms and pathways associated with DEGs were identified, followed by constructing of the co-expressed gene network and module. Ultimately, the regulatory network based on the DEGs, miRNAs and transcription factors (TFs) was established., Results: Total 283 common DEGs were identified from the two datasets, including 219 down-regulated ones (bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7), decay accelerating factor (CD55) and coagulation Factor V (F5) etc.) and 64 up-regulated ones (inhibin beta c subunit (INHBC) and colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) etc.). The miRNA-TF regulatory network was established with three miRNAs, 8 TFs and 58 DEGs. Besides, three significant pathways including cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, complement and coagulation cascades and TGF-beta signaling pathways were identified., Conclusion: BMP7, CD55, CSF1R, INHBC and F5 are likely to take crucial roles in the pathogenesis of DN.

Background: An assessment of the degree of white matter tract injury is important in neurosurgical planning for patients with gliomas. The main objective of this study was to assess the injury grade of the corticospinal tract (CST) in rats with glioma using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)., Methods: A total 17 rats underwent 7.0T MRI on day 10 after tumor implantation. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) were acquired in the tumor, peritumoral and contralateral areas, and the ADC ratio (ipsilateral ADC/contralateral ADC) and rFA (relative FA = ipsilateral FA/contralateral FA) in the peritumoral areas were measured. The CST injury was divided into three grades and delineated by diffusion tensor tractography reconstruction imaging. The fiber density index (FDi) of the ipsilateral and contralateral CST and rFDi (relative FDi = ipsilateral FDi/contralateral FDi) in the peritumoral areas were measured. After the mice were sacrificed, the invasion of glioma cells and fraction of proliferating cells were observed by hematoxylin-eosin and Ki67 staining in the tumor and peritumoral areas. The correlations among the pathology results, CST injury grade and DTI parameter values were calculated using a Spearman correlation analysis. One-way analysis of variance was performed to compare the different CST injury grade by the rFA, rFDi and ADC ratio values., Results: The tumor cells and proliferation index were positively correlated with the CST injury grade ( r = 0.8857, 0.9233, P < 0.001). A negative correlation was demonstrated between the tumor cells and the rFA and rFDi values in the peritumoral areas ( r = -0.8571, -0.5588), and the proliferation index was negatively correlated with the rFA and rFDi values ( r = -0.8571, -0.5588), while the ADC ratio was not correlated with the tumor cells or proliferation index. The rFA values between the CST injury grades (1 and 3, 2 and 3) and the rFDi values in grades 1 and 3 significantly differed ( P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Diffusion tensor imaging may be used to quantify the injury degrees of CST involving brain glioma in rats. Our data suggest that these quantitative parameters may be used to enhance the efficiency of delineating the relationship between fiber tracts and malignant tumor., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Composite systems of P25 (titania) functionalized with thioglycolic acid (TGA)-capped CdTe colloidal quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized, structurally characterized, and photocatalytically tested in the photocatalytic NO x oxidation and storage during NO(g) + O 2 (g) reaction. Pure P25 yielded moderate-to-high NO conversion (31% in UV-A and 40% in visible (vis)) but exhibited extremely poor selectivity toward NO x storage in solid state (25% in UV-A and 35% in vis). Therefore, P25 could efficiently photooxidize NO(g) + O 2 (g) into NO 2 ; however, it failed to store photogenerated NO 2 and released toxic NO 2 (g) to the atmosphere. CdTe QD-functionalized P25 revealed a major boost in photocatalytic performance with respect to pure P25, where NO conversion reached 42% under UV-A and 43% under vis illumination, while the respective selectivity climbed up to 92 and 97%, rendering the CdTe/P25 composite system an efficient broad-band photocatalyst, which can harvest both UV-A and vis light efficiently and display a strong NO x abatement effect. Control experiments suggested that photocatalytic active sites responsible for the NO(g) + O 2 (g) photooxidation and formation of NO 2 reside mostly on titania, while the main functions of the TGA capping agent and the CdTe QDs are associated with the photocatalytic conversion of the generated NO 2 to the adsorbed NO x species, significantly boosting the selectivity toward solid-state NO x storage. Reuse experiments showed that photocatalytic performance of the CdTe/P25 system can be preserved to a reasonable extent with only a moderate decrease in the photocatalytic performance. Although some decrease in the photocatalytic activity was observed after aging, CdTe/P25 could still outperform P25 benchmark photocatalyst. Increasing CdTe QDs loading from the currently optimized minuscule concentrations could be a useful strategy to increase further the catalytic lifetime/stability of the CdTe/P25 system with only a minor penalty in catalytic activity.

Study Design: Prospective cross-sectional survey., Objective: To determine the perspectives of parents of patients undergoing posterior instrumented fusion for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) regarding simultaneous surgery and trainee participation., Summary of Background Data: Simultaneous ("at the same time") surgery is under scrutiny by the public, government, payers, and the medical community. The objective of this study is to determine the perspectives of parents of patients undergoing posterior instrumented fusion for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Our goal is to inform the national conversation on this subject with real patient and family voices., Methods: A survey was prospectively administered to 31 consecutive parents of patients undergoing posterior instrumented fusion for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis at a large academic medical center. "Overlapping" was defined as simultaneity during "noncritical" parts of an operation. "Concurrent" was defined as simultaneity that includes "critical" part(s) of an operation. Participants were asked to provide levels of agreement with overlapping and concurrent surgery and anesthesia, as well as with trainee involvement., Results: On average, respondents "strongly agree" with the need to be informed about overlapping or concurrent surgery. They "disagree" with both overlapping and concurrent scheduling, and "disagree" with trainees operating without direct supervision, even for "noncritical" parts. Informing parents about the presence of a back-up surgeon or research demonstrating safety of simultaneous surgery did not make them agreeable to simultaneous scheduling., Conclusion: Parents have a strong desire to be informed of simultaneous spinal surgery and anesthesia as part of consent on behalf of their children. Their disagreement with simultaneous surgery, as well as with trainees operating without direct supervision, suggests discordance with current guidelines and practice and should inform the national conversation moving forward., Level of Evidence: N/A.

Colloidal semiconductor nanoplatelets (NPLs) are highly promising luminescent materials owing to their exceptionally narrow emission spectra. While high-efficiency NPLs in non-polar organic media can be obtained readily, NPLs in aqueous media suffer from extremely low quantum yields (QYs), which completely undermines their potential, especially in biological applications. Here, we show high-efficiency water-soluble CdSe/CdS@Cd1-xZnxS core/crown@shell NPLs formed by layer-by-layer grown and composition-tuned gradient Cd1-xZnxS shells on CdSe/CdS core/crown seeds. Such control of shell composition with monolayer precision and effective peripheral crown passivation, together with the compact capping density of short 3-mercaptopropionic acid ligands, allow for QYs reaching 90% in water, accompanied by a significantly increased photoluminescence lifetime (∼35 ns), indicating the suppression of nonradiative channels in these NPLs. We also demonstrate the controlled attachment of these NPLs without stacking at the nanoscale by taking advantage of their 2D geometry and hydrophilicity. This is a significant step in achieving controlled assemblies and overcoming the stacking process, which otherwise undermines their film formation and performance in optoelectronic applications. Moreover, we show that the parallel orientation of such NPLs achieved by the controlled attachment enables directed emission perpendicular to the surface of the NPL films, which is highly advantageous for light extraction in light-emitting platforms.

The membrane diffractive telescope is an alternative to future 10-meter class space telescopes due to its possible lower cost of manufacturing and launching. To actively control the misalignment, the edge sensor network is utilized to measure the relative in-plane motions as well as out-of-plane motions of neighboring segments. The measurement is vulnerable to noise and malfunction of sensors. We first model the segment kinematics, which is used to simulate the propagation of sensor error to the segment configuration error. Monte Carlo simulation results show that the sensor error is considerably accumulated in the configuration error, which follows approximately normal distribution. On the other hand, the ring-arranged segments imply the form closure with redundancy of edge sensors. It is employed to judge whether there are abnormal sensor readings and then to identify the malfunctioning sensors. A better estimation can further be obtained as correction to the abnormal readings. Simulation results show that without sensor error, the algorithm in most cases can identify two malfunctioning in-plane sensors and two malfunctioning out-of-plane sensors. While considering the sensor error, only one malfunctioning in-plane sensor and one malfunctioning out-of-plane sensor can be identified with a sufficiently big ratio of abnormal reading to the normal sensor error.

A hybrid structure of the quasi-2D colloidal semiconductor quantum wells assembled with a single layer of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides offers the possibility of highly strong dipole-to-dipole coupling, which may enable extraordinary levels of efficiency in Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). Here, we show ultrahigh-efficiency FRET from the ensemble thin films of CdSe/CdS nanoplatelets (NPLs) to a MoS 2 monolayer. From time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, we observed the suppression of the photoluminescence of the NPLs corresponding to the total rate of energy transfer from ∼0.4 to 268 ns -1 . Using an Al 2 O 3 separating layer between CdSe/CdS and MoS 2 with thickness tuned from 5 to 1 nm, we found that FRET takes place 7- to 88-fold faster than the Auger recombination in CdSe-based NPLs. Our measurements reveal that the FRET rate scales down with d -2 for the donor of CdSe/CdS NPLs and the acceptor of the MoS 2 monolayer, d being the center-to-center distance between this FRET pair. A full electromagnetic model explains the behavior of this d -2 system. This scaling arises from the delocalization of the dipole fields in the ensemble thin film of the NPLs and full distribution of the electric field across the layer of MoS 2 . This d -2 dependency results in an extraordinarily long Förster radius of ∼33 nm.

The primary problem of conventional wavefront interferometers is limited dynamic range. Unknown free-form surface figure error with large amplitude or slope is not measurable for too dense or invisible fringes. To troubleshoot this problem, we propose adaptive wavefront interferometry (AWI). AWI utilizes a wavefront sensor-less adaptive optics (AO) subsystem to intelligently speculate and compensate the unknown free-form surface figure error. In this subsystem, adaptive null optics is utilized to iteratively generate adaptive wavefronts to compensate the unknown severe surface figure error. The adaptive null optics is close-loop controlled (i.e., wavefront sensor-less optimization algorithms are utilized to control it by real time monitoring the compensation effects to guarantee convergence of the iteration). Ultimately, invisible fringes turn into resolvable ones, and null test is further realized. To demonstrate the feasibility of AWI, we designed one spatial light modulator (SLM) based AWI modality as an example. The system is based on a commercial interferometer and is easy to establish. No other elements are required besides the SLM. Principle, simulation, and experiments for the SLM based AWI are demonstrated.

Purpose Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a polymetabolic syndrome has high morbidity and mortality rates. Insulin resistance (IR) plays a key role in the increasing frequency of this situation and has been cited as being an important etiologic factor in MetS. In this study, the relationship between IR and fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23), was investigated in a population with MetS. Materials and methods Forty patients with diagnosis of MetS and 40 healthy volunteers with an equal number of males and females were included in the study and classified as patient group and control group. Blood samples were obtained after 12-h fasting period to study FGF23 and other parameters. MetS, defined according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) guidelines, FGF23 was studied by Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) method and IR was calculated using the homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) formula. Results There was a statistically significant difference in HOMA-IR between the patient and control group as expected, while levels of FGF23 were similar. According to gender, levels of FGF23 was statistically significantly higher in male patients compared with controls (p = 0.037). A relationship was not detected between HOMA-IR and FGF23 in the correlation analysis. Conclusion Although there are many studies suggesting the correlation between FGF23 and IR in different populations, we did not find any statistically significant relationship between IR and FGF23 levels in MetS in this study.

Background: Childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) is a rare, severe form of the adult-onset disorder (AOS). Our previous resting-state fMRI study identified attenuated functional connectivity in COS compared with controls. Here, we ask whether COS and AOS patients and their siblings exhibit similar abnormalities of functional connectivity., Methods: A whole-brain, data-driven approach was used to assess resting-state functional connectivity differences in COS (patients/siblings/controls, n: 26/28/33) and AOS (n: 19/28/30). There were no significant differences in age, sex, or head motion across groups in each dataset and as designed, the COS dataset has a significantly lower age than the AOS., Results: Both COS and AOS patients showed decreased functional connectivity relative to controls among a wide set of brain regions (P<0.05, corrected), but their siblings did not. Decreased connectivity in COS and AOS patients showed no amplitude differences and was not modulated by age-at-onset or medication doses. Cluster analysis revealed that these regions fell into two large-scale networks: one sensorimotor network and one centered on default-mode network regions, but including higher-order cognitive areas only in COS. Decreased connectivity between these two networks was notable (P<0.05, corrected) for both patient groups., Conclusions: A shared pattern of attenuated functional connectivity was found in COS and AOS, supporting the continuity of childhood-onset and adult-onset schizophrenia. Connections were altered between sensorimotor areas and default-mode areas in both COS and AOS, suggesting potential abnormalities in processes of self-monitoring and sensory prediction. The absence of substantial dysconnectivity in siblings indicates that attenuation is state-related., (Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Reconfiguration of membrane protein channels for gated transport is highly regulated under physiological conditions. However, a mechanistic understanding of such channels remains challenging owing to the difficulty in probing subtle gating-associated structural changes. Herein, we show that charge neutralization can drive the shape reconfiguration of a biomimetic 6-helix bundle DNA nanotube (6HB). Specifically, 6HB adopts a compact state when its charge is neutralized by Mg 2+ ; whereas Na + switches it to the expanded state, as revealed by MD simulations, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and FRET characterization. Furthermore, partial neutralization of the DNA backbone charges by chemical modification renders 6HB compact and insensitive to ions, suggesting an interplay between electrostatic and hydrophobic forces in the channels. This system provides a platform for understanding the structure-function relationship of biological channels and designing rules for the shape control of DNA nanostructures in biomedical applications., (© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

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Now that microplastics have been detected in lakes, rivers, and estuaries all over the globe, evaluating their effects on biota has become an urgent research priority. This is the first study that aims at determining the effect thresholds for a battery of six freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates with different species traits, using a wide range of microplastic concentrations. Standardized 28 days single species bioassays were performed under environmentally relevant exposure conditions using polystyrene microplastics (20-500 μm) mixed with sediment at concentrations ranging from 0 to 40% sediment dry weight (dw). Microplastics caused no effects on the survival of Gammarus pulex, Hyalella azteca, Asellus aquaticus, Sphaerium corneum, and Tubifex spp. and no effects were found on the reproduction of Lumbriculus variegatus. No significant differences in growth were found for H. azteca, A. aquaticus, S. corneum, L. variegatus, and Tubifex spp. However, G. pulex showed a significant reduction in growth (EC 10 = 1.07% sediment dw) and microplastic uptake was proportional with microplastic concentrations in sediment. These results indicate that although the risks of environmentally realistic concentrations of microplastics may be low, they still may affect the biodiversity and the functioning of aquatic communities which after all also depend on the sensitive species.

The most challenging problem in the stitching test of large flats with a small-aperture interferometer is the accumulation effect of the second-order error. As it is approximately enlarged by the square of the ratio of full aperture size to subaperture size, a very small amount of the second-order error in the reference surface of a transmission flat can be accumulated and gets far from negligible when the subaperture is far smaller than the full aperture. We present here a solution by using two orthogonally arranged wavefront interferometers. One is responsible for a subaperture test and the other for the simultaneous measurement of relative tilts. Because the accumulation effect originates from the lateral shift of the second-order error, only the tilt along the subaperture scanning direction needs to be measured accurately. It is no longer determined by stitching optimization instead to avoid the error accumulation. Piston and tilt perpendicular to the scanning direction are still determined by stitching optimization. The method is experimentally verified and compared to the stitching test with the reference surface error calibrated out, both referenced to the full aperture test result obtained with a 24-inch interferometer.

Background: The aim is to evaluate the association between the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), polypharmacy, inappropriate medication use and cognitive impairment in long-term care facility patients., Methods: A cross-sectional study including 105 long-term care facility residents was performed. The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) was used. Inappropriate drug use (IDU) was defined according to the STOPP (Screening Tool of Older People's Prescriptions) criteria. Univariate analysis to identify variables associated with patient outcome related with cognitive impairment was investigated with χ 2 , Pearson correlation, Fisher exact, and Mann-Whitney U test where appropriate. For the multivariate analysis, the possible factors identified with univariate analysis were further entered into logistic regression analysis., Results: A significant difference was found between gender, CCI and cognitive impairment (p = 0.038, p = 0.01). While every one point increment in the CCI increases the risk of cognitive impairment 3.1 fold (95% CI = 1.8-5.4, p < 0.001), hypertension increases the risk 12 fold (95% CI = 2.5-67.8, p = 0.002). While the correlation between Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score and polypharmacy is significant (p = 0.015), the correlation between MMSE and IDU was insignificant (p = 0.739). The association of urogenital system drugs and dementia was significant (p = 0.044)., Conclusions: Comorbidities, especially hypertension and old age, are risk factors for cognitive impairment. Polypharmacy correlates with MMSE and is considered a risk factor for cognitive impairment. Inappropriate medication use is high among long-term care facility residents. More studies on large cohorts are needed regarding optimal drug prescription and detection of specific drugs that may have an impact on cognitive performance.

An exact multishear zonal algorithm is proposed to reconstruct two-dimensional wavefronts in frequency domain. The algorithm maintains the advantage of fast Fourier transform and loosens the "natural extension" requirement that the shear amounts must be divisors of sampling points N; therefore, it can be rapidly executed for large data arrays. The effect of tilt errors in multishear interferometry is analyzed and compensated in our method. The presented algorithm is applicable for a general aperture shape by using an iterative method. Application of large shears is allowed, and high resolution of the reconstructed wavefront can be achieved. Results of numerical simulations demonstrate the capability of our method.

Background: Resistance to endocrine treatment generally occurs over time, especially in the metastatic stage. In this paper, we aimed to review the mechanisms of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibition and clinical usage of new agents in the light of recent literature updates., Scope: A literature search was carried out using PubMed, Medline and ASCO and ESMO annual-meeting abstracts by using the following search keywords; "palbociclib", "abemaciclib", "ribociclib", "cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors" and "CDK 4/6" in metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The last search was on 10 June 2017., Findings: CDKs and cyclins are two molecules that have a key role in cell cycle progression. Today, there are three highly selective CDK4/6 inhibitors in clinical development - palbociclib, ribociclib and abemaciclib. Palbociclib and ribociclib were recently approved by the US FDA in combination with letrozole for the treatment of MBC in a first-line setting, as well as palbociclib in combination with fulvestrant for hormone-receptor (HR)-positive MBC that had progressed while on previous endocrine therapy according to the PALOMA-1, MONALEESA-2 and PALOMA-3 trials, respectively. In the recently published randomized phase III MONARCH 2 trial, abemaciclib plus letrozole had longer progression-free survival and higher objective response rates with less serious adverse events in advanced HR-positive breast cancer previously treated with hormonal treatment., Conclusion: CDK4/6 inhibition is a new and promising target for patients with hormone-receptor-positive MBC. Both palbociclib and ribociclib showed significant additive benefit for patients receiving first-line treatment for HR-positive, epidermal growth factor receptor-2-negative advanced breast cancer. Palbociclib and abemaciclib also had significant activity in combination with fulvestrant for patients with MBC that progressed on previous endocrine therapy.

Background: VEGF, HER2 and EGFR targeted agents are currently used in gastric, esophageal and colorectal cancers. However, treatment outcomes are still poor in most gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Immune checkpoints are one of the most promising immunotherapy approaches. In this review article, we aim to discuss the efficacy and safety of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapies in GI cancers, including gastric, esophageal and colorectal cancer in published or reported recent studies., Scope: A literature search was made from PubMed and ASCO Annual Meeting abstracts by using the following search keywords: "nivolumab", "pembrolizumab", "avelumab", "GI cancers" "anti-PD1 therapy" and "anti-PD-L1 therapy". The last search was on 2 November 2016. The most important limitation of our review is that most of the data on anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapies in GI cancers relies on phase 1 and 2 trials., Findings: Currently, there are two anti-PD-1 (nivolumab and pembrolizumab) and one anti-PDL1 (atezolizumab) agents approved by FDA. After the treatment efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade was shown in melanoma, renal cell cancer and non-squamous lung cancer, trials which evaluate immune checkpoint blockade in GI cancers are ongoing. Early results of trials have been promising and encouraging for patients with advanced stage gastroesophageal cancer. According to early results of published trials, response to anti-PD1/PD-L1 agents appears to be associated with tumor PD-L1 levels. According to two recently published phase 2 trials, the clinical benefits of immune checkpoint blockade with both nivolumab and pembrolizumab were limited in patients with microsatellite instability (MSI) positive advanced colorectal cancer. However, several phase 2/3 trials are still ongoing., Conclusion: Both pembrolizumab and nivolumab show promising efficacy with acceptable safety data in published trials in GI cancers, especially in refractory MSI positive metastatic colorectal cancer.

Background: Removal of non-cellulosic impurities from cotton fabric, known as scouring, by conventional alkaline treatment causes environmental problems and reduces physical strength of fabrics. In this study, an endo-polygalacturonase (EndoPG) from Aspergillus aculeatus produced in Pichia pastoris was evaluated for its efficiency as a bioscouring agent while most current bioscouring process has been performed using crude pectinase preparation., Results: The recombinant EndoPG exhibited a specific activity of 1892.08 U/mg on citrus pectin under the optimal condition at 50 °C, pH 5.0 with a V max and K m of 65,451.35 μmol/min/mL and 15.14 mg/mL, respectively. A maximal activity of 2408.70 ± 26.50 U/mL in the culture supernatant was obtained by high cell density batch fermentation, equivalent to a 4.8 times greater yield than that from shake-flask culture. The recombinant enzyme was shown to be suitable for application as a bioscouring agent, in which the wettability of cotton fabric was increased by treatment with enzyme at 300 U/mL scouring solution at 40 °C, pH 5.0 for 1 h. The bio-scoured fabric has comparable wettability to that obtained by conventional chemical scouring, but has higher tensile strength., Conclusion: The work has demonstrated for the first time functions of A. aculeatus EndoPG on bioscouring in eco-textile processing. EndoPG alone was shown to possess effective scouring activity. High expression level and homogeneity could be achieved in bench-scale bioreactor.

Introduction: Burnout, a syndrome with 3 dimensions of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduction of personal accomplishment, is very common among hemodialysis nurses, while data are scarce regarding the prevalence of burnout syndrome (BS) among peritoneal dialysis (PD) nurses. This study aimed to assess and compare demographic and professional characteristics and burnout levels in hemodialysis and PD nurses, and to investigate factors that increase the level of burnout in dialysis nurses., Materials and Methods: A total of 171 nurses from 44 dialysis centers in Turkey were included in a cross-sectional survey study. Data were collected using a questionnaire defining the social and demographic characteristics and working conditions of the nurses as well as the Maslach Burnout Inventory for assessment of burnout level., Results: There was no significant difference in the level of burnout between the hemodialysis and PD nurses groups. Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scores were higher among the shift workers, nurses who had problems in interactions with the other team members, and those who wanted to leave the unit, as well as the nurses who would not attend training programs. In addition, male sex, younger age, limited working experience, more than 50 hours of working per week, and working in dialysis not by choice were associated with higher depersonalization scores. Personal accomplishment score was lower among the younger nurses who had problems in their interactions with the doctors, who would not regularly attend training programs, and who felt being medically inadequate., Conclusions: Improving working conditions and relations among colleagues, and also providing further dialysis education are necessary for minimizing burnout syndrome. Burnout reduction programs should mainly focus on younger professionals.

An exact algorithm based on the multishearing interferograms has been proposed to reconstruct a two-dimensional wavefront. It allows large shears and high resolution of the reconstructed wavefront to be achieved. In this paper, we use simultaneous linear equations to express the relationship between difference wavefronts and the unknown original wavefront, and then the least-squares method is applied to reconstruct the wavefront. To solve the memory problem, an improved wavefront reconstruction algorithm based on virtual subaperture stitching was proposed to improve the calculation efficiency. Lastly, numerical simulations are implemented and the proposed algorithm is compared with another modal and zonal method. The results indicate that the proposed algorithm is capable of reconstructing continuous or discontinuous wavefronts exactly with a large grid. Numerical simulation also shows high accuracy recovery capability of the proposed method in the existence of mixed noise.

Background: TQ has been used as treatment and preventive agent for many diseases over the years. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of TQ supplement on fractions of serum proteins., Materials and Methods: Fourteen male Wistar-Albino rats (200-250 g weight) were used as material for two groups; (control (C) and thymoquinone (TQ) respectively. Each group contained seven rats. The control group had only corn oil, while the TQ group was dissolved in corn oil. 30 mg/kg/day were given by oral gavage for four weeks. The serum protein fractions were identified using cellulose acetate technique., Results: The total protein level and albumin, α-1, α-2 fractions and A/G ratio have showed no difference between groups (p>0.05). β-globulin fractions of TQ group were higher than control's (p<0.05). In addition, it was observed that the γ-globulin levels of TQ group were lower than that of the control group's (p<0.05)., Conclusion: From the results, it was observed that the changes of these fractions may have originated from elevation or decline synthesis, or activities of containing proteins.

Purpose: Small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is a rare tumor of the gastrointestinal system with poor prognosis. Since these are rarely encountered tumors, there are limited numbers of studies investigating systemic treatment in advanced SBA. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic factors and systemic treatments in patients with advance SBA., Methods: Seventy-one patients from 18 Centers with advanced SBA were included in the study. Fifty-six patients received one of the four different chemotherapy regimens as first-line therapy and 15 patients were treated with best supportive care (BSC)., Results: Of the 71 patients, 42 (59%) were male and 29 (41%) female with a median age of 56 years. Median follow- up duration was 14.3 months. The median progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 7 and 13 months, respectively (N=71). In patients treated with FOLFOX (N=18), FOLFIRI (N=11), cisplatin-5-fluorouracil/ 5-FU (N=17) and gemcitabine alone (N=10), median PFS was 7, 8, 8 and 5 months, respectively, while median OS was 15, 16, 15 and 11 months, respectively. No significant differences between chemotherapy groups were noticed in terms of PFS and OS. Univariate analysis revealed that chemotherapy administration, de novo metastatic disease, ECOG PS 0 and 1, and overall response to therapy were significantly related to improved outcome. Only overall response to treatment was found to be significantly prognostic in multivariate analysis (p=0.001)., Conclusions: In this study, overall response to chemotherapy emerged as the single significant prognostic factor for advanced SBAs. Platin and irinotecan based regimens achieved similar survival outcomes in advanced SBA patients.

Aim: We evaluated the procedural outcomes of intracranial aneurysm treatment with the Silk device and its relation with operator experience. We also detailed some technical points we learned throughout our experience., Material and Methods: One hundred and six consecutive patients with intracranial aneurysms treated using Silk (BaltExtrusion, Montmorency, France) stent between October 2010 and November 2013 were included. Patients were evaluated in terms of age, sex, aneurysm size, location, technical success, and adverse events., Results: There were 106 patients (71 female) undergoing 116 procedures with a mean age of 49.8 (range: 3-78 years). Mean aneurysm size was 10.7±8.0 (range, 2-40 mm). Technical success of the procedures was 96.5%. Adverse event rate was 11.2%. Among adverse events, there were 4 adverse events without complications, 2 mild complications, 7 severe complications, 4 of which resulted with death. The adverse event rate was significantly higher during the first half of the operator's experience. The rate of adverse events seemed to stabilize after around 50 patients. Adverse events, regardless of the presence or absence of a clinical complication, were more frequent in aneurysms larger than 18.5 mm., Conclusion: Safety of flow-diverter (FD) placement for intracranial aneurysms increases with operator experience. Training programs in endovascular management of cerebrovascular diseases and relevant fellowship curricula must be adapted to include sufficient flow diverter experience. The learning curve needs to be kept in mind when studies comparing different FD devices or those comparing other treatments to FDS are planned.

In cardiovascular surgery ischemia-reperfusion injury is a challenging problem, which needs medical intervention. We investigated the effects of curcumin on cardiac, myocardial, and mitochondrial parameters in perfused isolated working Guinea pig hearts. After preliminary experiments to establish the model, normoxia was set at 30 minutes, hypoxia was set at 60, and subsequent reoxygenation was set at 30 minutes. Curcumin was applied in the perfusion buffer at 0.25 and 0.5 μM concentrations. Cardiac parameters measured were afterload, coronary and aortic flows, and systolic and diastolic pressure. In the myocardium histopathology and AST in the perfusate indicated cell damage after hypoxia and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels increased to 232.5% of controls during reoxygenation. Curcumin protected partially against reoxygenation injury without statistically significant differences between the two dosages. Mitochondrial MDA was also increased in reoxygenation (165% of controls), whereas glutathione was diminished (35.2%) as well as glutathione reductase (29.3%), which was significantly increased again to 62.0% by 0.05 μM curcumin. Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) was strongly increased in hypoxia and even more in reoxygenation (255% of controls). Curcumin partly counteracted this increase and attenuated GPx activity independently in hypoxia and in reoxygenation, 0.25 μM concentration to 150% and 0.5 μM concentration to 200% of normoxic activity.

Schizophrenia is increasingly recognized as a neurodevelopmental disorder with altered connectivity among brain networks. In the current study we examined large-scale network interactions in childhood-onset schizophrenia, a severe form of the disease with salient genetic and neurobiological abnormalities. Using a data-driven analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging fluctuations, we characterized data from 19 patients with schizophrenia and 26 typically developing controls, group matched for age, sex, handedness, and magnitude of head motion during scanning. This approach identified 26 regions with decreased functional correlations in schizophrenia compared to controls. These regions were found to organize into two function-related networks, the first with regions associated with social and higher-level cognitive processing, and the second with regions involved in somatosensory and motor processing. Analyses of across- and within-network regional interactions revealed pronounced across-network decreases in functional connectivity in the schizophrenia group, as well as a set of across-network relationships with overall negative coupling indicating competitive or opponent network dynamics. Critically, across-network decreases in functional connectivity in schizophrenia predicted the severity of positive symptoms in the disorder, such as hallucinations and delusions. By contrast, decreases in functional connectivity within the social-cognitive network of regions predicted the severity of negative symptoms, such as impoverished speech and flattened affect. These results point toward the role that abnormal integration of sensorimotor and social-cognitive processing may play in the pathophysiology and symptomatology of schizophrenia., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain 2015. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.)

Aim: To report patient and procedure-related factors affecting the angiographic and clinical outcome in patients treated with the Silk device., Material and Methods: All patients with intracranial aneurysms in whom treatment was attempted with the Silk flow diverter by our neurovascular team between October 2010 and November 2013 were included consecutively. The data was analyzed by an independent stroke neurologist not involved in the treatment of the patients., Results: A total of 96 patients (64 female) with ages range from 3 to 78 were included in this study. We found that 54 of the patients were asymptomatic and 42 of them symptomatic, while 21 had a prior history of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Mean aneurysm size was 10.2 mm (range 2 to 40 mm). 2 patients died due to consequences of SAH. 3 patients developed visual decline on the follow-up, 2 of these were procedure-related. Symptomatic thromboembolic events were noted in 7 cases. Patients with aneurysms smaller than 13 mm had significantly less complications and higher occlusion rates. The complication rate was significantly high in patients admitted with symptoms. Adjunctive coiling had no impact on outcome., Conclusion: Safety and efficacy of flow diversion in this series was closely related to aneurysm size and presenting symptoms. A size cut-off for safety and efficacy has not been reported before and will be useful not only for future studies but also for patient counseling in daily practice. The futility of adjunctive coiling in this series calls for reappraisal of the current recommendations for this specific device.

Aim: Complementary and alternative medicine is a broad field of health including all health care practices and methods, and their accompanying theories and beliefs. In the present study, we aimed to examine the frequency of complementary-alternative medicine use, and its relation with glomerular filtration rate and depression in patients with chronic kidney disease at predialysis stage., Methods: A total of 1053 predialysis patients; 518 female and 535 male, that were followed up with chronic kidney disease for at least 3 months were enrolled into the study. Demographic features, biochemical parameters and findings of physical examination were recorded. Their compliance to diet, and knowledge about disease were questioned. Beck depression inventory and questionnaire regarding complementary-alternative medicine use were performed., Results: The overall frequency of complementary-alternative medicine use was 40.3% . Total ratio of herbal products was 46%. Complementary-alternative medicine use was significantly more frequent in female or single patients, and patients that informed about chronic kidney disease or under strict diet (P = 0.007, P = 0.016, P = 0.02, P = 0.016, respectively). When glomerular filtration rate of participants were considered, complementary-alternative medicine use was similar in different stages of kidney disease. Depression was observed in 41.9% of patients and significantly frequent in patients with alternative method use (P = 0.002). Depression score was higher as creatinine increases and glomerular filtration rate decreases (P = 0.002; r = 0.093)., Conclusion: We determined that complementary-alternative medicine use gradually increases at predialysis stage as glomerular filtration rate decreases and there is a strict relation between complementary-alternative medicine use and depression or female gender. Disorder related stressors may lead to seeking of alternative methods., (© 2015 Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology.)

Myostatin is a TGFβ family ligand that reduces muscle mass. In cancer cells, TGFβ signalling is increased by the protein FHL1. Consequently, FHL1 may promote signalling by myostatin. We therefore tested the ability of FHL1 to regulate myostatin function. FHL1 increased the myostatin activity on a SMAD reporter and increased myostatin dependent myotube wasting. In mice, independent expression of myostatin reduced fibre diameter whereas FHL1 increased fibre diameter, both consistent with previously identified effects of these proteins. However, co-expression of FHL1 and myostatin reduced fibre diameter to a greater extent than myostatin alone. Together, these data suggest that the expression of FHL1 may exacerbate muscle wasting under the appropriate conditions.

Aim: To examined the efficacy and safety of treatment with boceprevir, PEGylated-interferon and ribavirin (PR) in hepatitis C virus genotype 1 (HCVGT1) PR treatment-failures in Asia., Methods: The Boceprevir Named-Patient Program provided boceprevir to HCVGT1 PR treatment-failures. Participating physicians were invited to contribute data from their patients: baseline characteristics, on-treatment responses, sustained virological response at week 12 (SVR12), and safety were collected and analysed. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine predictors of response., Results: 150 patients were enrolled from Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand (Asians = 86, Caucasians = 63). Overall SVR12 was 61% (Asians = 59.3%, Caucasians = 63.5%). SVR12 was higher in relapsers (78%) compared with non-responders (34%). On-treatment responses predicted SVR, with undetectable HCVRNA at week 4, 8 and 12 leading to SVR12s of 100%, 87%, and 82% respectively, and detectable HCVRNA at week 4, 8 and 12, leading to SVR12s of 58%, 22% and 6% respectively. Asian patients were similar to Caucasian patients with regards to on-treatment responses. Patients with cirrhosis (n = 69) also behaved in the same manner with regards to on-treatment responses. Those with the IL28B CC genotype (80%) had higher SVRs than those with the CT/TT (56%) genotype (P = 0.010). Multivariate analysis showed that TW8 and TW12 responses were independent predictors of SVR. Serious adverse events occurred in 18.6%: sepsis (2%), decompensation (2.7%) and blood transfusion (14%). Discontinuations occurred in 30.7%, with 18.6% fulfilling stopping rules., Conclusion: Boceprevir can be used successfully in PR treatment failures with a SVR12 > 80% if they have good on-treatment responses; however, discontinuations occurred in 30% because of virological failure or adverse events.

Purpose: Local neuropeptide release has a critical role in the initiation and progression of an inflammatory response. This study investigated the effects of different restorative materials on periodontium in this regard, by evaluating their neuropeptide-producing effects on gingival crevicular fluid (GCF)., Methods: The study included 14 patients suitable for metal-ceramic, composite and amalgam restorations. Four weeks after periodontal therapy, the restorations were performed. Study groups were constituted regarding the tooth/restoration surfaces contacting gingiva in each patient: 1 ceramic surface of a metal-ceramic crown (ceramic group), its opposite metal surface (metal group), 1 composite surface (composite group), its opposite enamel surface (opposite-composite group), 1 amalgam surface (amalgam group), its opposite enamel surface (opposite-amalgam group) and 1 nonrestored enamel surface (enamel group). Four weeks after dental restorations, clinical data and GCF were obtained from the group sites. Clinical data, GCF volume and its proinflammatory cytokine profile were utilized to evaluate the periodontal health. GCF levels of substance P (SP), neurokinin A (NKA) and calcitonin-gene related peptide (CGRP) were determined by ELISA for revealing the neuropeptide levels., Results: GCF volume was found to increase in all groups compared with the enamel group (p&lt;0.05). SP and NKA levels were higher in the ceramic, composite and amalgam groups than those in the enamel group (p&lt;0.05). SP and NKA levels were also higher in the composite and amalgam groups than those in the opposite-composite/amalgam groups (p&lt;0.05)., Conclusions: These results suggest that ceramic, composite and amalgam materials may uniquely trigger local neuropeptide release in periodontium.

Introduction: Mean platelet volume (MPV) is an indirect indicator of platelet activity that plays a major role in the pathogenesis of endothelial injury. Obese individuals have higher microalbuminuria which is the initial step of renal endothelial injury. We aimed to analyze the relation of microalbuminuria and MPV in obese individuals without metabolic risk factors., Methods: A total of 290 obese individuals (body mass index (BMI)>30 kg/m2) without an accompanying chronic disorder, and 204 nonobese healthy subjects were enrolled into the study. All participants underwent physical examination. Biochemical, hemogram, and hormonal parameters along with urine albumin analysis were performed. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was measured by Cockcroft-Gault (GFRC&G), modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD). The BMI was calculated as weight/height2 (kg/m2). Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze relation of variables., Results: The patient group consisted of 171 (59%) female (mean age: 37.15±8.05 years) and 119 (41%) male (mean age 38.98±10.68 years) obese individuals. 130 (63.7%) age matched female (mean age 36.18±8.26 years) and 74 (36.3%) age matched male (mean age 36.49±10.25 years) controls were assigned to the control group. There was a significant difference between groups with regard to BMI, spot microalbuminuria, spot urine microalbuminuria/creatinine ratio but not with to MPV and spot urine creatinine (p: 0.01, 0.004, 0.002; respectively). GFR measured by MDRD and Cockcroft-Gault formula were significantly higher in the obese group (p<0.001 for both). Correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation between BMI and spot urine microalbuminuria, spot urine microalbuminuria/creatinine ratio, GFR (Cockcroft-Gault Formula), Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), insulin, C-peptide, diastolic blood pressure, glucose, uric acid, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, c-reactive protein (CRP), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), leukocyte count, platelet count. MPV was inversely and significantly correlated with spot urine creatinine, systolic blood pressure, triglyceride, C-peptide, and platelet count. Mean urea, creatinine, uric acid, triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, insulin, C-peptide, HOMA-IR were significantly higher in obese male individuals while obese female individuals had higher levels of mean high density lipoprotein (HDL), CRP, TSH, platelet count, spot urine microalbumin/creatinine rate, and GFR measured by MDRD., Conclusions: Obese individuals have higher microalbuminuria and nonsignificantly elevated MPV, however, urine albumin loss is independent of MPV.