Carvacrol and thymol are the two main active components of oregano essential oil (OEO). In this study, the effect of carvacrol and thymol was evaluated separately, in combination and in their natural ...composition as natural OEO. A total of five treatments, i.e., negative control group, carvacrol, thymol, a combination of carvacrol and thymol and Orego-Stim
® (OS, commercial product containing natural OEO from
Origanum heracleoticum L.) were added to the diets of channel catfish (
Ictalurus punctatus) to investigate the effects of the respective treatments on the growth performance and antioxidant activity. After eight weeks of feeding, fishes were infected with
Aeromonas hydrophila and mortality was recorded. Results of this study showed that channel catfish fed with natural OEO (OS), containing a combination of carvacrol, thymol and other minor constituents, significantly enhanced growth performance, which was the highest amongst all treatments (
P
<
0.05). The addition of OS also effectively enhanced hepatosomatic index (HSI), viscerosomatic index (VSI) and condition factor compared to the control diet (
P
<
0.05) and distinctly promoted the sedimentation of muscle protein. OS also remarkably enhanced the antioxidant activity of channel catfish. Both the combination of carvacrol and thymol and OS reduced fish mortality following
A. hydrophila infection, but the lowest mortality was observed in the group fed with OS. It can be concluded that OS, which contains natural OEO extracted from
O. heracleoticum L., can act as a growth promoter, increase antioxidant activity, enhance muscle protein sedimentation and also improve disease resistance to pathogens when added to channel catfish feed.
As there is currently a lack of consensus on the most appropriate dose and duration of peginterferon alfa‐2a (PEG‐IFNα‐2a) therapy in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐positive patients, the efficacy and ...safety of either 24 or 48 weeks' duration and 90 μg/week or 180 μg/week doses were compared. HBeAg‐positive patients (n = 544; 34% genotype B, 51% genotype C) were randomized to receive PEG‐IFNα‐2a (2 × 2 factorial design) for 24 or 48 weeks and at 90 μg/week or 180 μg/week and included in the per‐protocol population. The primary efficacy endpoint of the noninferiority study was HBeAg seroconversion 6 months posttreatment. The prespecified odds ratio (OR) noninferiority margin was 1.88 with a one‐sided significance level of 0.025. The highest rates of HBeAg seroconversion 6 months posttreatment were in the 180/48 arm (36.2% versus 14.1%‐25.8% in the other arms). When the dose and duration arms were pooled, the OR for noninferiority of 24 weeks versus 48 weeks was 2.17 (95% confidence interval CI 1.43, 3.31; P = 0.749) and for 90 μg versus 180 μg was 1.79 (95% CI 1.18, 2.72; P = 0.410). As the upper limit of the 95% CI of the ORs were >1.88, 24 weeks were inferior to 48 weeks and 90 μg/week was inferior to 180 μg/week. The highest rates of response in the 180/48 arm were achieved by patients with HBsAg <1,500 IU/mL at Week 12 (58%) or Week 24 (57%), whereas patients with HBsAg >20,000 IU/mL did not respond. Adverse events were typical of those associated with PEG‐IFNα‐2a. Conclusion: Compared with lower doses and shorter durations, the licensed PEG‐IFNα‐2a treatment regimen (180μg/48 weeks) was the most efficacious and beneficial for HBeAg‐positive patients predominantly infected with hepatitis B virus genotypes B or C. (HEPATOLOGY 2011;)
Asparagine synthetase (ASNS) is associated with drug resistance in leukaemia, and the function of this enzyme in the context of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not clear. In this study, the ...relationship between ASNS expression and clinical outcomes after surgical resection was investigated, and the therapeutic value of ASNS was also evaluated.
The expression of ASNS was evaluated in HCC samples by real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry assays. The correlation between ASNS expression and clinicopathological features was investigated. Potential clinicopathological prognostic factors were examined by univariate and multivariate survival analysis. Asparagine synthetase was overexpressed and knocked down in HCC cell lines to assess the influence of the enzyme on cell proliferation, migration and tumourigenicity. L-asparaginase was used to treat HCC cells with high or low levels of ASNS in vitro and in vivo to examine the therapeutic efficacy.
The expression of ASNS was higher in HCC tumour tissues and was closely correlated with the serum AFP level, tumour size, microscopic vascular invasion, tumour encapsulation, TNM stage and BCLC stage. Patients with low ASNS expression levels had a poor prognosis with respect to overall survival (OS). The multivariate survival analysis indicated that ASNS is an independent prognostic factor for OS. Furthermore, functional studies demonstrated that ASNS significantly inhibits the proliferation, migration and tumourigenicity of HCC cells. The knockdown of ASNS markedly increased sensitivity to L-asparaginase, indicating that cells with different ASNS protein levels have different sensitivities to L-asparaginase.
The expression of ASNS is an independent factor affecting the survival of HCC patients, and low ASNS expression in HCC was correlated with worse surgical outcomes. The ASNS may be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC.
Electron spins confined to phosphorus donors in silicon are promising candidates as qubits because of their long coherence times, exceeding seconds in isotopically purified bulk silicon. With the ...recent demonstrations of initialization, readout and coherent manipulation of individual donor electron spins, the next challenge towards the realization of a Si:P donor-based quantum computer is the demonstration of exchange coupling in two tunnel-coupled phosphorus donors. Spin-to-charge conversion via Pauli spin blockade, an essential ingredient for reading out individual spin states, is challenging in donor-based systems due to the inherently large donor charging energies (∼45 meV), requiring large electric fields (>1 MV m(-1)) to transfer both electron spins onto the same donor. Here, in a carefully characterized double donor-dot device, we directly observe spin blockade of the first few electrons and measure the effective exchange interaction between electron spins in coupled Coulomb-confined systems.
•I study experimentally the effects of group decision-making on social preferences towards group members.•Having a group outcome determined by a joint decision-making process enhances kindness ...towards group members, compared to having the outcome determined by others.•It increases the willingness to help increase the payoffs of group members, lowers negative reciprocity, and increases charity concern towards group members.•The effect of joint decision-making holds irrespective of whether the decision leads to a success or a failure.•The findings affirm the use of group decision-making processes to strengthen social bonds.
Group decision-making processes are often adopted to strengthen social bonds. In this paper, I study experimentally the effects of group decision-making on social preferences towards group members, while distinguishing between participation and outcome effects. I find that participation in a group decision-making process enhances kindness towards group members, irrespective of whether the decision leads to a success or a failure. Specifically, group decision-making increases the probability of allocating a higher payoff to a group member by 6 percentage points. Moreover, it lowers willingness to punish group members for perceived negative intentions, and increases charity concern, i.e., aversion towards receiving a higher payoff than group members. The positive effects of group decision-making on pro-social behavior towards group members do not spill over significantly to others outside the group. Consistent with observed behavior, subjects from decision-making groups report a stronger feeling of attachment towards group members than non-decision-making groups.
We report on the analysis of the 10-1000 TeV large-scale sidereal anisotropy of Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) with the data collected by the Tibet Air Shower Array from 1995 October to 2010 February. ...In this analysis, we improve the energy estimate and extend the decl. range down to −30°. We find that the anisotropy maps above 100 TeV are distinct from that at a multi-TeV band. The so-called tail-in and loss-cone features identified at low energies get less significant, and a new component appears at ∼100 TeV. The spatial distribution of the GCR intensity with an excess (7.2 pre-trial, 5.2 post-trial) and a deficit (−5.8 pre-trial) are observed in the 300 TeV anisotropy map, in close agreement with IceCube's results at 400 TeV. Combining the Tibet results in the northern sky with IceCube's results in the southern sky, we establish a full-sky picture of the anisotropy in hundreds of TeV band. We further find that the amplitude of the first order anisotropy increases sharply above ∼100 TeV, indicating a new component of the anisotropy. All these results may shed new light on understanding the origin and propagation of GCRs.
The Falls Risk for Older People in the Community assessment (FROP-Com) was originally developed using 13 risk factors to identify the fall risks of community-dwelling older people. To suit the ...practical use in busy clinical settings, a brief version adopting 3 most fall predictive risk factors from the original FROP-Com, including the number of falls in the past 12 months, assistance required to perform domestic activities of daily living and observation of balance, was developed for screening purpose (FROP-Com screen). The objectives of this study were to investigate the inter-rater and test-retest reliability, concurrent and convergent validity, and minimum detectable change of the FROP-Com screen in community-dwelling people with stroke.
Community-dwelling people with stroke (n = 48) were recruited from a local self-help group, and community-dwelling older people (n = 40) were recruited as control subjects.
The FROP-Com screen exhibited moderate inter-rater (Intraclass correlation coefficient ICC2,1 = 0.79, 95% confidence interval CI: 0.65-0.87) and test-retest reliability (ICC3,1 = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.46-0.83) and weak associations with two balance measures, the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) (rho = -0.38, p = 0.008) and the Timed "Up & Go" (TUG) test (rho = 0.35, p = 0.016). The screen also exhibited a moderate association with the Chinese version of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC-C) (ABC-C; rho = -0.65, p<0.001), a measure of subjective balance confidence.
The FROP-Com screen is a reliable clinical tool with convergent validity paralleled with subjective balance confidence measure that can be used in fall risk screening of community-dwelling people with stroke. However, one individual item, the observation of balance, will require additional refinement to improve the potential measurement error.
Purpose
Accurate subtyping of the primary aldosteronism into aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) and idiopathic adrenal hyperplasia (IAH) is important to direct for specific treatment modalities. The ...objective of the study was to compare the clinical and biochemical parameters of APA and IAH patients to derive a Clinical Prediction Score reliably predicting APA from IAH.
Methods
This was a retrospective multi-centre study recruiting 38 APA patients and 42 IAH patients from four major hospitals in Hong Kong using database from Surgical Outcomes Monitoring and Improvement Programme and Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System. Their clinical and biochemical parameters were evaluated.
Results
Patients in APA group were younger than IAH group (mean age 48.6 ± 9.2 vs. 57.1 ± 7.3 years old,
p
< 0.001), had more suppressed renin before saline infusion in saline infusion test (SIT) (median 0.19 IQR 0.15–0.37 vs. 0.39 IQR 0.19–0.69 ng/mL/h,
p
= 0.01), and higher aldosterone level after saline infusion in SIT (median 674 IQR 498–1000 vs. 327 IQR 242–483 pmol/L,
p
< 0.001). A clinical prediction score using three parameters was devised, comprising age at diagnosis < 50 years, PRA before saline infusion in SIT ≤ 0.26 ng/mL/h, and aldosterone level after saline infusion in SIT ≥ 424 pmol/L. A score of 2 would predict APA with a sensitivity of 84.2% and specificity of 88.1%, and a score of 3 would predict APA with a sensitivity of 31.6% and specificity of 100%.
Conclusions
Clinical Prediction Score based on the combination of age at diagnosis, PRA, and aldosterone level in the saline infusion tests could reliably predict APA from IAH.
Reduced expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is characterized with the formation of neuritic plaques ...consisting of amyloid-beta (Aβ) and neurofibrillary tangles composed of hyperphosphorylated tau protein. A growing body of evidence indicates a potential protective effect of BDNF against Aβ-induced neurotoxicity in AD mouse models. However, the direct therapeutic effect of BDNF supplement on tauopathy in AD remains to be established. Here, we found that the BDNF level was reduced in the serum and brain of AD patients and P301L transgenic mice (a mouse model of tauopathy). Intralateral ventricle injection of adeno-associated virus carrying the gene encoding human BDNF (AAV-BDNF) achieved stable expression of BDNF gene and restored the BDNF level in the brains of P301L mice. Restoration of the BDNF level attenuated behavioral deficits, prevented neuron loss, alleviated synaptic degeneration and reduced neuronal abnormality, but did not affect tau hyperphosphorylation level in the brains of P301L mice. Long-term expression of AAV-BDNF in the brain was well tolerated by the mice. These findings suggest that the gene delivery of BDNF is a promising treatment for tau-related neurodegeneration for AD and other neurodegenerative disorders with tauopathy.
From an organizational standpoint, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists has provided valuable guidance regarding operational assessment, therapeutic assessment, shortage impact analysis, ...and inventory system changes 2. Effect of reduced exposure to vasopressors on 90-day mortality in older critically ill patients with vasodilatory hypotension: a randomized clinical trial. published online ahead of print, 2020 Feb 12. Chlan LL, Weinert CR, Heiderscheit A, Tracy MF, Skaar DJ, Guttormson JL, Savik K. Effects of patient-directed music intervention on anxiety and sedative exposure in critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilatory support: a randomized clinical trial.
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