Four-dimensional sonographic assessment of fetal facial expression early in the third trimester.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the characteristic patterns of facial expression in fetuses aged from 28 to 34 weeks using 4-dimensional (4-D) ultrasonography. METHODS: The faces of 10 healthy fetuses aged from 28 to 34 weeks were recorded continuously for 15 min with a 4-D ultrasonographic machine performing up to 25 frames per second. The occurrence rates of blinking, mouthing, yawning, tongue expulsion, smiling, scowling, and sucking were evaluated. RESULTS: Mouthing was the most frequent facial expression (median, 6.5; range, 2-19) whereas the least frequent were scowling (median, 1; range, 0-9) and sucking (median, 1; range, 0-2). Mouthing was evident in all fetuses and significantly more frequent than any other movement (P<.05). Yawning (median, 3; range, 0-6), smiling (median, 2; range, 0-9), and blinking (median, 1.5; range, 0-6) were observed in most cases. Tongue expulsion (median, 1.5; range, 0-5), scowling, and sucking were each observed in 6 cases. CONCLUSION: 4-D sonography provides a means of evaluating fetal facial expression early in the third trimester. It may be a key to predicting fetal brain function and well-being and an important modality in future fetal neurophysiologic research.     

Chemotherapy induces the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in non-small cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of taxane-based chemotherapy on intratumoral levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Lung specimens obtained at the time of surgery were used to measure levels of COX-2 and PGE(2) in tumors and adjacent nontumorous tissues in three subsets of NSCLC patients who underwent: (A) surgical resection only (n = 16); (B) surgical resection after preoperative taxane-based chemotherapy (n = 13); or (C) surgical resection after preoperative chemotherapy coadministered with the selective COX-2 inhibitor, celecoxib 400 mg bid (n = 17). RESULTS: Levels of intratumoral PGE(2) were nearly 3-fold higher among patients who received preoperative chemotherapy compared with those treated by surgery alone (P < 0.001). This difference was abrogated by the addition of celecoxib to preoperative chemotherapy (P < 0.001). Amounts of intratumoral COX-2 were approximately 3-fold higher in groups of patients who received preoperative chemotherapy with celecoxib (P < 0.0001) or without celecoxib (P < 0.001), compared with the group who underwent surgical resection only. Importantly, statistically significant positive correlations between COX-2 and PGE(2) were observed in the surgery only (r = 0.502, P = 0.047) and preoperative chemotherapy groups (r = 0.740, P = 0.004); this correlation was abrogated when celecoxib was given with chemotherapy (r = 0.005, P = 0.98). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with chemotherapy led to increased amounts of COX-2 and PGE(2) in NSCLC. Cotreatment with celecoxib abrogated the increase in levels of PGE(2) but not COX-2 induced by chemotherapy. Importantly, these results clearly show that levels of a pharmacologic target (i.e., COX-2) can be affected by both the intrinsic molecular properties of a tumor and therapy.     

Serum biomarkers for diagnosis and monitoring viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction: Chronic liver disease due to viral hepatitis continues to be a major global health concern. Timely diagnosis and treatment will prevent cirrhosis, risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and requirement for liver transplantation. Numerous serum biomarkers are available for viral hepatitis that are helpful in diagnosis, measuring severity, progression of disease, evaluating the best therapeutic options, and monitoring antiviral treatment response. Determining the clinical use of available diagnostic tests can be challenging for the health care provider.

Areas covered: This review article attempts to summarize the established and emerging serological markers for diagnosis and managing viral hepatitis. The literature search was performed in February 2018 and included MEDLINE and Embase databases for recent relevant literature on biomarkers for viral hepatitis.

Expert Commentary: Despite the discovery of several candidate biomarkers, translating these to clinical practice in viral hepatitis and HCC remains challenging. While limited availability of the new biomarkers in prevalent geographic areas and significant cost remain major obstacles, there have been exciting developments in this field. Understanding the detection limits and sensitivity of these markers and translating them into clinical use is important in management of viral hepatitis and complications of liver disease such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer.     

Subungual glomus tumors of the hand: Treated by transungual excision

Background:Glomus tumors are benign hamartomas arising from the glomus body, mostly occurring in the subungual region of the digits. A triad of excruciating pain, localized tenderness and cold sensitivity is the key to diagnosing these tumors. Two surgical approaches are described in the literature for excision of subungual glomus tumors-transungual and periungual. We reviewed retrospectively the results of subungual glomus tumors of the hand treated by transungual excision.Results:All patients had complete pain relief. There was no new nail deformity and no recurrence till last followup. One patient had deformity of the nail preoperatively due to previous surgery, which persisted after excision of the tumor. All of them returned to their preoperative occupation and regained full function of the hand.Conclusions:The transungual approach provides good access to the entire lesion and facilitates complete excision. Contrary to reported literature, we did not find the development of any new nail deformity with this approach.     

Effect of metal doping on the visible light absorption,electronic structure and mechanical properties of non-toxic metal halide CsGeCl3

Non-toxic metal halide perovskites have become forefront for commercialization of the perovskite solar cells and optoelectronic devices. In the present study, for the first time we show that particular metal doping in CsGeCl₃ halide can considerably enhance the absorbance both in the visible and ultraviolet light energy range. We have carried out DFT based first principles calculations on Mn-doped and Ni-doped CsGeCl₃ halide. We investigate the detailed structural, optical, electronic and mechanical properties of all the doped compositions theoretically. The study of the optical properties shows that the absorption edge of both Ni and Mn-doped CsGeCl₃ is shifted toward the low energy region (red shift) relative to the pristine one. An additional peak is observed for both doped profiles in the visible light energy region. The study of the mechanical properties demonstrates that both the doped samples are mechanically stable and ductile as the pristine CsGeCl₃. The study of the electronic properties shows that the excitation of photoelectrons is easier due to the formation of intermediate states in Mn-doped CsGeCl₃. As a result Mn-doped CsGeCl₃ exhibits higher absorptivity in the visible region than the Ni-doped counterpart. A combinational analysis indicates that CsGe_1−xMn_xCl₃ is the best lead free candidate among the inorganic perovskite materials for solar cell and optoelectronic applications.

We have studied the optical, electronic and mechanical properties of Ni and Mn-doped CsGeCl₃ using DFT calculations.     

Designing,docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies of novel cloperastine analogues as anti-allergic agents: homology modeling and active site prediction for the human histamine H1 receptor

The present study predicts a three-dimensional model for the histamine H1 receptor and the design of antihistamine inhibitors using cloperastine as the core molecule by docking studies. In this work, we predicted a three-dimensional structure of the histamine H1 receptor using the MODELLER9V7 software. The protein structure was developed based on the crystal structure of the histamine H1 receptor, the lysozyme chimera of Escherichia virus T4 (PDB ID: 3RZE_A) target collected from the PDB data bank. Using molecular dynamics simulation methods, the final predicted structure is obtained and further analyzed by VERIFY3D and PROCHECK programs, confirming that the final model is reliable. The drug derivatives of cloperastine were designed and docking was performed with the designed ligands along with the drug. The predicted model of the histamine H1 receptor structure is stable and confirms that it is a reliable structure for docking studies. The results indicate that MET 183, THR 184 and ILE 187 in the histamine H1 receptor are important determinant residues for binding as they have strong hydrogen bonding with cloperastine derivatives. The drug derivatives were docked to the histamine H1 receptor protein by hydrogen bonding interactions and these interactions played an important role in the binding studies. The molecule 1-{2-[(4-chlorophenyl) (phenyl) methoxy] ethyl}-4-methylenepiperidine showed the best docking results with the histamine H1 receptor. The docking results predicted the best compounds, which may act as better drugs than cloperastine and in the future, these may be developed for anti-allergy therapy.

The present study predicts a three-dimensional model for the histamine H1 receptor and the design of antihistamine inhibitors using cloperastine as the core molecule by docking studies.     

Subclavian atherectomy and angioplasty for coronary subclavian steal syndrome post CABG

Coronary subclavian steal syndrome is an uncommon complication occurring in patients with coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). We describe a case of a 69-year-old male with a remote history of CABG who presented with exertional left arm pain and angina. Computed Tomographic Angiography of the chest demonstrated a severe left proximal subclavian artery stenosis. The case demonstrates successful application of subclavian atherectomy with use of embolic protective device, alleviating the need of stent, for treatment of Coronary subclavian steal syndrome in patient with remote history of CABG.     

Giant spin pumping at the ferromagnet (permalloy) – organic semiconductor (perylene diimide) interface

Pure spin current based devices have attracted great interest in recent days. Spin current injection into non-magnetic materials is essential for the design and development of such pure spin current based devices. In this context, organic semiconductors (OSCs) can be potential non-magnetic materials over widely explored heavy metals. This is due to the relatively low spin–orbit coupling of OSCs, which is essential to host the spin current with a large spin diffusion length and long spin-relaxation time. This research work demonstrates the harvesting of spin currents at the perylene diimide (PDI)/permalloy (Py) based OSC interface. The observed high linewidth broadening of 2.18 mT from the ferromagnetic resonance spectra indicates the presence of giant spin pumping from Py to PDI. The resultant spin-mixing conductance, 1.54 × 10¹⁸ m⁻² quantifies the amount of spin current injected from Py to PDI, which is in a similar range to ferromagnet/heavy metals.

The spin injection from permalloy into an adjacent perylene diimide (PDI) layer is demonstrated via ferromagnetic resonance associated linewidth broadening. The spin mixing conductance is found to be 1.54×10¹⁸ m⁻² in a similar range to FM/heavy metal.     

Inhibition of Jun NH2-terminal kinases suppresses the growth of experimental head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: This study was carried out to investigate whether c-Jun NH2-terminal kinases (JNK) are potential targets for treating head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: JNK activity was first evaluated in 20 paired samples of human HNSCC. The antitumor activity of SP600125, a reversible nonselective ATP-competitive inhibitor of JNKs, was then investigated both in an HNSCC xenograft model and in vitro using immunohistochemistry, immunoblotting, enzyme immunoassay, flow cytometry, and a Matrigel assay of capillary tube formation. Complementary studies were carried out using small interfering RNA to JNK1/2. RESULTS: JNK activity was increased in human HNSCC compared with normal-appearing epithelium. Treatment of mice bearing HNSCC xenografts with SP600125 resulted in >60% inhibition of tumor growth relative to vehicle-treated animals. Inhibition of tumor growth was associated with significant reductions in both cell proliferation and microvessel density. SP600125 inhibited tumor cell proliferation by causing delays in both the S and G2-M phases of the cell cycle. Inhibition of angiogenesis seemed to reflect effects on both tumor and endothelial cells. The JNK inhibitor suppressed the production of vascular endothelial growth factor and interleukin-8 by tumor cells and also inhibited endothelial cell proliferation and capillary tube formation. Reduced amounts and phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptor were found in tumor cells after treatment with SP600125. Small interfering RNA-mediated suppression of JNK1/2 led to reduced tumor cell proliferation and decreased levels of epidermal growth factor receptor, vascular endothelial growth factor, and interleukin-8. CONCLUSIONS: JNK activity is commonly increased in HNSCC. Our preclinical results provide a rationale for evaluating JNK inhibition as an approach to treating HNSCC.     

Photopolymerization of developmental monomers for dental cationically initiated matrix resins.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives were to investigate the structure and selected physical properties of products resulting from the photopolymerization of a binary mixture containing an aliphatic dioxirane, 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl-3,4-epoxycyclohexane carboxylate (ECHM-ECHC) and a potential expanding monomer, 3,9-bis(oxiranylcyclohexylmethyl)-1,5,7,11-tetraoxaspiro[5.5]undecane (BOCHM-TOSU). METHODS: Reaction mixtures were irradiated with a dental curing lamp at room temperature. Some reactions were quenched prior to gel point. Oligomeric products were separated from unreacted monomers by column chromatography, and analyzed by NMR. Physical properties of polymeric solids were measured using accepted standard methods. Protonation energies for monomers were calculated using semi-empirical quantum mechanical methods. RESULTS: Types of oligomers found included poly(ether)s and poly(carbonate)s. Quantum mechanical calculations indicated preferential attack at the more nucleophilic oxaspirocyclic ring sites. For cured solid polymer samples, the elastic modulus was 2.39 +/- 0.24 GPa and the fracture toughness was 0.73 +/- 0.10 MPa m(1/2). These values were similar to those measured for a cured conventional BISGMA/TEGDMA matrix resin. SIGNIFICANCE: The room-temperature photopolymerization of an aliphatic dioxirane and a potential expanding monomer demonstrates the possibility of making cross-linked copolymer resins with improved polymerization shrinkage characteristics for use in dental composites.