Effects of the integrative mind-body intervention on depression, sleep disturbances and plasma IL-6

Letter to the Editorpublished_or_final_versio

Electroacupuncture provides a new approach to neuroprotection in rats with induced glaucoma

Objectives: To investigate, using multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG), the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on retinal function in rats with experimental glaucoma. Design and subjects: Glaucoma was induced in the right eyes of 15 adult female Sprague-Dawley rats by laser photocoagulation for three quarters of the perilimbal and episcleral vessels. The left eye of each rat was used as the control. The animals were divided into 3 groups: no treatment (non-EA control group), 2 Hz EA group, and 100 Hz EA group. EA treatment at different frequencies can produce different levels of analgesia and hence the effect of EA with different frequencies on glaucoma treatment was investigated. Both eyes of each rat in the EA experimental groups received 3 EA treatment sessions each week for 4 weeks. The retinal function was measured using mfERG after 4 weeks of EA treatment. Results: There was no significant difference in the amplitude (both N1 trough and P1 peak) of mfERG first- order kernel response between the treatment and control groups. In determining the waveform characteristics by the ratio of N1 amplitude to P1 amplitude (N/P ratio), obvious differences were found in the N/P ratio between the control eyes and the glaucoma eyes in the non-EA group and the 100 Hz EA treatment group, but similar values in the N/P ratio were observed between the control eyes and the glaucoma eyes in the 2 Hz EA treatment group. The waveform from the eyes with glaucoma was deformed in both the non-EA group and the 100 Hz EA group, but the waveform from the glaucomatous eye was preserved in the 2 Hz EA group. Conclusions: Application of EA at 2 Hz provides neuroprotection by preserving retinal function in rats with experimental glaucoma. Low frequency EA may be an alternative therapy in the treatment of glaucoma. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.published_or_final_versio

Evaluation of human epididymal secretory protein E4 (HE4) for monitoring for ovarian cancer recurrence

INTRODUCTION: Serum HE4, a new biomarker for ovarian cancer, was shown to have a better sensitivity for detecting ovarian cancer compared to Ca 125, especially in early disease. In this study, we measured the HE4 levels in patients who had relapsed ovarian cancer in an attempt to elucidate its role in disease monitoring and recurrence detection. METHODS: HE4 levels were measured at pre-treatment, immediately post ...postprin

Digital Literacy Learning In Higher Education Through Digital Storytelling Approach

It is necessary to develop digital literacy skills with which students can communicate and express their ideas effectively using digital media. The educational sectors around the world are beginning to incorporate digital literacy into the curriculum. Digital storytelling, one of the possible classroom activities, is an approach which may help engage and motivate students to learn digital literacy skills. To investigate this approach, the present small-scale study employs the methods including interviewing and analysing the artefacts of three students selected from a purposive sample on a multimedia course. The findings indicate that the three students have improved in terms of three aspects of digital literacy skills, namely, digital competence, digital usage and digital transformation regardless of their prior knowledge and levels of digital literacy.postprin

1H MRS of the visual cortex under chronic ocular hypertension

Session 36: Neurochemical Modeling & Profiling of Brain Metabolism - Oral presentationThis study aims to employ in vivo 1H MRS to monitor the metabolic changes in the visual cortex in an experimental model of chronic glaucoma. Five Sprague-Dawley rats were prepared to induce ocular hypertension unilaterally in the right eye by photocoagulating the episcleral and limbal veins using an argon laser. 1H MRS was performed to each side of the visual cortex 6 weeks after laser treatment. The results of this study suggest that glaucoma is associated with alterations in the metabolism of choline-containing compounds in the normally-appearing visual cortex. Measurement of the Cho:Cr reduction in the visual cortex may be a noninvasive biomarker for the disease.published_or_final_versionThe 17th Scientific Meeting & Exhibition of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), Honolulu, HI., 18-24 April 2009. In Proceedings of ISMRM 17th Scientific Meeting & Exhibition, 2009, p. 34

Combining genome-wide association mapping and transcriptional networks to identify novel genes controlling glucosinolates in Arabidopsis thaliana.

BackgroundGenome-wide association (GWA) is gaining popularity as a means to study the architecture of complex quantitative traits, partially due to the improvement of high-throughput low-cost genotyping and phenotyping technologies. Glucosinolate (GSL) secondary metabolites within Arabidopsis spp. can serve as a model system to understand the genomic architecture of adaptive quantitative traits. GSL are key anti-herbivory defenses that impart adaptive advantages within field trials. While little is known about how variation in the external or internal environment of an organism may influence the efficiency of GWA, GSL variation is known to be highly dependent upon the external stresses and developmental processes of the plant lending it to be an excellent model for studying conditional GWA.Methodology/principal findingsTo understand how development and environment can influence GWA, we conducted a study using 96 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions, >40 GSL phenotypes across three conditions (one developmental comparison and one environmental comparison) and ∼230,000 SNPs. Developmental stage had dramatic effects on the outcome of GWA, with each stage identifying different loci associated with GSL traits. Further, while the molecular bases of numerous quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling GSL traits have been identified, there is currently no estimate of how many additional genes may control natural variation in these traits. We developed a novel co-expression network approach to prioritize the thousands of GWA candidates and successfully validated a large number of these genes as influencing GSL accumulation within A. thaliana using single gene isogenic lines.Conclusions/significanceTogether, these results suggest that complex traits imparting environmentally contingent adaptive advantages are likely influenced by up to thousands of loci that are sensitive to fluctuations in the environment or developmental state of the organism. Additionally, while GWA is highly conditional upon genetics, the use of additional genomic information can rapidly identify causal loci en masse

A study looking at the role of food causing early and delayed aggravation of atopic dermatitis in Chinese children

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Reproducibility of transmission line measurement of bipolar I-V characteristics of MOSFET's

Reproducibility of transmission line (TL) measurement of bipolar current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of grounded gate MOSFET's has been examined. It is observed that the reproducibility is related to the duration of the pulses generated by the transmission line, and a longer pulse duration gives a better reproducibility. For a short pulse duration, it is more difficult to reproduce the I-V characteristics in the triggering region than in other regions (i.e., the pretriggering and snapback regions).published_or_final_versio

Study protocol on comparative effectiveness of mindfulness meditation and qigong on psychophysiological outcomes for patients with colorectal cancer: a randomized controlled trial

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Current concepts in the management of endometrial carcinoma

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