The clinical usefulness of initial serum procalcitonin as an aggravation predictor in a hepatobiliary tract infection at emergency department

Background and Objectives: The ability to predict future clinical deterioration early in patients who present to an emergency care center with a hepatobiliary tract infection is difficult. We studied the clinical usefulness of the initial serum levels of procalcitonin in a hepatobiliary tract infection as an indicator for predicting aggravation in the early stages.Methods: Of the patients who presented with the clinical symptoms of a hepatobiliary tract infection, 99 were diagnosed with a hepatobiliary tract infection by imaging studies and subsequently enrolled in the study. Laboratory tests were obtained in the early stage of disease after presentation to an emergency care center. We assessed and compared the serum levels of many early inflammatory markers (white blood cell [WBC] counts, C‑reactive protein and procalcitonin) between patients whose symptoms were initially stable upon arrival to an emergency care center but then deteriorated to, those whose symptoms remained consistently stable. Thus, we examined if the above serum markers are useful in predicting the possibility of future symptom aggravation.Results: Of a total of 99 patients, 27 were assigned to the symptom aggravation group. The serum levels of WBC counts and C‑reactive protein in the aggravation group were elevated. However, the median value (interquartile range) of procalcitonin was relatively increased at 2.28 (0.41–7.84 ng/ml), demonstrating a significant difference.Conclusions: In conclusion, initial serum levels of procalcitonin might be used as an indicator for aggravation in patients with hepatobiliary tract infection at the emergency department, even though there is hemodynamic stability.Key words: Hepatobiliary tract, infection, procalcitoni

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of SEDL

SEDL (known also as sedlin) is a 140 amino-acid protein with a putative role in endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi transport. Several missense mutations and deletion mutations in the SEDL gene, which result in protein truncation by frame shift, are responsible for spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda, a progressive skeletal disorder. The protein is identical to MIP-2A, which was shown to interact physically with c-myc promotor-binding protein 1 (MBP-1) and relieve the regulatory role of MBP-1 as a general transcription repressor. In order to gain insights into the function of SEDL by structural analysis, the protein was overexpressed and crystallized as a first step. SEDL was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method at 298 K. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic space group C2221, with unit-cell parameters a = 46.69, b = 101.30, c = 66.15 A. The unit cell is likely to contain one molecule of SEDL, with a crystal volume per protein mass (VM) of 2.36 A3 Da-1 and a solvent content of about 47.9% by volume. A native data set to 2.8 A resolution was obtained from a flash-cooled crystal using synchrotron radiation.open1

A new approach for concurrently improving performance of South Korean food waste valorization and renewable energy recovery via dry anaerobic digestion under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Dry semicontinuous anaerobic digestion (AD) of South Korean food waste (FW) under four solid loading rates (SLRs) (2.30–9.21 kg total solids (TS)/m3 day) and at a fixed TS content was compared between two digesters, one each under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. Biogas production and organic matter reduction in both digesters followed similar trends, increasing with rising SLR. Inhibitor (intermediate products of the anaerobic fermentation process) effects on the digesters’ performance were not observed under the studied conditions. In all cases tested, the digesters’ best performance was achieved at the SLR of 9.21 kg TS/m3 day, with 74.02% and 80.98% reduction of volatile solids (VS), 0.87 and 0.90 m3 biogas/kg VSremoved, and 0.65 (65% CH4) and 0.73 (60.02% CH4) m3 biogas/kg VSfed, under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions, respectively. Thermophilic dry AD is recommended for FW treatment in South Korea because it is more efficient and has higher energy recovery potential when compared to mesophilic dry AD

Fibronectin-Containing Extracellular Vesicles Protect Melanocytes against Ultraviolet Radiation-Induced Cytotoxicity.

Skin melanocytes are activated by exposure to UV radiation to secrete melanin-containing melanosomes to protect the skin from UV-induced damage. Despite the continuous renewal of the epidermis, the turnover rate of melanocytes is very slow, and they survive for long periods. However, the mechanisms underlying the survival of melanocytes exposed to UV radiation are not known. Here, we investigated the role of melanocyte-derived extracellular vesicles in melanocyte survival. Network analysis of the melanocyte extracellular vesicle proteome identified the extracellular matrix component fibronectin at a central node, and the release of fibronectin-containing extracellular vesicles was increased after exposure of melanocytes to UVB radiation. Using an anti-fibronectin neutralizing antibody and specific inhibitors of extracellular vesicle secretion, we demonstrated that extracellular vesicles enriched in fibronectin were involved in melanocyte survival after UVB radiation. Furthermore, we observed that in the hyperpigmented lesions of patients with melasma, the extracellular space around melanocytes contained more fibronectin compared with normal skin, suggesting that fibronectin is involved in maintaining melanocytes in pathological conditions. Collectively, our findings suggest that melanocytes secrete fibronectin-containing extracellular vesicles to increase their survival after UVB radiation. These data provide important insight into how constantly stimulated melanocytes can be maintained in pathological conditions such as melasma.1166Ysciescopu

Is lymphovascular invasion a powerful predictor for biochemical recurrence in pT3 N0 prostate cancer?: Results from the K-CaP database

To assess the impact of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) on the risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR) in pT3 N0 prostate cancer, clinical data were extracted from 1,622 patients with pT3 N0 prostate cancer from the K-CaP database. Patients with neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (n = 325) or insufficient pathologic or follow-up data (n = 87) were excluded. The primary endpoint was the oncologic importance of LVI, and the secondary endpoint was the hierarchical relationships for estimating BCR between the evaluated variables. LVI was noted in 260 patients (21.5%) and was significantly associated with other adverse clinicopathologic features. In the multivariate Cox regression analysis, LVI was significantly associated with an increased risk of BCR after adjusting for known prognostic factors. In the Bayesian belief network analysis, LVI and pathologic Gleason score were found to be first-degree associates of BCR, whereas prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, seminal vesicle invasion, perineural invasion, and high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia were considered second-degree associates. In the random survival forest, pathologic Gleason score, LVI, and PSA level were three most important variables in determining BCR of patients with pT3 N0 prostate cancer. In conclusion, LVI is one of the most powerful adverse prognostic factors for BCR in patients with pT3 N0 prostate cancer.1132Ysciescopu

Membrane-Associated Transporter Protein (MATP) Regulates Melanosomal pH and Influences Tyrosinase Activity

The SLC45A2 gene encodes a Membrane-Associated Transporter Protein (MATP). Mutations of this gene cause oculocutaneous albinism type 4 (OCA4). However, the molecular mechanism of its action in melanogenesis has not been elucidated. Here, we discuss the role of MATP in melanin production. The SLC45A2 gene is highly enriched in human melanocytes and melanoma cell lines, and its protein, MATP, is located in melanosomes. The knockdown of MATP using siRNAs reduced melanin content and tyrosinase activity without any morphological change in melanosomes or the expression of melanogenesis-related proteins. Interestingly, the knockdown of MATP significantly lowered the melanosomal pH, as verified through DAMP analysis, suggesting that MATP regulates melanosomal pH and therefore affects tyrosinase activity. Finally, we found that the reduction of tyrosinase activity associated with the knockdown of MATP was readily recovered by copper treatment in the in vitro L-DOPA oxidase activity assay of tyrosinase. Considering that copper is an important element for tyrosinase activity and that its binding to tyrosinase depends on melanosomal pH, MATP may play an important role in regulating tyrosinase activity via controlling melanosomal pH.112820Ysciescopu

Lack of association between PRNP 1368 polymorphism and Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Polymorphisms of the prion protein gene (<it>PRNP</it>) at codons 129 and 219 play an important role in the susceptibility to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), and might be associated with other neurodegenerative disorders. Several recent reports indicate that polymorphisms outside the coding region of <it>PRNP </it>modulate the expression of prion protein and are associated with sporadic CJD, although other studies failed to show an association. These reports involved the polymorphism <it>PRNP </it>1368 which is located upstream from <it>PRNP </it>exon 1. In a case-controlled protocol, we assessed the possible association between the <it>PRNP </it>1368 polymorphism and either Alzheimer's disease (AD) or vascular dementia (VaD).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To investigate whether the <it>PRNP </it>1368 polymorphism is associated with the occurrence of AD or VaD in the Korean population, we compared the genotype, allele, and haplotype frequencies of the <it>PRNP </it>1368 polymorphism in 152 AD patients and 192 VaD patients with frequencies in 268 healthy Koreans.</p> <p>Results and conclusion</p> <p>Significant differences in genotype, allele and haplotype frequencies of <it>PRNP </it>1368 polymorphism were not observed between AD and normal controls. There were no significant differences in the genotype and allele frequencies of the <it>PRNP </it>1368 polymorphism between Korean VaD patients and normal controls. However, in the haplotype analysis, haplotype Ht5 was significantly over-represented in Korean VaD patients. This was the first genetic association study of a polymorphism outside the coding region of <it>PRNP </it>in relation to AD and VaD.</p

Ballistic Josephson junctions in edge-contacted graphene

Hybrid graphene-superconductor devices have attracted much attention since the early days of graphene research. So far, these studies have been limited to the case of diffusive transport through graphene with poorly defined and modest quality graphene-superconductor interfaces, usually combined with small critical magnetic fields of the superconducting electrodes. Here we report graphene based Josephson junctions with one-dimensional edge contacts of Molybdenum Rhenium. The contacts exhibit a well defined, transparent interface to the graphene, have a critical magnetic field of 8 Tesla at 4 Kelvin and the graphene has a high quality due to its encapsulation in hexagonal boron nitride. This allows us to study and exploit graphene Josephson junctions in a new regime, characterized by ballistic transport. We find that the critical current oscillates with the carrier density due to phase coherent interference of the electrons and holes that carry the supercurrent caused by the formation of a Fabry-P\'{e}rot cavity. Furthermore, relatively large supercurrents are observed over unprecedented long distances of up to 1.5 $\mu$m. Finally, in the quantum Hall regime we observe broken symmetry states while the contacts remain superconducting. These achievements open up new avenues to exploit the Dirac nature of graphene in interaction with the superconducting state.Comment: Updated version after peer review. Includes supplementary material and ancillary file with source code for tight binding simulation