Nature and occurrence of juglone in Juglans nigra L.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1967 L382Master of Scienc

Common Observations for Near-Source Ground Motions and Seismo-Traveling Ionosphere Disturbances Following the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake, Japan

The time history and spatial dependence of seismic-wave propagation on the ground surface and through the ionosphere following the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake were reconstructed from dense seismic networks and from Global Positioning System (GPS) array observations, respectively. Using total electron content (TEC) data recorded by a dense GPS receiver network, the near-source ionosphere perturbations induced by this giant earthquake were analyzed and high-resolution images of seismic-wave propagation in the ionosphere are presented. Similar spatial images of ground motions were reconstructed from observations by a dense seismic array. Observations of this event provide, for the first time, the opportunity to compare near-source ground motions with the near-field seismo-traveling ionosphere disturbance (STID) excited by the ground motions. Based on the results, the nature of the source rupture and seismic-wave propagation are discussed. Both seismic and ionosphere observations indicate that seismic energy propagated radially outward initially from the hypocenter, but that the circular shape of the propagation front became gradually distorted as the source rupture became extended. Coherent wavefronts from the two analyses show contrasting patterns during the later stage of propagation, possibly due to different patterns of spatial variations in the physical properties of the solid earth and of the ionosphere

Transcriptome Analysis of Systems Biology for Schizophrenia

Transcriptome analysis of postmortem brain samples provides more insights to evaluate biological dysfunctions by analysis of differential expression and genetic interactions in schizophrenia. The growing development of new technologies such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) helps to explore detailed and underlying molecular changes from global perspective of view, not only focus in single SNP variants. It is implicated that schizophrenia genetic and protein interactions may give rise to biological dysfunction not only in dopamine dysfunction but also in immune, energy metabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction and hemostasis. Epigenetic investigation of schizophrenia provides important information on how the environmental factors affect the genetic architecture of the disease. DNA methylation plays a pivotal role in etiology for schizophrenia. The schizophrenia differential methylation genes and differential expression genes were analyzed to find the potential protein complexes related to the etiology of schizophrenia from alteration of DNA methylation. The protein complexes and pathways involved in schizophrenia differential methylation network may be responsible for the etiology and potential treatment targets. It is implicated that the interaction between differential expression candidate genes and differential methylation genes may describe the global view of disease mechanisms and it has important roles in the pathogenesis for schizophrenia

Impact of cognitive behavior therapy on osteoarthritis-associated pain, insomnia, depression, fatigue, and physical function in patients with knee/hip osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BackgroundThis meta-analysis aimed at evaluating the efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) against osteoarthritis-associated symptoms in patients with knee/hip osteoarthritis.MethodsMedline, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases were searched from inception to July 2022 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the efficacy of CBT with other treatment approaches in adults with confirmed knee/hip osteoarthritis. The pain intensity (primary outcome) and the secondary outcomes including insomnia severity, sleep efficiency, physical function as well as the severity of depression and fatigue were assessed at two time points (i.e., immediately after treatment and during the follow-up period). The effect size is expressed as standardized mean difference (SMD) with SMDs of < 0.2, 0.2–0.5, and 0.5–0.8, and > 0.8 representing negligible, small, medium, and large effect sizes, respectively.ResultsFifteen RCTs were included for analysis. Immediately after CBT intervention, meta-analysis showed similar treatment effect in pain severity [SMD = –0.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): –0.95 to 0.04, 11 studies, 1557 participants] and other symptoms including depression (SMD = –0.26, 95% CI: –0.58 to 0.06, five studies, 735 participants), fatigue (SMD = –2.44, 95% CI:–6.53 to 1.65, two RCTs, 511 participants), and physical function (SMD = –0.11, 95% CI:–0.25 to 0.02, five RCTs, 720 participants) between CBT and control groups, while there was an improvement in insomnia severity (SMD = –0.65, 95% CI: –1.06 to –0.24, four RCTs, 639 participants, medium treatment effect) and sleep efficiency (SMD = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.59, three RCTs, 352 patients, small treatment effect). During follow-up, CBT improved pain severity (SMD = –0.52, 95% CI: –1.03 to –0.01, eight studies, 1447 participants, medium treatment effect), insomnia (SMD = –0.43, 95% CI: –0.85 to –0.01, three RCTs, 571 participants, small treatment effect), and depression (SMD = –0.39, 95% CI: –0.59 to –0.18, four RCTs, 791 participants, small treatment effect). Nevertheless, sleep efficiency, fatigue, and physical function were not improved in the follow-up period.ConclusionOur results may suggest the durability of CBT-associated treatment benefits, supporting its role as a potential promising alternative or complementary intervention for patients with knee/hip osteoarthritis, especially against pain and insomnia. Future large-scale investigations are warranted to verify our findings.Systematic review registration[https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/], identifier [CRD42022331165]

Validation of bidimensional measurement in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Our previous study showed a close relationship between computed tomography (CT)-derived bidimensional measurement of primary tumor and retropharyngeal nodes (BDMprn) and gross tumor volume of primary tumor and retropharyngeal nodes (GTVprn) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and better prognosis for NPC patients with smaller BDMprn. In this study, we report the results on of a study to validate the use of BDM in a separate cohort of NPC patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We retrospectively reviewed 103 newly diagnosed NPC cases who were treated with radiotherapy/concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) or CCRT with adjuvant chemotherapy from 2002 to 2009. We used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure BDMprn. We calculated overall survival, recurrence-free and distant metastasis-free survival curves and set a BDMprn cut off point to categorize patients into a high- or low-risk group. We then used Cox proportional hazard model to evaluate the prognostic influence of BDMprn after correcting age, gender and chemotherapy status.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After adjusting for age, gender, and chemotherapy status, BDMprn remained an independent prognostic factor for distant metastasis [Hazard ratio (HR) = 1.046; <it>P </it>= 0.042] and overall survival (HR = 1.012; <it>P </it>= 0.012). Patients with BDMprn < 15 cm²had a greater 3-year overall survival rate than those with BDMprn ≧ 15 cm²(92.3% vs. 73.7%; <it>P </it>= 0.009). They also had a greater 3-year distant metastasis-free survival (94% vs.75%; <it>P </it>= 0.034).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The predictive ability of BDMprn was validated in a separate NPC cohort. A BDMprn of 15 cm²can be used to separate NPC patients into high- and low-risk groups and predict survival rates and metastasis potential. It can, therefore, be used as a reference to design clinical trials, predict prognosis, and make treatment decisions.</p