The anticancer effects of the different analogs of cysteine deleted tachyplesin on A549 lung cancer cells

It has been previously shown that cysteine-deleted tachyplesin (CDT) and its many analogs display antibacterial effects. However, little has been said about its possible anticancer effects and which analogs serve as the best inhibitors of the growing cancer cells. This research focused on CDT and four of its analogs: All D-CDT, Reverse DCDT, Reverse CDT, and Serine-Control CDT. MTT assays against the A549 adenocarcinoma lung cancer cell line showed All D-CDT to be the most effective analog in preventing cancer cell growth. Hyaluronidase and apoptosis assays were performed to better understand the mechanism by which the All D-CDT is preventing cancer cell survival. From this data it was seen that the All D-CDT analog inhibits cancer cell growth via a hyaluronan interaction but it does not induce cellular apoptosis. This makes the analog of CDT a prospective treatment for cancer

The luminescence of Sm2+ in alkaline earth borophosphates

The temperature-dependent luminescence of Sm2+ ions in MBPO5 (M = Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+) was studied. At low temperature, Sm2+ in this series shows 4f(6) --> 4f(6) luminescence with only a single emission line observed for the D-5(0) --> F-7(0) transition, revealing that only one crystallographic cationic site is available for Sm2+ in all the hosts. With increasing temperature, the emission intensity of the D-5(0) --> F-7(0) transition increases whereas that of the D-5(0) --> 7F(1) transitions decreases. The D-5(1) --> F-7(0) transitions of Sm2+ were observed in BaBPO5 and its intensity increases with increasing temperature. At 450 K, a broad band of the 4f(5)5d --> 4f(6) luminescent transition of Sm2+ in SrBPO5 and BaBPO5 with maximum at similar to600 ran appears due to the thermal population. The lifetime of the D-5(0) --> F-7(0) transition Sm2+ was recorded at different temperatures, showing a single exponential decay for in SrBPO5 and BaBPO5,but a nonsingle-exponential decay in CaBPO5. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Modulation of the cutaneous silent period in the upper-limb with whole-body instability

poster abstractThe silent period (CSP) induced by cutaneous electrical stimulation of the digits has been shown to be task-dependent, at least in the grasping muscles of the hand. However, it is unknown if the CSP is adaptable throughout muscles of the entire upper limb, in particular when the task requirements are substantially altered. The purpose of the present study was to examine the characteristics of the CSP in several upper limb muscles when introducing increased whole-body instability. The CSP was evoked in 10 healthy individuals with electrical stimulation of digit II of the right hand when the subjects were seated, standing, or standing on a wobble board while maintaining a background elbow extension contraction with the triceps brachii of ~5% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) strength. The first excitatory response (E1), first inhibitory response (CSP), and second excitatory response (E2) were quantified as the percent increase from baseline and by their individual durations. The results showed that the level of CSP suppression significantly decreased (52.3 ± 7.7% to 66.2 ± 13.2% of baseline, p = 0.019) and there was a trend for the CSP duration to decrease (p = 0.053) in the triceps brachii during the wobble board task. For the wobble board task the amount of cutaneous afferent inhibition of EMG activity in the triceps brachii decreased; which is proposed to be due to differential weighting of cutaneous feedback relative to the corticospinal drive, most likely due to presynaptic inhibition, to meet the demands of the unstable task

Luminescence Properties of Sm2+-Activated Barium Chloroborates

The luminescence properties of Sm2+-activated stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric Ba2B5O9Cl were investigated from 16 to 450 K. In stoichiometric Ba2B5O9Cl, the emission spectra of Sm2+ are composed of 4f6-4f6 transitions over the 16-450K temperature range studied. Luminescence was observed from Sm2+ in four inequivalent cationic sites at 16K andtwo inequivalent sites at room temperature. In the non-stoichiometric compound, the emission is characterized by 4f6-4f6 transitions at low temperature and 4f->5d1-4f6 transitions at high temperature. The Sm2+ doped into the Ca2+ and Sr 2+ analogues in the M2B5O9Cl series shows the broadband 4f->5d1-4f6 luminescence in both the stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric compounds due to the increased ligand field caused by the smaller ionic radii of the metal ions

Comparison of Primary Care Physician Reimbursement Rates in the United States

With a growing shortage of physicians, particularly primary care physicians, the issue of adequate pay in Hawai‘i is increasingly important. Anecdotal reports of low pay in Hawai‘i have rarely been substantiated. Data from FAIR Health, a company that tracks private insurance reimbursement rates, is compared across the United States (US) for the CPT code 99213. In addition, FAIR Health and Medicare rates are compared for cities with both similar and disparate cost of living to Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i is in the second lowest quintile for payment in the US for private insurances, and providers are reimbursed significantly lower than in cities with similar cost of living by both Medicare and private insurances. Methods for increasing payment to physicians in Hawai‘i are essential to recruiting the necessary workforce. Revising payment methodologies that increase pay for services in areas of unmet need, revising Medicare Geographic Price Cost Indices to better balance pay in areas of need, and making use of the 10% Medicare Bonus Program for physicians working in Health Professions Shortage Areas are first steps to creating a sustainable plan for physician payment in the future

Epidemiology of Chronic Pain in Ukraine: Findings from the World Mental Health Survey

Chronic pain can pose a serious challenge in everyday life for many individuals globally, especially in developing countries, but studies explicitly exploring risk factors of chronic pain beyond demographic characteristics using survey data have been scarce. To address this problem, this study analyzed World Health Organization data on chronic pain in Ukraine to explore demographic, psychological, and treatment perception-related risk factors to chronic pain. We replicated previous reports of older age, female sex, married status, inadequate financial resources, and comorbidity of other physical conditions as significant demographic risk factors for chronic pain diagnosis but not necessarily for severe pain. We also found evidence for psychological risk factors and treatment perceptions as significant predictors for chronic pain diagnosis and its severity. These results provide a first step in examining beyond demographic risk factors for chronic pain diagnosis and severity and, instead, assessing potential psychological risk factors

Cutaneous Silent Period Characteristics are Dependent on the Organization of Upper Limb Muscles

abstractCutaneous silent periods (CSPs) are inhibitory spinal reflexes mediated by small diameter A-δ fibers, serving to protect the body from harmful stimuli (Leis et al., 1992; Kofler, 2003). Currently, CSPs are believed to only inhibit the extensor muscles of the upper limb halting motions such as reaching, while exciting flexor muscles to withdraw the limb. The present study sought to determine if CSPs could be evoked in both extensor and flexor muscles of the upper limb, thereby providing further insight into the organization of the spinal circuitry associated with this reflex. 22 subjects performed contractions with seven muscles from the hand, forearm, upper arm, and shoulder while muscle activity was recorded with electromyography. Subjects were electrically stimulated (10x perceptual threshold) with 20 individual pulses delivered to each digit II (radial nerve) and digit V (ulnar nerve) of the right hand during each contraction. Results demonstrated significant main effects (p<0.001) across muscles for the key dependent variables of the CSP: onsets (F[6,21] = 15.42, p <0.001), durations (F[6,21] = 65.39, p <0.001), and % of suppression (F[6,21] = 91, p <0.001), similarly for both nerves stimulated. Distal muscles presented with the earliest onset times, longest duration of inhibition, and largest amount of inhibition. Moving proximally, the onset times became later with duration and the amount of inhibition decreasing. Linear regressions showed that the distance of the muscle from the spinal cord (cm) was a significant predictor of the duration (digit II r2 = 0.43; digit V r2 = 0.46) and amount of inhibition (digit II r2 = 0.51; digit V r2 = 0.48). The results demonstrate the occurrence of CSPs throughout the upper limb, with the greatest inhibition of distal muscles, leading us to hypothesize that the corticospinal tract, specifically direct cortico-motorneuronal connections, are directly influenced by the inhibitory input