Yearly Archives: 2017
Reducing cellular stress may prevent diabetes complications
Poorly controlled diabetes is often associated with various complications including blindness, kidney failure and pain secondary to damaged nerves. However, the most common complications are those related to large blood vessel disease such as heart attacks and
Estimates of the impact of a new drug on US health care budgets: are published studies done well?
An analysis to estimate the impact of a new drug on health care budgets (budget impact analysis) is desired by many US health plans before adding a new drug to their formulary and providing insurance coverage. However,
Uncomplicated type B acute aortic dissection: endovascular repair or best medical treatment?
Patients with uncomplicated type B acute aortic dissection (type B-AAD) are commonly treated with conservative therapy (best medical treatment [BMT]) although the long-term outcome of medical therapy alone is suboptimal, with a reported 30% to 50% mortality
Training the next generation of global health leaders in the Pacific Rim
Global health is the term applied to a rapidly growing area of research, training, and application of public health approaches on a global scale. The solutions to current and future global health problems will require a highly-trained,
Molecular cardiology: refocusing on diastolic (dys)function
The pumping of the heart consists of alternate contractions (systole) and relaxations (diastole). The inability of the left ventricle (LV) to eject (systolic dysfunction) or fill (diastolic dysfunction) blood most frequently leads to heart failure (HF) with
A highly flexible and stretchable energy storage device
With rapid development of portable and wearable electronics, highly flexible and stretchable energy conversion and/or storage devices are required to be used as power sources. As one of the most important energy storage devices, supercapacitors (also called
Lessons from a small outbreak of poliomyelitis
The campaign to eradicate poliomyelitis, a paralytic viral neuroinfection, launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1988, resulted in the drop of the disease incidence from several hundred thousands cases per year to less than one
IL-1 Receptor 8: a novel player in immunothrombosis
In addition to be a key component of blood hemostasis and coagulation, platelets have recently been implicated in thrombotic events associated with immune dysfunctions or inflammation. Platelets participate to innate immune responses and inflammation by releasing a
Multitasking in navigation in desert ants: combining multiple strategies
The highly social ants live in nests, and all their foragers must navigate their way home after finding food. Not surprisingly then, these small-brained travelers display proficient navigational prowess. Much studied are desert ants. They keep track
Using Rh immune globulin in pregnancy to prevent Rh disease
In addition to the ABO type, Rh(D) is also a major antigen, an antibody-generating protein, on the red blood cell (RBC) surface. An Rh(D)-negative person, one who does not have the Rh(D) antigen, can form anti-D antibodies
Male infertility and dental health status: the missing link?
More than 48.5 million couples worldwide are unable to conceive, and at least 40-50% of the cases are associated with male factor infertility (MFI), affecting approximately 31 million men worldwide. MFI is defined as alterations in sperm
Identification of new medicines for novel pathogen protein kinases with substrate-dependent assays
Protein kinases (PKs) are enzymes that transfer a phosphate group, a process called phosphorylation, from the ATP to another protein, which acts as a phosphoacceptor (Fig. 1). Phosphorylation of proteins regulate their activity, and these reactions are
A new hypothesis of autoimmune diseases: stress and the nucleolus
Autoimmune diseases (AIDs) have complicated pathologies influenced by genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. Mechanisms of AIDs remain mysteries but numerous hypotheses have been proposed. Several hypotheses are discussed to present their unique explanations and to demonstrate that
MicroRNAs identify high-risk colon cancer patients
Choosing the optimal anticancer treatment for each patient requires proper disease staging. Staging is usually assessed according to the TNM system: tumour size (T), number of nearby lymph nodes affected (N), and metastasis, or spread to other
Perpendicular-plane configuration to prevent backward electron transfer
In organic chemistry, the outcomes of thermal and photochemical reactions are different. Reactions that do not proceed even at 200 °C proceed photochemically below room temperature, e.g., photosynthesis, the conversion of light (solar) energy to chemical energy
Reading “don’t cut the bread” triggers motor inhibition in the brain
All languages have negation markers, which allow the speakers to deny something, for instance the presence of an object (there is not bread), a feature (John is not cleaver), an action (you do not play piano), and
Curiosity and flexibility help birds to master rapid environmental change
Birds are one of the most mobile organisms on earth due to their ability to fly. This allows them to use areas far apart for breeding and non-breeding to exploit the best conditions throughout the year. For
Safety of iron oxide nanoparticles – a regulatory perspective
The ample domain of clinical as well as theranostic applications of super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles demands the need for establishing a complete toxicological profile of these nano particles in a regulatory perspective prior to its intended
Activity Theory: quest for the unattainable and hope for the future
This paper addresses current problems of theoretical psychology focusing on future perspectives of the Activity Theory (AT). AT (Leontiev, etc.) is the most internationally known development of Russian psychology. AT is rooted in a long European philosophical
