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Background The aim of this study was to verify the safety and feasibility of our selection criteria for middle hepatic vein (MHV) reconstruction in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) using right lobe grafts. Methods A total of 153 LDLTs were performed using right lobe grafts in a tertiary hospital from 2006 to 2016. Among them, 52 cases without MHV reconstruction were compared with 101 recipients who underwent LDLT using right lobe graft with MHV reconstruction. Both groups were compared regarding indications for reconstruction, short-term and long-term complications, operative details, and outcomes. Results The two groups differed only in cold ischemic time (108.19 ± 49.81 minutes vs 146.37 ± 58.74 minutes) preoperatively. Short-term posttransplant outcomes, long-term overall survival, and long-term disease-free survival showed no significant differences between the 2 groups. After propensity score matching for both groups with and without MHV reconstruction to eliminate selection bias, the 2 groups were comparable. Conclusions We found that our selection criteria for performing MHV reconstruction in LDLT using right lobe graft were feasible and safe. A routine MHV reconstruction is not necessary if the right lobe graft graft-to-recipient weight ratio is ≥1.0, right hepatic vein draining territory volume is ≥0.8, and recipient Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score is

The tumor suppressor p53 is involved in cadmium (Cd)-induced apoptosis and autophagy. However, the regulatory mechanisms of p53 in Cd-induced kidney injury are not well established. Here, we report the role of autophagy in Cd-induced p53 induction in human proximal tubular cells (HK-2). HK-2 cells treated with Cd induced the expression of p53, DNA damage autophagy modulator (DRAM), and Bcl-2-associated X protein (BAX), as well as caused poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP-1) cleavage. Cd exposure also induced autophagy with the accumulation of monomeric p62 and multiple high molecular weight form (HMW)-p62. The expression levels of p53, p62, microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3)-1, and LC3-II were similar in the sense that they increased up to 12 h and then gradually decreased. DRAM and BAX levels began to increase post autophagy induction and continued to increase, indicating that autophagy preceded apoptosis. While the genetic knockdown of p53 downregulated HWM-p62, DRAM, and BAX, the expression levels of these proteins were upregulated by p53 overexpression. The genetic knockdown of p62 downregulated p53, autophagy, DRAM, and BAX. The inhibition of autophagy through pharmacological and genetic knockdown reduced p53 and inhibited Cd-induced apoptosis. Collectively, Cd induces apoptosis through p53-mediated DRAM-BAX signaling, which can be regulated by autophagy.

Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), a benign rheumatic disorder, requires long-term glucocorticoid therapy, which could be associated with osteoporosis. In the present study, we compared bone mineral density (BMD), trabecular bone score (TBS) and frequencies of vertebral fracture (VF) among patients with PMR or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and controls.Fifty-three postmenopausal women with PMR aged 50 yr or older were eligible for inclusion in this study. Subjects in RA (n = 106) and control (n = 106) groups were selected by propensity score matching with controlling age, body mass index and use of anti-osteoporotic agents.The frequency of VF in patients with PMR (30.2%) was significantly higher than those in patients with RA (13.2 %) and controls (13.2%, p = 0.017). The mean TBS of patients with PMR (1.317 ± 0.092) was significantly lower than those of patients with RA (1.336 ± 0.089) and the controls (1.373 ± 0.073, p0.001). In receiver operating characteristic analysis for VF in patients with PMR, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.759 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.601-0.918, p0.001) for TBS and 0.618 (95% CI = 0.442-0.795, p0.001) for L-spine BMD. The AUCs were 0.760 (95% CI = 0.630-0.891, p ≤ 0.001) and 0.767 (95% CI 0.627-0.907, p0.001) for femur neck and total hip BMD, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified the factor associated with VF of patients with PMR as a lower TBS (Odds ratio: 0.000, 95% CI: 0.000, 0.754, p = 0.043).TBS could be a supplementary tool for discriminating osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal patients with PMR.

0.8(Bi0.5,Na0.5)TiO3-0.2SrTiO3 (BNT-0.2ST) thin films, with thicknesses ranging from 90 to 364 nm, were fabricated on platinized silicon substrates by sol-gel method. These films were investigated by switching spectroscopy piezoresponse force microscope (SS-PFM) as a function of frequency at room temperature, revealing the enhanced ferroelectric response in ∼ 210 nm film at all frequencies (0.1 Hz - 1.5 Hz). This enhancement was ascribed to the largest thermally-activated stress at such thicknesses generated during film fabrications. As the temperature of the investigated films increases from room temperature to 200 oC, the piezoelectric parameters were obtained from SS-PFM, such as switching polarization (Rs), coercive bias (V0), work of switching (As), maximum strain (Smax), and negative strain (Sneg), indicating an occurrence of phase transition from ferroelectrics to relaxors. This work revealed that thickness plays a crucial role for ferroelectric response and temperature-dependent phase transition in BNT-0.2ST films, since it affects the stress state and switching behavior.

Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of noninvasive intravesical instillation of onabotulinum toxin-A (OBTX-A) through systematic review and meta-analysis. Recently, several studies of noninvasive intravesical instillation of OBTX-A have been published. However, its efficacy is not well validated yet compared to well-known efficacy of minimally invasive intravesical injection of OBTX-A. Method Systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to evaluate the efficacy of noninvasive intravesical instillation of OBTX-A in patients with overactive bladder and interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome by measuring outcomes such as urgency episode per 72 hours, frequency per 72 hours, urgency urinary incontinence, voided volume (VV), postvoided residual volume, maximum flow rate, and patient perception of bladder condition. Result Six trials in 4 studies that compared instillation of OBTX-A and placebo involving 248 patients (121 experimental and 127 controls) were included for final data extraction. Instillation of OBTX-A significantly increased VV, with a mean difference of 38.48 (95% confidence interval: 76.05, 0.92) compared to the placebo group. However, other outcomes showed statistically insignificant changes. Major adverse events were not reported in the group receiving intravesical instillation of OBTX-A. Conclusion Intravesical instillation of OBTX-A showed limited efficacy with improvement of VV for treatment of overactive bladder or interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome. More studies are needed to overcome the efficacy of current noninvasive bladder instillation of OBTX-A regarding effective drug transport.

(1-x)(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-xSrTiO3 (BNT-xST) (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4) thin films were fabricated using a sol-gel technique on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates, which were investigated by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and Raman spectroscopy. The composition-induced phase transition was analyzed by acquiring structural variations and the domain distribution on a local scale. Raman spectra showed phonon anomalies with peak broadening and shifting when increasing SrTiO3 (ST) concentrations were used. Changes in the domain morphology with changes in the composition were observed, and grains smaller than 0.5 µm were observed at lower concentrations of x = 0–0.25, while larger grains appeared with increasing ST contents. The switching spectroscopy PFM (SS-PFM) results supported a ferroelectric (FE) to relaxor ferroelectric (RFE) phase transition at approximately x ≈ 0.3 by means of analyzing the parameters as a function of the composition including the piezoresponse parameters of hysteresis loops (Dmax, Drem) and amplitude butterfly loops (Stotal, Sneg). Hence, these results demonstrated that the composition-driven FE to RFE phase transition behavior, which is consistent with the localized response behavior, is dependent on the ST content in bulk BNT-xST ceramics.

Antioxidant enzymes are related to oral diseases. We investigated the roles of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and catalase in cadmium (Cd)-induced oxidative stress and the underlying molecular mechanism in oral cancer cells. Exposing YD8 cells to Cd reduced the expression levels of catalase and superoxide dismutase 1/2 and induced the expression of HO-1 as well as autophagy and apoptosis, which were reversed by N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC). Cd-exposed YD10B cells exhibited milder effects than YD8 cells, indicating that Cd sensitivity is associated with antioxidant enzymes and autophagy. Autophagy inhibition via pharmacologic and genetic modulations enhanced Cd-induced HO-1 expression, caspase-3 cleavage, and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Ho-1 knockdown increased autophagy and apoptosis. Hemin treatment partially suppressed Cd-induced ROS production and apoptosis, but enhanced autophagy and CHOP expression, indicating that autophagy induction is associated with cellular stress. Catalase inhibition by pharmacological and genetic modulations increased Cd-induced ROS production, autophagy, and apoptosis, but suppressed HO-1, indicating that catalase is required for HO-1 induction. p38 inhibition upregulated Cd-induced phospho-JNK and catalase, but suppressed HO-1, autophagy, apoptosis. JNK suppression exhibited contrary results, enhancing the expression of phospho-p38. Co-suppression of p38 and JNK1 failed to upregulate catalase and procaspase-3, which were upregulated by JNK1 overexpression. Overall, the balance between the responses of p38 and JNK activation to Cd appears to have an important role in maintaining cellular homeostasis via the regulation of antioxidant enzymes and autophagy induction. In addition, the upregulation of catalase by JNK1 activation can play a critical role in cell protection against Cd-induced oxidative stress.

Objectives Wnt/β-catenin signaling has a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The present study aimed to determine whether genetic variation in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is associated with the development and/or progression of HCC and the survival of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated HCC. Design and methods We assessed seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the AXIN1, AXIN2, CTNNB1, and WNT2 genes in 245 patients with HBV-associated HCC and 483 chronic HBV carriers without HCC. We analyzed the association of each SNP with HCC development or progression and overall survival. Results The CTNNB1 rs3864004 A allele was associated with a decreased risk of HCC development (P = 0.049). Haplotype analysis revealed a significantly higher frequency of CTNNB1 G-A/G-A haplotype at rs3864004 and rs4135385 positions in patients with HCC than in chronic HBV carriers without HCC (P = 0.042). The AXIN1 rs1805105 T > C SNP was associated with small tumor size and early tumor stage and the WNT2 rs39315 G allele was associated with advanced tumor stage in HCC. In Kaplan–Meier analysis, carriers of the AXIN1 rs214252 C allele showed longer survival than those with the TT genotype (P = 0.020). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, absence of CTNNB1 haplotype A-A at rs3864004 and rs4135385 positions and advanced tumor stage were independent poor predictors of patient survival in patients with HCC. Conclusion These findings suggest that the genetic polymorphisms in CTNNB1 gene might affect tumor development and survival in patients with HBV-associated HCC.

In this paper, we present the development and demonstration of a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel-cell-battery hybrid system for the propulsion of a 20-m-long tourist boat. The PEM fuel-cell-battery hybrid system was developed by integrating PEM fuel cells with Li-ion batteries to supply electric power to the waterjet propulsion system and auxiliary equipment of the boat, which was operated in coastal waters. The PEM fuel cells and Li-ion batteries generated an electric power of 50 kW and stored an energy of 47 kWh, respectively. All of the system components, including the PEM fuel-cell modules, hydrogen storage tanks, DC–DC converters, Li-ion battery packs, and battery charger were newly developed and pre-tested for installation onboard, and the boat was built using an aluminum alloy to arrange the developed PEM fuel-cell-battery hybrid system inside of it. The first fuel-cell-powered boat in Korea was successfully demonstrated in the coastal waters of Busan, Korea. The demonstration exhibited the reliable operation of the fuel-cell-battery hybrid system and boat speeds of 6.6–7.8 knots at a power output of ∼85 kW.

Following nerve injury, inflammatory and algesic mediators are released. This neuroinflammatory outbreak causes neuronal damage and chronic neuropathic pain. Urinary trypsin inhibitor (ulinastatin, UTI), which has anti-inflammatory properties and neuroprotective effects, is used to lower the levels of inflammatory factors during surgery. This study evaluated the effect of ulinastatin in a rat model of spinal nerve ligation (SNL). Neuropathic pain was induced by L5 and L6 SNL in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were divided into three groups: group N (control) received normal saline through the tail vein for three days immediately following SNL, group U pre received ulinastatin (50,000 U/kg) intravenously for three days immediately following SNL, and group U post received ulinastatin (50,000 U/kg) intravenously for three days from the 3rd day following SNL. The paw withdrawal threshold was examined and the development of mechanical allodynia was confirmed with a behavioral test using a von Frey filament three days following SNL. On the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 14th, and 28th day following SNL, the paw withdrawal threshold was examined and the levels of inflammatory mediators (i.e., tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α], interleukin-1β [IL-1β], and interleukin-6 [IL-6]) were measured by ELISA. The paw withdrawal threshold was significantly increased in the rats from group U pre compared with the rats from groups N and U post until the 7th post-SNL day (P0.05). The levels of IL-6 also were significantly decreased in the rats from group U pre compared with the rats from group N and U post until the 7th post-SNL day (P0.05). Ulinastatin increased the paw withdrawal threshold following SNL when it was administered before the development of neuropathic pain, and may attenuate the development of neuropathic pain.

We investigated the effect of inner electrode composition on the microstructure and electromechanical properties of Bi 0.5 (Na 0.82 K 0.18 ) 0.5 TiO 3 (BNKT) multilayer ceramic actuators. Using tape-casting and screen printing techniques, multilayered laminates were prepared by stacking green sheets of Nb-modified BNKT ceramic layers with AgPd (70/30 in weight ratio) thick films as the inner electrode. After co-firing at temperatures of 1100–1140 °C for 4 h in air, the multilayered structure revealed significant camber as well as cracks due to the mismatch in thermal shrinkage between the ceramic and the AgPd layer. However, the addition of 10 wt% (K 0.47 Na 0.51 Li 0.02 )(Nb 0.8 Ta 0.2 )O 3 (KNLNT) powder into the inner electrode markedly suppressed the generation of co-firing-induced defects. More surprisingly, the normalized electric-field induced strain ( S max / E max ) of BNKT multilayer actuators was enhanced from 110 pm/V to 350 pm/V by adding ceramic KNLNT into the AgPd inner electrode.

The fusiform gyrus is involved pathologically at an early stage of the amnestic form of mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and is also known to be involved in the perceptual stage of face processing. We assessed face perception in patients with aMCI to determine if this cognitive skill was impaired. We compared 12 individuals (4 men) with aMCI and 12 age- and education-matched healthy controls on the ability to discriminate changes in the spatial configuration or color of the eyes or the mouth in faces. Patients with aMCI performed less quickly and accurately for all changes on trials with limited viewing duration. With unlimited duration, they could achieve normal perceptual accuracy for configural changes to the mouth, but remained impaired for changes to eye color or configuration. Patients with aMCI show deficits in face perception that are more pronounced for the highly salient ocular region, a pattern similar to that seen in acquired prosopagnosia. This form of perceptual impairment may be an early marker of additional cognitive deficits beyond memory in aMCI.

B-type brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels increase during myocardial ischemia. Here, the authors undertook to evaluate the correlation between changes in plasma BNP levels during exercise and the presence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD). The study subjects consisted of 159 hospitalized patients with a normal systolic function. Patients were allocated to a control group (N = 101, comprising patients with coronary artery stenosis of50%) or to a CAD group (N = 58, comprising patients with stenosis ofor = 50% or a greater coronary artery lesion). In addition, the CAD group was further subdivided into a single-vessel disease (VD) subgroup (N = 31) and a multi-VD subgroup (N = 27). All 159 study subjects underwent coronary angiography (CAG), and plasma BNP levels were measured before and immediately after exercise. A comparative study of BNP levels in the control and CAD groups before and after exercise revealed that BNP levels in the CAD group were significantly higher [22.4 (5.0-28.5) vs. 54.3 (13.1-74.6), P = 0.000; 35.0 (6.2-37.6) vs. 82.5 (23.2-102.8) pg/mL, P = 0.002, respectively]. Changes in BNP levels during exercise in the CAD group tended to be greater than in the control group, but without significance [12.6 (0-13.6) vs. 28.3 (2.8-25.5) pg/mL; P = 0.083]. Subgroup analysis showed that BNP levels tended to be positively related to the proportion of disease vessels, but statistical significance was only found between the control and multi-VD subgroup. Summarizing, this study shows that BNP level changes caused by exercise are closely related with the presence of CAD in patients with a normal systolic function. However, the relationship between these level changes and CAD severity requires further evaluation.

Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) is up-regulated in pancreatic beta cells when exposed to long-term high glucose or free fatty acids, which results in impaired glucose-induced insulin secretion (GIIS). We have evaluated whether taurine pretreatment can restore impaired GIIS of beta cells overexpressing UCP2 by adenovirus (Ad)-mediated transfection technique. In Ad-Null control cells, externally applied glucose (10 mM) inhibited ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channel activity even in the presence of 300 microM diazoxide. In Ad-UCP2 cells, however, glucose failed to inhibit K(ATP) channel activity; despite the response of K(ATP) channel itself to glibenclamide was normal. The glucose-stimulated increase of cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]c) and insulin secretion was also diminished (P0.05). When taurine (3 mM) was pretreated for 24 h, the glucose responses of Ad-UCP2 cells were remarkably restored. The effect of taurine was, however, blocked by CCCP (carbonyl cyanide p-chlorophenylhydrazone; 2 microM), a mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter inhibitor. These results suggest that taurine restores impaired GIIS in Ad-UCP2 cells, at least partially, by acting on the mechanism for Ca2+ sequestration into the mitochondrial matrix.

In this paper, we construct and analyze fully discrete method for a free boundary problem arising in polymer technology. This method is based on a Galerkin finite element formulation in space and a backward Euler time stepping technique. We derive optimal error estimates in the spatial and temporal directions in L^2, H^1 normed spaces.

Hyperbranched poly(ether ketone) (HBPEK) with fluoro-end groups (F-HBPEK) was synthesized by a one-step polymerization reaction. Another HBPEK with different end groups, i.e. cyano-terminated HBPEK (C-HBPEK), was prepared by chemical modification of the fluorides in FHBPEK with cyanophenols. Through analysis by 19 F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, the degree of modification from fluorine to cyano groups was determined to be 71%. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the most of the cyano groups were substituted on to the terminal units rather than the linear units. Dynamical heterogeneity/homogeneity and corresponding molecular mobility of both F- and C-HBPEK were investigated by a solid-state 1 H NMR spectroscopy. The results were then compared to those of linear analogous poly(ether ketone) (LPEK), which was prepared to investigate any difference in these two characteristics due to their structural dissimilarity. Analysis of 1 H magnetization decay as a function of delay time determined the spin–lattice relaxation time in the rotating frame, T 1 ρ . The double-exponential decay of T 1 ρ relaxation of both F- and C-HBPEK indicated coexistence of dynamically heterogeneous phases on the basis of motional difference; each was assigned to be the linear and the branched/terminal phase, respectively. In contrast, the single decay in LPEK confirmed a dynamical homogeneity. From further measurements of T 1 ρ s over the temperature range of 140–400 K, the correlation times, τ c s, and the activation energies, E a s, were determined. The dynamics of the branched/terminal phase of HBPEKs was greatly affected by the nature of end-group modification. The molecular motion of the linear phase of HBPEKs was faster than that of LPEK, indicating that the hyperbranched structure was responsible for the higher molecular mobility than the linear structure.

In this paper we develop the modified Crank-Nicolson finite element method applied to a single-phase quasilinear Stefan problem. Optimal error estimates for L2 and H1 norms are derived.