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Objective: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has important effects on cognition and the risk for Alzheimer disease (AD). Working memory (WM) is a susceptible cognitive domain of mild cognitive impairment and AD. Thus, the identification of brain activation patterns under different WM loads can potentially enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying cognitive dysfunction in T2DM., Research Design and Methods: The current study assessed the effects of T2DM on cognitive performance and explored the related neuronal damage through a visual n-back task and functional magnetic resonance imaging., Results: We found that patients with T2DM exhibited worse executive and memory abilities than control subjects. Furthermore, the patterns of brain activation changed under different WM loads in the T2DM patients, who exhibited reduced activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus under low loads and reduced activation in the left middle frontal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus (SFG) under high loads. Thus, more regions of diminished activation were seen in the frontal cortex with increasing task difficulty. Furthermore, we found that lower SFG activation was associated with worse cognitive function., Conclusions: The findings demonstrate deficient WM in patients with T2DM and the relation between cognitive function and degree of neuronal activity and their relevance to AD risk. Further longitudinal studies are needed to replicate these results and to evaluate the clinical value of brain imaging methods in the prediction of disease progress in these patients., (© 2014 by the American Diabetes Association. Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered.)

In Gram-negative bacteria, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) contributes to the robust permeability barrier of the outer membrane, preventing entry of toxic molecules such as antibiotics. Mutations in lptD, the beta-barrel component of the LPS transport and assembly machinery, compromise LPS assembly and result in increased antibiotic sensitivity. Here, we report rare vancomycin-resistant suppressors that improve barrier function of a subset of lptD mutations. We find that all seven suppressors analyzed mapped to the essential gene cdsA, which is responsible for the conversion of phosphatidic acid to CDP-diacylglycerol in phospholipid biosynthesis. These cdsA mutations cause a partial loss of function and, as expected, accumulate phosphatidic acid. We show that this suppression is not confined to mutations that cause defects in outer membrane biogenesis but rather that these cdsA mutations confer a general increase in vancomycin resistance, even in a wild-type cell. We use genetics and quadrupole time of flight (Q-TOF) liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to show that accumulation of phosphatidic acid by means other than cdsA mutations also increases resistance to vancomycin. We suggest that increased levels of phosphatidic acid change the physical properties of the outer membrane to impede entry of vancomycin into the periplasm, hindering access to its target, an intermediate required for the synthesis of the peptidoglycan cell wall., (Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.)

How do private transfers differ by race and ethnicity, and do such differences explain the racial and ethnic disparity in wealth? Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this study examines private transfers by race and ethnicity in the United States and explores a causal relationship between private transfers and wealth. Panel data and a family-level fixed-effect model are used to control for the endogeneity of private transfers. Private transfers in the form of financial support received and given from extended families and friends, as well as large gifts and inheritances, are examined. We find that African Americans and Hispanics (both immigrant and nonimmigrant) receive less in both types of private transfers than whites. Large gifts and inheritances, but not net financial support received, are related to wealth increases for African American and white families. Overall, we estimate that the African American shortfall in large gifts and inheritances accounts for 12 % of the white-black racial wealth gap.

To investigate whether polymerized human placenta hemoglobin (PolyPHb) improved hemodynamic parameter recovery and cardiac function after hemorrhagic shock, a mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 30 mmHg was maintained for 60min. Then, all the rats were randomly resuscitated with hetastarch (HES), shed blood (Whole Blood), or PolyPHb (PolyPHb). The MAP was greatly improved by PolyPHb, but it was still lower than that of the Whole Blood group. Meanwhile, the cardiac function and enzyme releases in the PolyPHb group were similar to the HES group. Therefore, our findings suggest that PolyPHb moderately improved hemodynamic recovery and provided little cardioprotective effect in hemorrhagic shock.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of contralateral C7 nerve transfer via posterior spinal route for treatment of brachial plexus root avulsion injury by anatomical study., Methods: Ten cadaveric specimens of 7 men and 3 women were selected, who had no obvious deformity and no tissue defect in neck neutral position. By simulating surgical exploration of brachial plexus injury, the length of contralateral C7 nerve root was elongated by dissecting its anterior and posterior divisions to the distal end, while the length of C7 nerve from the intervertebral foramen to the branching point and the length of the anterior and posterior divisions were measured. By simulating cervical posterior approach, the C7 vertebral plate and T1 spinous process were fully exposed; the hole was made near vertebral body; and the C7 nerve root lengths by posterior vertebra path to the contralateral upper trunk and lower trunk were measured., Results: C7 nerve root length was (58.62 +/- 8.70) mm; the length of C7 nerve root plus posterior or anterior division was (65.15 +/- 9.11) mm and (70.03 +/- 10.79) mm, respectively. By posterior spinal route, the distance was (72.12 +/- 10.22) mm from the end of C7 nerve to the contralateral upper trunk of brachial plexus, and was (95.21 +/- 12.50) mm to the contralateral lower trunk of brachial plexus., Conclusion: Contralateral C7 nerve can be transferred to the contralateral side through posterior spinal route and it only needs short bridge nerve or no. The posterior spinal route can effectively prevent from neurovascular injury, so it might be the best surgery approach for the treatment of brachial plexus root avulsion injury.

Nearly 15% of all U.S. households and 40% of near-poor households were food insecure in 2009. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the cornerstone of federal food assistance programs and serves as the first line of defense against food-related hardship. This paper measures the effectiveness of SNAP in reducing food insecurity using an instrumental variables approach to control for selection. Our results suggest that receipt of SNAP benefits reduces the likelihood of being food insecure by roughly 30% and reduces the likelihood of being very food insecure by 20%.

A series of novel methylthio-, sulfinyl-, and sulfonyl-8H-thieno[2,3-b]pyrrolizin-8-oximino derivatives 7A-12P was designed and synthesized as anti-tumor agents. Their structures were confirmed by IR, (1)H-NMR, MS, and elemental analysis. The anti-tumor activities of all the target compounds were tested by the MTT method in vitro against Bel-7402 (human liver cancer) and HT-1080 (human fibro sarcoma) cell lines. Among them, compound 11N (IC(50) = 18.2 microM, 8.2 microM), was the most promising compound of all synthesized molecules, it was 2.5- and 3.3-times more active than cisplatin (IC(50) = 45.2 microM, 26.7 microM), respectively.