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PDF file - 249K, LKB1 suppresses COX2, survivin and c-Myc expression in xenograft tumors.

PDF file - 185K, LKB1 suppresses tumor formation in vivo mouse orthotopic human lung tumor model.

PDF file - 34K

PDF file - 332K, Identification of LKB1 tumor suppressor network by co-IP LC MS/MS analysis.

XLSX file - 91K, List of complete protein identification results from LKB1 IP complex by LC MS/MS analysis in A549 and H460 LKB1 cells.

PDF file - 20K, LKB1 induces cell cycle arrest and increases the percentage of A549 cells in G0/G1.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical features, causative microorganisms, antibiotic susceptibility, and treatment outcomes in culture-proven microbial keratitis (MK) in patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) and to analyze the potential risk factors.We reviewed the medical records of all patients with SJS/TEN who attended our department between 2009 and 2018. Patients with a diagnosis of MK who underwent corneal cultures were enrolled. Demographics; clinical characteristics including ocular findings, treatment, time between onset of SJS/TEN and keratitis; changes in visual acuity; culture results; and antibiotic susceptibility were analyzed. Culture results from prior conjunctival swabs and keratitis were also compared.Sixteen eyes from 12 patients (mean age 40.1 ± 27.7 years) with MK were identified. These patients had the most severe ocular involvement in the acute stage and had more severe ocular complications (SOCs) in the chronic stage compared with patients with SJS/TEN without MK. There were 26 infection episodes during 4.4 ± 6.9 (1.0-25.8) years of follow-up. Oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs accounted for half of the causative drugs. Severe dry eye was the most common predisposing factor, followed by topical steroid use, trichiasis, and lid margin keratinization. Staphylococcus was the most common pathogen, and over half of the gram-positive bacteria were resistant to oxacillin/methicillin. Fungal infections (notably Candida ) accounted for nearly one-third of the causative microorganisms. Culture reports from periodic conjunctival swabs were not consistent with those from corneal scrapings. Recurrence of infection was associated with inferior visual outcome.Patients with SJS/TEN with SOCs are subject to recurrent corneal infections, which are responsible for deterioration of vision. Identifying the risk factors and aggressive treatment as early as possible is pivotal for infection control.

To determine whether specific donor characteristics influence postoperative rebubble rate and 6-month endothelial cell loss (ECL) in Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK).A retrospective analysis of a consecutive series of 857 DMEK surgeries using eye bank-prepared donor tissue was performed between September 2013 and April 2018. DMEK graft characteristics including donor age, preoperative endothelial cell density (ECD), preservation time, death-to-preservation time, and donor diabetes status were analyzed for correlation with rebubble rate and 6-month postoperative ECL. Subgroup analyses of donor age, preoperative ECD, preservation time, death-to-preservation time, preparation-to-surgery time, and diabetes severity were also performed. Statistically significant relationships between donor characteristics and rebubble rate or 6-month postoperative ECL were determined using Pearson correlation, one-way analysis of variance, t test, and χ analysis.The overall rate of rebubble after 857 surgeries performed by 7 surgeons during the study period was 12.6%. There was no significant relationship between postoperative rebubble rate and donor age, preoperative ECD, preservation time, death-to-preservation time, preparation-to-surgery time, or donor diabetes status. The subgroup analysis of these characteristics also yielded no significant relationship with rebubble rate. There was also no significant relationship between 6-month postoperative ECL and analyzed donor factors.Donor characteristics such as higher donor age, lower preoperative ECD (2500), longer preservation time, and donor diabetes did not increase the rebubble rate or the 6-month ECL after DMEK. These results indicate that common surgeon preferences for donor tissues that are younger, fresher, with higher cell count, and without diabetes do not translate into superior postsurgical outcomes.

The aim of the study is to determine the effects of monocular 0.125% atropine daily treatment on the longer axial length (AL) eyes in children with pediatric anisometropia. This was a retrospective cohort study. The charts of children with anisometropia (aged 6–15 years) who had a > 0.2-mm difference in AL between the two eyes were reviewed. Children who received monocular treatment of 0.125% atropine in the eye with longer AL were included for final analysis. The main outcome measure was the difference in AL between the two eyes after treatment. Regression analysis was used to model the changes in AL according to the time of treatment in both eyes. Finally, forty eyes in 20 patients (mean age 10.2 years) were included in the analyses. During the treatment period, AL was controlled in the treated eyes (p = 0.389) but elongated significantly in the untreated eyes (p p

In tropical regions, cloud cover accounts for a major obstacle to detect the coastal land-use while adopting remote sensing technology. The advent of the latest Sentinel-1 C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite provides advantages to collect data in all-weathered conditions. In this study, Sentinel-1 images are processed using Lee filter and GLCM-Mean texture analysis in order to enhance the classification results. Several sets of parameters have been tested and these resulted in the optimum overall accuracy by Neural Network with 79.00% in 2015 and 68.29% in 2019. In contrast, Support Vector Machine classifiers obtained overall accuracies of 77.44% and 71.26% in 2015 and 2019 respectively. The results were accessed and it is found that Support Vector Machine outperforms the Neural Network classifier in discriminating data with high heterogeneity properties. Besides, Support Vector Machine has more consistent results in parameter testing compared to Neural Network.

PURPOSE To determine whether using younger donor tissue for Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) surgery influences clinical outcomes. METHODS Scroll tightness, unscrolling time, rebubble rate, and preoperative and 3- and 6-month postoperative endothelial cell density (ECD) and endothelial cell loss (ECL) were compared for 661 DMEK grafts prepared from younger (aged younger than 50 yrs, n = 81) and older donors (aged 50 yrs or older, n = 580) with Student t test, χ2 test, or Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS There was no difference in overall unscrolling time (younger donors: 3.1 ± 3.1 min, older donor: 2.9 ± 2.7 min, P = 0.503). Experienced faculty surgeons, compared with fellows, had a significantly lower unscrolling times for both younger donors (2.4 ± 2.3 vs. 4.6 ± 3.9 min, P = 0.002) and older donors (2.5 ± 2.1 vs. 3.7 ± 3.3 min, P

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes from using eye bank-prepared, endothelium-out preloaded Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) tissue with those obtained with endothelium-out surgeon-loaded DMEK tissue using the same surgical technique at 1 site. METHODS This study retrospectively reviewed 400 consecutive cases of DMEK from March 2016 to April 2018. The last 200 cases using surgeon-loaded tissue were compared with the first 200 cases using preloaded tissue. Statistical analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, binomial logistic regression, Kruskal-Wallis 1-way analysis of variance, Student t test, or Pearson χ tests. RESULTS Comparing surgeon-loaded versus preloaded DMEK tissue, respectively, no statistical difference was found in the mean 6-month postoperative values for endothelial cell loss (32.9% ± 18.5% vs. 29.9% ± 16.4%, P = 0.31), best corrected visual acuity (20/26 vs. 20/25, P = 0.54), or change in central corneal thickness (-14.4% ± 8.9% vs. -15.6% ± 11.7%, P = 0.43). The mean 1-year endothelial cell loss was also not significantly different (37.6% ± 17.2% vs. 33.2% ± 14.8%, P = 0.07). Overall, the rebubble rate for surgeon-loaded tissue was 17.5% and 12.5% for preloaded tissue, a statistically nonsignificant difference. Operative outcomes for mean tissue scroll tightness (1-4) and tissue unscroll time (minutes) for surgeon-loaded and preloaded tissue were similar between groups (2.4 vs. 2.2, P = 0.12 and 3.5 vs. 3.3 minutes, P = 0.50). CONCLUSIONS Tissue that is trephinated, stained, and loaded into an injector by the eye bank and then shipped to the surgeon had no difference in clinical outcomes compared with tissue where the surgeon performs these steps. The safety and speed of using preloaded tissue should be considered by DMEK surgeons.

Background Patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS)/toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) have high mortality rates. Disseminated intravascular coagulation has been reported in SJS/TEN patients. The influence of this lethal complication in patients with SJS/TEN is not well known. Objective This study aimed to investigate the risk and outcomes of disseminated intravascular coagulation in patients with SJS/TEN. Methods We analyzed the disseminated intravascular coagulation profiles of patients receiving a diagnosis of SJS/TEN between 2010 and 2019. Results We analyzed 150 patients with SJS/TEN (75 with SJS, 22 with overlapping SJS/TEN, and 53 with TEN) and their complete disseminated intravascular coagulation profiles. Disseminated intravascular coagulation was diagnosed in 32 patients (21.3%), primarily those with TEN. It was significantly associated with systemic complications, including gastrointestinal bleeding, respiratory failure, renal failure, liver failure, infection, and bacteremia. Additionally, SJS/TEN patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation had elevated procalcitonin levels. Among patients with SJS/TEN, disseminated intravascular coagulation was associated with a greater than 10-fold increase in mortality (78.1% vs 7%). Limitations The study limitations include small sample size and a single hospital system. Conclusion Disseminated intravascular coagulation is a potential complication of SJS/TEN and associated with higher mortality. Early recognition and appropriate management of this critical complication are important for patients with SJS/TEN.

To establish a rigorous mathematical foundation for a recently developed tension determination method incorporating the mode shape functions, the frequency equations and mode shape functions for the vibrating cables with various types of boundary conditions are first derived in this research. According to these analytical expressions in terms of dimensionless parameters, it is confirmed that the mode shape functions associated with complicated boundary conditions are all dominantly contributed by the sinusoidal components to suggest a more convenient option than the intertwined frequency equations. Based on this discovery, the cable tension can be generally decided with an explicit formula similar to that for the case with hinged boundary constraints at both ends. The effective vibration length for each selected mode in the formula, however, needs to be pre-determined by fitting the corresponding sinusoidal function with the mode shape ratios identified from multiple synchronized measurements. Parametric study is also conducted on the derived mode shapes to systematically investigate the interference effect of the hyperbolic component near the boundaries and provide valuable guidelines for the sensor deployment in engineering applications. Finally, the performance of the developed methodology in the cases with more involved boundary constraints is certified with demonstrative numerical examples and laboratory experiments.

AimTo determine the prevalence and clinical consequences of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA in the aqueous and corneal tissues obtained at the time of corneal transplantation to evaluate the diagnostic value of PCR analysis in identifying patients at risk of postkeratoplasty CMV endotheliitis.MethodsThirty patients who underwent corneal transplantation were included in 2011. The aqueous, excised recipient corneas and donor corneoscleral rims were analysed by PCR for the presence of CMV DNA. The medical records of the patients were retrospectively reviewed and linked with PCR results.ResultsCMV DNA was detected in three (10%) aqueous, eight (26.7%) recipient corneas and six (20.0%) donor corneas obtained during keratoplasty from the 30 patients. Postoperatively, four patients, who had CMV DNA in either aqueous (3) or recipient cornea (1), were diagnosed with CMV endotheliitis based on clinical features and repeat aqueous tapping for real-time PCR analysis. At the median 60.5 months follow-up, 8 (72.7%), including 4 with postkeratoplasty CMV endotheliitis, of the 11 patients with CMV positivity in any one sample had graft failure, while 9 (47.3%) of the 19 patients without evidence of CMV DNA experienced graft failure.ConclusionsWe found a relatively high prevalence of CMV DNA in the aqueous and corneas obtained during keratoplasty. All the patients who had CMV positivity in aqueous developed CMV endotheliitis postoperatively and experienced graft failure eventually. Aqueous tapping at the time of corneal transplantation for PCR analysis may help to improve the diagnosis and follow-up management of postkeratoplasty CMV endotheliitis.

To determine whether Patent Blue V (PB) can be used as an alternative dye for staining Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) grafts.DMEK grafts from donor corneas were stained with 2.5% PB for 4 minutes (n = 2), 2.5% PB for 10 minutes (n = 2), or 0.06% trypan blue (TB) for 4 minutes (n = 1). The stain intensity of the grafts was compared initially and at different time points over a 15-minute period of balanced salt solution wash using a grading scale based on a serial dilution series of PB. Three additional grafts were stained with 2.5% PB for 10 minutes and used in mock surgeries to assess stain retention after injection and manipulation in a donor eye model for 25 minutes. To assess the safety of PB, DMEK grafts were prepared from 10 pairs of corneas where one cornea was stained with 0.06% TB for 4 minutes and the mate cornea was stained with 2.5% PB for 10 minutes. The grafts were preloaded and stored for 5 days in Optisol-GS at 2°C to 8°C, and endothelial cell loss was quantified using Calcein-AM staining and FIJI segmentation by 2 masked readers.PB stain intensities were lighter than TB-stained grafts. Grafts stained with 2.5% PB for 10 minutes retained sufficient color for the 25-minute duration of mock surgery. The average endothelial cell loss for PB versus TB grafts was 21.6% ± 5.3% versus 20.2% ± 5.4% (P = 0.202) as determined by reader 1 and 23.6% ± 4.8% versus 21.2% ± 5.8% (P = 0.092) as determined by reader 2.PB is a viable alternative dye in DMEK grafts for applications where TB may not be available or approved for use.

To examine retinal neurovascular changes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).Case-control study. A total of 171 CKD cases and 40 controls were recruited (mean age 62.9 ± 10.3 versus 60.8 ± 9.2, p = 0.257). Retinal neural parameters, including parafoveal retinal thickness (PfRT), macular ganglion cell complex thickness (GCCt), global loss volume (GLV), focal loss volume (FLV) and peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer thickness (RNFLt), were measured using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Microvascular parameters, including foveal avascular zone size, vessel density over the parafoveal superficial vascular plexus (SVP-VD), parafoveal deep vascular plexus (DVP-VD) and radial peripapillary capillary (RPC-VD), were measured using OCT angiography.Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients showed reduced PfRT, GCCt and RNFLt and increased GLV and FLV compared with the controls (all p 0.005). Among patients with CKD, estimated glomerular filtration rate was an independent factor associated with PfRT (coefficient 0.19, p = 0.015), GCCt (coefficient 0.10, p = 0.006), GLV (coefficient - 0.08, p = 0.001), FLV (coefficient - 0.02, p = 0.006) and RNFLt (coefficient 0.15, p = 0.002). Parafoveal retinal thickness (PfRT), GCCt, GLV, FLV and RNFLt were correlated with SVP-VD (all p 0.001) but not with DVP-VD (all p 0.1).Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients demonstrated a significant reduction in macular thickness and changes in retinal neural parameters. These changes were associated with the severity of CKD and correlated with the microvascular rarefaction in the parafoveal SVP.

Objective To evaluate early retinal microvascular abnormalities in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) via optical coherence tomography angiography. Methods A cross‐sectional study. Two hundred patients with CKD stage ≧3 were enrolled in the CKD group, and 50 age‐matched healthy subjects were enrolled in the control group. Main outcome measures were the differences in parafoveal vessel densities in the superficial vascular plexus (SVP) and deep vascular plexus (DVP) between the CKD and control groups. Results The mean ages were 62.7 ± 10.1 in the CKD group and 61.9 ± 9.7 (P = 0.622) in the control group. The CKD group had reduced parafoveal vessel densities in SVP (46.7 ± 4.3 vs 49.7 ± 2.9, P

Paecilomyces/Purpureocillium species is an emerging pathogen of fungal keratitis; the risk factor, clinical course, and outcome of Paecilomyces/Purpureocillium keratitis need more exploration. We retrospectively reviewed 12 patients with culture-proven Paecilomyces/Purpureocillium keratitis in our hospital from 2003 to 2017 and combined them with 50 previous cases reported after the review conducted by Yuan et al. in 2009. Clinical features between the previously and newly reported cases were compared using the publication by Yuan et al. as a cutoff point. The mean age of the 62 newly reported patients with Paecilomyces/Purpureocillium keratitis was 52.7 years. Of these, contact lens wear was the most common predisposing factor (n = 32, 52%), followed by a preexisting corneal disease or previous ocular surgery (n = 12, 19%), and trauma (n = 8, 13%). Fifty eyes (81%) were treated with voriconazole, of which 31 (63%) were medically cured. Twenty-one of 62 eyes (34%) required therapeutic surgery. Compared with the 42 patients reported by Yuan et al., the patients were younger (P = .025); a higher proportion of the patients were contact lens wearers (P = .005); more patients were treated with voriconazole (P = .000); fewer patients required therapeutic surgery (P = .000) in recent reports. Contact lens use has become the major risk factor for Paecilomyces/Purpureocillium keratitis. The surgical rate has been significantly lower in recent publications, probably because of the prevalent use of voriconazole.

Although it has been known for decades that patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) are more susceptible to severe tuberculosis (TB) infection, the underlying immunological mechanisms remain unclear. Resistin, a protein produced by immune cells in humans, causes insulin resistance and has been implicated in inhibiting reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in leukocytes. Recent studies suggested that IL-1β production in patients with Mycobacteria tuberculosis infection correlates with inflammasome activation which may be regulated by ROS production in the immune cells. By investigating the level of resistin in different patient groups, we found that serum resistin levels were significantly higher in severe TB and DM-only groups when compared with mild TB cases and healthy controls. Moreover, elevation of serum resistin correlated with impairment of ROS production of neutrophils in patients with both DM and TB. In human macrophages, exogenous resistin inhibits the production of ROS which are important in the mycobacterium-induced inflammasome activation. Moreover, macrophages with defective ROS production had poor IL-1β production and ineffective control of mycobacteria growth. Our results suggest that increased resistin in severe TB and DM patients may suppress the mycobacterium-induced inflammasome activation through inhibiting ROS production by leukocytes.

Prodigiosin (PG) has been reported to have various biological activities. With the aim of increasing Serratia marcescens TKU011 PG production on squid pen powder (SPP)-containing medium, the effects of phosphate and ferrous ion supplementation, autoclave treatment, and aeration were studied. Autoclave treatment showed positive results for PG productivity (2.48 mg/mL), which increased 2.5-fold when the organism was incubated in 50 mL of 40-min autoclaved medium in a baffle-based flask (250 mL) containing 1.5% SPP at 30 °C for 1 day and then at 25 °C for 2 additional days. Furthermore, the use of pigments including PG and the food colorants Allura Red AC (R40) and Tartrazine (Y4) as insecticides was also investigated. The lethal concentrations causing 50% Drosophila larval mortality (LC50) of PG, Y4, and R40 using a 5-d exposure period were 230, 449, and 30000 ppm, respectively. The results indicated that the biopigment PG and the food colorant Y4 were potentially toxic to Drosophila larvae.

Since the Internet can aggregate and distribute a large amount of information to users, providing numerous products for consumers has been recognised as a major advantage of electronic commerce. As...

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an important opportunistic pathogen but an uncommon cause of corneal infections. This study aimed to report the clinical features, antibiotic susceptibility, treatments, and visual outcomes of S. maltophilia keratitis.The medical records of 21 patients with culture-proven S. maltophilia-associated infectious keratitis in our hospital between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2014, were retrospectively reviewed. The clinical features of patients with S. maltophilia keratitis were compared with those of patients from 17 previously reported cases.The most common risk factors for S. maltophilia keratitis were preexisting corneal disease or previous corneal surgery (16), followed by soft contact lens wear (9). Nine patients (42.9%) were multifactorial. Polymicrobial infections was detected in 12 eyes (57.1%). All S. maltophilia isolates were susceptible to levofloxacin and moxifloxacin. A total of 17 of 21 patients (81.0%) had favorable responses to topical antimicrobial treatment, and 10 (47.6%) required surgical intervention for promotion of reepithelialization (6) and corneal perforation (4). Final vision ranged from light perception to 20/20. The clinical features of S. maltophilia keratitis in our cases and in previously reported cases were similar.S. maltophilia keratitis primarily affects patients with compromised ocular surfaces. S. maltophilia demonstrates in vitro susceptibility and a strong clinical response to fluoroquinolones.

Purpose To investigate the distribution, current trends, and antibiotic susceptibility profiles of bacterial keratitis isolates over 10 years. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the microbiology records of all corneal scrapings undertaken for cultures at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital from 2003 through 2012. We identified bacterial isolates and verified antibiotic susceptibilities by using the disk diffusion method. The Mantel-Haenszel linear-by-linear association χ test was used to detect the trends. Results We collected 2012 corneal scrapings, and the culture was positive in 992 samples (49.3%), yielding 1282 isolates. Bacterial isolates were identified for 1039 isolates (81.1%), including 533 gram-positive and 506 gram-negative isolates. An increase in the percentage of gram-positive isolates was significant (P = 0.008), as was a decrease in that of gram-negative isolates (P = 0.002). The most common bacterial isolates were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (24.4%) and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (16.6%). For gram-positive organisms, the susceptibilities were as follows: vancomycin 100%, ciprofloxacin 88.9%, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim 86.8%, clindamycin 73.2%, and oxacillin 56.5%. The susceptibility of gram-positive bacteria to clindamycin and oxacillin increased significantly (P = 0.009 and P = 0.001). For gram-negative organisms, the susceptibilities were as follows: ciprofloxacin 93.7%, piperacillin 91.9%, ceftazidime 90.9%, amikacin 88.3%, and gentamicin 84.7%. No change in trend occurred. Conclusions In Taiwan, we documented an increasing trend in the percentage of gram-positive bacteria. Methicillin-resistant microorganisms accounted for 43.5% of all gram-positive bacteria, but the trend of resistance to oxacillin and clindamycin significantly decreased. Ciprofloxacin continued to be a good empiric antibiotic for treating bacterial keratitis.

Background Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) occurs in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation and chemotherapy. The chemotherapeutic drugs oxaliplatin and cyclophosphamide cause SOS. Sesame oil is a nutrient-rich antioxidant popular in alternative medicine. It contains sesamin, sesamol, and sesamolin, all of which contribute to its antioxidant property. The authors investigated the protective effect of prophylactic sesame oil against monocrotaline-induced SOS in rats. Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats were gavaged with a single dose of sesame oil (0.5, 1, 2, or 4 mL/kg). One hour later, those rats were gavaged with monocrotaline (90 mg/kg) to induce SOS. Control rats were treated with saline only. Aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, laminin, collagen, myeloperoxidase, nitrate content, lipid peroxidation, glutathione levels, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1 were assessed 48 hours after the monocrotaline gavage. Results All tested parameters except TIMP-1, laminin, collagen, and glutathione were higher in monocrotaline-treated rats than in saline-only-treated control rats. In sesame oil-treated rats, all tested parameters except TIMP-1, laminin, collagen, and glutathione were significantly attenuated compared with monocrotaline-only-treated rats. Sesame oil downregulated MMP-9 expression but upregulated TIMP-1 expression in monocrotaline-only-treated rats. In addition, a histological analysis of liver tissue samples showed that sesame oil showed significant protection. Conclusion A single prophylactic dose of sesame oil protects against SOS by downregulating MMP-9 expression, upregulating TIMP-1 expression, and inhibiting oxidative stress.

Xylophagous leafhoppers are vectors of xylem-limited plant pathogens such as citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC) and Pierce"s disease, which cause Xylella diseases. Currently, no cure for Xylella diseases exists. The objective of endosymbiont control using Wolbachia pipientis is to reduce the populations of insect vectors, potentially preventing the expansion of Xylella diseases. The purpose of this study was to establish primary cell cultures from adult xylem-feeding leafhoppers to study Wolbachia biology. Cells from adult male and female Kolla paulula (Walker) (Hemiptera: Membracoidea: Cicadellinae) were successfully cultured in Dulbecco"s Modified Eagle Medium containing 20% fetal bovine serum and were maintained for more than 6 months. Cells of both male and female adults are round and semi-attached. The doubling times for male and female K. paulula cells are approximately 8 and 10 days, respectively. The presence of Wolbachia in K. paulula cell cultures was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) gene. The cell cultures developed in this study may be useful in studying interactions between Wolbachia and its hosts of different genders.

This paper, based on the 51 prefecture-level cities of three economic regions (the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, and the BoHai Rim) for the period 2001–2007, found that a city's own FDI can only contribute positively to technology, but not inefficiency. In addition, its influence on frontier and inefficiency are insignificantly different among these economic regions. Furthermore, the contribution of other cities' lagged FDI within the same region on inefficiency in the Pearl River Delta is significantly larger than that in the BoHai Rim and the Yangtze River Delta, which cannot be derived from the data of provincial levels.

Purpose The aim of this study was to describe the clinical features of infectious scleritis with distinct inciting events and to analyze the factors associated with poor visual outcome. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the predisposing factors, clinical findings, isolated organisms, complications, and outcomes of patients with infectious scleritis examined between January 2003 and December 2012 at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan. Results Forty-five (94%) of 48 patients with infectious scleritis had preceding inciting factors. Prior ocular surgery (40 eyes, 83%), especially pterygium excision (27 eyes, 57%), accounted for the majority of cases; prior accidental injury was found in 5 eyes (10%). The trauma group had a significantly shorter latency and duration of symptoms before diagnosis when compared with the surgery group. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (22 eyes, 46%) was the most commonly identified pathogen, and fungus was detected in 7 eyes (15%). Fungal infections had a longer symptom duration and smaller scleral ulcers at presentations than bacterial infections did. All patients were administered antimicrobials, and early surgical debridement (median 3 days) was performed in 38 eyes (79%). Three eyes (6%) required eyeball removal, and 10 patients (21%) had a posttreatment vision >20/200. With univariate analysis, the identified factors that were significantly associated with poor visual outcomes were visual acuity at presentation worse than 20/200 (P = 0.01), a long duration of hospitalization (P = 0.02), and eyes complicated by scleral thinning (P = 0.034). Conclusions Infectious scleritis associated with distinct inciting factors or different offending organisms can display divergent characteristics. Intensive antimicrobial treatment and early surgical debridement can salvage eyes.

STK11/LKB1, a serine/threonine protein kinase and tumor suppressor, is a key upstream kinase of adenine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, which is a kinase involved in controlling cell polarity and maintaining cellular energy homeostasis. LKB1 is mutated in a significant number of Peutz–Jeghers syndrome (PJS) cases and sporadic cancers, and is most frequently mutated in lung adenocarcinomas; however, little is known about how LKB1 is involved in lung cancer progression. In this study, immunoprecipitation-HPLC tandem mass spectrometry (IP-LC-MS/MS) was performed to identify novel proteins interacting with LKB1 in lung cancer. Interestingly, many LKB1-interacting proteins acquired from the LC-MS/MS approach were mapped, using MetaCore pathway analysis, to the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator activation pathway. Moreover, it was determined that LKB1 directly interacts with APC, and this LKB1–APC interaction was further confirmed by reverse immunoprecipitation assays, but GSK3β was dispensable for the association of LKB1 and APC. Importantly, LKB1 binds to APC to suppress the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which is known to be involved in cell proliferation and migration. Subsequent analysis of the downstream targets of the Wnt/TCF pathway led to the identification of several Wnt-regulated genes, such as CD44, COX-2, survivin, and c-Myc, whose expression levels are downregulated by LKB1. In summary, these results demonstrate that LKB1 regulates the Wnt pathway through a direct interaction with APC to suppress the tumorigenic/metastatic potential of lung tumors. Implications: LKB1 status influences the molecular circuitry (Wnt/β-catenin pathway), cellular biology, and may serve as a potential therapeutic node in genetically defined subsets of lung cancer. Mol Cancer Res; 12(4); 622–35. ©2014 AACR.

The exocyclic substituent control of stereoselectivity, periselectivity, and regioselectivity in the unsymmetrical cycloaddition reactions of electron-deficient heptafulvenes with electron-rich fulvenes are discussed.

Purpose To identify the change in clinical and microbiological profiles of pediatric microbial keratitis in Taiwan between 1998–2002 and 2008–2012. Design Retrospective, observational study. Method setting: Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, a referral center in Taiwan. patient population: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 68 eyes of 67 children aged 16 years or younger who were diagnosed with microbial keratitis and treated at our hospital between July 2008 and December 2012. main outcomes and measures: Predisposing factors, isolated organisms, antibiotic susceptibility, and clinical outcomes. The findings were compared with the results of our previous study conducted between July 1998 and December 2002. Results As in 1998–2002, the leading risk factor for microbial keratitis during 2008–2012 was contact lens use, and the infection rate significantly increased from 40.7% to 52.9% ( P = .024), which was mainly attributable to the recent increase in the rate of orthokeratology-related keratitis from 9.9% to 19.1% ( P = .011). Pseudomonas aeruginosa remained the most commonly isolated organism (30.6%), but the number of isolated coagulase-negative Staphylococcus cases increased significantly in the 2008–2012 cases ( P = .04). Antibiotic susceptibility of organisms did not change significantly between the 2 study periods. By using multiple linear stepwise regression analysis, we found that gram-negative bacterial infection played a crucial role in poor visual outcome. Conclusions Contact lens–related microbial keratitis increased in Taiwanese children over time, especially because of the use of overnight orthokeratology. Clinicians must understand the infection background and pay further attention to contact lens use in pediatric patients.

This study was designed to investigate the cardioprotective effect of sesamol on isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial infarction in adult male albino Wistar rats. The heart damage induced by ISO was indicated by elevated levels of the marker enzymes such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and the levels of troponin T and I in the plasma. In addition, lipid peroxidative markers such as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), conjugated dienes (CD) and lipid hydroperoxides (LHP) significantly increased in the plasma and heart. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and glutathione reductase (GR) significantly decreased in the heart and (non-enzymic antioxidants) vitamin C, vitamin E and reduced glutathione (GSH)) levels significantly decreased in the plasma and heart in ISO-rats. Histopathological observations correlated with the biochemical parameters. Administration of sesamol at different doses 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight intraperitoneally for 7 days prevented the above changes and improved towards normality; the 50 mg dose was more effective than the other two doses.

Background : Human tear film plays an important role in protecting the ocular surface against vari­ous pathogens. Dry eye, the major ocular complication of peripheral blood stem cell trans­plantation (PBSCT), may predispose bacterial colonization to the conjunctiva, and increase the risk of infectious keratitis. The aim of this study is to investigate the con­junctival bacterial flora in patients receiving PBSCT and to stratify the severity of dry eye for comparison. Methods : This cross-sectional study encompassed patients who received PBSCT from 2002 to 2008 in our hospital. At least 1 year after PBSCT, patients were re-evaluated for ocu­lar surface status, and bacterial culture of the conjunctival sac was performed. The eyes of patients were divided into three groups in accordance to the result of the Schirmer Ia test. In the control group, we enrolled dry-eye patients with underlying dis­ease other than hematopoietic stem cell transplantation of which the age range was simi­lar to the study group. Results : Thirty-six patients with 72 eyes were included in our study. The first group (n=36) was defined as having Schirmer Ia test result of 0-5 mm, and the culture of conjuncti­val sac were positive in 8 eyes (22%). The second group (n=20) was defined as having Schirmer Ia result between 6 and 9 mm, and 4 of which were positive for bacterial cul­ture (20%). In the third group (n=16) with Schirmer Ia result of ≧10mm, flora in pa­tients receiving PBSCT were coagulase-negative Staphylococci , Staphylococcus au­reus and Corynebacterium sp. The bacterial colonization rate in the post-PBSCT group was not higher than the control group (22.2% vs. 30.8%), and coagulase-nega­tive Staphylococci was the most common flora in the control group. Conclusion : Despite not having statistical significance, there seems to be a positive correlation be­tween the colonization rate and the severity of dry eye. However, bacterial profile iso­lated in post-PBSCT patients is not significantly different from other dry eye patients.

Hematopoietic and vascular endothelial cells constitute the circulatory system and are both generated from the ventral mesoderm. However, the molecules and signaling pathways involved in ventral mesoderm formation and specification remain unclear. We found that zebrafish etv5a was expressed in the ventral mesoderm during gastrulation. Knockdown of Etv5a using morpholinos increased the proliferation of ventral mesoderm cells and caused defects in hematopoietic derivatives and in vascular formation. In contrast, the formation of other mesodermal derivatives, such as pronephros, somites and the gut wall, was not affected. Knockdown specificity was further confirmed by over-expression of an etv5a construct lacking its acidic domain. In conclusion, our data reveal that etv5a is essential for the inhibition of ventral mesoderm cell proliferation and for the formation of the hemato-vascular lineage.

Prodigiosin (PG) has been reported to have various biological activities. With the aim of increasing Serratia marcescens TKU011 PG production on squid pen powder (SPP)-containing medium, the effects of phosphate and ferrous ion supplementation, autoclave treatment, and aeration were studied. Autoclave treatment showed positive results for PG productivity (2.48 mg/mL), which increased 2.5-fold when the organism was incubated in 50 mL of 40-min autoclaved medium in a baffle-based flask (250 mL) containing 1.5% SPP at 30 °C for 1 day and then at 25 °C for 2 additional days. Furthermore, the use of pigments including PG and the food colorants Allura Red AC (R40) and Tartrazine (Y4) as insecticides was also investigated. The lethal concentrations causing 50% Drosophila larval mortality (LC50) of PG, Y4, and R40 using a 5-d exposure period were 230, 449, and 30000 ppm, respectively. The results indicated that the biopigment PG and the food colorant Y4 were potentially toxic to Drosophila larvae.