Martinussenmathis1141

We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of the relative maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) of metastatic lymph node (LN) compared with that of primary tumor (SUVLN / SUVTumor) based on a pretreatment [18F]-FDG PET/CT scan in patients with clinically node-positive esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (cN+ ESCC) treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT). We retrospectively evaluated cN+ ESCC patients who underwent a PET/CT scan before dCRT. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristics analysis was performed to identify the optimal cutoff value for SUVLN / SUVTumor. Prognostic influences of SUVLN / SUVTumor on distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test for univariate analysis and Cox's proportional hazards regression model for multivariate analysis. We identified 112 patients with newly diagnosed cN+ ESCC. After a median follow-up of 32.0 months, 50 (44.6%) patients had distant failure and 84 (75.0%) patients died. Patients with high SUVLN / SUVTumor (≥ 0.39) experienced worse outcomes than low SUVLN / SUVTumor ( less then 0.39) (two-year DMFS 26% vs. 70%, p less then 0.001; two-year OS 21% vs. 48%, p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that SUVLN / SUVTumor was an independent prognostic factor for both DMFS (adjusted HR 2.24, 95% CI 1.34-3.75, p = 0.002) and OS (adjusted HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.03-2.53, p = 0.037). Pretreatment of SUVLN / SUVTumor is a simple and useful marker for prognosticating DMFS and OS in cN+ ESCC patients treated with dCRT, which may help in tailoring treatment and designing future clinical trials.This randomized double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluated the progression of intima-media thickness of common carotid artery (cIMT) and the effect of phytoestrogen therapy on atherosclerosis development in early and late postmenopausal women. The 2-year cIMT progression was evaluated in 315 early postmenopausal women aged 40-55 years and in 231 late postmenopausal women aged 60-69 years free of cardiovascular disease. FK228 in vitro B-mode ultrasound was done at baseline and after 12 and 24 months of follow-up. The study revealed no significant changes in the rate of cIMT progression in 315 early postmenopausal women. By contrast, a statistically significant difference in the rate of atherosclerosis development was observed in late postmenopausal women treated with phytoestrogens compared to placebo (p = 0.008). The rate of cIMT progression in the placebo group was 0.019 mm/year led to a significant increase of cIMT during the observation period (p = 0.012), while the rate of cIMT progression in phytoestrogen late postmenopausal recipients was 0.011 mm/year, and total change did not reach statistical significance during the follow-up period (p = 0.101). These results suggest that late postmenopausal women can be a suitable cohort for trials assessing the anti-atherosclerosis effects of phytoestrogen preparations. In particular, the beneficial effect of phytoestrogens on cIMT progression was demonstrated in late postmenopausal women.The plant specific LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES (LOB)-domain (LBD) proteins belong to a family of transcription factors that play important roles in plant growth and development, as well as in responses to various stresses. However, a comprehensive study of LBDs in Brassica napus has not yet been reported. In the present study, 126 BnLBD genes were identified in B. napus genome using bioinformatics analyses. The 126 BnLBDs were phylogenetically classified into two groups and nine subgroups. Evolutionary analysis indicated that whole genome duplication (WGD) and segmental duplication played important roles in the expansion of the BnLBD gene family. On the basis of the RNA-seq analyses, we identified BnLBD genes with tissue or developmental specific expression patterns. Through cis-acting element analysis and hormone treatment, we identified 19 BnLBD genes with putative functions in plant response to abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. This study provides a comprehensive understanding on the origin and evolutionary history of LBDs in B. napus, and will be helpful in further functional characterisation of BnLBDs.The biogenic polyamines, spermine, spermidine (Spd) and putrescine (Put) are present at micro-millimolar concentrations in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells (many prokaryotes have no spermine), participating in the regulation of cellular proliferation and differentiation. In mammalian cells Put is formed exclusively from L-ornithine by ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and many potent ODC inhibitors are known. In bacteria, plants, and fungi Put is synthesized also from agmatine, which is formed from L-arginine by arginine decarboxylase (ADC). Here we demonstrate that the isosteric hydroxylamine analogue of agmatine (AO-Agm) is a new and very potent (IC50 3•10-8 M) inhibitor of E. coli ADC. It was almost two orders of magnitude less potent towards E. coli ODC. AO-Agm decreased polyamine pools and inhibited the growth of DU145 prostate cancer cells only at high concentration (1 mM). Growth inhibitory analysis of the Acremonium chrysogenum demonstrated that the wild type (WT) strain synthesized Put only from L-ornithine, while the cephalosporin C high-yielding strain, in which the polyamine pool is increased, could use both ODC and ADC to produce Put. Thus, AO-Agm is an important addition to the set of existing inhibitors of the enzymes of polyamine biosynthesis, and an important instrument for investigating polyamine biochemistry.The chemical structure and morphology of a set of sulfonic gel-type poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) resins (2 mol% DVB) prepared with different synthetic approaches were investigated by solid state NMR, Inverse Size Exclusion Chromatography (ISEC), FT-IR and elemental analysis to compare their swollen state structure. FT-IR and solid state NMR clearly show that the sulfonation mainly occurs in the para- position with respect the main polymer chain. link2 Sensible proportions of sulfone bridges were found in the materials obtained with oleum and chlorosulfonic acid. With oleum, the presence of the sulfone bridges is clearly associated to a reduced ability to swell in the water medium relative to the proton exchange capacity. This highlights the cross-linking action of the sulfone bridges according to ISEC results, showing a high proportion of a dense polymer fraction in the swollen material. An even higher degree of sulfone-bridging, lower swelling ability, and a high proportion of a dense polymer fraction in the swollen material are found in the resin obtained with chlorosulfonic acid. As a matter of fact, Cross Polarization Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (CP-MAS 13C-NMR), elemental analysis, and ion exchange capacity, show that oleum and chlorosulfonic acid produced resins with remarkably smaller pores and lower swollen gel volume in polar solvents, with respect to concentrated sulfuric acid.BACKGROUND The aim is to compare the machine learning-based coronary-computed tomography fractional flow reserve (CT-FFRML) and coronary-computed tomographic morphological plaque characteristics with the resting full-cycle ratio (RFRTM) as a novel invasive resting pressure-wire index for detecting hemodynamically significant coronary artery stenosis. METHODS In our single center study, patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who had a clinically indicated coronary computed tomography angiography (cCTA) and subsequent invasive coronary angiography (ICA) with pressure wire-measurement were included. On-site prototype CT-FFRML software and on-site CT-plaque software were used to calculate the hemodynamic relevance of coronary stenosis. RESULTS We enrolled 33 patients (70% male, mean age 68 ± 12 years). On a per-lesion basis, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of CT-FFRML (0.90) was higher than the AUCs of the morphological plaque characteristics length/minimal luminal diameter4 (LL/MLD4; 0.80), minimal luminal diameter (MLD; 0.77), remodeling index (RI; 0.76), degree of luminal diameter stenosis (0.75), and minimal luminal area (MLA; 0.75). CONCLUSION CT-FFRML and morphological plaque characteristics show a significant correlation to detected hemodynamically significant coronary stenosis. Whole CT-FFRML had the best discriminatory power, using RFRTM as the reference standard.Acacia dealbata biomass, either from forest exploitation or from the management of invasive species, can be a strategic topic, namely as a source of high-value compounds. In this sense, the present study aimed at the detailed characterization of the lipophilic components of different morphological parts of A. dealbata and the evaluation of their cytotoxicity in cells representative of different mammals' tissues. The chemical composition of lipophilic extracts from A. dealbata bark, wood and leaves was evaluated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Terpenic compounds (representing 50.2%-68.4% of the total bark and leaves extracts, respectively) and sterols (60.5% of the total wood extract) were the main components of these extracts. Other constituents, such as fatty acids, long-chain aliphatic alcohols, monoglycerides, and aromatic compounds were also detected in the studied extracts. All the extracts showed low or no cytotoxicity in the different cells tested, demonstrating their safety profile and highlighting their potential to be used in nutraceutical or pharmaceutical applications. This study is therefore an important contribution to the valorization of A. dealbata, demonstrating the potential of this species as a source of high value lipophilic compounds.This cross-sectional survey was carried out to ascertain the prevalence of fractured incisors in 11-12-year-olds. In addition we explored the relationship with overjet, incompetent lips, incisor inclination and to determine if there was any association with ethnicity and gender. All permanent incisors were examined in 672 children comprising 356 females (53.1%) and 315 males (46.9%). The sample comprised 11-12-year-olds in high schools across Trinidad and Tobago. Statistical analysis was undertaken using Chi-square test, independent t-test, and binary logistic regression. The prevalence of fractured incisors was 18.9%. Boys presented with an increased incidence of fractured incisors than girls. 86.3% of dental trauma was untreated. The average overjet of subjects with fractured incisors was 4.2 mm. 18.62% of subjects with fractured incisors had incompetent lips. The most common malocclusion (18.81%) with fractured incisors was class 2 division 1. The Afro-Trinidadian ethnicity had the highest prevalence of fractured incisors (11.0%) when compared to mixed ethnicities, which was statistically significant. Maxillary central incisors were the most commonly injured teeth. link3 Most patients delayed in seeking dental treatment for fractured incisors in our population. Early orthodontic treatment is recommended to help reduce the risk of dental trauma.Effective tumor control in patients suffering from unresectable locally recurrent breast cancer (LRBC) in pre-irradiated areas can be achieved by re-irradiation combined with superficial hyperthermia. Using this combined modality, total re-irradiation dose and toxicity can be significantly reduced compared to conventionally fractionated treatment schedules with total doses of 60-66 Gy. Applying contact-free, thermography-controlled water-filtered infrared-A superficial hyperthermia, immediately followed by hypofractionated re-irradiation, consisting of 4 Gy once per week up to a total dose of 20 Gy, resulted in high overall response rates even in large-sized tumors. Comparability of clinical data between different combined Hyperthermia (HT)/Radiotherapy (RT) treatment schedules is impeded by the highly individual characteristics of this disease. Tumor size, ranging from microscopic disease and small lesions to large-sized cancer en cuirasse, is described as one of the most important prognostic factors. However, in clinical studies and analyses of LRBC, tumor size has so far been reported in a very heterogeneous way.