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Objective: To determine the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in the Beijing Desheng Diabetic Eye Disease Study cohort and to investigate the association between DR and DPN. Methods: Cross-sectional study in a type 2 diabetic cohort. Questionnaires were collected and physical examinations were performed. Ophthalmologic examinations consisted of visual acuity with pinhole, slit-lamp examination of the anterior segment and seven-field 30(o) mydriatic fundus photography...

Objective: To investigate the effect of lovastatin on oxidative stress and apoptosis in neurons induced by β-amyloid peptide (Aβ). Methods: Primary culture of rat hippocampal neuron was treated with Aβ oligomers alone or combined with lovastatin. The levels of OH(-), H(2)O(2), O(2)·(-), malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activities were measured by biochemical methods and protein expression of caspase-3 and bcl-2 was detected by Western blot. Results: As compared with the control group, treatment of 0...

Luminous marine bacteria are widely used in bioassays with luminescence intensity being a physiological parameter tested. The purpose of the study was to determine whether bacterial genetic alteration is responsible for bioluminescence kinetics change under low-dose radiation exposure. The alpha-emitting radionuclide (241)Am and beta-emitting radionuclide (3)H were used as the sources of low-dose ionizing radiation. Changes of bioluminescence kinetics of Photobacterium phosphoreum in solutions of (241)Am(NO3)3, 7 kBq/L, and tritiated water, 100 MBq/L, were studied; bioluminescence kinetics stages (absence of effect, activation, and inhibition) were determined...

Background The observation of fat accumulation in different organs at pediatric autopsy may help determine the cause of death. However, a comprehensive study on fat accumulation and related etiologies is still lacking. Aim To investigate the incidence of fat accumulation in different organs in pediatric autopsies and their relevance to the cause of death. Methods From February 2004 until March 2015, fat accumulation was assessed in 561 routinely performed pediatric autopsies in our center. Age at death ranged from 14 weeks of gestation for fetuses to 16 years...

The past several years have been a time for soul searching in psychology, as we have gradually come to grips with the reality that some of our cherished findings are less robust than we had assumed. Nevertheless, the replication crisis highlights the operation of psychological science at its best, as it reflects our growing humility. At the same time, institutional variables, especially the growing emphasis on external funding as an expectation or de facto requirement for faculty tenure and promotion, pose largely unappreciated hazards for psychological science, including (a) incentives for engaging in questionable research practices, (b) a single-minded focus on programmatic research, (c) intellectual hyperspecialization, (d) disincentives for conducting direct replications, (e) stifling of creativity and intellectual risk taking, (f) researchers promising more than they can deliver, and (g) diminished time for thinking deeply...

Monocyte-derived DCs (mDCs) are major target cells in porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) pathogenesis; however, the plasticity of mDCs in response to activation stimuli and PRRSV infection remains unstudied. In this study, we polarized mDCs, and applied genome-wide transcriptomic analysis and predicted protein-protein interaction networks to compare signature genes involved in mDCs activation and response to PRRSV infection. Porcine mDCs were polarized with mediators for 30 hours, then mock-infected, infected with PRRSV strain VR2332, or a highly pathogenic PRRSV strain (rJXwn06), for 5 h...

Few live attenuated vaccines protect against multiple serotypes of bacterial pathogen because host serotype-specific immune responses are limited to the serotype present in the vaccine strain. Here, immunization with a mutant of Shigella flexneri 2a protected guinea pigs against subsequent infection by S. dysenteriae type 1 and S. sonnei strains. This deletion mutant lacked the RNA-binding protein Hfq leading to increased expression of the type III secretion system via loss of regulation, resulting in attenuation of cell viability through repression of stress response sigma factors...

Benzodiazepines can ameliorate social disturbances and increase social competition, particularly in high-anxious individuals. However, the neural circuits and mechanisms underlying benzodiazepines' effects in social competition are not understood. Converging evidence points to the mesolimbic system as a potential site of action for at least some benzodiazepine-mediated effects. Furthermore, mitochondrial function in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) has been causally implicated in the link between anxiety and social competitiveness...

PURPOSE: To examine whether the effects of psychosocial and vocational interventions delivered in the first 3 mo post-acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are effective for improving work outcomes compared with other interventions. METHODS: A search was completed for English language publications up to March 2016 across 4 electronic databases and gray literature. Inclusion criteria were (1) psychosocial and/or vocational interventions; (2) adults 18 years or older with an AMI who were within the first 3 mo post-AMI; (3) randomized or clinically controlled trials; and (4) reporting of at least 1 return-to-work (RTW) outcome: including return to paid/unpaid employment, either full-time or part-time, to the previous job role or on modified duties...

PURPOSE: Having previously reported that comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation (CCR) is effective for secondary prevention post-transient ischemic attack (TIA)/mild nondisabling stroke (MNDS), we present psychometric findings for the same sample that elucidate subacute TIA/MNDS psychological outcomes and test whether CCR would be independently associated with psychological improvements. METHODS: In this prospective cohort trial patients with ≥1 risk factor, recruited from a stroke prevention clinic within 12 months (mean = 11...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of ARDT after surgical resection of ACC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Records of patients from our institutional ACC database were retrospectively assessed. A paired comparison analysis was used to evaluate the oncological outcomes between patients treated with surgery followed by ARDT or surgery only (control). The endpoints were LRFS, RFS, and OS. A systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis was also performed to evaluate local recurrence of ACC when ARDT was used...

BACKGROUND: Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) is an inflammatory condition of the scalp, which leads to scarring and slowly progressive recession of frontotemporal and/or frontoparietal hairline. Choice of FFA treatment is highly dependent on accurate assessment of disease phase, as medical treatments are effective only during the initial inflammatory stage. METHODS: To objectively quantify the activity of the inflammatory process in FFA, 22 female patients were examined by both infrared thermography and optical dermoscopy before tissue sampling...

Carbon oxidation methods have been used as rapid and sensitive methods to determine whole-body AA requirements in multiple species. The objectives of the current studies were to validate complete CO recovery, determine the bicarbonate retention factor, and estimate the Phe requirement, in the presence of excess Tyr, in adult dogs using the direct oxidation technique. In this series of studies, 2 oxidation chambers were constructed and calibrated to ensure accurate collection of breath CO. First, 104.6 ± 7...

Fat plays an important role in the carnivore diet. It has high digestibility and high energy content and likely improves digestibility of the diet when present in greater amounts, suggesting that endogenous fat adversely affects the apparent digestibility of fat in low-fat diets. This study aimed to determine the endogenous fat loss (EFL) and true total tract digestibility (TTTD) of fat in dogs by using diets having different fat:carbohydrate ratios. Furthermore, the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of macronutrients and energy, food intake, fecal output, and stool quality were evaluated...

Effects of monensin inclusion and cattle subspecies on utilization of bermudagrass hay (13.7% CP, 77.3% NDF, and 38.8% ADF) were evaluated using ruminally cannulated steers (5 [BI] and 5 [BT]; 398 kg BW). Subspecies were concurrently subjected to a 2-period, 2-treatment crossover design. Treatments were 0 (CON) or 200 mg·steer·d monensin (MON) in 0.91 kg dried distillers' grains with solubles. Periods were 70 d in length: 20 d of adaptation, 22 d of sample collection, and 28 d for withdrawal of treatment...

The size, support, and health of udders limit the productive life of beef cows, especially those with background, because, in general, such cows have a reputation for problems with udders. Genomic association studies of bovine udder traits have been conducted in dairy cattle and recently in Continental European beef breeds but not in cows with background. The objective of this study was to determine associations of SNP and udder support scores, teat length, and teat diameter in half (Nellore), half (Angus) cows...

Effects of monensin withdrawal and cattle subspecies on the utilization of bermudagrass hay (14.3% CP, 72.3% NDF, and 36.9% ADF) were evaluated using ruminally cannulated steers (5 [BI] and 5 [BT]). Subspecies were concurrently subjected to a 2-period, 2-treatment crossover design. Treatments consisted of either 0 mg·steer·d-1 monensin with no previous monensin feeding (CON) or withdrawal from 200 mg·steer·d-1 monensin (MON) fed individually in 0.91 kg dried distillers' grains with solubles for 42 d. Withdrawal was evaluated for a 28-d period...

The present study compared the effects of diets formulated with fibers of different fermentability and protein sources of animal or vegetable origins on old and adult dogs. The experiment was organized in a 3 (diets) × 2 (ages) factorial arrangement, totaling 6 treatments. Thirty-six Beagle dogs were used (18 old dogs [10.2 ± 1.0 yr] and 18 young adult dogs [2.6 ± 0.9 yr]), with 6 dogs per treatment. Three diets with similar compositions were used: a nonfermentable insoluble fiber source (sugarcane fiber) and chicken byproduct meal (nonfermentable fiber [NFF] diet), a fermentable fiber source (beet pulp) and chicken byproduct meal (fermentable fiber [FF] diet), and soybean meal as a protein and fiber source (soybean meal [SM] diet)...

Using a previously established model for nutritional acceleration of puberty, beef heifers ( = 48; 1/2 Angus × 1/4 Hereford × 1/4 Brahman) were used in a replicated 2 × 2 factorial design to examine the effects of diet type (high forage [HF] vs. high concentrate [HC]) and rate of BW gain (low gain [LG], 0.45 kg/d, vs. high gain [HG], 0.91 kg/d) on key metabolic hormones and age at puberty. After weaning at 14 ± 1 wk of age, heifers were assigned randomly to be fed HC-HG, HC-LG, HF-HG, or HF-LG ( = 12/group) beginning at 4 mo of age for 14 wk...

The objective of this experiment was to determine if partial replacement of cattle rumen contents with those from bison would increase in situ ruminal fiber degradation of various forages. The second objective was to examine individual variation among cattle in their ability to degrade forage and their responses to inoculation. In situ degradation of barley straw, canola straw, alfalfa hay, and timothy hay was measured in 16 ruminally cannulated heifers fed a barley straw-based diet before and after inoculation with combined rumen contents from 32 bison (performed twice, 14 d apart)...