PURPOSE GSK3β is a protein kinase that can suppress a number of key oncoproteins. We have previously shown in preclinical models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) that inhibition of GSK3β causes stabilization and nuclear translocation of β-catenin, poor differentiation, proliferation, and resistance to radiation. The objective of this study was to determine its utility as a biomarker o...

BACKGROUND People with critical illness (CI) commonly develop various forms of immune dysfunction, however, there is limited information concerning immune dysfunction in dogs with CI. HYPOTHESIS The immune response in CI dogs differs from that of healthy dogs. ANIMALS Immunologic variables were compared between 14 dogs with CI, defined as APPLEfast score of >20 points, admitted to the Unive...

We present new results for the 3-point correlation function, ζ, measured as a function of scale, luminosity and colour from the final version of the two-degree field galaxy redshift survey (2dFGRS). The reduced three point correlation function, Q3 ∼ ζ/ξ , is estimated for different triangle shapes and sizes, employing a full covariance analysis. The form of Q3 is consistent with the expectation...

This paper describes new design schemes of telecommunication network management (TMN) agent for man machine language (MML)-managed network elements (NEs), especially for ATM networks. Most of currently developed ATM switches have simple MML interfaces for local operator crafts. This means that most operations, administration, maintenance, and provisioning (OAM&P) functions reside within the NE ...

AIMS Whatever the technique used for surgical or endovascular repair of a coarctation of the aorta (CA), long-term complications might occur. Aneurysm formation after patch angioplasty is not uncommon and may lead to a life-threatening condition. Therefore, we were interested in the long-term results of different types of tube grafts, from which a lower degree of dilatation is expected. METHO...

Conversion by alpha-thrombin of the zymogen human protein C (HPC) to activated protein C (aPC) is an important physiologic feedback control mechanism for the coagulation cascade. Although activation of HPC by thrombomodulin-bound thrombin is relatively rapid, activation by free thrombin occurs at a significantly slower rate. Previously, we generated a "hyper-activatable" derivative of HPC (FLIN...

BACKGROUND Puncture of the atrial appendage may provide access to the pericardial space. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of epicardial mapping and ablation through an endocardial transatrial access in a swine model. METHODS AND RESULTS An 8-F Mullins sheath was used to perforate the right (n=16) or left (n=1) atrial appendage in 17 pigs (median weight, 27.5 kg; first and...

BACKGROUND Substantial geographic variation exists in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) use across the United States. It is unclear the extent to which high PCI utilization can be explained by PCI for inappropriate indications. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between PCI rates across regional healthcare markets utilizing hospital referral regions (HRRs) and PC...

BACKGROUND Healthcare-acquired infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are a significant cause of increased mortality, morbidity and additional health care costs in United States. Surface decontamination technologies that utilize pulsed xenon ultraviolet light (PPX-UV) may be effective at reducing microbial burden. The purpose of this study was to compare standard man...

We introduce a novel method for predicting the secondary structure of proteins, PREDICT (PRofile Enumeration DICTionary), in which the nearest-neighbor method is applied to a pattern space. For a given protein sequence, PSI-BLAST is used to generate a profile that defines patterns for amino acid residues and their local sequence environments. By applying the PSI-BLAST to protein sequences with ...