Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial disorder affecting the composition and volume of tears. DED causes ocular surface dryness, cooling, and hyperosmolality, leading ultimately to corneal epithelium damage and reduced visual performance. Ocular discomfort is the main clinical symptom in DED. However, the peripheral neural source of such unpleasant sensations is still unclear. We analyzed i...

The mossy fiber (MF) pathway is critical to hippocampal function and influenced by gonadal hormones. Physiological data are limited, so we asked whether basal transmission and long-term potentiation (LTP) differed in slices of adult male and female rats. The results showed small sex differences in basal transmission but striking sex differences in opioid receptor sensitivity and LTP. When slice...

The delta opioid receptor modulates nociceptive and emotional behaviors. This receptor has been shown to exhibit measurable spontaneous activity. Progress in understanding the biological relevance of this activity has been slow, partly due to limited characterization of compounds with intrinsic negative activity. Here, we have used constitutively active mutant (CAM) delta receptors in two diffe...

Kidney transplantation is the best treatment option in comparison to dialysis, although patients are obliged to receive life-long medical treatment with immunosuppressive drugs (ISDs) for prevention of the graft rejection. Such immunosuppressive treatment may be costly and associated with multiple adverse effects. Since costs are viewed as one of the major constraints for the increasing number ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Data on the burden of tuberculosis (TB) in India are vital for programme planners to plan the resource requirements and for monitoring the nation-wide TB control programme. There was a need to revise the earlier estimate on the burden of TB in India based on the increase in population and current epidemiological data. This study estimates the burden of disease for the y...

DNA barcoding is a fast and reliable tool to assess and monitor biodiversity and, via community phylogenetics, to investigate ecological and evolutionary processes that may be responsible for the community structure of forests. In this study, DNA barcodes for the two widely used plastid coding regions rbcL and matK are used to contribute to identification of morphologically undetermined individ...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of different polishing techniques on the surface roughness of dental porcelains. MATERIAL AND METHODS Fifty-five cylindirical specimens (15x2 mm) were prepared for each feldspathic (Vita VMK 95, Ceramco III) and low-fusing dental porcelain (Matchmaker). Fifty-five specimens of machinable feldspathic porcelain blocks (Vitablocs Ma...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To compare partial-breast clinical target volumes generated using a standard 15 mm margin (CTV(standard)) with those generated using three-dimensional surgical excision margins (CTV(tailored 30)) in women who have undergone wide local excision (WLE) for breast cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS Thirty-five women underwent WLE with placement of clips in the anterior, deep and ...

Purpose: To compare tumour bed (TB) volumes delineated using MRI plus CT/clips (MRCT) with those delineated using CT/clips-alone in post-lumpectomy breast cancer patients positioned prone, and to determine the value of MRCT for planning partial breast radiotherapy (PBI). Materials/ Methods: 30 women with breast cancer each had 6-12 titanium-clips secured in the excision cavity walls at lumpecto...

16S rRNA gene amplicons were pyrosequenced to assess bacterioplankton community composition, diversity, and phylogenetic community structure for 17 stations in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM) sampled in March 2010. Statistical analyses showed that samples from depths ≤100 m differed distinctly from deeper samples. SAR 11 α-Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes dominated communities at depths ≤100...