BACKGROUND Early nutrition affects the risk of atopy and infections through modifications of intestinal microbiota. The Prebiotics in the Prevention of Atopy (PIPA) study was a 24-month randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. It aimed to evaluate the effects of a galacto-oligosaccharide/polydextrose (GOS/PDX)-formula (PF) on atopic dermatitis (AD) and common infections in infants wh...

: Radiation therapy (XRT) is an important modality for treatment of breast cancer. Its use has occasionally resulted in the development of secondary malignancies.We describe this interesting case of a 46-year-old woman who developed malignant fibrous histiocytoma in the contralateral breast 6 years after a lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy for infiltrating ductal carcinoma. The role of X...

Initiation of DNA replication in higher eukaryotes is still a matter of controversy. Some evidence suggests it occurs at specific sites. Data obtained using two-dimensional (2D) agarose gel electrophoresis, however, led to the notion that it may occur at random in broad zones. This hypothesis is primarily based on the observation that several contiguous DNA fragments generate a mixture of the s...

The regional management of trace elements in soils requires understanding the interaction between the natural system and human socio-economic activities. In this study, a social-ecological patterns of heavy metals (SEPHM) approach was proposed to identify the heavy metal concentration patterns and processes in different ecoregions of Beijing (China) based on a self-organizing map (SOM). Potenti...

The plasmonic gold nanoparticles are promising candidates for photothermal therapy (PTT) application. The optical properties of various gold nanoparticles have been widely investigated for PTT application in the first near-infrared (NIR) window (650-950 nm). However, few studies have been reported on the nanoparticles employed in the second NIR window (1000-1350 nm) where light penetrates deepe...

The National Medical Research Council (NMRC) is Singapore's funding and administrating organization to support medical research in the nation. Its basic activities range from grant application to project financial management. With the ever increasing interest and rapid development of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) research, NMRC has embarked on an information system to consolidate Singapore...

The reservoir-induced seismicity (RIS) at the Karkheh dam site with a reservoir capacity of about 7.4x109 meters is investigated. Based on the assessment of the seismicity of the dam site in equal time periods before and after reservoir impoundment, it was found that the number of earthquakes have been tripled after impoundment, while their magnitudes and focal depths become smaller. The averag...

This study aimed to clarify the effects of short-term bisphosphonate (BP) administration in Japanese osteoporotic patients retrospectively. Daily minodronate (MIN) at 1 mg/day (MIN group) or weekly risedronate (RIS) at 17.5 mg/week (RIS group) was primarily prescribed for each patient. We analyzed the laboratory data of 35 cases (18 of MIN and 17 of RIS) before the start of treatment and at 4 m...

OBJECTIVES To assess the impact of introducing a new Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) and Radiology Information System (RIS) on: (i) Medical Imaging work processes; and (ii) turnaround times (TATs) for x-ray and CT scan orders initiated in the Emergency Department (ED). METHODS We employed a mixed method study design comprising: (i) semi-structured interviews with Medical Ima...

A multicenter study conducted in healthy population of 6 cities from the 4 corners and central China for 7 serum-specific proteins to identify the sources of variation and establish the reference intervals on 2 automation platforms.A total of 3148 subjects aged 19 to 64 years old were enrolled in this study to ensure at least 120 participants in each 10-year age group and each city. The majorit...