Conifers exhibit a number of constitutive and induced mechanisms to defend against attack by pests and pathogens such as mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) and their fungal associates. Ecological studies have demonstrated that stressed trees are more susceptible to attack by mountain pine beetle than their healthy counterparts. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that wa...

IntroductionData of first-line ramucirumab plus pembrolizumab treatment programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)–positive NSCLC (cohort E) are reported (NCT02443324).MethodsIn this multicenter, open-label phase 1a/b trial, patients received 10 mg/kg and 200 mg every 21 days for up to 35 cycles. PD-L1 positivity was defined as tumor proportion score (TPS) greater than or equal 1%. Exploratory NanoStrin...

After consumption, pharmaceuticals are excreted as parent compounds and/or metabolites in urine and faeces. Some are not completely removed during wastewater treatments, forcing sewage treatment plants (STPs) to apply alternative technologies to guarantee quality of treated water. To monitor the removal efficiency of STPs, not only unchanged compounds and metabolites have to be taken into accou...

Filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), the major 230-kDa adhesin of the whooping cough agent Bordetella pertussis, is one of the most efficiently secreted proteins in Gram-negative bacteria. FHA is secreted by means of the two-partner secretion (TPS) pathway. Several important human, animal, and plant pathogens also secrete adhesins and other virulence factors by using this mode of secretion. A TPS s...

In this study, we evaluated the prognostic value of the tumour marker, tissue polypeptide-specific antigen (TPS), in 203 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and related this to several other known prognostic factors. TPS was significantly correlated with lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase and alkaline phosphatase, and the median level of TPS in patients with...

the aims of the study were to investigate the effect of poly(ε -caprolactone) (pcl) and nano- sio2 within the thermoplastic starch (tps) blends on the rate and extent of starch enzymatic hydrolysis using enzymes α-amylase and amyloglucosidase. the results of this study have revealed that blends with nano-sio2 content at 6 wt% exhibited a significantly reduced rate and extent of starch hydrolysi...

OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this open, retrospective, nonrandomized study was to evaluate survival and success rates for sandblasted, large-grit, acid-etched (SLA) and titanium plasma-sprayed (TPS) implants placed by a single practitioner. The secondary objectives included evaluation of crestal bone loss and adverse events. MATERIALS AND METHODS Implants were placed by a single practi...

Increased cardiac workload often leads to serious complications during cardiac surgery such as pericardiopulmonary bypass. Various agents have been applied to lower peripheral resistance and cardiac workload, one of which, anisodamine, is widely used in Asia. However, the direct action of anisodamine on cardiac contractile property is essentially unknown. This study was designed to examine the ...

In this study, we attempt to identify gastric telocytes (TCs) of the Chinese giant salamander Andrias davidianus, by light microscopy, immunohistochemistry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods. Toluidine blue staining showed TCs with one to two very thin and long telopodes (Tps) that were located in gastric lamina propria. Tps had characteristic structures, including podoms, podom...

We present an improved MR brain image registration algorithm, called TPS-HAMMER, which is based on the concepts of attribute vectors and hierarchical landmark selection scheme proposed in the highly successful HAMMER registration algorithm. We demonstrate that TPS-HAMMER algorithm yields better registration accuracy, robustness, and speed over HAMMER owing to (1) the employment of soft correspo...