BACKGROUND Neck pain is a frequent reason for seeking medical advice. Neuroanatomical findings suggest a close connection between the pharynx and the trapezius region. Irritation of the pharynx may induce tenderness of this area. Specific tender points, called neck reflex points (NRPs), can be identified here with high reproducibility. We hypothesized that therapeutic local anesthesia (TLA; or ...

Use of adequate adjuvant is necessary for induction of effective antitumor immune responses. To develop an effective adjuvant for cancer immunotherapy, we selected formalin-inactivated (f)-HSV as an adjuvant component, and analyzed the mechanisms underlying its adjuvant effects. First, we found that f-HSV can induce the tumor antigen-specific CTLs by enhancing antigen cross-presentation by dend...

Little is known about the transmission or tropism of the newly discovered human retrovirus, human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 3 (HTLV-3). Here, we examine the entry requirements of HTLV-3 using independently expressed Env proteins. We observed that HTLV-3 surface glycoprotein (SU) binds efficiently to both activated CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. This contrasts with both HTLV-1 SU, which primari...

In home health care (HHC) services, nurses or professional caregivers are dispatched to patients’ homes to provide medical care services, such that each patient can stay at home to be treated periodically. The HHC problem consists of the nurse rostering problem (NRP) and the vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW), both of which are NP-hard problems, which are harder or equal to the h...

AIMS Neuropilins 1 and 2 (NRP1 and NRP2) play crucial roles in endothelial cell migration contributing to angiogenesis and vascular development. Both NRPs are also expressed by cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and are implicated in VSMC migration stimulated by PDGF-BB, but it is unknown whether NRPs are relevant for VSMC function in vivo. We investigated the role of NRPs in the rat...

Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A), a known inhibitor of axonal sprouting, also alters vascular patterning. Here we show that Sema3A selectively interferes with VEGFbut not bFGF-induced angiogenesis in vivo. Consistent with this, Sema3A disrupted VEGFbut not bFGF-mediated endothelial cell signaling to FAK and Src, key mediators of integrin and growth factor signaling; however, signaling to ERK by either gr...

VEGF is fundamental in the development and maintenance of the vasculature. VEGF(165) signaling through VEGF receptor (VEGFR)-2/kinase insert domain receptor (KDR) is a highly regulated process involving the formation of a tertiary complex with glypican (GYP)-1 and neuropilin (NRP)-1. Both VEGF and VEGFR-2 expression are reduced in emphysematous lungs; however, the mechanism of regulation of VEG...

PURPOSE Nutritional rehabilitation is an essential part of inpatient treatment for adolescents with restrictive eating disorders (ED). The purpose of this study was to examine weight gain, prevalence of refeeding syndrome, and nutritional composition of the diet in hospitalized adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS), restrictive type, on a str...

As for any solid tumour, pituitary adenoma expansion is dependent on neovascularization through angiogenesis. In this process, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2 and neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) may play an outstanding role. The intention of this work was to study the expression/localization and possible function of VEGF receptors in pituitary adenomas. VEGF re...

INTRODUCTION The aim of this paper is to present results of first two years of preanalytical external quality assessment (EQA) in Croatia. MATERIALS AND METHODS This paper summarizes results from 6 rounds of preanalytical EQA during 2014-2016 in 161-175 Croatian laboratories (number ranged between cycles). EQA was designed as an online survey of the compliance with National recommendations fo...