background: two questions about diagnostic value of urinary neutrophil gelatin associated lipocalin (ungal) in detection of acute kidney injury (aki) in children have remained unanswered; first, which cut-off point of ungal has the highest value in detection of aki; and second when is the best time for measuring this biomarker in a patient? accordingly, the present study aimed to conduct a syst...

A previously identified gene sprE of Enterococcus faecalis strain OG1 was shown to encode an extracellular serine protease that appears to belong to the glutamyl endopeptidase I staphylococcal group. A single form of SprE with a molecular mass of 25 kDa and a pH optimum between 7.0 and 7.5 was isolated from culture supernatant of wild-type E. faecalis strain OG1RF (TX4002); this form was appare...

PURPOSE Proliferative vitreoretinopathy occurs when cells migrate into the vitreous humor, where they proliferate and produce a membrane composed of extracellular matrix. Interleukin-1-beta (IL-1-beta) may be involved in these processes because it is chemotactic and mitogenic, and it stimulates metalloproteinase production. In the present study, the effects of intravitreally injected IL-1-beta ...

OBJECTIVE To test whether perioperative sodium bicarbonate infusion can attenuate postoperative increases in serum creatinine in cardiac surgical patients. DESIGN Double-blind, randomized controlled trial. SETTING Operating rooms and intensive care unit at a tertiary hospital. PATIENTS Cohort of 100 cardiac surgical patients at increased risk of postoperative acute renal dysfunction. IN...

Members of the family Enterobacteriaceae are major cause nosocomial infections, including approximately 70% gastrointestinal 60% to urinary tract infections (UTIs), and septicemias. Since 1990, members have emerged as predominant pathogens causing UTIs. In this study, we performed phenotypic testing virulence factors in uropathogens. A total 118 uropathogens belonging were isolated from suspect...

PURPOSE Pterygia are a common, benign, fibrovascular, and infiltrative process of the corneal-conjunctival junction of unknown pathogenesis. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of proteolytic enzymes active against all components of the extracellular matrix, whose activity is specifically neutralized by tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs). In the current study the hypothesis was that MM...

Testosterone-induced neuronal addition to the adult songbird vocal control center, HVC, requires the androgenic induction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), followed by VEGF-stimulated angiogenesis. The expanded vasculature acts as a source of BDNF, which supports the immigration of new neurons from the overlying ventricular zone. In tumorigenesis, a similar process of adult angiogen...

AIMS The ductus arteriosus (DA) closes after birth to adapt to the robust changes in hemodynamics, which require intimal thickening (IT) to occur. The smooth muscle cells of the DA have been reported to play important roles in IT formation. However, the roles of the endothelial cells (ECs) have not been fully investigated. We herein focused on tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), which is ...