Purpose: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records to estimate the feasibility and surgical outcome of laparoscopic herniorrhaphies in patients with previous lower abdominal surgery. Methods: Between December 2000 and December 2008, a total of 1,101 cases of laparoscopic herniorrhaphies were performed in 974 patients, among them 47 cases (4.27%) of laparoscopic herniorrhaphy in 40 patient...

Transactive Memory Systems (TMS) are important cognitive constructs to share knowledge and control and coordinate interdependent tasks in teams. The construction of Transactive Memory Systems involves a number of key phases that lead up to the actual formation of a team’s TMS. In particular, the development of Task-Expertise-People (TEP) units, form an essential part of the development of a tea...

Purpose of Review—Understanding of the aetiology of tubal ectopic pregnancy (tEP) remains incomplete. We aim to summarize the latest advances in laboratory models of tEP that we believe will, ultimately, contribute to improving the diagnosis and management of the condition. Recent Findings—Progress in proteome pre-fractionation and multidimensional protein identification technology has proved p...

The full-scale in situ bioremediation demonstration conducted at DOE’s Savannah River Site revealed a wide range of spatial and temporal variations of concentrations of VOCs, enzymes, and biomass in groundwater and vadose zone monitoring boreholes over the field site. One of the powerful modern approaches to analyze uncertain and imprecise data is based on the use of methods of fuzzy systems mo...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and electric currents modulate regeneration; however, the interplay between biochemical and biophysical signals during regeneration remains poorly understood. We investigate the interactions between redox and bioelectric activities during tail regeneration in Xenopus laevis tadpoles. We show that inhibition of NADPH oxidase-mediated production of ROS, or scavenging...

DL-1-(2,3-Dihydroxypropyl)thymine was prepared by Hilbert-Johnson reaction of 2,4-dinethoxy-5-methylpyrimidine with allyl bromide followed by the osmium tetroxide catalyzed hydroxylation of the l-allyl-4-methoxy-5-methylpyrimidin-2-one obtained as an intermediate. The D-glycero enantiomer, R-1-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)thymine and the corresponding 1-substituted uracil derivative were prepared from ...

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy and adverse effects of paclitaxel-etoposide-carboplatin/cisplatin (TEP/TCE) regimen with those of etoposide-carboplatin/cisplatin (EP/CE) regimen as first-line treatment for combined small-cell lung cancer (CSCLC). METHODS A retrospective study was conducted on 62 CSCLC patients who were treated at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to describe the rationale and design of a randomized controlled trial analyzing the effects of mesh type (Ultrapro versus Prolene mesh) on postoperative pain and well-being following an endoscopic Totally Extraperitoneal (TEP) repair for inguinal hernias (short: TULP trial). METHODS AND DESIGN The TULP trial is a prospective, two arm, double blind, ran...

Due to worldwide restrictions on polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), the demand for alternative flame retardants (AFRs), such as organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs), novel brominated FRs (NBFRs) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), has recently increased. Little is known about human exposure to NBFRs and OPFRs and that their levels in dust have been scarcely evaluated worldwide. To inc...