BACKGROUND Triple inhalation therapy with tiotropium (Tio) and salmeterol/fluticasone propionate combination (SFC) is widely used in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the effects of triple therapy on airway structural changes remain unknown. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to assess the effects of Tio, salmeterol (SM), SFC and Tio plus SFC on airway di...

The walls of Aspergillus nidulans conidia contain a green pigment that protects the spores from damage by ultraviolet light. At least two genes, wA and yA, are required for pigment synthesis: yA mutants produce yellow spores, wA mutants produce white spores, and wA mutations are epistatic to yA mutations. We cloned wA by genetic complementation of the wA3 mutation with a cosmid library containi...

BACKGROUND Omalizumab may inhibit allergic inflammation and could contribute to decreasing airway remodeling in patients with asthma. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the effects of omalizumab on airway wall thickness using computed tomography (CT). METHODS Thirty patients with severe persistent asthma were randomized to conventional therapy with (n = 14) or without omalizumab ...

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES There are limited data on, and controversies regarding gender differences in the airway dimensions of smokers. Multi-detector CT (MDCT) images were analyzed to examine whether gender could explain differences in airway dimensions of anatomically matched airways in smokers. MATERIALS AND METHODS We used VIDA imaging software to analyze MDCT scans from 2047 smokers (M:F...

Withaferin A (WA) is derived from the medicinal plant Withania somnifera that has been safely used for centuries in the Indian Ayurvedic medicine for treatment of various ailments. We now demonstrate that WA treatment causes G2 and mitotic arrest in human breast cancer cells. Treatment of MDA-MB-231 (estrogen-independent) and MCF-7 (estrogen-responsive) cell lines with WA resulted in a concentr...

Commentary Using their large sample of epilepsy surgery candidates, Berl et al. have made an important contribution regarding the complexity of the lateralization patterns during a semantic decision task of aurally presented word definitions. They have demonstrated the need for assessing lateralization of language in both Wernicke's area (WA) and Broca's area (inferior frontal gyrus [IFG]) rath...

PURPOSE To retrospectively analyze serial changes in airway lumen and wall thickness (WT) at multi-detector row computed tomography (CT) in asymptomatic subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS Institutional review board did not require its approval or informed patient consent. Airway dimensions were analyzed in 52 patients (30 men and 22 women) without known cardiopulmonary disease. Contiguous 2-mm C...

Withaferin A (WA) is a steroidal lactone purified from medicinal plant "Indian Winter Cherry" that is widely researched for its variety of properties, including antitumor effects. However, the primary molecular target of WA is unknown. By chemical structure analysis, we hypothesized that Withaferin A might be a natural proteasome inhibitor. Computational modeling studies consistently predict th...

Culture shapes the emotions people feel and want to feel. In Western cultures, happiness is an emotion that many people want to feel. Although experiencing happiness is associated with increased well-being and psychological health, recent evidence suggests wanting to feel happy to an extreme degree, or, highly valuing happiness leads to decreased well-being. To examine whether these effects of ...

BACKGROUND Computed tomography (CT) has been used for non-invasive quantitative assessment of airway dimensions, potentially showing airway remodeling, in asthma. However, most studies have examined either only one airway or only airways in anatomically unidentified cross-sections. Using software capable of precisely identifying the generation of airways and measuring airway dimensions perpendi...