Palpitations are reported commonly by women around the time of menopause as skipped, missed, irregular, and/or exaggerated heartbeats or heart pounding. However, much less is known about palpitations than other menopausal symptoms such as vasomotor symptoms. The objective of this review was to integrate evidence on menopausal palpitations measures. Keyword searching was done in PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO for English-language, descriptive articles containing data on menopause and palpitations and meeting other pre-specified inclusion criteria. Of 670 articles, 110 met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Results showed that 11 different measures were used across articles, with variability within and between measures. DS-3201 datasheet Inconsistencies in the wording of measurement items, recall periods, and response options were observed even when standardized measures were used. Most measures were limited to assessing symptom presence and severity. Findings suggest that efforts should be undertaken to (1) standardize conceptual and operational definitions of menopausal palpitations and (2) develop a patient-friendly, conceptually clear, psychometrically sound measure of menopausal palpitations.

β-Glucosidases are essential for cellulose hydrolysis by catalyzing the final cellulolytic degradation of cello-oligomers and cellobiose to glucose. D2-BGL is a fungal glycoside hydrolase family 3 (GH3) β-glucosidase isolated from Chaetomella raphigera with high substrate affinity, and is an efficient β-glucosidase supplement to Trichoderma reesei cellulase mixtures for the saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass.

We have carried out error-prone PCR to further increase catalytic efficiency of wild-type (WT) D2-BGL. Three mutants, each with substitution of two amino acids on D2-BGL, exhibited increased activity in a preliminary mutant screening in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Effects of single amino acid replacements on catalysis efficiency and enzyme production have been investigated by subsequent expression in Pichia pastoris. Substitution F256M resulted in enhancing the tolerance to substrate inhibition and specific activity, and substitution D224G resulted in increasing the production of recombinant eD2 when it was overexpressed in P. pastoris. Our study demonstrates that both catalytic efficiency and productivity of a cellulolytic enzyme can be enhanced via protein engineering.

D2-BGL mutant Mut M was generated successfully by following directed evolution approach. Mut M carries three mutations that are not reported in other directed evolution studies of GH3 β-glucosidases, and this mutant exhibited greater tolerance to substrate inhibition and higher Vmax than wild-type enzyme. Besides the enhanced specific activity, Mut M also exhibited a higher protein titer than WT D2 when it was overexpressed in P. pastoris. Our study demonstrates that both catalytic efficiency and productivity of a cellulolytic enzyme can be enhanced via protein engineering.

Adherence to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in asthma is vital for disease control. However, obtaining reliable and clinically useful measures of adherence remains a major challenge. We investigated the association between patient-reported adherence and objectively measured adherence based on filled prescriptions with inhaled corticosteroids in adults with asthma.

In total, 178 patients with asthma were asked to self-assess adherence during routine visits at a respiratory outpatient clinic. Self-assessment was performed using Foster score (“How many days in a 7-day week do you take your medication as prescribed?”, with the answer divided by 7). Objective adherence was calculated as medication possession ratio (MPR). Bivariate and multivariable linear regression, adjusted for age, sex, FEV

, GINA treatment step, excessive use of SABA, and history of exacerbations were used for analyses.

Of the included patients, 87.6% reported a Foster score of 100%, while the mean ICS MPR was 54.0% (SD 25%). Complex regreliable marker of controller adherence in asthma due to significant mismatch between patient-reported adherence and MPR. Future studies should address the complex interplay between patient-reported and objectively assessed adherence to controller medication in asthma.

Polyps of the uterine cervix are one of the most common benign hyperplastic lesions occurring in the female genital tract that usually arise from the endocervical canal and are believed to be the result of reactive changes due to long-standing chronic inflammation, multiparty, and foreign bodies. Cervical polyps are usually small in size (less than 4cm) that are commonly found in adult women; however, a few cases of giant polyps and the rare occurrence of these lesions in children have also been reported. Heterotopias and malignant transformation in cervical polyps are considered to be very rare.

We present the case of a 10-year-old Afghan girl with a giant pedunculated mass protruding out of the uterine cervix that was accompanied by abdominal pain and mass sensation. The mass was completely excised by surgical intervention and the specimen was submitted for histopathological evaluation. Upon gross and microscopic examination, the characteristic findings of a hamartomatous polyp with heterologous mesenchymal tissue in the form of mature cartilage were seen. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of a giant (17.5cm) hamartomatous polyp of the uterine cervix in this age group.

Giant hamartomatous cervical polyps rarely occur in patients below 10years of age. The majority of these lesions are benign; however, a few cases with malignant transformation are also reported, which demands elaborate investigations into the etiopathogenesis and nature of the lesions.

Giant hamartomatous cervical polyps rarely occur in patients below 10 years of age. The majority of these lesions are benign; however, a few cases with malignant transformation are also reported, which demands elaborate investigations into the etiopathogenesis and nature of the lesions.

Despite the prevalence and recurrence of polyploidization in the speciation of flowering plants, its impacts on crop intraspecific genome diversification are largely unknown. Brassica rapa is a mesopolyploid species that is domesticated into many subspecies with distinctive morphotypes.

Herein, we report the consequences of the whole-genome triplication (WGT) on intraspecific diversification using a pan-genome analysis of 16 de novo assembled and two reported genomes. Among the genes that derive from WGT, 13.42% of polyploidy-derived genes accumulate more transposable elements and non-synonymous mutations than other genes during individual genome evolution. We denote such genes as being “flexible.” We construct the Brassica rapa ancestral genome and observe the continuing influence of the dominant subgenome on intraspecific diversification in B. rapa. The gene flexibility is biased to the more fractionated subgenomes (MFs), in contrast to the more intact gene content of the dominant LF (least fractionated) subgenome.