Samples were incubated

Samples were incubated selleck kinase inhibitor at 42 °C for 50 min, and the reaction was stopped by heating the samples at 70 °C for 15 min. Samples were cooled at 4 °C for 10 min. Diluted samples from the reverse transcriptase reaction (1:10) underwent real-time PCR amplification using Platinum SYBR QPCR Supermix-UDG and specific primers for AT1R (forward, CACTTTCCTGGATGTGCTGA; reverse, CCCAGAAAGCCGTAGAACAG;

141 bp) and AT2R (forward, CTGCTGGGATTGCCTTAATGA; reverse, AGCAGATGTTTTCTGATTCCAAAGT; 94 bp). Gene expression of GAPDH mRNA was used for normalization (forward, GGTGCTGAGTATGTCGTGGA; reverse, ACTGTGGTCATGAGCCCTTC; 262 bp). Real-time PCRs were performed, recorded, and analyzed using the Corbett Research system (Corbett Life Sciences, Australia). The conditions BI 2536 chemical structure for PCR were as follows: 95 °C for 2 min, then 40 cycles of 95 °C for 15 s, 60 °C for 1 min, and 72 °C for 15 s. The specificity of the SYBR Green assay was confirmed by melting point analysis. Expression data were calculated from the cycle threshold (Ct) value using the ΔCt method for quantification [22]. Results were expressed as fold increases. All of the reagents utilized in this method were purchased from Invitrogen (USA). Immunohistochemical assay for detection of angiotensin receptors in portal vein was realized according with the method previously described

[4]. The portal vein was fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA) solution for 6 h and immersed in sucrose solution (30%) for 12 h. After that, portal vein was embedded in medium for cryosectioning, cut into 8 μm thick sections with

a Leica CM 1850 cryostat (Leica Instruments, Germany), and placed on slides. The vessels were incubated with rabbit anti-goat AT1R or AT2R antibody (IgG; Santa Cruz Biotechnology, USA) at 1:25 and 1:10 dilutions, respectively, at 4 °C for 18 h. Slides were washed with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and incubated with learn more biotin-conjugated secondary antibody (diluted 1:1000; Vector Laboratory, USA) at room temperature for 2 h. After incubation, slides were washed with PBS and incubated with the ABC Vectastain kit (Vector Laboratory, USA) at room temperature for 2 h. The signal was revealed by incubating the slides with 3,3-diaminobenzidine (DAB) (Sigma–Aldrich, USA) and 0.06% H2O2 for 30 and 60 s for the AT1R and AT2R antibodies, respectively. The semi-quantitative analysis of staining to AT1R and AT2R antibodies was determined at least in five portal vein slides from each animal and protein expression levels were expressed as arbitrary units determined by optic densitometry with the KS-300 image program (Carl-Zeiss, Germany). Ang II was from Bachem-CA; HOE 140, PD 123319, L-NAME, and indomethacin were from Sigma–Aldrich; losartan was from Merck Sharp & Döhme and celecoxib was from Pfizer.

The LAP ELISA measured Latent TGF-β1 without preceding acidificat

The LAP ELISA measured Latent TGF-β1 without preceding acidification of human samples and did not cross-react with LAP2 or − 3. No cross-reactivity of the LAP ELISA with Latent TGF-β in bovine serum was found making the ELISA suitable also for human cell supernatants containing bovine serum. BALB/c mice were immunized subcutaneously with 10 μg recombinant human (rh) Latent TGF-β1 (R&D Systems, Abingdon, UK) in 50 μl phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and 50 μl Freund’s complete

adjuvant (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA). Mice were boosted using Freund’s incomplete adjuvant week 4 and 7 (Sigma). At week 27, 10 μg antigen in PBS was given intraperitoneally and 3 days later spleen cells were fused with Sp2/0 cells as described (elGhazali et al., 1993). Positive hybridomas Enzalutamide concentration identified by indirect ELISA were subcloned www.selleckchem.com/products/DAPT-GSI-IX.html and cultured. MAbs were purified and biotinylated as described (Zuber et al., 2005). Mice were housed and handled at the Karolinska Institute, Solna, Sweden, according to the guidelines of the Swedish Ethical Committee for Animal Protection. Maxisorp 96-well plates (Nunc, Roskilde, Denmark) were

coated for 16 h at 4 °C with 2 μg/ml of rh LAP1, Latent TGF-β1 or TGF-β1 (R&D Systems) in 100 μl PBS. Other assay steps were at room temperature (RT), using 100 μl/well. Five washes using PBS with 0.1% Tween 20 were made between assay steps. After coating, wells were blocked for 1 h with incubation Erythromycin buffer (PBS with 0.05% Tween 20 and 0.1% bovine serum albumin). Hybridoma supernatants were diluted in incubation buffer and incubated 2 h. Next, goat-anti-mouse IgG alkaline phosphatase conjugate (Mabtech, Nacka Strand, Sweden) was added and incubated for 1 h, followed by development with para-nitrophenyl phosphate (Sigma) and absorbance measurement (405 nm) by an ELISA reader (Labsystems, Helsinki, Finland). In the LAP ELISA, mAb MT593 (IgG1) was coated at 2 μg/ml and wells were blocked as above. Volumes and temperature for all assay steps and washes in between

were as above. Human plasma was diluted in an ELISA diluent (Mabtech) preventing potential interference by heterophilic antibodies in the samples (Bolstad et al., 2011). Also rh LAP1, Latent TGF-β1 and TGF-β1 and other samples were diluted in ELISA diluent. ELISA diluent was added to acidified samples after the acid treatment. After sample incubation for 2 h, mAb MT517-biotin (IgG1) at 1 μg/ml in ELISA diluent was incubated 1 h followed by streptavidin-horse radish peroxidase conjugate (SA-HRP; Mabtech) in incubation buffer for 1 h. The assay was developed with 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine substrate (Mabtech) and stopped with 1 M H2SO4 followed by absorbance measurement (450 nm). The same protocol was used for TGF-β1 ELISA (Human TGF-β1 DuoSet kit specific for TGF-β1; R&D Systems). Sample levels were determined against standards using rhLAP1 in the LAP ELISA and rhTGF-β1 in the TGF-β1 ELISA.

A549 cells are still the most commonly used cell line for cytotox

A549 cells are still the most commonly used cell line for cytotoxicity testing of nanoparticles (e.g., Akhtar et al., 2012, Lankoff et al., 2012 and Stoehr et al., 2011), although tightness of intercellular junctions is lower than that of other cell lines derived from the respiratory

system, such as H358, H596, H322 cells. The later cell lines, however, are used less often in pharmacological and toxicological testing because they are less well characterized. To test aerosol exposure, respiratory cells are often exposed in submersed culture, although this does not reflect their normal physiological situation. More advanced in vitro exposure models use culture in the air–liquid interface (ALI) where cells are cultured on semi permeable membranes of a transwell insert. LY294002 concentration find more The insert is placed into a culture well, medium is supplied from the basal site only and cells are exposed to an aerosol at the apical part. Transwell cultures were first used for permeability

studies of gastrointestinal cells, like Caco-2 cells, and later adapted to other cell types (Hidalgo et al., 1989). Several systems are available to expose transwell cultures to aerosols: the Voisin chamber (Voisin et al., 1977 and Voisin and Wallaert, 1992), the Minucell system (Bitterle et al., 2006 and Tippe et al., 2002), the Cultex system (Aufderheide and Mohr, 2000 and Ritter et al., 2003) and the modified Cultex system, the VITROCELL system (Aufderheide and Mohr, 2004). These systems have been used for volatile organic compounds and carbon or cerium oxide nanoparticles in the atmosphere (Bakand et al., 2006, Bitterle et al., 2006, Gasser et al., 2009, Meloxicam Paur et al., 2008 and Rothen-Rutishauser et al., 2009). For nanoparticle-containing aerosols the ALICE (air liquid interface exposure) system (Brandenberger et al., 2010a, Brandenberger et al., 2010b and Lenz et al.,

2009) and the MicroSprayer has been used (Blank et al., 2006). In this study, we evaluated a new test system based on the VITROCELL system by assessing the deposition rate of nanoparticle-containing aerosols in respiratory cells compared to a macromolecular reference substance. We were particularly interested in the suitability of this new system when using a nebulizer type also frequently used by patients. This VITROCELL based system was compared to a manual aerolizer, the MicroSprayer, which allows the direct application of aerosols to cells. Cellular effects observed by direct application of the aerosol to cells cultured in ALI were compared to those obtained by testing of nanoparticle suspension on cells cultured in submersed culture. These data can help to decide whether larger work and material efforts of aerosol exposure testing are justified. For the evaluation of the system two particle types were used.

g , Fitzgerald et al , 2007; Murray et al , 2007; Riddoch et al ,

g., Fitzgerald et al., 2007; Murray et al., 2007; Riddoch et al., 1998; Tiwari and Amar, 2008). Interestingly, CBS is also associated find more with metabolic impairment in the SMA (e.g., Garraux et al., 2000). To the best of our knowledge, patients with AHS have not previously been tested on object affordance “compatibility” tasks, or paradigms designed to investigate automatic inhibition of primed actions (e.g., masked priming). We met with four patients with CBS

(see Table 1 for a summary of patients’ details), but unfortunately the motor symptoms experienced by three of these patients were so severe that they were not able to complete basic motor tasks. However, one patient, Patient SA, was able to make speeded manual responses with either hand according to stimuli presented. Patient SA had AHS which affected her right hand (involuntary grasping movements to objects placed within her reach), and no evidence of alien behaviour in her left hand

(see Table 1). Here we report results from two experiments conducted with Patient SA. Experiment 1 was designed to investigate whether object affordance effects were stronger in the alien hand relative to the unaffected hand. Our second study compared automatic inhibition of action in the two hands. If grasping behaviour in AHS arises because of disruption of normal automatic suppression of afforded INK 128 responses, one might predict that (i) object affordance effects are exaggerated in the alien hand compared to the non-alien hand (and relative to healthy controls); and (ii) automatic inhibition of automatically evoked responses is reduced in the alien limb. Patient SA was a 72-year-old, right-handed woman who first reported noticing her symptoms ADAMTS5 3 years

previously when she had a fall. At that time, it was observed that her speech had a telegraphic quality. She developed progressive difficulty speaking and writing, swallowing, and controlling her right hand. She began to use her right arm less frequently. Although she could voluntarily move it if necessary, there was a lack of spontaneous use. Soon, she began to experience difficulty chopping vegetables using the right hand. She encountered problems with her right hand grip, but at that time had no difficulty letting objects go. Prior to testing, she noted that her walking had slowed. She began to experience difficulties standing from a seated position. There was no family history of neurodegenerative disease. On examination, she had a profound expressive aphasia and impaired articulation. However, she was able to comprehend 3-stage commands well. Visual fields were full to confrontation. There was no evidence of visual or tactile extinction. Eye movements were full, but she was slow to initiate saccades, particularly towards the left compared to the right and there was some evidence of gaze impersistence.

The lack of direct effect on the smooth muscle could also evidenc

The lack of direct effect on the smooth muscle could also evidence that κ-KTx2.5 does not have activity on Ca2+-dependent K+-channels. In conclusion this communication describes structural and functional characteristics of a new member of the κ-KTx scorpion toxins purified from the venom of a scorpion of

the family Liochelidae, whose only function found thus far is the blockade, at micromolar concentration, of Kv1.1 and Kv1.4 ion channels. Based on our docking models, it could be that they represent a novel manner by which these peptides interact with ion-channel, although the possibility that there is a different target for the action of these peptides is not discarded. It is known that scorpion and spider peptides are promiscuous in their action [27]. However, a better target candidate is not known yet. Financial support: Veliparib CNPq/CONACyT (EFS and LDP), CNPq (306281/2006-6; 472731/2008-4 to EFS), CAPES (TSC), FINEP (SMF), F.W.O.-Vlaanderen (G.0257.08 and G.0330.06 NVP-BEZ235 cost to JT), K.U. Leuven

(OT-05-64 to JT) and ‘Universitaire Attractiepool’ of the Federal Government of Belgium (P6/31, UAP to JT). The authors greatly acknowledge Dr Carlos Bloch from Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, EMBRAPA, Brazil, Dr Werner Treptow from Biophysics Laboratory, University of Brasilia, Brazil, and “Laboratório Exame” (Brasília – DF, Brazil) for the kind gift of the bacteria strains used in this work. “
“Snake bites are an important public health problem in Brazil. Approximately 20,000 cases are reported annually, with a mortality rate of 0.5%. Envenomation

Neratinib molecular weight due to Bothrops sp. and Lachesis muta accounts for more than 80% of cases [30]. Local or invasive hemorrhage is a major complication of Bothrops and Lachesis envenomation; this results from the action of hemorrhagic metalloproteinases, also referred to as reprolysins [4]. In addition, there are secondary factors which are involved in blood coagulation disorders, kinin release and also neurotoxic components [22] and [23]. Metalloproteinases from viperid snake venoms (SVMPs) disrupt the vascular basement membrane resulting in typical hemorrhage [4] and [33]. As observed in other snakes, envenoming by the bushmaster snake (L. muta muta) leads to the development of both local and systemic bleeding. Two hemorrhagic factors characterized as metalloproteinases were named LHF-I and LHF-II (Lachesis hemorrhagic factor I and II), and correspond to mutalysin-I and mutalysin-II (mut-II), respectively [35]. Mutalysin-I is a large peptidase (100 kDa) with restricted substrate specificity and has the strongest hemorrhagic activity (approximately 30 times higher than mut-II). Mut-II is a 22.5 kDa single chain protein with broad substrate specificity and traces of hemorrhagic effects [35] and [36].

For all statistics, the level of significance for 2-tailed P valu

For all statistics, the level of significance for 2-tailed P values was set at ≤0.05. All statistical procedures were carried out by SSPS 17.0 for Windows (SPSS, Chicago, IL). Table 1 lists the patients’ clinical characteristics. All children completed treatment. There was no significant difference in the baseline demographic variables between

learn more the groups, with the exception of mobility. The mobility level differed between the children with mental disability and the total cerebral palsy group (U = 196.00; P < 0.001) and also between the children with spastic and dyskinetic cerebral palsy subtype (U = 1038.00; P = 0.02). Because of limitations related to the clinical diagnoses, it was not always possible to obtain simultaneous scores for the swab tests and the Drooling Quotient at 1 measurement session. The swab testing at baseline could be performed in 109 children and in 100 children at the 8-week assessment. At baseline, the Drooling Quotient was determined in 120 children and at 8 weeks in 109 children. Missing data (14%) occurred at different assessment moments randomly spread over all children. Data of the median submandibular and parotid flow rates, and Drooling

Quotient at baseline and at 8 weeks after injection of all participants are listed in Table 2. Table 3 provides the results between the diagnosis categories at baseline and after submandibular botulinum toxin type A therapy. According to our definition, 93 children responded find more fully and 33 children were unresponsive to botulinum toxin type A (Table 4). At baseline, there were neither statistically significant differences between the median submandibular flow

rate (U = 1189.50; P = 0.06) nor the median Drooling Quotient (U = 1302.50; P = 0.20), whereas the difference for the median parotid flow rate was statistically significant (U = 1099.00; P = 0.02) between the children responsive or unresponsive to botulinum toxin type A. Furthermore, in the children responsive to botulinum toxin type A, decrease of submandibular flow rate across time was accompanied with decrease of parotid flow, whereas in children unresponsive to botulinum toxin PLEK2 type A, the parotid flow rate increased marginally. The difference in the parotid flow rates over time was statistically significant (F(1;124) = 20.92; P < 0.001) between the those who did and did not respond to therapy. The median parotid flow rates across time between children responsive and unresponsive to botulinum toxin type A are presented in Figure 1. Clinical variables as developmental age (rs = −0.03; P = 0.71), mobility level (rs = 0.08; P = 0.38), and spastic or dyskinetic cerebral palsy (rs = 0.08; P = 0.43) did not significantly correlate with response percentage. Although injections were usually well tolerated, there were several minor side effects in this series (Table 5).

The effect of increased resolving power was therefore further stu

The effect of increased resolving power was therefore further studied in MALDI-profiles obtained by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) MS, a platform that has

proven to be extremely powerful for the analysis of complex mixtures, such XL184 in vitro as oil, organic matter and plasma [21], [22] and [23]. With proper control, mass resolving powers higher than 100,000 (at m/z-value 1000 with 1 s transient) and low or sub-ppm mass measurement errors can be routinely obtained [24] and [25]. We have previously developed a MALDI-FTICR workflow on a commercially available platform equipped with a 15 T magnet that allows high-throughput and fully automated profiling of human serum peptides and proteins with isotopic resolution up to 15,000 Da [26] and [27]. By following this approach, in comparison to high resolution TOF analyzers the spectrum alignment PARP inhibitor trial is more accurate and the quantification of peptides more robust due to the improved mass measurement precision. In this study this MALDI-FTICR workflow in combination with SPE-based sample cleanup with RPC18-functionalized MBs was applied for the analysis of a clinical cohort. Here, “next-generation” MALDI-FTICR peptide and protein profiles were generated using serum samples obtained from PC patients

and control individuals (258 samples in total). Classification performances of both the calibration and validation set were compared to those previously obtained from the same PC cohort, either processed with different MBs or measured on a different mass analyzer. Discriminating peaks (i.e. a biomarker signature) defined from the calibration set were validated using an independent case–control group. Finally, the low ppm mass accuracy provided by the MALDI-FTICR platform narrows the search window for de novo identifications of peptides and proteins in the profiles. For the calibration set, serum samples were obtained from 49 patients with PC Sclareol prior to surgery, and from 110 (age- and gender-matched) healthy volunteers (“controls”) over a time period ranging from October 2002 until December 2008 at the outpatient clinic of

the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), the Netherlands. Healthy volunteers were partners or accompanying persons of included patients. For the validation set, serum samples were obtained from 39 patients and 75 healthy (age- and gender-matched) volunteers over a time period ranging from January 2009 until July 2010. Patients were selected candidates for curative surgery, thus no patients with primary irresectable tumors were included. All surgical specimens were examined according to routine histological evaluation and the extent of the tumor spread was assessed by TNM (TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors) classification. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects and the study was approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of the LUMC.

, 2002 and Kuhnt et al , 2004) Hall (2002) suggested that the ef

, 2002 and Kuhnt et al., 2004). Hall (2002) suggested that the effective restriction in the Indonesian

Throughflow LY294002 supplier (ITF) due to narrowing of the seaway could have occurred between 12 and 3 Ma. The remaining source of throughflow water shifted further north, resulting in a colder throughflow in the eastern Indian Ocean. A restriction of Indonesian Throughflow intensity at ∼ 5 Ma was inferred from the significant expansion of the oxygen minimum zone in the central Indian Ocean (Dickens & Owen 1994). These authors concluded that the increased biological productivity was responsible for the expansion of the oxygen minimum zone in the central Indian Ocean as the warm oligotrophic Indonesian Throughflow water mass was strongly reduced. Srinivasan & Sinha (1998) also provided evidence for an early Pliocene restriction (at approximately 5 Ma) of the Indonesian MG132 seaway from a comparison of planktic foraminiferal species occurrences in the eastern Indian Ocean and tropical Pacific deep sea cores. Cane & Molnar (2001) suggested an even younger age (4–3 Ma) for the effective closure of the Indonesian seaway to restrict surface and thermocline water flow. They proposed that the emergence of the Indonesian Archipelago, in

particular the rapid uplift of Halmahera dramatically reduced the Indonesian gateway. The past ocean circulation between the Pacific and Dynein Indian Oceans since the Miocene inferred from Nd isotopes (Gourlan et al. 2008) also supports the idea of the rapid closure of the Indonesian seaway around 4–3 Ma. Thus, various restriction events have been proposed for the middle Miocene, late Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene based on the circulation patterns in the equatorial Pacific Ocean and palaeoceanographic evidence from the Indian Ocean (Kuhnt et al. 2004). The final closure of the Indonesian seaway during Pliocene (∼ 4–3 Ma) (Cane & Molnar 2001) changed not only the physicochemical characteristics of the surface and deep water masses but also the circulation pattern in

the Pacific and Indian Oceans. These oceanographic changes influenced the composition of the benthic and planktic foraminiferal assemblages. The aim of the present work is therefore mainly to understand the response of the eastern Indian Ocean benthic foraminiferal distribution to the oceanographic and climatic changes resulting from the closure of the Indonesian seaway. ODP Site 762B was drilled on the Exmouth Plateau off the coast of northwest Australia (lat. 19°53.24′S; long. 112°15.24′E; water depth – 1360 m) in the eastern Indian Ocean (Figure 1). This site is situated within the deep Oxygen Minimum Zone (Wyrtki 1971) below the tropical to subtropical transition zone (20°S to 15°S) (Bé & Hutson 1977).

The amount of burnt tobacco during smoking cancels out in such a

The amount of burnt tobacco during smoking cancels out in such a ratio. This made it possible to study the elements transfer to mainstream smoke across the diverse set of surveyed samples. A smoke component that would be totally in the particulate-phase is expected to experience a transfer that would remain selleck inhibitor in a constant ratio to the nicotine transfer. Taking into account the experimental variability, the expected plot from market map data would then show a cloud close to a line going through the origin. Conversely, in case a retention process takes place on top of TPM filtration, the corresponding data points will show up

below the other points. This approach can thus provide a sensitive indicator for the existence and extent of any selective retention that would be in addition to particle-phase removal by filtration. A

semi-quantitative assessment was STA-9090 obtained by performing a linear regression forced through the origin. Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 show the patterns obtained from the data sets for Cd, Pb and As respectively when smoke is generated under the ISO machine-smoking regime. Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 show the patterns obtained from the data sets for Cd, Pb and As respectively when smoke is generated under the HCI machine-smoking regime. It should be noted that, with a nicotine transfer of about 20% and 47% under ISO and HCI machine-smoking regimes respectively, the data point corresponding to the non-filter papirossi cigarette could not be made visible in Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. The data were nevertheless included in all calculations. The linear very regressions (forcing the intercept to zero) calculated for both activated carbon-filtered and non-carbon-filtered cigarettes and visualized in Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, are presented in

Table 6 together with the corresponding standard error. In this calculation, the LOQ was entered in place of the smoke element level whenever the analytical determination was below this value. Clearly this provides an upper estimate for the linear regressions that are forced through zero. In the case of arsenic this certainly brings an issue. As an alternative, one might consider for instance removing all data below LOQ from the data set, or input the LOD or a percentage of the LOQ in place of the LOQ. Any of these choices remains arbitrary and would not alter the bases of the conclusions. To gauge the uncertainty brought by the limitations of the analytical determinations, the results of the calculations obtained by removing all data below LOQ from the data sets are also given in Table 6. Cadmium transfer was plotted against lead transfer for all samples in order to more accurately estimate their relative importance. The plots from smoke data obtained under ISO and HCI machine-smoking regimes are given in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 respectively.

albicans probably through permeabilization of fungal cell membran

albicans probably through permeabilization of fungal cell membranes, similarly to the mode of action of Hb 33–61a and its truncated analogs [22] and [36]. More importantly, considering this potent fungicidal activity for Hb 98–114, this selleck inhibitor hemocidin may play an important role in defending the midgut of the tick from fungal infections. An 1876 Da antimicrobial peptide with specific activity against fungi was isolated

from gut homogenates of R. (B.) microplus females. This peptide was identified as being originated from the amino acids 98 to 114 of the bovine hemoglobin alpha subunit and was therefore named Hb 98–114. The synthetic peptide was capable of permeabilizing C. albicans cell membrane and to be fungicidal. Although Hb 98–114 exhibited random structures in aqueous solution, an α-helical structure in the presence of SDS micelles was detected both by CD and NMR spectroscopy, which is in agreement with what has been

described for other hemoglobin-derived antimicrobial peptides. Thus, Hb 98–114 may play an important role in protecting the tick midgut from fungal pathogens acquired during feeding. RB performed peptide purification and MS/MS experiments. RB and CEC equally performed the antibacterial assays. JRP carried out CD and NMR experiments. SD and JRP designed the study. All authors contributed to prepare the manuscript. We are grateful to Claudia Nintedanib (BIBF 1120) Angeli for technical assistance on mass spectrometry experiments and Cassiano PD0332991 molecular weight Pereira for figure preparation. This work was supported by Brazilian grants: Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio

de Janeiro (FAPERJ), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento Pessol de Nível Superior (CAPES). “
“In the Collective Review “A Systematic Review of the Effect of Institution and Surgeon Factors on Surgical Outcomes for Gastric Cancer,” by Alyson L Mahar, Robin S McLeod, Alex Kiss, Lawrence Paszat, and Natalie G Coburn, which appeared in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, volume 214, pages 860-868, Figure 2. was incorrect. The figure reports a risk estimate that supports the relationship between high hospital volume and improved outcomes (lower mortality). The corrected figure reports this association as a protective effect of high hospital volume compared to low hospital volume and a lower risk of mortality for high volume hospitals. The previous figure reported the same association, but compared low volume to high volume, and indicated an increased risk of mortality for low volume hospitals. While both figures say the same thing, the protective risk ratio is referred to throughout the text so the corrected Figure 2, below, corresponds more closely to the text.