Groupwise whole-brain parcellation from resting-state fMRI data for network node identification

In this paper, we present a groupwise graph-theory-based parcellation approach to define nodes for network analysis. The application of network-theory-based analysis to extend the utility of functional MRI has recently received increased attention. Such analyses require first and foremost a reasonable definition of a set of nodes as input to the network analysis. To date many applications have used existing atlases based on cytoarchitecture, task-based fMRI activations, or anatomic delineations. A potential pitfall in using such atlases is that the mean timecourse of a node may not represent any of the constituent timecourses if different functional areas are included within a single node. The proposed approach involves a groupwise optimization that ensures functional homogeneity within each subunit and that these definitions are consistent at the group level. Parcellation reproducibility of each subunit is computed across multiple groups of healthy volunteers and is demonstrated to be high. Issues related to the selection of appropriate number of nodes in the brain are considered. Within typical parameters of fMRI resolution, parcellation results are shown for a total of 100, 200, and 300 subunits. Such parcellations may ultimately serve as a functional atlas for fMRI and as such three atlases at the 100-, 200- and 300-parcellation levels derived from 79 healthy normal volunteers are made freely available online along with tools to interface this atlas with SPM, BioImage Suite and other analysis packages.

An antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family protein index predicts the response of leukaemic cells to the pan-Bcl-2 inhibitor S1

BACKGROUND

Bcl-2-like members have been found to be inherently overexpressed in many types of haematologic malignancies. The small-molecule S1 is a BH3 mimetic and a triple inhibitor of Bcl-2, Mcl-1 and Bcl-XL.

METHODS

The lethal dose 50 (LD(50)) values of S1 in five leukaemic cell lines and 41 newly diagnosed leukaemia samples were tested. The levels of Bcl-2 family members and phosphorylated Bcl-2 were semiquantitatively measured by western blotting. The interactions between Bcl-2 family members were tested by co-immunoprecipitation. The correlation between the LD(50) and expression levels of Bcl-2 family members, alone or in combination, was analysed.

RESULTS

S1 exhibited variable sensitivity with LD(50) values ranging >2 logs in both established and primary leukaemic cells. The ratio of pBcl-2/(Bcl-2+Mcl-1) could predict the S1 response. Furthermore, we demonstrated that pBcl-2 antagonised S1 by sequestering the Bak and Bim proteins that were released from Mcl-1, andpBcl-2/Bak, pBcl-2/Bax and pBcl-2/Bim complexes cannot be disrupted by S1.

CONCLUSION

A predictive index was obtained for the novel BH3 mimetic S1. The shift of proapoptotic proteins from being complexed with Mcl-1 to being complexed with pBcl-2 was revealed for the first time, which is the mechanism underlying the index value described herein.

Molecularly imprinted photocatalyst with a structural analogue of template and its application

To realize selective mineralization of low-level chlorophenols (CPs) in the presence of high-level ordinary pollutants, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) coated photocatalyst was prepared using substrate analog as template. The pseudo-template imprinted photocatalysts showed rapid decomposition ability toward a group of CPs. Based on the complete dechlorination and spectrophotometry, a new method was proposed to detect the total organochlorine on CPs in water samples. The method showed good linearity when the concentrations of the total organochlorine on CPs is in the range of 12.0-200.0μmolL(-1). The detection limit is 1μmolL(-1) for this method. When this method was applied to measure the total organochlorine of the CPs in both tap water and river water samples, an average recovery ranged from 96.3% to 105.1% was obtained with RSD values less than 5%. In this green and simple method, the common inorganic ions in water showed no interference for the detection. The determination of the total organochlorine on the CPs might be used for estimation of the toxicity and the persistence of the water samples.

Radiological and clinical features of adult non-puerperal mastitis

OBJECTIVE

To describe the radiological and clinical features of adult non-puerperal mastitis and to determine the most accurate method of preventing unnecessary surgical procedures.

METHODS

Clinical and imaging findings were retrospectively reviewed in 51 females with non-puerperal mastitis, which was confirmed by biopsy/surgical pathology. All 51 patients had pre-operative MRI; 45 patients also had sonograms and 25 also had mammograms, pre-operatively.

RESULTS

Of the 51 cases with non-puerperal mastitis, 94.1% (48/51) were confirmed as having acute or chronic inflammation, and the other 3 had plasma cell mastitis; areola papillaris inflammation was found in 39.2% (20/51) of the cases. Overall, 6 of the 25 cases that were examined with mammography and 2 of the 45 cases that were examined with sonography appeared normal, but all 51 lesions were positively identified on MRI. Asymmetrical density (12/25) on mammograms and solitary or separated/contiguous, clustered, hypoechoic mass-like lesions (31/45) on ultrasound were the most common signs of non-puerperal mastitis. On enhanced MRI, 90.2% (46/51) of patients showed non-mass-like enhanced lesions. Multiple regional enhancements in the pattern of distribution (32/46) and separated or contiguous, clustered, rim-like enhancements in the pattern of internal enhancement (29/46) were the most common manifestations in non-mass-like enhanced lesions. Of the 51 patients, mastitis Type 1 and Type 2 in the time-signal intensity curve were detected in 47.1% and 51.0% of the patients, respectively. The breast imaging reporting and data system categories with the highest number of patients were Category 0 (9/25) on mammography, Category 4a on sonography (18/45) and Category 4a on MRI (29/51).

CONCLUSION

The findings from mammography and ultrasound are non-specific; therefore, using MR can be helpful in the diagnosis, especially in the presence of non-mass-like enhancements that are multiple, regional, separated, or contiguous, clustered and rim-like.

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE

Mastitis is often neglected because of the lack of typical clinical signs and symptoms. This study has assessed and described the clinical features and imaging findings of adult non-puerperal mastitis on mammograms, sonograms and MRI and found that MRI is more specific in the diagnosis of disease.

Development of a reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) system for rapid detection of HDV genotype 1

The object of this study was to develop a reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay for detecting hepatitis D virus (HDV) genotype 1. With an alignment analysis, a highly conserved sequence (nt 820-1020) was chosen as a suitable target to design LAMP primers. The optimal condition of RT-LAMP was a 25-μl reaction volume, which consists of the following components: 1·6 μmol l⁻¹ each of FIP and BIP, 0·2 μmol l⁻¹ each of F3 and B3, 1·5 μmol l⁻¹ dNTPs, 4 mmol l⁻¹ MgSO₄, 8 U Bst DNA polymerase, 2U M-MLV and 2 μl extracted RNA sample. The amplification reaction was carried out at 65°C for 50 min. Compared with conventional qualitative or quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, the results of RT-LAMP indicated a 1000-fold increase in sensitivity for detecting HDV. There was no cross-reaction for the RT-LAMP method between HDV 1 and HIV, HAV, HBV, HCV and HEV.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

The results indicate that RT-LAMP is a simple, rapid, specific, highly sensitive and cost-effective, field-based method for detecting HDV 1. The RT-LAMP assay is an acceptable alternative to diagnose the HDV genotype 1 and to investigate its epidemiology for clinical laboratories lacking specialized equipments.

Tumor suppressor menin mediates peripheral nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain through potentiating synaptic plasticity

Synaptic plasticity is a crucial step in the development of central sensitization in the pathogenesis of neuropathic hyperalgesia. Menin, the product of the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) gene, possesses the property of synaptogenesis which plays an essential role in neuronal activity. We tested the contributing role of spinal menin in peripheral nerve injury-induced neuropathic hypersensitivity through modulating neuronal synaptic plasticity. After approval by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, nociceptive responses were detected with von Frey filaments and thermal plate after spared nerve injury in C57BL/6 mice who were treated with either intrathecal antisense oligonucleotide of MEN1 (ASO) or vehicle. Extracellular spontaneous discharge frequency, field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP), and monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) were measured electrophysiologically. Intrathecal ASO alleviated nerve injury-induced mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity. Upregulated spinal menin after nerve injury colocalized with NeuN in the superficial laminae; genetic knockdown of spinal menin reduced nerve injury induced in vivo spontaneous activity and instantaneous frequency and in vitro field potentials; ASO decreased the frequency and amplitude of monosynaptic EPSCs, and reduced synaptic strength and total charge. Collectively, these findings highlight the role of upregulated neuronal menin in the spinal cord in potentiating spinal synaptic plasticity in peripheral nerve injury-induced neuropathic hypersensitivity.

Competition between Na⁺ and Rb⁺ in the minor groove of DNA

The competition between Na⁺ and Rb⁺ ions in the minor groove of a synthetic B-DNA dodecamer d (CGCGAATTCGCG) is studied using molecular dynamics simulations as the ratio of these two ions changing from 9:1 to 1:9 with the DNA merged into the solvent of water molecule at 298 K. When the concentration of Rb⁺ ions increases, from minority to majority, Na⁺ ions are gradually released from the A tract, and the binding sites in the minor groove are occupied by Rb⁺ ions, extending from the A tract to the whole minor groove. Comparing Na⁺ with Rb⁺ ions, the conformation of the minor groove is influenced strongly by Na⁺ ions.

Effects of various salinities on Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, Hsp70 and Hsp90 expression profiles in juvenile mitten crabs, Eriocheir sinensis

Eriocheir sinensis is a euryhaline crab migrating from sea to freshwater habitats during the juvenile stage. We used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to investigate the gene expression profile of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, Hsp70 (heat shock protein 70) and Hsp90 in megalopa exposed to salinities of 0, 2, 5, 10, and 15 parts per thousand. Both low and high salinities markedly stimulated expression of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, Hsp70 and Hsp90 genes of Chinese mitten crab megalopa; salinity had different effects on Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, Hsp70 and Hsp90 levels depending on the duration of salinity stress, implying that Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, Hsp70 and Hsp90 may play an important role in salinity tolerance in this crab species.

Tensile plasticity in metallic glasses with pronounced β relaxations

Metallic glasses are commonly brittle, as they generally fail catastrophically under uniaxial tension. Here we show pronounced macroscopic tensile plasticity achieved in a La-based metallic glass which possesses strong β relaxations and nanoscale heterogeneous structures. We demonstrate that the β relaxation is closely correlated with the activation of the structural units of plastic deformations and global plasticity, and the transition from brittle to ductile in tension and the activation of the β relaxations follow a similar time-temperature scaling relationship. The results have implications for understanding the mechanisms of plastic deformation and structural origin of β relaxations as well as for solving the brittleness in metallic glasses.