Factors governing the behaviour of aqueous methane in narrow pores

All-atom equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations were employed to investigate the behaviour of aqueous methane confined in 1-nm-wide pores obtained from different materials. Models for silica, alumina and magnesium oxide were used to construct the slit-shaped pores. The results show that methane solubility in confined water strongly depends on the confining material, with silica yielding the highest solubility in the systems considered here. The molecular structure of confined water differs within the three pores, and density fluctuations reveal that the silica pore is effectively less 'hydrophilic' than the other two pores considered. Comparing the water fluctuation autocorrelation function with local diffusion coefficients of methane across the hydrated pores we observed a direct proportional coupling between methane and water dynamics. These simulation results help to understand the behaviour of gas in water confined within narrow subsurface formations, with possible implications for fluid transport.

Molecular mechanisms responsible for hydrate anti-agglomerant performance

Steered and equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations were employed to study the coalescence of a sI hydrate particle and a water droplet within a hydrocarbon mixture.

The BRAAFF checklist: a new dermoscopic algorithm for diagnosing acral melanoma

BACKGROUND

The parallel ridge pattern (PRP) is considered the dermoscopic hallmark of acral melanoma (AM). However, it was recently shown that approximately one-third of AMs do not display a PRP dermoscopically, rendering their detection more troublesome.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopic criteria for the diagnosis of AM.

METHODS

Dermoscopic images of consecutive cases of histopathologically diagnosed AMs and acral naevi with histopathological diagnosis or with at least 1 year of follow-up were evaluated by three independent investigators for the presence of predefined criteria. Crude and adjusted odds ratios and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated by univariate and multivariate logistic regression, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to choose among competing classification schemes.

RESULTS

In total 603 lesions (472 naevi and 131 AMs) were included in the study. A scoring system (named BRAAFF) composed of six variables was associated with optimal area under the curve and sensitivity for the diagnosis of AM. This method includes four positive (irregular blotches, ridge pattern, asymmetry of structures and asymmetry of colours) and two negative predictors (furrow pattern and fibrillar pattern).

CONCLUSIONS

The BRAAFF checklist significantly improves the diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopy for the diagnosis of AM.

To Each Its Own: Linking the Biology and Epidemiology of NHL Subtypes

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) constitutes a diverse group of more than 40 subtypes, each characterized by distinct biologic and clinical features. Until recently, pinpointing genetic and epidemiologic risk factors for individual subtypes has been limited by the relative rarity of each. However, several large pooled case-control studies have provided sufficient statistical power for detecting etiologic differences and commonalities between subtypes and thus yield new insight into their unique epidemiologic backgrounds. Here, we review the subtype-specific medical, lifestyle, and biologic components identified in these studies, which suggest that a complex interplay between host genetics, autoimmune disorders, modifiable risk factors, and occupation contributes to lymphomagenesis.

Psoriasis and obesity in French children: a case-control, multicentre study

BACKGROUND

Obesity is more common in adults with psoriasis than in the general population, but there is a lack of data available regarding this association in children.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate whether obesity was more common in French children with psoriasis of any clinical type or severity.

METHODS

A multicentre case-control study was performed in 23 French dermatology centres. Children without chronic or genetic inflammatory disease were selected as controls and matched for age, sex and dermatology centre. We used three weight cut-off categories to compare the two groups: overweight, overweight with abdominal obesity and overweight with obesity according to the French Health Authority guidelines.

RESULTS

A total of 261 children with psoriasis were included. The mean age was 9.8 years, 126 were boys and 135 were girls. Overall, 42.5% of these children had plaque psoriasis and 32.2% had severe psoriasis. There was no difference between the psoriasis and control groups when the frequency of children who were overweight was compared (20·7% in psoriasis group vs. 17·1% in control group; P = 0·18). Overweight with abdominal obesity including obesity (18·4% vs. 10·4%; P = 0·009) and obesity alone (10·0% vs. 3·1%; P = 0·001) were more common in the psoriasis group.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that being overweight with abdominal obesity and being obese is more common in children with psoriasis than in controls. The risk factors are the same as those that affect the French general population, i.e. female sex and having a parent who was overweight. The severity and clinical type of psoriasis do not affect overweight and obesity.

Muon reconstruction efficiency and momentum resolution of the ATLAS experiment in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV in 2010

This paper presents a study of the performance of the muon reconstruction in the analysis of proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV at the LHC, recorded by the ATLAS detector in 2010. This performance is described in terms of reconstruction and isolation efficiencies and momentum resolutions for different classes of reconstructed muons. The results are obtained from an analysis of [Formula: see text] meson and [Formula: see text] boson decays to dimuons, reconstructed from a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 40 pb[Formula: see text]. The measured performance is compared to Monte Carlo predictions and deviations from the predicted performance are discussed.

T lymphocytes are not required for the development of fatty degeneration after rotator cuff tear

Objectives

Rotator cuff tears are among the most common and debilitating upper extremity injuries. Chronic cuff tears result in atrophy and an infiltration of fat into the muscle, a condition commonly referred to as ‘fatty degeneration’. While stem cell therapies hold promise for the treatment of cuff tears, a suitable immunodeficient animal model that could be used to study human or other xenograft-based therapies for the treatment of rotator cuff injuries had not previously been identified.

Methods

A full-thickness, massive supraspinatus and infraspinatus tear was induced in adult T-cell deficient rats. We hypothesised that, compared with controls, 28 days after inducing a tear we would observe a decrease in muscle force production, an accumulation of type IIB fibres, and an upregulation in the expression of genes involved with muscle atrophy, fibrosis and inflammation.

Results

Chronic cuff tears in nude rats resulted in a 30% to 40% decrease in muscle mass, a 23% reduction in production of muscle force, and an induction of genes that regulate atrophy, fibrosis, lipid accumulation, inflammation and macrophage recruitment. Marked large lipid droplet accumulation was also present.

Conclusions

The extent of degenerative changes in nude rats was similar to what was observed in T-cell competent rats. T cells may not play an important role in regulating muscle degeneration following chronic muscle unloading. The general similarities between nude and T-cell competent rats suggest the nude rat is likely an appropriate preclinical model for the study of xenografts that have the potential to enhance the treatment of chronically torn rotator cuff muscles.

Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2014;3:262–72.

Preferential adsorption from liquid water-ethanol mixtures in alumina pores

The sorptivity, structure, and dynamics of liquid water-ethanol mixtures confined in alumina pores were studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Due to an effective stronger attraction between water and the alumina surface, our simulations show that water is preferentially adsorbed in alumina nanopores from bulk solutions of varying composition. These results are in good qualitative agreement with experimental data reported by Rao and Sircar (Adsorpt. Sci. Technol. 1993, 10, 93). Analysis of the simulated trajectories allows us to predict that water diffuses through the narrow pores more easily than ethanol, in part because of its smaller size. Our results suggest that ethanol has an antiplasticization effect on water within the narrow pores considered here, whereas it has a plasticization effect on water in the bulk. Rao and Sircar suggested that alumina could be used in concentration swing and/or concentration-thermal swing adsorption processes to separate water from ethanol. In addition, our results suggest the possibility of using alumina for manufacturing permselective membranes to produce anhydrous ethanol from liquid water-ethanol solutions.

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The differential production cross section of the [Formula: see text](1020) meson in [Formula: see text] = 7 TeV [Formula: see text] collisions measured with the ATLAS detector

A measurement is presented of the [Formula: see text] production cross section at [Formula: see text] = 7 TeV using [Formula: see text] collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 383 [Formula: see text], collected with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Selection of [Formula: see text](1020) mesons is based on the identification of charged kaons by their energy loss in the pixel detector. The differential cross section is measured as a function of the transverse momentum, [Formula: see text], and rapidity, [Formula: see text], of the [Formula: see text](1020) meson in the fiducial region 500 [Formula: see text] 1200 MeV, [Formula: see text] 0.8, kaon [Formula: see text] 230 MeV and kaon momentum [Formula: see text] 800 MeV. The integrated [Formula: see text]-meson production cross section in this fiducial range is measured to be [Formula: see text] = 570 [Formula: see text] 8 (stat) [Formula: see text] 66 (syst) [Formula: see text] 20 (lumi) [Formula: see text].

Influence of amount of starting material for DNA extraction on detection of low-level presence of genetically engineered traits

Two laboratories independently examined how the amount of starting material influences DNA extraction efficiency and, ultimately, the detection of low-level presence of genetically engineered (GE) traits in commercialized grains. GE traits from one maize, two canola, and two soybean samples were used as prototypical models in the study design as well as two commonly used DNA extraction methods, a small scale (0.1 and 0.2 g samples) and a large scale (1.0 and 2.0 g samples). The DNA samples were fortified (spiked) at 0.1 and 0.01% (w/w) levels. The amount of DNA recovery varied between the two laboratories, although a sufficient amount of DNA was obtained to perform replicate PCR analysis by both laboratories. Reliable detection of all five events was achieved by both laboratories at 0.1% level using either small-scale or large-scale DNA extractions. Reliable detection of the GE events was achieved at 0.01% level for soybean and canola but not for maize. Variability was observed among the two laboratories in terms of the Ct values generated. There was no difference between small-scale and large-scale DNA extraction methods for qualitative PCR detections of all five GE events.