The Perioperative Lung Transplant Virome: Torque Teno Viruses Are Elevated in Donor Lungs and Show Divergent Dynamics in Primary Graft Dysfunction

Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is a principal cause of early morbidity and mortality after lung transplantation, but its pathogenic mechanisms are not fully clarified. To date, studies using standard clinical assays have not linked microbial factors to PGD. We previously used comprehensive metagenomic methods to characterize viruses in lung allografts >1 mo after transplant and found that levels of Anellovirus, mainly torque teno viruses (TTVs), were significantly higher than in nontransplanted healthy controls. We used quantitative polymerase chain reaction to analyze TTV and shotgun metagenomics to characterize full viral communities in acellular bronchoalveolar lavage from donor organs and postreperfusion allografts in PGD and non-PGD lung transplant recipient pairs. Unexpectedly, TTV DNA levels were elevated 100-fold in donor lungs compared with healthy adults (p = 0.0026). Although absolute TTV levels did not differ by PGD status, PGD cases showed a smaller increase in TTV levels from before to after transplant than did control recipients (p = 0.041). Metagenomic sequencing revealed mainly TTV and bacteriophages of respiratory tract bacteria, but no viral taxa distinguished PGD cases from controls. These findings suggest that conditions associated with brain death promote TTV replication and that greater immune activation or tissue injury associated with PGD may restrict TTV abundance in the lung.

Technical note: A successive over-relaxation preconditioner to solve mixed model equations for genetic evaluation

A computationally efficient preconditioned conjugate gradient algorithm with a symmetric successive over-relaxation (SSOR) preconditioner for the iterative solution of set mixed model equations is described. The potential computational savings of this approach are examined for an example of single-step genomic evaluation of Australian sheep. Results show that the SSOR preconditioner can substantially reduce the number of iterates required for solutions to converge compared with simpler preconditioners with marked reductions in overall computing time.

Quantitative NMR spectroscopy for gas analysis for production of primary reference gas mixtures

Due to its direct correlation to the number of spins within a sample quantitative NMR spectroscopy (qNMR) is a promising method with absolute comparison abilities in complex systems in technical, as well as metrological applications. Most of the samples studied with qNMR are in liquid state in diluted solutions, while gas-phase applications represent a rarely applied case. Commercially available NMR equipment was used for purity assessment of liquid and liquefied hydrocarbons serving as raw materials for production of primary reference gas standards. Additionally, gas-phase studies were performed within an online NMR flow probe, as well as in a high-pressure NMR setup to check feasibility as verification method for the composition of gas mixtures.

Serum proteomic test in advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer treated in first line with standard chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

VeriStrat is a blood-based proteomic test with predictive and prognostic significance in second-line treatments for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This trial was designed to investigate the role of VeriStrat in first-line treatment of advanced NSCLC with standard chemotherapy. Here we present the results for 76 non-squamous patients treated with a combination of carboplatin or cisplatin with pemetrexed.

METHODS

The test-assigned classifications of VeriStrat Good or VeriStrat Poor to samples collected at baseline. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS); secondary end points included overall survival (OS) and objective response. Exploratory analyses of end points separately in carboplatin/pemetrexed and cisplatin/pemetrexed subgroups were also conducted.

RESULTS

Patients classified as VeriStrat Good had longer PFS and OS than VeriStrat Poor: 6.5 vs 1.6 months and 10.8 vs 3.4 months, respectively; the corresponding hazard ratios (HRs) were 0.36 (P<0.0001) and 0.26 (P<0.0001); they were also more likely to achieve objective response. Prognostic significance of VeriStrat was confirmed in multivariate analysis. Significant differences in OS and PFS between Veristrat classifications were also found when treatment subgroups were analysed separately.

CONCLUSIONS

The trial demonstrated clinical utility of VeriStrat as a prognostic test for standard first-line chemotherapy of non-squamous advanced NSCLC.

Isolation and structural and electronic characterization of salts of the decamethylferrocene dication

Ferrocene and its decamethyl derivative [Cp*2Fe] are the most common standards for nonaqueous electrochemical investigations because of their well-defined and only mildly solvent-dependent reversible Fe(II)/Fe(III) redox couple. Higher oxidation states have only rarely been studied. We report the isolation and crystallographic and spectroscopic characterization of surprisingly stable Fe(IV) salts of the [Cp*2Fe](2+) dication, produced by oxidation of [Cp*2Fe] with AsF5, SbF5, or ReF6 in neat sulfur dioxide as well as [XeF](Sb2F11) in neat hydrogen fluoride. The Sb2F11(-) salt exhibits a metallocene with the expected mutually parallel arrangements of the Cp* rings, whereas the As2F11(-), AsF6(-), SbF6(-), and ReF6(-) salts manifest tilt angles ranging from 4° to 17°. Both (57)Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and superconducting quantum interference device magnetization studies reveal identical d-orbital splitting with an S = 1, (3)E ground state based on the 3d electronic configuration e2g (3)a1g (1) of all [Cp*2Fe](2+) salts.

Solar Coronal Jets: Observations, Theory, and Modeling

Chromospheric and coronal jets represent important manifestations of ubiquitous solar transients, which may be the source of significant mass and energy input to the upper solar atmosphere and the solar wind. While the energy involved in a jet-like event is smaller than that of "nominal" solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), jets share many common properties with these major phenomena, in particular, the explosive magnetically driven dynamics. Studies of jets could, therefore, provide critical insight for understanding the larger, more complex drivers of the solar activity. On the other side of the size-spectrum, the study of jets could also supply important clues on the physics of transients close or at the limit of the current spatial resolution such as spicules. Furthermore, jet phenomena may hint to basic process for heating the corona and accelerating the solar wind; consequently their study gives us the opportunity to attack a broad range of solar-heliospheric problems.

B vitamin treatments modify the risk of myocardial infarction associated with a MTHFD1 polymorphism in patients with stable angina pectoris

BACKGROUND

Methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (MTHFD1) catalyzes three sequential reactions that metabolize derivatives of tetrahydrofolate (THF) in folate-dependent one-carbon metabolism. Impaired MTHFD1 flux has been linked to disturbed lipid metabolism and oxidative stress. However, limited information is available on its relation to the development of atherothrombotic cardiovascular disease.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We explored the association between a MTHFD1 polymorphism (rs1076991 C > T) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and potential effect modifications by folic acid/B12 and/or vitamin B6 treatment in suspected stable angina pectoris patients (n = 2381) participating in the randomized Western Norway B Vitamin Intervention Trial (WENBIT). During the median follow-up of 4.9 years 204 participants (8.6%) suffered an AMI. After adjusting for established CVD risk factors, the MTHFD1 polymorphism was significantly associated with AMI (HR: 1.49; 95% CI, 1.23-1.81). A similar association was observed among patients allocated to treatment with vitamin B6 alone (HR: 1.53; 95% CI, 1.01-2.31), and an even stronger relationship was seen in patients treated with both vitamin B6 and folic acid/B12 (HR: 2.35; 95% CI, 1.55-3.57). However, no risk association between the MTHFD1 polymorphism and AMI was seen in patients treated with placebo (HR: 1.29; 95% CI, 0.86-1.93) or folic acid/B12 (1.17; 95% CI, 0.83-1.65).

CONCLUSION

A common and functional MTHFD1 polymorphism is associated with increased risk of AMI, although the risk seems to be dependent on specific B vitamin treatment. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the possible mechanisms, also in order to explore potential effect modifications by nutritional factors.

Cirrus cloud optical and microphysical property retrievals from eMAS during SEAC4RS using bi-spectral reflectance measurements within the 1.88 μm water vapor absorption band

Previous bi-spectral imager retrievals of cloud optical thickness (COT) and effective particle radius (CER) based on the Nakajima and King (1990) approach, such as those of the operational MODIS cloud optical property retrieval product (MOD06), have typically paired a non-absorbing visible or near-infrared wavelength, sensitive to COT, with an absorbing shortwave or midwave infrared wavelength sensitive to CER. However, in practice it is only necessary to select two spectral channels that exhibit a strong contrast in cloud particle absorption. Here it is shown, using eMAS observations obtained during NASA's SEAC⁴RS field campaign, that selecting two absorbing wavelength channels within the broader 1.88 μm water vapor absorption band, namely the 1.83 and 1.93 μm channels that have sufficient differences in ice crystal single scattering albedo, can yield COT and CER retrievals for thin to moderately thick single-layer cirrus that are reasonably consistent with other solar and IR imager-based and lidar-based retrievals. A distinct advantage of this channel selection for cirrus cloud retrievals is that the below-cloud water vapor absorption minimizes the surface contribution to measured cloudy TOA reflectance, in particular compared to the solar window channels used in heritage retrievals such as MOD06. This reduces retrieval uncertainty resulting from errors in the surface reflectance assumption, as well as reduces the frequency of retrieval failures for thin cirrus clouds.

Unique anisotropic optical properties of a highly stable metal–organic framework based on trinuclear iron(iii) secondary building units linked by tetracarboxylic linkers with an anthracene core

A highly stable metal–organic framework, [{Fe₃(ACTBA)₂}X·6DEF]_n (1; X = monoanion), is reported.

Technical note: Genetic principal component models for multitrait single-step genomic evaluation

A reparameterization of the multivariate linear mixed model in genetic evaluation to principal components is described. This yields an equivalent model with a sparser coefficient matrix in the mixed model equations and, thus, reduced computational requirements to solve them. It is especially advantageous for analyses incorporating genomic relationship information with many nonzero elements in the inverse of the relationship matrix. Moreover, the framework lends itself directly to dimension reduction and, thus, further computational savings by omitting genetic principal components with negligible eigenvalues. The potential impact on computational demands is illustrated for an application to single-step genomic evaluation of Australian sheep.