A novel CO2- and SO2-tolerant dual phase composite membrane for oxygen separation

Here we report a novel, cheap, non-toxic, CO₂- and SO₂-stable dual phase composite oxygen transport membrane (Al_0.02Ga_0.02Zn_0.96O_1.02–Gd_0.1Ce_0.9O_1.95−δ) for oxygen separation.

Enhanced electrochemical performance and thermal stability of a CePO4-coated Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2 cathode material for lithium-ion batteries

CePO₄ coating via a simple precipitation method enhances the thermal stability of the layered Li_1.2Ni_0.13Co_0.13Mn_0.54O₂ cathode material.

Identifying novel selective non-nucleoside DNA methyltransferase 1 inhibitors through docking-based virtual screening

The DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) found in mammals include DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B and are attractive targets in cancer chemotherapy. DNMT1 was the first among the DNMTs to be characterized, and it is responsible for maintaining DNA methylation patterns. A number of DNMT inhibitors have been reported, but most of them are nucleoside analogs that can lead to toxic side effects and lack specificity. By combining docking-based virtual screening with biochemical analyses, we identified a novel compound, DC_05. DC_05 is a non-nucleoside DNMT1 inhibitor with low micromolar IC50 values and significant selectivity toward other AdoMet-dependent protein methyltransferases. Through a process of similarity-based analog searching, compounds DC_501 and DC_517 were found to be more potent than DC_05. These three potent compounds significantly inhibited cancer cell proliferation. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) and binding modes of these inhibitors were also analyzed to assist in the future development of more potent and more specific DNMT1 inhibitors.

HIV Tat protein affects circadian rhythmicity by interfering with the circadian system

OBJECTIVES

Sleep disorders are common in patients with HIV/AIDS, and can lead to poor quality of life. Although many studies have investigated the aetiology of these disorders, it is still unclear whether impaired sleep quality is associated with HIV itself, social problems, or side effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Moreover, despite its known neurological associations, little is known about the role of the trans-activator of transcription (Tat) protein in sleep disorders in patients with HIV/AIDS. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the sleep quality of patients with HIV/AIDS affected by an altered circadian rhythm correlates with cerebrospinal HIV Tat protein concentration.

METHODS

Ninety-six patients with HIV/AIDS between 20 and 69 years old completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Their circadian rhythm parameters of blood pressure, Tat concentration in cerebrospinal fluid, melatonin concentration, CD4 cell count and HIV RNA viral load in serum were measured.

RESULTS

The circadian amplitude of systolic blood pressure and the score for sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) were negatively correlated with HIV Tat protein concentration, while the melatonin value was positively correlated with Tat protein concentration.

CONCLUSIONS

The HIV Tat protein affects circadian rhythmicity by interfering with the circadian system in patients with HIV/AIDS and further increases the melatonin excretion value. A Tat protein-related high melatonin value may counteract HIV-related poor sleep quality during the progression of HIV infection. This study provides the first clinical evidence offering an explanation for why sleep quality did not show an association with progression of HIV infection in previous studies.

Identification and characterization of the free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFA2) and a novel functional FFA2-like receptor (FFA2L) for short-chain fatty acids in pigs: evidence for the existence of a duplicated FFA2 gene (FFA2L) in some mammalian species

Free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFA2, also called GPR43) is reported to play a critical role in mediating the actions of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in humans and mice. However, little is known about the structure, functionality, and tissue expression of FFA2 in other mammalian species, including pigs. In the present study, the full-length cDNAs of FFA2 (pFFA2) and a novel FFA2-like gene (named pFFA2L) were cloned from pig intestines by reverse transcription PCR. Both cloned pFFA2 and pFFA2L are predicted to encode 2 receptors of remarkable structural similarity and share high amino acid sequence identities with FFA2 from other mammalian species. Interestingly, the novel FFA2L could also be identified in 9 other mammalian species, suggesting that FFA2L was likely duplicated from FFA2 in the last common ancestor of these species. With the use of a pGL4-SRE-luciferase reporter assay, we demonstrated that pFFA2 expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells could be activated by acetate, propionate, and butyrate equipotently, whereas pFFA2L could be activated only by acetate and propionate, indicating that both pFFA2 and pFFA2L are functional receptors for SCFAs with nonidentical pharmacologic properties. Reverse transcription PCR found that pFFA2 mRNA was widely expressed in nearly all tissues examined, including adipose tissue and gastrointestinal (GI) tract, whereas pFFA2L expression was mainly restricted to the GI tract. Taken together, our findings raise a novel concept that the actions of SCFAs are likely mediated by 2 FFA2s (FFA2 and FFA2L) in target tissues of some mammalian species, such as the GI tract of pigs.

Sequestrated meningocoele within a naevus sebaceous of Jadassohn on the scalp of a child

Sequestrated meningocoele is an uncommon developmental anomaly in which meningothelial elements are found in the skin or subcutaneous tissue without underlying bony defect. By contrast, naevus sebaceous of Jadassohn (NSJ) is a circumscribed hamartomatous lesion occurring in about 0.3% of newborns. We report a child with a histologically confirmed sequestrated meningocoele within an NSJ on his scalp vertex. Such an occurrence has not been reported previously.

Alpha-1-fucosidase as a prognostic indicator for hepatocellular carcinoma following hepatectomy: a large-scale, long-term study

Background:

Preoperative alpha-L-fucosidase (AFU) has been used as a diagnostic biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but its role as a prognostic predictor after partial hepatectomy has not been well defined. The study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of preoperative serum AFU for HCC patients after hepatic resection.

Methods:

A retrospective training data set and a prospective validation data set were used to evaluate the prognosis of HCC after partial hepatectomy. A total of 669 patients with histopathologically confirmed HCC were enrolled. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify the prognostic significance of preoperative serum AFU.

Results:

The retrospective training data set showed a preoperative AFU>35 u l⁻¹ should be used. The prospective validation data set showed preoperative AFU was an independent prognostic factor of overall survival (OS) (P=0.008; hazard ratio: 2.333; 95% confidence interval: 1.249–4.369). Patients with a preoperative AFU>35 u l⁻¹ had a lower recurrence-free survival rate and an OS rate than those with AFU⩽35 u l⁻¹, and they have a higher tendency to form macrovascular invasion. Furthermore, the prognostic significance of AFU>35 u l⁻¹ could also be applied to patients with alpha-fetoprotein levels of ⩽400 ng ml⁻¹.

Conclusions:

Preoperative serum AFU is a prognostic predictor of HCC.

Comparison of vertebral bone marrow fat assessed by 1H MRS and inphase and out-of-phase MRI among family members

Inphase and out-of-phase magnetic resonance imaging is a robust and fast method which can provide similar vertebral bone marrow fat estimation as (1)H proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, indicating that this technique is a potentially useful tool in both research and clinical practice.

INTRODUCTION

The importance of evaluating bone marrow fat lies in the fact that osteoporosis and obesity, two disorders of body composition, are growing in prevalence. Bone fat mass can be reliably assessed using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS), but this method is technically demanding and needs advanced post-processing unlike inphase and out-of-phase magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is a robust and fast method.

METHODS

We compared vertebral bone marrow fat (BMF) content assessed by inphase and out-of-phase MRI and (1)H MRS using a 1.5-T MRI scanner in mothers (n = 34, aged 49.4 years), fathers (n = 31, aged 53.1 years) and their daughters (n = 40, aged 20.3 years) who participated in the CALEX family study. Signal intensity on the inphase and out-of-phase MRI was analyzed from the same location and size of the single-voxel (1)H MRS measurement.

RESULTS

Positive correlations were found between (1)H MRS and inphase and out-of-phase MRI in the axial plane (r = 0.746, p < 0.001) and sagittal plane (r = 0.804, p < 0.001). The mean differences between (1)H MRS and inphase and out-of-phase MRI in the axial and sagittal planes were relatively small, at 4.13 and 2.67 %, and the agreement between techniques was 89.4 and 93.2 %, respectively. Girls had a significantly lower vertebral BMF than mothers and fathers with both methods (for all, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that inphase and out-of-phase MRI can provide similar vertebral BMF estimation as (1)H MRS, indicating that this technique is a potentially useful tool in both research and clinical practice.

Directed self-assembly of 1D microtubule nano-arrays

The intrinsic properties of microtubule filaments (e.g., biological nano-rods) direct their self-assembly into one-dimensional nano-arrays over extended timescales.

Epidemiology and molecular characterization of bacteremia due to carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in transplant recipients

We conducted a retrospective study of 17 transplant recipients with carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteremia, and described epidemiology, clinical characteristics and strain genotypes. Eighty-eight percent (15/17) of patients were liver or intestinal transplant recipients. Outcomes were death due to septic shock (18%), cure (24%) and persistent (>7 days) or recurrent bacteremia (29% each). Thirty- and 90-day mortality was 18% and 47%, respectively. Patients who were cured received at least one active antimicrobial agent and underwent source control interventions. Forty-one percent (7/17) of patients had intra-abdominal infections; all except one developed persistent/recurrent bacteremia despite drainage. Two patients tolerated persistent bacteremia for >300 days. All patients except one were infected with sequence type 258 (ST258), K. pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-2-producing strains harboring a mutant ompK35 porin gene; the exception was infected with an ST37, KPC-3-producing strain. Seventy-one percent (12/17) of patients were infected with ST258 ompK36 mutant strains. In two patients, persistent bacteremia was caused by two strains with different ompK36 genotypes. Three ompK36 mutations were associated with significantly higher carbapenem minimum inhibitory concentrations than wild-type ompK36. Pulse-field gel electrophoresis identified a single ST258 lineage; serial strains from individual patients were indistinguishable. In conclusion, KPC-K. pneumoniae bacteremia exhibited highly diverse clinical courses following transplantation, and was caused by clonal ST258 strains with different ompK36 genotypes.

A tuberculosis outbreak among senior high school students in China in 2011

OBJECTIVE

An outbreak of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) occurred in students attending Licai Training School, Gujiao City, China, in early 2011. The epidemic characteristics and possible contributory factors relating to the spread of this outbreak of PTB were studied in a field investigation and are reported here.

METHODS

Cases were detected by PTB symptom screening, tuberculin skin testing (TST), chest X-radiography, and examination of sputum smears and cultures for all students, school staff and close family contacts of patients with PTB.

RESULTS

Of the 287 students attending the school, 45 (15.7%) were diagnosed with PTB and two (0.7%) had a positive smear. No PTB was found among staff and close family contacts. Prevalence was high in Science Class 27 and the two floors of the dormitory building where the smear-positive TB patients studied and lived. The frequency of strong TST positivity was also high in Science Class 27 and among close contacts living in the same dormitories as the PTB patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Several avoidable factors likely to have enhanced disease transmission were identified and several recommendations are made to reduce the risk of future TB outbreaks in schools.

Prevalence of food insecurity in patients with diabetes in western Kenya

AIMS

To determine the characteristics of patients with diabetes who reported food insecurity at three diabetes clinics in western Kenya.

METHODS

This study includes routinely collected demographic data at the first presentation of patients with diabetes at clinics in western Kenya from 1 January 2006 to 24 September 2011. A validated questionnaire was used to assess food insecurity with descriptive and comparative statistics being used to analyse the food-secure and food-insecure populations.

RESULTS

The number of patients presenting to these clinics who were food-secure and those who were food-insecure was 1179 (68.0%) and 554 (32.0%), respectively. Comparative analysis shows a statistically significant difference in weight, BMI, the presence of a caretaker, and use of insulin between the two groups. These variables were lower in the food-insecure group. The overall assessment of the clinic population revealed an abnormally high mean HbA1c concentration of 81 mmol/mol (9.6%).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the widely recognized contribution of caloric over-nutrition to the development of diabetes, this study highlights the high prevalence of food insecurity amongst patients with diabetes in rural, resource-constrained settings. Other factors, such as the lower prevalence of obesity, poor glucose control, challenges in the use of insulin because of the risk of hypoglycaemia, and varying subtypes of diabetes in this population, point to the need for additional research in understanding the aetiology, pathophysiology and optimum management of this condition, as well as understanding the effects of enhancing food security.

The possible mechanism of antifungal action of tea tree oil on Botrytis cinerea

AIMS

Tea tree oil (TTO) has been confirmed in previous study as a potential natural antifungal agent to control Botrytis cinerea and grey mould in fresh fruit. However, the mechanism of its action has not been clearly revealed, and some hypotheses mainly depended on the results obtained from the bacterial test. For the antifungal mechanism, the effect of TTO on the mycelium morphology and ultrastructure, cell wall and membrane, and membrane fatty acid composition of B. cinerea was investigated in vitro experiments.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Tea tree oil in vapour or contact phase exhibited higher activity against the mycelial growth of B. cinerea. Observations using scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope revealed that the mycelial morphology and ultrastructure alternations caused by TTO are the markedly shriveled or flatted empty hyphae, with thick cell walls, ruptured plasmalemma and cytoplasmic coagulation or leakage. Furthermore, TTO caused significantly higher alkaline phosphatase activity after 4-h treatment and markedly higher absorbance at 260 nm and electric conductivity in the external hyphae of fungi after 16-h treatment. Moreover, decreased unsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio of the fungal membrane was also observed after TTO treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The methodology used in this study confirmed that the cell wall destroyed firstly in the presence of TTO, and then the membrane fatty acid composition changed, which resulted in the increasing of membrane permeability and releasing of cellular material. The above findings may be the main reason for TTO's antifungal ability to B. cinerea.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Understanding the mechanism of TTO antifungal action to B. cinerea is helpful for its commercial application on the preservation of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Mitochondrial haplogroup B4 may be a protective factor to oral lichen planus susceptibility in Chinese

OBJECTIVE

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a common inflammatory disorder with a higher prevalence among women than men. The pathogenesis of OLP is still unclear, and its heredity is not well characterized. Maternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) indicates its importance in human ethnic group classification as well disease susceptibility. So, this study was conducted to find whether mtDNA haplogroup associates with OLP susceptibility in Chinese, and determine the influence of C-stretch structure of mtDNA on OLP susceptibility.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

We sequenced three hypervariable regions of mtDNA from 242 patients with OLP and 237 healthy controls. The association between mtDNA haplogroups and OLP is tested by chi-square test.

RESULTS

Seventeen kinds of haplogroups were identified, and the frequency of haplogroup B4 was significantly higher in control group than that of the OLP group (P = 0.013, OR=0.429). In female samples, B4 declared even more significance (P = 0.003, OR=0.296). Meanwhile, the haplotypes of C-stretch in mtDNA did not have any significant difference between case-control groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Mitochondrial DNA haplogroup B4 might have a protective effect to OLP, and its protective effect resides predominantly in women. However, the association between C-stretch haplotype and OLP susceptibility still needs more patients for evaluation.

Discrimination of fractures by low-frequency axial transmission ultrasound in postmenopausal females

SUMMARY

In this cross-sectional study, 95 postmenopausal women, with and without fracture history, were measured by low-frequency axial transmission ultrasound. The measured ultrasound velocity discriminated the fractured subjects from the nonfractured ones equally or better than peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). These results suggest that low-frequency ultrasound is suitable for bone fragility assessment.

INTRODUCTION

Quantitative low-frequency axial transmission ultrasound is a promising modality for assessing mineral density and geometrical properties of long bones such as radius and tibia. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the ability of low-frequency axial transmission ultrasound to discriminate fractures retrospectively in postmenopausal women.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study involved 95 female subjects aged 45-88 years, whose fracture information was gathered retrospectively. The fracture group was defined as subjects with one or more low-/moderate-energy fractures. The radius and tibial shaft were measured with a custom-made ultrasonometer to assess the velocity of the low-frequency first-arriving signal (V (LF)). Site-matched pQCT was used to measure volumetric cortical and subcortical bone mineral density (sBMD), and cortical thickness (CTh). Areal BMD (aBMD) was measured using DXA for the whole body (WB), lumbar spine, and hip.

RESULTS

The majority (19/32; 59 %) of the fractures were in the upper limb. V (LF) in the radius, but not in the tibia, discriminated fractures with an age- and BMI-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 2.06 (95 % CI 1.21-3.50, p < 0.01). In the radius, CTh and cortical BMD (CBMD) significantly discriminated fractures, as did the total, cortical, and sBMD in the tibia (adjusted OR 1.35-2.15, p < 0.05). Sensitivity and specificity were similar among all the measurements (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.74-0.81, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Low-frequency axial transmission ultrasound in the radius was able to discriminate fractured subjects from the nonfractured ones. This suggests that low-frequency axial transmission ultrasound has the potential to assess bone fragility in postmenopausal women.

Important co-morbidity in patients with diabetes mellitus in three clinics in Western Kenya

SETTING

Diabetes clinics in three hospitals in Western Kenya: Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and two associated district hospitals.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the proportion of diabetes patients with a history of tuberculosis (  TB), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV  ) infection and tobacco smoking.

DESIGN

A descriptive study using routinely collected data from patient records in the three diabetes clinics.

RESULTS

Of 1376 patients analyzed, 750 (55%) were female. The mean age of the patients in the clinics was 53.5 years (95%CI 52.2-54.8), with an average duration of diabetes of 8.1 years (95%CI 7.6-8.7). Of all patients, 5.6% reported a history of TB, similar to the frequency about 20 years earlier (1990) in Tanzania. Only 30% of the patients reported knowing their HIV status; 6% were HIV-positive. A history of tobacco smoking was reported by 3.8% of the patients.

CONCLUSION

The HIV epidemic does not seem to have significantly changed the relationship between TB and diabetes mellitus (DM) in this cohort of diabetes patients. The frequency of HIV and TB in this special population was comparable to that in the general population, and only a small proportion of patients reported a history of tobacco smoking.

Developmental changes of <i>GHR</i> and <i>IGF-I</i> mRNA expression in lamb rumen

Abstract. Lambs from birth (0-day-old) to 56-day-old were selected in present study to investigate developmental changes of growth hormone receptor (GHR) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) mRNA expression in their rumen tissue. Forty-five lambs (5 lambs per group) were slaughtered at 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56 days of age respectively for sampling the tissue of the rumen dorsal sac. The abundance of GHR and IGF-I mRNA were detected through real-time quantitative PCR method. The results indicated that the expression levels of GHR and IGF-I mRNA had similar change tendency in rumen tissue that the GHR and IGF-I mRNA abundance decreased with age from birth to 56-day-old. There was significant positive correlation between the two gene mRNA expression levels. The results suggested that GHR and IGF-I gene expression levels had the specific developmental pattern in rumen tissue.

Clinical risk factors and CT imaging features of carotid atherosclerotic plaques as predictors of new incident carotid ischemic stroke: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Parameters other than luminal narrowing are needed to predict the risk of stroke more reliably, particularly in patients with <70% stenosis. The goal of our study was to identify clinical risk factors and CT features of carotid atherosclerotic plaques, in a retrospective cohort of patients free of stroke at baseline, that are independent predictors of incident stroke on follow-up.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We identified a retrospective cohort of patients admitted to our emergency department with suspected stroke between 2001-2007 who underwent a stroke work-up including a CTA of the carotid arteries that was subsequently negative for acute stroke. All patients also had to receive a follow-up brain study at least 2 weeks later. From a random sample, we reviewed charts and imaging studies of patients with subsequent new stroke on follow-up as well as those who remained stroke-free. All patients were classified either as "new carotid infarct patients" or "no-new carotid infarct patients" based on the Causative Classification for Stroke. Independently, the baseline CTA studies were processed using a custom, CT-based automated computer classifier algorithm that quantitatively assesses a set of carotid CT features (wall thickness, plaque ulcerations, fibrous cap thickness, lipid-rich necrotic core, and calcifications). Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were used to identify any significant differences in CT features between the patient groups in the sample. Subsequent ROC analysis allowed comparison to the classic NASCET stenosis rule in identifying patients with incident stroke on follow-up.

RESULTS

We identified a total of 315 patients without a new carotid stroke between baseline and follow-up, and 14 with a new carotid stroke between baseline and follow-up, creating the main comparison groups for the study. Statistical analysis showed age and use of antihypertensive drugs to be the most significant clinical variables, and maximal carotid wall thickness was the most relevant imaging variable. The use of age ≥ 75 years, antihypertensive medication use, and a maximal carotid wall thickness of at least 4 mm was able to successfully identify 10 of the 14 patients who developed a new incident infarct on follow-up. ROC analysis showed an area under the ROC curve of 0.706 for prediction of new stroke with this new model.

CONCLUSIONS

Our new paradigm of using age ≥ 75 years, history of hypertension, and carotid maximal wall thickness of >4 mm identified most of the patients with subsequent new carotid stroke in our study. It is simple and may help clinicians choose the patients at greatest risk of developing a carotid infarct, warranting validation with a prospective observational study.

Lactation is associated with greater maternal bone size and bone strength later in life

SUMMARY

The association between lactation and bone size and strength was studied in 145 women 16 to 20 years after their last parturition. Longer cumulative duration of lactation was associated with larger bone size and strength later in life.

INTRODUCTION

Pregnancy and lactation have no permanent negative effect on maternal bone mineral density but may positively affect bone structure in the long term. We hypothesized that long lactation promotes periosteal bone apposition and hence increasing maternal bone strength.

METHODS

Body composition, bone area, bone mineral content, and areal bone mineral density of whole body and left proximal femur were assessed using DXA, and cross-sectional area and volumetric bone mineral density of the left tibia shaft were measured by pQCT in 145 women (mean age 48 years, range 36-60 years) 16 to 20 years after their last parturition. Hip (HSI) and tibia strength indexes (TBSI) were calculated. Medical history and lifestyle factors including breastfeeding patterns and durations were collected via a self-administered questionnaire. Weight change during each pregnancy was collected from personal maternity tracking records.

RESULTS

Sixteen to 20 years after the last parturition, women who had breastfed in total more than 33 months in their life, regardless of the number of children, had greater bone strength estimates of the hip (HSI = 1.92 vs. 1.61) and the tibia (TBSI = 5,507 vs. 4,705) owing to their greater bone size than mothers who had breastfed less than 12 months (p < 0.05 for all). The differences in bone strength estimates were independent of body height and weight, menopause status, use of hormone replacement therapy, and present leisure time physical activity level.

CONCLUSION

Breastfeeding is beneficial to maternal bone strength in the long run.

Measurement of the ZZ production cross section and limits on anomalous neutral triple gauge couplings in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A measurement of the ZZ production cross section in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.02 fb(-1) recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC is presented. Twelve events containing two Z boson candidates decaying to electrons and/or muons are observed, with an expected background of 0.3 ± 0.3(stat)(-0.3)(+0.4)(syst) events. The cross section measured in a phase-space region with good detector acceptance and for dilepton masses within the range 66 to 116 GeV is σ(ZZ → ℓ+ ℓ- ℓ+ ℓ-)(fid) = 19.4(-5.2)(+6.3)(stat)(-0.7)(+0.9)(syst) ± 0.7(lumi) fb. The resulting total cross section for on-shell ZZ production, σ(ZZ)(tot) = 8.5(-2.3)(+2.7)(stat)(-0.3)(+0.4)(syst) ± 0.3(lumi) pb, is consistent with the standard model expectation of 6.5(-0.2)(+0.3) pb calculated at the next-to-leading order in QCD. Limits on anomalous neutral triple gauge boson couplings are derived.

Primary retroperitoneal mucinous cystadenoma adjacent to the kidney: report of two cases and review

We report two cases of primary retroperitoneal mucinous cystadenomas mistaken as renal cysts and discuss the differential diagnosis and management of this tumor.

The insulin resistance Grb14 adaptor protein promotes thyroid cancer ret signaling and progression

The growth factor receptor-bound protein (Grb) 14 is an adapter molecule of the Grb7/10/14 family with characteristic BPS domains serving to avidly bind tyrosine kinases. Grb14 inhibits insulin receptor (IR) catalytic activity through interaction with the BPS domain and impedes peptide substrate binding. Members of this Grb family have also been shown to interact with other kinases through their SH2 domain. Here we examined the functional role of Grb14 in thyroid cancer using loss- and gain-of-function approaches. Stable knockdown of Grb14 in thyroid cancer cells facilitated insulin receptor signaling. In contrast, RET phosphorylation was diminished in concert with reduced activation of Akt and STAT3. Loss of Grb14 also resulted in diminished cell proliferation and invasion both in vitro and in mouse flank xenografts. In complementary studies, forced expression of Grb14 interrupted insulin receptor signaling but facilitated RET activation, STAT3, and Akt phosphorylation. Consistent with these findings Grb14 over-expression enhanced cell invasion and resulted in striking metastases in an orthotopic thyroid cancer mouse xenograft model. Primary human thyroid cancer microarrays revealed a positive correlation between Grb14 expression and invasive behavior. Our findings uncover a new role for Grb14 in finely tuning receptor signaling and modulating thyroid cancer progression.

The impact of pretransplant mechanical ventilation on short- and long-term survival after lung transplantation

Lung transplantation in mechanically ventilated (MV) patients has been associated with decreased posttransplant survival. Under the Lung Allocation Score (LAS) system, patients at greatest risk of death on the waiting list, particularly those requiring MV, are prioritized for lung allocation. We evaluated whether pretransplant MV is associated with poorer posttransplant survival in the LAS era. Using a national registry, we analyzed all adults undergoing lung transplantation in the United States from 2005 to 2010. Propensity scoring identified nonventilated matched referents for 419 subjects requiring MV at the time of transplantation. Survival was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier methods. Risk of death was estimated by hazard ratios employing time-dependent covariates. We found that pretransplant MV was associated with decreased overall survival after lung transplantation. In the first 6 months posttransplant, ventilated subjects had a twofold higher risk of death compared to nonventilated subjects. However, after 6 months posttransplant, survival did not differ by MV status. We also found that pretransplant MV was not associated with decreased survival in noncystic fibrosis obstructive lung diseases. These results suggest that under the LAS, pretransplant MV is associated with poorer short-term survival posttransplant. Notably, the increased risk of death appears to be strongest the early posttransplant period and limited to certain pretransplant diagnoses.

Metabolite profiles and the risk of developing diabetes

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The structure of networks that produce the transformation from grid cells to place cells

Since grid cells were discovered in the medial entorhinal cortex, several models have been proposed for the transformation from periodic grids to the punctate place fields of hippocampal place cells. These prior studies have each focused primarily on a particular model structure. By contrast, the goal of this study is to understand the general nature of the solutions that generate the grids-to-places transformation, and to exploit this insight to solve problems that were previously unsolved. First, we derive a family of feedforward networks that generate the grids-to-places transformations. These networks have in common an inverse relationship between the synaptic weights and a grid property that we call the normalized offset. Second, we analyze the solutions of prior models in terms of this novel measure and found to our surprise that almost all prior models yield solutions that can be described by this family of networks. The one exception is a model that is unrealistically sensitive to noise. Third, with this insight into the structure of the solutions, we then construct explicitly solutions for the grids-to-places transformation with multiple spatial maps, that is, with place fields in arbitrary locations either within the same (multiple place fields) or in different (global remapping) enclosures. These multiple maps are possible because the weights are learned or assigned in such a way that a group of weights contributes to spatial specificity in one context but remains spatially unstructured in another context. Fourth, we find parameters such that global remapping solutions can be found by synaptic learning in spiking neurons, despite previous suggestions that this might not be possible. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the power of understanding the structure of the solutions and suggest that we may have identified the structure that is common to all robust solutions of the grids-to-places transformation.

Metastatic melanomas in young broiler chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus)

Four young broiler chickens affected by multiple melanotic tumors are described. Grossly, there were multiple tumors composed of melanocytes within the skin, skeletal muscle, and multiple visceral organs. Tumors ranged from flattened macules to masses that extensively replaced viscera. Microscopically, melanocytes were often well pigmented, and while there was moderate nuclear anisokaryosis, mitotic rates were low. Immunohistochemical staining of some melanomas with antibodies to S100 proteins, Melan-A, vimentin, or neuron-specific enolase after bleaching of tumor cells with potassium permanganate revealed lack of immunostaining of tumor cells with antibodies to S100, strong positive staining of tumor cells for neuron-specific enolase, moderate staining with antibodies to vimentin, and faint staining for Melan-A. Only neuron-specific enolase staining was evident in unbleached tumor cells. Attempts to identify exogenous avian leukosis viruses in these tumors were unsuccessful.